I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Linkee-poo needs dirty laundry

"A team of researchers from Plex Corporation, Bruker Scientific LLC and Harvard University has found evidence of a protein inside of a meteorite. They have written a paper describing their findings and have uploaded it to the arXiv preprint server." Panspermia.

"Imperial College London researchers used micro-CT scanning technology to reveal how specific parts of bumblebee brains grew abnormally when exposed to pesticides during their larval phase." Micro-CT, what will they think of next.

"Getting a little frustrated with contradictory and flat-out misinformation popping up in social media and elsewhere, so I’m pulling together the reliable and verified info I can find. This is as much for myself as anyone else, but hopefully it will be useful to others." Jim Hines with his own roundup of information. Jim's a great researcher, you should read.

"In a sign of growing tension among the Trump administration's health agencies, officials are expressing frustration that a top scientist was initially rebuffed when attempting to visit the CDC in Atlanta last month to help coordinate the government's stalled coronavirus testing, two individuals with knowledge of the episode told POLITICO." The most important part of this piece is about the potential contamination in the lab, not that a person showed up at a secured facility a day early and was denied admission. If you know anything about lab procedures or security, you understand that you can't just walk into a secured laboratory and expect to be admitted. Arriving a day earlier shows "initiative", but they could have also rescheduled their arrival. The breakdown of both communications, proper protocols, and piss fighting between agencies that should work together is the real story. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

(Note, also see next link before you panic) "COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has killed about 3.4 percent of confirmed cases, globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) - a figure higher than previous estimates and far above the seasonal flu's fatality rate of less than 1 percent." No no no, that figure needed to go down, not up, as we test more people. (Grokked from Bo Bolander)

"Estimates have varied widely. For instance, at a Feb. 24 news conference in Beijing, a top Chinese health official, Liang Wannian, said the fatality rate for COVID-19 was quite high… 'Between 3 to 4% of patients have died,' said Liang… Then he added a twist: Outside of Wuhan — the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, the death rate in China has been much lower: about 0.7 percent. That's fewer than 1 fatality per 100 cases." And they outline some of the reasons for this. "That pattern of progressively dropping death rates is one we're likely to see in other countries."

And the reality spin continues… "Pence said in an off-camera briefing at the White House that there was new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control that any American could be tested -- 'no restrictions, subject to doctors' orders.' The announcement follows numerous complaints of citizens asking to be tested and turned away due to the strict CDC testing criteria. Pence said the new guidance will make clear 'that any clinician or health authority can administer the test.'" No word of the cost of that or when it's available, though. "In order to receive test kits from the CDC, labs that are approved by the agency must place an order for the kit. Many state labs will still not be able to immediately run tests as soon as receiving the kit -- opting to first conduct a series of quality control tests — which will prolong the process."

Two-degrees of Pence… "A Florida student whose classmates met with and touched vice president Mike Pence is now in coronavirus quarantine… Mr Pence met with senior cadets from Sarasota Military Academy on Friday, shaking hands with them and posing for photographs." The school is saying the student in question didn't actually greet Pence, but then how much interaction did they have with the students who did. Fourteen days in the hole, Mikey.

"The I-Team obtained a memo from the Ohio Judicial Conference telling judges statewide an outbreak could close offices and buildings. But, some judges will have to keep working to handle disputes, 'Involving public health officials… And law enforcement,' along with any orders concerning where you can go and what you can do during an outbreak."

Who need regulations? "The Trump administration last year moved to roll back regulations aimed at preventing infections from spreading in nursing homes, a decision that is facing renewed criticism for endangering the elderly amid the coronavirus outbreak."

"The coronavirus crisis is threatening the longest bull market in history, just days before it's set to celebrate its 11th birthday… So can the battered bull, which just had its worst week since the financial crisis and is still bouncing up and down, stay intact until Monday, when it adds another year to its impressive streak?" People are hearing growling on the wind. As of 11am, the Dow is still up above the previous close.

"Abortion rights are on the chopping block Wednesday as the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case nearly identical to one decided just four years ago… It's the first major abortion case to come before the court since the 2018 retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, making it the first time the majority of justices hearing an abortion case have anti-abortion-rights judicial records."

"The United States conducted an airstrike Wednesday against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan who are accused of attacking an Afghan National Defense and Security Forces checkpoint, according to the US military." So the peace deal seems to be going well.

"Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday that he has started closed-door interviews as part of his deep dive into the surveillance courts and the FBI’s Russia probe… Graham confirmed to reporters that he has started the depositions, then escaped into a Senate elevator." Remember when the conservatives were all upset about the House Democrats holding closed door interviews in the secure room? I mean, that was what, January and December?

"Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City who had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ads during a 100-day presidential campaign, announced on Wednesday he's suspending his bid and is endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden." Of course he is. Because it appears Bernie Sanders won't be the nominee and that's what he was afraid of.

"American Alan Gross, a prisoner in Cuba for five years during the Obama administration, is accusing Sen. Bernie Sanders of commending the communist country when he came to visit him behind bars." Except he told a different story just a few years ago. Also note his praise for Cuba under Batista, probably one of the most criminally corrupt dictators in the Caribbean.

No comments: