Some Covid-19 thoughts

POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Monday, September 29, 2025 18:59
VIEWED: 301579
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6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 18, 2021 12:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

That's not something I'd brag about.

It means that stupid, scared little sheep voted for your guy, in general.
Ron, my Trump voting in-law, is still worried the vax will kill him and it has been 6 months since the shots that he didn't want were forced on him by his wife and sister-in-law. Ron is also worried Biden is a Commie. It has been 6 months since the Inauguration but any day now Biden will reveal his evil plan to destroy the American brand of Capitalism, the greatest idea of all times. Ha-ha! Ron is an idiot.

A few more things about Ron: he got laid off 21 years ago from SmithKline Beecham, when it merged with Glaxo Wellcome. He hasn't worked since. My sister supports him. He bought a Harley and hangs out with other unemployed Trumptards. He owns every Rush Limbaugh book, an author for those who feel they aren't getting a fair deal only because they are white. Ha-ha! It's not because they are white, it is because they are stupid.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Nobody cares about your hardon for the Trump voters in your life.

Fucking figure that out already, because it's not a valid argument for anything.

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And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 18, 2021 7:19 AM

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And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.

1KIKI

Sunday, July 18, 2021 8:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SECONDRATE: I think what you're seeing is that the M$M and establishment (incl. scientific/healthcare) have lost so much credibility that now not only do many not trust what "they say", they actively believe the opposite of what "they say".

SIGNYM: But that's what you get from distorting and propagandizing and lying to people 24/7/365. Eventually, nobody trusts you about anything, even when you're telling the truth or a partial truth.

Blowback's a bitch, yanno?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

I think the biggest contributor to that was Fauci ... plus the m$m that uncritically parroted whatever BS he was peddling at the time, plus Trump's political calculations.

Early on this was a genuine crisis. The earliest information was that SARS-CoV-2 was a novel virus responded to with severe measures by the Chinese (lockdown, cordon sanitaire, forcible separation of the infected from everyone else, instant hospitals), whose closest virus-relative SARS-CoV-(1) has an up to 50% case fatality ratio. Looking at how China responded, as the first nation to experience a significant outbreak, should have given anybody concerns. All early indications were that it could end up as an extreme pandemic. Even now, with a more accurate case-fatality ratio for SARS-CoV-2 of 1.0-1.5% in a general western population (and up to 10% in Mexico and 19% in Yemen), it's still concerning. If, say, all of the people in the US were infected, that would mean 3.25M deaths at a minimum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country

So, to get Trump's contribution out of the way ... He DID all the right things in terms of closing the borders to GREAT criticism from many democrats (if he could be faulted for that, it was too little, too late), and getting vaccine makers on-board. What he SAID was a bunch of BS, but then, he was trying to keep from spooking the markets, so as to not torpedo his reelection chances. Well, maybe I'm just too cynical. I expect politicians to lie, and I have never taken any of Trump's pronouncements seriously anyway.

But mostly I point the finger at Fauci ... and the m$m.

The first instance where he frittered away his credibility was by saying "masks don't work". Well, they DO work. The proper masks like N95s protect the user from ultra-small particles, like asbestos and lead pigment, and infectious aerosols, and in reverse protect a process like chip fabs from human contamination. And cloth or paper masks protect the environment and people from larger particles, which is why OR personnel wear them - to protect the patients. Then Fauci later backtracked and claimed that he was trying to keep a supply available for 'medicals'. But he lied about an inconvenient truth. And IMO you need to tell the truth, even if it's complicated, and nuanced, and unhappy, to be credible.

The second major loss of creditably came when he shaded, or failed to correct, the impressionism about vaccines being 95% effective. Most people assumed that meant effective against infection. But the original endpoints were hospitalizations and deaths. That caveat was only later addressed - indirectly - when the news started announcing that the vaccines were ~95% effective against infection. I'm sure that caused a few gaslight moments - when people were confused over what they thought they originally understood.

Whether or not the virus could be laboratory-based was another huge divot.

And whether or not the US was involved-in, or funding, gain-of-function research was another.

All in all, Fauci came across as shady, and single-handedly cost science and medicine their credibility in, I think, A LOT of peoples' minds.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 18, 2021 10:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
If, say, all of the people in the US were infected, that would mean 3.25M deaths at a minimum.

Nah. Tons of people got it and didn't even know they had it.

All the deaths up-front were the old, feeble and seriously unhealthy people.

A lot more than 20% of Americans were infected by Covid.

Quote:
So, to get Trump's contribution out of the way ... He DID all the right things in terms of closing the borders to GREAT criticism from many democrats (if he could be faulted for that, it was too little, too late),

He was racist for even suggesting such a thing. Nancy Pelosi said so.

Quote:
But mostly I point the finger at Fauci ... and the m$m.

At least we agree on something regarding this whole thing.

Quote:
The first instance where he frittered away his credibility was by saying "masks don't work". Well, they DO work. The proper masks like N95s protect the user from ultra-small particles, like asbestos and lead pigment, and infectious aerosols, and in reverse protect a process like chip fabs from human contamination. And cloth or paper masks protect the environment and people from larger particles, which is why OR personnel wear them - to protect the patients.

Maybe N95 masks work, but almost nobody was ever wearing them. I got a cheap 5 pack of washables from China. My old man just put a rag on his face. I rarely ever saw somebody wearing N95.

Quote:
Then Fauci later backtracked and claimed that he was trying to keep a supply available for 'medicals'. But he lied about an inconvenient truth. And IMO you need to tell the truth, even if it's complicated, and nuanced, and unhappy, to be credible.

Yeah. That was stupid. But at the same time, people who ACTUALLY needed masks for home remodeling (like me) couldn't buy them. They were even more scarce than toilet paper.

I wonder how many years I shaved off my life by doing work without a mask that required it because a bunch of pansies afraid of the common cold "needed" them.

Quote:
The second major loss of creditably came when he shaded, or failed to correct, the impressionism about vaccines being 95% effective. Most people assumed that meant effective against infection. But the original endpoints were hospitalizations and deaths. That caveat was only later addressed - indirectly - when the news started announcing that the vaccines were ~95% effective against infection. I'm sure that caused a few gaslight moments - when people were confused over what they thought they originally understood.

Whether or not the virus could be laboratory-based was another huge divot.

And whether or not the US was involved-in, or funding, gain-of-function research was another.

All in all, Fauci came across as shady, and single-handedly cost science and medicine their credibility in, I think, A LOT of peoples' minds.

He should be fighting for his life to stay out of prison right now. I can't believe we even have to see his face anymore.

--------------------------------------------------

And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.

SECOND

Sunday, July 18, 2021 1:01 PM

The efficacy of the drug ivermectin being promoted by rightwing figures worldwide for treating Covid-19 is in serious doubt after a major study suggesting the treatment is effective against the virus was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns”. Data appears ‘totally faked’.

Lawrence said what started out as a simple university assignment had led to a comprehensive investigation into an apparent scientific fraud at a time when “there is a whole ivermectin hype … dominated by a mix of right-wing figures, anti-vaxxers and outright conspiracists”.

“Although science trends towards self-correction, something is clearly broken in a system that can allow a study as full of problems as the Elgazzar paper to run unchallenged for seven months,” he said.

“Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and at least four major medicines regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign. That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”

www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/16/huge-study-supporting-ivermect
in-as-covid-treatment-withdrawn-over-ethical-concerns

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 -- U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION
www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermect
in-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 18, 2021 1:21 PM

I suggest Chris Martenson. Altho he's a "self-help financial advisor", his PhD is in pathology, and he's not afraid to delve deeply into the science. He may not always be right, but he's always educational.

https:// m.youtube.com/c/PeakProsperity/videos
I broke the URL so it would display properly

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 18, 2021 1:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The efficacy of the drug ivermectin being promoted by rightwing figures worldwide for treating Covid-19 is in serious doubt after a major study suggesting the treatment is effective against the virus was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns”. Data appears ‘totally faked’.

Lawrence said what started out as a simple university assignment had led to a comprehensive investigation into an apparent scientific fraud at a time when “there is a whole ivermectin hype … dominated by a mix of right-wing figures, anti-vaxxers and outright conspiracists”.

“Although science trends towards self-correction, something is clearly broken in a system that can allow a study as full of problems as the Elgazzar paper to run unchallenged for seven months,” he said.

“Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and at least four major medicines regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign. That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”

www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/16/huge-study-supporting-ivermect
in-as-covid-treatment-withdrawn-over-ethical-concerns

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 -- U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION
www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermect
in-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

This is similar in a way to the data I used to crunch thru. Getting RAW data is often key to understanding what happened.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 18, 2021 7:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The efficacy of the drug ivermectin being promoted by rightwing figures worldwide for treating Covid-19 is in serious doubt after a major study suggesting the treatment is effective against the virus was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns”. Data appears ‘totally faked’.

Lawrence said what started out as a simple university assignment had led to a comprehensive investigation into an apparent scientific fraud at a time when “there is a whole ivermectin hype … dominated by a mix of right-wing figures, anti-vaxxers and outright conspiracists”.

“Although science trends towards self-correction, something is clearly broken in a system that can allow a study as full of problems as the Elgazzar paper to run unchallenged for seven months,” he said.

“Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and at least four major medicines regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign. That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”

www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/16/huge-study-supporting-ivermect
in-as-covid-treatment-withdrawn-over-ethical-concerns

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 -- U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION
www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermect
in-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

That entire system is broke. Not just the scientific part.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/new-sokal-hoax/57221
2/

--------------------------------------------------

And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 18, 2021 8:07 PM

--------------------------------------------------

And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.

SECOND

Sunday, July 18, 2021 8:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

That entire system is broke. Not just the scientific part.

The truth is very different, 6ix. It is more like few people will volunteer to enter someone else's locked house and inspect their kitchen and, if it appears dirty, clean up the mess in the refrigerator, on the stove, in the oven, and on the floor so that the kitchen is clean enough to pass a health inspection:

Science Advances One Funeral at a Time. The Latest Nobel Proves It

The economics establishment resisted the behavioral insights of Richard Thaler.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-10/science-advances-on
e-funeral-at-a-time-the-latest-nobel-proves-it

The German physicist Max Planck said that science advances one funeral at a time. Or more precisely: “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”

Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, who won the Nobel Prize in economics on Oct. 9, exemplifies Planck’s observation.

Early in Thaler’s career, he had a hard time getting the establishment to take him seriously. Mainstream economists clung to a model in which human beings were rational and farsighted. The top journals rejected papers by Thaler that pointed to the all-too-human foibles of real people. His thesis adviser “was unimpressed and told me to go back to running regressions,” Thaler recalled in a 2013 interview with a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis publication. It took 20 years for the old guard to give way to a new one.

Why do scientists sometimes seem to resist new ideas? On the day Thaler got his Nobel, I interviewed Pierre Azoulay, co-author of a research paper called Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time? He and his co-authors found that at least in the case of life sciences, Planck’s epigram about funerals is correct. Here’s the synopsis:

Consistent with previous research, the flow of articles by collaborators into affected fields decreases precipitously after the death of a star scientist (relative to control fields). In contrast, we find that the flow of articles by non-collaborators increases by 8% on average. These additional contributions are disproportionately likely to be highly cited. They are also more likely to be authored by scientists who were not previously active in the deceased superstar's field. Overall, these results suggest that outsiders are reluctant to challenge leadership within a field when the star is alive and that a number of barriers may constrain entry even after she is gone. Intellectual, social, and re-source barriers all impede entry, with outsiders only entering subfields that offer a less hostile landscape for the support and acceptance of “foreign” ideas.

To put it differently, Azoulay found that the death of a star scientist is like the fall of a huge tree. It lets sunshine reach the forest floor through a hole in the leaf canopy, enabling new kinds of vegetation to flourish.

Azoulay, a native of France, teaches innovation and entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. He said that by time he started working on his Ph.D. in the late 1990s, Thaler’s ideas were already well into the academic mainstream. Thaler was even elected president of the American Economic Association in 2015. In Azoulay’s opinion, Thaler’s ongoing portrayal of himself as a renegade is “a very clever marketing strategy.”

But Azoulay concedes that early in his career, Thaler really did have to fight an uphill battle. “Some of his ideas were blocked for a little bit longer than a benevolent, all-knowing social planner would have liked,” Azoulay said.

The economists who resisted Thaler’s way of thinking didn’t necessarily die, but they did relinquish their grip on the scholarly journals and professorships that are the commanding heights of academics. A good example

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