Manic of a panic is geopolitical

[kladner]

@Ernst: I looked up Stiglitz, and found that I had some serious blind spots. "Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 1997-2000" set me back a piece.

I tried to find an account of a story I heard about how he left the Council of Economic Advisers. Supposedly, there was a meeting including many Clinton admin honchos including Larry Summers. I don't remember what kind of policy was being discussed, but Summers supposedly kept interjecting, " What will Goldman Sachs think?" Eventually Stiglitz asked him if that was really an appropriate guide to the deliberations.
This, according to the anecdote, led to his departure.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Probe sought in Trump administration's ouster of scientist

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calls mounted Thursday for an investigation into the ouster of a senior government scientist who says he's being punished for opposing widespread use of an unproven drug President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19.

Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, says he was summarily removed from his job earlier this week and reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug favored by Trump.

On Thursday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., joined in calling for an investigation by the Health and Human Services inspector general.

"Removing Dr. Bright in the midst of a pandemic would raise serious concerns under any circumstances, but his allegations that political considerations influenced this decision heighten those concerns and demand full accountability," Pallone said. The inspector general's office had no immediate response.

Bright is seeking to be reinstated as head of the research agency, said his lawyers Debra Katz and Lisa Banks. A performance review shows he received a top rating.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Don't inject disinfectants, Lysol warns as Trump raises idea

WASHINGTON (AP) — The parent company of Lysol and another disinfectant warned Friday that its products should not be used as an internal treatment for the coronavirus after President Donald Trump wondered about the prospect during a White House briefing.

Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus "does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that."

That prompted a strong warning from the maker of disinfectants Lysol and Dettol, which said it was issuing a statement to combat "recent speculation."

"As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)," said the statement from Reckitt Benckiser.

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Don't inject disinfectants, Lysol warns as Trump raises idea

This is to protect the manufacturer from lawsuits after people attempt what a journalist asked about. Trump did not say people should try injecting themselves with cleaners, he asked about whether something analogous could be researched. Given how eager most of the media are to misconstrue in the worst possible way whatever he says or does or does not do, the statement was not a great choice. https://www.dailywire.com/news/fact-...r-drink-bleach Now imagine it had happened during Obama's presidency. He might have said something like "that is tremendously encouraging news, Bill, and I propose that we quickly explore every opportunity it presents." The media would have been fawning over Obama for his vision and leadership.

[kriesel]

A recent LA study also shows antibodies found in about 40. times as many people as confirmed case rate. https://reason.com/2020/04/22/should...esponse-to-it/ Fatality rate vs. infection rate indicated by antibody test results is close to that of seasonal flu at this point.

[VBCurtis]

Originally Posted by kriesel

A recent LA study also shows antibodies found in about 40. times as many people as confirmed case rate. https://reason.com/2020/04/22/should...esponse-to-it/ Fatality rate vs. infection rate indicated by antibody test results is close to that of seasonal flu at this point.

That's great news- we expect only 50x as many people to get infected by this virus as get the flu each year, so fatalities might only be 50x as bad if we just go back to business as usual.

[kladner]

See https://mersenneforum.org/showpost.p...&postcount=946 for follow up on the musical background for The Liar Sleeps Tonight. (above)
This was getting way too far afield.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Trump did not say people should try injecting themselves with cleaners, he asked about whether something analogous could be researched.

Originally Posted by the President

Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.

You be the judge.

[kladner]

tRump's cover story is that he was being sarcastic, because the reporters were being sarcastic. I wonder who thought it up for him.


EDIT: So much for the sarcasm tale.....

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...mp-coronavirus

The leader of the most prominent group in the US peddling potentially lethal industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for coronavirus wrote to Donald Trump at the White House this week.

In his letter, Mark Grenon told Trump that chlorine dioxide – a powerful bleach used in industrial processes such as textile manufacturing that can have fatal side-effects when drunk – is “a wonderful detox that can kill 99% of the pathogens in the body”. He added that it “can rid the body of Covid-19”.

[kladner]

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...le-coronavirus

Health professionals and trade unions in the UK are warning that female healthcare workers’ lives are being put at risk because of ill-fitting personal protective equipment. “PPE is designed for a 6ft 3in bloke built like a rugby player,” one NHS worker said. While PPE may be designed with men in mind, 75% of women in the NHS are female.

Wow! Whoda thunk it?!

[retina]

Originally Posted by kladner

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...le-coronavirus

Wow! Whoda thunk it?!

Haha. So what are the other 25% of women if they aren't female?

Aliens! Run for your life!

I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords.