Anybody Catch the CDC Briefing Today?
I know there is an election going on, sportsing, and Kobe Bryant and whatnot... but did anyone happen to catch the CDC briefing? I didn't stick around to listen to the questions. I was too gobsmacked and overwhelmed - I don't think I could take listening to these fucking idiots soft peddle indifference and inaction amidst a global pandemic.
Needless to say I was a bit disappointed. Short rant to follow.
Let me sum it up for you with my initial response on the YT video below:
The head of the CDC called her kids school and asked them what is going to be done. Think about that for a fucking moment... She is an idiot and she is lying while saying nothing. The Head of the CDC called a school to ask what is going to happen. What the actual fuck!!!? She essentially said you are on your own.
They flew people around the country and talked the situation down to protect markets for 30 friggin' days and then tell us we may need to stay home and wash our hands. NPI, non-pharmaceutical interventions, I think that means no health care. Good thing we tested those 426 people nation wide in the last 30 days.
What where they fucking practicing? Where are the stockpiles of medicine? Where are the stockpiles of haz mat gear? What is the plan to keep supply lines open? Where are the plans to activate and engage volunteers? What is the plan other than you are on your own?
And closing with "sorry about the tests"? Fuck you lady!
What the fuck happened to our country? Billions of dollars for elections, trillions to drop bombs, and billions in CDC budget for what? "You're on your own. Cover your mouth and wash your hands. Hope you got cash... Don't ask me, ask your local school superintendent."
They are going to do nothing but keep a grisly score. I just have no words other than un-fucking-believable.
Comments
I Think I Will Fully Dox Myself From a Thread on FB:
Q: Are you concerned about COVID19?
Another comment of mine from the thread in response to a friend. "I'm more scared of the Flu (citing death #s)":
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
People are preoccupied with "democracy" at the moment.
Wait a week, when people start refusing to go out to vote and mingle with human germ sacks at their local polling place.
That will get some attention.
Elections are a great way to boost infection rates.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
There is no way to be prepared
for a pandemic, a meteor strike, a solar storm or a bolt of lightning. We may like to believe that disasters should be avoidable, and that with better foresight and understanding humanity should be able to exempt itself from the growth and decline that innumerable life forms over innumerable millennia have previously experienced on this fragile little blue planet.
Taking precautions may increase the chances of avoiding this particular demise, but it will not change the inevitability of mortality. Nothing has changed, and nothing will change in that regard. Yet this is a realization that lives beyond the horizon of our awareness for almost every moment of our life time, and when it does intrude in to the present moment it is usually met with alarm, disbelief, panic and fear.
So here we are. How are we going to be, in this moment? What choices do we actually have?
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
I'm With You. But Did You Listen to the CDC Brief?
Have you followed the progression of this for the last month?
It is criminal what went down with the WHO and the CDC. They fanned the flames, man. And then they soft peddled and sat on their hands. An extra month of action or some decent preparatory game plan that did more than prop up markets would have been a good idea. And I'm well aware of the social constraints of economic reality...
As it is now, I can only assume that they threw all of us to the wolves. To suggest that the coming situation and actions that led to it were just a product of the unpredictable nature of nature is not intellectually or morally honest. And it leaves us at the complete mercy of unscrupulous monsters who are going to stay in control and move forward. This is a starting point, not the destination.
Personally, I'm fine with the shit that is modern day. I have accepted it. I understand that to have light requires darkness. But this goes too far and is far too unbalanced.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
I have not listened to the CDC brief,
and hearing your description of it, and your reaction to it, I am unlikely to do so. Why would I? I would not expect to find much comfort from a political appointee about a biological threat that is already out in the world doing it’s own particular thing. Neither am I suggesting that the virus is a random act of nature. I think that mankind has played a part in its inception and virulence, if not directly and intentionally then indirectly through pathogenic animal husbandry practices and global mobility of the population, a population which has disrupted the global ecosystem by growing to a completely unsustainable size. There is also a possibility that this virus is the product of a biological weapons program or ill advised biological research program.
We may never know how this pathogen came to be. But here we are, now, facing a very real threat, in this moment. I am little interested in the assignation of blame or causality, or expressing outrage at our predicament. I AM interested in what we can do to minimize the spread and maximize recovery for those who become infected.
What choices do we actually have?
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Given that govts everywhere
will tend generally to downplay the threat, and in China probably severely undercount those already dead or infected, it's up to people to do their own research and thinking and take certain common sense precautions. From advice from my 2-3 usually reliable sources, I have decided on the following plan for the near term:
1) avoid all unnecessary travel in mass transit, esp commercial airliners, and avoid attendance at any mass gatherings -- sporting events, concerts and such.
2) frequent hand washing under hot water during the day, also avoid touching hands to face.
3) avoid hand shaking with other Earthlings -- something Nikola Tesla always did in his day.
4) avoid public restrooms whenever possible
5) carry a strong hand sanitizer, plenty of alcohol content
6) get as healthy as possible to strengthen the immune system; healthy alkaline-inclined diet, daily exercise.
7) don't bother with face masks -- probably useless for this virus (imo)
My general sense is the situation is worse than officialdom is reporting, or at least that will be my working assumption, and so therefore better to be safe than sorry.
According to my contacts:
This is the current sure thing:
Bring in a supply of food and meds to isolate for a month or six weeks.
Prepare an immune booster regimen and gather supplies.
Also stock flu supplies in case you do get sick. Include antivirals if you can. Most people experience manageable symptoms.
Lock the door.
Do not let anyone inside. Do not go outside.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
Thanks for the tips, Pluto.
We need to stick together!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good advice but
there are no over the counter antivirals.
Face masks may help--be sure pore size can block penetration by particles 1 - 3 microns. Large droplets will not pass through such masks. Every little bit of help is good. Hot water is unnecessary but length of hand washing needs to be at least 20 seconds. You won't kill virus with temperatures that human skin can tolerate. Alcohol is good taken externally. Ingestion of ethanol can lower your immune response.
A doctor friend of mine dropped by today
...and gave me a tip about face masks. She inspects surgeries for certification as a sideline. She says H-95 mask testing is done using perfume, to make sure they are properly worn and working. The subject puts on the mask. Then a clear hood is loosely placed over the head and mask. (One could use a large clear plastic bag.) An atomizer of perfume is sprayed once under the hood. If the subject can smell the perfume, the mask is not fitted properly and air is bypassing the filters. She said several different perfumes in the course of testing, which includes different head movements. That part of the hospital smells like a bordello.
I asked her if you could smell the perfume with regular surgical masks. She said yes, but it is muted.
Later, I recalled seeing medical examiners briefly hold ordinary surgical masks up to their faces as they walked through smelly crime scenes. I assume those masks would only be partially effective unless they were also using Vicks. Conversely, workers at rescue scenes involving cadavers are wearing what appear to be the larger N-95 masks. That does attest to effective odor blocking.
In any event, H-95 masks are disposable and are usually thrown away after one use. Hospitals use them only when there is a threat of infection or contamination. That is impractical for civilian use. When retail orders sold out of H-95 masks in January, reorders were not filled. H-95 manufacturers are geared up to supply annual demand from US medical professionals, hospitals, and the government. For some reason, surgical masks are hard to come by now in retail stores.. Now that San Francisco is all in for isolating and public quarantines, I predict that face masks will become a fashion statement. I expect to see them on the runway this year.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
Wait. I forgot the best part of the story.
My hospital doctor friend had not heard that the US is prepping for the coronavirus. As of today. She knew very little about the virus at all. She is generally fun, smart, and well informed. She hangs out with medical professionals and hospital workers and managers all day. The topic just never came up, she said.
I think the intention of the media is clear, at least in this one example. Now I am curious....
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
People Have Been Deliberately Kept in the Dark.
The smart ones, in particular.
It's going to take weeks to get smart, experienced people up to speed. I don't think any of them in teh health fields are going to take proper precautions here in the States.
This thing is airborne, and it is a MUST to know about that to protect oneself. Not knowing that and some other details of this bug from the get go is going to harm a lot of smart people and give many of their followers a complete false sense of security.
I see it as a feature of the information, not a bug. Shit is completely criminal.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Only one thing is of any meaning to the twiiter in chief
and remember this is the R's wet dream scenario since like forever, get rid of all government from top to bottom
Back to the one thing the twiiter in chief cares about
https://www.zerohedge.com/
Trump To Hold News Conference At 6pmET To Dispel Media's "Fake News, Panicking" Over Virus Outbreak
"Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible"
31
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Can You Appreciate That the Head of the CDC Gave a
public briefing on this topic and threw the ball into the parent's court? And offloaded the responsibility for coordinated social action to school superintendents and completely neglected to give any direction to the masses or the media?
I mean, she's not Oprah. She's the Director of the CDC. That was a completely vacuous speech that concluded with ass covering. And all of this after suggesting there was nothing to worry about for a month -- 3 months prep time as the head of the CDC. I knew it was highly volatile for the last 35 days.
This is a very dangerous situation and she provided zero information, leadership, or institutional faith. Nobody is taking this seriously. People are saying it's just the flu.
Is it too much to ask for some competence in the face of medical martial law?
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
The outsourcing of so many things
puts the US in a worse position to respond. We source so many things from China (not only drugs but basic chemicals) that we have limited ability to respond.
A perfect storm?
The administration has been painting the picture that the US is in better shape than in all of history. But these incompetants are neither rational nor responsible, only political. We are not prepared for a viral epidemic, and will refuse to do so since it runs contrary to the Trump meme that all is well, and has never been better. The desire to keep the economy running at full speed will have to be weighed against taking action to stop the spread of the virus. In the US, the economy will take precedence. First there will be denial followed by inaction, and then insufficient reaction and then total crisis. This is hurricane Katrina and NOLA on steroids.
We don't know what the mortality rate is, since it takes time to generate reliable data based on significant infection. If you take the ratio in China of recovered vs. died you get 10%. Most speculation today is around 2%. But do the math. It's projected that 60% of the world population is at risk if it turns into a global pandemic. That's 80 million people dead. For a comparison, 75 million died in Europe during WWII. If the mortality rate is 10% then 400 million will die.
The better solution is to contain the infection within each country until the new infection rate goes to zero. This requires testing, detective work to trace all exposures and effective quarantine. Singapore seems to be doing the best job of accomplishing this. China's new infection rate has decreased dramatically relative to the total number of infections. But both of these countries are more strongly and centrally controlled than the US. We also need to stop all international travel. Isolating your population is a powerful technique. Today I could not buy an airplane ticket to Beijing on Travelocity, but could buy one to South Korea, Hong Kong and other areas of significant infection. Again, this will have a serious impact on the economy.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
Mortality Rate Changes Based Upon Velocity of Infections
People like to cite 2%, but that goes up to 15-20% by many estimates with poor or overloaded medical care.
Seems like our "leaders" are aiming high.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. . Not an easy one for me to write about. Seems a bit tougher or more permanent to go through the thought process that writing requires.
And there are so many more connections that are just friggin' nuts. Food shortages, for instance. It is a perfect bug amidst a perfect storm that's being blown by perfect people.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Infection rate is currently unknowable
1. China lies about current statistics--probably since the epidemic began
2. If COVID-19 follows other influenzal illnesses, at least 30% will be asymptomatic. This makes mortality estimates futile at this point
3. Incubation period may be as long as 45 days according to anecdotal reports
4. Most available test kits are nonspecific for COVID-19, although more precise kits are now being manufactured.
Unknowns --
Not the only thing that is so far unknown. Back in 2014 as people were panicking over the Ebola outbreak, it was easy to check out the basics: incubation period (short), infectious period (when symptomatic), transmission rate (low), prognosis once infected (very bad), and effective methods to contain the outbreak (low-tech). The panic was unwarranted.
So far, none of that seems to have been determined for this virus. The lockdowns and quarantines in China is the only clue I can see that Chinese epidemiologists are seeing a far more dire profile than what the macro stats to date indicate. US annual influenza data from the CDC: 9 to 45 million illnesses, 140,000 to 810,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 to 61,000 deaths. Those deaths are concentrated in the elderly and those with compromised immune systems; China is publicly reporting that same for the coronavirus. The data --again to date-- from those quarantined cruise liners, doesn't conflict with the reports from China. So, while a new and previously unseen virus, what is there about it that has led the Chinese government to institute such extreme measures to contain it?
Just a hunch.....
Perhaps they know where it came from, how it arrived and don’t trust the source.
Perhaps they know how it came to be and know enough to know it will be difficult to control.
Perhaps they view it as a biological attack.
They certainly appear to be taking it very seriously. We should too.
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Biological attack
I hope our country is not behind it.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
My hunch, so far,
based on the steps taken by China's government and medical care community is that it was just troubling enough in the early stages that they elected not to take chances that this wasn't the "big one." Not only for its residents and domestic economy but also to avoid being labeled an international pariah.
They've demonstrated t the world what is required should a "big one" come into being, assuming that such a virus is possible. Even if this one is only slightly more contagious and results in slightly more deaths than the annual influenza it remains possible that absent containment efforts like those in China, it could have a larger impact than usual in other countries.
Today at LAX
A flight attendant on an arriving flight from Korea, tested positive for the coronavirus.
It doesn't take much imagination to run that scenario.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
MoA
has written that this is just not as bad as suggested.
First time B has let me down.
My concern is the people who survive by taking medication daily. They may not contract this virus, may die from lack of daily meds.
Where do they go in the statistical chart?
I am glad I wasn't the superintendent getting a dressing down about my protocol, when said protocol is supposed to be directed by the CDC.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
b may be right, but
he's not an epidemiologist, virologist, or medical researcher and he's relying exclusively on early reports from China that may have been incomplete or inaccurate. Therefore, he should have limited himself to observations and no conclusions. He doesn't seem mindful of the lesson from AIDS,early on only a few perplexing cases that were written off as anomalies by all but Mathilde Krim.
Best explanations why seriousness downplayed I have seen
1) Now sure if true, only seen one source.
2) Again only one source I read last night and I am not taking time to find it at this moment. Japan is concerned rate Coronoviris is spreading through healthcare workers. Second reference a US official or ex-official speaking about needing to protect our valuable halth providers.
3)My opinion. This will be a test for "the greatest healthcare system in the world" right before elections with a candidate who believes healthcare is a human right. Most people can live in denial until someone emotionally close gets really sick, dies or faces financial ruin with healthcare costs. Then they recognize precarious situation their own financial and physical health.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
That's chump change, and therefore unlikely to be
influencing anybody's decision-making. The S&P 500 lost 4000 times as much -- four THOUSAND times as much -- over Monday and Tuesday combined.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Republican Climate Change Plan
Reduce population, preferably socialists, surplus workforce and elderly. Save big $ on SS and medicare/medicaid. Less stuff bought and sold, but hey when you've hoarded multiple fortunes you can live off rents and fees. And of course pharmaceuticals. With all those guns it'll be open season those commie democrats, because somebodies got to take the fall. Less people, less CO2. Capitalism at it's finest.
Fortunately to date
"they" haven't developed that selective virus. 1918 influenza disproportionately killed young adults, and that's not an desirable outcome for "them."
Not only Republicans
really. I've read some perspectives that say our owners know climate collapse is coming and they will indeed work to cull out a significant part of the population since this planet, toxic and ruined as it is, cannot sustain the current levels of population. And really, since many of them do indeed think they can ride out collapse in their bunkers, what better way to ensure that than to kill off a few billion useless eaters, more for them that way.
The other things I have read point out that there is a Level 4 bio weapons lab in Wuhan, but it's not only Chinese who work there but US as well as other global players. Wuhan is a central transport hub in China, so what better place to get a pandemic started and with all that transport going through, and funny, a patient zero or original source somehow cannot be determined...
Most of us out here also know a global depression IS coming, so this may take the economy down and not only China can be blamed but nature as well - no one's fault, not the fault of the central bankers who've driven debt to unsustainable levels, nope, just mother nature and don't forget climate change is to blame as well. Then there is the added bonus of destabilizing China just a bit further, which I think most of us out here know is a big goal for our dollar denominated owners. Personally I wonder if this one is a test, a test of quarantine, a test of just how much the public will pay any attention, and maybe a test of how the US farce of a healthcare system handles it. Regardless, our owners care nothing for us and that should be very evident to the US population but it isn't.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
A few things
occurred to me as I was listening to the briefing. One; it was stated that only 12 states have the testing kits available for use. Then upon later questioning it was stated that it was not 12 states but 12 health departments that have the kits and those tests still need to be sent to the CDC for results. That is a minuscule number of kits, not to mention slow response time.
Second; It was stated that "supply issues" are a problem. That strikes me as unnecessary and ludicrous. Does that mean the preppers are better prepared than the CDC?
Third; we're not really sure about the incubation period, could be 14 days, could be longer.
Fourth; the carrier may show no symptoms.
The Preppers are FAR More Prepared and Knowledgeable Than
the CDC. The CDC and the WHO are complicit in the spread, and soe and Snode are close to being on point.
The CDC had tested 426 times in the country since the outbreak as of Feb 24 -- total. 3 states have the ability to test, and the test is only 50% effective. Can't have an epidemic if you don't test anyone.
The extreme finish to the flu season is most likely due to COVID, but we can't know because nobody has been tested. There is anecdotal evidence from health care pros suggesting gag orders and methodological avoidance of testing. Case fatality rate (CFR) jumps up to 15-20% with poor or overloaded health care. We are going there.
This thing is, most likely, an apocalyptic event when it comes to civil society. I will be surprised if we have public gatherings after mid-march.
The level of ignorance and apathy from the population, and seemingly smart people from all walks, is astonishing, and is being inflamed by the schizophrenic actions and rhetoric from the CDC, WHO, and media. There are no adults or responsible entities to be found in positions of power. The head health official in Brazil suggested it is just the flu as their first case surfaced. In Iran the health director nearly went down in a sweating heap during a press conference where he suggested that quarantine was not effective for pandemic response.
I've been following this closely since Jan 20, and it's horrifying. It's like a slow motion train wreck in a school zone except global. And that teleconference was a complete embarrassment and offense to humanity.
I, again would recommend the links in the essay to you all. Dr. Campbell if you want a peer reviewed up to the date autopsy of the situation, Peak Prosperity if you want up to the moment stats and concepts. Both have been on point from their perspective - 2 weeks ahead of the media, WHO, and CDC.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Thanks for the
links. Will check them out latter.
Just looking at the costs of appropriate face masks
Very expensive! Like $600 for 100 disposable.
There was a $29 pack from Ukraine. They said the packaging could be squished or dirty due to storage or shipping. Yikes!
Although, it seems like this is something to buy now.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
I've been working on this dilemma for exactly one month today.
That's when I published this brief essay:
The email said, "Go buy as much food as you can store. Buy some virus masks at the drug store. Lock your doors and don't leave your house again."
The other day, I dropped a longish update in Evening Blues. Here are some excerpts:
.
Don't look to Big Government for help. We are actively drowning it in the bathtub, in the US — and privatizing what's left of it to billionaires to exploit.
Unlike the rest of the world, the US is simply not set up for public health operations. That's one on the reasons Americans are certain to be infected. It's mostly privatized and for profit, here. (The CDC found only three cities in the entire US that had the capacity to run screenings... so that's pretty much off the table.) It is highly unlikely that the US can enforce containment, quarantines, shutdowns, and screenings without shooting a bunch of people. And there are the homeless, who wander the streets and move from town to town. It goes without saying that the entire prison population will be infected and receive inadequate, if any, care.
WHO and the CDC have told Americans to prepare right now for a pandemic. The News Media in the US is not announcing this. Either is the government. And, people are preoccupied with the faux democracy extravaganza.
.
The CDC asks, "Can you stay in your home without leaving for two weeks to a month?"
.
.
I think I can isolate for two weeks at this point, but a month is doable. if you must go out, the CDC advises that you stand no closer than six feet to other people, or wear a mask. There are no more masks available in American retail stores that I've found.
Meanwhile: Tick Tock.
I've finishing a report on the only thing left: Emergency immune boosters. I will publish it in a few days.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
We Shopped Today... Looks Like We Have Food for 2 Months
I got the last 15 n95 masks at Lowes on an endcap in the very back of the store.
Pool shock for an endless supply of bleach and some gloves and food grade 5 gallon buckets. We're staying at a friend's place in FLA, but will be leaving in a little more than a week if nothing pops. Some other creature comforts and odds and ends are coming from Lord Business (Amazon) this week.
Man did Drumpf just put forth a MASTERFUL performance of national gaslighting. And the corporate media was absolutely abysmal. One good question was asked about testing. "How can you say you are confident when less than 500 tests have been given nation wide?" to paraphrase an Asian reporter. He just took it in stride asserting that we're all set, thank you.
No questions about the lack of testing kits or lack of knowledge about the spread of the disease. It was horrifyingly comforting. I have been wondering how he could think he could pull this off, politically speaking, given the global pandemic and health/epidemiologists out there on record on this topic.
I'm still floored by his chutzpah. Something to behold, for sure.
Thanks for the comments Pluto. I've been following seriously since Jan 20. I concur with you.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Testing kits
How many, how reliable? Depends on who you talk to. Now if enough people in a crowd tell us one thing when they don't really, then it's a different thing. More realistic. Who's pushing on who?
In HI testing kits are offered for $400 a piece ...
so, either you carry the virus and don't know you do, then the mask would help to get the virus into your own body from others by wearing the mask?
Or you have already been tested positive, does the mask help for the virus not to escape your body and be transmitted to others?
Or you have a sore throat and sneeze and cough, because you have a flue and have not been tested, as, heh, if you try to test everyone who has flue symptoms, the test kits prices go up to $10000 a piece?
I think the situation is so ridiculous that it is best just to not kiss your babies or lover and go to bed alone. You have to wash your feet too, not only your hands. Don't forget that.
Sigh. What a fubar situation and discussion.
https://www.euronews.com/live