Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Gov. Kemp of Georgia heading to quarantine after Congressman Ferguson tests positive. The two were at a rally together on Tuesday.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/congressman-drew-ferguson-tests-positive-for-the-coronavirus/6V66LODAAFBB5OZ2XDVNUKPUJY/

[iam416]

If we're waiting for Pennsylvania to count votes then this thing has gone way off the rails. It's certainly conceivable, I guess, but it would mean the polling is uniformly and grossly in error.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The CDC's "NO SAIL ORDER" will expire at midnight Saturday night meaning cruise ship operations out of US ports will resume on November 1st.

Of limited interest to posters here, of great interest to me on two counts: (1) Cruising is a selfish retirement past time that I miss, (2) What is going on in the restart of cruise ship operations from US ports and waters is a microcosm of what can be done at a macro level to essentially eliminate and/or control at manageable levels infections with SARS-CoV-2.

You don't want to know the details. I've seen them. They're complex and rigorous. It's just a step below the BT's designed to fail approach to playing BT football. The difference is that the cruise lines were heavily involved in developing infection control protocols that would satisfy the CDC. Failure is possible but less likely because principals with a stake in outcomes were involved. Nonetheless it's a re-start in an industry that has lost billions in operating revenues. Considering we're seeing pronouncements of "dire consequences" with the "SURGE" of the virus globally, letting the No Sail Order expire tomorrow is almost tacit admission by the CDC that things are not as bad as a lot of people are making it out to be. It's also saying targeted mitigation measures, in this case aboard cruise ships, are possible while allowing people to socialize and enjoy a degree of normalcy in what most consider close quarters and a high risk environment for the spread of the virus.

There are strict mitigation measures - most are common sense - and detailed protocols that must be followed for dealing with an infection in a crew member or passenger occurring aboard. Embarkation and debarkation testing will be conducted using diagnostic RAPID-RT/PCR devices with saliva or nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected by trained crew and placed in the device. Results are available in minutes. Screening antigen testing will NOT be used as it is not considered sensitive enough. I'd disagree for the purpose it is being used but I get why RAPID RT/PCR diagnostic tests have been chosen over rapid antigen tests. A cruise ship will be as close to a "bubble" as it can be and if the cluster that occurred in March - although small in scope and over-played - among several cruise lines can be avoided, it makes no sense that just about anything can be done safely ........ it takes TESTING to do that though.

The restart won't be like turning on a switch and presto-change-o 100's of cruise ships will be operating. November will be a period where limited test sailings on just a few ships for each of the major cruise lines using crew and probably employees acting as passengers will take place to test protocols. If they pass CDC's muster on these, passengers will start cruising, probably in early to mid December, on these ships but in restricted numbers - about 50% of capacity. Provisions to insure passengers mask and distance will be in place. It's working in Europe and Asia even as cases "surge" there. Shocking.

Anyway, I'm booked on a short cruise out of Miami that departs December 28th for 5 nights and calls on Key West and Cozumel then returns to Miami. It is the 5th of that many cruises I had booked this year - 4 of them were cancelled in 2020 and moved to the same time frames in 2021. This one will probably go and I hope I'm on it ....... after they scrub the passenger manifest to get to 50% capacity.

[lineygoblue]

I've already cancelled my February 2021 cruise, and I took a refund. They nearly begged me to re-book later in 2021, but I declined. The cruise was originally supposed to sail out of Ft. Liquordale on a Saturday. About a month ago they notified me it would be departing out of Miami on a Monday. That was strike 3 for me, when added to Covid.

I still want to cruise, but I'm going to wait a bit.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I'm booked on a short cruise

...is that like the short bus???

[lineygoblue]

You should be braising some short ribs.

Get to it.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Here's some depressing news for your Saturday morning, pre-game cup of coffee:

Can’t wait for the pandemic to end? The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, an independent body with 137 member-states, says it will not be the last. An expert panel warned this week that not only are pandemics becoming more frequent, but unless they are handled differently, they will spread faster, kill more people and do more damage to the global economy. The destruction of natural habitats as well as the trade and consumption of wildlife are to blame. Both lead to closer contact between humans and animals, making cross-species infection more likely. The panel estimates that birds and mammals are host to 1.7m yet-to-be discovered viruses, of which 540,000-850,000 might affect humans. It prescribes a shift from reactive pandemic responses to approaches that reduce the risk of future outbreaks, such as habitat conservation. Serendipitously, those approaches could help in the fights against climate change and biodiversity loss, too.

The left never fails to grab an opportunity to blame most things on climate change. Sure, there is that but as many have pointed out here technology is the great equalizer. We don't have to don birkenstocs, embrace the vegan lifestyle to eliminate bovine flatus that is allegedly polluting the atmosphere, ban nuclear power, join climate accords that are anti-competitive and injurious to the US economy and any number of stupid things the left demands the US do.

TBC, yes, pandemics will increase but the notion that we reduce their impact by saving trees and protecting wildlife habitat so as to decrease human contact with it are absurd. If countries are going to prevent the devastating global economic and social impact wrought by SARS-CoV-2 in the future, ban wet markets - the real problem behind the introduction of SARS in all its forms, MERS and Ebola to the human species - and hold countries where governments think it is culturally appropriate to eat the shit sold in wet markets accountable for containment when a virus starts to spread. Start with the fucking Communists of the PRC. That's the problem not the lack of habitat conservation or biodiversity protection.

[iam416]

It would seem one way to limit dangerous human-animal contact is to kill off dangerous species. In the environmental playbook, that's right after nuclear power as a potential solution.

I give environmentalists some credit, though. They hate ALL humans. That beats the coastal liberal elites who just hate white folks, mostly white male folks.

[WingsFan]

[Jeff Buchanan]

More shocking COVID news: hardest hit provinces in Italy show evidence of herd immunity. There are caveats but the study that appears in the Economist this week advances those findings. Evidence is mounting that spread of the virus can be beneficial regionally but at a cost in initial deaths. Bergamo, Italy, is the town studied. While it had a high CFR in the spring, it takes 100000 tests to find 220 positives ..... the virus is essentially eradicated there. A while ago epidemiologist were suggesting NYC had evidence of herd immunity. They were shouted down.

[lineygoblue]

Sadness.

Sean Connery has died this morning. He was 90.

He delivered the Red October to America.

RIP captain.

EDIT: oops .. wings beat me to it ...

[lineygoblue]

Watching the ABC affiliate out of Flint, WJRT Channel 12 this morning while sipping my coffee.

Couldn't help but notice the overwhelming number of Biden ads. Which leads me to the question. If Biden is so far ahead in Michigan, with Trump having "no chance" of overcoming Joe's lead, why is the Biden campaign dumping so much money into a TV market that is thought to be solidly pro-Biden?

Since 8:30 am EST when I turned on my TV, I've seen at least 12 Biden ads on just that one station. My TV has been on less than an hour, and I'm being inundated by Biden ads.

But he's "solidly ahead" in Michigan.

[Ghengis Jon]

It's an over reaction to the Hillary debacle. HRC ignored MI during the campaign as it was "110% in the bag". Biden won't make that mistake.

Look at the money thats involved. This is what that idiotic Citizens United decision has wrought.

biden.JPG




Trump.JPG



What I find interesting, but not surprising, is that Trumps re-election committee is a for-profit incorporated organization. Legal fiduciary responsibility is not to elect Trump but to turn a profit?

[THE_WIZARD_]

Losing Eddie was devastating but now James Bond? Who is next...Rocky Balboa?

[AlabamAlum]

It’s always a sad day when a Scot dies.