Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

Yeah, I think this is a very dangerous time with respect to power grabs. When we come out of this, the D's are going to go full monty on extending the reach of government into our private lives. I think the biggest targets are going to be wide spread government surveillance - an absolute necessity in the COVID recovery phase, an NHS and unprecedented regulatory threats v. green house gas producing industries and the financial/banking industries.

There's some good stuff out there on the coordination between Apple and Google on developing blue tooth based tracking soft ware, downloadable as an app on android or apple OS phones that does not use any personally identifying info .... it only tells you if you get within a certain distance of someone who has tested + for COVID and that has been entered into a data base that reflects that.

[Jeff Buchanan]

This is in the weeds stuff medically. I waded through it but it is very encouraging. One of the docs in our group sharing info forwarded a lay article describing a COVID-19 recovered patient donating his serum for the purpose of recycling it to sick patients having a tough time recovering. I asked a question on scalability, did some research and found the article I linked to below.

There is a lot of valuable information gained on using convalescent serum from Ebola - it was that approach that stunted the Ebola epidemic in Africa. This article discusses the technicals of how convalescent serum works, how it might work v. SARS COV-2, the potential risks involved when it is transfused to COVID-19 infected patients, an alternative injectible formulation and how both could be scaled for use in the US and globally. It asks a lot involving cooperation between multiple entities both in the US and globally. The article states such a program would require executive action to pull everything together for success. It would be an unprecedented achievement if the use of convalescent serum became sufficiently available to bridge the gap between where we are now and a vaccine in the US let alone the world.

But, man, this is good Easter news.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763982

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yeah, I think this is a very dangerous time with respect to power grabs. When we come out of this, the D's are going to go full monty on extending the reach of government into our private lives. I think the biggest targets are going to be wide spread government surveillance - an absolute necessity in the COVID recovery phase, an NHS and unprecedented regulatory threats v. green house gas producing industries and the financial/banking industries.

There's some good stuff out there on the coordination between Apple and Google on developing blue tooth based tracking soft ware, downloadable as an app on android or apple OS phones that does not use any personally identifying info .... it only tells you if you get within a certain distance of someone who has tested + for COVID and that has been entered into a data base that reflects that.

Google is already monitoring your phone's whereabouts 24 hours a day.

[Ghengis Jon]

Due to the urgency of the covid pandemic, the FDA has relaxed some regs to speed things along in regards to testing. The article looks at the risks but hey, this is not the time to dawdle.

https://apnews.com/6f918ac77eefa34beaa381003a7663f9

[Ghengis Jon]

Yeah, I think this is a very dangerous time with respect to power grabs. When we come out of this, the D's are going to go full monty on extending the reach of government into our private lives. I think the biggest targets are going to be wide spread government surveillance....There's some good stuff out there on the coordination between Apple and Google on developing blue tooth based tracking soft ware, downloadable as an app on android or apple OS phones that does not use any personally identifying info ....

When pinging the cell tower system, the phone has a unique number attached as a routing identifier. In the old days it was the serial number of the processor, now its the number of the processor and the ID number of the carrier. Use the second part to identify the service provider and give them the first, you know the person. For Apple et al to state they don't track (actively or otherwise) is a bit of a stretch.

You know my stance on gov't or corporate surveillance. Gives me something to rail about once the Anti-Christ is voted out in November.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Google is already monitoring your phone's whereabouts 24 hours a day.

Sure ...... both Google and Apple went to court to prevent the release of personal data that the government has sought in the past. As I recall, they won those cases. So, private data collecting entities have not yet been invaded by the government.....yet.

The EU has strict guidelines about surveillance through the various apps that do that sort of tracking you're speaking of - much stricter than the US which is a bit strange.

My concerns deal with a break-down of exiting barriers to release of personal information in the name of national security. People will let their guard down and say, it's fine right now. While it might be "fine" right now, if the government obtains unrestricted access to personal data available from company's like Google and Apple, that would be very bad news and hard to take permissions back when all this is over.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Due to the urgency of the covid pandemic, the FDA has relaxed some regs to speed things along in regards to testing. The article looks at the risks but hey, this is not the time to dawdle.


https://apnews.com/6f918ac77eefa34beaa381003a7663f9

I think you can make the case that, indeed, "this is not the time to dawdle."

My take is that the FDA has let the genie out of the bottle with potentially damaging relaxed standards for test kits. I'm not well versed in the aspects of certification by the FDA and which requirements have been relaxed and which haven't. We do know this: in the US testing and the actual case numbers reveled through that process are inaccurate - to what degree I have no idea and neither does anyone else. Same goes for in-patient and triage testing kits designed to correctly manage patient's presenting for or actually admitted for care.

There is this narrative that the US needs more testing - it needs more accurate ways, not necessarily more unreliable testing, to determine the progression of COVID such that informed and effective public health policy can be made. Given the current state of US testing, officials responsible for that at the local and federal level are using other proxies to do that. In-patient and triage testing is another difficult testing problem.

Testing is a pretty complex animal. I've tried to understand the different kinds of testing products. The more I read about them, the more I'm convinced that there needs to be a strict process for bringing these tests - all the different types of them - to market and ultimate use in the various settings for which each test is designed to be used.

Interesting the WHO is really down on relying on the testing that is currently available in comparison to daily statements coming from many levels that, yeah, we've got plenty of testing. Read a definition of the various kinds of testing and where the WHO comes down on them ....... might explain why Trump, in all his medical wisdom, wants to defund this important organization. WHO is basically telling him he is FOS and should sit down and STFU. Nothing new for him in this mess.

https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/advice-on-the-use-of-point-of-care-immunodiagnostic-tests-for-covid-19

[Dr. Strangelove]

[iam416]

You know my stance on gov't or corporate surveillance. Gives me something to rail about once the Anti-Christ is voted out in November.

It'll be nice to see take aim at the socialist fascists that will be running the show come 2021.

[Ghengis Jon]

I have no love for authoritarianism from either side of the spectrum.

[CGVT]

It won't be a change. They already know. When I was in charge of the Coast Guard station in Burlington VT on Lake Champlain the Summit of the Americas was held in Montreal in 2001. I was involved in intel/security/planning meetings with the FBI, CIA, Border Patrol, EIEIO, etc etc. This was pre-Patriot Act. The eye opening thing I learned was that they knew. They fucking knew then and they know now. If you are worried about you privacy and "freedoms" you are just pissing in the wind, because, they already fucking know.
Don't kid yourself into believing otherwise.

[iam416]

I see that the Media has opted not to give Joe Biden the Brett Kavanaugh treatment. Raise your hand if you are, in any way, surprised.

#BelieveWallWomen...umm...WhoAccuseConservatives

[Jeff Buchanan]

It won't be a change. They already know. When I was in charge of the Coast Guard station in Burlington VT on Lake Champlain the Summit of the Americas was held in Montreal in 2001. I was involved in intel/security/planning meetings with the FBI, CIA, Border Patrol, EIEIO, etc etc. This was pre-Patriot Act. The eye opening thing I learned was that they knew. They fucking knew then and they know now. If you are worried about you privacy and "freedoms" you are just pissing in the wind, because, they already fucking know.
Don't kid yourself into believing otherwise.

Here's the thing and I certainly don't dispute your "they fucking know" assertion. Surveillance of US citizens is, to the extent practicable, restricted by law. When it comes to foreign nationals, the terms change. I am certainly aware that shit happens and people do get surveilled probably illegally but there are protections.

In the case of COVID, it would be very easy for Congress or the President by EO to temporarily relax the application of these laws for the purpose of managing the public health crisis. That's the danger. Having said that, there is a lot of grey area - room for interpretation - to take up positions against or supportive of 4A. Not here to argue that.

[Ghengis Jon]

Stoking paranoia ("I'll save you!!") amongst the evangelicals.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/12/politics/justice-department-religious-services-coronavirus/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial

[Dr. Strangelove]

Unless an effective vaccine and/or treatment comes sooner than expected, Minneapolis Fed chair foresees 18 months of rolling shutdowns

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-12/fed-s-kashkari-says-u-s-may-face-18-months-of-rolling-shutdowns