Even the mouthpiece of the progressive movement (CNN) is waking up to a reality that was always glaringly obvious. In this story CNN reports on a new UN report: The world is facing multiple famines of “biblical proportions” in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation . . . “While dealing with a Covid-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley told the UN’s security council. “There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid-19 than from the virus itself.” . . . When added to the 821 Read More ›

Thank you to the UD News Desk for this article in which Coyne is quoted as saying this: The error is taking what is possible and making people think that this is what’s common or probable. **klaxon horns sounding** IRONY ALERT: The entire Darwinian edifice rests on this very foundation. Nice of Jerry to let us all know that it is an impossible foundation upon which to build any theory.

This account of the report states: Preliminary results from New York’s first coronavirus antibody study show nearly 14 percent tested positive, meaning they had the virus at some point and recovered, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. That equates to 2.7 million infections statewide — more than 10 times the state’s confirmed cases. Cue the science deniers: Jim Thibodeau and Orthomyxo, you’re up. How are you going to dismiss this latest study in furtherance of your calls for hysteria and panic at the expense of dispassionate reason?

Here: Have fun watching. END

Guess the sources of these statements: Worst case scenario planning encourages counterproductive overreactions in which law-enforcement techniques and drastic anti-civil liberties measures are used as the first resort, rather than the last resort. “the law enforcement/national security approach” to fighting a pandemic “converts the exception into the rule by treating everyone in the general population as a potential threat who warrants coercive treatment.”  we must ‘trade liberty for security’ is both false and dangerous A conservative media personality? Right wing blogger? Radical libertarian? No, no, and no. They are from the ACLU’s 2008 report “Pandemic Preparedness: The Need for a Public Health—Not a Law Enforcement/National Security—Approach.” Because the ACLU saw this coming, they were prepared. Which is why it is Read More ›

Government is good at imposing overarching regulations. Making finely tuned (or even roughly tuned) adjustments to fit particular circumstances? Not so much. This is nowhere more apparent than in the government’s decision to shut down “elective” procedures everywhere, even though the need to so so varied in the extreme from place to place. This article provides some details on the fiasco. a friend who works in a cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) in rural Virginia called recently and told me about how they had reorganized their entire system around caring for coronavirus patients. They had cancelled most “non-essential” procedures, imposed furloughs and pay cuts, and created a special ICU ward for patients with COVID-19. So far, they have had only Read More ›

Also, earlier:, a friend writes to say, this follows up Cristobal Vila’s 5-million-views classic from 2010, Nature By the Numbers: Sleep tight.

Jerry has again hit gold, and so here is Dr Didier Raoult, in his own voice, with English sub-titles: Let us view and discuss. U/D: it will be helpful to take time to follow this video also, where others have a say. (As time permits, I will put up some screen captures as updates below.) Let us view and let us think together. END F/N: Let me stack screen shots, first, who and what we are dealing with: Next, the study: Note, for reference, its approval: Research protocol approved by the ANSM [= “Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé (ANSM)”, i.e. National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products] and the Île-de-France CPP Read More ›