caulfield12

Jared Kushner about to make his first public appearance...this should be interesting if he takes questions. Guess we’ll never get a 9/11 Commission Report to figure out what went actually wrong so as to be better prepared in the future...because “impeachment/media/hoax.“ Sighs again. Another aspect of the Treasury/monetary policy moves....the pressing needs in Europe. Investors are selling what they can to keep their money in dollars due to the unprecedented amount of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which threatens to paralyse the global economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve opened the taps for central banks in 9 new countries to access dollars in hopes of preventing the coronavirus outbreak from causing a global economic rout. The dollar pared gains just before the Fed announcement. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/forex-markets-european-central-bank-coronavirus-in-focus.html

I meant literally....from 3.5 to 10-10.5%. Should have clarified. Some states, like Texas, it’s up 1,600% in two weeks. In this case, it’s probably more accurate to go state by state, and also simply trying to intuit states that aren’t capable of reporting accurate numbers of claims due to online crashes and inability to get through via the phone numbers.

Yeah, the breathtaking (and heartbreaking) documentary is what really got me interested in the reading. Usually, it’s the other way around.

What do you know, two Trump states in Iowa and Nebraska are mostly following the rules (also, lesser population density) and still have lots of school districts open as of this week.

“So, the media is absolutely responsible for this. But, one should not think the media is the media, OK? 90% of them are working for the Democrats, they're working for the left. And you know, why you would pay so much attention to what I say, hey I'm flattered, great, you want to write about me? That's great. And as you know, Ray, and they know, if you defame me or slander me, you'll see me in court." https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/politics/devin-nunes-coronavirus/index.html Devin Nunes has to be one of the worst, now that IA Rep. Steve King is quiet. Check that, he’s actually taken to comparing the head of the Army Corps of Engineers to Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf. Going with all the wartime analogies...

Sounds like eastern Long Island...Manhattanites fleeing the city and hoarding all the goods/groceries (through an army of assistants and line-waiters) the year-round population (much more middle class) needs to survive. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/politics/kansas-coronavirus/index.html Topeka, KS residents struggling to follow mayoral requests...reminiscent of conversations from a week ago.

One of the most striking statistics of the last few days is Germany hitting 500,000 tests per day in a much smaller country when we’re touting that we ramped up to 100,000 per day...that’s not counting the 160,0000 backlogged at Quest and 500,000 that aren’t being used because they’re in the wrong places to meet current needs, private hospitals and testing centers, etc. Pretty jarring that the UK and US need to learn so much from other countries about how to get this right. Germany’s still under 1000 deaths and they’re still extremely critical of their own response so far and looking to make continuous improvements. And Florida is still exempting religious services from the stay-at-home order. Sigh.

https://news.yahoo.com/behind-scenes-kushner-takes-charge-235545283.html You know you’re in serious trouble when a secret government cabal behind the scenes led by Jared Kushner offers the greatest promise. The senseless death threats to Dr. Fauci are just the icing on the cake.

6.648 million UNE claims Converting into a percentage, that’s roughly 10.5% right now. Rise of 7% in less than one month. Seems 15% bottom is going to end up on the conservative side.

Gov. Cuomo just pushed the timeline for apex or peak to the end of April, with deaths extending in a straight line in June/July/August. First time the possibility of no baseball this season really hit home.

Here’s the answer, take it as you will. 10,000—40,000, the facts around the world on the ground are no different, except for a higher mortality rate than originally projected (3-4% is where we sat here for about two months.) https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3078120/china-rejects-claims-inaccurate-coronavirus-death-tally-wuhan https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-governor-didnt-know-asymptomatic-people-transmit-coronavirus-1495695 A stunning admission of deadly ignorance from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who says he only just learned that asymptomatic people can transmit #Covid19. “ndividuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours.” pic.twitter.com/T7NZWk2GDR — Andisheh Nouraee (@andishehnouraee) April 2, 2020 In a bizarre turn of events, information the rest of the nation had in January didn’t reach Georgia Governor Brian Kemp until April: “Individuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours. https://t.co/v1nGdzTy5y

16 min ago Only some medical supplies from overseas going directly to coronavirus hotspots From CNN's Leyla Santiago, Priscilla Alvarez and Kristen Holmes Only a portion of the medical supplies being flown in by the Federal Emergency Management Agency from overseas are being allotted to critical hotspots -- the rest are going onto the private market. Competition between states and the federal government has been a source of frustration for governors trying to shore up equipment to treat patients with coronavirus, according to multiple officials. The Trump administration has touted the incoming flights, billing them and the equipment they're bringing in as a reprieve to states desperate for supplies. But states are not the sole recipients of the equipment, according to a FEMA spokesperson. Supplies will also be sent to the private market, where states have been in fierce competition with each other to get hold of hard-to-come-by supplies. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/austin-spring-breakers-coronavirus-trnd/index.html About 70 people in their 20s chartered a plane from Austin, Texas, to Mexico for spring break two weeks ago. They went against the advice of White House officials who asked that people avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 and nonessential air travel. Now 44 of those people have tested positive for coronavirus -- all of them University of Texas at Austin students, a university spokesman told CNN on Wednesday. Finally, if Covid-19 overtakes the Dharavi and Kibera slums in Mumbai...well, it’s like those supposedly watertight compartments on the Titanic.

Here’s the problem. Robert O’Brien (fourth National Security Advisor now) isn’t even qualified for his position. He, Pompeo, Navarro...are out there blasting China on conservative media outlets. Fine. But what happens when he’s part of a briefing with the President? He quickly remembers how Trump keeps circling back to the trade agreement, tariffs rolling billions in, President Xi and I had a great call, Heartland is being saved by agricultural purchases (that still haven’t come close to replacing lost markets). Poof. Dude (O’Brien) then says absolutely nothing at all about China in the briefing. Can someone in the administration be consistent, for once? Last week or so, it was Wuhan and China/Chinese virus every other sentence. Then he’s suddenly coming to the aid of stigmatized Asian communities (“lots of great people, I know many personally...great deal makers”) and protecting them from racist attacks he practically cheered on himself. The whiplash back and forth is just incredible. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/coronavirus-biden-and-other-democrats-blast-trumps-health-care-rejection-212619771.html Then he’s somehow saving many millions more by....drumroll, cutting off healthcare enrollment/participation. The Trump administration’s decision to not open a special enrollment period for the health care marketplace because of the coronavirus pandemic has garnered strong criticism from the Democratic Party. A White House official told POLITICO that the Trump administration would be foregoing an SEP, and instead “exploring other options.”

Trump’s new coronavirus argument: 2 million people are being saved Even as Trump adopts a somber, get-ready-for-the-worst tone, he has still sought to portray himself as a hero for his actions thus far. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/01/trump-coronavirus-millions-saved-160814

Shouldn’t they fire Dr. Redfield, then? Or Azar? NIH is a completely different entity...and Fauci cannot be connected in any way, shape or form to the rejection of WHO kits in Jan/Feb, decision to manufacture in the US and the debacle than ensued with those initial kits that set the timetable back by two weeks at such a critical time. Dr. Fauci and Cuomo are pretty much doubling his approval numbers. If he does push Dr. Fauci, a 78 year old by the way, out...and leaves Dr. Birx as the only competent face remaining in a country of the best and brightest scientific minds in the world, God help us all. She’s just not capable of separating herself politically from the administration, and this has been evident from the very beginning. If anything, he popped the bubble on overly optimistic projections, on weather cures, on untested drugs providing quick solutions, on the country going back to business in early April and then Easter weekend. He got the nickname Dr. Doom, but now many are managing to outpace his perceived negativity (the projection model with 82 or 84,000 total deaths was the one he most frequently cited.) Now, that’s considered WAY too optimistic compared to that 100-240k range, not to mention many are citing the 12-18 month timeframe as WAY too optimistic on a vaccine as well.

It’s not unlike the New Testament...many refuse to believe until they see or experience firsthand proof or evidence in their own families. The Doubting Thomas Effect, which was multiplied by the skepticism echoed/reinforced by both the President and the conservative media. I think a large part of this was coming right on the heels of the impeachment debacle...so it SEEMED in line with yet another conspiracy or hoax. In that sense, the Democrats also bear SOME responsibility for entering that process with no viable end game...which soaked up months of Congressional focus. Of course, the other obvious side of this is that empathy, compassion and non-transactional leadership are exactly what is called for to unify the country. As long as these briefings remain so politicized that networks are debating whether to carry them as they devolve consistently into partisan talking points from politicians...the country will continue to be divided or polarized. On the state and local levels, governors can evoke that sense of we're all in this together as Governor Cuomo has consistently done for weeks now...or DeWine, or Hogan, or Baker. On a national basis, though...we’re suddenly (at least for today) fixated on controlling the border with Mexico. It’s like an alternate reality t.v. show created to distract from reality and intentionally shift the focus back to campaign issues. “Warmer weather will slow or kill the virus.” That’s not a national suppression/mitigation strategy!

With the cloud over Chinese, US, Russia, Indonesia, Iran, India and Malaysian numbers...maybe even Japan protecting the Olympics, we still don’t really know as much as we need to. The most dangerous aspect of this is 33% of those testing positive being asymptomatic carriers or super spreaders. Btw, National stockpile of PPE wiped out today. We’re starting off press conferences worried about illegal drug interdiction moreso than PPE and ventilators? Sigh...interestingly, the hospitals are running low on Fentanyl supplies for intubation. And Maduro in Venezuela is now Public Enemy #1 because we’re still trying to do regime change. Fine. Just seems like we need to have our priorities straight.

Mortality rate for the entire world running at close to 5%, or roughly 1/2 of SARs with magnitudes greater transmissibility. That’s about 3x higher than the earliest anticipatory US projections in January and February. Or 50x the rate of the common flu. Even with under-testing or denied testing, arguably 20-30x more deadly. And we have a backlog of 160,000 tests currently waiting to be processed just at Quest Diagnostics alone. Ten day delays, 1/2 of total order backlogged. Same exact issues with LabCorp. That particular only handle 30,000 per day, max. 100,000 is our current daily NATIONAL capacity...and these next two months we’re going to need to be processing 5-10x that on a daily basis.

In fact, they just announced high school seniors can’t return any earlier than 5/11, Grade 10/11 no earlier than 5/18...kindergarten completely gone from January until August/September. They’re not even letting workers turn on individual heating and air conditioning units (attached to wall or standing)...for an indeterminate future for fear of a recurrence in public buildings. Centralized heating and air con is rare. Everyone outside is mandated to wear a mask even four months after this whole thing really took off. And the Gao Kao, Chinese version of the SAT, in an unprecedented move, has been moved back one full month to July 7/8, perhaps the hottest time of the year here (Beijing and Hubei Province are setting their own timelines for the first time ever, as well.)

Italy and Spain? Germany hit this hard with surveillance testing right from the start...considering they had some of the first cases in Europe, like WA and CA in the US. Having the optimal ratio of dedicated nursing care to patients has been yet another positive factor in their success, at least so far.

Would you give this drug/these drugs to ill family members based on a single French study of under 100 patients with no proper control group? And we’re missing a very important aggregate number indeed: a control group. How would a comparable group of patients have performed in these RNA tests for contagiousness under another standard of care? Even with or without azithromycin, if you can’t stand the thought of not giving them hydroxychloroquine? We don’t know. Without matched controls, and without being able to look at individual patient data, we just don’t know how good this treatment was or frankly if it was any good at all. We may be seeing a notable effect size in what is still a small trial, or we may be seeing something that’s not that remarkable or the result of a poorly controlled protocol. We don’t know. I understand the need for speed, and I’m glad that the Marseilles group is conducting studies and releasing them as preprints. But this work does not help us anywhere as much as it should. https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/03/29/more-on-cloroquine-azithromycin-and-on-dr-raoult

Speaking of... https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-truthers-question-death-toll-hospitalization-rate-212633252.html “GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open. NOW! If government doesn’t stop this foolishness...STAY IN THE STREETS. END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS,” wrote former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, who was floated as a possible candidate for a Trump administration post at the Department of Homeland Security, in a now-deleted tweet. “People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus ‘pandemic’ could be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively exaggerated by those who seek to profit — financially or politically — from the ensuing panic,” former Rep. Ron Paul wrote on his website. A week later, Paul’s son Rand, the senator from Kentucky, tested positive for the virus. Diamond & Silk ticket 2024

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/business/one-block-small-businesses-los-angeles/index.html Excellent story about one block of small businesses with mostly female entrepreneurs struggling to stay afloat in East LA....seems like it must be near Eagle Rock/Pasadena/Occidental.

Nobody is “praising” China these days except the WHO!!! Pretty much everyone has noted draconian measures taken here are simply not feasible in democratic countries. By noting Chinese who were ill or asymptomatic were separated from their families, it’s not praise but sound medical practice that should have been emulated more carefully by Italy. They (the press) are mostly praising Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan...and Germany, more recently. The Imperial College researchers estimate that in Italy 38,000 deaths have been averted (as of March 31 that is nearly four times the number of deaths recorded); and in Spain 16,000 – compared to a situation in which restrictions had not been introduced. In Italy’s case, they say, “despite mounting pressure on health systems, interventions have averted a health care catastrophe.” The researchers caution against relaxing restrictions, saying that “many more deaths will be averted through ensuring that interventions remain in place until transmission drops to low levels.” www.cnn.com Fwiw, Spain and Italy at roughly 21,500 deaths combined as of this moment.

https://www.mediaite.com/news/hannity-touts-unverified-coronavirus-treatment-from-ny-family-doctor-who-posted-unsubstantiated-and-irresponsible-facebook-video-about-outbreak/ Same NY doctor, or a different one? Or in Florida, Mar-A-Lago?