OT: Corona virus

[MakeeLearn]

Cuomo Orders All Residents To Wear Face Masks Or Covering In Public
1 hr ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cuomo ... li=BBnb7Kz

"NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced he will be issuing an executive order requiring all residents to wear a mask or face covering while in public.

"If you are going to be in a situation, in public, where you come into contact with other people in a situation that is not socially distanced you must have a mask or a cloth covering nose and mouth," Cuomo said during a press conference.

The news came as the state reported another 752 deaths, bringing the total to over 11,000.

The governor said the number is not entirely accurate as New York is beginning to release "probable" deaths from coronavirus in addition to confirmed deaths."

[MakeeLearn]

Zoo says coronavirus may force it to feed animals to each other
59 mins ago
https://www.foxnews.com/science/zoo-cor ... each-other

With coronavirus having emptied out zoos in Germany, the owner of one has suggested that she may have to resort to feeding some animals to the others in order to stay financially afloat.

"We've listed the animals we'll have to slaughter first," Neumünster Zoo's Verena Kaspari told Die Welt, as translated by BBC News.

Kaspari explained that killing some animals so that others could live would be a last resort, and "unpleasant," but even that would not solve the financial crisis they're currently facing.


-----------

Pay Per View opportunity.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Border Checkpoints Discourage Travelers Between States
April 8, 2020

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-a ... een-states


"Texas, Delaware, Florida and Rhode Island are stopping drivers with out-of-state license plates and ordering them to quarantine for two weeks, if they intend to stay in the state. Those entering the state for “essential” business reasons, such as commercial traffic, appear to be exempt.

Constitutionally, states cannot prohibit residents of another state from entering, but they can require quarantines or statements of purpose. "

In New Jersey you can't get back in if you are from New Jersey.

[MakeeLearn]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Border Checkpoints Discourage Travelers Between States
April 8, 2020

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-a ... een-states


"Texas, Delaware, Florida and Rhode Island are stopping drivers with out-of-state license plates and ordering them to quarantine for two weeks, if they intend to stay in the state. Those entering the state for “essential” business reasons, such as commercial traffic, appear to be exempt.

Constitutionally, states cannot prohibit residents of another state from entering, but they can require quarantines or statements of purpose. "

In New Jersey you can't get back in if you are from New Jersey.

Fuhgeddaboudit!

[MakeeLearn]

Life has become a Ken Kesey novel both at work and off work.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Life has become a Ken Kesey novel both at work and off work.

"You see these people? These are the real people."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RpJ0eVr-U0

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Life has become a Ken Kesey novel both at work and off work.

"You see these people? These are the real people."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RpJ0eVr-U0

Where is Nurse Ratchet when you need her ...?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Trump calls for halt to US funding for World Health Organization amid coronavirus outbreak
23 mins ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... li=BBnb7Kz


"The Trump administration will halt funding to the World Health Organization as it evaluates the agency’s “role in severely mismanaging” the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.

“Today I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Trump said at a White House press conference."

Good.

When WHO is unable to stop the next Ebola outbreak because of lack of funds and the re-opened economy brings it to the US again, will you still think that was the right choice? Granted their performance early in the outbreak was not stellar, but WHO was getting contradictory info just like the rest of us. It took a few weeks of careful observations to determine which info was correct and which was not. That doesn't amount to being useless overall IMO.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Yesterday evening I watched a YouTube how-to video and then cut my own hair, using scissors and comb. A first.

I did this once in 2010 when I couldn't afford to go get a real haircut (I had tried to go to a cheap regional chain place nearby that turned out not to exist). Honestly, I didn't do too bad a job of it, although made easier by the fact that my hair was probably 8 inches long and I was only cutting back to ~3-4 inches. My partner had to trim one spot before we went to her work's swanky holiday party, though. Middle of the back of my head - I just couldn't see/feel it.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

A Federal Ban on Making Lethal Viruses Is Lifted

Dec. 19, 2017



https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/heal ... s-nih.html


"Federal officials on Tuesday ended a moratorium imposed three years ago on funding research that alters germs to make them more lethal.

Such work can now proceed, said Dr. Francis S. Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, but only if a scientific panel decides that the benefits justify the risks.

Some scientists are eager to pursue these studies because they may show, for example, how a bird flu could mutate to more easily infect humans, or could yield clues to making a better vaccine."


"When the moratorium was imposed, it effectively halted 21 projects, Dr. Collins said. In the three years since, the N.I.H. created exceptions that funded ten of those projects. Five were flu-related, and five concerned the MERS virus.

That virus is a coronavirus carried by camels that has infected about 2,100 people since it was discovered in 2012, and has killed about a third of them, according to the World Health Organization."

Mildly concerning, but we know that this coronavirus wasn't made in a lab.

Is "the scientific panel" the institutional review board process? If so, that is rather stringent and any risk of harm to humans has to be mitigated or conclusively shown to be worth it. It's worth noting that "compassionate use" falls outside of this process specifically because treatments that haven't yet met the stringent "prove it doesn't have negative side effects" part of the process would not pass.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Jeez. Hasn't been that low in 25 years. A fall in demand is a big factor but the second cause is the deliberate effort by the Saudis to badger the Rooskis into lowering production cooperatively by turning on the spigots.

The good news? The US, under the carbon-friendly leadership of Trump, will meet its CO2 goals for 2020. [:)]

The bad news? The IMF is predicting a 25-35% drop in world economic output.

Also notable that there was a trilateral agreement between the Saudis, Russia, and the US to reduce oil production.

I guess we're all OPEC now.

[Cap Mandrake]

It's a negotiation.

The US is assessed TWICE the amount of the PRC and they are the ones serving up the bat soup.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

It Begins – East and West Coast Blue States Team Up To Begin Economic Civil War…
April 13, 2020
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/20 ... civil-war/


"t seemed clear several weeks ago this was going to happen. East coast blue state governors and West coast blue state governors are uniting to begin the economic civil war planning to block any White House effort to re-open the U.S. economy. The founders planned for this in Article I, Sec 10 (paragraph 3):

“No state shall, without the consent of Congress, … enter into any agreement or compact with another state”.."


"EAST COAST — Six Northeast governors will form a working group to come up with a plan to restart [control] the regional economy, they announced on Monday."


"WEST COAST – The governors of Washington, California and Oregon on Monday announced they were working on a joint plan for reopening [controlling] their states’ respective economies once it is safe to lift coronavirus-related restrictions."

This extremely partisan source (and that's a kind assessment) isn't a constitutional lawyer (among other things), so you can safely ignore these hysterics.

[Cap Mandrake]

Just found out today my uncle passed away from COVID-19 yesterday in Indianapolis. He was in a good quality nursing home but one of his dinner buddies got sick. The home was in lockdown for 30 days so my cousins didn't get to see him.

I had an anxiety dream about him on Monday. [:(] He was 86 and had some significant health problems. He worked as an artist for the Navy. [:)]

Thanks Winnie the Pooh

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Trump calls for halt to US funding for World Health Organization amid coronavirus outbreak
23 mins ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... li=BBnb7Kz


"The Trump administration will halt funding to the World Health Organization as it evaluates the agency’s “role in severely mismanaging” the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.

“Today I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Trump said at a White House press conference."

Good.

When WHO is unable to stop the next Ebola outbreak because of lack of funds and the re-opened economy brings it to the US again, will you still think that was the right choice? Granted their performance early in the outbreak was not stellar, but WHO was getting contradictory info just like the rest of us. It took a few weeks of careful observations to determine which info was correct and which was not. That doesn't amount to being useless overall IMO.

The president can't halt Congressionally-appropriated funds. I.e., funding is not at the president's discretion. Congress has the power of the purse and if the appropriations that pass Congress say that $100M is to be spent on a hunt for Sasquatch, then that $100M has to be spent and it has to be spent on a hunt for Sasquatch. The president can't say "I'm preventing this from being spent."

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna


The president can't halt Congressionally-appropriated funds. I.e., funding is not at the president's discretion. Congress has the power of the purse and if the appropriations that pass Congress say that $100M is to be spent on a hunt for Sasquatch, then that $100M has to be spent and it has to be spent on a hunt for Sasquatch. The president can't say "I'm preventing this from being spent."

That DEPENDS. It depends on the specific wording of the bill. There are many examples where the Congress orders the executive branch to certify foreign compliance with demands made by the Congress before disbursing funds. Is such a qualifier in a bill pertaining to the WHO? I have no idea. Should a bill contain such wording on UN expenditures? Damn right it should.

Who wants to bet on how many foreigners are at the UN HQ in NY right now?[;)]

[Cap Mandrake]

You could probably pay the ENTIRE US assessment to WHO if the foreign diplomats at the UN just paid their parking tickets?

Well, maybe not.... $16M in 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016 ... ng-tickets

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Just found out today my uncle passed away from COVID-19 yesterday in Indianapolis. He was in a good quality nursing home but one of his dinner buddies got sick. The home was in lockdown for 30 days so my cousins didn't get to see him.

I had an anxiety dream about him on Monday. [:(] He was 86 and had some significant health problems. He worked as an artist for the Navy. [:)]

Thanks Winnie the Pooh

My condolences. May he Rest In Peace with fair winds and following seas.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Just found out today my uncle passed away from COVID-19 yesterday in Indianapolis. He was in a good quality nursing home but one of his dinner buddies got sick. The home was in lockdown for 30 days so my cousins didn't get to see him.

I had an anxiety dream about him on Monday. [:(] He was 86 and had some significant health problems. He worked as an artist for the Navy. [:)]

Thanks Winnie the Pooh

My condolences. May he Rest In Peace with fair winds and following seas.

Thanks man, although I'm not sure he ever put to sea. I think he mainly illustrated missiles and the like. Even so, very peaceful notion.

[RangerJoe]

Mississippi mayor nixes ban on drive-in services after DOJ intervention

A day after the Justice Department intervened on behalf of a local church in a lawsuit over a ban on drive-in services in Greenville, Miss., due to city COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the mayor now says such religious gatherings are allowed.

“Today, given the definitive guidance from the governor, in the city of Greenville we will allow drive-in and parking lot services in the city – so long as families stay in their cars with windows up,” Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons said in a press conference Wednesday streamed over Facebook Live.
.
.
.
He said that during a call with mayors from around the state, Gov. Tate Reeves had told the local leaders that drive-in services “are safe” when congregants follow social distancing guidelines and remain in their separate cars with their windows up.

"The City of Greenville fined congregants $500 per person for attending these parking lot services – while permitting citizens to attend nearby drive-in restaurants, even with their windows open,” Attorney General Bill Barr said Tuesday, echoing concerns of critics of the ban who said it singled out religious institutions unfairly.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/missis ... tervention