Coronavirus: COVID-19

**Frownland** · 07-25-2020, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

If you do, try to squeeze in a quote I heard from Neils Degrasse Tyson about flat earthers:

"The rise in flat earthers tells me two things about this country: one, it is a land of free speech; two, we have a failed educational system."

That ain't a bad one, but I think I'd rather find a similar quote from Sagan, the real mac daddy of pop science.

Or maybe this Pliny the Elder quote

"Here there is a mighty battle between learning one side and the common herd on the other: the theory being that human beings are distributed all round the earth and stand with their feet pointing towards each other, and that the top of the sky is alike for them all and the earth trodden under foot at the centre in the same way from any direction, while ordinary people enquire why the persons on the opposite side don't fall off–just as if it were not reasonable that the people on the other side wonder that we do not fall off."

OccultHawk · 07-26-2020, 06:55 AM

A little optimism from the NYTimes

Quote:

But declining antibodies, as indicated by commercial tests, don’t necessarily mean declining immunity, several experts said.

“Whatever your level is today, if you get infected, your antibody titers are going to go way up,” said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University, referring to the levels of antibodies in the blood. “The virus will never even have a chance the second time around.”

A small number of people may not produce any antibodies to the coronavirus. But even then, they will have “cellular immunity,” which includes T cells that learn to identify and destroy the virus.

“This means that even if the antibody titer is low, those people who are previously infected may have a good enough T-cell response that can provide protection,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

Hope that’s right. That would be great news.

OccultHawk · 07-26-2020, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Two Senate Republicans are pushing to extend stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief package to almost 2 million Americans who were excluded from the initial round.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) want to ensure that U.S. citizens married to foreign nationals without Social Security numbers receive the same $1,200 direct payments that tens of millions of other Americans received earlier this year.

Right on Ruby!

from The Hill

Lisnaholic · 07-27-2020, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

That ain't a bad one, but I think I'd rather find a similar quote from Sagan, the real mac daddy of pop science.

Or maybe this Pliny the Elder quote

"Here there is a mighty battle between learning one side and the common herd on the other: the theory being that human beings are distributed all round the earth and stand with their feet pointing towards each other, and that the top of the sky is alike for them all and the earth trodden under foot at the centre in the same way from any direction, while ordinary people enquire why the persons on the opposite side don't fall off–just as if it were not reasonable that the people on the other side wonder that we do not fall off."

That's a great quote, from so long ago too. I hope for the sake of the Greeks that there's no life after death, as they'd be tearing their hair out to see the state of the world today, like "We set it all up for you two and a half thousand years ago; democracy, scientific rationalism and geometry. How could you have screwed it up so badly!?"

(thanks for the PM, OH)

grindy · 07-28-2020, 01:18 AM

Greek democracy was very different from modern understanding anyway.

OccultHawk · 07-28-2020, 03:29 AM

Quote:

O'Brien's Covid-19 diagnosis is a near term health emergency. While others at the White House, including one of Donald Trump's personal valets, have tested positive in the past, O'Brien's exposure is particularly alarming based on the personnel that he should be regularly engaging with, not to mention the close quarters he operates in. The nature of how the White House is structured, alongside the demands of O'Brien's job, mean that critical US government personnel may have been exposed to the virus, including President Donald Trump himself.

CNN

Oh gee, I’m really alarmed members of the Trump administration are getting sick and might even die. Oh no.

Quote:

It's true that we don't know exactly when or how O'Brien was infected with the virus. He has reportedly said he believed he contracted it from his daughter, but because his ability to show up to work is so important to our national security it is unfathomable that he (and other senior officials) wouldn't take every safety measure possible to protect themselves and everyone they come into contact with.

oh ffs. **** you cnn

The Batlord · 07-28-2020, 05:45 AM

Stop tickling my dick. Either give Trump COVID or **** off.

Psy-Fi · 07-28-2020, 05:59 AM

Chainsmokers gig prompts inquiry over social distancing

Quote:

An estimated 2,000 people attended the gig, with ticket prices ranging from $850 (£661) to $25,000 (£19,450). Proceeds went to charity, according to the event's website.

Other performers at the event included the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, David M. Solomon, under his stage name DJ D-Sol.

Lisnaholic · 07-28-2020, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Police were called in when hundreds of lemmings attended a Cliff Party yesterday without social distancing. Police tried to break up the crowd but were unable to prevent many lemmings jumping to their deaths. Said one lemming, rescued at the last minute from the cliff edge, "I dunno, I just thought it'd be fun."

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Oh gee, I’m really alarmed members of the Trump administration are getting sick and might even die. Oh no.

Anyone else picking up a hint of sarcasm here, or is it just me?

Lisnaholic · 07-28-2020, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

Greek democracy was very different from modern understanding anyway.

Thank you for that reminder from the Historical Accuracy Police

07-28-2020, 01:18 AM	#2585 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Greek democracy was very different from modern understanding anyway. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*