Sunday, July 19, 2020

Walking The Path

Proceeding,

  It has been a long Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Jenny's surgery process starting hours before dawn, then work that day, and a long work day Friday, bike home and drive to Yoakum. Saturday in Yoakum without a computer, doing things in the garden and arranging for some house repairs, shelling black eyed peas, driving back to Austin, cooking dinner for Jim, eating and talking about our lives. 
  Jenny came through her extensive cervical spine surgery well, and still has her voice, and is able to walk, and is out of the ICU. This is still a long road, but Jenny has a good constitution for walking it.

  What road are we really on? We presume to know where we are going, but we had no idea at Christmas that we'd be where we are today. It's just getting weirder, because that's all it can do until we (meaning "you", as it always does) do one thing that makes sense, one at t time, and maybe re-do one thing repeatedly, until it works. Millions of people die going through transitions, a lot of them with the help of our owners and their military. 
Our turn may also be approaching, and maybe some of our owners , too, this time around...

Jim Kunstler: A Bigger Picture
​  ​Right now, start planning where you might go and what you can do. The turmoil will be filled with opportunity to find ways to be useful to other people, to devise work-arounds for ruptured systems and relationships, in getting food to people, making things they need, distributing them, fixing things that are broken where possible, and moving people and stuff from point A to point B. There will be plenty of work for people who are willing to do it. Keep in mind that it’s entirely up to you to make good choices.
​  ​Don’t despair, and if you find yourself veering toward it, get over yourself. It’s just part of becoming stronger than you thought you could be,  and the times will require it of you anyway. The offices that gave out brownie points for avouched victimhood will also be shutting down. Won’t that be a relief? Welcome to the joyful illumination that life is difficult for everybody. Who is ready for this epic journey?


​Most of human history has happened without money, without currency. How could this be possible? I am attempting to create the conditions ​necessary to slide into a life with less money, with less commerce. That's where I can go today.
This Is A Financial Extinction Event, Charles Hugh Smith:
  The lower reaches of the financial food chain are already dying, and every entity that depended on that layer is doomed.
  Though under pressure from climate change, the dinosaurs were still dominant 65 million year ago--until the meteor struck, creating a global "nuclear winter" that darkened the atmosphere for months, killing off most of the food chain that the dinosaurs depended on. (See chart below.)
  The ancestors of modern birds were one of the few dinosaur species to survive the extinction event, which took months to play out.
  It wasn't the impact and shock wave that killed off dinosaurs globally--it was the "nuclear winter" that doomed them to extinction. As plants withered, the plant-eating dinosaurs expired, depriving the predator dinosaurs of their food supply.
  This is a precise analogy for the global economy, which is entering a financial "nuclear winter" extinction event.

Walking In Your Footsteps, The Police

Roger Seheult MD Discusses the role of vitamin-D in helping the body fight the effects of SARS-CoV-2 virus, with special focus on the arterial lining, the endothelium, where the battle for life is fought. Recent paper has more vitamin-D data, and it's all the same, just more. Take 5000 units per day, or whatever it takes to get your level above 60. Thanks Marjorie

Here is Vladimir Zelenko MD's COVID-19 case series data. This man got no respect for his successful pioneering of outpatient hydroxychloroquine, zinc and azithromycin treatment, except from his patients practicing physicians, and Ilargi at The Automatic Earth, who found most of these COVID links today... 
I first  saw Dr Zelenko's data on April 1, 2020. Wasn't that a long time ago, now? The problem was that it was presented on an independent blog by a non-medical blogger, and mailed to President Trump. No respect. 
I finally posted it, zits-and-all, as the last link in the 4/13/20 "Horowitz Proboscoid Viral Interceptor" entry.  http://www.johndayblog.com/2020/04/horowitz-proboscoid-viral-interceptor.html
​  ​"The world seems to have forgotten common medical knowledge: that we want to treat any patient with an infectious disease as soon as possible," said Derwand. "What differentiates this study is that patients were prescribed these medications early, in the outpatient setting. Dr. Zelenko treated his risk stratified patients immediately and didn't wait for the disease to intensify."
​  ​"The well-tolerated 5-day triple therapy resulted in a significantly lower hospitalization rate and less fatalities with no reported cardiac side effects compared with relevant public reference data of untreated patients," said Sholz. "The magnitude of the results can substantially elevate the relevance of early use, low dose hydroxychloroquine, especially in combination with zinc. This data can be used to inform ongoing pandemic response policies as well as future clinical trials."
​  ​"It's unfortunate much of the news coverage surrounding hydroxychloroquine has been negative," Zelenko added. "This study suggests that when taken early and together with zinc and azithromycin, this cost-effective drug can be part of the solution to the pandemic."


​Dr Zelenko speaks for himself, answering questions on video. He is not wishy-washy. "This is battlefield medicine."   
I think this is a few months old, maybe late April.  He had treated over 1000 patients and had not seen Torsade des pointes cardiac arrhythmia. He "was in direct contact with the White House" and FDA approval had come through.

​Ilargi found this "Deep Dive on Hydroxychloroquine", which has good links to studies and national population data that show that case fatality rates drop when countries institute early outpatient treatment with hydroxychloroquine. 
(My daughter, Holly Day MD says that her hospital in San Antonio had unusually low case fatality rate from March, until mid May, when the Infectious Disease specialists banned the use of hydroxychloroquine. Deaths have been higher since then. Not good numbers any more.​)

​Can you catch COVID twice? Yes, especially if it was mild the first time. It may also be that you could have an overly vigorous "cytokine storm" immune response with a second infection, if you did make antibodies the first time. (People with a mild first case , especially young people, in China, were less likely to mount an antibody response. They just cleared it from their noses. It didn't attack their lungs, guts or blood vessels. Main goals of a vaccine could be to make profits and control people?)​

Yet again. Wear a mask when indoors with other humans. 
  Wearing a mask helps to protect you and others from the spread of COVID-19, which is primarily transmitted by droplets.
  Face coverings reduce the risk of infection by 65%, according to research.
Aerosol particles we expel when we talk are the second major mode of transmission - and are more difficult to defend against.
  Social distancing and wearing a mask prevent you from spreading COVID-19, but they also protect you from getting it, two experts explain in a new video discussion of coronavirus transmission.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/experts-a-mask-cuts-your-coronavirus-risk-by-65/

​On a lighter note, David Stockman says Tony Fauci gets the limo in the clown-car-parade all to himself.

​Since when does the CIA need authorization from Donald Trump?​ 
(It's a good thing Russia doesn't really do this to America. Our allies in Israel have-our-backs, don'tcha know?)
Trump Secretly Authorized CIA To Run "Very Aggressive" Cyberwar Ops With No Oversight
The Central Intelligence Agency has conducted a series of covert cyber operations against Iran and other targets since winning a secret victory in 2018 when President Trump signed what amounts to a sweeping authorization for such activities, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter.  

​  ​By now, you probably already know about the massive Twitter hack that has taken place this evening where, in summary, the following has taken place:
​  ​A massive hack which allegedly has originated at a Twitter employee with access to the user management panel was, has affected hundreds of billionaires and politicians, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Kanye West, Elon Musk, Wiz Khalifa, Apple, Uber, Jeff Bezos, Benjamin Netanyahu
​  ​Tweets urged people to send money to a Bitcoin address; over $113,000 has been sent so far
Twitter has investigated and appears to have resolved most of the issue after taking down the offending Tweets and restoring access to the site for those with blue checkmarks, all of whom were previously shut down from the site
​  ​For the full details on the hack, you can read our report on it here. But now, an even more sinister subplot is emerging from the ruins of Twitter's reputation.
​  ​Sources that are "close to or inside" the underground hacking community have leaked a screenshot of what is allegedly an internal software panel used by Twitter to interact with user accounts, according to a late Wednesday night report from Vice.The tool is said to be used to help change ownership of popular accounts and, in the case of the hack, was said to play a role in usurping the high profile accounts involved. Here is a photo of the panel, with portions redacted by the leaker of the photo to Motherboard.  

​The Bank Of England Governor signals that Central Banking Digital Currency will be coming. This is the right scale for a digital currency, the proper application of bitcoin (while central banking and the internet persist).​
  As confirmed by several economic outlets, including Bloomberg, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey took part in a VTALK with students this past Monday for Speakers for Schools. When the subject of digital currency came up, Bailey said:
  "We are looking at the question of, should we create a Bank of England digital currency. We’ll go on looking at it, as it does have huge implications on the nature of payments and society. I think in a few years time, we will be heading toward some sort of digital currency."

There is a serious offer on the table to reconstitute Europe as Europe, the land of the Europen peoples. This is at odds with the doomed globalist project. Here is a statement from the opening of the Europe Uncensored Conference:
The Opening (François-Xavier Bellamy)
​  ​The Moderator of the event Mr. Bellamy laid down the ideological framework of the views of an “Eastern” European Union and a summary of its history from this other point of view. He did such an excellent job that it is best to take a look at what he actually said without summation.
​  ​“Politics could finally come to an end and dissolved itself in the efficient administration of the economy, there was nothing more to care about nothing left to be protected…”“All of this, even the human condition itself was to be replaced and this was called progress…”
‘Societies were not made of citizens but of consumers… work was only a boring means to buy leisure…”
“Anything that dared still to claim a higher a higher value than individual life, and immediate pleasure was an danger to denounce…”
​  ​“No limits could now, stop a never-ending movement preventing any historical continuity to occur, no rules to stop the vibrations of the markets to absorb all of human life and no borders to refrain the migration that was supposed to become our common horizon. In this moment it looks like (the) European Union was a synonym for this end of history… we are in 2020 now watching the end of the end of history and this is what we should talk about today…”
​  ​“We are united by the whole history of a civilization, Europe is not an international organization that would be empty of any content, though we denied it in the last decades we are united by our common roots. Eastern, Central, Western Europe share a common heritage and simple eyes can see it…”​ ...​
​  ​Calling a “spade a spade” is always a good option for a Populist, the key thing is, despite these strong words, the message of Mr. Orbán and the other leaders is one of changing course, not jumping ship. So far the subcontext of the language used at the event sounded like a warning shot. They are essentially trying to politely yet loudly tell the EU that the ideological side of the status quo is not working. They want to shift the EU towards a pro-Christian, less-Liberal, pro-Family organization not tear it all down for the sake of some revolution. They want the Eastern vision for what the EU could be to come into mainstream acceptance.​..
   Europe Uncensored was a friendly warning that something is wrong in society with a gentlemanly offer to fix it together. But no offer lasts forever.  

​Appreciating Human Cultures​

11 comments:

  1. I like Fauci as a clown car king, but I think Stockman has his head way up his ass on proper responses to something like covid. Underlying his logic is the old joke about theoretical physicists approaching any unknown: 'First, let us enviusion a perfect sphere'.

    Exactly what contemporary USA/foreign/global governing body is Stockman imagining exists to bell the perfectly spherical cat described here: "you don’t fight the disease with a one-size-fits all strategy of generic locksdowns, quarantines and social regimentation."? With or without a reasonably sane leader?

    Sounds like your loveliest's cervical surgery is more delicate than the cervical fusion my wife had back in '98. I will carry her (as I imagine her) in my prayers. You never know when some dude's spiritual fetish might prove useful.

    Dr. John, when I say that you have been the only reasonable sane reliable medical voice I've encountered, at least in terms of practical approahces both individual and group, I mean nothing less.

    fwiw, I have less than zero use for digital currency. I see no evidence of such being reponsibly coupled to the physical resources/promises that alone are what currency is exchanged for. (Buy things likie stocks and bonds with currency is neither responsible nor reliable despite what they say, in my most unhumble opinion.

    Until I see currency that says, "Good for x-calories/joules or energy source equivalent", I will view existing and proposed currency systems as I do your average modern casino: push-button virtual realities intended to fleece more than foster.

    I'd forgotten about that old Police song!

    Footsteps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-QvIId_RuQ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Robin,
      I just liked mocking imagery and bullshit calling from Stockman. He's asmart guy in economics. The medical thing is really granular and there is no soultion that does not sacrifice human lives, economy, and end up with a lot of residual morbidity.
      The biggest problem, as I see it, is making things worse for more people, than is necessary for them, in order to bolster the fear that supports the power of some elite faction in this power-struggle-at-the-end-of-the-universe, to paraphrase the title of a Douglas Adams book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Restaurant_at_the_End_of_the_Universe
      Jenny had 2 discs and the body of a vertebra essentially removed, 4 levels fused, and not without pain and unpleasantness, which seems like it may resolve.
      Jenny has a loving and intrepid heart. I am profoundly grateful that we are married, in every sense.
      Thank you for complimenting my sanity and medical judgement, Robin.
      I agree with you about digital currency, but I was very, very specific in my statement that it is a good thing for central-banks, and massive transfers between nations. The very high transaction cost is justified by the magnitude of the transfers.
      Would the Bank Of England be able to impound Venezuela's gold? If so, it's a useless invention.
      Yeah, Thermoeconomics...
      My contribution to potentially-useful macroeconomic thought was to monetize depleted uranium as a global reserve currency, rather than shooting up tanks and towns with it, to enter the water supply, and all those developing babies. The powerful nations are the ones who already have a lot, so they can just put it in big vaults.
      (We might also be in direct contact through email, but this is pleasant.)

      Delete
  2. Dear Doctor Day, I have tremendous respect for you and the work that you do so I am inclined to accept your decision on Masks. But I also respect Dr Merrcola. I am sure that he has a team researching his words every day. So today he says that masks do not work. Have you read his report? https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/07/19/are-face-masks-effective.aspx?cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1HL&cid=20200719Z1&mid=DM600307&rid=920048932

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      I'm in a different position than you are, since I am trained in medical science, and other physical sciences, and have done research. I am mostly not influenced by opinions in matters of medicine, except things like opinions on surgical technique from experienced surgeons.
      What I find to be the case is that this mask divide has become a battlefield of identity politics, and I'm sorry to see that. Many of my correspondents are vry strongly n the civil-liberties-infringement side of that political divide. Whenever somebody has their mind made up, they seek further proof to bolster their position. It's human nature. Anthony Fauci MD has taken both sides on the mask position, and explained that he lied the first time to save us from ourselves, since old people and medical personnel needed them, so it was a good-lie. He's seems comfortably smug.
      I really did not formulate an opinion on masks until there was good enough information, and it keeps being born out.
      As I told one of my correspondents, who edits an online newspaper, "this is not a hill to die on". My Marine Dad would say that. Just wear the mask when indoors with other people to reduce the spread of virus both ways. The efficacy is more for catchint the outgoing blobs than blocking the incoming particles, but it does work both ways. Asians don masks like putting on a t-shirt.
      I keep one in my pocket and put it on when I'm going in to HEB.
      I'll forfeit my job over a mandatory-vaccine, if it comes to that.
      That's a hill I'm willing to die on.

      Delete
  3. Mercola:"Not a single randomized controlled trial with verified outcome has been able to detect a statistically significant advantage of wearing a mask versus not wearing a mask, when it comes to preventing infectious viral illness."
    Day: The nature of the pandemic does not lend itself to paying thousands of volunetters to wear or not wear masks as they go about their lives for a year. I call bullshit on this standard sniping argument. Absence of such a trial goes up against the population statistics from Asian countries that do wear masks, and that one German town that started wearing masks 2 weeks before the rest of Germany, and reduced their curve 2 weeks earlier.
    Mercola:"All-cause mortality data are not affected by reporting bias. A detailed study of the current data of all-cause mortality shows the all-cause mortality this past winter was no different, statistically, from previous decades. COVID-19 is not a killer disease, and this pandemic has not brought anything out of the ordinary in terms of death toll"
    Day: All cause mortalities are WAY up since March in every city that had a wave of COVID cases. What do we care about last winter? Mercola keeps trying to say that the absence of evidence (he ignores evidence, so it does not exist) is Evidence of the absence of benefit. Again, he is merely refusing to accept the massive pile of evidence that masking in public places, mainly enclosed spaces, but also packed stadiums, reduces real-world spread of viral infection between people.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "I agree with you about digital currency, but I was very, very specific in my statement that it is a good thing for central-banks, and massive transfers between nations. The very high transaction cost is justified by the magnitude of the transfers."

    Gotcha.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A basic knowledge of Newtonian physics and grammar school micropathology makes it abundantly clear that masks reduce contagion. The mask deniers are like asking gravity to be proven a real phenomenon yet again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. In countries that routinely wear masks, what is the infection rate of the seasonal flu? Are those Japanese children that we see on videos so protected from viruses and bacteria that their immune system does not function?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would have to research those statistics, Mary
      There are a lot of different factors relating to spread of viral contagion.
      Japanese cities are pretty crowded, and Japanese children play with each other and dirt.
      The mask-wearing is predominantly among adults in crowds and on trains. The little kids don't commute on trains alone, but go to neighborhood schools.
      Mask wearing took off big time in Japan during the 1918-1919 influenza, and became a societal fixture. Japanese are very polite.

      Delete
  7. Sorry I just read your answer about putting on the mask from in your pocket. I have taught surgical technique and have a concern about your mask. Hopefully it is brand new when you pull it out of your clean pocket. I see people using and re using a fabric mask or even the paper ones. Once you have worn it, it has to go in the garbage like a used Kleenex. I appreciate your position but I go back to omething that my mother used to say--if you are going to do something, do it right. Few people using masks have any idea of how to wear them, discard them, or care for the fabric ones! It is a virtue signalling device only.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The SARS-CoV-2 virus does not persist long on a mask surface. At the clinic we have been using our N-95 masks on a 3 day rotation for droplet-clinic. Cloth masks also help. In my mind, it is mostly about risk mitigation, and also about showing consideration for others, by filtering my outgoing breath. It certainly does that, no matter how many times it has been used. Mask use in social settings is different from mask use during open surgery. Real sterile-technique is important to prevent peritonitis, for instance. It's good to have habits from the OR, of course. I did a lot of surgery until I stopped doing deliveries and c-sections in 2005.
      I never lost a mother...

      Delete