42 thoughts on “Friday’s Papers

  1. f_lawless

    Has anyone seen that recent interview with US multi-disciplinarian physician, Dr Zack Bush regarding Covid-19? A year ago, he actually predicted that the next pandemic outbreak would start in Wuhan province, China. I have to say it could be the most singularly impactful piece I’ve read/seen to date in terms of trying to understand the virus. He offers a unique insight and, particularly at the end, a message of hope and inspiration.

    https://youtu.be/5RAtFBvKrVw

    One thing he talks about is the significance of the human microbiome – the more it’s out of balance, the more susceptible we are to viral disease And that this virus, he says, is unmasking a certain toxicity of our environment – the hotspot areas have occurred, by and large, where people have been exposed to high levels of residues from industrialised farming coupled with high levels of air pollution.

    1. f_lawless

      Another thing he mentions is that there have already been scientific studies (eg. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31607599/) showing that flu vaccines increase susceptibility to known coronaviruses, in which case, if the medical establishment bodies truly believed that the threat posed by the new coronavirus far outweighs the threat posed by regular flu -as is presented in the media -then why aren’t they cautioning against getting the flu vaccine?

      Why has Varadkar advised that flu jabs should be stepped up this year if that could directly increase the threat of covid-19?

      1. SOQ

        I posted about Zack Bush last week and after a five minute glance at his website it was shot down by the usual suspects. https://zachbushmd.com/bio/ But his prediction based on pollution levels was pretty spot on. It takes a certain humility to accept that we are just a small cog in a large wheel and that mother nature will always have the upper hand.

        As for corona viruses in vaccines- that suggestion is coming from a number of different disciplines right now- particularity since the use of dog kidneys was introduced into vaccine manufacturing in 2012. The vaccine reformists- for want of a better name- are claiming that the vaccines are not being cleaned properly and that an injected corona virus may take a year or more to manifest.

        1. f_lawless

          thanks for the reply SOQ – unfortunately it can be difficult to discuss the nuances of such topics with certain people ;)

          1. f_lawless

            Thanks sidhe. Seems I had you figured wrong all along. I thought you were one of those commenters who contributed nothing much but ad hominem and vitriol – but up you pop with a lovely compliment for SOQ and myself. Have a great weekend!

        2. scottser

          soq, i find your posts refreshing and well informed. it’s just inevitable that contrary and contradictory opinions to the orthodoxy will be lumped together with some absolute nutbag horse dung masquerading as ‘expert opinion’.
          don’t be deterred though, keep up the good work.

        3. SB

          Do you mean that there might be a correlation with Covid19 victims and whether they had a flu vaccine last year?

          I’m very much pro-vaccines, but any line of investigation might be useful in the current crisis.

          1. SOQ

            It appears that way yes. As I understand it, the reason dog kidney tissue was introduced was that the vaccine development time is over halved and it is cheaper but, dogs carry shed loads of coronas so who knows.

    2. edalicious

      “the hotspot areas have occurred, by and large, where people have been exposed to high levels of residues from industrialised farming coupled with high levels of air pollution.”

      Could this just be high population density areas?

      1. Cian

        ‘It is difficult easy to get a man to understand say something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’
        –Upton Sinclair

      2. Suri

        It’s so easy to try and use that cynical reason to try and dismiss what he is saying. Why don’t you listen to some of his brilliant interviews. You might just learn somehting.

  2. Johnny

    What is positive message framing?

    AFR-Australian Financial Review
    “Digicel uses bankruptcy to sort out debt problems”

    “Earlier this week, Digicel filed for bankruptcy in Bermuda, where the company was originally incorporated, and made a separate filing for bankruptcy protection in the US.”

    https://www.afr.com/companies/telecommunications/digicel-uses-bankruptcy-to-sort-out-debt-problems-20200520-p54urc

    NYT-lede
    “Caribbean Telecom Provider Digicel Files for Bankruptcy”

    “Digicel, a Caribbean-based telecommunications and entertainment provider that services more than 20 islands in the region as well as Central America and Oceania, has filed for bankruptcy court reorganization.”

    “As a result, the group finds itself with unsustainable levels of indebtedness,” the company said.

    https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/05/19/business/ap-cb-caribbean-digicel.html

    …hey Joe its called BANKRUPTCY:)

    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/denis-o-brien-forced-to-lift-hood-on-digicel-in-debt-restructuring-1.4258505

    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/digicel-concedes-defeat-on-2023-bonds-in-debt-restructuring-1.4259337

    RTE
    “Digicel ends attempt to restructure debt.
    https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2020/0521/1139863-digicel-ends-offer-on-2023-debt-amid-low-take-up/

    Ps-if your going read anything on Digicel first piece above quite good.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      One door closes, and another one opens. Mr. Handout sure does land on his feet, always courtesy of FG FF…sorry, always courtesy of mine and yours hard earned taxes, distributed by FGF. And then paraded as a ‘successful businessman’. Easy to be a success when there’s always the trough available to guarantee the status quo.

      1. Johnny

        Rick Wilson republican strategist is somewhat famous for writing that everything Trump touches dies, with 100,000 dead in US by Monday and all flags at half mast there’s certainly something in that book…

        You could apply that to O’Briens business career,he was the most overrated junk bond and debt addict out there, strapping the co with high yield junk while was also stripping it off all its cash to pay and service his Anglo loans, which got called and resulted in another failure.

        The company needs equity/cash desperately after taking out almost a BILLION in cash what does he offer …a piece sh*t building in Haiti leased to Digicel thats collapsed in value since completion-anyone want a mid island office building Haiti that O’Brien claims cost 65 million to build but is now supposed be worth 25 on a island slipping into anarchy ?

        And Giddy – Dennis from Malta has some advise for the paddies…no really he said this just recently, what a d*ck !

        “We also cannot continue to be a ‘bed and breakfast’ location for multinationals taking advantage of our tax policies”

        http://collegetribune.ie/the-business-interview-with-denis-obrien/

  3. SOQ

    Up to 10,000 NHS workers will be given anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to see if it can protect them against the coronavirus in a new trial.

    Of course this a test for prevention rather than cure which was what the drug was originally designed for- albeit not with this particular virus in mind. It is highly unlikely that they are just deep diving into this trail without running smaller ones first and the results of those must have been promising to allow them roll this out on such a scale- total of 40 000 participants involved- no mention of if they are using zinc too mind.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8342933/UK-frontline-workers-given-hydroxychloroquine-clinical-trial.html

      1. SOQ

        Well it appears to be- given the scale I would be very surprised if not.

        I expect this is being influenced by India which jumped in feet first but another group that would be of interest is those who are already using the drug for other conditions- is the CoVid-19 infection rate lower or the same in countries which have high incidence of malaria for example?

        1. bisted

          …so this quack remedy is to protect NHS workers against coronavirus…despite the Chinese stating that using proper PPE proved to be what protected their frontline staff…well I suppose it’s a lot cheaper than providing safe equipment…

  4. Fintan Frobisher

    But aren’t they recklessly putting lives at risk by taking a 65-year-old drug whose side-effects are unknown and dangerous ?
    Oh, sorry, that was Orange Man Bad.
    As you were.

    1. Nigel

      Orange Man’s Babbling Completely Irrelevant To Medical Prescriptions By Trained Practitioners.

      1. Fintan Frobisher

        Trump’s medically-trained practitioner – ” Take 200mg of hydroxychloroquine daily and let me know if you feel any side effects ”
        NHS medically-trained practitioner to 10,000 volunteers – ” Take 200mg of hydroxychloroquine daily and let me know if you feel any side effects ”
        Orange Man Bad.

        1. Nigel

          Who said anything about Trump’s medically trained practitioner, assuming such a person isn’t a figment of his imagination? We’re talking about good ol’ Trustworthy Trump’s medical and scientific expertise. Orange Man so Bad you have to talk about someone who isn’t Orange Man.

          1. Fintan Frobisher

            He’s called Sean Conley.
            He’s the official White House doctor.
            Every POTUS has one.
            The FDA says taking hydroxychloroquine is “ultimately” a choice between patients and their doctor.
            Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are already FDA-approved for treating malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis and have been around since 1955.
            But hey, you’re a knucklehead off the internet so you must be right.

          2. Nigel

            It says a lot that that nobody would take Trump’s word for it that he’s taking advice from an exeprt in anything. What am I right about, though? That nobody should be taking medical, scientific, or indeed any advice from Trump? Yeah, only a knucklehead would treat everything he says with extreme skepticism.

  5. Johnny

    Charles: “Oh god. I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!”

    Camilla: (Laughs.) “What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers?” (Both laugh). “Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers.”

    Charles: “Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!” (Laughs.)

    WaPo taking the p*ss out the brits today – they can’t even launch a web site – go pick your fruit..

    “If we are to harvest British fruit and vegetables this year, we need an army of people to help,” said his ruddy-faced royal highness, wearing a tie and tweed sporting jacket, his hand jammed into the pocket of his wrinkled mackintosh, standing in his own well-tilled garden at Birkhall, his estate in Scotland.”

    “In his video appeal, the prince called for “pickers who are stickers.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/prince-charles-pick-for-britain/2020/05/21/b977d074-9a08-11ea-ad79-eef7cd734641_story.html

    1. Johnny

      Au contraire…

      ‘It also noted that Irish people are living longer than their European counterparts. Female life expectancy in Ireland has been similar to the EU average over the period 2008-2017 and is now just above it, while male life expectancy in Ireland has been above the EU average over the last decade.”

      http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=26946

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie