Polar bears on Norwegian islands fatter and healthier despite ice loss, scientists say
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2l1xpz03no
Polar bears on Norwegian islands fatter and healthier despite ice loss, scientists say
By Victoria Gill
January 29, 2026
Scientists expected the opposite, but polar bears in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard have become fatter and healthier since the early 1990s, all while sea ice has steadily declined due to climate change.
Polar bears rely on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt the seals that they rely on for blubber-rich meals. The bears’ fat reserves provide energy and insulation and allow mothers to produce rich milk for cubs.
Researchers weighed and measured 770 adults in Svalbard between 1992 and 2019 and found that bears had become significantly fatter.
They think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey, including reindeer and walruses.
The discovery, published in Scientific Reports, was particularly puzzling because of the impact of climate change in Svalbard.
During the same period that this research was carried out, global temperature rise has increased the number of ice-free days per year in the region by almost 100 – at a rate of about four days each year.
“The fatter a bear is the better it is,” explained lead researcher Dr Jon Aars from the Norwegian Polar Institute.
“And I would have expected to see a decline in body condition when the loss of sea ice has been so profound.”
Walruses have been officially protected in Norway since the 1950s, after they were hunted to near extinction. That protection has boosted their numbers, and apparently provided a new source of fatty food for polar bears.
“There are a lot more walruses around [for them to hunt] these days,” said Aars. “It is also possible that they are able to hunt seals more efficiently.”
He explained that, if seals have smaller areas of sea ice available to them, they will congregate in those smaller areas, presenting easier collective pickings for bears.
While this is unexpected good news for these Arctic predators, the researchers think it is unlikely to last.
As the sea ice continues to decline, bears will have to travel further to access hunting grounds, using more energy and depleting precious fat reserves.
The charity Polar Bears International points out that Svalbard’s polar bears were some of the most heavily-hunted in the world, until international protections were introduced in the 1970s.
Experts think the new findings could be linked to the population recovering from that hunting pressure. That, combined with an increase in the number of walruses – and of reindeer – in recent decades, appears to have provided the bears with a temporary boost.
Dr John Whiteman, chief research scientist at PBI said the results were “positive in the short term”.
“But body condition is only one piece of the puzzle. Other recent research on these bears found that more ice-free days reduced survival in cubs and in subadult and old females.”
Elsewhere in the Arctic, climate change is having a very different effect on polar bears.
There are 20 known sub-populations of polar bears across the Arctic.
In Canada’s Western Hudson Bay, where the most southerly and best studied bears live, a decline in the population has been directly linked to warming temperatures.
Whiteman added that that the long-term picture for polar bears was clear – they need sea ice to survive.
“Ice loss ultimately means bear declines, but [this study shows] that the short-term picture can be very region-specific.”
“In the long term,” he told BBC News, “if ice loss continues unchecked, we know the bears will eventually disappear.”
If AI does to manufactured goods the same thing that Moore’s Law did to computer memory, then poor people will live in 5,000 square foot mansions, rich people will live in 1 million square foot palaces, and the woke, radical left will still complain about income inequality.
https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1895202460568035382
https://twitter.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1895202460568035382
An asteroid big enough to destroy a city has a 1.9% chance of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_YR4
2024 YR4 is an asteroid between 40 and 100 metres (130 and 330 ft) in diameter, classified as an Apollo-type (Earth-crossing) near-Earth object. It was discovered by the Chilean station of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on 27 December 2024. As of 5 February 2025, 2024 YR4 was rated 3 on the Torino scale with a 1 in 53 (1.9%) chance of impacting Earth on 22 December 2032. NASA gives a Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale rating of −0.40 for 2024 YR4, which corresponds to an impact hazard of 39.8% of the background hazard level. The discovery has triggered the first step in planetary defense responses, in which all available telescopes are asked to gather data about the object and United Nations-endorsed space agencies are prompted to begin planning for asteroid threat mitigation.
Using NASA’s estimated diameter, mass, and density for 2024 YR4, the asteroid would release energy equivalent to 7.7 megatonnes of TNT (32 petajoules) if it were to impact Earth at a velocity at atmosphere entry of 17.32 km/s (10.76 mi/s). This would more likely produce a meteor air burst or, less likely, produce an impact crater. It could cause destruction as far as 50 km (30 mi) from the impact site and cause millions of casualties if it were to strike a major city like Mumbai or Lagos.
I wonder how many different “scientists” missed the simple math error in Megan Liu’s study that caused an unjustified panic over black plastic utensils. Oh look. Their organization is called Toxic Free Future. This is why I favor meritocracy instead of social justice or DEI.
https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1871248605719507289
https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1871248605719507289
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/black-plastic-spatulas-really-bad-164241783.html
Are black plastic spatulas really that bad? Your exposure to toxins from popular cooking utensils may not be as extreme as recent study suggested.
By Korin Miller
December 13, 2024
In October, home chefs and foodies collectively freaked out when research was published that detected toxic flame retardants in black-colored plastic. The study, which was published in the journal Chemosphere, detailed how high levels of these flame retardants were found in kitchen utensils, food containers, trays used to hold meat and even toys. Those flame retardants are linked with cancer and developmental issues, among other things.
The researchers ultimately concluded that recycling electronics that contain flame retardants was to blame, noting in the study that it was “resulting in unexpected exposure to toxic flame retardants in household items.”
Now, there’s a development in the story: As the National Post reports, the researchers made a miscalculation when crunching the data, suggesting that the findings aren’t as bad as they originally seemed.
So did you throw out your black plastic spatula for no good reason? Here’s what you need to know about the update — and what the data actually means for you and your kitchen.
The miscalculation was pretty big
The original study broke down a lot of different things, including the detection of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) in black plastic products. DecaBDE is a type of brominated flame retardant banned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021.
In the study, researchers estimated that using black plastic kitchenware could cause an intake of 34,700 nanograms a day of decaBDE. But, in a section of the study on “Health and Exposure Concerns,” the researchers said that amount “would approach” the established safe exposure limit set by the EPA (also known as a reference dose).
The study notes that the reference dose for decaBDE is 7,000 nanograms per kilogram of body weight a day; the reference dose for a 60-kilogram (132-pound) adult, it calculated, would be 42,000 nanograms a day. That would put this exposure at more than 80% of the EPA’s limit.
Here’s the thing: The math was incorrect. Sixty multiplied by 7,000 is actually 420,000, not 42,000. As a result, the exposure amount of 34,700 nanograms a day of decaBDE from black plastic is less than a 10th of the established EPA limit.
Megan Liu, lead study author and science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, tells Yahoo Life that this was a “minor point” in the study. “We feel bad that this happened,” she adds.
Liu says that she and her research team have submitted a correction to the journal, which should be published soon.
But this may not change the conclusion
Despite the mathematical error, Liu says that people should still be wary of black plastic kitchen utensils. “Our findings and conclusions are unaffected,” Liu says.
“Our conclusion was never drawn from this calculation comparison,” Liu continues. “These highly hazardous cancer-causing products shouldn’t be in the products that touch our food. There are safer alternatives out there.”
Liu also stresses that decaBDE “is just one type of chemical in one product that we saw,” noting that “some products had nine different flame retardants.”
Should you throw out your black plastic cooking utensils?
While the presence of decaBDE may not be as intense as previously thought, Liu still says that people should reconsider using black plastic cooking utensils.
“These products shouldn’t even have these flame retardants to begin with,” she says. “They’re still associated with cancer, neurological effects and developmental harm.”
But Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a toxicologist at MedStar Health, tells Yahoo Life that it’s important to keep the findings in perspective. “In the current study, researchers found high levels of bromine — and thus suspected contamination from brominated fire-retardant chemicals — in just around 10% of the black plastic household products tested, which suggests that the vast majority of black plastic household items do not contain these contaminants,” she says. As a result, most black plastic cooking utensils “may not pose an increased risk of toxicity to humans from this perspective,” Johnson-Arbor says.
Jamie Alan, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, also points out that the methodology for detecting these chemicals is different from how people use them.
“They measured the amount of chemicals in black cooking utensils by literally melting them down and running them through a machine,” Alan says. “We aren’t doing that when we are using these items. We still don’t know how much of the chemicals actually make their way into the food.”
And of the amount that does make it into food, only a certain portion will be taken in by the body, Alan says. “Overall we don’t know how much makes it into our body and the effects that these chemicals will have at that concentration, whatever that ends up being,” she says.
While the updated calculation has a lower impact than the original one, “this study just reveals one of the ways we’re exposed to flame retardants in our daily life,” Liu says. “We’re already exposed through our electronics, automobiles, furniture … this is part of the big picture of exposure,” she adds.
Liu says her advice is the same as it’s been: “If you can, reduce your use of plastic. Not just black plastic, but plastic in general, [which] can reduce your exposure to any harmful chemical additives.”
And yet another scientific study verifies that carbon dioxide is plant food. This is very good news for those of us who truly care about the environment.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad5f43/pdf
NASA satellite photo: Korean Peninsula at Night
South Korea is lit up everywhere.
The only part of North Korea that’s lit up is the capital city where all the rich politicians live.
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/worldview/worldview-image-archive/korean-peninsula-at-night
I asked ChatGPT: “If every female Boebert became a parent at age 18, and had a total of four children by age 36, and half of those children were female, how many years would it take for the Boeberts to exceed the mass of the observable universe?”
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
October 10, 2023
I asked ChatGPT:
“If every female Boebert became a parent at age 18, and had a total of four children by age 36, and half of those children were female, how many years would it take for the Boeberts to exceed the mass of the observable universe?”
This is how it answered:
In this scenario, every female Boebert becomes a parent at age 18, has a total of four children by age 36, and half of those children are female. This means each female Boebert has two female children. To calculate how many years it would take for the Boeberts to exceed the mass of the observable universe, we can use a similar method as in previous responses:
Start with one female Boebert.
At age 18, she has four children, half of whom (two) are female and will become parents as well.
These two female children follow the same pattern as their parent and each has four children, two of whom are female.
This process continues with each generation.
The number of female Boeberts in each generation follows a geometric progression with a common ratio of 2 (each female has 2 female children who will become parents). The total number of female Boeberts in the Nth generation is given by:
Total Female Boeberts = 1 * 2^(N-1)
We want to find the smallest N for which the total number of female Boeberts exceeds the mass of the observable universe, which we previously estimated at about 3 x 10^55 grams.
1 * 2^(N-1) > 3 x 10^55
Now, solve for N:
2^(N-1) > 3 x 10^55
N-1 > log base 2 of (3 x 10^55)
N > log base 2 of (3 x 10^55) + 1
Now, calculate N:
N > (log(3 x 10^55) / log(2)) + 1
N > (log(3) + log(10^55) / log(2)) + 1
N > (log(3) + 55 * log(10) / log(2)) + 1
N > (0.477 + 55 / 0.301 + 1)
N > (0.477 + 182.724 + 1)
N > 184.201
So, it would take approximately 185 generations of female Boeberts to exceed the mass of the observable universe. Now, we need to estimate the total time based on an average generation time.
If we assume an average generation time of around 25 years, then:
Total time = 185 generations * 25 years/generation ≈ 4,625 years
It would take roughly 4,625 years for the Boeberts to exceed the mass of the observable universe under these hypothetical conditions. Please keep in mind that this is a highly theoretical scenario and doesn’t account for real-world limitations or constraints.
In August 2022, a NASA report on the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai stated, “The huge amount of water vapor hurled into the atmosphere, as detected by NASA’s Microwave Limb Sounder, could end up temporarily warming Earth’s surface…. The excess water vapor injected by the Tonga volcano… could remain in the stratosphere for several years.”
Tonga Eruption Blasted Unprecedented Amount of Water Into Stratosphere
By Jane J. Lee and Andrew Wang
August 2, 2022
The huge amount of water vapor hurled into the atmosphere, as detected by NASA’s Microwave Limb Sounder, could end up temporarily warming Earth’s surface.
When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to temporarily affect Earth’s global average temperature.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He led a new study examining the amount of water vapor that the Tonga volcano injected into the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere between about 8 and 33 miles (12 and 53 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
In the study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, Millán and his colleagues estimate that the Tonga eruption sent around 146 teragrams (1 teragram equals a trillion grams) of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – equal to 10% of the water already present in that atmospheric layer. That’s nearly four times the amount of water vapor that scientists estimate the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines lofted into the stratosphere.
Millán analyzed data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite, which measures atmospheric gases, including water vapor and ozone. After the Tonga volcano erupted, the MLS team started seeing water vapor readings that were off the charts. “We had to carefully inspect all the measurements in the plume to make sure they were trustworthy,” said Millán.
A Lasting Impression
Volcanic eruptions rarely inject much water into the stratosphere. In the 18 years that NASA has been taking measurements, only two other eruptions – the 2008 Kasatochi event in Alaska and the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chile – sent appreciable amounts of water vapor to such high altitudes. But those were mere blips compared to the Tonga event, and the water vapor from both previous eruptions dissipated quickly. The excess water vapor injected by the Tonga volcano, on the other hand, could remain in the stratosphere for several years.
This extra water vapor could influence atmospheric chemistry, boosting certain chemical reactions that could temporarily worsen depletion of the ozone layer. It could also influence surface temperatures. Massive volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa and Mount Pinatubo typically cool Earth’s surface by ejecting gases, dust, and ash that reflect sunlight back into space. In contrast, the Tonga volcano didn’t inject large amounts of aerosols into the stratosphere, and the huge amounts of water vapor from the eruption may have a small, temporary warming effect, since water vapor traps heat. The effect would dissipate when the extra water vapor cycles out of the stratosphere and would not be enough to noticeably exacerbate climate change effects.
The sheer amount of water injected into the stratosphere was likely only possible because the underwater volcano’s caldera – a basin-shaped depression usually formed after magma erupts or drains from a shallow chamber beneath the volcano – was at just the right depth in the ocean: about 490 feet (150 meters) down. Any shallower, and there wouldn’t have been enough seawater superheated by the erupting magma to account for the stratospheric water vapor values Millán and his colleagues saw. Any deeper, and the immense pressures in the ocean’s depths could have muted the eruption.
The MLS instrument was well situated to detect this water vapor plume because it observes natural microwave signals emitted from Earth’s atmosphere. Measuring these signals enables MLS to “see” through obstacles like ash clouds that can blind other instruments measuring water vapor in the stratosphere. “MLS was the only instrument with dense enough coverage to capture the water vapor plume as it happened, and the only one that wasn’t affected by the ash that the volcano released,” said Millán.
The MLS instrument was designed and built by JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the Aura mission.
Scientists have proven that pollution by humans has caused an increase in the LGBTQ population of flies
https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-discovered-alarming-side-effect-100000446.html
Scientists have discovered an alarming new side effect of air pollution: ‘We had not thought about this before’
By Eliot Engelmaier
June 20, 2023
Air pollution is having an unbelievable effect on flies, altering how they attract one another and mate.
What’s happening?
Insects typically find their mates by heavily relying on pheromones –– chemicals that allow males and females to locate each other and mate.
These pheromones are distinctive to males and females of a species, and in the case of flies, they are being disrupted and degraded by the pervasive increase of ozone in the air, which is a result of air pollution.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany discovered these effects by developing an experiment that mimicked ozone levels similar to what is measured during the summertime in cities.
Typically, male flies’ pheromones attract females while simultaneously repelling other males. But increased ozone levels caused a decrease in pheromones, which caused females to be less attracted to males and led to courtship between male flies.
“We could explain that males started courting each other after a short ozone exposure because they obviously could not distinguish ozonated males from females,” said researchers Nanji Jiang and Markus Knaden. “However, we had not thought about this before. Therefore, we were quite puzzled by the behavior of the ozone-exposed males, which lined up in long courtship chains.”
Why is this important?
The effects of this news are substantial. It is not just flies that are affected –– ozone is thought to affect the patterns of many insects.
Pheromone communication is not only used for mating. It also helps insects identify members of the same species and their communities, such as bee hives, wasp nests, and ant colonies. Nothing sounds more chaotic than a bunch of ants, bees, and wasps confused and out of place.
The chaos doesn’t stop there –– insects such as bees and butterflies are vital pollinators. A decrease in pheromones equals a decline in reproduction and population. The effects could be detrimental, as 80% of our crops require insect pollinators.
What can I do to help prevent this?
According to Bill Hansson, head of the Evolutionary Neuroethology Department and co-founder of the Max Planck Center Next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology, “the only solution to this dilemma is to immediately reduce pollutants in the atmosphere.”
Immediately reducing pollutants in the atmosphere will require efforts from large brands and corporations that release a significant amount of pollutants. Still, some steps can be taken on an individual level as well. Individuals can drive their cars less, use less energy, and opt for more sustainable shopping options, to name a few.
Images Show Mars Has Extreme Global Warming
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98168&page=1
Images Show Mars Has Extreme Global Warming
By Amanda Onion
Dec. 7, 2001 — It might seem like the weather’s getting warmer here on Earth, but Mars appears to have an even bigger global warming problem.
High-resolution images snapped by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor show that levels of frozen water and carbon dioxide at the Red Planet’s poles have dwindled dramatically — by more than 10 feet — over a single Martian year (equivalent to 687 days or about two Earth years).
I don’t blame Greta Thunberg for the fact that her prediction from 5 years ago turned out to be wrong. What I do blame her for is that she has not displayed enough intellectual curiosity to try to find out why her prediction was wrong.
It’s OK to be wrong about something. It’s OK to make predictions that turn out to be false.
But a good scientist will try to learn why they made the mistake. A good scientist will try to learn why their prediction was wrong.
This is a dead link to a tweet that Greta Thunberg made 5 years ago. The reason the link is dead is because she deleted it:
https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1009757391515156480
Fortunately, the Internet Archive has an archive of the tweet at this link:
Her tweet from 5 years ago says:
“A top climate scientist is warning that climate change will wipe out all of humanity unless we stop using fossil fuels over the next five years.”
This is a screenshot of how the archived version of her tweet appears on my computer screen:
Like I said, it’s OK to be wrong about something, and it’s OK to make predictions that turn out to be false.
However, by deleting her tweet, instead of trying to learn why her prediction was wrong, she is showing a complete lack of scientific curiosity.
And that is wrong.
Science is all about learning from past mistakes.
I asked ChatGPT: “Does the transporter on Star Trek kill every person who uses it, and then manufacture an exact duplicate?”
I asked ChatGPT: “Does the transporter on Star Trek kill every person who uses it, and then manufacture an exact duplicate?”
This is the answer that it gave:
“No, the transporter on Star Trek does not kill every person who uses it, and then manufacture an exact duplicate. The transporter is a device used to teleport people and objects from one location to another. It works by breaking down the molecular structure of the subject and then reassembling it at the destination. The goal of the transporter is to safely transport the subject from one place to another, not to kill them and create a duplicate.”
“In the Star Trek franchise, the transporter is generally considered a safe and reliable technology, and it is widely used for transportation purposes. While there have been instances in which the transporter has malfunctioned or been used in unusual ways, leading to strange and sometimes dangerous consequences, these instances are few and far between.”
“It is important to remember that the Star Trek franchise is a work of fiction, and the depiction of the transporter and its effects on people and objects is not meant to be taken as a scientific explanation of how teleportation would actually work in the real world. The transporter is a science fiction device that is used to drive the story and create exciting and imaginative scenarios for the characters.”
Top female scientist canceled over 13-year-old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween costume
Top female scientist canceled over 13-year-old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween costume
By Jennifer Kabbany
March 7, 2022
‘UW Medicine is helping to ruin a woman who devoted her career to finding a cure for HIV’
Highly decorated virologist Julie Overbaugh has been forced out of a position of leadership at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and resigned her faculty affiliate position at the University of Washington School of Medicine due to accusations of racism and investigations involving her decision to wear a Michael Jackson costume to a Halloween party in 2009.
A picture of the 13-year-old incident, in which she is accused of wearing “blackface,” has prompted peers to accuse her of racism despite the fact that her research has focused on aiding Africans for the last three decades.
“Overbaugh has devoted her professional career to studying viral pathogens that cause HIV. But amid publishing papers, running her own research lab, and flying back and forth from Kenya, she has also pursued another professional passion: mentoring. Overbaugh is one of two recipients of this year’s Nature Award for Mentoring in Science, which is awarded to select scientists in one country or region each year,” a 2016 report in GeekWire reports.
Last year, Overbaugh was elected to National Academy of Sciences.
“I am really happy to see gender balance in this year’s elected members and hope this signals a future trend,” Overbaugh said at the time. “In my field, HIV, which is a very large field, there have only been a couple of women elected — hopefully, there will be more in the future.”
But Overbaugh’s accomplishments during an age in which female STEM recruitment and retainment is a social justice priority apparently could not outweigh the 2009 incident of emulating the King of Pop at a party that was reportedly themed after Jackson’s famous “Thriller” album.
Members of the Overbaugh lab apparently enjoy celebrating Halloween and have posted pictures of its themed parties every year. In past years they have dressed as emojis, bumble bees, fish — and even as “Binders of Babes” — a riff on Republican Mitt Romney’s gaffe while running for president.
The picture from the year 2009 is conspicuously missing from the webpage.
“The act depicted in the photo is racist, offensive and hurtful, and we offer our sincere apologies to anyone who has experienced pain or upset because of the act or this photo,” the cancer center announced in mid-February, adding Overbaugh was put on administrative leave and placed under investigation.
“Dr. Overbaugh has stepped down from her senior vice president role at Fred Hutch. She will continue working in her lab and will take a hiatus from her leadership duties in the Office of Education & Training. During this time, she will engage in an intensive education and reflection process.”
The Federalist reports:
Though the incident didn’t occur at UW Medicine, its CEO and equity officer also waded into the faux controversy. UW Medicine CEO Dr. Paul Ramsey and Chief Equity Officer Paula Houston notified UW Medicine staff in an email that Overbaugh was punished for engaging in the “racist, dehumanizing, and abhorrent act” of “blackface.” During a separate formal review process for UW faculty, the email confirmed, Overbaugh resigned from her UW affiliate faculty member appointment.
Overbaugh released a short statement to me. “I did not know the association of this with blackface at the time, in 2009, but understand the offense that is associated with this now,” she said. “I have apologized for this both publicly and privately and beyond that have no other comments.”
Ramsey and Houston claim that the UW Medicine community was “harmed” by the 13-year-old photo that most staff didn’t know existed until reading about it in the Feb. 25 email. “We acknowledge that our community has been harmed by this incident and the fact that 13 years elapsed before action was taken,” they wrote. “We are convening a series of affinity group meetings in the next few weeks to provide spaces for mutual support, reflection, and response.”
Neither Ramsey nor Houston explained how the photo “harmed” anyone. Indeed, beyond one confirmed complaint, it’s unclear if anyone even cared about the old photo.
The full memo from UW Medicine was republished by journalist Jesse Singal on his Twitter page. The memo notes that Overbaugh resigned her post at the university once administrators began their own probe into the incident.
Her faculty bio is no longer on the UW School of Medicine website, although its Department of Global Health has, as of Monday afternoon, yet to strip her from its webpage.
“A U. Washington doctor who has dedicated her career to fighting HIV in Africa, including research w/sex workers, is having her reputation and career incinerated because she dressed up as Michael Jackson, in blackface, once in 2009,” Singal noted.
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1497289911996760064
“Just to situate everyone, the event in question happened several years before the most recent instance of 30 Rock airing blackface-oriented comedy to tens of millions of people. What she did was a bad idea but at the time was obviously not seen as too risque even for network TV,” he added.
Writing for The Federalist, Jason Rantz points out that “UW Medicine is lashing out against Overbaugh to show its wokeness and earn social currency.”
“That UW Medicine is helping to ruin a woman who devoted her career to finding a cure for HIV is immaterial to its leaders. To progressive activists, highlighting one’s virtues is more important than curing a deadly disease.”
Germany’s phaseout of nuclear power is causing an increase in the use of fossil fuels, which is causing more than 1,100 additional deaths each year
This is a quote from a scientific paper on Germany’s phaseout of nuclear power:
“Put another way, the phase-out resulted in more than 1,100 additional deaths per year from increased concentrations of SO2, NOx, and PM. The increase in production from hard coal plants is again the key driver here, making up roughly 80% of the increase in mortality impacts.”
Source: Page 25 at this link https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26598/w26598.pdf
Either the people who support this phaseout are extremely illiterate when it comes to science, or they are deliberately killing these people. I wonder which one it is.
I think the COVID-19 lockdown is killing more people than it is saving. Here are my many reasons for thinking such a thing. Updated for March 26, 2021.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
March 26, 2021
I think the COVIOD-19 lockdown is killing more people than it is saving.
I’m going to start out by posting the CDC’s estimated survival rates, by age, for people who contract COVID-19:
I think the COVID-19 lockdown is killing more people than it is saving. Here are my many reasons for thinking such a thing.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
September 24, 2020
I think the COVIOD-19 lockdown is killing more people than it is saving.
I’m going to start out by posting the CDC’s estimated survival rates, by age, for people who contract COVID-19:
0 to 19: 99.997%
20 to 49: 99.98%
50 to 69: 99.5%
70+: 94.6%
For most age groups, the survival rate is quite high. In my opinion, this does not justify a lockdown of the general population.
Now let’s take a look at my many reasons for thinking that the lockdown is killing more people than it is saving:
The National Cancer Institute estimates that there could be 10,000 additional breast and colorectal deaths over the next decade as a result of missed screenings and delayed diagnoses
Source: https://www.wjhg.com/2020/09/08/cancer-screenings-down-nationwide-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Cancer surgeries and organ transplants are being put off for coronavirus
Higher rates of unemployment correlate very strongly with higher rates of suicide and drug overdoses
A report by the United Nations cites the predicted harm that will happen to tens of millions of children in low income countries as a result of the COVID-19 global wide shutdown.
Examples of this harm to children include increases in malnutrition, loss of education, increased rates of teen pregnancy, reduced access to health care, reduced rates of vaccination, increased rates of infectious disease, increased rates of water borne illness, and increased rates of death:
Source: https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/160420_Covid_Children_Policy_Brief.pdf
Anxiety from reactions to Covid-19 will destroy at least seven times more years of life than can be saved by lockdowns
Source: https://www.justfacts.com/news_covid-19_anxiety_lockdowns_life_destroyed_saved
Childhood vaccine rates for preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough have fallen during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the possibility of an additional health crisis.
In New York City… the number of vaccine doses administered from March 23 to May 9 fell 63 percent compared with the same period last year.
In children older than 2 years, it fell 91 percent…
… Doctors offices have been closed…
… The numbers in New York match a national trend…
… from mid-March to mid-April, doctors in the federally funded Vaccines for Children program for the uninsured ordered about 2.5 million fewer doses of all routine non-influenza vaccines and 250,000 fewer doses of measles-containing vaccines compared to the same period in 2019…
Polio and measles could surge after disruption of vaccine programs. A new study of 129 countries found that the interruption of inoculation efforts could put 80 million babies at risk of getting deadly, preventable diseases.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/health/coronavirus-polio-measles-immunizations.html
Why most Covid-19 deaths won’t be from the virus
Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200528-why-most-covid-19-deaths-wont-be-from-the-virus
The global lockdown was put into place based on the bogus, false, and extremely inaccurate Imperial College model.
Sweden did not have a lockdown.
Experts, who cited the Imperial College model, predicted that Sweden would have 40,000 COVID-19 deaths by May 1.
The actual number was 2,769.
The same bogus Imperial College model was used to implement the lockdowns for the rest of the world.
Sources: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/05/sweden-suppressed-infection-rates-without-lockdown/
https://www.aier.org/article/imperial-college-model-applied-to-sweden-yields-preposterous-results/
Nobel Prize-winning scientist: “the damage done by lockdown will exceed any saving of lives by a huge factor”
This is a scientific paper called “Full lockdown policies in Western Europe countries have no evident impacts on the COVID-19 epidemic.”
Source: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.24.20078717v1.full.pdf
Do lockdowns save many lives? In most places, the data say no.
U.S. medical testing, cancer screenings plunge during coronavirus outbreak – data firm analysis
Some medical experts fear more people are dying from untreated emergencies than from the coronavirus
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/health/coronavirus-heart-stroke.html
How the COVID-19 lockdown will take its own toll on health
A study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in New York showed that 66% of them were people who stayed home
End all restrictions, they were unnecessary, Hebrew University researchers say
A scientific paper states:
Background: The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has forced governments to implement strict social mitigation strategies to reduce the morbidity and mortality from acute infections. These strategies however carry a significant risk for mental health which can lead to increased short-term and long-term mortality and is currently not included in modelling the impact of the pandemic. Methods: We used years of life lost (YLL) as the main outcome measure as applied to Switzerland as an exemplar. We focused on suicide, depression, alcohol use disorder, childhood trauma due to domestic violence, changes in marital status and social isolation as these are known to increase YLL in the context of imposed restriction in social contact and freedom of movement. We stipulated a minimum duration of mitigation of 3 months based on current public health plans. Results: The study projects that the average person would suffer 0.205 YLL due to psychosocial consequence of COVID-19 mitigation measures. However, this loss would be entirely borne by 2.1% of the population, who will suffer an average 9.79 YLL. Conclusions: The results presented here are likely to underestimate the true impact of the mitigation strategies on YLL. However, they highlight the need for public health models to expand their scope in order to provide better estimates of the risks and benefits of mitigation.
Source: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.17.20069716v3
In the U.S., the lockdown caused 1.4 million health care workers to be laid off:
Take the Shutdown Skeptics Seriously
Americans should carefully consider the potential costs of prolonged shutdowns lest they cause more deaths or harm to the vulnerable than they spare…
… minimizing the number of COVID-19 deaths today or a month from now or six months from now may or may not minimize the human costs of the pandemic when the full spectrum of human consequences is considered…
… the warnings of thoughtful shutdown skeptics warrant careful study…
Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/take-shutdown-skeptics-seriously/611419/
Cyril H. Wecht, one of the country’s most well regarded doctors, made this excellent argument against the lockdown
Stanford University doctor: ‘You are mistaken’ if you think coronavirus lockdowns provide safety”
Source: https://www.theblaze.com/news/stanford-university-doctor-mistaken-coronavirus-lockdowns
Relapses are through the roof, overdoses are through the roof: How the pandemic is upping substance abuse
… They can’t go to a 12-step based meeting…
… People are self-medicating due to the quarantine. And they’re drinking more, and abusing more, and relapses are through the roof right now.
Neil Ferguson’s Imperial model “could go down in history as the most devastating software mistake of all time, in terms of economic costs and lives lost”
Rise in female genital mutilation in Somalia linked to coronavirus shutdown
Somali girls out of school and stuck at home have been subject to a “massive rise” in female genital mutilation…
“It’s a lifetime torture for girls. The pain continues … until the girl goes to the grave. It impacts her education, ambition … everything.”
… the UNFPA has warned that globally 2 million more girls could be cut over the next decade because of how the global pandemic has disrupted efforts to end the practice.
More than 500 doctors signed this letter, which is says, “In medical terms, the shutdown was a mass casualty incident.”
Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/462319362/A-Doctor-a-Day-Letter-Signed#fullscreen&from_embed
Dr. Mike deBoisblanc, head of the trauma department at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California, said, “… we’ve seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks…”
Source: https://abc7news.com/suicide-covid-19-coronavirus-rates-during-pandemic-death-by/6201962/
Rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future – could lead to 75,000 deaths from drug or alcohol abuse and suicide
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-deaths-suicides-drugs-alcohol-pandemic-75000/
In the U.S., the first nine weeks of the lockdown caused 38 million people to lose their jobs
The fatality rate of COVID-19 “would probably be 0.13 percent for people outside nursing homes”
A scientific study said, “Home outbreaks were the dominant category (254 of 318 outbreaks; 79.9%)”
Source: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1.full.pdf
New England Journal of Medicine: “We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection”
Source: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
Knut Wittkowski, former head of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at The Rockefeller University’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science, said the lockdown “most likely made the situation worse”
Source: https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/05/15/we-could-open-up-again-and-forget-the-whole-thing/
Denmark, Finland say they saw no increase in coronavirus after schools re-opened
Kanchan Soni, who lived in India, died because the lockdown prevented her from getting dialysis
Chewing gum, wire-cutters, and superglue: the alarming rise of DIY Dentistry under coronavirus
A scientific paper on the lockdown states, “In high burden settings, HIV, TB and malaria related deaths over 5 years may be increased by up to 10%, 20% and 36%, respectively”
Source: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/mrc-gida/2020-05-01-COVID19-Report-19.pdf
Polio and measles could surge after disruption of vaccine programs. A new study of 129 countries found that the interruption of inoculation efforts could put 80 million babies at risk of getting deadly, preventable diseases.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/health/coronavirus-polio-measles-immunizations.html
World Health Organization: “If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with COVID-19”
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-offer-conflicting-advice-masks-expert-tells-us/story?id=70958380
Reopening schools in Denmark did not worsen outbreak, data shows
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark-reopening-idUSKBN2341N7
One month later: top Israeli mathematician predicted COVID-19 peaks after 40 days with or without economic lockdowns – and he was right!
Dr. Kelly Fradin: “I’m a pediatrician and I think we should reopen schools, even with the risk of coronavirus outbreaks”
Source: https://www.insider.com/pediatrician-reopen-schools-even-if-it-leads-coronavirus-outbreaks-2020-6
This video shows Dr. Anthony Fauci removing his mask when he thought he was no longer being filmed
https://twitter.com/CHIZMAGA/status/1278029614070153217
Slowing the coronavirus is speeding the spread of other diseases. Many mass immunization efforts worldwide were halted this spring to prevent spread of the virus at crowded inoculation sites. The consequences have been alarming… cargo flights with vaccine supplies were halted… Now, diphtheria is appearing in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Cholera is in South Sudan, Cameroon, Mozambique, Yemen and Bangladesh. A mutated strain of poliovirus has been reported in more than 30 countries. And measles is flaring around the globe, including in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Nigeria and Uzbekistan.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/health/coronavirus-vaccines-measles.html
Norway health chief: lockdown was not needed to tame Covid
Source: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/norway-health-chief-lockdown-was-not-needed-to-tame-covid
Antibody tests point to lower death rate for the coronavirus than first thought
Mounting evidence suggests the coronavirus is more common and less deadly than it first appeared.
Coronavirus pandemic could push 122 million to brink of starvation: Oxfam
Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7155931/coronavirus-starvation-oxfam/
Dr. Dan Wohlgelernter said, “What we needed to do was not lock down all of society. Not shut down schools. Not shut down all businesses. You needed to protect the elderly. Particularly the elderly in the nursing homes. It’s a small segment of our population. We could have allowed the rest of the population to continue with their lives, take adequate precautions but not be completely shut down. The cost of the shut down in terms of the physical, emotional, and psychological health of people is enormous. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of people who have been shut-in. Who’ve lost their businesses. Who are facing depression. Who are facing issues of mental health because of the consequences. This should never happen again. If we ever face this situation again we need to learn the lessons from the mistakes and policies that were implemented.”
People are more likely to contract COVID-19 at home, study finds
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/people-more-likely-contract-covid-122611396.html
No known case of teacher catching coronavirus from pupils, says scientist. There has been no recorded case of a teacher catching the coronavirus from a pupil anywhere in the world, according to one of the government’s leading scientific advisers. Mark Woolhouse, a leading epidemiologist and member of the government’s Sage committee, told The Times that it may have been a mistake to close schools in March given the limited role children play in spreading the virus.
Coronavirus lockdown ‘made no difference to number of deaths’, study claims
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/1190721/coronavirus-lockdown-no-difference/
Stop stealing our children’s youth in the name of their grandparents. Every person I know in his 70s says kids should go back to school. Behind ensuring Americans have food, ensuring our children are well educated is a very close second in societal priorities.
Citing educational risks, scientific panel urges that schools reopen
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/health/coronavirus-schools-reopening.html
Stanford doctor Scott Atlas says the science shows kids should go back to school
German study finds no evidence coronavirus spreads in schools
As of September 2020, Sweden, which never had a lockdown, or a mask mandate, had a lower total, cumulative per capita COVID-19 death rate than the U.S.
Sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20200907000001/https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://fortune.com/2020/07/29/no-point-in-wearing-mask-sweden-covid/
https://unherd.com/2020/07/swedens-anders-tegnell-judge-me-in-a-year/
Now this last one is just speculation, as I do not have proof. But I do think it is worth mentioning.
At least since March 2020, and perhaps even earlier, Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, from New York, has been claiming to have successfully treated COVID-19 patients with a triple combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin.
Dr. Zelenko’s alleged treatment is different than other treatments (which have been debunked) because of these two things:
First, Dr. Zelenko’s alleged treatment involves a triple combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin.
And secondly, Dr. Zelenko’s alleged treatment must be given before the patient has become so sick that they need hospitalization.
Other treatments with hydroxychloroquine have been debunked. But those other treatments do not meet the two above criteria.
I don’t know if Dr. Zelenko’s alleged treatment actually works or not. But I have not seen it debunked.
On July 3, 2020, preprints.org reported the following on Dr. Zelenko’s alleged treatment:
COVID-19 Outpatients – Early Risk-Stratified Treatment with Zinc Plus Low Dose Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin: A Retrospective Case Series Study
Of 335 positively PCR-tested COVID-19 patients, 127 were treated with the triple therapy. 104 of 127 met the defined risk stratification criteria and were included in the analysis. In addition, 37 treated and eligible patients who were confirmed by IgG tests were included in the treatment group (total N=141). 208 of the 335 patients did not meet the risk stratification criteria and were not treated. After 4 days (median, IQR 3-6, available for N=66/141) of onset of symptoms, 141 patients (median age 58 years, IQR 40-60; 73% male) got a prescription for the triple therapy for 5 days. Independent public reference data from 377 confirmed COVID-19 patients of the same community were used as untreated control. 4 of 141 treated patients (2.8%) were hospitalized, which was significantly less (p<0.001) compared with 58 of 377 untreated patients (15.4%) (odds ratio 0.16, 95% CI 0.06-0.5). Therefore, the odds of hospitalization of treated patients were 84% less than in the untreated group. One patient (0.7%) died in the treatment group versus 13 patients (3.5%) in the untreated group (odds ratio 0.2, 95% CI 0.03-1.5; p=0.16). There were no cardiac side effects. Conclusions: Risk stratification-based treatment of COVID-19 outpatients as early as possible after symptom onset with the used triple therapy, including the combination of zinc with low dose hydroxychloroquine, was associated with significantly less hospitalizations and 5 times less all-cause deaths.
Source: https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202007.0025/v1
Awaiting disaster, ammonium nitrate was stored at Beirut port for years
Awaiting disaster, ammonium nitrate was stored at Beirut port for years
By Rouba El Husseini
August 5, 2020
Beirut (AFP) – For at least six years, hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which Lebanese authorities say caused Tuesday’s massive blast, were negligently stored in a Beirut port warehouse, waiting for disaster to strike.
The odourless crystalline substance commonly used as a fertiliser has caused numerous industrial explosions over the decades — including the massive one in Beirut that killed at least 113 people, wounded thousands and left 300,000 homeless.
A security source said the explosive power of the stored ammonium nitrate was equivalent to at least 1,200 tonnes of TNT — explaining how the earthquake-strength blast destroyed or damaged so much of the city.
Lebanese port authorities and customs officials knew the chemical was being stored in the port, and one of the country’s top security agencies had called for it to be relocated after launching a probe last year, several security officials told AFP.
But authorities did not heed the warning. Only on the day after the massive blast left much of the capital in ruins did the government say it was seeking house arrest for all officials involved in storing the highly-explosive substance.
With Tuesday’s blast damage extending across half the Lebanese capital, the burning questions on everyone’s mind are: how did so much ammonium nitrate get to Beirut in the first place and why was it stored at the port for so long?
– Shady shipment –
In 2013, around 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate came into Lebanon on board the Rhosus ship, sailing from Georgia and bound for Mozambique, a security official told AFP, asking not to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the issue.
Marine Traffic, a ship tracking platform, said the Moldova-flagged vessel first arrived in Beirut’s port, the country’s busiest, on November 20, 2013 and never left.
According to Lebanese law firm Baroudi & Associates, which represents the vessel’s crew, the Rhosus ship had faced “technical problems”.
“Upon inspection of the vessel by port state control, the vessel was forbidden from sailing,” the firm said in a statement.
Several security officials told AFP that it temporarily docked at the port but was later seized by authorities following a lawsuit filed by a Lebanese company against the shipowner.
Port authorities unloaded the ammonium nitrate and stored it in a rundown port warehouse with cracks in its walls, and the ship sank some time later because of damage, the officials said.
The warehouse started to exude a strange odour, which led security forces to launch a 2019 investigation that concluded that the “dangerous” chemicals needed to be removed from the premises.
The agency also noted the walls of the warehouse were unsound, urging the port authorities to repair them.
It was not until this week that workers were dispatched and began repair works, in what might have possibly triggered the blast.
– Gross negligence –
Shortly after Tuesday’s blast, the director of customs at the port, Badri Daher, published a letter he said he had sent in December 2017 to a Lebanese prosecutor, claiming it was one of many he had sent to the judiciary over the stored chemicals.
In the 2017 letter, he allegedly requested the dangerous chemicals be exported or sold to a local Lebanese company after the army had said it had no use for them, but neither suggestion materialised.
A judicial source said prosecutors were only involved in ruling whether or not the ammonium nitrate-carrying vessel should be released and were not involved in issues pertaining to the substance’s storage.
Riad Kobaissi, an investigative reporter who specialises in port corruption, charged that Daher was only trying to deflect blame by publishing the letter.
He said what has happened shows “the extent of corruption in Lebanese port customs, which is among the main bodies that bear responsibility” for the blast.
Ammong many, the disaster has only fuelled anger at a government already widely seen as inept, corrupt and beholden to sectarian interests.
On Twitter, users blamed authorities, using the hashtag “hang them from the gallows”.
One user posted a photo showing several prominent Lebanese politicians with the caption: “You have to pay for burning the hearts of mothers and the future of the youth and terrorising children.”
R.I.P. Grant Imahara
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grant-imahara-dead-mythbusters-host-was-49-1303101
Grant Imahara, Host of ‘MythBusters’ and ‘White Rabbit Project,’ Dies at 49
July 13, 2020
An electrical engineer and roboticist by training, he worked for a long time at Lucasfilm’s THX and Industrial Light and Magic divisions.
Grant Imahara, an electrical engineer and roboticist who hosted the popular science show MythBusters and Netflix’s White Rabbit Project, has died. He was 49.
Imahara died suddenly following a brain aneurysm, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. “We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” a representative for Discovery said in a statement on Monday.
An electrical engineer and roboticist by training, he joined Discovery’s MythBusters in its third season, replacing Scottie Chapman and was with the show until 2014 when he left with co-hosts Kari Byron and Tory Belleci. The trio would reunite in 2016 for Netflix’s White Rabbit Project which lasted for one season. On MythBusters, Imahara used his technical expertise to design and build robots for the show and also operated the computers and electronics needed to test myths.
While part of the Mythbusters team, he sky-dived and drove stunt cars, on film sets he came into contact with some of the most iconic characters in screen history, installing lights onto Star Wars’ R2-D2, creating the robot Geoff Peterson for The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and working on the Energizer Bunny.
On Monday evening, Imahara’s MythBusters and White Rabbit Project co-host Byron tweeted, “Sometimes I wish I had a time machine,” and included a picture with Imahara and Belleci.
Later on Monday, Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage also tweeted: “I’m at a loss. No words. I’ve been part of two big families with Grant Imahara over the last 22 years. Grant was a truly brilliant engineer, artist and performer, but also just such a generous, easygoing, and gentle PERSON. Working with Grant was so much fun. I’ll miss my friend.”
Born in Los Angeles, Imahara studied electrical engineering at the University of Southern California (though he briefly had doubts and wanted to become a screenwriter) before combining the two passions and landing a post-graduation gig at Lucasfilm-associated THX labs. In his nine years at Lucasfilm, he worked for the company’s THX and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) divisions. In his years at ILM he became chief model maker specializing in animatronics and worked on George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels, as well as The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Galaxy Quest, XXX: State of the Union, Van Helsing, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
In 2000, Imahara also competed in Comedy Central’s BattleBots with a robot he built himself called “Deadblow” that won two Middleweight Rumbles, was the first season’s Middleweight runner-up and became the third season’s first-ranked robot.
As computer graphics began to supplant model-making in the aughts, former ILM colleague Tony Belleci suggested Imahara come aboard Mythbusters, the Discovery show Belleci co-hosted. As a co-host, he became a self-described “human guinea pig,” though if they determined a situation unfit for humans, they created machines to test them in their place.
Imahara also starred in several episodes of the fan-made web series Star Trek Continues. He played Hikaru Sulu, a lieutenant, helmsman and third officer on the USS Enterprise, in the show that was an unofficial continuation of Star Trek: The Original Series.
In a 2008 interview with Machine Design, Imahara told the publication that he wanted to be an engineer because “I liked the challenge of designing and building things, figuring out how something works and how to make it better or apply it in a different way. When I was a kid, I never wanted to be James Bond. I wanted to be Q, because he was the guy who made all the gadgets. I guess you could say that engineering came naturally.”
This video is called “Schoolhouse Rock – A Victim Of Gravity.” I dedicate it to the Black Lives Matter protestors who dropped a heavy statue on the skull of one of their own members.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
June 11, 2020
I’m posting two videos here.
This first video is from the NBC New channel at YouTube. It shows Black Lives Matter protestors dropping a heavy statue on the skull of one of their own members. The point of impact is at approximately 0:33
At first, the protestors cheer and applaud. But then their expressions switch to ones of shock and horror when they realize that there is something called gravity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIEe3uKlUvo
To all of these ignoramuses, I dedicate this second video, which is called “Schoolhouse Rock – A Victim Of Gravity.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFtk6Si0Fk
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A scientific paper claims that humans acquired COVID-19 from a Chinese research lab, and not a food market. But instead of having the paper peer reviewed, they are trying to suppress it.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
April 3, 2020
One of the great things about science is the peer review process. When one group of scientists comes to a conclusion, other groups of scientists are allowed to peer review the work of the original group, to try to determine whether or not the original research has merit.
This link, which no longer works, used to show a scientific paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339070128_The_possible_origins_of_2019-nCoV_coronavirus
Fortunately, the internet archive still has the paper at this link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200214144447/https:/www.researchgate.net/publication/339070128_The_possible_origins_of_2019-nCoV_coronavirus
The paper is titled, “The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus.”
The paper’s lead author is Botao Xiao, from the South China University of Technology.
The paper’s publication month is February 2020.
The paper states:
“An article published on The Lancet reported that 27 of 41 infected patients were found to have contact with the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan. We noted two laboratories conducting research on bat coronavirus in Wuhan, one of which was only 280 meters from the seafood market. We briefly examined the histories of the laboratories and proposed that the coronavirus probably originated from a laboratory…”
“… The bats carrying CoV ZC45 were originally found in Yunnan or Zhejiang province, both of which were more than 900 kilometers away from the seafood market. Bats were normally found to live in caves and trees. But the seafood market is in a densely-populated district of Wuhan, a metropolitan of ~15 million people. The probability was very low for the bats to fly to the market. According to municipal reports and the testimonies of 31 residents and 28 visitors, the bat was never a food source in the city, and no bat was traded in the market.”
This paper has not been peer reviewed. I hope it will be.
If the statistics cited in the paper are true, then which of these two scenarios is more likely:
a) Humans contracted COVID-19 from a food market that is more than 900,000 meters away from the wild population of this bat species
or
b) Humans contracted COVID-19 from a lab that was doing research on bats and on coronavirus, and the lab is located only 280 meters from this food market
I’m curious to read of any peer reviews that get published.
And I’m curious to know why no peer reviews have been published so far.
And I’m also curious to know why the original link no longer works.
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