TallGuyJohninBKK

‘The US faces two futures,’ according to editors at top science magazine Sept. 18, 2024 A top science magazine has waded into the political sphere after making a presidential endorsement, only the second in its 179-year history. “Vote for Kamala Harris to Support Science, Health and the Environment,” read the headline in Scientific American on Monday, announcing the publication’s official support for the Democratic presidential candidate. ... “The US faces two futures,” the editors wrote, pushing one candidate who “offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience.” They continued: “In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies.” (more) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/scientific-american-endorse-harris-trump-election-b2614153.html Vote for Kamala Harris to Support Science, Health and the Environment Kamala Harris has plans to improve health, boost the economy and mitigate climate change. Donald Trump has threats and a dangerous record By The Editors September 16, 2024 In the November election, the U.S. faces two futures. In one, the new president offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience. She pushes policies that boost good jobs nationwide by embracing technology and clean energy. She supports education, public health and reproductive rights. She treats the climate crisis as the emergency it is and seeks to mitigate its catastrophic storms, fires and droughts. In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies. He ignores the climate crisis in favor of more pollution. He requires that federal officials show personal loyalty to him rather than upholding U.S. laws. He fills positions in federal science and other agencies with unqualified ideologues. He goads people into hate and division, and he inspires extremists at state and local levels to pass laws that disrupt education and make it harder to earn a living. Only one of these futures will improve the fate of this country and the world. That is why, for only the second time in our magazine’s 179-year history, the editors of Scientific American are endorsing a candidate for president. That person is Kamala Harris. (more) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vote-for-kamala-harris-to-support-science-health-and-the-environment/

More evidence of Trump mentally unraveling for the whole world to see and hear: Trump Mistakes Wildlife Refuge for Airbase in Afghanistan: ‘We Have Bagram in Alaska’ Sep 17th, 2024 Former President Donald Trump mixed up the name of an Alaskan wildlife refuge and an air base in Afghanistan during a town hall in Flint, Michigan on Tuesday. ... Boasting to the audience about how he got oil drilling approved in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, commonly referred to ANWR, Trump said... Instead of ANWR, used the word Bagram – the name of the United States’ former air base in Afghanistan. Trump continued to make confusing remarks about Bagram and ANWR, saying, “Check that one out. Bagram. Check that one that. ANW– it’s, it’s– no, think about this. Between Bagram, between– you go to ANWR…” (more) https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-mistakes-wildlife-refuge-for-airbase-in-afghanistan-we-have-bagram-in-alaska/

Former President Donald Trump dropped below a 40 percent chance of an election victory for the first time on Tuesday, according to a forecast by a major polling aggregator. FiveThirtyEight's election forecast gave the Republican candidate a 39 percent chance of winning the Electoral College, after a slate of strong polling for Vice President Kamala Harris boosted her odds to greater than 60 percent. Previously, Trump had been performing close to the margin of error between the two candidates. When the model first relaunched following the replacement of President Joe Biden, it gave Trump a 41 percent chance of winning, which was rising steadily before the ABC debate on September 10. (more) https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-fivethirtyeight-polling-election-forecast-1954958 https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2024-election-forecast/?cid=rrpromo

Indoor Air and Coronavirus (COVID-19) "Spread of COVID-19 occurs via airborne particles and droplets. People who are infected with COVID can release particles and droplets of respiratory fluids that contain the SARS CoV-2 virus into the air when they exhale (e.g., quiet breathing, speaking, singing, exercise, coughing, sneezing). The droplets or aerosol particles vary across a wide range of sizes – from visible to microscopic. ... Since COVID-19 is transmitted through contact with respiratory fluids carrying the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus, a person can be exposed by an infected person coughing or speaking near them. They can also be exposed by inhaling aerosol particles that are spreading away from the infected person. Transmission of COVID-19 from inhalation of virus in the air can occur at distances greater than six feet. Particles from an infected person can move throughout an entire room or indoor space. The particles can also linger in the air after a person has left the room – they can remain airborne for hours in some cases. [emphasis added] https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19

Mounting evidence suggests coronavirus is airborne — but health advice has not caught up Governments are starting to change policies amid concerns that tiny droplets can carry SARS-CoV-2. And after months of denying the importance of this, the World Health Organization is reconsidering its stance. 23 July 2020 https://archive.ph/Q5a7q https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02058-1 Why the WHO took two years to say COVID is airborne Early in the pandemic, the World Health Organization stated that SARS-CoV-2 was not transmitted through the air. That mistake and the prolonged process of correcting it sowed confusion and raises questions about what will happen in the next pandemic. ... Critics say that inaction at the agency led to national and local health agencies around the world being similarly sluggish in addressing the airborne threat. Having shifted its position incrementally over the past two years, the WHO also failed to adequately communicate its changing position, they say. As a result, it didn’t emphasize early enough and clearly enough the importance of ventilation and indoor masking, key measures that can prevent airborne spread of the virus. Lidia Morawska, an aerosol scientist at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, spearheaded several efforts to convince the WHO and other health agencies of the airborne threat. She says that airborne transmission was “so obvious” as far back as February 2020, and that omitting it from official guidelines was disastrous. [emphasis added] 06 April 2022 https://archive.ph/P2pFV https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00925-7

The meeting minutes you cite above were from April 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic and BEFORE scientists later finally realized that COVID was primarily being spread by tiny aerosolized particles that spread widely and remained in the air. That discovery changed everything, including the thinking on the values and importance of masking.

From the Journal of the American Medical Association network: Masks During Pandemics Caused by Respiratory Pathogens—Evidence and Implications for Action October 31, 2023 Question During the COVID-19 pandemic, what has been learned about whether face mask use is associated with lower transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in community settings, and how has it been learned? Findings Literature review revealed many high-quality observational studies demonstrating the association of face mask use in the community and of mask mandates with reduced spread of SARS-CoV-2. Randomized clinical trials conducted during the pandemic provide limited information. Meaning Robust available data support the use of face masks in community settings to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and should inform future responses to epidemics and pandemics caused by respiratory viruses. (more) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2811136

Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now June 30, 2024 n an interview for 60 Minutes, CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook posed that question to Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech university professor specializing in aerosol science. "They are very helpful in reducing the chances that the person will get COVID because it's reducing the amount of virus that you would inhale from the air around you," Marr said about masks. No mask is 100% effective. An N95, for example, is named as such because it is at least 95% efficient at blocking airborne particles when used properly. But even if a mask has an 80% efficiency, Marr said, it still offers meaningful protection. (more) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-mask-effectiveness-what-science-knows-now-60-minutes/

Regarding the role of the Thai government relating to COVID, what's more telling, by way of example, is what happened during former PM Srettha Thavisin's tenure as PM from August 2023 to August 2024. During that year period, which included this year's post Song Kran COVID surge shown above that resulted in many thousands of Thais being hospitalized with COVID, I don't remember Thavisin or his Public Health Minister ever making any public statements about the public health issues of COVID during that time. Likewise, even while countries around the world typically continue mounting at least seasonal COVID vaccination campaigns aimed at at least protecting their elderly and most COVID vulnerable populations, Thailand seems to have abdicated on that entire front, doing nothing for the past year. Instead, what Thailand gets is dueling Chula Univ. medical professors posting to Facebook their views of what's going on.... while the government's leaders remained silent. Thavisin was interesting in promoting tourism, not talking about the public health impacts of COVID in Thailand. About the only time Thavisin made news relating to COVID was when he himself got infected with COVID earlier this year and had to be off work for a period of time. PM Srettha off sick with Covid-19 PUBLISHED : 17 Jun 2024 at 13:58 https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2812420/pm-srettha-off-sick-with-covid-19

There are others in the Thai public health establishment who have a more realistic, objective assessment than Dr. Yong of what's going on here with COVID. For example, from back in this year's post Song Kran COVID surge period: Doctor warns of surge in Covid infections, over 18,000 cases daily 21 May 2024 As the number of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals with lung infections continues to climb, an expert in preventive medicine, and a doctor from Chulalongkorn University issued a stark warning, predicting that daily infections in Thailand could surpass 18,000 individuals. Associate Professor Doctor Thira Woratanarat, a faculty member at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, expressed his concerns in a recent Facebook post, urging schools to remain vigilant in the face of this escalating threat. Dr Thira based his projections on data released by the Public Health Ministry for the previous week (May 12 to 18), estimating that the virus may currently be infecting between 13,443 and 18,671 individuals daily. https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/doctor-warns-schools-to-anticipate-a-surge-in-covid-infections

Dr. Yong is entitled to his opinion. But the facts tell a different story. Right now, Thailand is merely in the normal "low" season for COVID activity after the typical post-Song Kran-mid-year surge. But just several months back in June 2024, Thailand was reporting a year's peak of 3,000+ new COVID hospitalizations in a week, 16 deaths per week and more than 700 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition for that week. MoPH Weekly COVID report for the week ending June 29, 2024: Comparing the 2024 COVID peak in Thailand with the comparable mid-year 2023 peak, reported COVID deaths (in dark gray color) were lower in 2024 (and that's good news). But the peak of new weekly COVID hospitalizations (in red color) and the number of COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (in dark purple color) were both HIGHER in 2024 than in 2023, not lower. MoPH Weekly COVID report for the week ending June 3, 2023: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main There's nothing to suggest that Thailand won't have another similar COVID surge next spring, just as it has for the past two years -- the severity of which will only become known when it arrives. In general, certain segments of the Thai establishment have a very vested interest in minimizing anything negative about COVID because, news reports of people being hospitalized and dying from COVID (admittedly largely but not entirely involving the elderly these days) would put a wet blanket on the country's major efforts to restore its tourism activity and revenues. So there's a vested interest here to pretend that it's all just gone away -- even when it hasn't.

As usual, this guy's history is not so straightforward as the NY Post would have us believe: Public records show shifting political views for Trump assassination plot suspect Social media users are variously claiming the man accused of plotting to assassinate Donald Trump at his golf club is registered as a Republican or Democratic voter, attempting to pin the attempted violence on one side or the other. But North Carolina state voting records list Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, as unaffiliated, and other public filings and his chaotic writings online reveal a complicated political history. ... Routh's social media posts show a range of shifting opinions about US politicians. He wrote in 2020 that he supported Trump in 2016 but later regretted doing so, adding: "I will be glad when you are gone." [emphasis added] ... Routh's son Oran told the Daily Mail that his father hates Trump as "every reasonable person does." https://www.yahoo.com/news/public-records-show-shifting-political-213052632.html

The local authorities there investigated two claims of geese/duck being taken from local parks during the past year, and could find no actual evidence to substantiated the claims. Plus, Trump started out talking about immigrants eating dogs and cats, not geese....Trump only got onto the geese claim after his dog and cat nonsense was shown to be rubbish.... So now he's ranting on, publicly flailing about another unsubstantiated claim. Are Haitian migrants stealing geese in Springfield parks? Here’s what we know Sept. 14, 2024 ... “No videos have surfaced, no pictures have surfaced, no dead geese have surfaced; there’s nothing to substantiate that it’s happening,” Clark County Commissioner Sasha Rittenhouse said Wednesday. At an Aug. 27 Springfield City Commission meeting, a man told commissioners that Haitians were taking ducks out of the park, but did not offer any evidence." https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/are-haitian-migrants-stealing-geese-in-springfield-parks-heres-what-we-know/VVEXS7XEDBEEXNVKBRPAQXRBJA/ The man at the city commission meeting just happens to be a self-described social media influencer who's running around wearing a sweatshirt saying he plans to run for mayor of the city next year. Meanwhile, this local TV news report:

Except no one in authority in Aurora is claiming there are NO gang members there.... They're just rejecting Trump's nonsense, overblown exaggerations, and his falsely trying to blame all the city's gang problems on Venezuelan immigrants, and ignoring all the home-grown types.

They're flatly rejecting the following Trump public statements as reported by AP above: "At Wednesday night’s town hall, he repeated his call for mass deportations after overstating the gang situation in Aurora. “Take a look at Aurora in Colorado, where Venezuelans are taking over the whole town, they’re taking over buildings, the whole town,” Trump said. [emphasis added] As the same AP report posted above recounted: "Many of the immigrants from Venezuela and other Latin American countries who live in the Aurora complex say there are no gangs there, and they are being unfairly painted as criminals. They pinned blame on New York-based CBZ Management for refusing to take care of bedbugs, rodents and constant water leaks despite monthly rent costing $1,200 or more.... “The only criminal here is the owner of the building,” Moises Didenot, who is from Venezuela, said Tuesday through a translator at a news conference in a dusty courtyard at the complex." Are there gang members in Aurora? Sure, just like in virtually any city in the United States. Are the gang members in Aurora, including a very few from Venezuela, "taking over" the city, as Trump contents. All the local officials there are flatly saying NO.

Here's the charts from the latest UKHSA weekly COVID update for England as of Sept. 12: My text summary - New weekly COVID deaths reported at 102 (down 21% for the week ending Aug. 30) fell to their lowest level since late May, signaling the apparent end to the spring-summer COVID surge in England. Among two other publicly reported indicators, weekly COVID cases (not an especially reliable indicator due to sparse testing) increased 4.3% for the week ending Sept. 4. And the positivity rate for COVID testing (7-day rolling average) halted recent declines to 9% and ticked slightly back upward to 10% as of Aug. 31. But a new update on weekly COVID hospital admissions showed 1,465 people admitted through Aug. 29, a decline of 6.6% over the prior data. https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#deaths Weekly COVID deaths from the recent low in May: Weekly data for deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate in England Up to and including 30 August 2024 (some recent prior week figures have been revised vs prior weekly reports): Date -- Amount 30 Aug 2024 -- 102 23 Aug 2024 -- 129 16 Aug 2024 -- 167 9 Aug 2024 -- 203 2 Aug 2024 -- 203 26 Jul 2024 -- 182 19 Jul 2024 -- 217 12 Jul 2024 -- 205 5 Jul 2024 -- 165 28 Jun 2024 -- 186 21 Jun 2024 -- 149 14 Jun 2024 -- 158 7 Jun 2024 -- 146 31 May 2024 -- 113 24 May 2024 -- 147 17 May 2024 -- 168 10 May 2024 -- 93 https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#healthcare https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#cases https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#testing

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Sept. 8 - 14, 2024: For the week: --302 new COVID hospitalizations (red) --2 new COVID death (gray) --181 COVID patients currently hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia type symptoms) (dark purple) --73 COVID patients currently hospitalized requiring ventilation/intubation in order to breathe (light purple) https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Ohio's Republican governor denouncing Trump's "garbage." Gov. DeWine shoots down rumor of Springfield migrants, calls it false 'piece of garbage' Sept. 15, 2024 Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday denounced claims promoted by former President Donald Trump that Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, calling them "hurtful" and "not helpful." "There's a lot of garbage on the internet and this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true, there's no evidence of this at all," DeWine told ABC's "This Week." "These are positive influences on our community in Springfield and any comment about that otherwise I think is hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield." DeWine noted that there is no evidence of the claims spread by Trump, his running mate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and others, adding that the mayor of Springfield and the city's police chief have both said there is no evidence of any truth to them. (more) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2024/09/15/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-denounces-rumors-of-springfield-pets-being-eaten/75237552007/

Aurora mayor wants to set the record straight about gang activity after Colorado city receives debate mention September 12, 2024 One day after former President Donald Trump said gangs from Venezuela had taken over Aurora in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman says it's time to be clear about exactly what is happening in the city he serves. "It's grossly exaggerated, in terms of what the current situation is- and very disappointing," said Coffman. "The impression is that the city was overrun, you know, by criminal gangs. By immigrants, and Venezuelan gangs. And certainly, that is not the case." On Wednesday the mayor, police, city council and city manager released a joint statement saying that the criminal gangs from Venezuela have not "taken over" the city. They say the gang's presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, and that they have been addressing the problem for months. (more) https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-mayor-gang-activity-colorado-city-debate-mention/

More social media garbage exaggerations being advanced by Trump and related parties: Police deny Venezuela gang has taken over rundown apartment complex in Denver suburb September 6, 2024 "AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora say a Venezuela street gang with a small presence in the city has not taken over a rundown apartment complex — yet the allegation continues to gain steam among conservatives and was amplified by former President Donald Trump in a Wednesday Fox News town hall where he said Venezuelans were “taking over the whole town.” The unsubstantiated allegation gained momentum following last month’s dissemination of video from a resident in the complex that showed armed men knocking on an apartment door, intensifying fears the Tren de Aragua gang was in control of the six-building complex. ... Aurora is a diverse city that has long grappled with crime and gangs, and police said they have so far linked 10 people to Tren de Aragua and arrested six of them, including the suspects in a July attempted homicide. But in a visit to the apartments where the armed men were filmed, interim Aurora police chief Heather Morris said gang members had not taken over and weren’t collecting rent.... (more) https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-immigrants-aurora-colorado-police-37acd4e064347d51808cb244117ac21e

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Sept. 1 - 7, 2024: For the week: --314 new COVID hospitalizations (red) --1 new COVID death (gray) --170 COVID patients currently hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia type symptoms) (dark purple) --70 COVID patients currently hospitalized requiring ventilation/intubation in order to breathe (light purple) https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

And NONE of those claims made by Trump or reported-posted elsewhere have thus far been shown to be true or verified-substantiated, regarding the notion of Haitians in Springfield harming pets or other animals. Regarding Haitians in Springfield, It's simply a bunch of unproven, unsubstantiated claims that had already been investigated to completion locally before they were resurrected by Trump's presidential debate claims and continuing similar claims in the wake of the debate. And that includes the animal claims made by the white nationalist neo-Nazi group that has been organizing and demonstrating in Springfield against Haitians, as per the topic of this thread. Editorial today from the local Springfield News-Sun newspaper: OUR VIEW: Viral misinformation about immigrants in our community will lead to violence. Only you can stop it. ... "We are deeply concerned for the safety of Springfield residents, including the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants now living here legally. ... We repeat: There is no evidence to substantiate the hateful, racist accusations that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are doing anything to people’s pets. [emphasis added] ... Responsible leadership requires following the facts. It is incredibly irresponsible – and dangerous – for candidates and elected officials to traffic in unsubstantiated rumors in order to advance a political agenda." https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/ideas-voices/our-view-viral-misinformation-about-immigrants-in-our-community-will-lead-to-violence-only-you-can-stop-it/KRPF263KFVARVHAHGKXQUYXJ2A/

'It just exploded': Springfield woman claims she never meant to spark false rumors about Haitians The woman behind an early Facebook post that helped spark baseless rumors about Haitians eating pets told NBC News that she feels for the immigrant community. Sept. 14, 2024 SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The woman behind an early Facebook post spreading a harmful and baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating local pets that helped thrust a small Ohio city into the national spotlight says she had no firsthand knowledge of any such incident and is now filled with regret and fear as a result of the ensuing fallout. ... Lee recently posted on Facebook about a neighbor’s cat that went missing, adding that the neighbor told Lee she thought the cat was the victim of an attack by her Haitian neighbors. Newsguard, a media watchdog that monitors for misinformation online, found that Lee had been among the first people to publish a post to social media about the rumor, screenshots of which circulated online. The neighbor, Kimberly Newton, said she heard about the attack from a third party, NewsGuard reported. Newton told Newsguard that Lee’s Facebook post misstated her story, and that the owner of the missing cat was “an acquaintance of a friend” rather than her daughter’s friend. Newton could not be reached for comment. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-just-exploded-springfield-woman-says-never-meant-spark-rumors-haitian-rcna171099

A good overview from CNN on all the various issues on the table in Springfield: CNN visits town where Trump falsely claimed migrants are eating pets. Here's what we found