Category Archives: Healthcare

The Off-Plumb Covid-19 Quiz

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  1. In the old, wild west, a financially distressed sheep rancher has to move his herd of one thousand to the stockyard to sell. One route is through Indian territory where feed and water are plentiful. He knows the Indians demand six lambs as the price of using that route. The other route avoids the Indians altogether but the route is longer, the terrain is rough, and feed and water are scarce. He knows he will lose only two or three sheep to wolves on that route and that his herd will sell for as much as 20% less because they’ll be in bad shape. Which route should he take?
  2. A hungry, fire-breathing dragon is outside an enormous medieval castle, where ten thousand villagers have fled for protection. The dragon, fluent in French of course, gives the Lord two options. One was that he could provide thirty people to the dragon for her consumption. The alternative is providing twenty people plus twenty-five percent of the livestock and grain, a food supply vital to the fiefdom for the approaching winter. Losing that much would result in famine and possibly a number of deaths by starvation. The Lord asked the dragon if she would like to choose the people for her meals? She said, after a flaming roar, that she didn’t care, but older, tougher meat was better for her dentition, yet it was always pleasant to enjoy something younger as an aperitif. If you were the Lord, what would you chose and why?
  3. It’s early in the evening and the urban bar is full of professionals. The bartender comes out of a back room, looking gloom. “What’s wrong?” the psychologist asks. “Conflicted? Loss? Disagreement?”

“The health department says the place has too many flies,” he answers. “I have to shut it down.”

“I’ll sponsor legislation,” the senator says before anyone else can say a thing, “to make sure you and your staff have plenty of money and that the rent is paid. I’ll make sure you get a tax break, too.”

“I have a ten-thousand volt fly zapper I could lease to you,” said the salesman.

“I can write you a prescription for oral and topical medications against vector-borne diseases,” the doctor says. “And you probably need blood work, a CT scan and a colonoscopy.”

“I’ll sue the city health department,” the attorney says. “And the mayor, the city council, the zoning commission and the treasurer. Then I’ll go after the county and the state. Then Donald Trump.”

An entomologist offered a genetically manipulated male fly that would mate but not reproduce.

“I can depreciate your business, consolidate your liabilities and inflate your assets,” said the accountant. “By the way, what do you want the bar to be worth?”

“Why don’t you fix your screens, dude?” The contractor asked. “I could do that tomorrow if you bring me a few more boilermakers tonight.”

Question:  Is advice from highly intelligent people invariably helpful?

This Covid quiz is based on an estimated mortality rate of 0.25% when the medical system is not overwhelmed and 50 – 200% higher when it is.

Act of War or of Criminal Incompetence?

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Was the Covid-19 pandemic due to criminal incompetence or an act of war?

The preponderance of evidence, at this time, suggests that SARS-CoV occurred naturally. While China claims the outbreak in late 2019 occurred naturally at a “wet market”, most western experts believe that it was stored in a virology laboratory near Wuhan China after discovery in 2013. US intelligence reported safety problems with at least one of two such laboratories about a year before human infection and spread began around December 1, 2019. Chinese government officials covered up an unknown number of details and lied about others as the epidemic raged in Hubei province where 56 million people live. In January, all domestic travel in and out of Hubei was halted. Six days later, aided by the World Health Organization, all international travel was also halted.

Chinese individuals, including at least one physician, who tried to warn the rest of the world about the gravity of the situation, disappeared. Misinformation poured from government sources and the WHO. Non-governmental voices were censured. It is objectively impossible to trust any information about this issue from any source in China including, in my opinion, professional medical publications. It is inarguable that the government has launched a campaign of propaganda to, at best, try to regain stature in the international community. At worst, the intent is to further the political and socioeconomic upheaval caused by the pandemic. Intent is difficult to clarify and often has several aspects.

China either failed to contain the virus, likely by virtue of bureaucratic ineptitude, or it intended to allow its spread. The latter, as evidenced by the six day window of continued international travel, would be tantamount to an act of war.

A perfect act of war is one that is subtle, seemingly natural, and arguably accidental. It results in devastation of enemies far and near. Such an act would bring no immediate military response, no critical resolution from the United Nations, and no harmonious chorus of condemnation. Victim countries would be torn by between those who see the infection as a hostile act and apologists that promote the perpetrator’s propaganda. If a dominant fraction of apologist media exists, public support of the notion that this was an act of war may never rise above a murmur.

What would China gain by release of virus worldwide? For one, while it harmed their internal economy, it has created for them an economic explosion of exports, both legal and blackmarket. They are selling products to affected countries faster than they can be produced at prepaid prices that approach astronomical. As a result, these countries go deeper into debt to make these purchases. Viral containment efforts in most western nations have resulted in economic contraction and widespread unemployment unlike any period in almost a hundred years. With much lower tax revenue and profligate bailouts, the budget deficit of the US, for example, from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 could exceed four trillion dollars. It is plausible—a notion voiced by Senator Tom Cotton—that China didn’t want to be the only country to suffer economically and found it preferable that the world suffer with it. Again, it is almost impossible to have certainty about intent.

Economic collapse is typically followed by political chaos. Chaos creates opportunity for hegemony. Wars are fought to expand territory, control, power and/or influence. Every objective observer of history knows this.

The failure to contain international travel, the pervasive obfuscation and mendacity, the governmental culture of dominance, still cannot confirm that this was an act of war. If not, however, it was an act of genocide, a crime against humanity, and criminal negligence for which China owes every country in the world recompense. Their intent is irrelevant with respect to their debt to all.

Keeping  with the China theme, there is a Karma in life. In striving for the yang of the cheapest source, we reaped the yin of a decimated capacity of US manufacturing, making us dependent on others, including hostile powers. For the yang of shared commerce, we harvest the yin of cowering in place from yet another Chinese virus and panicking over toilet paper while simpering politicians dismantle our own economy.

The US recently became energy independent from the mideast. At the very least, this second (or third?) epidemic from China should serve as notice that it is time to be independent from them in every way. But first, don’t forget that they owe us trillions of dollars in damages suffered by us from their criminal attack.