Category Archives: Science And Society

Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, War Commentary

Obesity

1 Comment

Is it a factor in COVID deaths? First I’d heard that, but I wouldn’t be surprised. A lot of people who are obese are that way because of poor diets, which can also cause inflammation and weakened immune systems.

[Update a few minutes later]

The monumental failure of the CDC (and FDA, which is responsible for the terrible nutritional advice that causes inflammation and obesity). As an example of its mission creep that prevented it from doing its actual job, WTF is the CDC doing being involved in workplace safety? To the degree that that’s a federal responsibility (it isn’t), that’s the job of OSHA.

[Update a while later]

Related: The tradeoff between big government and competent government.

[Update late morning]

40% of extreme cases suffer neurological symptoms. That’s bad, but as noted, that can happen with the flu, too.

[Update a few minutes later]

Fast tracking to find the best therapies. This is not FDA approved…

[Thursday-afternoon update]

Related to the post topic? Little Fat Man Kim Jong Un fails to show up at a celebration.

[Update Friday morning]

This is possibly related: Glucose metabolism may play a key role. That, along with the diabetes, would be consistent with the obesity. I’ll bet dollars to high-glycemic doughnuts that diet is a factor. Maybe putting people on keto would be palliative.

[Bumped]

[Update a few minutes later]

Just to follow up on the keto thought, unfortunately, there are few diets worse for health than hospital diets, which follow the disastrous FDA guidelines.

Popular Culture, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Dune

58 Comments

There’s apparently a new remake coming out.

Unpopular opinion (which I’ve probably expressed here before): Dune is the most overrated book in SF. And the sequels were terrible.

On a sad note, I recently decided to finally pick up The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, which has been on the bookshelf for decades (paperback), and read it. I couldn’t get more than a few pages in. Heinlein really needed an editor in his later years.

Business, Economics, Health, History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society, War Commentary

Trust The “Experts”

2 Comments

Public health authorities have failed us at every level, and the powerful people who were catastrophically wrong about China.

[Update a while later]

The long hard road to decoupling from China. We cannot have globalization with countries that do not share our values of liberty and individualism. But we should more strongly embrace the China that works: Taiwan.

[Update a couple minutes later]

A bipartisan call for WHO to make Taiwan a member. That of course begs the question that WHO is an organization even worthy of our funding.

[Update a while later]

The massive failure of the federal government in the pandemic argues against Medicare for all.