Stop worrying – Larry Ellison and Prez Trump will have this whole coronavirus thing licked shortly with the power of data Larry Ellison is not one to let anything get him down, least of all gravity. Grave though the global COVID-19 pandemic may be, the Oracle founder, CTO and chairman is a man who produces. And, as intrepid Forbes reporter Angel Au-Yeung found out, the product is "wellness". Last week's Forbes front cover is graced with the faces …
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Just think what would have happened if they had revealed that smoking a couple of joints every hour cures a COVID infection within two weeks - Trump would be up there on the stage puffing away and he would win the next couple of elections, easy peasy.
The real issue here is not what's fake and what's not fake, or who's saying what. It's that the West has move to selling medicine and profiting from illness so there not real point in being prepared for a pandemic, it's not as profitable as suppressing a pandemic.
Only the science on chloroquine isn't so good. You don't want the cure being worse than the disease after all?
I wasn't going to say anything but I need to jump in. My cousin & uncle tested positive for the virus. Five days on hydroxychloroquine saved my cousin's life and got him out of the hospital after he was weaned off the respirator. But due to his age my uncle probably won't last the week & to make matters worse I can't hop on a plane to be there. They described the NY hospitals as overcrowded and understaffed and yet got excellent care from heroic staff. El Reg can contact me to verify this.
Screw you. Screw you all that don't have family in the hospital and are terrified whenever the phone rings. Enjoy your spittle-filled political "orange man bad" rants while you did nothing. The thing about doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly, then with perfect 20/20 hindsight you can attack with a smile those that did something & were right 90% of the time - while you gleefully savage the 10% of the effort that wasn't.
Paul 195 wrote: The problem with the much touted Hydroxychloroquine treatment is that no-one really knows whether it works
I'll be sure to tell that to my cousin.
When I wrote "hydroxychloroquine saved my cousin's life", that is based on what he texted me from the hospital, which is directly based on what his doctor told him. I trust that the doctors knew what they were doing when they gave it to him. I'm not going to post the his text word for word & I don't really care what you think - what matters is what the doctor thinks when examining you based on experience. If God forbid you end up like my cousin I don't think you will give a flying frack about the doctor's politics, or that you will tell the doctor "don't save my life with hydroxychloroquine because orange man likes it".
Hydroxychloroquine is a bad choice for people with some heart troubles, so they thoroughly checked out his heart & did blood work before approving the drug for him.
OTOH if your attitude is "hydroxychloroquine is bad because orange man likes it", then you are a very cold person & you should re-examine your life. The very same people here that are quick to attack ignorant people's computer decisions, are now quick to make ignorant medical decisions.
"Five days on hydroxychloroquine saved my cousin's life and got him out of the hospital after he was weaned off the respirator."
if your story is true, I'm happy for your cousin. But you have no idea whether hydroxychloroquine saved him, because you do not have (I'm presuming) an in-all-other-respects identical cousin who received the same treatment but without the hydroxychloroquine, and died.
If you get sick, go to the hospital, and eat a bag of M&Ms every day, you will either a) get better or b) die. Whichever happens, the M&Ms probably didn't cause it.
"If you get sick, go to the hospital, and eat a bag of M&Ms every day"
Not a very good comparison. Hydroxychloroquine has gone through rigorous clinical testing and has been approved for use in many places, just not for treating COVID-19. The M&M treatment could be compared with perhaps shark cartilage, but the asinine comment would be better if aspirin were used instead of M&Ms.
Most people recover. So anecdotal reports don't prove anything.
Most people recover. Is that anecdotal?
Or is it, you don't like the reality of what I wrote so you INSIST it must be anecdotal, right?
It's like the story of the patient who insisted he was a corpse. Doctor asks him "Do corpses bleed?" Patient replies "No, of course not." So the doctor pricks his finger & the patient bleeds. Patient looks at his finger & says "Well I'll be damned - corpses DO bleed!" ¹
.
.
¹ This story is anecdotal.
I suspect your emotions are getting in the way of critical thinking.
At present there is research on a global scale to find existing medicines that could work. However, the term "work" implies it works for a large percentage of a group, not have the odd restorative function. At present there is no scientifically confirmed evidence that it works, only anecdotal.
Think logically. Do you really think that all the medical staff working like utter maniacs would not cry it from the roof if they had found something that is confirmed to save lives? There is a LOT of money at stake here, so you can be sure you'll hear about it the moment they have something - something supported by hard evidence.
"Most people recover. Is that anecdotal?"
No, it's a universally-reported fact. Just about every jurisdiction reporting stats on COVID-19 includes a 'recoveries' number. It is invariably significantly higher than the 'deaths' number. Wikipedia's current worldwide count is just under 2 million cases with 128,011 deaths and 500,996 recoveries, so 4x as many people are confirmed to have recovered as are confirmed to have died. (The recovery number on any given day is also a substantial undercount compared to the death number, as you can't be counted as 'recovered' until like two weeks after you leave the hospital, but you can be counted as 'dead' pretty darn quick...)
The problem with the much touted Hydroxychloroquine treatment is that no-one really knows whether it works. Or what the dose should be for treating Covid 19. We do know that since Trump started using it to cover for the complete failure of public health policy in the US, that people have gone to hospital with chloroquine poisoning, and that patients prescribed Hydroxychloroquine for other serious conditions (like Lupus) are finding it hard to get their medicine. All without any real evidence that it helps treat Covid 19. See here https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/23/africa/chloroquine-trump-nigeria-intl/index.html, and here https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2764607 .
But @Bob, carry on believing what the orange man tells you. After all, the guy who had a full-blown toddler tantrum in front of the press today must be a more reliable source of medical iinformation than all those doctors saying, "hold on a minute".
> "had a full-blown toddler tantrum in front of the press today"
I wish this was an overstatement, but it's dead on. I listen to the news to help pass the time at home now, I had to turn it off yesterday. You end up just hating every single idiot in that room. The only redeeming thought is the smart idiots probably hate themselves too.
"So predictable..." - you might be right, you might be wrong. The problem is that we don't know enough about the disease but it does seem that many people get infected and then show virtually no symptoms - this can make tests for "cures" very difficult. Did the applied compound fix the problem or did the subject just get well anyway? It's called science and statistics, not popular subjects these days.
"... reflexively JUMP at ANY potential opportunity to VENT..."
I draw your attention to pretty much any post you have made about the current lockdown situation, "modern" UI, current software approaches and methodologies, .NET, Microsoft, etc., etc.
But in particular, about the bottom two thirds of this particular outpouring deserves a special mention - mainly because it was made after your above comment accusing others of venting.
Bob, you are a hypocrite of the first order. Nobody takes your childish name-calling, capitals, underscores, letter substitutions, deliberate mis-spellings and other attempts to draw attention to yourself seriously. Every comment you post in this manner only serves to undermine your credibility.
In short, you have become the "howler monkey" you are so quick to accuse your downvoters of being.
I hope for your sake that you do not persist this behaviour across the rest of the internet where potential employers may see it, otherwise I would believe that COVID-19 would be far less impacting on your chances of obtaining further contracts than the damage you are inflicting upon your own image.
I feel sorry for you.
Um ... it has been governors issuing unconstitutional shutdown orders. Governors reveling in emergency powers.
It was Trump saying we should think about opening ups soon as possible, and said governors having hissy fits.
So Trump plays them like a fiddle (again), knowing they will do the opposite of whatever he thinks/says. Now they want to show how cool and rebellious they are, by opening up (maybe - that extra power just feels so so good to them).
But what do I know, I just live here.
Um ... it has been governors issuing unconstitutional shutdown orders. Governors reveling in emergency powers.
Weirdly, it has been hard to find any constitutional lawyers to support that statement, and in general Trump's assertions that he has that power. But hey, what do I know, I only look at this based on facts..
King Donald d'Orange is appointing his kids to the newly forming econ task force which will guide the King in wisdom and knowledge and will tell us all when the country will reopen.
"Cursed be the scientists." is their motto.
"Cursed be those who say no to the King!"
"Cursed be those States who deny the King's wishes! For he is a Stable Genius with Unmatched Wisdom!"
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Bob - we've missed you! It's been so quiet for the last few weeks. Some imposter with your name even posted a few responses that made sense and didn't mention DEMO[N]CRATS. I was sure it couldn't be you as I upvoted those posts...
Anyway, welcome back. It's great to see you on form again.
BTW, DT has repeatedly measured his success on the improvement of the stock market. Now it is in free fall, he is in danger of losing in November... I know, who'd have thought it? Those damn commies in Wall St. have done it on purpose! So much better if everyone gets back to work so it makes him look good - doesn't matter if a few people die. Diehard GOP voters and true Americans will be happy to sacrifice themselves to the cause (Greg Abbott - what a hero) and the damn commie, socialist liberals deserve it so they don't count! The 1% need to be protected - there are so few of them after all.
I think the press are mainly viewing him as the messias of pandemics because of this talk in 2015:
https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready
However that doesn't make him an expert, no. He's just repeating what any epidemiologist would have said, but they're not Bill Gates so they didn't have the media exposure. Epidemiology was boring non-news until we found out they could actually happen. I don't think he's the medical genius people claim him to be either.
He's demonstrated his great mastery of cutthroat business practices during his career. Since then he's been putting his money to good work as a medical philantropist. But I don't see any indication of expertise either except for those few comments in an 8 minute TED talk. It's nice of him to donate some of his money for good for a change but he should let the real experts take the lead, IMO. But this is America and fame means more than expertise. Look at their choice of president. Q.E.D.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Global_health_division
"Lanai... has become his petri dish of experimentation on health, wellness and sustainability, with data collection and feedback loops underpinning the entire operation. "It's a bit of a laboratory for advanced technology," Ellison says."
Sounds more like a volcanic island lair for someone who wants to take over what's left of the world once it has been ravaged by a plague.......
I'm sure I once saw a movie about something similar.
Does anyone know if oily snakes live on volcanic islands?
To be fair data does have an important part to play in health but it can also send people on wild goose chases and can't replace actual research.
There is, also a risk of large scale health data on everybody being misused.
The risk probability is tending towards 1 at the moment.
A separate not for profit organisation is needed here, ideally with a board made up only from Nobel science laureates to prevent it going 'corporate' after Larry hits the 'stop'.
The 21stCentury needs more billionaires to be like this in the mould of Carnegie & Rockefeller, ok, I admit they stepped on more than a few toes making their fortunes as well.
About the only thing I know about "wellness" is that I keep seeing mentioned on adverts on the back panels of buses which is an odd place to learn about anything, but there you are. And the one thing that strikes me about it is that the easiest people to whom to sell it must be those who are already well. Those who aren't present a much tougher delivery problem.
the easiest people to whom to sell it must be those who are already well. Those who aren't present a much tougher delivery problem.
Such a fine sentence, I'm going to borrow that.
Another one I've come across:
"The kind of people who want to assemble in large groups right now are exactly the kind of people who ought to" - even Twitter can contain the occasional gem..
"The kind of people who want to assemble in large groups right now are exactly the kind of people who ought to"
As you say, a gem; would they please take Eamon Holmes and the like with them.
It's noticeable that those now visiting the countryside are exactly those who shouldn't. We had the numpties from Leeds who reportedly set fire to 4 hectares of moorland with a barbecue. And the other day when I was out for a walk I found somebody who drove a 4x4 up a 30 degree grass bank, apparently for no other reason than because he could. That particular bank has pyramid orchids growing on it.
"Through data, Ellison has partnered with US President Donald Trump and plans to rescue America from the wreckage of the COVID-19 outbreak."
Yeah, right. People like this don't do it for the karma. You just need to follow the money trail. Data is money. You had a disease? You will have 'x' number of side effects. Here, buy this medicine. Oh, medicine 'x' gives you 'y' side effects. Here, buy this medicine. Before you know it, you are on 6 different forms of medication with combined side effects worse that what you started with. The people pay the drug companies, the drug companies pay for the data.
You lost your job because of the pandemic? Here, buy some insurance. Same premise.
Whatever misery these people can find, they will exploit, one way or another.
Larry is probably doing it for the Karma, just like Alfred Nobel did after he read his obit. as a 'purveyor of death & destruction'.
Ego driven persuit of money & power will only take you so far (Larry wouldn't notice another $10Bn dropping in his lap), eventually mortality rears its head and the Ego wants to be remembered for being 'great & good' not money grubbing.
Larry is 75, and right now nature is showing us all that money & power are sometimes no help at all (Unless you want to be the next Howard Hughes)
Reminds me of the old "when you have a hammer . ." adage.
Having data is very nice, Larry, but your data is, at best, the results of researchers doing actual work. So maybe you do have an idea about how to correlate those results, but you're still the end of the chain.
And I'm not sure I want you to be controlling that data anyway. That data belongs in a museum in the hands of proper medical personnel who can make sense of it.
You've got enough hypocrisy, lack of self-awareness and utopian vanity in and around this article for a whole new season!! Maybe they can bring back the Pied Piper gang for a sequel TV movie, like they did with Deadwood, where the crew has been acquired by Ellison and set to work in the bowels of project Sensei.
Bonus points if the pilot project in Lanai has worked out, and Ellison has decided the next phase that the Pied Piper crew are working on should be to revolutionize another island, like New Zealand, Australia or Great Britain.
It was actually six bankruptcies, which misapprehension is classic Trump fudging. Seems that since some occurred in the same year as others, they were combined for the purpose of counting "how many". And that is Trump thrice over on "smart money".
That his seventh bankruptcy is ongoing and terminal (for us) should now be obvious to all.
Like in his press briefing the other night. "All 50 US states,,,and the US territories...we have territories...not everyone knows that...I do..."
FFS man, your the President of the USA. If you didn't know the USA has territories then I'd be even more scared of you than I already am!!
Well, his hated "rival", Bill Gates has Malaria, so Larry has finally got his own disease!
Oh, My! Nice goin', Larry!
You may yet steal that Nobel prize away from the evil anti-Christ Bill !
Keep pluggin' away! If you have to, hock a jet-fighter or two! And don't let some pipsqueak's Maria stop you!
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