Random Rant Thread

[miscmisc]

Yeah, those numbers are bollocks. Just a statistical illusion, basically.

The 2-dose mRNA vaccination is far more effective against hospitalizations than those numbers suggest, and the VE of the booster shots has been consistently overestimated for similar statistical reasons.

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None of what he says there is actual science at this point. Think of it as his *opinion*.

You WISH "the brain" were this simple. It most certainly isn't. Which is also my *opinion*, but far likelier to be true than his.

[miscmisc]

This. There was NEVER any "draconian restrictions" in the US. That is the central bollocks that tie all these drama-queen fucks together, and that's why "Grow the fuck up you self-important babies" is ALL you need to say to them.

[miscmisc]

I've been looking at American, British, Australian and (fresh) Japanese data, and it seems extremely difficult to avoid Omicron if you have family. No matter how careful, *someone* - Dad, Mom, Daughter, Son, Cat, whoever - will bring it into your household, and it's game over.

Kind of Captain Obvious, but it does seem that two is the maximum size of a household with which it's still possible to consciously and strategically avoid Omicron.

[miscmisc]

What's really annoying about some (Read: many) people in the US is that they think they have had to endure "draconian restrictions" while thinking Japan has imposed even more draconian measures on the population (and thus better fatality rates etc.).

Of course they are spectacularly wrong on both counts.

[miscmisc]

Another thing that annoys the hell out of me in the US is the people who pretend as if the mask mandate at school is one step away from child abuse.

I'm not just talking about the idiots and freedom fighters; I'm also talking about the "sensible" people who do take Covid seriously and even think that the mandate *is* necessary. Scott Gottlieb called the school mask mandate the "most disruptive" of all, and should be lifted first if the governments are to loosen the restrictions.

I respect his opinions on Covid, but most disruptive? Really?

I mean, yeah, you can lift it. I don't have much problem with that. The mask mandate at school does have some benefit, and it's definitely good for teachers, but it's kids that we are talking about here. They don't wear them correctly (or just take them off) half the time, and even if they do wear them nice and fit, they are so much more touchy-feely than adults that their general behaviors greatly reduce the efficacy of masks to begin with.

But is it that "disruptive"? I've seen kids wearing masks at school both in the US and Japan, and have never actually seen the evidence for the disruptiveness. They always seemed fine. Even in Texas.

Kids actually don't whine about that kind of stuff nearly as much as adults do. I think most people are confused about that just because kids tend to shout and cry. Kids adapt to a new environment much faster than adults, and don't suffer nearly as much from narcissism and silly romanticism as adults.

I can absolutely guarantee you that it's a much smaller deal for most kids than it has been made out to be. 10 years ahead they'll talk fondly about the memories of how they were able to fool their teacher thanks to masks.

[miscmisc]

There were the Legacies everywhere back in my time too. Absolutely ubiquitous, and you could easily tell most of them were vapid idiots as soon as they opened their mouth and started talking about Chris Rock or something.

The right complain about so-called affirmative action all the time, but it was always the Legacies that received by far the biggest benefit from the traditional affirmative action, called legacy admissions, and they almost always reduced the quality of classes and discussions. And that's still true - no, even truer today.

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Today's parents are mostly out of their fucking mind. The way they view and treat their kids is absolutely intertwined with their own narcissism, and that makes their attitude unhealthy and just generally super dumb and creepy.

No, I'm not going to say that their children will grow up to be horrible human beings because of that. They are going to be more or less fine - *despite* the pathology of their parents.

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OK, so Rahm Emanuel is the new Ambassador to Japan, and I have a lot of explaining to do to my Japanese friends and families.

And it's really hard. It's certainly an insult to the country, but on the other hand, the ambassador to Japan is in many ways a sweet spot for the Biden administration to politely kick him away into. It's not a super-important job (It will be in the future, but not yet), but the prestige is relatively high. And most importantly, the job is not very difficult (It will be in the future, but not yet).

With that being said, it's fucking insulting for sure. Rahm fucking Emanuel, man. Good grief.

[miscmisc]

If you think it's fine to call anti-vaxx crank Robert Malone the "inventor of mRNA vaccines," you should also call me the inventor of the facial recognition algorithms widely used today, for real. I *was* involved 20-25 years ago in one of the dozens of breakthroughs/inventions that led to what we have today.

[miscmisc]

European Covid-skeptics/anti-vaxxers/anti-maskers creep me out even more than the American counterparts, man. I'm already familiar with the latter, and their combatant/aggressive attitude toward people like me, but those Europeans are like, "We don't want to offend you; We just want to have a debate, a rational conversation" with creepy fucking smiles on their faces.

I just wish they stopped pretending to be what they aren't. Liberty warriors are liberty warriors no matter what, and kooks are just kooks no matter what. They are either charlatans or hopelessly confused people. I certainly have no interest in "having a conversation" with them.

You know, the people who bring in thousands of dubious charts frantically trying to "own" you behind the facade of civility/rationality... been there, done that. I'd rather have a *fight* with those fools.

Oh, and I'd definitely include the Japanese Covid-skeptics/anti-vaxxers/anti-masks in the "European" camp. Same attitude, same creepiness.

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Every asshole is a freedom fighter until they get punched in the face by Covid in the ICU bed. I know far too many doctors and nurses to be oblivious to how shallow their conviction is and how silly the whole liberty porn is.

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This Nixon interview, translated into Japanese, left a lasting impact on my 17-year-old self. I only knew Nixon as this villain back then, and precisely because of that it struck me like a thunderbolt.

It has influenced me to this day, in good and bad ways. I don't think I *completely* agree with him now, but my life will continue to revolve around it.

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It is true that Brits have elevated political leaking to an art form, isn't it? Americans are absolutely clumsy in comparison.

[K1power]

Okay, episode 5 was great. Ironically, Boba himself wasn't in it.