New report highlights threats to uniquely Canadian plants and animals June 4, 2020 “The consequence of our failure to protect these endemic species is extinction.” Canada is home to over 300 different plant and animal species that live nowhere else on Earth. Unfortunately, the first comprehensive survey of these uniquely Canadian species shows that many could be vulnerable to extinction. These are the findings of a new report by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and NatureServe Canada. Entitled Ours to save: The distribution, status and conservation needs of Canada’s national endemic species, the report will be released to mark … Continue reading New report highlights threats to uniquely Canadian plants and animals

Dengue fever introduces a new complication in Indonesia during the COVID-19 battle. I have heard of this fever but only in Asia. it is mosquito borne.  according to wikipdia, About 390 million people are infected a year and approximately 40,000 die.[5][6] annually. Dengue complicates Southeast Asia’s coronavirus fight Tropical disease presents health care systems in region with a two-front war https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Dengue-complicates-Southeast-Asia-s-coronavirus-fight People cover their faces as a neighborhood in Jakarta is sprayed with insecticide to kill mosquitoes, which carry dengue fever, on March 23. © AP KOYA JIBIKI, Nikkei staff writer May 27, 2020 18:01 JST JAKARTA — Southeast Asian countries are … Continue reading Dengue fever introduces a new complication in Indonesia during COVID-19 battle

During the 2008 Banking crisis, one created by investment bankers loomed large – Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDO). They inner workings of these products created by spreadsheet junkies (not real bankers imho) was to create a debt product for sale that comprised a mix of A, B, n and junk mortgages. The key was the junk component made up of mortgages issued by likes of Wells Fargo with little or no diligence and which had little or no chance of being repaid on a normal regular payment schedule. Fast forward to recent events (before covid-19) and similar tools have been used … Continue reading A Banking crisis product behind the financing of the US Healthcare system

Boris Johnson received a lot of criticism following release of this document yesterday.  I would suggest that this is a well written business document, and while it may not be something 99% of the population would take the time to read, for the 1% the document provides a business oriented history and timeline of the lockdown process and a way out. Now the way out is open to debate, but it is a roadmap with clear targets and measurable actions. FINAL_6.6637_CO_HMG_C19_Recovery_FINAL_110522-_comp Continue reading HM Government – Lockdown – “Our Plan to Rebuild”

Here is my follow up to April 5th, 2020 post. My own non-scientific assessments as of April 5th, 2020. [it is remarkable how much information has been shared since that date] Here are the available options that I can see. – wait for the antidote (Q2 2021) – wait for the antibody test (Months away) – muddle through: slowly re-introduce working in the office for low risk staff. Possibly introduce random or systemic testing of employees who have returned (if such is available) – UBC model featuring on/ off approach based on Government indication that hospital capacity, particularly ICU, is … Continue reading Banks’ considerations for the end of covid-19 lockdown – followup – 2

Government of Ontario weekly growth numbers.  Note Ontario which began “re-opening” remains at R=~ 1 covid-19-epi-growth-ontario_2020-05-09 Continue reading Government of Ontario weekly growth 2020-05-09

In more positive news, Williams said that for the first time, Ontario’s basic reproduction number has fallen below one, meaning that on average, each newly infected person is passing the virus on to less than one other person. He said in some parts of the province, the reproduction number or R0 has fallen to about 0.8, but in other parts, it remains well above 1, closer to 1.3. The 477 new cases confirmed on Friday translate into a positive rate of about 2.9 per cent on the more than 16,000 tests conducted. That’s up marginally from a positive rate of … Continue reading He said in some parts of the province, the reproduction number or R0 has fallen to about 0.8