Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • May 28, 2020 11:04 PM

@ A Dub,

IIRC, a similar thing was done at some large airports when SARS was still spreading, but I don’t remember its effectiveness ever being rigorously investigated.

SARS-CoV-1 back in 2002 os now officially “extinct” and this was achieved by strict control of infectious people, by “Thermal Imaging”.

SARS-CoV-1 differed quite a bit in it’s behaviour from the current SARS-CoV-2 that has given us COVID-19.

With SARS-CoV-1 you only became infectious to others AFTER your fever had started, and from what I remember there were no asymptomatic infection recorded. The problem with SARS-CoV-2 is that you are infectious prior to any symptoms thus a thermal imager is not going to see you as infectious, and something like 50% are currently “guestermated” as having symptoms so mild as to be effectively asymptomatic whilst being infectious. But even those who have tested positive via an antigen test only a minor percentage show a fever. Some are saying that “anosmia” the loss of smell or taste is actually a more prevelant indicator in some age ranges and women.

Further SARS-CoV-2 whilst being equally as infectious to women as it is to men, the severity of recorded cases effects is generally twice as bad in men as it is in women.

As others have pointed out “You can not fight what you can not see” SARS-CoV-1 was easily seen by thermal imaging, thus it was easily faught and is now extinct.

SARS-CoV-2 however is hard to see and thus because of our political laxity in North America and Europe made worse by the voices of vested interests we have not just a pandemic but one with near uncontroled community spread. The more neo-liberal the views of the elected officials in general the longer the period of procrastination and the worse the pandemic and the much worse the community spread has become.

We had an opportunity to make SARS-CoV-2 extinct like we did SARS-CoV-1, but it was frittered away by those who held and continue to hold faild neo-liberal mantra to be more important than human life.

Thirty years ago I used to ask people their views about the need for “Expanding the economy by destroying non renewable natural resources” those younger than myself felt it was wrong, but way to many people older than me thought not only was it a good idea but it was essential… I was a little too polite back then to point out each human life is a non renewable natural resource, including their life. The people I was asking back then who were so pro ecological disaster were those who benifited from “Thatcher’s Britain” and now form the core of the biggest “at risk group” for COVID-19…

As the old saying has it,

As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap

Which has a bit of history behind it. For instance it appears in the Old Testement –Job 4:8– as “they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same”. Then around 50BC the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman, Marcus T. Cicero, was recorded to have said “As you have sown so shall you reap”. With it appearing again in the New Testement –Galatians 6:7– as “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”.

You get the idea that history has shown for quite some time that “self interested” things realy are just not a good idea and neo-liberalism as a creed to live by falls right in that historical warning.

As I’ve noted people have choice, especially when it comes to “Individual-v-Social Rights and Responsabilities”. It should be self evident by now that “mankinds high estate” is actually based on a functioning society where “A rising tide lifts all boats”. The neo-liberal mantra is a parasitic one of “take and not return”. Thus they believe themselves to be “entitled” and that anything for society is “stealing from their pockets”. Thus conveniently hiding behind the faux mantra that it is they more than others who are dependent on the good will of society, and can not survive without it. Remember any time a politician or talking head says something is essential to the economy, history usually shows that it has never been essential to mankind. Oh and just remember that our “growibg economy” is based on “accumulated debt”, that is the “entitled” are “stealing from the future” which not they but generations of unentitled citizens we call society will have to pay back with the attendent loss of health, liberty, prosperity, and life expectancy. Thus the entitled believe they should have “their todays for your childrens, grand childrens and great grand childrens tommorows”.

Unless of course their “entitlement” gives rise as it almost certainly will to another significant disaster, such as yet another global pandemic. Why would I think this will happen. Well nature has shown us it is actualy not “The strong that survive” but the “resilient” in fact more often than not “strength” is a short lived trip into an evolutionary cul-de-sac. Resilience is a form of stamina that is having sufficient spare capacity to survive short to medium term extremis. Nature usually shows that you need about 50% of your normal capacity as spare. That is you put about 1/3rd of your maximum capacity away for emergancies, that are going to happen.

To the neo-liberal “spare capacity” is “money left on the table” and thus a major “no no” in their view. In fact to maximize profit they believe in cutting capacity below what would be considered “normal” because the “laws of supply and demand” indicate restricted capacity means higher prices thus more profit…

The problem with less than normal capacity in the likes of healthcare means that their are insufficient resources thus people who could live infact die even in normal times. But come the winter cold people die each year needlessly, then there is the next crop of deaths to be reaped with flu… Now we have COVID-19 and the body bags have been pilling up in container vehicals in the side streets around hospitals. That’s the result of the neo-liberal deliberate reduction in capacity thus resilience.

Based on what we currently know, with sufficient capacity in first world healthcare the deathrate of COVID-19 will be around 1%. However without healthcare it will be 5-6%. If the US can keep it’s healthcare unsaturated then less than 3million US citizens will die of COVID-19. However if US Healthcare saturates as it is starting to do in Alabama, then 16million or more US citizens will die. That’s the difference neo-liberal thinking does for you in the short term.

And that’s before we start adding in the fact that there are going to be food shortages in the near future especialy in protein foods. In the first world this is likely to mean 50-200% price rises. In the second world malnutrition and reduced life expectancy with increased long term ill health. But in the third world expect significant deaths due to starvation, and rampant spread of avoidable disease…

This is where the neo-liberals get their “Double tap” with “disaster capitalism” where they will manipulate the market for more profit. If you think the vast profits Amazon are making at the expense of their employees are obscene as they say “you’ve not seen anything yet”…

Please note that Amazon are in the forefront of installing these heat sensing cameras allegedly for their “employees benifit” it’s actually nothing of the sort. Amazon are doing it for two reasons,

1, To reduce Amazon’s legal liability to their employees.

2, To move their people and purchase tracking technology into the work place for “employee evaluation” prior to termination.

Yes just like those “crotch facing heat sensors” found under desks in a british newspaper office, these heat sensing devices will be used to reduce wages and job security of employees all in the name of “not leaving money on the table”.