Keep in mind that during the final phases before the standard was ratified, the USA was heavily involved in making a few 'changes' to the specs. Some of which were specifically in the area of the cryptographic algorithms. Weakening to 40bits is something very specific - suspiciously to allow manufactured devices in the US to be exported anywhere in the world.

I remember at the time there being a lot of heat on the algorithm design being potentially weak due to possible interactions of LFSRs. It wouldn't surprise me if it was broken after release, but because it couldn't be changed, the 'security alert' would have been silenced. It stands to reason that it was cracked quite a few times by unrelated entities that benefited more from keeping their crack secret.

Video killed the radio star, but the AZ vaccine saved them.

The issue has nothing to do with Pacemakers, it is a poorly considered deactivate switch in implantable defibrillators that is at issue.

Basically, some defibrillators on the market use a reed switch that is triggered by a strong magnet that is used to disable the device for testing and other purposes. The magnets in an iPhone 12 (and any other device with a strong neodymium magnet) can trigger this switch, so it is not specifically an issue with the iPhone 12. The difference is that the iPhone 12 is probably more common.

The problem is the use of a magnetic reed switch and assuming no strong magnets ever come close the device in normal use. That is a bit of a huge assumption for a critical medical device IIMO.

"Oxford Jab" sounds closer to "poo jab" than it does to getting a 'needle' for a vaccine.

In that context, "bending over for the Oxford Jab" takes on a whole new meaning.

True, instead of, "Have you been to the doctor for your Oxford Jab?"
It's more like: "In Federal PMITA prison, you don't drop the soap, otherwise you'll be on the receiving end of the Oxford Jab."

What are you talking about? Let's assume that the tests had a really high false positive rate. That means many more people are forced to isolate than required. If everyone truly did what they were told, and the virus was truly being eliminated, then this just means less and less people are getting sick and presenting for testing. After a while, the death rate related to COVID drops through the floor, and the only remaining false positives are people who contract a flu/cold that with similar symptoms. The false positives in those camps will have a significantly lower death/ICU rate to COVID.

The testing reliability does not affect the growth rate, and that is the final arbiter on whether a spread is containable or not. Contact tracing follows the infection path of a particular person, so these 'false positives' have to persist along the chain or they just appear as noise in the general population. At that point, with no perceived growth, and non correlated ICU/deaths, the tests can be reapplied to verify new cases more accurately.

You just have to look at the results in Australia. Tens of thousands of daily tests, and only a few positives - and recently zero positives over a few days. So the false positive rate is incredibly low if anything. And each case can be watched like a hawk now that the numbers are manageable.

So your assertion that any false positive rate means a mathematic impossibility of an end to the pandemic is not supported. Also, the false positive rate is incredibly low, and definitely low enough that the virus can be detectably contained to a point where it is theoretically possible for the pandemic to end.

That doesn't mean it will, simply because 'hidden clusters' may keep it alive until a vaccine is available. But it is not because of the false positive rate of the tests.

I also suspect people who know people in high places may have had a word or two.

Your assertion is in contradiction to what the article says. From the article:

So no, not just mortality rates, but also hospital stay duration according to the WHO study as reported in the article.

Don't forget the old:

"Dude: Wanna Netflix n Chill at my place after training.

Chick: But, I have this little cough and a bit of a headache.

Dude: No, probs, you can take a panadol and we can fuck like rabbits while a stick my tongue half way down your throat, and any other part of your body that's moist and damp.

Chick: But, what if I have that deadly Covid thing?

Dude: Fuck it, Covid ain't real, and I'm a young and healthy fitness instructor, so I'll be immune to any minor virus you may have. You don't wanna miss out on this hot sculpted bod do you now?

Chick: Ok, see at 9pm."

3 weeks later: RIP

Not everyone hates their ex and vice versa.

Are we talking about the same Australia which is 7,741,220 sq km versus the USA's 9,833,517 sq km (USA is only 27% bigger)? Yes, it has a far smaller population, but each city has the same issues as the USA. Yet, it was able to stop the exponential growth early on.

Ok, then have a look at Australia, most of the population is densely packed into a few capital cities. Yes, the country is big, but most people are within a huge dense grouping.

Whether it's Trump's fault or not, the USA is the poster child of how not to behave in a pandemic.

Gee, I wonder.

Nope the Australian fires are mostly natural. The arson police arrests were responsible for a small number of the fires - and ones easiest to put out because they started close to reachable regions. The ones started due to lightening in remote locations were the worst because they burnt wild with embers starting further fires up to 10km away from the original fire. Those remote fires grew huge due to their inaccessibility.

Regarding your statistical note, you are correct, the last 200 years will mean nothing in another 500 million years. Unfortunately, we are mostly interested in what will happen in the next 100 years, not the next 100 million. And for that reason, the trends in the last 200 years are very statistically significant.

Also worth noting is that the reporting of these arrests are a misdirection implying these bushfires are caused by people. The vast majority of the fires were caused by natural ignition such as lightning, self combustion of composting vegetation, and ember spread in remote locations. So even if there were zero fires caused by people, we would still be in this mess.

And you're absolutely correct that the spread and out-of-control nature of the fires is so extreme due to the extended hot and dry climate conditions.