Counter-balancing the charlatans and grifters

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April 07, 2020 — Today is World Health Day. How ironic -- or full of portent -- is that? 

Nevertheless, it is certainly another day in the march toward flattening the curve of Covid-19, and it seemed like it might be a prime opportunity to take a closer look at some of the schemes and misinformation surrounding this pandemic. (It's Chronicle editorial director Allan Ryan here, working the keyboard this morning from the very quiet Chronicle HQ in Toronto.)

Crises like Covid-19 bring out the best in many people (healthcare workers, for instance) but also fuel those in society who are perhaps not so altruistic and mainly eager to turn a few bucks. These initiatives range from the sign [see right] which is taped to a lamp post outside Chronicle HQ. An innocent example, relatively, an entrepreneur attempting to cash in on the sudden demand for sneeze guards. No harm in that, is there? 

Then there was the entrepreneur in New York City who had accumulated a stash of PPE and offered to sell 1,000 N95 masks to a city physician for $12,000 US. The FBI caught wind of that deal and made the collar. Investigations into other black market activities are ongoing. 

Perhaps this is all just business as usual for certain types of unscrupulous people. We've all heard tales about extortion-level prices for sheets of plywood after a hurricane. But Covid-19 is different, isn't it?

That brings me to Jim Bakker -- yes, that Jim Bakker, who with his late ex-wife Tammy Faye, was former head and chief felon of the PTL Club. Turns out that Bakker did his jail time and has emerged with something called The Jim Bakker Show/Prophetic End-Time News. He is being sued by several states for claiming a silver solution he was peddling online could diagnose or cure Covid-19. Nominations for a special place in hell?

And finally there is the controversy surrounding hydroxychloroquine, the lupus and malaria therapy that is being promoted -- as recently as Sunday -- as a potential cure for Covid-19 by the POTUS. As he exclaimed, "What do you have to lose?" (see outcome).

   

COVID CHRONICLE 04/07/2020

• Russia is waging a war of disinformation on the pandemic by releasing fake news stories and propaganda blaming the west for creating and releasing Covid-19, according to this report from the University of Calgary School of Public Policy. 
• Skin irritation may promote face touching, leading to increased transmission of the Covid-19 virus in healthcare workers, reports a new article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
• A list of scams related to Covid-19 is being maintained by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, operated by the federal government. As is the case with the disease itself, elderly people seem to be more susceptible to fraud.

STORIES CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY...
Guidelines for psoriasis treatment in pediatric patients: Canadian dermatologists including Drs. Loretta Fiorillo of Edmonton and Joseph Lam of Vancouver comment on these guidelines, recently released by the American Academy of Dermatology to improve care of young patients with psoriasis. Coming in The Chronicle of Skin & Allergy.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE LISTENING TO... 
Can't get enough of William Prince's new album Reliever and this cut The Spark. His voice is a bit quiet especially when he plays live, but quite hypnotic and engaging all the same. From Peguis First Nation outside Winnipeg, the singer/songwriter has been working his way onto the Canadian music scene for several years now.

TONIGHT WE'RE WATCHING...

Finding Vivian Maier. We're turning back the clock and watching, again, the 2015 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature (here's a clip). Boxes of photographs found in a storage unit revealed the work of one of the century's best street photographers, work that was very nearly lost to history after she died. A moving portrait of the woman who worked as a nanny and never acknowledged her own talent. 

TONIGHT WE'RE COOKING...

Turns out April 7 is not only World Health Day, but also National Empanada Day and National Beer Day. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about what might be on offer at the Ryan household tonight.

AND HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener, to let us know what you're up to today. Or feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector. By all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues, and, when you're done, wash your hands.

That's it. Stay in touch, and stay safe until tomorrow.