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Take a look at the government org chart. The CDC reports to the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS reports to the President. They are all in Washington.This is all being done in an attempt to use a new analytics platform contracted by the HHS with Palantir for the purpose of anticipating hot spots and hospital stress to allow the federal government to send medical personnel and equipment, as is currently being doing for Texas and Los Angeles.The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a guidance document outlining the new data reporting changes on July 10 and held a media briefing on July 15.At the briefing, CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said that data was being submitted by hospitals and states through too many sources and it would be more efficient to remove the COVID-19 reporting from the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and funnel it all directly to a new platform created in April, HHS Protect."This reduces their reporting burden, it reduces the confusion and duplication of reporting, streamlines reporting, and enables us to distribute scarce resources using the best possible approach," Redfield told reporters.The data will be available to the CDC as they are reported by county and state health officials and also used by analytic teams at Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington.Palantir, an analytics company co-founded by Trump ally Peter Thiel, is supporting the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in building a tool to track the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new report from The Daily Beast.The tool, which is reportedly called HHS Protect Now, is already up and running as of April 10th and it helps officials compile reports on the coronavirus’ spread through the US by collecting data from state and local governments, healthcare institutions, and colleges. It is unclear what exactly this data is, where it comes from, or how it’s being used. It’s also unclear if Palantir is the sole technology provider of the tool, or if other partners are involved.Reports earlier this month first surfaced Palantir’s involvement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UK’s National Health Service regarding coronavirus tracking software and other assistance in combating the global pandemic. This would appear to be an extension of that work; Palantir has at least two active contracts with HHS, one signed in January and the other less than two weeks ago.Reports earlier this month first surfaced Palantir’s involvement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UK’s National Health Service regarding coronavirus tracking software and other assistance in combating the global pandemic. This would appear to be an extension of that work; Palantir has at least two active contracts with HHS, one signed in January and the other less than two weeks ago.Here’s how The Daily Beast describes the initiative, based on sources with knowledge of the project and confirmation from HHS itself:The HHS Protect Now platform, which is set to be unveiled later this week, pulls data from across the federal government, state and local governments, healthcare facilities, and colleges, to help administration officials determine how to “mitigate and prevent spread” of the coronavirus, according to a spokesperson for the department.And here’s an at least partial description of the kind of data we’re talking about here:HHS said it has 187 data sets integrated into the platform, with inputs that include hospital capacity and inventories, supply chain data from the government and industry, diagnostic and geographic testing data, demographic statistics, state policy actions, and coronavirus and flu-like emergency department data. The spokesperson also said HHS was relying on “private sector partner contributions of data.”“We are using the data aggregated... to paint a picture for the Task Force, and state and local leaders to show the impact of their strategic decisions,” the HHS spokesperson told The Daily Beast in a statement. “For instance, if there are a number of cases concentrated at a hospital next to an airport and a mass transit stop, we can build a predictive model using a transmission chain to predict how quickly the disease will spread taking into account these factors.”Peter Thiel’s controversial Palantir is helping build a coronavirus tracking tool for the Trump admin

Most people think noise disputes are essentially “he said, she said” arguments, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If your neighbor is overly sensitive you can prove it, and here’s how:Download an app that measures noise levels. There are several free ones that do the job: DecibelX is well-calibrated and comes in a free version, and the CDC (yes, that CDC) offers a reliable free noise-measuring app as well.Take some noise measurements. Measure the loudness, in dB, of anything in your home that makes noise: Your TV, your washer-drier, your dishwashing machine, exercise equipment. Put your phone down in a corner of your living room, leave the app running and have a normal conversation. The app will tell you things like your peak and average dB. Take notes: Time, noise type, dB measurement. Take screenshots of the noise levels for each measurement.Try to “replicate the error,” as an IT troubleshooter would, by engaging in an activity that typically raises the ire of your door-slamming, wall-pounding neighbor. If she responds by knocking or slamming, take screenshots of the dB levels. Add entries to your notes: Time, type of noise, noise level. Keep in mind the noise should be muffled on her end.(Above: A screenshot from Decibel X, a noise-measurement app. The wave display is useful for visualizing the contrast between normal levels and peaks caused by different noise sources. A sudden spike, for example, is more likely to disturb someone than an overall increase in ambient noise, such as a dishwasher.)How loud is loud?Finally, compare the baseline noise levels in your apartment or condo with acceptable noise levels as defined by the EPA. A quiet bedroom at night shouldn’t register sounds above 30 dB, for example. See the chart below.The sound of a typical person breathing is about 10 dB. A soft whisper should register between 20 and 30 dB. Rainfall usually measures about 50 dB, while a normal conversation should top out at about 60 dB. (Guidelines courtesy of the Center for Hearing and Communication.)Are you really loud, or is your neighbor sensitive?After you’ve measured typical noise levels in your home, you should have a pretty good idea of whether you’re being a reasonable neighbor or not. Try keeping an open mind.Your town or city will also have its own noise ordinances that govern appropriate noise levels and appropriate times. For example, your neighbor is running afoul of local law if he’s got his leaf blower blasting at 7 a.m. in a Saturday, but in most places it’s fair game to make noise after 9 a.m.Finally, try having a conversation with your neighbor if you haven’t already. Be polite. Tell her you’re trying not to disturb her, and don’t be accusatory. For example, instead of saying “You complain about everything!” say “Yeah, the walls in this place are really thin.”If she still won’t come to an understanding and insists on slamming, knocking and venting her frustration out on you, now you can say you tried to resolve the issue nicely, and you’ve got a nice, neat printout of your noise levels, time stamps and screenshots to back them up.Good luck.(Source)

A very established analytics tech company, Palantir, has been doing government work for years. Palantir engineers have developed an analytics platform designed to anticipate the spread of Covid19 while also assessing medical capacity to care for patient surges. Palantir’s contract is with the Department of HHS so that is why the data is going there.The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a guidance document outlining the new data reporting changes on July 10 and held a media briefing on July 15.At the briefing, CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said that data was being submitted by hospitals and states through too many sources and it would be more efficient to remove the COVID-19 reporting from the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and funnel it all directly to a new platform created in April, HHS Protect."This reduces their reporting burden, it reduces the confusion and duplication of reporting, streamlines reporting, and enables us to distribute scarce resources using the best possible approach," Redfield told reporters.Just recently nearly a thousand US armed forces doctors and nurses along with supplies and remdesivir have been sent to hard hit areas of Texas and Southern California. U.S. Military Is Sending Medical Staff To COVID-19 HotspotsEach county health department still compiles and sends data to their state and is widely available to others, including the CDC and university medical centers like Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington.A significant part of Palantir’s work has been government related security and analytics. Look at the government org chart. The CDC reports to HHS, not the other way around.This is much ado about nothing with hyper partisan journalists putting their conclusion without doing the very basics of journalism. No wonder trust in our news media is at historic lows.Palantir, an analytics company co-founded by Trump ally Peter Thiel, is supporting the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in building a tool to track the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new report from The Daily Beast.The tool, which is reportedly called HHS Protect Now, is already up and running as of April 10th and it helps officials compile reports on the coronavirus’ spread through the US by collecting data from state and local governments, healthcare institutions, and colleges. It is unclear what exactly this data is, where it comes from, or how it’s being used. It’s also unclear if Palantir is the sole technology provider of the tool, or if other partners are involved.Reports earlier this month first surfaced Palantir’s involvement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UK’s National Health Service regarding coronavirus tracking software and other assistance in combating the global pandemic. This would appear to be an extension of that work; Palantir has at least two active contracts with HHS, one signed in January and the other less than two weeks ago.Reports earlier this month first surfaced Palantir’s involvement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UK’s National Health Service regarding coronavirus tracking software and other assistance in combating the global pandemic. This would appear to be an extension of that work; Palantir has at least two active contracts with HHS, one signed in January and the other less than two weeks ago.Here’s how The Daily Beast describes the initiative, based on sources with knowledge of the project and confirmation from HHS itself:The HHS Protect Now platform, which is set to be unveiled later this week, pulls data from across the federal government, state and local governments, healthcare facilities, and colleges, to help administration officials determine how to “mitigate and prevent spread” of the coronavirus, according to a spokesperson for the department.And here’s an at least partial description of the kind of data we’re talking about here:HHS said it has 187 data sets integrated into the platform, with inputs that include hospital capacity and inventories, supply chain data from the government and industry, diagnostic and geographic testing data, demographic statistics, state policy actions, and coronavirus and flu-like emergency department data. The spokesperson also said HHS was relying on “private sector partner contributions of data.”“We are using the data aggregated... to paint a picture for the Task Force, and state and local leaders to show the impact of their strategic decisions,” the HHS spokesperson told The Daily Beast in a statement. “For instance, if there are a number of cases concentrated at a hospital next to an airport and a mass transit stop, we can build a predictive model using a transmission chain to predict how quickly the disease will spread taking into account these factors.”Peter Thiel’s controversial Palantir is helping build a coronavirus tracking tool for the Trump admin