RTTue, 17 Mar 2020 22:54 UTC
© Handout via Reuters / Gemelli PoliclinicoMedical workers in protective suits transfer a coronavirus patient in Rome, Italy, March 16, 2020
Fatalities in Italy's coronavirus outbreak have surpassed 2,500, while the number of Covid-19 cases in the country have far exceeded those remaining in China - where the epidemic began - with more than 31,000 active infections.
With a spike of 345 new deaths in the last 24 hours, Tuesday was among Italy's most deadly in the Covid-19 outbreak gripping much of the Mediterranean nation, bringing the death toll to 2,503, out of a total 31,506 confirmed cases.
Since the contagion was first observed in Italy in late February, the country has quickly become Europe's hardest-hit coronavirus hotspot, with a rapidly escalating disease toll and a fatality rate exceeding most other affected nations. The explosion in cases and deaths triggered a nationwide lockdown last week, placing 60 million citizens under strict travel restrictions and shuttering most businesses across the country.
Comment: Total cases worldwide passed
200k today. Deaths outside Asia
passed the number there - 3421 compared to 3384 - with Italy alone making up over
2500 of that number. Dr. Massimo Galli, head of infectious disease unit at Sacco Hospital in Milan,
told RT that the virus has "overwhelmed the possibilities" of world healthcare systems (which were already operating at or above capacity):
He stressed that Lombardy and other parts of Italy struggling to cope with the virus have health infrastructure which meets "a high European standard" - but that it was simply "impossible" to be properly prepared for an epidemic of this size.
However, it's still unclear precisely how much - if at all - the current number of ICU patients differs from previous peaks during flu seasons of past years. Good news is that confirmed cases are
slowing down.
Eurovision has been
canceled, and a UK epidemiologist who recently visited Downing Street to push for a
bigger response to the virus has self-isolated after coming down with a cough and fever. In New York, NYC major de Blasio
told MSNBC: "The number's gone up literally over a hundred cases in the course of the day. We're at 923 cases at this hour tonight, 10 people who have passed away. It's unbelievable how rapidly this crisis is growing right now." Again, relative to what? One thing lacking in these response is some statistical rigor.
The US and Canada are
closing the border to 'nonessential' traffic - but don't worry, trade will not be impacted, according to Trump. Trudeau
confirmed the news and promised aid to Canadians and businesses affected by the panic: up to CAD$27 billion in "direct support to Canadian workers and businesses" on top of CAD$55 billion in tax deferrals for businesses and families "to stabilize the economy." Trump also
announced the following:
US President Donald Trump has said that he will activate an old wartime act to force American industry to produce essential medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus. Trump promised "total victory" over the deadly virus.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would be activating the Defense Production Act of 1950. The act, written at the outbreak of the Korean War, gives the federal government power to instruct manufacturers to make much-needed equipment, in this case protective masks and ventilators.
"Every generation of Americans has been called to make shared sacrifices for the good of the nation," Trump said, comparing the efforts to beat the COVID-19 coronavirus to the mass mobilization seen during World War II.
...
Trump also announced that two hospital ships would be deployed to house coronavirus patients, one moored in New York and another on the west coast. The Empire state has the biggest number of cases so far.
Though Trump did not state what kind of equipment the Defense Production Act will be used to produce, masks and ventilators are the most likely candidates. Health And Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in February that the US needs a stockpile of around 300 million n95 face masks, and was at the time around 288 million short. In a speech to the Senate before Trump's conference, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer singled out ventilator shortages as a "massive problem."
Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev has
called for the lifting of all unilateral sanctions in light of the possible lengthy global recession as a result of shutting everything down worldwide: "There is an urgent need for a global agreement on the simultaneous and complete lifting of all economic sanctions, except those imposed by the UN Security Council":
The primary global instigator of sanctions is the United States, and use of these punitive measures has sharply increased during Donald Trump's presidency. The Economist has described the practice as "financial carpet-bombing" while the Financial Times labels them "a new way of war," saying Trump "has merged America's economic policy with its security strategy."
There are currently six countries under severe, or near total, embargoes from Washington: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela. China and Russia are among the other nations have been targeted with specific sanctions.
Meanwhile, only 5% of Russians have started
stockpiling. After living through the 90s, they have experience.
RTWed, 18 Mar 2020 07:21 UTC
© Reuters / Bastiaan Slabbers
Cops in Philadelphia have stopped making arrests for an array of crimes - including drugs, theft and sex work - adopting a catch-and-release policy for the span of the Covid-19 crisis, in what some saw as a step toward anarchy.
The city's (perhaps aptly named) Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw ordered the dramatic policy change on Tuesday, detailed in a memo leaked to local media outlets.
Starting on March 17, officers were instructed to only briefly detain those caught committing a laundry list of non-violent offenses, ranging from car and retail theft - which would cover looting - burglary, possession and distribution of narcotics, fraud, vandalism and prostitution, among others.
After verifying a suspect's identity, officers were ordered to release the offender and submit all relevant paperwork to the department's detective division, which will pursue arrest warrants sometime after the pandemic scare dies down - at least that's the plan.A number of netizens saw the move as an open invitation to looters to start filling their pockets, with some wondering what other crimes might be allowed to slide as police are directed to look the other way.
Others interpreted the change in procedure as an object lesson on the need for the Second Amendment, with many encouraging their fellow commenters to find a way to defend themselves in the event of a crime wave.
Some took a wholly different approach to the news, however, planning out mock crime sprees while the opportunity presents itself.
In Los Angeles, meanwhile, city officials have directed police to cite and release offenders whenever possible in an effort to make room in its already crowded jails and stem the spread of the virus, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is now contemplating whether to release non-violent inmates for similar reasons, a plan backed by the city's Board of Correction.
Comment: If you are caught walking around in public with a friend,
they'll arrest you. But commit crime, and all's good! And the insanity continues...
Eric Zuesse
Sott.netTue, 17 Mar 2020 06:35 UTC
According to
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/china/, which obtains its information from
only the most reliable sources, here are the main statistics regarding coronavirus-19 cases in China:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/china/as of today, March 17th:
WORLD / COUNTRIES / CHINA
Last updated: March 17, 2020, 14:20 GMT
China
Coronavirus Cases: 80,881
Deaths: 3,226
Recovered: 68,715
ACTIVE CASES
8,940 Currently Infected Patients
5,714 (64%) in Mild Condition
3,226 (36%) Serious or Critical
RTTue, 17 Mar 2020 03:18 UTC
© REUTERS/Phil McCartenRosanna Arquette
Rosanna Arquette inspired some colorful reactions when she floated the theory that Israel has long known about the coronavirus and claimed the country and Jared Kushner are putting "lives at risk for profit."
"I'm still confused," the
'Buffalo 66' actress tweeted to her more than 100,000 Twitter followers on Tuesday, "so Israel has been working on a coronavirus vaccine for a year already? (so they knew)."
Arquette went on to say US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is the main investor in the vaccine.
RTWed, 18 Mar 2020 01:48 UTC
© REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
A Russian firm that the DoJ failed to prosecute for "sowing discord" during the 2016 election aims to take its pound of flesh - or at least a hefty compensation for its tarnished reputation.
The February 2018 indictment of Concord Management & Consulting LLC, one of several issued by the team of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, was praised by the Russiagate crowds as a crucial step in uncovering the holy grail of Trump-Russia collusion. The case was dropped just weeks before going to trial, with prosecutors claiming that the firm's defense strategy - demanding evidence that the company had waged 'information warfare' against America - posed a threat to US national security.
Concord had been "eager and aggressive in using the judicial system to gather information about how the United States detects and prevents foreign election interference," the motion to dismiss said.
RTWed, 18 Mar 2020 01:22 UTC
© GlobalLookPress/dpa/Bodo Marks
As more governments advised people to curtail their movements in an effort to limit the spread of Covid-19, it prompted panic buying sprees - with people showing distinct regional differences in their 'must have' items.
Fears of being unable to get hold of the bare essentials if forced to hole up at home for weeks on end as the deadly virus sweeps the globe saw thousands rush to the supermarkets and clear whole shelves of groceries in record time. Despite widely issued guidelines on minimum 'social distancing', some were prepared to queue for long hours to make sure they got that one essential thing before heading home and closing the gate.
The trend seemed to kick off in Australia, with scenes of panic-purchases of toilet paper descending into heated arguments and fistfights. Concern over toilet paper - which, on the whole, seems not to be of particular use in defending against (or treating) Covid-19 - then spread worldwide.
President Macron justifies the measures he has taken by the advice he has received from scientists. If he had changed experts, he would have had different advice. Covid-19 is now the subject of study, not knowledge.
You're not an expert on Covid-19, but nobody is. Scientists don't know everything. In this case, they're just beginning their research. In the absence of hard data, we have to take theories as mere hypotheses. History teaches us that to date no disease has been overcome by quarantine measures. Quarantine measures can save time, not defeat the foe.The Covid-19 outbreak awakens ancestral anxieties. Some of us suddenly perceive our neighbors, friends and families as threats. There is a real risk of violence in the near future.
In the face of any danger, we must first remain
reasonable, not rational. These are two very different ways of thinking. We cannot think logically on the basis of incomplete data.
Covid-19 is a hitherto unknown disease which seems to be able to kill up to 1% of the world's population, but which so far has killed only a few thousand people. Researchers are just beginning to study it scientifically. We know that it is caused by a virus that is transmitted through the mucous membranes of the face. No one knows how to prevent its spread, but everyone has their own preconceived ideas about it.
Depending on their culture, scientists have advised the authorities in their countries differently:
Comment: There
are effective precautionary measures that individuals can take, yet the mainstream media (unsurprisingly) is choosing to denigrate those in favor of pharmaceutical options.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark
South FrontSun, 15 Mar 2020 19:51 UTC
Chelsea Manning's release last Thursday
by order of Virginia District Court judge Anthony Trenga had an air of oddness to it. "The court finds Ms. Manning's appearance before the Grand Jury is no longer needed, in light of which her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose." Her detention had never served any coercive purpose as such - she remained unwilling to testify before an institution she questions as dangerous, secretive and oppressive. She steadfastly refused to answer any questions relating to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. What her detention has done is disturb her health and constitute an act of State harassment that ranks high in the annals of abuses of power.
In March 2019, the former military analyst was summoned to appear and give testimony to the Grand Jury convened in the Eastern District of Virginia. As the
New York Times put it at the time, "there were multiple reasons to believe that the subpoena [forcing Manning to testify] is related to the investigation of Mr Assange." She challenged the legitimacy of the subpoena, though lost and was held for contempt. Having already been court martialled and sentenced, Manning saw little need having to go through another round of ear bashing interrogations. "Chelsea," submitted her support committee in a
statement, "gave voluminous testimony during her court martial.
She has stood by the truth of her prior statements, and there is no legitimate purpose to having her rehash them before a hostile grand jury."In May that year, Manning was granted one week of freedom until the next grand jury was convened. Again, she was found to be in civil contempt and remanded "to the custody of the Attorney General until such time as she purges herself of contempt or for the life of the Grand Jury".
Her refusal to purge herself of contempt after 30 days duly incurred a fine of $500 per day, an amount that was increased to $1,000 after 60 days.As Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment noted at the time, such limitations on Manning's liberty did "not constitute a circumscribed sanction for a specific offence, but an open-ended, progressively severe measure of coercion fulfilling all the constitutive elements of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment." The mental degradation inflicted by the process did almost achieve its worst. On March 11, Manning attempted to take her own life.
We are literally witnessing history in the making. For the third time in the last six trading sessions, we have witnessed the largest single day point crash in stock market history. Let that sink in for a moment. On March 9th, the Dow set a new record by falling 2,013 points. Then on March 12th, the Dow set a new record again by falling 2,352 points. Of course what happened on Monday was the biggest whopper of them all. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2,997 points, and words like "carnage" and "devastation" don't seem to be strong enough to convey that horror that took place. To put all of this into perspective, the largest single day point crash during the last financial crisis was just 777 points.
That means that the crash that we witnessed on Monday was nearly four times as large as the worst single day point crash in 2008.Of course all of this volatility is being driven by fear of the coronavirus. Even though less than 100 Americans have died so far, investors are completely freaking out.
So what will happen if thousands or even millions of us start dying?
On a percentage basis, the nightmare that we watched unfold on Monday was the worst day for stocks
since "Black Monday" in 1987...
Comment: For some additional perspective on what's happenning in the financial world, and its implications, watch:
RFE/RLTue, 17 Mar 2020 17:38 UTC
© Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on the nation's wealthiest businessmen to donate funds and equipment to help fight the coronavirus inside the country.
Zelenskiy met with the top business owners at his office in Kyiv on March 16 as the country registered its fifth case of the COVID-19 infection. The president said
he told the tycoons that the country needed 500 ambulances and as much as 13 billion hryvnya ($490 million) for medicine.
"Business should be socially responsible during difficult times for the government. Ukrainians should feel protected when they go to state hospitals. And I insist that you help now," Zelenskiy told the businessmen.
Ukraine is one of Europe's poorest countries with an outdated and underfunded health-care system that could be quickly overwhelmed if coronavirus cases spike inside the country.
The attendees included among others Rinat Akhmetov, the nation's wealthiest man, and Ihor Kolomoyskiy, a billionaire who has business ties with Zelenskiy and was seen by many as being one of his main backers during his presidential campaign last year.
Comment: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious
fatwa prohibiting "unnecessary travel" in Iran, where they have also temporarily sent home around 85,000
inmates to prevent prison outbreaks (and breakouts?). New York
announced 432 new cases and 12 total deaths. One of Germany's top health "experts"
warned that the pandemic could last for 2 years (depending on how long it takes to develop a vaccine...). Friedrich Merz, Merkel's probable
successor, has tested positive.
See also:
Comment: Total cases worldwide passed 200k today. Deaths outside Asia passed the number there - 3421 compared to 3384 - with Italy alone making up over 2500 of that number. Dr. Massimo Galli, head of infectious disease unit at Sacco Hospital in Milan, told RT that the virus has "overwhelmed the possibilities" of world healthcare systems (which were already operating at or above capacity): However, it's still unclear precisely how much - if at all - the current number of ICU patients differs from previous peaks during flu seasons of past years. Good news is that confirmed cases are slowing down.
Eurovision has been canceled, and a UK epidemiologist who recently visited Downing Street to push for a bigger response to the virus has self-isolated after coming down with a cough and fever. In New York, NYC major de Blasio told MSNBC: "The number's gone up literally over a hundred cases in the course of the day. We're at 923 cases at this hour tonight, 10 people who have passed away. It's unbelievable how rapidly this crisis is growing right now." Again, relative to what? One thing lacking in these response is some statistical rigor.
The US and Canada are closing the border to 'nonessential' traffic - but don't worry, trade will not be impacted, according to Trump. Trudeau confirmed the news and promised aid to Canadians and businesses affected by the panic: up to CAD$27 billion in "direct support to Canadian workers and businesses" on top of CAD$55 billion in tax deferrals for businesses and families "to stabilize the economy." Trump also announced the following: Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev has called for the lifting of all unilateral sanctions in light of the possible lengthy global recession as a result of shutting everything down worldwide: "There is an urgent need for a global agreement on the simultaneous and complete lifting of all economic sanctions, except those imposed by the UN Security Council": Meanwhile, only 5% of Russians have started stockpiling. After living through the 90s, they have experience.