Daily Archives: March 21, 2020

2020-03-21: News Headlines

RT (2020-03-21). Never mind the HUMVEES! Maryland National Guard reassures residents there's no martial law threat amid virus panic. rt.com Concern over the presence of military vehicles in residential areas of Maryland has apparently prompted the state's national guard to tweet out a reminder that it is there to help fight Covid-19 — not to impose martial law. | The Maryland National Guard (MDNG) reassured all state residents on Saturday that, contrary to any nefarious rumors that may have been spreading, the force has been deployed to "deliver much needed supplies" and to perform other humanitarian duties. | "To our neighbors, there is not a threat of martial law. If you see a MDNG Humvee on your street, know we are helping someone in need…

RT (2020-03-21). Cristiano Ronaldo's mother speaks of 'difficult days' as she posts emotional message upon release from hospital. rt.com Maria Dolores, mother of Juventus star Cristinao Ronaldo, had been in hospital since a March 3 stroke and has issued an emotional message on social media after being given a clean bill of health by Portuguese doctors. | The 65-year-old was discharged from a medical facility on Saturday after suffering from a ischemic stroke, a condition caused by a clot blocking a blood vessel to the brain. | Her superstar son had flown to the hospital in Madeira soon after hearing the news, where he has stayed during the coronavirus outbreak which has ravaged Italy, and was seen wearing protective clothing, such as masks and…

RT (2020-03-21). Wake-up call for India? Social media split after police press charges against Covid-19-carrying Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor. rt.com Indian police have charged Bollywood star Kanika Kapoor, who has tested positive for coronavirus, with endangering public health by attending parties. Her case has sparked fierce debate in India as the virus continues to spread. | Kapoor has been accused of participating in malignant acts that could pose a danger to the public. The Bollywood star, who recently returned from a trip to London, attended a party last week with a guest list of parliamentarians and other VIPs. On Friday, it was revealed that she had tested positive for Covid-19, causing panic that Indian celebrities with whom she came into contact c…

(2020-03-21). Ten Questions for the U.S.: Where did the Novel Coronavirus Come From? globalresearch.ca by Wang Fuhua | . | CGTN Editor's note: The article is an edited version of an article which was first published on a WeChat official account named Gong Yi Kan Shi Jie. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily …

yenisafak (2020-03-21). President Erdogan, Turkish VP issue Nowruz messages. yenisafak.com Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued his message through the Communications Directorate to mark Nowruz, which is celebrated across a wide region from Central Asia to the Balkans.He said Nowruz is a festival of fertility, prosperity, and spring, and a celebration of fellowship, affection, and the hopes that flourishes in hearts."I hope Nowruz will be instrumental in remembering, preserving and transferring the values and heritage we have to future generations," he said.Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay also issued a Nowruz message on Twitter, saying he hopes it brings "health, love, peace and happiness to all humanity, esp…

sputniknews (2020-03-21). Decision to Close Visitation Rooms in French Prisons Amid COVID-19 is 'Real Viral Bomb' – Activist. sputniknews.com The recent decision by the French authorities to close visitation rooms in prisons across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused a wave of riots in a number of jails.

sputniknews (2020-03-21). Internet Aboil as Ivanka Trump Goes Back to WH After Reportedly Testing Negative for COVID-19. sputniknews.com The White House senior adviser and POTUS' eldest daughter recently came into contact with at least two coronavirus-infected officials, and has since taken the test despite showing no visible signs of the infection.

The Canary (2020-03-21). Care home recreates life-sized Hungry Hippos game to lift morale in isolation. thecanary.co Residents and staff at Bryn Celyn care home in Wales have recreated a life-sized version of the game Hungry Hungry Hippos in an attempt to stave off self-isolation boredom. | Residents, who can be heard giggling in an online video, sat in wheelchairs while staff pushed them into the middle of circle, where they attempted to collect coloured balls with boxes and brooms. | Posting the video to Facebook, the care home said: "Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today, Hungry Hippos." | Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today Hungry Hippos. Lots of laughter to lift morale of the team and residents!

teleSUR (2020-03-20). Amazon Prime Will Lower Resolution to Prevent Internet Collapse. telesurenglish.net Amazon Prime Video announced this Friday that will reduce video quality in streaming platforms during Covid-19's quarantine. | RELATED: | The multi-service company joins YouTube and Netflix's initiative to face demand uprising and avoid network collapse. Online videos demand upraised after Covid-19 affected nations implemented social isolation. This circumstance leads to higher streaming content consumption. | In an official communicati…

RT (2020-03-19). What about ending endless wars? Tulsi Gabbard drops out of presidential race and backs …Biden. rt.com Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has suspended her presidential campaign and endorsed Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, citing the establishment favorite's primary victories and the coronavirus as her reasons. | Gabbard made the surprise announcement on Thursday in a video posted to her Twitter account, explaining she was dropping out to focus on dealing with the coronavirus epidemic in Hawaii and potentially serving in her National Guard capacity should she be called to action. | The endorsement of Biden came as a particular surprise, given Gabbard's opposition to "regime change wars," a central plank of he…

Fight Back (2020-03-19). Socialist countries response to pandemic shows stark contrast to capitalism. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – As the number of confirmed cases of the viral illness COVID-19 approaches 200,000 worldwide, we can already see how differently issues of public health and human needs are treated in socialist countries vs. capitalist countries. | COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, a major city in the People's Republic of China. Local officials took three to four weeks to recognize its significance. Once the threat was clear, the whole of the country and vast resources were mobilized. Everything was shut down to stop the virus in its tracks. People were quarantined at home as new hospitals were constructed, s…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-03-19). Viral Reactions: The Smugness of Celebrity Self-Isolation. dissidentvoice.org The rush to elevate self-isolation to Olympian heights as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19 has gotten to the celebrities. Sports figures are proudly tweeting and taking pictures from hotel rooms (Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton being a case in point). Comics are doing their shows from home. Thespians are extolling the merits …

Joseph Grosso (2020-03-18). The Sides of Beef: Humans and Meat Eating. dissidentvoice.org For the purposes of preserving any status quo in the present day United States, nothing surpasses a strategy of any question or issue 'cultural.' This has the immediate effect of splitting even slight difference of opinion into hostile camps and deliberately provokes absolutist, visceral responses. Such exchanges, particularly in the sewer of social media or …

Alan Macleod (2020-03-18). Big Tech Firms are Using Automation to Censor News About the Coronavirus. mintpressnews.com Social media is awash with people angry that their posts have been removed for no legitimate reason. MintPress was no exception, with a story about Cuba's response to the coronavirus flagged and blocked.

Staff (2020-03-17). Meet 17-Year-Old Avi Schiffmann Who Runs Coronavirus Tracking Website Used by 40+ Million Globally. democracynow.org A teenager's website tracking coronavirus has become one of the most vital resources for people seeking accurate and updated numbers on the pandemic. The URL is nCoV2019.live. We speak with 17-year-old Avi Schiffmann, a high school junior from Mercer Island outside Seattle, who started the site in late December, when coronavirus had not yet been detected outside of China. Now the site has been visited by tens of millions, from every country on Earth. It tracks deaths, numbers of cases locally and globally, and provides an interactive map, information on the disease, and a Twitter feed. The resource updates every…

Roy M Anderson, Hans Heesterbeek, Don Klinkenberg, T Déirdre Hollingsworth (2020-03-09). [Comment] How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic? thelancet.com Governments will not be able to minimise both deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the economic impact of viral spread. Keeping mortality as low as possible will be the highest priority for individuals; hence governments must put in place measures to ameliorate the inevitable economic downturn. In our view, COVID-19 has developed into a pandemic, with small chains of transmission in many countries and large chains resulting in extensive spread in a few countries, such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan.

Uduak Okomo, Olubukola T Idoko, Beate Kampmann (2020-02-20). [Comment] The burden of viral respiratory infections in young children in low-resource settings. thelancet.com Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), encompassing bacterial and viral pneumonias, acute viral bronchiolitis, and bacterial and viral bronchitis, remain the leading cause of global child mortality.1 The thrust of global prevention and treatment efforts has been directed against bacterial causes of ALRI, and deaths from bacterial pneumonia have decreased substantially since 1990 because of improved access to health care and life-saving antibiotics, as well as increased use of vaccines targeted at bacterial respiratory pathogens.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2020-02-17). [Editorial] Challenges of coronavirus disease 2019. thelancet.com Yet again, the world is experiencing a global viral epidemic of zoonotic origin. As of Feb 12, 45‚Äà204 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 1116 deaths had been reported in 25 countries. The majority of cases and, at the time of writing, all but one death have been in China, despite efforts in the country to halt transmission through shutting down transport, quarantining entire cities, and enforcing the use of face masks. International flights have been cancelled and affected cruise ships quarantined.

Claudio Ronco, Paolo Navalesi, Jean Louis Vincent (2020-02-06). [Spotlight] Coronavirus epidemic: preparing for extracorporeal organ support in intensive care. thelancet.com Zoonotic viral infections are more frequently crossing species to infect human populations. In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus was transmitted to humans from exotic animals in wet markets in China, and in 2015, the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus was transmitted from camels in Saudi Arabia. In both cases, and with the 2019 coronavirus outbreak in China, the original host of the virus is likely to be bats.

Nermin Diab, Matthew B Stanbrook, M Hashim Khan, Anju Anand (2020-02-05). [Correspondence] Nicotine patches with e-cigarettes for smoking cessation: Twitter discussion from a respirology journal club. thelancet.com On Dec 12, 2019, our Twitter-based University of Toronto Respirology and Sleep Journal Club1 discussed Walker and colleagues' pragmatic, randomised, parallel-arm trial designed to look at the effectiveness of combining nicotine patches with an e-cigarette (with and without nicotine) on 6-month smoking abstinence.2 Our discussions highlighted the challenges of studying populations of smokers in general, given the habitual nature of the exposure, challenges related to follow-up, and a need for reliable and valid objective measures of smoking abstinence (appendix).

2020-03-21: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Care home recreates life-sized Hungry Hippos game to lift morale in isolation
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-21
Residents and staff at Bryn Celyn care home in Wales have recreated a life-sized version of the game Hungry Hungry Hippos in an attempt to stave off self-isolation boredom. | Residents, who can be heard giggling in an online video, sat in wheelchairs while staff pushed them into the middle of circle, where they attempted to collect coloured balls with boxes and brooms. | Posting the video to Facebook, the care home said: "Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today, Hungry Hippos." | Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today Hungry Hippos. Lots of laughter to lift morale of the team and residents!
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/03/21/care-home-recreates-life-sized-hungry-hippos-game-to-lift-morale-in-isolation/

Never mind the HUMVEES! Maryland National Guard reassures residents there's no martial law threat amid virus panic
rt.com | 2020-03-21
Concern over the presence of military vehicles in residential areas of Maryland has apparently prompted the state's national guard to tweet out a reminder that it is there to help fight Covid-19

Cristiano Ronaldo's mother speaks of 'difficult days' as she posts emotional message upon release from hospital
rt.com | 2020-03-21
Maria Dolores, mother of Juventus star Cristinao Ronaldo, had been in hospital since a March 3 stroke and has issued an emotional message on social media after being given a clean bill of health by Portuguese doctors. | The 65-year-old was discharged from a medical facility on Saturday after suffering from a ischemic stroke, a condition caused by a clot blocking a blood vessel to the brain. | Her superstar son had flown to the hospital in Madeira soon after hearing the news, where he has stayed during the coronavirus outbreak which has ravaged Italy, and was seen wearing protective clothing, such as masks and…
rt.com/sport/483726-cristiano-ronaldo-mother-hospital-release/

Wake-up call for India? Social media split after police press charges against Covid-19-carrying Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor
rt.com | 2020-03-21
Indian police have charged Bollywood star Kanika Kapoor, who has tested positive for coronavirus, with endangering public health by attending parties. Her case has sparked fierce debate in India as the virus continues to spread. | Kapoor has been accused of participating in malignant acts that could pose a danger to the public. The Bollywood star, who recently returned from a trip to London, attended a party last week with a guest list of parliamentarians and other VIPs. On Friday, it was revealed that she had tested positive for Covid-19, causing panic that Indian celebrities with whom she came into contact c…
rt.com/news/483699-india-kapoor-coronavirus-negligence-debate/

Ten Questions for the U.S.: Where did the Novel Coronavirus Come From?
| globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-21
by Wang Fuhua | . | CGTN Editor's note: The article is an edited version of an article which was first published on a WeChat official account named Gong Yi Kan Shi Jie. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily | …
globalresearch.ca/ten-questions-for-the-u-s-where-did-the-novel-coronavirus-come-from/5707035

President Erdogan, Turkish VP issue Nowruz messages
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-21
Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued his message through the Communications Directorate to mark Nowruz, which is celebrated across a wide region from Central Asia to the Balkans.He said Nowruz is a festival of fertility, prosperity, and spring, and a celebration of fellowship, affection, and the hopes that flourishes in hearts."I hope Nowruz will be instrumental in remembering, preserving and transferring the values and heritage we have to future generations," he said.Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay also issued a Nowruz message on Twitter, saying he hopes it brings "health, love, peace and happiness to all humanity, esp…
yenisafak.com/en/news/president-erdogan-turkish-vp-issue-nowruz-messages-3514587

Decision to Close Visitation Rooms in French Prisons Amid COVID-19 is 'Real Viral Bomb' – Activist
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-21
The recent decision by the French authorities to close visitation rooms in prisons across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused a wave of riots in a number of jails.
sputniknews.com/analysis/202003211078644142-decision-to-close-visitation-rooms-in-french-prisons-amid-covid-19-is-real-viral-bomb—activist/

Internet Aboil as Ivanka Trump Goes Back to WH After Reportedly Testing Negative for COVID-19
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-21
The White House senior adviser and POTUS' eldest daughter recently came into contact with at least two coronavirus-infected officials, and has since taken the test despite showing no visible signs of the infection.
sputniknews.com/viral/202003211078653919-internet-aboil-as-ivanka-trump-goes-back-to-wh-after-reportedly-testing-negative-for-covid-19/

The Tory Party donor charging £19.99 for Calpol
Steve Topple | thecanary.co | 2020-03-20
There's been widespread public outcry over a group of pharmacies charging extortionate prices for products, like £19.99 for Calpol, during the coronavirus pandemic. But the owner of the chain happens to be a Conservative Party donor.Coronavirus: rancid profiteering: Many people on social media may have seen this tweet. It shows a Bath branch of Jhoots Pharmacy that's been selling paracetamol for £9.99: | THIS! Today! Hiking pr…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/03/20/the-tory-party-donor-charging-19-99-for-calpol/

"For Unknown Reasons They Waited. And Watched"
Media Lens | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-20
Over the last 20 years, we have documented some shocking examples of journalistic irresponsibility, but the tweet from ITV's political editor Robert Peston on March 14 was something special. With China, South Korea, Italy, Spain and other countries in shutdown, lockdown and general medical meltdown, with the UK reeling from rising cases and deaths

Amazon Prime Will Lower Resolution to Prevent Internet Collapse
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Amazon Prime Video announced this Friday that will reduce video quality in streaming platforms during Covid-19's quarantine. | RELATED: | California Orders Quarantine for 40 Million People | The multi-service company joins YouTube and Netflix's initiative to face demand uprising and avoid network collapse. Online videos demand upraised after Covid-19 affected nations implemented social isolation. This circumstance leads to higher streaming content consumption. | In an official communicati…
telesurenglish.net/news/amazon-prime-will-ease-videos-access-to-prevent-internet-collapse-20200320-0014.html

Socialist countries response to pandemic shows stark contrast to capitalism
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-19
Minneapolis, MN – As the number of confirmed cases of the viral illness COVID-19 approaches 200,000 worldwide, we can already see how differently issues of public health and human needs are treated in socialist countries vs. capitalist countries. | COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, a major city in the People's Republic of China. Local officials took three to four weeks to recognize its significance. Once the threat was clear, the whole of the country and vast resources were mobilized. Everything was shut down to stop the virus in its tracks. People were quarantined at home as new hospitals were constructed, s…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/18/socialist-countries-response-pandemic-shows-stark-contrast-capitalism

What about ending endless wars? Tulsi Gabbard drops out of presidential race and backs …Biden
rt.com | 2020-03-19
Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has suspended her presidential campaign and endorsed Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, citing the establishment favorite's primary victories and the coronavirus as her reasons. | Gabbard made the surprise announcement on Thursday in a video posted to her Twitter account, explaining she was dropping out to focus on dealing with the coronavirus epidemic in Hawaii and potentially serving in her National Guard capacity should she be called to action. | The endorsement of Biden came as a particular surprise, given Gabbard's opposition to "regime change wars," a central plank of he…
rt.com/usa/483521-tulsi-gabbard-ends-campaign-biden/

Viral Reactions: The Smugness of Celebrity Self-Isolation
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-19
The rush to elevate self-isolation to Olympian heights as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19 has gotten to the celebrities. Sports figures are proudly tweeting and taking pictures from hotel rooms (Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton being a case in point). Comics are doing their shows from home. Thespians are extolling the merits …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/viral-reactions-the-smugness-of-celebrity-self-isolation/

Young Adults Make 38% of COVID-19 Hospitalizations in US: CDC
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-19
About 38 percent of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the United States were younger than 55, according to a new report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). | RELATED: | 'Dear World, How Is the Lockdown?' Gaza Takes To Twitter | The CDC report looked at COVID-19 cases in the United States from February 12 to March 16. | As of March 16, a total of 4,226 COVID-19 cases had been reported in the country, wi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Young-Adults-Make-38-of-COVID-19-Hospitalizations-in-US-CDC-20200319-0016.html

The Sides of Beef: Humans and Meat Eating
Joseph Grosso | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-18
For the purposes of preserving any status quo in the present day United States, nothing surpasses a strategy of any question or issue 'cultural.' This has the immediate effect of splitting even slight difference of opinion into hostile camps and deliberately provokes absolutist, visceral responses. Such exchanges, particularly in the sewer of social media or …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/the-sides-of-beef-humans-and-meat-eating/

Big Tech Firms are Using Automation to Censor News About the Coronavirus
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-18
Social media is awash with people angry that their posts have been removed for no legitimate reason. MintPress was no exception, with a story about Cuba's response to the coronavirus flagged and blocked.
mintpressnews.com/big-tech-firms-censoring-coronavirus-fake-news/265862/

Meet 17-Year-Old Avi Schiffmann Who Runs Coronavirus Tracking Website Used by 40+ Million Globally
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-17
A teenager's website tracking coronavirus has become one of the most vital resources for people seeking accurate and updated numbers on the pandemic. The URL is nCoV2019.live. We speak with 17-year-old Avi Schiffmann, a high school junior from Mercer Island outside Seattle, who started the site in late December, when coronavirus had not yet been detected outside of China. Now the site has been visited by tens of millions, from every country on Earth. It tracks deaths, numbers of cases locally and globally, and provides an interactive map, information on the disease, and a Twitter feed. The resource updates every…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/17/avi_schiffmann_coronavirus_tracker

[Comment] How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic?
Roy M Anderson, Hans Heesterbeek, Don Klinkenberg, T Déirdre Hollingsworth | thelancet.com | 2020-03-09
Governments will not be able to minimise both deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the economic impact of viral spread. Keeping mortality as low as possible will be the highest priority for individuals; hence governments must put in place measures to ameliorate the inevitable economic downturn. In our view, COVID-19 has developed into a pandemic, with small chains of transmission in many countries and large chains resulting in extensive spread in a few countries, such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30567-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] The burden of viral respiratory infections in young children in low-resource settings
Uduak Okomo, Olubukola T Idoko, Beate Kampmann | thelancet.com | 2020-02-20
Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), encompassing bacterial and viral pneumonias, acute viral bronchiolitis, and bacterial and viral bronchitis, remain the leading cause of global child mortality.1 The thrust of global prevention and treatment efforts has been directed against bacterial causes of ALRI, and deaths from bacterial pneumonia have decreased substantially since 1990 because of improved access to health care and life-saving antibiotics, as well as increased use of vaccines targeted at bacterial respiratory pathogens.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30037-1/fulltext?rss=yes