theduran--2020-03-16--COVID-19 pandemic creates panic and “cancel-everything” culture

Panic is counterproductive , it oftentimes results in short-sighted selfish decisions that could potentially cause harm .
Panic causes people to buy and hoard all of the toilet paper , leaving nothing for others .
Panic births chaos , chaos creates stress , stress interferes with our body ’ s defense systems and immunity , therefore panic puts us at a higher risk of becoming susceptible to the very concern we are panicking about .
Leaders have a responsibility to assure the public that they are engaged in decisive measures to fix the problem , merely saying things will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American ’ s are divided when it comes to their support or lack thereof of the Trump administration ’ s response to the coronavirus .
Some argue that the response is simply too little too late , and if officials didn ’ t downplay COVID-19 early on and took matters more seriously it wouldn ’ t have spread to 49 states ( allegedly West Virginia doesn ’ t have any cases ) .
Some Americans believe that interstate travel needs to be halted immediately and that everyone should be quarantined in their homes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have Americans that feel our government and their fellow American ’ s are over-reacting , this group questions whether there ’ s actually a pandemic , or could this all be a hoax or maybe a distraction from something bigger , they have many different theories about the origin of coronavirus and its supposed intent .
Some leaders think it was crafted by the US , who then unleashed it specifically on China , Iran , and Italy .
Then there are those who don ’ t care about the what , why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want normalcy to return .
Another group fully ( read that as blindly ) supports anything President Trump ’ s administration says and would follow them off a cliff .
On Friday , President Donald Trump declared a National Emergency freeing up 50 billion in federal aid including additional resources and funding for officials on the federal , state , and local levels trying to combat the coronavirus .
Trump also announced a travel ban from Europe , ( the coronavirus world epicenter ) US citizens could still return but would need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ban has since added on the U.K. and Ireland .
EU officials were not happy with Washington ’ s unilateral decision and stated that the pandemic is a global concern and should be dealt with as such .
Trump also said he would waive interest on federal student loans “ until further notice ” and that the Department of Energy would purchase crude oil for storage in U.S. reserves .
Drive-thru coronavirus testing sites were also mentioned as well as a website that will be created by google to screen people that wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been around for months ( possibly longer ) we really saw a huge shift in the past week or two , when we went from normal everyday life to a “ cancel-everything culture ” .
Another new phrase you ’ ve most likely heard is “ social distancing ” which is the practice of keeping a distance of six feet between you and another human just in case they might be a carrier of the coronavirus .
For more on that you can read the CDC ’ s “ implementation of mitigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In additional to banning large assemblies of 250 people or more across the country , many other things and places are in the process of shutting down or have already shut down including , grade schools , universities , libraries , pubs , malls , movie theaters , mass transportation , restaurants , church ’ s , mosques , synagogues , offices , businesses , sporting events ( pretty much the whole sports world is on hold ) .
Planes are being grounded , cruise ships are staying docked , add to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital and nursing home visitors , as well as non-emergency operations , let ’ s not forget weddings , parties , etc .
This is what life during a pandemic looks like in the United States .
Many countries around the world have also seen a drastic change in their nation ’ s normality .
Over a hundred nations are taking drastic measures to slow down COVID-19 transmission within their borders .
In Italy , the whole country is practically shut down .
The total number of cases including those that recovered is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently at 1,809 , after a 25 % rise .
Spain reports that their deaths have jumped up to 288 in just a day .
In the United Kingdom , police now have the power to arrest COVID-19 patients that refuse to self-isolate .
UK ’ s death toll is up to 35 now after 14 more people died .
The total number of cases is currently 1391 .
Residents over 70 are being asked to self-isolate for four months .
Initially the strategy was to rely on building up herd immunity which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by vaccination and not just exposing people to the virus .
Iran ’ s death toll has risen 113 in a day bringing their total number of cases to 13.938 and deaths to 724 .
Iran is home to the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East .
Not only are they dealing with exponentially more cases than neighboring countries , but crippling severe US sanctions are making it very difficult for them to address the rapid spread of COVID-19 .
Quarantines have been used by South Korea , China , Japan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers down .
Keep in mind , actual numbers could be exponentially higher given that the vast majority of the 7.7 billion people around the world have not been tested , and others are asymptomatic .
Currently , Washington State is the epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States , with the most cases and deaths , current numbers are 40 deaths and over 642 cases .
Washington state officials have warned that it ’ s only a matter of time before other states get to the stage that they are at now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contain and mitigate the virus as much as possible .
Cases on the East Coast are quickly growing , creating the need for containment zones in NY .
Most people right now are living in a state of uncertainty , all we can do is wait and see how this pandemic plays out .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Sarah Abed, independent journalist…
Panic is counterproductive, it oftentimes results in short-sighted selfish decisions that could potentially cause harm. Panic causes people to buy and hoard all of the toilet paper, leaving nothing for others. Panic births chaos, chaos creates stress, stress interferes with our body’s defense systems and immunity, therefore panic puts us at a higher risk of becoming susceptible to the very concern we are panicking about.
Leaders have a responsibility to assure the public that they are engaged in decisive measures to fix the problem, merely saying things will be okay is never helpful.
Unsurprisingly, American’s are divided when it comes to their support or lack thereof of the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus. Some argue that the response is simply too little too late, and if officials didn’t downplay COVID-19 early on and took matters more seriously it wouldn’t have spread to 49 states (allegedly West Virginia doesn’t have any cases).
Some Americans believe that interstate travel needs to be halted immediately and that everyone should be quarantined in their homes.
On the other hand, you have Americans that feel our government and their fellow American’s are over-reacting, this group questions whether there’s actually a pandemic, or could this all be a hoax or maybe a distraction from something bigger, they have many different theories about the origin of coronavirus and its supposed intent. Some leaders think it was crafted by the US, who then unleashed it specifically on China, Iran, and Italy.
Then there are those who don’t care about the what, why, where, and how and just want normalcy to return.
Another group fully (read that as blindly) supports anything President Trump’s administration says and would follow them off a cliff.
On Friday, President Donald Trump declared a National Emergency freeing up 50 billion in federal aid including additional resources and funding for officials on the federal, state, and local levels trying to combat the coronavirus.
Trump also announced a travel ban from Europe, (the coronavirus world epicenter) US citizens could still return but would need to self quarantine for 14 days. The ban has since added on the U.K. and Ireland.
EU officials were not happy with Washington’s unilateral decision and stated that the pandemic is a global concern and should be dealt with as such.
Trump also said he would waive interest on federal student loans “until further notice” and that the Department of Energy would purchase crude oil for storage in U.S. reserves.
Drive-thru coronavirus testing sites were also mentioned as well as a website that will be created by google to screen people that wanted to get tested.
Although this virus has been around for months (possibly longer) we really saw a huge shift in the past week or two, when we went from normal everyday life to a “cancel-everything culture”.
Another new phrase you’ve most likely heard is “social distancing” which is the practice of keeping a distance of six feet between you and another human just in case they might be a carrier of the coronavirus. For more on that you can read the CDC’s “implementation of mitigation strategies for communities with local COVID-19 transmission.”
In additional to banning large assemblies of 250 people or more across the country, many other things and places are in the process of shutting down or have already shut down including, grade schools, universities, libraries, pubs, malls, movie theaters, mass transportation, restaurants, church’s, mosques, synagogues, offices, businesses, sporting events (pretty much the whole sports world is on hold). Planes are being grounded, cruise ships are staying docked, add to that travel bans, curfews, limiting hospital and nursing home visitors, as well as non-emergency operations, let’s not forget weddings, parties, etc.
This is what life during a pandemic looks like in the United States. Many countries around the world have also seen a drastic change in their nation’s normality.
Over a hundred nations are taking drastic measures to slow down COVID-19 transmission within their borders.
In Italy, the whole country is practically shut down. The total number of cases including those that recovered is 27,747, and their death toll is currently at 1,809, after a 25% rise.
Spain reports that their deaths have jumped up to 288 in just a day.
In the United Kingdom, police now have the power to arrest COVID-19 patients that refuse to self-isolate. UK’s death toll is up to 35 now after 14 more people died. The total number of cases is currently 1391. Residents over 70 are being asked to self-isolate for four months. Initially the strategy was to rely on building up herd immunity which shocked immunologists explained is usually brought about by vaccination and not just exposing people to the virus.
Iran’s death toll has risen 113 in a day bringing their total number of cases to 13.938 and deaths to 724. Iran is home to the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Not only are they dealing with exponentially more cases than neighboring countries, but crippling severe US sanctions are making it very difficult for them to address the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Quarantines have been used by South Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan to bring their numbers down. Keep in mind, actual numbers could be exponentially higher given that the vast majority of the 7.7 billion people around the world have not been tested, and others are asymptomatic.
Currently, Washington State is the epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States, with the most cases and deaths, current numbers are 40 deaths and over 642 cases. Washington state officials have warned that it’s only a matter of time before other states get to the stage that they are at now and that they should take immediate action to contain and mitigate the virus as much as possible.
Cases on the East Coast are quickly growing, creating the need for containment zones in NY.
Most people right now are living in a state of uncertainty, all we can do is wait and see how this pandemic plays out.
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theduran--2020-03-16--Beijing believes COVID-19 is a biological weapon

Submitted by InfoBrics , authored by Lucas Leiroz , research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro… From conspiracy theory to geopolitical realism , the possibility to treat COVID-19 as a biological weapon has been finally accepted in the public sphere .
The recent statement by the Chinese spokesman Zhao Lijian , formally accusing the US of bringing coronavirus to China , has highlighted a series of new opinions about the pandemic .
The hypothesis of biological warfare behind the global pandemic had already been raised by Russian experts some weeks ago .
Like any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official version of Western governments and their media agencies , the thesis was ridiculed and accused of being a “ conspiracy theory ” .
However , as soon as the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the second largest economic power on the planet publishes a note attesting to this possibility , it leaves the sphere of “ conspiracy theories ” to enter the scene of public opinion and official government versions .
In addition to making the explanation of biological warfare official , Zhao Lijian raised important questions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When did patient zero begin in US ?
How many people are infected ?
What are the names of the hospitals ?
It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan .
Be transparent !
Make public your data !
US owe us an explanation !
” The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran , Ayatollah Khomeini , ordered on the same day of the declaration of the Chinese Ministry the creation of a unified center of scientific research specialized in the fight against the coronavirus .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and political leader , was motivated by evidence that the pandemic is a biological attack .
These are his words : “ The establishment of a headquarters to fight the outbreak [ of COVID-19 ] occurs due to the presence of evidence that indicates the possibility of a biological attack , signaling that it is necessary that all coping services [ to the coronavirus ] be under the command of a unified headquarters ” .
In fact , what the mainstream Western media has called a “ conspiracy ” has been manifested in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We must briefly recall the official document named “ Rebuilding America ’ s Defenses ” , published by the conservative think tank “ Project for a new American Century ” , where we can clearly read : “ ( … ) advanced forms of biological warfare that can target specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool “ .
Taking into account that the document was published in 2000 , we can see that the possibility of biological warfare has been carefully considered and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least two decades .
However , the projects are even older .
This article published in Global Research tells a brief history of biological warfare technology , tracing the remote origins of this practice by the American armed forces .
In this genealogy of biological warfare , we find reports of the use of bio-weapons in wars in great conflicts of the last century , such as the Second World War , the Korea War and the conflicts with Cuba .
Even so , until last Thursday , the mere fact of mentioning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rejected as conspiracy .
We must attain to concrete data : Pentagon has 400 military laboratories around the world , whose activities are still obscure ; the USA has not yet made a clear statement about the COVID-19 data in its territory , having not yet informed the identity of its patient zero and maintaining uncertain information about the number of infected ; Chinese scientists conducted a complex study in which they concluded that the virus did not originate in China , but that it had multiple and diverse sources from the Huanan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subsequently spread .
In February , the Japanese media agency Ashi TV reported that the virus originated in the U.S. , not China , and that Washington would be omitting its actual numbers , with some cases of death attributed to influenza being , in fact , camouflaged cases of coronavirus ; on February 27 , a Taiwanese virologist presented a series of flowcharts on a TV program , corroborating the thesis that the virus has an American origin , providing a scientific explanation to the flow of the virus sources devoid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that China has been unexpectedly affected by epidemic phenomena , particularly during the period of the trade war between Beijing and Washington .
Only between 2018 and the beginning of 2020 , the country recorded epidemic episodes of H7N4 , H7N9 ( two variations of bird flu ) and African swine flu .
Also , the US has not officially responded to any of these notes , remaining silent about the coronavirus situation in its territory .
Not proposing a concrete answer , but only speculations , we can consider that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very extensive list of possibilities about what in fact the coronavirus is .
Obviously , it is possible that it is not a biological weapon – and this is the official version of most of the media agencies and governments – however , once this hypothesis has been raised and no concrete evidence to the contrary is presented , it is also possible that it is a biological weapon .
The most important thing to do is to dispel the myth that biological wars are conspiracy theories .
We must begin to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in search of real solutions .
Biological weapons are methods that have long been used and that form a fundamental part of modern warfare , whose costs are less than the methods of direct confrontation of the old wars of mobilization – and whose benefits are greater .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Lucas Leiroz, research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro…
From conspiracy theory to geopolitical realism, the possibility to treat COVID-19 as a biological weapon has been finally accepted in the public sphere. The recent statement by the Chinese spokesman Zhao Lijian, formally accusing the US of bringing coronavirus to China, has highlighted a series of new opinions about the pandemic.
The hypothesis of biological warfare behind the global pandemic had already been raised by Russian experts some weeks ago. Like any opinion that is slightly different from the official version of Western governments and their media agencies, the thesis was ridiculed and accused of being a “conspiracy theory”. However, as soon as the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the second largest economic power on the planet publishes a note attesting to this possibility, it leaves the sphere of “conspiracy theories” to enter the scene of public opinion and official government versions.
In addition to making the explanation of biological warfare official, Zhao Lijian raised important questions about the pandemic data in the USA: “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”
The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, ordered on the same day of the declaration of the Chinese Ministry the creation of a unified center of scientific research specialized in the fight against the coronavirus. The motivation, according to the Iranian spiritual and political leader, was motivated by evidence that the pandemic is a biological attack. These are his words: “The establishment of a headquarters to fight the outbreak [of COVID-19] occurs due to the presence of evidence that indicates the possibility of a biological attack, signaling that it is necessary that all coping services [to the coronavirus] be under the command of a unified headquarters”.
In fact, what the mainstream Western media has called a “conspiracy” has been manifested in US defense programs for a long time. We must briefly recall the official document named “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”, published by the conservative think tank “Project for a new American Century”, where we can clearly read: “(…) advanced forms of biological warfare that can target specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool “.
Taking into account that the document was published in 2000, we can see that the possibility of biological warfare has been carefully considered and worked on by American strategists for at least two decades. However, the projects are even older. This article published in Global Research tells a brief history of biological warfare technology, tracing the remote origins of this practice by the American armed forces. In this genealogy of biological warfare, we find reports of the use of bio-weapons in wars in great conflicts of the last century, such as the Second World War, the Korea War and the conflicts with Cuba. Even so, until last Thursday, the mere fact of mentioning this hypothesis for the new coronavirus was rejected as conspiracy.
We must attain to concrete data: Pentagon has 400 military laboratories around the world, whose activities are still obscure; the USA has not yet made a clear statement about the COVID-19 data in its territory, having not yet informed the identity of its patient zero and maintaining uncertain information about the number of infected; Chinese scientists conducted a complex study in which they concluded that the virus did not originate in China, but that it had multiple and diverse sources from the Huanan marine seafood market from where the virus subsequently spread.
In February, the Japanese media agency Ashi TV reported that the virus originated in the U.S., not China, and that Washington would be omitting its actual numbers, with some cases of death attributed to influenza being, in fact, camouflaged cases of coronavirus; on February 27, a Taiwanese virologist presented a series of flowcharts on a TV program, corroborating the thesis that the virus has an American origin, providing a scientific explanation to the flow of the virus sources devoid of any geopolitical purpose.
Another curious fact is that China has been unexpectedly affected by epidemic phenomena, particularly during the period of the trade war between Beijing and Washington. Only between 2018 and the beginning of 2020, the country recorded epidemic episodes of H7N4, H7N9 (two variations of bird flu) and African swine flu. Also, the US has not officially responded to any of these notes, remaining silent about the coronavirus situation in its territory.
Not proposing a concrete answer, but only speculations, we can consider that the circumstances of the case present us a very extensive list of possibilities about what in fact the coronavirus is. Obviously, it is possible that it is not a biological weapon – and this is the official version of most of the media agencies and governments – however, once this hypothesis has been raised and no concrete evidence to the contrary is presented, it is also possible that it is a biological weapon.
The most important thing to do is to dispel the myth that biological wars are conspiracy theories. We must begin to take this possibility seriously and analyze the evidences in search of real solutions. Biological weapons are methods that have long been used and that form a fundamental part of modern warfare, whose costs are less than the methods of direct confrontation of the old wars of mobilization – and whose benefits are greater.
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theduran--2020-03-16--COVID-19 exposes EU’s inept & clueless leadership (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the European Union ’ s inept , disjointed and completely confused response to the COVID-19 virus .
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Populist Italian senator Matteo Salvini has criticised the leftist coalition government ’ s mass quarantine decree , saying it does not go far enough to protect Italians from coronavirus .
Salvini , who leads Italy ’ s most popular party , the League , said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locking down the country to stop the spread of the virus which has topped over 10,000 cases this week .
“ I read the decree all night , that ’ s not enough : I read that hardware stores , laundries , perfumeries , and tobacconists can remain open , ” Salvini said , newspaper Il Giornale reports .
“ Doctors ask us to close everything that is not strategic for the country for the sake of public health .
Then I read the decree and saw that in the industrial sector , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open : in Milan , the subway is crowded , ” he added .
The former interior minister went on to say that while currently many European Union member states have sealed off their borders with Italy , in the coming weeks it may be that Italy is forced to close its border if cases within the country are brought under control .
On Facebook , Salvini described the coronavirus situation as like being at war , a sentiment shared by some doctors in Italy , and warned that the death toll would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week .
The 1,000 number was reached later that same day .
Salvini had slammed the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in late February over the handling of the outbreak , saying : “ It is essential that , from today ( if they haven ’ t already done it yesterday ) , anyone who enters Italy , by any means of transport , from the raft to the aeroplane , be checked .
And if it comes from some areas , it will be isolated for fifteen days .
As other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more widespread , Salvini then offered to join the government in a national unity coalition but members of the Democratic Party and Conte rejected the proposal .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the European Union’s inept, disjointed and completely confused response to the COVID-19 virus.
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Via Breitbart…
Populist Italian senator Matteo Salvini has criticised the leftist coalition government’s mass quarantine decree, saying it does not go far enough to protect Italians from coronavirus.
Salvini, who leads Italy’s most popular party, the League, said that the decree does not go far enough in locking down the country to stop the spread of the virus which has topped over 10,000 cases this week.
“I read the decree all night, that’s not enough: I read that hardware stores, laundries, perfumeries, and tobacconists can remain open,” Salvini said, newspaper Il Giornale reports.
“Doctors ask us to close everything that is not strategic for the country for the sake of public health. Then I read the decree and saw that in the industrial sector, in transport, it’s all open: in Milan, the subway is crowded,” he added.
The former interior minister went on to say that while currently many European Union member states have sealed off their borders with Italy, in the coming weeks it may be that Italy is forced to close its border if cases within the country are brought under control.
Italian Doctor Says Coronavirus Outbreak Like a ‘War Situation’ https://t.co/wmAr9C7GUw — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 10, 2020
On Facebook, Salvini described the coronavirus situation as like being at war, a sentiment shared by some doctors in Italy, and warned that the death toll would exceed 1,000 by the end of the week. The 1,000 number was reached later that same day.
Salvini had slammed the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in late February over the handling of the outbreak, saying: “It is essential that, from today (if they haven’t already done it yesterday), anyone who enters Italy, by any means of transport, from the raft to the aeroplane, be checked. And if it comes from some areas, it will be isolated for fifteen days. As other countries do.”
After the outbreak became more widespread, Salvini then offered to join the government in a national unity coalition but members of the Democratic Party and Conte rejected the proposal.
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theduran--2020-03-16--Life in the Time of COVID-19: Revenge of the Bat

It was dusk .
Out of a cave , black clouds of bats were coming out : thick .
The fading sun skipped on their velvety wings .
It was beautiful .
The bats faded into darkness , on their way , on the hunt : tiny knights of nature carrying a deadly weapon about to cure humanity of its follies and arrogance .
Their weapon of choice was called COVID-19 .
A new era had begun .
Things would never again be quite the same .
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds , quickly bringing the entire world to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mandatory confinement for individuals should give us the unique opportunity to rethink radically our mode of development .
Our social and economic system was already on the brink of collapse , the mighty COVID-19 ’ s SARS-CoV-2 virus was the catalyst to shock humanity into this quantum leap .
Who would have thought that such a modest creature could pack such a punch ?
Who would have thought that the current pandemic could blow the lid off Pandora ’ s box and bring humanity to its knees ?
The notions I articulated above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A couple days ago , a graffiti artist wrote the following words on a Berlin wall : “ The coronavirus is a wake up call and our chance to build a new and loving society.
” Indeed .
It is a chance we can not afford to squander .
The chance of last resort !
There are many valuable lessons about the coronavirus pandemic and its fear and paranoia side effects , which move just as fast as the infection itself .
A global psychosis is spreading at the same time that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decree unthinkable authoritarian measures .
First and foremost , the lesson should be that humans should not mess with nature and eat wild animals such as bats , snake and pangolins .
Humans should not encroach on wildlife habitats either , because if they do , nature will retaliate .
This is precisely what happened at the genesis of the pandemic , in Wuhan , China at a wildlife animals wholesale market in December 2019 .
We , as a species of 7.5 billion people , voracious of animals , resources , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humans are guilty as charged , and now it is time for some to pay the price .
As of March 15 , 2020 , almost 100 million Europeans lived on lockdown .
In a matter of a week , 62 millions Italians and 47 millions Spaniards became confined to their homes , virtual prisoners under surveillance by police and military forces .
As the number of cases explode elsewhere exponentially , the rest of Europe will follow suit in a matter of days .
And because the mighty COVID-19 doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continents are likely to follow the same coercive policies which are , de facto , banning the basic liberty that is freedom of movement .
This is a paradox , and an extremely negative reaction , when the world needs solidarity more than anything , that the response of most governments has been an irrational isolationism and nationalism .
If there were a time for humans to stick together as a compassionate family , it is now .
There is a surreal Orwellian context in the current pandemic .
If in Orwell ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become illegal , the type of so-called social distancing and confinement imposed on millions of people by government decrees should be a concern to all of us .
Humans are social animals , and can not be deprived from each other without trauma .
While the same drastic authoritarian measures now being applied in Italy , Spain and France have brought tangible results in containing the coronavirus in China , they pose some serious questions as they infringe on essential personal liberties .
This form of collective psychosis can not be allowed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous than the pandemic .
Further , these kinds of methods could give governments or institutions the idea that they can prevent protest and dissent , supposedly for the good of citizens .
For example , in France , while the public opinion was distracted by the epidemic , Macron ’ s government imposed by decree its unpopular retirement reform .
This is , to some extent , using fear and paranoia for governing purposes .
Institutional panic has kicked in .
It is dangerous , irrational , and not coordinated between countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excessive reaction by governments , which feeds the mass hysteria like an echo chamber .
In the alternate and absurd reality of the pandemic , the Pope performs his daily mass in the Vatican alone ; French people have more or less lost their freedom of assembly , but are told they should get in line to vote in mayoral elections ; and we discover that toilet paper is an item of prime necessity , as some people have hoarded enough of it to last a year , and by doing so have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and not succumb to sheer panic , which is now the case .
Yes , soon worldwide millions of people will be infected and several thousands will die .
But we must keep in mind that 94 percent of people with the disease will recover and be fine .
It is critical to keep things in perspective .
We are not dealing with a pandemic like the black plague of the Middle Ages that decimated more than 40 percent of Europe ’ s population , or the 1918-1920 Spanish flu that killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great equalizer that is COVID-19 , as it affects the rich jetsetters and the powerful faster than the poor brown or black , is asking each of us a fundamental question : is it better to live in fear or to die free ?
Editor ’ s Notes : Gilbert Mercier is the author of The Orwellian Empire .
Photograph one by Amaury Laporte , and photograph four from the archive of Dipartimento Protezione Civile .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Gilbert Mercier, via News Junkie Post…
It was dusk. Out of a cave, black clouds of bats were coming out: thick. The fading sun skipped on their velvety wings. It was beautiful. The bats faded into darkness, on their way, on the hunt: tiny knights of nature carrying a deadly weapon about to cure humanity of its follies and arrogance. Their weapon of choice was called COVID-19. A new era had begun. Things would never again be quite the same.
Respect nature or pay the ultimate price
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, quickly bringing the entire world to a standstill, lock down of countries and mandatory confinement for individuals should give us the unique opportunity to rethink radically our mode of development. Our social and economic system was already on the brink of collapse, the mighty COVID-19’s SARS-CoV-2 virus was the catalyst to shock humanity into this quantum leap. Who would have thought that such a modest creature could pack such a punch? Who would have thought that the current pandemic could blow the lid off Pandora’s box and bring humanity to its knees?
The notions I articulated above are definitely present in the collective consciousness. A couple days ago, a graffiti artist wrote the following words on a Berlin wall: “The coronavirus is a wake up call and our chance to build a new and loving society.” Indeed. It is a chance we cannot afford to squander. The chance of last resort!
There are many valuable lessons about the coronavirus pandemic and its fear and paranoia side effects, which move just as fast as the infection itself. A global psychosis is spreading at the same time that feeds and allows governments to enforce by decree unthinkable authoritarian measures. First and foremost, the lesson should be that humans should not mess with nature and eat wild animals such as bats, snake and pangolins. Humans should not encroach on wildlife habitats either, because if they do, nature will retaliate. This is precisely what happened at the genesis of the pandemic, in Wuhan, China at a wildlife animals wholesale market in December 2019. We, as a species of 7.5 billion people, voracious of animals, resources, and space have done it to ourselves. Humans are guilty as charged, and now it is time for some to pay the price.
Life on lockdown
As of March 15, 2020, almost 100 million Europeans lived on lockdown. In a matter of a week, 62 millions Italians and 47 millions Spaniards became confined to their homes, virtual prisoners under surveillance by police and military forces. As the number of cases explode elsewhere exponentially, the rest of Europe will follow suit in a matter of days. And because the mighty COVID-19 doesn’t respect borders, all countries on all continents are likely to follow the same coercive policies which are, de facto, banning the basic liberty that is freedom of movement. This is a paradox, and an extremely negative reaction, when the world needs solidarity more than anything, that the response of most governments has been an irrational isolationism and nationalism. If there were a time for humans to stick together as a compassionate family, it is now.
COVID-19: an Orwellian construct
There is a surreal Orwellian context in the current pandemic. If in Orwell’s “1984,” love had become illegal, the type of so-called social distancing and confinement imposed on millions of people by government decrees should be a concern to all of us. Humans are social animals, and cannot be deprived from each other without trauma. While the same drastic authoritarian measures now being applied in Italy, Spain and France have brought tangible results in containing the coronavirus in China, they pose some serious questions as they infringe on essential personal liberties. This form of collective psychosis cannot be allowed to spread, as it could be more dangerous than the pandemic.
Further, these kinds of methods could give governments or institutions the idea that they can prevent protest and dissent, supposedly for the good of citizens. For example, in France, while the public opinion was distracted by the epidemic, Macron’s government imposed by decree its unpopular retirement reform. This is, to some extent, using fear and paranoia for governing purposes. Institutional panic has kicked in. It is dangerous, irrational, and not coordinated between countries. In brief, it is an excessive reaction by governments, which feeds the mass hysteria like an echo chamber. In the alternate and absurd reality of the pandemic, the Pope performs his daily mass in the Vatican alone; French people have more or less lost their freedom of assembly, but are told they should get in line to vote in mayoral elections; and we discover that toilet paper is an item of prime necessity, as some people have hoarded enough of it to last a year, and by doing so have provoked shortages.
People should calm down, and not succumb to sheer panic, which is now the case. Yes, soon worldwide millions of people will be infected and several thousands will die. But we must keep in mind that 94 percent of people with the disease will recover and be fine. It is critical to keep things in perspective. We are not dealing with a pandemic like the black plague of the Middle Ages that decimated more than 40 percent of Europe’s population, or the 1918-1920 Spanish flu that killed 50 million people. Ultimately, the great equalizer that is COVID-19, as it affects the rich jetsetters and the powerful faster than the poor brown or black, is asking each of us a fundamental question: is it better to live in fear or to die free?
Editor’s Notes: Gilbert Mercier is the author of The Orwellian Empire. Photograph one by Amaury Laporte, and photograph four from the archive of Dipartimento Protezione Civile.
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theduran--2020-03-16--UK government faces criticism over Coronavirus response

Submitted by InfoBrics , authored by Johanna Ross , journalist based in Edinburgh , Scotland… The UK government has been criticised for not going far enough in its response to the Coronavirus .
An open letter , signed by over 200 scientists at the end of last week , urged the government to take stronger measures to combat the spread of the contagion .
UK health authorities announced on Sunday that the death toll to the virus now stood at 35 , with over 40,000 people tested , of whom 1372 were infectious .
The weekend saw the most significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ date – 14 in the space of a day .
Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference last week when he pronounced the Covid-19 pandemic to be the most serious public health crisis to hit the country ‘ in a generation ’ .
He unveiled fresh advice to people : anyone experiencing the symptoms of Coronavirus – a new , continuous cough , and/or a temperature – to self-isolate for a period of 7 days .
He did not , however , at the time announce measures to restrict large social gatherings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This generated surprise and concern from scientists and the public alike .
Some organisations even decided on their own to cancel scheduled events , deeming it necessary under the circumstances .
This led to a government U-turn on Friday as it was declared that mass gatherings would be outlawed from Monday onwards .
Indeed , for the 229 scientists who signed an open letter to Boris Johnson last week , such measures curtailing social interaction could not come soon enough .
They state that they are ‘ deeply preoccupied ’ with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan and that under ‘ unconstrained growth ’ the outbreak would go on to affect millions of people in the next few weeks .
They say that working towards achieving ‘ herd immunity ’ at this early stage would cripple the NHS as there simply aren ’ t enough intensive care beds available .
This makes sense when one considers that Germany , which currently has many more intensive care beds than the UK , has ordered a further 10,000 to deal with the crisis .
The scientists argue that a lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ .They point to other countries in Europe who are now taking more drastic steps to stem the spread of the virus .
Last week the World Health Organisation declared Europe to be the most centralised area of the pandemic outside China .
Italy has been particularly badly affected , with over 21,000 cases and over 1400 deaths , with much of the north of the country on lockdown for six days now and people ordered to remain indoors unless it is absolutely necessary .
All non-essential businesses are closed .
Spain , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Italy , with 191 deaths and over 6000 cases , is also poised to proclaim a national lockdown starting from tomorrow .
France announced its lockdown on Saturday which will close all but essential shops , restaurants and bars .
Only grocery stores , pharmacies , tobacconists and petrol stations will remain open .
To date it has been thought that the worst symptoms were experienced by the elderly and infirm , with UK Health Minister Matt Hancock stating on Sunday that those 70 years and over would soon be asked to self-isolate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect them from the virus .
But in France , statistics have painted a slightly different picture , with Jerome Salomon , the head of the French public health authority stating that half of their 300 intensive care patients are in fact under the age of 60 .
He also said that it was time for French citizens to appreciate the serious nature of the pandemic : “ To date , there has not been enough awareness by French women and men of the importance of their role in the face of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the time to change our behaviour ” .
Not for decades have Europe ’ s nations been on such a war-footing .
One commentator said he was reminded of Britain ’ s position in 1916 during the First World War , when it faced not having enough munitions and was forced to ask other manufacturers to switch to making weapons .
In a similar way , Matt Hancock said on Sunday that there was a dire shortage of ventilators in Britain and that the government would purchase them from any firm which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urged manufacturers to change some of their production lines to make ventilators , acknowledging that it was in fact a policy usually reserved for war-time .
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would hold talks with engineering firms on Monday .
The Covid-19 pandemic is a fast-moving situation .
Every day there are more cases and more deaths , and it is extraordinary how quickly this has gone from being a distant news story to something which will affect all of us .
Most of us will never have experienced such a far-reaching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our elected governments will have a vital impact on how this disease progresses , and on our lives in the next few months .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Johanna Ross, journalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland…
The UK government has been criticised for not going far enough in its response to the Coronavirus. An open letter, signed by over 200 scientists at the end of last week, urged the government to take stronger measures to combat the spread of the contagion. UK health authorities announced on Sunday that the death toll to the virus now stood at 35, with over 40,000 people tested, of whom 1372 were infectious. The weekend saw the most significant rise in the number of deaths to date – 14 in the space of a day.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference last week when he pronounced the Covid-19 pandemic to be the most serious public health crisis to hit the country ‘in a generation’. He unveiled fresh advice to people: anyone experiencing the symptoms of Coronavirus – a new, continuous cough, and/or a temperature – to self-isolate for a period of 7 days. He did not, however, at the time announce measures to restrict large social gatherings, or to shut schools and nurseries. This generated surprise and concern from scientists and the public alike. Some organisations even decided on their own to cancel scheduled events, deeming it necessary under the circumstances. This led to a government U-turn on Friday as it was declared that mass gatherings would be outlawed from Monday onwards.
Indeed, for the 229 scientists who signed an open letter to Boris Johnson last week, such measures curtailing social interaction could not come soon enough. They state that they are ‘deeply preoccupied’ with the timeline of Johnson’s Coronavirus action plan and that under ‘unconstrained growth’ the outbreak would go on to affect millions of people in the next few weeks. They say that working towards achieving ‘herd immunity’ at this early stage would cripple the NHS as there simply aren’t enough intensive care beds available. This makes sense when one considers that Germany, which currently has many more intensive care beds than the UK, has ordered a further 10,000 to deal with the crisis.
The scientists argue that a lack of social distancing measures now ‘risks lives’.They point to other countries in Europe who are now taking more drastic steps to stem the spread of the virus. Last week the World Health Organisation declared Europe to be the most centralised area of the pandemic outside China. Italy has been particularly badly affected, with over 21,000 cases and over 1400 deaths, with much of the north of the country on lockdown for six days now and people ordered to remain indoors unless it is absolutely necessary. All non-essential businesses are closed. Spain, the second worst-hit country in Europe after Italy, with 191 deaths and over 6000 cases, is also poised to proclaim a national lockdown starting from tomorrow. France announced its lockdown on Saturday which will close all but essential shops, restaurants and bars. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, tobacconists and petrol stations will remain open.
To date it has been thought that the worst symptoms were experienced by the elderly and infirm, with UK Health Minister Matt Hancock stating on Sunday that those 70 years and over would soon be asked to self-isolate for a period of four months to protect them from the virus. But in France, statistics have painted a slightly different picture, with Jerome Salomon, the head of the French public health authority stating that half of their 300 intensive care patients are in fact under the age of 60. He also said that it was time for French citizens to appreciate the serious nature of the pandemic: “To date, there has not been enough awareness by French women and men of the importance of their role in the face of the virus. It is urgent. Now is the time to change our behaviour”.
Not for decades have Europe’s nations been on such a war-footing. One commentator said he was reminded of Britain’s position in 1916 during the First World War, when it faced not having enough munitions and was forced to ask other manufacturers to switch to making weapons. In a similar way, Matt Hancock said on Sunday that there was a dire shortage of ventilators in Britain and that the government would purchase them from any firm which made them. He said that he urged manufacturers to change some of their production lines to make ventilators, acknowledging that it was in fact a policy usually reserved for war-time. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would hold talks with engineering firms on Monday.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a fast-moving situation. Every day there are more cases and more deaths, and it is extraordinary how quickly this has gone from being a distant news story to something which will affect all of us. Most of us will never have experienced such a far-reaching pandemic before. The decisions made by our elected governments will have a vital impact on how this disease progresses, and on our lives in the next few months.
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theduran--2020-03-17--That Was “The News Huddlines”

That Was “The News Huddlines”

A giant of UK entertainment has passed on : Roy Hudd died Sunday .
If you are not a UK denizen you have likely never heard of him , but although he was never an A List celebrity , he was every bit as big a star as many of those who become household names only to be forgotten a few years later .
Roy was best known as a comedian , but he was a lot more than that .
He was a character actor , writer , author , historian , presenter , charity activist , and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ann .
His lengthy IMDb entry begins with 1960 , but before that he worked on the stage and in radio .
Indeed , it is radio for which he made his biggest mark , in particular with The News Huddlines which ran from 1975 to 2001 .
This was an up-to-the-minute revue that took a swipe at stories in the news and often the people behind them .
I actually attended a recording of The News Huddlines , a special edition which included a walk-on by David Frost .
I still have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the script that I picked up on the way out .
Roy Hudd was born at Croydon on May 16 , 1936 .
In his autobiography , a book whose title can not be given here , he wrote fondly of attending Saturday morning pictures at the Croydon Hippodrome .
This was closed in November 1956 and was later demolished .
Although he spent many happy hours at the cinema , his boyhood was anything but a bundle of laughs .
He grew up during the Second World War , and in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaving him to be raised by his maternal grandmother , Alice Barham .
Roy did his National Service in the RAF , something he says he enjoyed .
His first professional engagement was not as a comedian but a musician , in March 1957 .
Playing a banjo without a plectrum , which left the fingers on his right hand “ blood-soaked sausages ” , the group was paid £7 10s for a four hour performance at the Newmarket Jazz Club .
They received just over £1 each .
From there he went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Redcoat .
In 1959 , he began his own radio programme with the BBC , then a monopoly .
Workers ’ Playtime had actually started in 1941 and ended in 1964 ; it was produced by a man named Bill Gates !
During the 1960s , Roy made a string of TV appearances including his own shows , but for me one of his most endearing performances was as the morgue attendant in the 1968 horror classic The Blood Beast Terror , ( pictured above ) .
It was only a cameo performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so typical of Roy .
In the 1970s , he appeared in a series of advertisements for Quick Brew tea , which didn ’ t win him an Oscar but did pay for a house in Henley-on-Thames .
Roy married his first wife , dance teacher Ann Lambert in May 1961 , with whom he sired his only child .
He named his son Max after Max Miller , the infamous Cheekie Chappie , whose humour was at times far more risqué than Roy ’ s .
Max followed in his father ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not as a performer .
After nearly a decade of marriage , Ann petitioned for divorce , but in February 1971 , it was reported the couple had reconciled , something that was said to have delighted the judge at the London Divorce Court .
Six years later , the two teamed up in a rather unorthodox fashion when he played the front half of a centaur and she the back half in a production of Jason And The Golden Fleece .
However , the marriage did not last .
Roy met his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pantomime in Nottingham .
She was a dancer , and Roy was unsurprisingly playing Simple Simon .
Deborah Flitcroft was 22 years his junior , but they were eventually married , and she stayed with him until the end of his life .
In 1989 , he underwent emergency surgery for torn retinas in both his eyes , something that would almost certainly have blinded him .
Roy won many awards during his long career including the OBE for services to entertainment in the 2004 New Year Honours List .
He was working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and on screen .
His last on screen appearance will be in a short film All The Things You Are which is due for release next year .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
A giant of UK entertainment has passed on: Roy Hudd died Sunday. If you are not a UK denizen you have likely never heard of him, but although he was never an A List celebrity, he was every bit as big a star as many of those who become household names only to be forgotten a few years later.
Roy was best known as a comedian, but he was a lot more than that. He was a character actor, writer, author, historian, presenter, charity activist, and also a father by his first wife, Ann. His lengthy IMDb entry begins with 1960, but before that he worked on the stage and in radio. Indeed, it is radio for which he made his biggest mark, in particular with The News Huddlines which ran from 1975 to 2001. This was an up-to-the-minute revue that took a swipe at stories in the news and often the people behind them. I actually attended a recording of The News Huddlines, a special edition which included a walk-on by David Frost. I still have the ticket and a couple of pages of the script that I picked up on the way out.
Roy Hudd was born at Croydon on May 16, 1936. In his autobiography, a book whose title cannot be given here, he wrote fondly of attending Saturday morning pictures at the Croydon Hippodrome. This was closed in November 1956 and was later demolished. Although he spent many happy hours at the cinema, his boyhood was anything but a bundle of laughs. He grew up during the Second World War, and in 1943, his mother committed suicide, leaving him to be raised by his maternal grandmother, Alice Barham.
Roy did his National Service in the RAF, something he says he enjoyed. His first professional engagement was not as a comedian but a musician, in March 1957. Playing a banjo without a plectrum, which left the fingers on his right hand “blood-soaked sausages”, the group was paid £7 10s for a four hour performance at the Newmarket Jazz Club. They received just over £1 each. From there he went on to become a Butlin’s Redcoat.
In 1959, he began his own radio programme with the BBC, then a monopoly. Workers’ Playtime had actually started in 1941 and ended in 1964; it was produced by a man named Bill Gates!
During the 1960s, Roy made a string of TV appearances including his own shows, but for me one of his most endearing performances was as the morgue attendant in the 1968 horror classic The Blood Beast Terror, (pictured above). It was only a cameo performance, but the injection of humour was so typical of Roy.
In the 1970s, he appeared in a series of advertisements for Quick Brew tea, which didn’t win him an Oscar but did pay for a house in Henley-on-Thames.
Roy married his first wife, dance teacher Ann Lambert in May 1961, with whom he sired his only child. He named his son Max after Max Miller, the infamous Cheekie Chappie, whose humour was at times far more risqué than Roy’s. Max followed in his father’s footsteps after a fashion, although not as a performer.
After nearly a decade of marriage, Ann petitioned for divorce, but in February 1971, it was reported the couple had reconciled, something that was said to have delighted the judge at the London Divorce Court. Six years later, the two teamed up in a rather unorthodox fashion when he played the front half of a centaur and she the back half in a production of Jason And The Golden Fleece. However, the marriage did not last.
Roy met his second wife in 1980 while rehearsing for pantomime in Nottingham. She was a dancer, and Roy was unsurprisingly playing Simple Simon. Deborah Flitcroft was 22 years his junior, but they were eventually married, and she stayed with him until the end of his life.
In 1989, he underwent emergency surgery for torn retinas in both his eyes, something that would almost certainly have blinded him.
Roy won many awards during his long career including the OBE for services to entertainment in the 2004 New Year Honours List. He was working up until the very end, off and on screen. His last on screen appearance will be in a short film All The Things You Are which is due for release next year.
Roy Hudd, born Croydon, May 16, 1936; died, March 15, 2020.
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theduran--2020-03-17--The House that Ben Built

The House that Ben Built

After credit markets froze in the subprime crash of 2008-2009 Ben Bernanke and the Fed conjured up a number of monetary tricks to keep the system afloat .
POMO , Twist , QE , TARP , repos , and currency swaps ( and other monetary tricks ) were used to provide liquidity to an essentially bankrupt system sporting a weaponized US dollar .
[ 1 ] Even though the monetary tricks worked – or seemed to – they were based on a deeply flawed , immoral , and unlawful prospect : the privatization of profit enabled by the socialization of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2008-2009 was simply reinflated by the Fed/Treasury with a good bit of collusion among global players… with differences to be addressed .
Trouble has been brewing among Central Banks and their dealers for years ; notably HSBC , Deutsche Bank , and the Royal Bank of Scotland with many other structural defects apparent .
As such monetary realists have warned for years that the coming economic collapse would be far worse than the last .
Since 2009 we ’ ve had trade wars , proxy wars , and punishing sanctions .
Covert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US dollar on behalf of war profiteers and economic hitmen — which Washington has blessed as being free market entrepreneurs — is not something that the rest of the world will forgive easily .
Yes , this collapse does portend to be far worse than the last and it ’ s a very different type of financial collapse too .
The difference is remarkable in that global markets have become ever more co-dependent than they were ten years ago still largely relying on a weaponized US dollar as world reserve currency .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myth of Modern Monetary Theory has poisoned public discourse to such an extent that this Keynesian market fantasy expanded to Lewis Carroll dimensions .
A deluded recipe for real world monetary disaster .
Yet blaming Elites for once again slaying the golden goose on the altar of the Huxley-ized and cash-drugged masses can only go so far .
Just as wealth managers used the collapse of 2008-2009 to profit from TARP and QE this collapse is apparently targeted to do the same .
After all , what worked before must work again — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Massive injections of cash into an already failed system to resurrect the illusion .
But Houston has a problem .
The world today bears little resemblance to what it was ten years ago .
Central Banks and primary dealers outsourced much of their risk after 2011 .
Not just due to Dodd-Frank or bank stress tests ; independent credit rating agencies such as Weiss and Moody ’ s motivated all banks to offload substantial investment portfolios to third parties whether active or passive funds .
Meaning that this market crash may be immune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Plunge Protection Team ie Treasury/Fed ) since the risk is devolved and widely distributed beyond Primary Dealer/Fed controls .
Even if post-2009 Dodd-Frank regulations had the best of intentions such unintended consequences were not foreseen .
Put simply , in 2008-2009 the Fed/Treasury had tools to deal with a bank-led implosion that the Fed does not have today .
Likewise , an even more corrupt element has taken hold of global finance because the Too-Big-to-Jail were rewarded instead of prosecuted .
That includes the major central banks of the west , primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funds , and Swiss banks .
Such inbred corruption of the monetary kind is not easily extinguished .
Market meltdown red flags appeared when this bizarre new monetary reality of out-sourced risk really took hold last year .
In May physical gold began its inexorable rise even as a major gold site quit publishing charts on registered reserves .
The Fed began a massive repo program in September to bail-out some unknown bank or banks every night to the tune of many billions , rumored to be either HSBC or Deutsche Bank .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ inverted with all major financial rags warning about big trouble ahead .
But no matter what geopolitical disaster , trade war , or political upset occurred in 2019 , the US and most share markets were immune to decline… until the current outbreak of disease in China .
That contagion is the bazooka round to the bubble which can not be ignored .
Now voices that normally speak for free markets and free trade call for unbridled government action in the United States as in communist China .
The irony is rich .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to our physical well-being and financial — is that the United States is uniquely incapable of acting to curb this financial and health crisis .
There are humanitarian actions the US could take but can not , due to its politicized mandate for unreason .
For example : fire Steve Mnuchin .
Drop sanctions versus Iran , Russia , Venezuela , and China .
End endless US wars and quit US-state sponsorship of terror and damaging support for apartheid Israel .
The US could end its weaponization of the US dollar .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And could break with aggressive dangerous regimes in Turkey , the United Arab Emirates , Egypt , and Saudi Arabia .
In other words , the United States could be an actor for peace in the world instead of a champion of war , division , weaponry , interventionism , and destruction — whether financial or military .
That ’ s not only unlikely but impossible since the US decline — as engineered by politically leveraged Oligarchs — is nearly complete .
That ’ s not something to write about with glee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monetary realists understand .
With a further irony that the ‘ House that Ben Built ’ proved to be a house of cards for which he will never be prosecuted for building .
Agree with the foregoing or not , the greatest danger of all can not be ignored : that the very corrupt US Congress and political machine will use this outbreak as an excuse for draconian new restrictions and abuses of human rights domestically .
Restrictions that will make the AUMF , Patriot Act , Gramm Leach Blilely and many other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comparison .
[ 1 ] Acceptance of the radical politicization of the dollar was apparently a prerequisite for receiving such liquidity benefits [ 2 ] The Fed ’ s repo program has expanded enormously since then

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by Steve Brown…
After credit markets froze in the subprime crash of 2008-2009 Ben Bernanke and the Fed conjured up a number of monetary tricks to keep the system afloat. POMO, Twist, QE, TARP, repos, and currency swaps (and other monetary tricks) were used to provide liquidity to an essentially bankrupt system sporting a weaponized US dollar.[1] Even though the monetary tricks worked – or seemed to – they were based on a deeply flawed, immoral, and unlawful prospect: the privatization of profit enabled by the socialization of loss.
So the bubble that burst in 2008-2009 was simply reinflated by the Fed/Treasury with a good bit of collusion among global players… with differences to be addressed. Trouble has been brewing among Central Banks and their dealers for years; notably HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland with many other structural defects apparent. As such monetary realists have warned for years that the coming economic collapse would be far worse than the last.
Since 2009 we’ve had trade wars, proxy wars, and punishing sanctions. Covert or overt interventionism and weaponization of the US dollar on behalf of war profiteers and economic hitmen — which Washington has blessed as being free market entrepreneurs — is not something that the rest of the world will forgive easily.
Yes, this collapse does portend to be far worse than the last and it’s a very different type of financial collapse too. The difference is remarkable in that global markets have become ever more co-dependent than they were ten years ago still largely relying on a weaponized US dollar as world reserve currency.
To add insult to injury, the egregious myth of Modern Monetary Theory has poisoned public discourse to such an extent that this Keynesian market fantasy expanded to Lewis Carroll dimensions. A deluded recipe for real world monetary disaster. Yet blaming Elites for once again slaying the golden goose on the altar of the Huxley-ized and cash-drugged masses can only go so far.
Just as wealth managers used the collapse of 2008-2009 to profit from TARP and QE this collapse is apparently targeted to do the same. After all, what worked before must work again — right? Fund rates to zero. Massive injections of cash into an already failed system to resurrect the illusion.
But Houston has a problem. The world today bears little resemblance to what it was ten years ago. Central Banks and primary dealers outsourced much of their risk after 2011. Not just due to Dodd-Frank or bank stress tests; independent credit rating agencies such as Weiss and Moody’s motivated all banks to offload substantial investment portfolios to third parties whether active or passive funds . Meaning that this market crash may be immune to intervention by the Exchange Stabilization Fund (Plunge Protection Team ie Treasury/Fed) since the risk is devolved and widely distributed beyond Primary Dealer/Fed controls. Even if post-2009 Dodd-Frank regulations had the best of intentions such unintended consequences were not foreseen.
Put simply, in 2008-2009 the Fed/Treasury had tools to deal with a bank-led implosion that the Fed does not have today. Likewise, an even more corrupt element has taken hold of global finance because the Too-Big-to-Jail were rewarded instead of prosecuted. That includes the major central banks of the west, primary dealers, hedge funds, wealth management funds, and Swiss banks. Such inbred corruption of the monetary kind is not easily extinguished.
Market meltdown red flags appeared when this bizarre new monetary reality of out-sourced risk really took hold last year. In May physical gold began its inexorable rise even as a major gold site quit publishing charts on registered reserves. The Fed began a massive repo program in September to bail-out some unknown bank or banks every night to the tune of many billions, rumored to be either HSBC or Deutsche Bank. [2] The Treasury yield curve inverted with all major financial rags warning about big trouble ahead.
But no matter what geopolitical disaster, trade war, or political upset occurred in 2019, the US and most share markets were immune to decline… until the current outbreak of disease in China. That contagion is the bazooka round to the bubble which cannot be ignored. Now voices that normally speak for free markets and free trade call for unbridled government action in the United States as in communist China. The irony is rich.
The real tragedy — besides the threat to our physical well-being and financial — is that the United States is uniquely incapable of acting to curb this financial and health crisis. There are humanitarian actions the US could take but cannot, due to its politicized mandate for unreason. For example: fire Steve Mnuchin. Drop sanctions versus Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China. End endless US wars and quit US-state sponsorship of terror and damaging support for apartheid Israel. The US could end its weaponization of the US dollar. The US could cease its damaging trade wars. And could break with aggressive dangerous regimes in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
In other words, the United States could be an actor for peace in the world instead of a champion of war, division, weaponry, interventionism, and destruction — whether financial or military. That’s not only unlikely but impossible since the US decline — as engineered by politically leveraged Oligarchs — is nearly complete. That’s not something to write about with glee. Just the sobering reality that all monetary realists understand. With a further irony that the ‘House that Ben Built’ proved to be a house of cards for which he will never be prosecuted for building.
Agree with the foregoing or not, the greatest danger of all cannot be ignored: that the very corrupt US Congress and political machine will use this outbreak as an excuse for draconian new restrictions and abuses of human rights domestically. Restrictions that will make the AUMF, Patriot Act, Gramm Leach Blilely and many other abominations of US legislation look trivial by comparison.
[1] Acceptance of the radical politicization of the dollar was apparently a prerequisite for receiving such liquidity benefits
[2] The Fed’s repo program has expanded enormously since then
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The Coronavirus Outbreak

China has shown the path .
Adopt the Chinese model .
Take lessons from Italy .
It has been in the habit of western countries , especially the US and UK to heckle at South-eastern countries and attribute all epidemics and infections to us .
UK has a delayed response to COVID-19 unlike the Chinese Draconian lock-down Nor the UK has adopted the sophisticated technologies of South Korea , Taiwan , Singapore in contact tracing , social distancing .
Coronavirus in itself is not new .
It was discovered back in the 1960s .
Biological experiments with virus genome to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the last few decades when DNA analysis and gene splicing became easy .
Unintended ( or intended ) consequences started off from there .
Now there appears to be a new scare .
Herd immunity usually is affected by vaccination .
Not in these type of severe infections .
That ’ s a huge risk to wait for herd immunity to form and spread .
Immunologists around the world have declared they do not know the answer for this now .
Most likely not .
Wake up UK and US .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Taiwan has come out as a surprise to the westerners .
Though it is too early to challenge them , the UK and US leadership has come out like comedians in their corona-virus pandemic response .
And their health care has not risen to the occasion immediately , despite all their “ order ” , managerial skills , innumerable immigrant employees drained off their countries of origin in order to contribute to the mixture of skills in the west .
R0 is a very important number regarding infectious diseases in epidemiology .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate at which a disease spreads .
The method of infection is important also .
For example , HIV/AIDS and Ebola require some sort of direct contact such as sexual or bodily fluids whereas the flu only needs “ airborne droplets ” … They measure R0 and pathogenicity but not velocity , or how fast it makes you ill .
Viruses do this by recycling you into new viruses .
What they take from you to do this is a trace amount of vitamins and minerals and the problem begins when they use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system .
For example , Ebola can take ascorbate and selenium out of you in one day what HIV takes ten years to do .
They ’ re both equally pathogenic , they just kill you at a different rate .
The best we can do now is say “ slow ” vs/ fast virus .
By the end of this century , we will have quantified this better .
HIV is different , it makes a cell into a virus factory and just keeps going .
Biological weapons development has been banned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And yet , we already know , this band has been and is being violated by multiple nations .
Many believe HIV eventually spread out not just by accident , but that it came to exist first of all from illegal experimentation on the biological weapon , much as the Ebola scare and many others that did not hit the headlines .
The number of new cases in China has dropped .
Most of the patients who had the disease have been discharged .
This would be the time for a logical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone , talk to Xi and ask him to send some of the doctors who treated the 80,000 cases there and ask them to help us deal with what is coming .
And while you ’ re about it , call the Koreans and get the guys who organized the testing there to come and show us how it ’ s organized .
In China , 20 per cent of patients required hospitalization , 80 per cent did not .
It ’ s not the flu .
China built dozens of hospitals , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 days , by concentrating the industrial strength of a nation ( and not just any nation , but China ) into a single city .
But in India , they don ’ t have the resources and manpower of China .
Indian can ’ t build hospitals in a week like China .
So they got to get ready with vacant hospitals in the outskirts of all district capitals .
The fatality rate is not terribly important ; what is important is the rate of new infections ( as driven by R0 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , testing , and treatment capacity , leading to a much higher loss of life for those who can not get care… And nobody sensible is saying the world is ending now .
Srilanka , Pakistan and African nations all have documented a lesser number of cases .
That means the community spread of Corona pandemic has not started yet in these countries .
They are never going to do community-level testing and hence they will never know the actual infection rate .
Mr Boris Johnson , the PM of UK admitted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be ready to lose their loved ones .
He further said they expect 500,000 deaths ( 1 % mortality ) due to COVID-19 in coming days .
They have not locked down the UK yet .
The reason is..the UK govt wants to increase herd immunity by allowing the public to get infected because they are buying time for the NHS to get ready .
Prevention and anticipation are effective measures that govts throughout the world hv been ignoring .
The National health services of the UK is understaffed and under-resourced .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the UK .
Their political leadership is worse than ever .
The British including the British Indians chose the conservatives knowing they are into the process of underfunding the NHS .
But they will fare well in Brexit as planned .
The British wanted that .
India- Srilanka- Taiwan and other south-east Asian countries will do well when it comes to handling the epidemic ( now pandemic ) to the surprise of western countries .
Because we have been handling invasions , war situations , Tsunamis , several epidemics ( Indians have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though ) in the last few decades with good samaritan practices .
Indian healthcare is definitely better in terms of handling emergencies , the federal health structure of Indian health care will make certain Indian states far better than the UK and the US handling this situation .
The Indian health system has brisk private health care and very proactive government health care .
Indian need not follow a dead slow system .
They got to formulate their own guidelines for better care and also that suits their larger population .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feeders to the Govt institutes .
To fight epidemics you need universal state-funded health care .
You can not have part of the population to scared to be tested because of the cost of the test and too scared to be treated because of the cost of treatment .
If sick people who are scared do not seek the treatment they will spread the virus and they may die .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by Mousumi Roy…
China has shown the path. Adopt the Chinese model. Take lessons from Italy. It has been in the habit of western countries, especially the US and UK to heckle at South-eastern countries and attribute all epidemics and infections to us. UK has a delayed response to COVID-19 unlike the Chinese Draconian lock-down Nor the UK has adopted the sophisticated technologies of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore in contact tracing, social distancing.
Coronavirus in itself is not new. It was discovered back in the 1960s. Biological experiments with virus genome to find cures and vaccines really took off in the last few decades when DNA analysis and gene splicing became easy. Unintended (or intended) consequences started off from there.
Now there appears to be a new scare. Herd immunity usually is affected by vaccination. Not in these type of severe infections. That’s a huge risk to wait for herd immunity to form and spread.
Immunologists around the world have declared they do not know the answer for this now. Most likely not.
Wake up UK and US. You are no more leaders in health care.
Taiwan has come out as a surprise to the westerners.
Though it is too early to challenge them, the UK and US leadership has come out like comedians in their corona-virus pandemic response. And their health care has not risen to the occasion immediately, despite all their “order”, managerial skills, innumerable immigrant employees drained off their countries of origin in order to contribute to the mixture of skills in the west.
R0 is a very important number regarding infectious diseases in epidemiology. In short, it’s the rate at which a disease spreads.
The method of infection is important also. For example, HIV/AIDS and Ebola require some sort of direct contact such as sexual or bodily fluids whereas the flu only needs “airborne droplets”…
They measure R0 and pathogenicity but not velocity, or how fast it makes you ill. Viruses do this by recycling you into new viruses. What they take from you to do this is a trace amount of vitamins and minerals and the problem begins when they use ones that are critical to the immune system. For example, Ebola can take ascorbate and selenium out of you in one day what HIV takes ten years to do. They’re both equally pathogenic, they just kill you at a different rate. The best we can do now is say “slow” vs/ fast virus. By the end of this century, we will have quantified this better. HIV is different, it makes a cell into a virus factory and just keeps going.
Biological weapons development has been banned through a UN resolution a generation ago. And yet, we already know, this band has been and is being violated by multiple nations. Many believe HIV eventually spread out not just by accident, but that it came to exist first of all from illegal experimentation on the biological weapon, much as the Ebola scare and many others that did not hit the headlines.
The number of new cases in China has dropped. Most of the patients who had the disease have been discharged. This would be the time for a logical, non-arrogant leader to get on the phone, talk to Xi and ask him to send some of the doctors who treated the 80,000 cases there and ask them to help us deal with what is coming. And while you’re about it, call the Koreans and get the guys who organized the testing there to come and show us how it’s organized. In China, 20 per cent of patients required hospitalization, 80 per cent did not. It’s not the flu. China built dozens of hospitals, they built a 1000 bed hospital in 10 days, by concentrating the industrial strength of a nation (and not just any nation, but China) into a single city. But in India, they don’t have the resources and manpower of China. Indian can’t build hospitals in a week like China. So they got to get ready with vacant hospitals in the outskirts of all district capitals.
The fatality rate is not terribly important; what is important is the rate of new infections (as driven by R0), which will quickly overwhelm diagnosis, testing, and treatment capacity, leading to a much higher loss of life for those who cannot get care… And nobody sensible is saying the world is ending now.
Srilanka, Pakistan and African nations all have documented a lesser number of cases. That means the community spread of Corona pandemic has not started yet in these countries. They are never going to do community-level testing and hence they will never know the actual infection rate.
Mr Boris Johnson, the PM of UK admitted in his press conference that the nation got to be ready to lose their loved ones. He further said they expect 500,000 deaths (1% mortality) due to COVID-19 in coming days. They have not locked down the UK yet. The reason is..the UK govt wants to increase herd immunity by allowing the public to get infected because they are buying time for the NHS to get ready. Prevention and anticipation are effective measures that govts throughout the world hv been ignoring. The National health services of the UK is understaffed and under-resourced. Private health care is costly and incipient in the UK. Their political leadership is worse than ever. The British including the British Indians chose the conservatives knowing they are into the process of underfunding the NHS. But they will fare well in Brexit as planned. The British wanted that.
India- Srilanka- Taiwan and other south-east Asian countries will do well when it comes to handling the epidemic (now pandemic) to the surprise of western countries. Because we have been handling invasions, war situations, Tsunamis, several epidemics (Indians have a bad track record of handling epidemics, though) in the last few decades with good samaritan practices.
Indian healthcare is definitely better in terms of handling emergencies, the federal health structure of Indian health care will make certain Indian states far better than the UK and the US handling this situation. The Indian health system has brisk private health care and very proactive government health care. Indian need not follow a dead slow system. They got to formulate their own guidelines for better care and also that suits their larger population. They have to involve private health care as feeders to the Govt institutes.
To fight epidemics you need universal state-funded health care. You cannot have part of the population to scared to be tested because of the cost of the test and too scared to be treated because of the cost of treatment. If sick people who are scared do not seek the treatment they will spread the virus and they may die.
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theduran--2020-03-17--Central Banking is Socialism

Central Banking is Socialism

Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity : Last week , the Federal Reserve responded to Wall Street ’ s coronavirus panic with an “ emergency ” interest rate cut .
This emergency cut failed to revive the stock market , leading to predictions that the Fed will again cut rates later this month .
More rate cuts would drive interest rates to near , or even below , zero .
Lowering interest rates punishes people for saving , thus encouraging consumers and businesses to spend every penny they make .
This may give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it inhibits long-term economic growth by depleting the savings necessary for investments in businesses and jobs .
The result of this policy will be more pressure on the Fed to indefinitely maintain low interest rates and on the Congress and president to create another explosion of government “ stimulus ” spending .
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren has suggested that Congress allow the Federal Reserve to add assets of private companies to the Fed ’ s already large balance sheet .
Allowing the central bank to buy assets of , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , private companies would give the Federal Reserve even greater influence over the economy .
It could also allow the Fed to advance a political agenda by , for example , favoring investment in “ green energy ” companies over other companies or refusing to purchase assets of retailers who sell firearms or tobacco products .
Mr. Rosengren ’ s proposal to allow the central bank to “ invest , ” in private companies seems like something one would hear from democratic socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders .
This is not surprising since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ textbook example of socialism .
The essence of socialist economics is government allocation of resources either by seizing direct control of the “ means of production ” or by setting prices business can charge .
Federal Reserve manipulation of interest rates is an attempt to set the price of money .
Federal Reserve attempts to set interest rates distort the signals sent by the rates to investors and business .
This results in a Fed-created boom , which is inevitably followed by a Fed-created bust .
Economic elites benefit when the Federal Reserve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have access to the money created before there are widespread price increases .
Artificially low interest rates also facilitate the growth of the welfare-warfare state .
The Federal Reserve ’ s inflationary policies harm the average American by eroding the dollar ’ s purchasing power .
This forces consumers to rely on credit cards and other forms of debt to maintain their standard of living .
Many Americans are unable to afford their own homes because they are saddled with student loan debt that can even exceed their income .
Since the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a growing understanding that the current system is rigged in favor of the elites and against the average American .
Unfortunately , popular confusion of our system of Keynesian neoliberalism with a free-market economy , combined with a widespread entitlement mentality , has led many Americans to support increasing government control of our economy .
The key to beating back the rising support for socialism on both the left and right is helping more people understand that big government and central banking are the cause of their problems and that free markets in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — is the solution .
It is important that the liberty movement put pressure on Congress to cut spending and rein in or , better yet , end the Fed .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity:
Last week, the Federal Reserve responded to Wall Street’s coronavirus panic with an “emergency” interest rate cut. This emergency cut failed to revive the stock market, leading to predictions that the Fed will again cut rates later this month.
More rate cuts would drive interest rates to near, or even below, zero. Lowering interest rates punishes people for saving, thus encouraging consumers and businesses to spend every penny they make. This may give the economy a short-term boost. But, it inhibits long-term economic growth by depleting the savings necessary for investments in businesses and jobs. The result of this policy will be more pressure on the Fed to indefinitely maintain low interest rates and on the Congress and president to create another explosion of government “stimulus” spending.
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren has suggested that Congress allow the Federal Reserve to add assets of private companies to the Fed’s already large balance sheet. Allowing the central bank to buy assets of, and thus assume a partial ownership interest in, private companies would give the Federal Reserve even greater influence over the economy. It could also allow the Fed to advance a political agenda by, for example, favoring investment in “green energy” companies over other companies or refusing to purchase assets of retailers who sell firearms or tobacco products.
Mr. Rosengren’s proposal to allow the central bank to “invest,” in private companies seems like something one would hear from democratic socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders. This is not surprising since the entire Federal Reserve system is a textbook example of socialism.
The essence of socialist economics is government allocation of resources either by seizing direct control of the “means of production” or by setting prices business can charge. Federal Reserve manipulation of interest rates is an attempt to set the price of money. Federal Reserve attempts to set interest rates distort the signals sent by the rates to investors and business. This results in a Fed-created boom, which is inevitably followed by a Fed-created bust.
Economic elites benefit when the Federal Reserve pumps new money into the economy because they have access to the money created before there are widespread price increases. Artificially low interest rates also facilitate the growth of the welfare-warfare state.
The Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies harm the average American by eroding the dollar’s purchasing power. This forces consumers to rely on credit cards and other forms of debt to maintain their standard of living. Many Americans are unable to afford their own homes because they are saddled with student loan debt that can even exceed their income.
Since the bailouts of 2008, there has been a growing understanding that the current system is rigged in favor of the elites and against the average American. Unfortunately, popular confusion of our system of Keynesian neoliberalism with a free-market economy, combined with a widespread entitlement mentality, has led many Americans to support increasing government control of our economy.
The key to beating back the rising support for socialism on both the left and right is helping more people understand that big government and central banking are the cause of their problems and that free markets in all areas — and especially in money — is the solution. It is important that the liberty movement put pressure on Congress to cut spending and rein in or, better yet, end the Fed.
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