Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
Doctor Mike Hansen 2/25/2020
CDC lady said last week that you can’t spread it if not showing symptoms. The official misinformation is outrageous. Thanks for the factual info.
Bernie Sanders to Fund ‘Major’ Multitrillion-Dollar Plans with Military Cuts, Taxes, Lawsuits
By HANNAH BLEAU
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Monday released a fact sheet explaining how he will fund his “major” multitrillion-dollar campaign proposals — the Green New Deal, free college, housing for all, etc. — and revealed that he will pay for them through a combination of cutting military spending, creating new taxes, and enacting penalties on the fossil fuel industry in the form of lawsuits.
While Sanders has released a suite of lofty plans with the promise to improve the lives of middle class and low income Americans, critics have repeatedly asked the socialist senator to explain how his administration will pay for his grandiose proposals.
His campaign released a fact sheet on Monday listing each of his “major plans” and providing a line on how he will make it a reality.
His $16.3 trillion Green New Deal plan, perhaps one of his most prolific proposals, will be paid for, he claims, through a variety of methods including slashes in military spending and lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry.
He is calling to reduce defense spending by $1.215 trillion “by scaling back military operations on protecting the global oil supply.” His campaign claims he will raise $3.085 trillion by “making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies.” He expects to garner another $6.4 trillion “from the wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Administrations.”
“This revenue will be collected from 2023-2035, and after 2035 electricity will be virtually free, aside from operations and maintenance costs,” his website states.
Sanders also claims his Green New Deal plan will create 20 million jobs, which will effectively create a new tax base and eliminate the need for $1.31 trillion in “federal and state safety net spending due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs.”
His campaign actually argues that enacting his multitrillion-dollar climate change proposal will save the United States $2.9 trillion in the next decade, $21 trillion over the next 30 years, and $70.4 trillion over the next 80 years.
“If we do not act, the U.S. will lose $34.5 trillion by the end of the century in economic productivity,” he claims.
That is far from Sanders’ only proposal. Offering free college and cancelation of student debt will cost, according to his estimates, $2.2 trillion. Sanders claims the plan is “fully paid” for with a “modest tax on Wall Street speculation,” contending that it will raise more than enough — $2.4 million over the next decade.
Sanders says his $1.5 trillion housing for all plan and $1.5 trillion universal child care/pre-K plan will be paid for with “a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent – those who have a net worth of at least $32 million.” He claims it will raise “a total of $4.35 trillion.”
His other plans rely almost entirely on new taxes on the wealthy. His vow to erase $81 billion past-due medical debt will be “fully paid for by establishing an income inequality tax on large corporations that pay CEOs at least 50 times more than average workers.” Additionally, Social Security expansion will be paid for, he says, with a tax on Americans with incomes over $250,000.
Instead of explicitly stating how Sanders will fund his Medicare for All plan, which some experts say could cost over $60 trillion over the next decade, the fact sheet simply touts a “menu of financing options that would more than pay for the Medicare for All legislation he has introduced,” which includes raising taxes on the middle class.
Per the fact sheet, those options include:
Creating a 4 percent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four.
Imposing a 7.5 percent income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1 million in payroll to protect small businesses.
Eliminating health tax expenditures, which would no longer be needed under Medicare for All.
Raising the top marginal income tax rate to 52% on income over $10 million.
Replacing the cap on the state and local tax deduction with an overall dollar cap of $50,000 for a married couple on all itemized deductions.
Taxing capital gains at the same rates as income from wages and cracking down on gaming through derivatives, like-kind exchanges, and the zero tax rate on capital gains passed on through bequests.
Enacting the For the 99.8% Act, which returns the estate tax exemption to the 2009 level of $3.5 million, closes egregious loopholes, and increases rates progressively including by adding a top tax rate of 77% on estate values in excess of $1 billion.
Enacting corporate tax reform including restoring the top federal corporate income tax rate to 35 percent.
Using $350 billion of the amount raised from the tax on extreme wealth to help finance Medicare for All.
The release of the fact sheet follows Sanders growing frustration over the mounting questions over the costs of his massive proposals.
Anderson Cooper grilled Sanders on the costs of his various proposals during the presidential hopeful’s recent sit-down interview with 60 Minutes.
“But you say you don’t know what the total price is, but you know how it’s going to be paid for. How do you know it’s going to be paid for if you don’t know how much the price is?” Cooper asked.
“I can’t rattle off to you every nickel and every dime,” Sanders said. “But we have accounted for — you talked about Medicare for All — we have options out there that will pay for it.”
REPORT: BORDER PATROL AGENTS PROVIDED RESPIRATORS TO DEAL WITH CHINESE IMMIGRANTS CROSSING FROM MEXICO
Report claims CBP has encountered 91 immigrants from China since start of 2020
FEBRUARY 25, 2020
US Customs and Border Protection agents in South Texas are reportedly being given respirator face masks to deal with Chinese immigrants crossing illegally into the US through Mexico.
The agents, stationed in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley sector, on Tuesday said they’ve encountered 91 immigrants from China since start of 2020, according to Center for Immigration Studies fellow and counter-terrorism expert Todd Bensman.
Fortunately, none of the Chinese immigrants have tested positive for the Coronavirus currently wreaking havoc in China and other parts of the world.
From Bensman:
Border Patrol source: 91 Chinese migrants apprehended at Texas Rio Grande sector since Jan. 1. They are being isolated and screened for virus. Agents given respirators to deal. No virus detected as of today. Lots of Chinese still coming over there and elsewhere.
The update from the southern border comes as US health officials on Tuesday warned the virus’ spread to the United States appears inevitable as cases continue to pop up in Asia and the Middle East.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” a top scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”
COVID-19 Tuesday Morning
I may be repeating what others have said, but if the Italian doctor has been in Tenerife for a week, then infections were occurring in Italy at least a week ago. That could explain their relatively high death rates, as there are likely a much larger number of mild cases there. And perhaps elsewhere, as obtaining a covid19 test seems to depend upon contact with Chinese.
Kudos to John for sticking with his convictions. I’ve watched John’s opinion of the WHO slowly slide from disbelief to complete incompetence. This is a positive transition. Keep it up!
Coronavirus Update: Italy Lockdown, Turkey Closes Iran Border, South Korea Almost 900 Cases
2/24/2020
Coronavirus Deaths Outside China Spike As WHO Team Visits Wuhan: Live Updates
by Tyler Durden
Sat, 02/22/2020 – 11:08
Summary:
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Italy confirms second death, 12 towns on lockdown, more than 50 cases confirmed
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Japan cases triple in a week to 121
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Chinese scientists find virus in urine
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Experts propose 27 day quarantine, say 14 days likely not long enough
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Cases outside China go exponential
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WHO team visits Wuhan; will give Monday press conference
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Iran reports 10 new cases, deaths climb to 5
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San Diego says 200 under ‘medical observation’
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Young woman infected five relatives without ever showing symptoms
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South Korea cases surge 8-fold in 4 days to 433; country reports third death
* * *
Update (1100ET): Italian health officials have confirmed nearly two dozen more cases across Lombardy and Veneto, according to Bloomberg.
The Lombardy region has 39 coronavirus cases with another 12 cases in the Veneto, regional officials said in a press conference Saturday in Milan. Most of the cases are in the Codogno area, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Milan. A woman who was found dead in her home subsequently tested positive, the health secretary said. Earlier, three tourists in Rome were diagnosed with the virus.
* * *
When WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros was asked on Thursday whether the COVID-19 virus was at a tipping point, he replied that the window to stop the outbreak from growing exponentially worse was rapidly closing.
Though by Friday night, it certainly seemed like that window had slammed shut. In South Korea, cases went exponential, soaring by 70% in one day.
Overnight, the country reported another rash of confirmed cases, bringing the total to 433, with 352 in Daegu, presumably members of the cult-like church where a ‘super-spreader’ worshipped. That marks an eight-fold increase in cases in just four days for South Korea, as the AP reported.
SK also reported its third death, a man in his 40s who was found dead in his apartment and posthumously tested.
South Korean health officials warned they could soon see a rash of deaths as several patients are in serious condition. Virus patients with signs of pneumonia or other serious conditions at the Cheongdo hospital were transferred elsewhere as 17 of them are in critical condition, according to SK Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told reporters.
The country has followed China in imposing quarantines (everyone is too terrified to go outside anyway) and they’re hoping to prevent a national outbreak, despite a few cases in Seoul that weren’t immediately traceable to an obvious source, which is sort of discouraging.
“Although we are beginning to see some more cases nationwide, infections are still sporadic outside of the special management zone of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province,” Kim said during a briefing. He called for maintaining strong border controls to prevent infections from China and elsewhere from entering South Korea.
In Italy, a seemingly minor outbreak went exponential. By day’s end, Italian health authorities had confirmed their first virus-related fatality, and 12 towns in Lombardy were under strict quarantine orders with residents huddling terrified inside their homes, a tableau that has become all too familiar by now. Another fatality followed overnight, as a couple more towns joined in the lockdown. This marked Italy as the first European country to see its own nationals succumb to the virus, according to Euronews.
Across Italy, there are 32 cases in Codogno, Lombardy, and seven in Veneto, according to the AFP and Sky Italia television. Many of the new cases represented the first infections in Italy acquired through secondary contagion.
In Iran, 10 more cases, and one more death, were recorded overnight. That brings the total number of confirmed cases to 28, including cases in Qom and Tehran. So far, five Iranians have died.
As we await more information out of China, CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports that the team would hold a press briefing on Monday at 6 am ET.
Meanwhile, as we noted yesterday, the team has arrived in Wuhan, where it’s gathering information and observing the situation on the ground.
The team has already been to three Chinese provinces, Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong, but are only now just visiting the city at the heart of the outbreak. Dr. Tedros confirmed the trip during public comments on Saturday, where he once again shared some familiar words.
“We have to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have, to attack the virus outbreak with a sense of urgency,” Dr. Tedros told the leaders, who had gathered for an emergency meeting on the response to the coronavirus in the continent.
President Xi said Saturday that the situation in Wuhan remains ‘grim and complex’ – which means the WHO team should be in for an eye-opening experience.
As of Saturday morning in the US, 1,200 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed outside China. More than 200 cases have been confirmed in South Korea, more than 30 in Italy, roughly a dozen in Iran, and one in Egypt, the first to be confirmed in Africa. China has reported over 76,000 cases, including over 2,300 deaths.
Confirmed cases in Japan rose to 121 on Saturday, having more than tripled in a week.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that health officials and the cruise line are continuing to test crew members aboard the Diamond Princess. So far, 74 crew have been confirmed to have the virus, but they have been included in the toll already.
So far, China has reported only 397 new cases Saturday, as the rate of increase continued to decline, but another 109 have died. And even the Washington Post acknowledges that there is a “great deal of skepticism” about China’s numbers, according to a new case study seen by Reuters.
Cases where patients didn’t show signs of infection for longer than two weeks have prompted some epidemiologists to suggest a 27 day quarantine period instead of just a 14 day. Also on Saturday scientists in China revealed that they had discovered a strain of the virus in a patient’s urine, raising new and uncomfortable questions about the virus’s ability to spread through sewer systems.
There have also been several new indications that the virus’s incubation period might be longer than the 14 days currently believed. A woman in Wuhan with no symptoms infected five relatives without every showing signs of infection.
In the US, health officials are scrambling to contain the fallout from the evacuation of 300 Americans from the ‘Diamond Princess’. It appears that the decision to transport 14 infected passengers along with the rest of the group was a disaster. Dozens of others appear to have been infected either during the trip, or shortly before.
But in San Diego, officials announced that they’re monitoring some 200 cases, none of which had anything to do with the ship.
After confirmed US cases more than doubled to 34 on Friday, officials in San Diego on Saturday confirmed that more than 200 people are currently being monitored over virus concerns, according to ABC News 10.
Officials said everyone being monitored had either come in contact with one of the three confirmed cases, or others under suspicion. Health officials didn’t exactly offer specific details.
They’re among more than 300 people who have been, or are being, ‘monitored’ by the county.
The 204 people under county supervision include those deemed at risk of having been exposed to the virus due to close contact with confirmed cases or because of travel to China in the past 14 days, the county said.
Those individuals are monitoring their health under the supervision of county health officials.
So far, 338 people in all have been monitored by the county, with 134 people completing their time under supervision.
Health officials say the CDC is conducting screening for those landing at one of 11 U.S. airports from China. From there, if a patient shows no symptoms they are self-quarantined at home for self-monitoring with public health supervision.
Keep in mind: These individuals aren’t being held in isolation or a mandatory quarantine. Instead, they’ve been asked to self-quarantine, and immediately report any suspicious symptoms.
San Diego has had two confirmed cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, among the evacuees who were flown out of Wuhan a few weeks ago. One patient has since recovered from the virus and has been released. The second patient is still receiving care. A third patient, reportedly a child, is still awaiting test results, but has been said to be showing symptoms.
When they extended a coronavirus-related emergency declaration for another 30 days, officials said there were no signs the virus was spreading around San Diego. But it never hurts to be cautious.
Before we go, we wanted to remind readers of a chart we first shared a couple of days ago:
SOUTH KOREA REPORTS 52 MORE CORONAVIRUS CASES
Country now has second-highest number of infections after China
FEBRUARY 21, 2020
South Korea reported 52 new cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19 on Friday, taking up the number of infected to 156.
The country now has the second highest number of infected people after China.
The country also confirmed its first death from coronavirus on Thursday.
The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that of the new cases, 39 were from the southern city of Daegu. All of these cases were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city.
The infections have been traced to a 61-year-old woman, who attended the church. The sect has since shut down its services. The mayor of Daegu, Kwon Young-jin has advised residents to stay indoors as much as possible.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said that Daegu and the neighboring area of Cheongdo County would be declared as “special care zones.”
The government is trying to identify those who might have come in contact with infected people, and diagnose the disease at the earliest opportunity.
“We will proactively provide necessary assistance including sickbeds, personnel, and equipment,” the PM said in a meeting with senior officials.
Also on Friday, officials in the capital Seoul banned public rallies in a bid to control the spread of the disease.
The coronavirus outbreak that originated in China has infected more than 76,000 globally. It was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization due the coronavirus that causes it, and the year 2019 when it originated.
‘This should go well’: Trolling and worry as Twitter reveals plan to flag ‘lies & misinformation’
Twitter is experimenting with features that will supposedly help identify tweets containing lies with community help, but the social media giant’s track record of bias and questionable banning standards has users concerned.
Tweets that spread “lies” or “misinformation” will be highlighted for users with a bright-colored warning that is nearly the same size as the offending post, according to a report from NBC News. The changes are supposedly part of a policy revamp at Twitter, scheduled to go into effect next month.
Who are these “community” judges, juries and executioners? “Fact-checkers and journalists” who are verified on Twitter will be the able to decide which tweets promote “misleading” information, though a Twitter spokesperson told NBC that the site will be testing “many different ways” to combat “misinformation.”
A “Community Notes” section also gives users the ability to earn points based on being a “good neighbor,” which is apparently a Twitter euphemism for someone who flags other people’s tweets. Points and community badges could be rewarded to those who act in “good faith” when targeting offending tweets.
The point system is meant to prevent “bad actors” from abusing it. Considering how much political fighting there is on Twitter, odds that this tool will be abused are close to 100 percent, however.
Screenshots from a public testing site show tweets from both conservative and liberal politicians being flagged, as well as tweets denying climate change.
Having been accused of political bias and shadowbanning users with more right-wing beliefs in the past, many do not have faith in Twitter responsibly identifying “misleading” information.
“Can’t wait to see just how much of a disaster this is going to be,” reporter Seth Mandel tweeted in response to the coming changes.
“This should go well,” added commentator and podcaster Stephen Miller.
Twitter already put a new policy in place last month banning tweets that share “manipulated media.” That, however, could mean anything from deep fakes to memes such as that of President Donald Trump giving a medal to the military dog Conan, an obviously humorous and trolling tweet that was quickly “fact-checked” by reporters anyway.
With such precedents, it’s not surprising that many Twitter users fear the new tools could be abused to flag legitimate satire.
kind of fucked up that twitter is already flagging my posts. is anyone else seeing this https://t.co/srbFm28Ijh—
leon (@leyawn) February 20, 2020
Facebook has faced similar criticism for attempts at censorship of what they deem to be harmful content. CEO Mark Zuckerberg even recently set up an Oversight Board, completely funded by Facebook of course, so people can attempt to appeal the social media giant’s decisions on banned content.
Twitter also has a history of trying to punish “wrongthink.” Author Yasha Levine had his account locked after objecting to the US pushing for war with Russia. Actor James Woods only recently returned to the platform after months-long absence, after Twitter locked his account and demanded he delete an offensive tweet.
“If you try to kill the King, you better not miss,” the politically-outspoken Woods tweeted, quoting a line from the famous TV show ‘The Wire’ that paraphrases Ralph Waldo Emerson. Twitter deemed it to be some kind of threat or incitement of violence.
With the new flagging rules and seemingly impossible-to-control policies in the pipeline, it would be no surprise to see even more attempts at thought control, putting a wedge between the social media giant and already frustrated users.
New York Library Plans LGBT Re-Education Program After Community Rejects ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’
There is no escaping this Satanic agenda.
By Shane Trejo – 2/21/2020
Activists in Rye, New York have successfully averted a showing of “drag queen story hour” in their community library, but the library is pushing back with an LGBT re-education program meant to indoctrinate young minds into the perverted lifestyle.
The activists, including citizen journalists Robin Janovich and Tom McDermott of The Rye Record, questioned a showing of drag queen story hour scheduled for the library on Feb. 8.
“Are families likely to bring their young children to a program that uses drag queens to focus on inclusivity? Why are we foisting conversations on inclusivity on children that young? Are we replacing bedtime stories, which take children out of themselves and out into other, far more interesting worlds, with discussions of sexual differences when they are innocent sponges?” the reporters asked.
The proposed story hour event was geared toward children aged 3-8 years old and was billed as a teaching experience to “celebrate difference, learn empathy, and create crafts” and “celebrate diversity while building confidence in self-expression.”
Citizens in Rye started asking questions and began to cause a stir among the community as people began to question why these perverts were being allowed intimate access to children.
“What happened to bringing joy and delight to our children and grandchildren, rather than assaulting them with political correctness?” one concerned citizen asked.
“If the #MeToo Movement has taught us one thing, isn’t it that men dressing up as women for entertainment isn’t progress?” asked another individual.
The activism resulted in the event being postponed, but Rye Free Reeding Room Director Chris Shoemaker announced that they would instead bring in “educators” to push LGBT propaganda instead of drag queens.
“But nearly all of those emails were anonymous, so I couldn’t respond to them individually,” Shoemaker said. “They were form letters asking that the library be neutral in its viewpoints and not create an unwelcome environment.”
“After looking at all the feedback and considering whether we should be using an adult performer to spread this message,” Shoemaker continued, “I decided the library should pause and refocus on engaging different educators.”
Meanwhile, pro-degeneracy advocates such as Rye resident Joie Cooney and the City of Rye’s Human Rights Commission are pushing to get story hour reinstated. They want children to be groomed by this vile group of predators out to corrupt the souls of the children.
In other states, drag queens have been completely unvetted before being allowed to read creepy stories about gender and sexuality to children. This has resulted in pedophiles being allowed to administer story hour events to kids. The organizers have done absolutely nothing to assure that drag queens receive criminal background checks beforehand, and there could be dozens if not hundreds of more predators using story hour as a means to find unsuspecting prey.
The people of Rye, as well as the rest of the country, will require nothing short of eternal vigilance to protect the innocence of children from LGBT predators.
Tom's Blog 