Today's News: March 02, 2020

World News

Erdogan Warns ‘Millions of Refugees’ Will Move to Turkey’s Border With EU

Sputnik – The dire situation in Syria’s Idlib province caused by fighting that has pitted Syrian government forces against Turkish troops and Turkish-backed militias has created a wave of refugees trying to flee the conflict. In recent days, Turkey has announced the opening of its borders with Europe, citing its inability to take in any more refugees.
“Millions of refugees” will soon be moving toward Turkey’s borders with the European Union, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.
“The period of Turkey’s unilateral self-sacrifice in relation to the refugees has come to an end,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara on Monday. “Since we have opened the borders, the number of refugees heading toward Europe has reached hundreds of thousands. This number will soon be in the millions,” he warned.
According to Erdogan, European leaders have been calling him to urge him to close the borders. “They call me and say: ‘close the borders’. I tell them it is too late. The West must share the burden of responsibility for refugees. Today, I will meet with the Bulgarian prime minister, and tomorrow, I will talk to [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel. The holding of four- or five-party summits on Syria is on the agenda,” the president said.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters on Monday that false Turkish claims that the way to the European Union is wide open put migrants in a difficult position.
“Migrants and refugees are being told in Turkey that the way to the EU is open, which, of course, is not true. This puts people … in a very difficult position and presents a challenge to Greece,” he said.
Seibert added that the German government was well aware of the “unquiet situation” on the Greek-Turkish border, where thousands of migrants have amassed in the hope of crossing into Europe.
Last week, Ankara announced the opening of its borders to Europe for refugees, citing its alleged inability to take in any more refugees amid the ongoing fighting in Idlib.

FIRE RISES: Greeks Revolt Against Migrant Centers, Govt Uses Military to Repel Migrant Invasion

Information Liberation – The Camp of the Saints is playing out right before our eyes in Greece.
The newly-elected “conservative” government in Greece tried to force new migrant centers on the islands of Lesbos and Chios but last week villagers revolted, repelled the police and allegedly burned a UN migrant reception center to the ground.
>> Related: U.N. says Greece has no right to stop accepting asylum requests
The United Nation’s refugee agency said on Monday that Greece had no right to stop accepting asylum applications as Athens struggled with a sudden increase of arrivals at its border of Middle East refugees and migrants from Turkey.

Police clash with French islanders fearing coronavirus among tourists

AFP – Saint-Denis de la Reunion (AFP) – Police used tear gas on protesting residents of France’s Indian Ocean territory Reunion Island on Sunday who tried to block passengers of a cruise ship turned away from nearby Madagascar for fear there may be people infected with the coronavirus on board.
The incident came just hours after clashes between police and protesters near the airport in Martinique, another French overseas territory, demanding strict control of any new arrivals as panic over the outbreak spreads.
Early Sunday morning, the Sun Princess ocean liner of the company Princess Cruises docked at Reunion in the Indian Ocean with 2,000 passengers on board.
The ship, flying the British flag, was met by about 30 protesters who had gathered at the northwestern port to demand health checks of tourists to avoid the virus taking root on their island.

‘I do feel a bit crazy’: Australians stockpiling food to prepare for coronavirus

Sidney Morning Herald – For some the idea of stocking up on food and groceries to prepare for a coronavirus outbreak in Australia is Risk Management 101, for others it’s alarmism akin to preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Either way, a large number of households are already doing it. Supermarkets were busier than usual late last week, while Woolworths revealed there had been a rush on non-perishable food and grocery items.
“We’ve seen a sharp increase in demand for long life pantry items and household staples in recent days, which has led to partial stock shortages across some of our stores,” a Woolworths spokesman said.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Second Death From Virus Is Reported in the U.S.

NY Times – The second death was a man in his 70s in the Seattle area who had underlying health conditions.

U.S. prepares for more coronavirus cases, Trump to meet with drugmakers

Reuters – Authorities across the United States prepared for more cases of the new coronavirus after a second fatality over the weekend as U.S. President Donald Trump and his task force on the outbreak will meet with drug company executives on Monday.
Executives from GlaxoSmith Kline Plc (GSK.L), Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) will attend the meeting, according to representatives for the companies.
Trump said on Twitter that the would discuss “progress on a vaccine and cure.” Top U.S. health officials have said any vaccine is up to 18 months away and there is no treatment, although patients can receive supportive care.

Trump administration officials: DO NOT get prepared, don’t buy masks, food, cleaning supplies or anything… just wait for a vaccine and do what you’re told

NaturalNews – We have now reached the stage of this coronavirus pandemic where the advice from Trump administration officials is almost indistinguishable from that of communist China.
Earlier today, the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams told America to “stop buying masks!” He said that if consumers buy masks, then the hospitals will run out, accidentally admitting that hospitals are facing a severe mask shortage because they didn’t prepare in advance.
While every nation in China is strongly encouraging people to buy masks and stop the spread of the coronavirus, in the United States, our own (brain damaged?) Surgeon General says exactly the opposite.
So because the hospitals didn’t prepare, you shouldn’t prepare either, says Adams (who, regretfully, shares my last name).
Don’t buy any food, cleaning supplies or anything else, either… be an obedient American and stop “spreading fear”
Surgeon General Adams was also grilled by members of Congress earlier in the week about whether Americans should prepare with extra food or cleaning supplies. His answer to both questions was, “No” or “Not at this time,” indicating that at least this one branch of the Trump administration has become the “anti-preparedness” Ministry of Stupid that actively urges people to NOT get prepared.
Instead of purchasing preparedness supplies that might help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Americans are apparently supposed to wait around for a vaccine that might take two years.
Once the vaccine is available, it might kill you, by the way, as the SARS vaccine experiments ended up causing rapid death in all animal test subjects when they were exposed to secondary infections.
So while people in other countries where the coronavirus has already exploded are rapidly getting prepped for long-term self-quarantine — arguable the most effective way to stop the spread of the virus — Americans are being actively discouraged from preparing for such a scenario.
The anti-shopping list: Here’s what you are supposed to NOT be buying, according to the Trump administration
While you’re not supposed to be purchasing masks, protective equipment, food and hand sanitizers, you are supposed to keep blindly buying stocks, it seems, to pump up the stock market and at least create the appearance of a thriving economy even as the global supply chain is rapidly collapsing.
In case you’re keeping track, here’s the summary of advice so far from the Trump administration:
– Do NOT buy masks, because the hospitals are running out of supplies since they didn’t prepare for an outbreak (which seems incredibly stupid on their part).
– Do NOT buy extra food, because V.P. Pence went on Rush Limbaugh’s show, and even though neither one of them is a scientist or a virologist, they both want you to feel warm and fuzzy that everything is fine, and they want you to believe the virus that’s sweeping through nearly 60 nations around the world will somehow stop at America’s totally unprotected borders.
– Do NOT buy extra prescription medications, even though 97% of Big Pharma’s drugs are made in China (or use ingredients manufactured there), the U.S. pharmacies will be just fine because supply lines are magic and can be repaired by wishing. (It helps to be slightly high when wishing, we’re told.)
– Do NOT buy hand sanitizers, cleaning supplies or colloidal silver, since there’s no need to clean anything because Trump will invoke magical miracles to halt the virus, causing it to vanish and be gone virtually overnight.
– Do NOT be fearful, because fear is bad, and you should remain totally calm even as you are totally unprepared. In fact, you should have a “Zen” attitude about everything and stop getting all excited about the possibility that you might die as the world collapses.
– But DO buy stocks, no matter how overvalued, because the Fed promises to make them even more overvalued.

The Trump administration reversed course after saying the coronavirus vaccine might not be affordable for all Americans

Business Insider – Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday declined to promise that a coronavirus vaccine would be affordable for all Americans.
“We would want to ensure that we work to make it affordable, but we can’t control that price because we need the private sector to invest,” Azar told members of Congress during a hearing concerning the coronavirus outbreak and the administration’s budget request. “Price controls won’t get us there.”

Patient released in San Antonio later tested positive

ABC – The Center for Disease Control mistakenly released a patient from the San Antonio Texas Center for Infection Disease Sunday, according to Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Nirenberg said in a press release that the patient was released from isolation at a local healthcare facility Saturday because they met the criteria for release, including two negative test results.
However, the patient later returned to isolation after a pending, subsequent lab test came up positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
“The fact that the CDC allowed the public to be exposed to a patient with a positive COVID-19 reading is unacceptable,” Nirenberg said.
The CDC says they are retesting the individual.

Bill Maher Warns Trump ‘Going To Declare Martial Law’ Over Coronavirus

Newswars – Anti-Trump late night talk show host Bill Maher claimed that President Trump will declare martial law if the coronavirus outbreak becomes more severe in America.
On Friday during his HBO show “Real Time,” Maher said Trump will likely declare martial law as a way to stay in power permanently.
y Newswars.com Saturday, February 29, 2020
Anti-Trump late night talk show host Bill Maher claimed that President Trump will declare martial law if the coronavirus outbreak becomes more severe in America.
On Friday during his HBO show “Real Time,” Maher said Trump will likely declare martial law as a way to stay in power permanently.
“Now since Trump, I think, is not going to leave anyway, might as well run Bernie. He’s not,” Maher said. “And by the way, when the virus gets bad, he’s going to declare martial law. Watch that.”
Maher added, “That could happen. That could totally happen.”
The media has been quick to politicize the coronavirus issue, starting with ridiculing Trump after he imposed travel restrictions from China last month.

Buttigieg exits presidential race ahead of Super Tuesday, cementing collapse after strong Iowa showing

Fox – Pete Buttigieg ended his presidential campaign Sunday, in an abrupt and surprising pullout that further narrows the field of Democrats less than a month after he declared victory in the contested Iowa caucuses.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that we have a new Democratic president come January,” Buttigieg told a throng of enthusiastic and emotional supporters in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday night, in a speech marked by an upbeat and forward-looking timbre.
“We sent a message to every kid out there wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are destined to be less than,” he continued amid chants of “USA!” and other cheers. “To see someone who once felt that exact same way can become a leading presidential candidate with his husband at his side.”
Buttigieg’s husband Chasten introduced the candidate by remarking through tears that “Pete got me to believe in myself again. … I told Pete to run because I knew there were other kids that needed to believe in themselves, too.”

California county creating “Gun Team Task Force” to seize guns…what could possibly go wrong?

Law Enforcement Today – “County Gun Team?” Is this a shooting club? Competitive turkey shoots? Not quite. The county of Santa Clara, California is creating “county gun teams.” What exactly do they do?
We have been reporting lately on the onslaught of “red flag” laws that have popped up in states all over the country. In California, they have had a version of that law for years. California allows police officers to seize guns from people with criminal convictions or mental health problems.
The issue is, California has been struggling to enforce the law, which has resulted in thousands of people who are technically barred from owning firearms still maintaining possession of them.
In our example using the county of Santa Clara, every year, the county issues somewhere in the vicinity of 4,600 orders for gun owners to turn in their weapons, mostly on charges related to domestic violence. This is according to a report in The Mercury News.
Actually seizing those weapons? Not so much. So what is the solution?
The county’s board of supervisors, along with the district attorney’s office are joining in a partnership to create a “County Gun Team” The team’s only task will be to seize these weapons.

Virginia Democrat Admits He Retaliated Against Sheriffs Over Their Support for the Second Amendment

National File – Northern Virginia Democrat and Senate Majority Leader, Dick Saslaw, has been at the center of a week-long media controversy that began when Republican Senator, Bill Stanley, published remarks he said Saslaw made to him after voting down a pay raise for Virginia’s Sheriff’s Departments.
According to a post Stanley made to his Facebook account back on February 20th, as the Senate voted to fund Virginia’s most expensive budget ever, Saslaw spearheaded a unanimous effort by Democrats to vote down an amendment funding a 3% pay raise for employees of Virginia’s Sheriff’s Departments.
Following the vote, Stanley says Saslaw approached him saying, “Hey Stanley, you want to know why your Sheriffs didn’t get a raise? — because they came to our committees and said that they weren’t going to enforce our laws.” When Stanley asked Saslaw what he was referring to, he replied, “gun control.”
“He didn’t lie…I said it,” says Saslaw. “All I said was a lot of people are upset that these people come in and say they’re not going to enforce our laws. That’s all.”

U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Democratic bid to defend Obamacare

Reuters – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a politically explosive case on whether Obamacare is lawful, taking up a bid by 20 Democratic-led states including New York and California to preserve the landmark healthcare law.

A paranoid militia infiltrating Texas police is bent on rebellion, ‘ready to rise up’

Star Telegram – A revolution-minded, conspiracy-bent militia group named the Oath Keepers is recruiting law officers in Hood County to take up arms in what the founder predicts will be a “bloody civil war” against the U.S. government.
A national director of the Las Vegas-based Oath Keepers, John D. Shirley, moved to rural Hood County in 2015 and has been appointed by county commissioners as a constable, giving him both access to confidential information and a political platform to recruit more militia members.
A regional recruitment rally announced for Monday was canceled by Harbor Lakes Golf Club, citing misrepresentation. It was supposed to launch Shirley’s “Oath Keepers of Hood County” chapter.
The Oath Keepers’ current recruiting pitch focuses on gun rights and the Second Amendment. But unlike other gun libertarians, the Oath Keepers promote paranoid fears of a “New World Order” conspiracy and spread veiled anti-Semitism in distrusting “elites,” similar to discredited Austin showbiz personality Alex Jones.

Castleford students take part in annual “bring your tractor to school” event

KMVT – FFA students at Castleford High School arrived to school a little differently Friday. The 30 kids drove their tractors to school Friday, but it wasn’t just tractors, there was also a combine and a dump truck.
It’s part of an annual event the FFA students put on, as well as a parade, to show off their equipment, but also show the importance of agriculture, during National FFA week, explained Castleford FFA president Emily Pearson.
“We always bring our tractors to school and we put on the FFA breakfast and it’s for the community just to have them know that we appreciate them and their support for that,” Emily stated.
The parade and festivities have been going on for at least 6 years, and they have no plans to stop.

Economy & Business

New York Stock Exchange Bracing for Trading Floor Closure Due to Coronavirus Outbreak – Report

Sputnik – Late last month, the World Health Organization said that the coronavirus outbreak is not yet a global pandemic, but called on countries outside China to brace themselves for the possible start of one.
Fox Business has reported that the possible escalation of the novel coronavirus crisis may prod the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to close down its trading floor in Lower Manhattan.
Appearing on the Claman Countdown programme Friday, Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino cited unnamed sources as claiming that the NYSE is “beginning to prepare for the possibility that the floor might not be able to open”.
“It’s a mixture of both humans and an automated trading system, computerised trading system. So they’re planning for a possibility that the […] floor traders, the brokers, the designated market makers can’t make it in because they have to stay home”, he added, arguing that the NYSE will have “some sort of a test run” in the next few days.
Separately, Gasparino asserted that major Wall Street companies are telling employees to brace for the deterioration of the situation due to the coronavirus, instructing them to “be prepared to work from home”.
“Test your systems out, make sure your computer works, make sure you can get into the company system to trade”, the firms reportedly pointed out.

Coronavirus: Panic Buying Clears Shelves At Costco

Information Liberation – Videos went viral on social media over the weekend showing panic buying at Costco warehouses throughout the United States.
Stores were packed in California, Washington, Hawaii and Minnesota

Britain’s demands for U.S. trade talks set to test special relationship

Reuters – Britain unveiled its mandate for trade talks with the United States on Monday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowing to drive a hard bargain in negotiations that are set to test their “special relationship”.

Delta and American airlines suspend several Milan flights

AFP – Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are temporarily suspending some flights between US airports and Milan because of the spread of the novel coronavirus in parts of Italy, the two carriers announced.
Delta is suspending flights between New York’s busy John F. Kennedy International Airport and Milan Malpensa, the largest airport in northern Italy and a major hub for Alitalia, the airline said in a statement Sunday.
Delta’s last New York-to-Milan flight will take off Monday, while the last flight in the opposite direction is scheduled for Tuesday. Service is set to resume on May 1 or 2.
Delta added that flights between Rome and Atlanta were not affected.

Energy & Environment

Dem Frauds Who Say Earth Is Dying Refuse To Back GOP Bill To Plant Trees

Western Journal – resident Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers are working on the Trillion Trees Act, part of a global effort to plant a trillion trees around the world by 2050.
The proposed legislation is meant to combat climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. CO2 occurs naturally and is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels.
Climate scientists say the amount of carbon in the atmosphere has an impact on worldwide temperatures, although the actual contribution from human activity is debatable.
However, the Republican-backed proposal is based on science from leading ecologist Thomas Crowther, whose research found that “it would outstrip every other method for tackling climate change — from building wind turbines to vegetarian diets,” according to a report in the Independent.
The Trillion Trees effort is backed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife Foundation and several other environmental groups.
The president touted the plan in his State of the Union address, calling it “an ambitious effort to bring together government and private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world,” and Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas introduced the legislation on behalf of his Republican colleagues Feb. 12.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California, co-author of the bill, said via Twitter that trees are the “lungs of the earth — they are the most efficient way on the planet to capture carbon.”
But many on the left are speaking out against the Trillion Trees bill, saying it doesn’t go far enough since it doesn’t also reduce the use of fossil fuels. At least that’s the current excuse for opposition to something they’d readily support if it wasn’t being proposed by the Trump and the GOP.
“Hypothetically, if we had a unified world government, we could do this relatively easily,” energy and climate analyst Seaver Wang of the Breakthrough Institute said, according to the Washington Examiner. “But even if we did it, a trillion trees don’t dent emissions that much.”

Science & Technology

Want to ‘Train Your Brain’? Forget Apps, Learn a Musical Instrument

Musical training can have a dramatic impact on your brain’s structure, enhancing your memory, spatial reasoning, and language skills.
Pocket – The multimillion dollar brain training industry is under attack. In October 2014, a group of over 100 eminent neuroscientists and psychologists wrote an open letter warning that “claims promoting brain games are frequently exaggerated and at times misleading.” In 2016, industry giant Lumosity was fined $2m, and ordered to refund thousands of customers who were duped by false claims that the company’s products improve general mental abilities and slow the progression of age-related decline in mental abilities. And a recent review examining studies purporting to show the benefits of such products found “little evidence … that training improves improves everyday cognitive performance.”
While brain training games and apps may not live up to their hype, it is well established that certain other activities and lifestyle choices can have neurological benefits that promote overall brain health and may help to keep the mind sharp as we get older. One of these is musical training. Research shows that learning to play a musical instrument is beneficial for children and adults alike, and may even be helpful to patients recovering from brain injuries.
“Music probably does something unique,” explains neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster. “It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way, because of our emotional connection with it.”
Playing a musical instrument is a rich and complex experience that involves integrating information from the senses of vision, hearing, and touch, as well as fine movements, and learning to do so can induce long-lasting changes in the brain. Professional musicians are highly skilled performers who spend years training, and they provide a natural laboratory in which neuroscientists can study how such changes – referred to as experience-dependent plasticity – occur across their lifespan.

Health

Moringa Contains All Essential Amino Acids Your Body Needs

Mercola – There are 20 basic amino acids that make up the proteins in your body. Nine of them — histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, threonine and valine — are considered “essential” as none of them are made by your body and therefore must be obtained from your diet.
Moringa (Moringa oleifera), also known as horseradish tree or drumstick tree, is an excellent protein source, containing 30.3% crude protein and 19 amino acids in total, including all nine essential amino acids.
Virtually every part of the Moringa plant is edible and has medicinal qualities, and most parts can be consumed either raw or cooked. You can also harvest the plant as a microgreen.
Moringa leaves, roots, seed, bark, fruit and flowers have antitumor, antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, antispasmodic, diuretic, antihypertensive, cholesterol lowering, antioxidant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antibacterial and antiviral activities.
Moringa has potent antibiotic activity against a wide variety of pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Candida and Helicobacter pylori

Golden Milk: Nondairy, Powerfully Healthy, Tasty Drink

Mercola – Golden milk is not made with dairy but, rather, with coconut milk. The combination of ingredients has a high antioxidant value that lowers inflammation and protects your heart.
urmeric is the spice used to turn the drink a golden color, and curcumin, the bioactive compound in turmeric, adds a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory punch.
Curcumin, ginger and cinnamon found in golden milk help improve cognitive health, memory and mood, which may protect your heart.
Ginger and cinnamon help stabilize blood sugar; coconut milk — the foundation of the drink — helps with weight control

Carcinogen Found in Popular Diabetes Drug

Newsmax – High levels of the probable carcinogen NDMA have been found in the U.S. supply of the widely used diabetes drug metformin, according to testing done by the online pharmacy Valisure, which is pressing regulators for recalls.
Valisure’s testing found NDMA in 16 different batches of metformin made by 11 drug companies, including Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Ascend Laboratories LLC and Actavis Pharma Inc. The highest levels detected were in a batch made by Amneal, which had as much as 16 times the acceptable daily limit of NDMA, according to Valisure’s findings.