Today's News: March 04, 2020

World News

‘Border is shut’: Greek troops fire warning shots to stop migrants from Turkey

RT – Greek riot police and troops used a water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday against hundreds of migrants, as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece.
Plumes of black smoke drifted above the Kastanies border crossing, and a fire engine reportedly raced by in order to put out the smoldering blazes. Greek soldiers also fired warning shots into the air, Reuters said.
A Greek army vehicle equipped with loudspeakers informed the migrants in Arabic and other languages that the border is shut.
More than 10,000 migrants have been trying to breach the border since Turkey said last Thursday it would no longer abide by a 2016 deal with the EU to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for billions of euros in aid.

Chinese scientists identify two strains of the coronavirus, indicating it’s already mutated at least once

NBC – Researchers in China have found that two different types of the new coronavirus could be causing infections worldwide.
In a preliminary study published Tuesday, scientists at Peking University’s School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai found that a more aggressive type of the new coronavirus had accounted for roughly 70% of analyzed strains, while 30% had been linked to a less aggressive type.
The more aggressive type of virus was found to be prevalent in the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan — the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected late last year.
But the frequency of this type of virus has since decreased from early January.
The researchers said their results indicate the development of new variations of the spike in COVID-19 cases was “likely caused by mutations and natural selection besides recombination.”
“These findings strongly support an urgent need for further immediate, comprehensive studies that combine genomic data, epidemiological data, and chart records of the clinical symptoms of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” they said.

Time To Debunk The Skeptics: COVID-19 Has A Death Rate That Is About 34 Times Higher Than The Flu

Michael Snyder – COVID-19 is an extremely deadly virus, and nobody should be trying to downplay the severity of this outbreak. By now, you have probably heard a lot of people try to convince you that COVID-19 is not that dangerous because the flu has killed far more people this winter. And that is true. But what they aren’t telling you is that the death rate from the flu is extremely low. Tens of thousands of Americans die from the flu each year, but if this coronavirus spreads all over the planet the death toll will be in the tens of millions. This coronavirus outbreak is likely only in the very early stages, and if it becomes as widespread as the flu, it will become a public health crisis unlike anything we have ever faced in modern times.
After taking a look at the numbers, hopefully you will understand what I am trying to say.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that the global death rate for COVID-19 is now 3.4 percent…
World health officials said Tuesday the case fatality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%.
“Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. In comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected, he said.
I have a feeling that number will continue to go up, but for the purposes of this article let’s assume that number if accurate.
As for the flu, the CDC says that there will be between 32 million and 45 million illnesses in the United States during this flu season, and somewhere between 18,000 and 46,000 deaths.
That means that the death rate from the flu this year will be about one-tenth of one percent.
So can we please stop with the comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu?
COVID-19 is at least 34 times more deadly, and experts are warning that up to 70 percent of the global population could ultimately catch the virus.
If that happens, we will see a death toll in the tens of millions at a minimum.
Here in the United States, the death rate is running well above 3.4 percent so far. Out of 118 confirmed cases, nine victims have died so far

Travel bans, events scrapped: Gulf reacts to coronavirus outbreak

Al Jazeera – Gulf countries have responded to the coronavirus outbreak by introducing travel bans, stepping up screening measures at important entry points and rescheduling – and in some cases cancelling – significant sports and cultural events.
More than 93,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide, the overwhelming majority in China, where it originated late last year. However, the new coronavirus now appears to be spreading much more rapidly outside the Asian country.
China worries about new coronavirus surge from infected arrivals
Al Jazeera – As global coronavirus cases spike, China is stepping up containment strategy for foreign visitors, returning citizens.

Iran to temporarily free 54,000 prisoners as coronavirus spreads

CNN – Iran will temporarily release 54,000 people from prisons and deploy hundreds of thousands of health workers as officials announced a slew of measures to contain the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside China.
Pressure has been mounting on Iranian officials to take action against the virus as the death toll and number of cases rapidly shoots up. Iran has reported 92 deaths, as 586 new infections were reported overnight, bringing the total up to 2,922, state media reported.
The country has also come under pressure as Middle Eastern nations, including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have reported cases with links to the Iranian city of Qom, where several holy sites are regularly visited by large crowds.

Italy Considers School Closures in Bid to Stop Coronavirus Spread

Bloomberg – Italy is set to ban all public events and is evaluating a nationwide closing of schools and universities as it redoubles efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
“We have asked for an opinion from the scientific committee on whether schools should be left open or closed,” Education Minister Lucia Azzolina told reporters in Rome on the sidelines of a government meeting headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. A decision will be taken in the next few hours, she added.

Coronavirus: French Government Seizes All Stocks of Face Masks, Thousands Stolen From Hospitals

Breitbart – French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the seizure of all stocks and future production of medical face masks in the face of a growing threat from Coronavirus, and a spate of looting of masks from medical facilities.

India Restricts Exports of Drugs and Ingredients amid Growing Coronavirus Threat

Breitbart – India, the world’s leading supplier of generic drugs, is cutting down exports of vital medicines and ingredients due to supply shortages amid the growing Chinese coronavirus threat.
The Indian government is now restricting the export of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and the medicines made from them. This includes Paracetamol, a common pain reliever and fever reducer also sold as acetaminophen or under its name brand, Tylenol. Other restrictions include antibiotics like tinidazole and erythromycin, the hormone progesterone, and vitamin B12.

WHO Urges People To Go ‘Cashless’ Because ‘Dirty Banknotes Can Spread The Virus’

Following reports that Beijing had “quarantined” dirty cash, the WHO warned on Monday that the virus could survive on banknotes, potentially spreading Covid-19 within communities, and across the world. To reduce the risk of being infected by money, the NGO advised citizens in countries struggling with outbreaks to favor digital payments when possible, the Daily Telegraph reported.
That the WHO is telling the public to avoid cash is hardly a surprise: research has found that coronaviruses have been found to live on surfaces for as long as 9 days.
During the statement, a WHO spokesman referenced a Bank of England study claiming that banknotes “can carry bacteria or viruses” and urged people to wash their hands. Other studies have shown that 90% of US $1 bills had bacteria present, and one Swiss study found that viruses had survive on the faces of Swiss francs for days.
The WHO’s warnings follow the People’s Bank of China last month started disinfecting currency deposited at Chinese banks using ultraviolet light, before quarantining the bills for a week before releasing them back into circulation.
Brits, and their fellow Europeans, should be increasingly careful as the virus spreads across Europe, the WHO warned, via the Telegraph:
“We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses,” a spokesman told the Telegraph.
“We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face. When possible, it would also be advisable to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission.”
Of course, that one of the world’s major NGOs is seizing the opportunity to proclaim the virtues of ‘paperless’ money is hardly a surprise: the globalist push toward a ‘cashless society’ has been underway for years now, having had its biggest successes in Scandinavia. Sweden has gone virtually “cashless”, and in such a short time, they’ve already confronted the many drawbacks of relying exclusively on digital money.
As we noted previously, here is what happens next:
…the virus spreads throughout the US and Europe and governments respond the same way China’s government has; martial law and full blown concentration camp culture. This would lead to civil war in the US because we are armed and many people will shoot anyone trying to put us into quarantine camps. Europe is mostly screwed.
The establishment then suggests that paper money be removed from the system because it is a viral spreader. China is already pushing this solution now.
Magically, we find ourselves in a cashless society in a matter of a year or two; which is what the globalists have been demanding for years. Everything goes digital, and thus even local economies become completely centralized as private trade dies.
A viral outbreak is a significant danger to us all, but an even greater threat is the supposed cure. Trading our economic and social freedom in the name of stopping the coronavirus? No matter how deadly the bug, it’s just not worth it.

US conducts first air strike against Taliban since peace deal

Al Jazeera – The United States has carried out an air raid against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, a US forces spokesman said a day after President Donald Trump spoke to a senior Taliban leader by phone.
“The US conducted an air strike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an ANDSF [Afghan National Defence and Security Forces] checkpoint,” said Colonel Sonny Leggett in a tweet on Wednesday, adding that it was a “defensive strike”.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Coronavirus Spreads in Washington State as Amazon Worker Tests Positive

WSJ – An Amazon.com Inc. worker in Seattle tested positive for the novel coronavirus as concerns mounted over its spread in the U.S., though the number of new infections in China, where the outbreak began, continued to decline Wednesday.
The Amazon employee works at the company’s headquarters in Seattle, where the tech giant has about 55,000 employees, an Amazon spokeswoman said late Tuesday. The company said it had notified other workers who may have come into contact with the person.
Washington state has emerged as a hot spot for the virus in the U.S., with at least 27 confirmed infections, according to its health department. Seattle is in King County, the same county as a nursing home where several elderly residents have contracted the virus and some have died. It isn’t known if the Amazon case is connected to the nursing home. All nine U.S. deaths due to the coronavirus have been in Washington state.

Mike Bloomberg drops out of presidential race after disappointing Super Tuesday, endorses Joe Biden

RT – Billionaire Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg has abandoned his campaign after failing to win any of the 14 Super Tuesday primary states despite spending over $500 million. He has endorsed Joe Biden.
The former New York mayor announced he was suspending his campaign via a press release on Wednesday after the veritable tidal wave of cash he poured into the race netted just 12 delegates (plus a win in the US territory of American Samoa).
>> Mike Bloomberg Wasted $600 Million on Failed Presidential Campaign
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg wasted at least $600 million on his failed presidential campaign that ended after a mere 101 days.
The former New York City mayor announced his decision to drop out of the Democratic 2020 presidential primary Wednesday morning, after performing badly in the Super Tuesday primaries.
“I’m a believer in using data to inform decisions,” Bloomberg wrote in a statement. “After yesterday’s results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible.”
Bloomberg bet that massive advertising in the 14 Super Tuesday states would help him win enough delegates to propel him to the Democrat nomination. He spent $528 million just on advertising, according to reports, with millions more on staff and organization. Axios reports that Bloomberg spent $600 million on his campaign, most of it his own money.

Super Tuesday results: Joe Biden surge makes it a two-man race

CS Monitor – A resurgent Joe Biden scored victories from Texas to Massachusetts on Super Tuesday, revitalizing a presidential bid that was teetering on the edge of disaster just days earlier. But his rival Bernie Sanders seized the biggest prize with a win in California that ensured he – and his embrace of democratic socialism – would drive the Democrats’ nomination fight for the foreseeable future.
And suddenly, the Democratic Party’s presidential field, which featured more than a half-dozen candidates a week ago, transformed into a two-man contest.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders, lifelong politicians with starkly different visions for America’s future, were battling for delegates as 14 states and one U.S. territory held a series of high-stakes elections that marked the most significant day of voting in the party’s 2020 presidential nomination fight.

Trump campaign sues Washington Post for libel

The Hill – President Trump‘s campaign has filed a multimillion-dollar libel lawsuit against The Washington Post, claiming the newspaper knowingly published false claims that Trump engaged in a conspiracy with Russia concerning U.S. presidential elections.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in a Washington, D.C., federal court, comes a week after the Trump campaign filed a similar suit against The New York Times.
The lawsuit cites two Washington Post opinion pieces from June 2019, one which said that then-special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that the Trump campaign “tried to conspire with” a “sweeping and systematic” attack by Russia in the 2016 election.
A second article stated “who knows what sort of aid Russia and North Korea will give to the Trump campaign, now that he has invited them to offer their assistance?”
The lawsuit, which accuses the Post of harboring “extreme bias” against the Trump campaign and Republicans generally, claims the articles will require costly efforts for the campaign to correct the record.

Nunes sues WASHPOST for $250M

Washington Examiner – Rep. Devin Nunes filed a lawsuit for $250 million in damages against the Washington Post and intelligence reporter Shane Harris, alleging that a story from the paper related to a classified House Intelligence Committee briefing on Russian interference amounted to defamation.
“This action arises out of a WaPo hit piece that was manufactured out of whole cloth,” the California Republican’s 23-page Monday complaint said. “Billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased WaPo in 2013 for the purpose of using WaPo’s mighty pen to influence Federal elections.”
It continued, “Bezos’ WaPo heavily promoted the Russian ‘collusion’ hoax between 2017 and 2019, in spite of the fact that there was no evidence that any member of the Trump campaign colluded with any ‘Russian’ to influence the 2016 Presidential Election. This is 2020. As this case illustrates, Bezos and his printing press remain desperate to defame the President of the United States and his allies in Congress. This defamation must end.”

Graham starts closed-door depositions in FISA probe

The Hill – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday that he has started closed-door interviews as part of his deep dive into the surveillance courts and the FBI’s Russia probe.
Graham confirmed to reporters that he has started the depositions, then escaped into a Senate elevator.
Graham is using his gavel to probe the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) surveillance warrants involving Trump campaign associate Carter Page and the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Russia’s election meddling and the Trump campaign.

Abortion Lobby Condemns Safety Law at Center of Landmark SCOTUS Case

Breitbart – Abortion lobbying groups took to Twitter this week to once again condemn what they say is the “medically unnecessary” Louisiana safety clinic law case that will be before the Supreme Court Wednesday.
In June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, the Court will consider the case of Louisiana’s 2014 “Unsafe Abortion Protection Act,” requiring abortionists to hold active admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles from the abortion clinic in order to provide continuity of care should a woman need emergency treatment as a result of an abortion.

Maine vaccination law survives referendum vote

Fosters – With the backdrop of the coronavirus spreading around the world, Mainers on Tuesday rejected an attempt to nullify the elimination of religious and philosophical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in a campaign that focused on community versus individual rights.
Every major medical organization in Maine supported the state law approved last year that reduces vaccine opt-outs at a time when more parents are forgoing vaccines for their children. Groups seeking to restore philosophical and religious exemptions contended parents, not lawmakers, should be responsible for making medical decisions for children.
The so called “People’s Veto” referendum, which was rejected, aimed to undo the law that ends nonmedical vaccine opt-outs by September 2021 for students at public and private schools and universities, including nursery schools, and for health care facility employees. The law was part of a trend of states tightening rules on vaccine exemptions in response to growing numbers of unvaccinated children.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills urged Mainers to uphold the new law, saying the spread of the coronarvirus underscores the importance of getting vaccinated.
After the COVID-19 virus was identified in China, “one of the first things that public health officials did was begin to work on a vaccine because vaccines save lives,” she said.
The Legislature’s action last year came against the backdrop of a spike in whooping cough cases in Maine.

Economy & Business

“Ground Zero For Trade” – Port Of Long Beach Warns Of Shipping Slump From China

ZeroHedge – Investors are grossly underestimating the potential economic impact of Covid-19 as the first signs of China’s supply chain meltdown are now washing ashore on US West Coast ports.
The Port of Long Beach, the second-largest containerized port in the US, has had two top officials warn in the last several weeks of chilling effects of supply chain disruptions from China.
Last week, the Deputy Executive Director of Administration and Operations for the Port of Long Beach Noel Hacegaba warned China’s economic paralysis led to the increase of blank sails between China and the US. He said port activity plunged in January and February, with expected weakness to continue through March.
acegaba said the slowdown at Long Beach is starting to hit the local economy around the port. He said it could only be a matter of time before it triggers a broader slowdown in the region, and even maybe in the overall US economy.
As we’ve noted in many pieces of creaking global supply chains fast emerging in China and spreading outwards, Deutsche Bank’s senior European economist Clemente Delucia last month pointed out in a report titled “The impact of the coronavirus: A supply-chain analysis” that the US is overly exposed to a crashing China economy.

Energy & Environment

At least 24 dead from Tennessee tornadoes

AP – Rescuers searched through shattered Tennessee neighborhoods for bodies after tornadoes ripped across Nashville and other parts of the state as families slept. At least 24 people were killed, some in their beds, authorities said.

Science & Technology

Doctors Try 1st CRISPR Editing in the Body for Blindness

Newsmax – Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases.
A patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland for an inherited form of blindness, the companies that make the treatment announced Wednesday. They would not give details on the patient or when the surgery occurred.
It may take up to a month to see if it worked to restore vision. If the first few attempts seem safe, doctors plan to test it on 18 children and adults.
“We literally have the potential to take people who are essentially blind and make them see,” said Charles Albright, chief scientific officer at Editas Medicine, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company developing the treatment with Dublin-based Allergan. “We think it could open up a whole new set of medicines to go in and change your DNA.”

Health

Vitamin C and COVID-19 Coronavirus

Green Med Info – by Damien Downing, MBBS, MRSB and Gert Schuitemaker, PhD
(OMNS February 28, 2020) There is only one existing treatment for the new coronavirus: vitamin C.
Vitamin C supports your immune system.
Vitamin C helps to kill the virus and reduces the symptoms of infection.
It’s not a COVID “cure,” but nothing is.
It might just save your life, though, and will definitely reduce the severity of the infection.
If someone tells you it’s not proven, consider two things:

Nothing is proven to work against COVID-19, because it is a new virus.
Vitamin C has worked against every single virus including influenzas, pneumonia, and even poliomyelitis.

What to do
If you do nothing else, start taking vitamin C right away; at least 3 grams a day, spread right across the day. That’s a 1,000 milligram capsule every 8 hours, or a level teaspoon of powder dissolved in a pint or so of water, drank all through the day.
If you’re smart and motivated, do all the other things recommended in our previous release Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus (https://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml)
When and if you catch a bug that might be COVID-19, simply increase your vitamin C intake: a rounded teaspoon (that’s 4 to 5 grams) in water (which helps to keep you hydrated) every 3 or 4 hours. And keep on taking it.
Do you consult a doctor? Do you self-isolate? Yes and yes. Of course you do; that’s your duty to others.
Vitamin C and the other measures are what you do for yourself.
Herbs That Fight Viruses
Newsmax – Herbal healing has been around for centuries and even in today’s high-tech society, it has an important role in keeping us disease-free and healthy. A study published in the Journal of Functional Foods says that elderberry extract is an effective way to block viruses from entering, or even attaching to, healthy cells. Researchers applied a serum made from elderberries directly onto cells before, during, and even after they had been infected with the influenza virus.
“We found that the serum had a direct antiviral effect against the flu virus,” said lead researcher Dr. Golnoosh Torabian. Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, MD., author of “From Fatigued to Fantastic,” tells Newsmax that he is “concerned” about the possible spread of the coronavirus and says, according to research by the National Institutes of Health, elderberry extract is also effective in inhibiting this particular novel virus.
Dr. Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., author of “The Natural Medicine Chest,” says it’s important to shore up our immune systems whenever there is a threat of a viral invasion.
“The best approach is to do all you can do to help support the immune system since it controls our ability to fend off illness, whether it be a deadly disease, or even the common cold,” she tells Newsmax. Eat a healthy diet and reduce stress, while enlisting herbs as part of your anti-germ warfare, she says. “Besides elderberry, technically called Sambucus nigra, which has been proven not only to prevent the flu but to reduce its symptoms, there is an arsenal of herbs to help you stay well.”

Astragalus. One study by the National Cancer Institute demonstrated astragalus’ ability to strengthen the body’s immune response, especially against viral infections.
Echinacea. This well-respected and researched herb is an immune stimulant that increases the activity of white blood cells.
Garlic. Garlic has been used for centuries as food and as medicine, according to Healthline. It enhances the immune system by boosting the disease-fighting response of white blood cells thanks to its sulfur compounds. Studies show that garlic not only reduces the length and symptoms of illness, it can also prevent you from getting sick in the first place. One study showed that the group who took garlic regularly had a 63% lower risk of getting a cold, and their colds were 70% shorter. Garlic supplements, such as Aged Garlic Extract or AGE, retain the medicinal benefits of raw or cooked garlic against colds and flu.
Oil of Oregano. Chock-full of disease-fighting vitamins and minerals, this herbal blend contains many active chemicals that provide beneficial support to our bodies, says Kamhi. “It is exceptional in its ability to destroy several different kinds of microorganisms including bacteria, fungus, virus and parasites,” she says.
Rosemary. This herb has been used as an anti-infective agent since ancient times. Kamhi reveals that it was burned in hospitals and sick rooms to purify the air and fight infections. “It was also used in courts to keep the judge and jurors from contracting plagues and fevers that the prisoner’s brought up from the dungeons,” she says.