Joe Biden has effectively won the Democratic nomination, and here’s the math to prove it
The Globe's political guru Pindell says "it’s all over but the shouting, and it’s not clear anybody will even hear that."
Joe Biden wins Michigan, along with Missouri, Idaho, and Mississippi primaries
In divided Michigan district, Debbie Dingell straddles the Biden-Sanders race
Even as the ‘moderate’ Biden has moved way to the left, and it’s all over but the crying:
"Barring some unforeseen wrinkle, it appears the 2020 presidential election will, as every presidential election before it, be the Year of the Man. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s departure from the Democratic race makes her the latest in a long line of politicians who tried to be the first woman elected president. Many of their efforts have been obscured by time. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are 10 would-be female presidents. See how many you know....."
So much for the alleged leftward shift in American politics.
On to the general (the virus will have cleared out by then):
"Trump dismisses his administration’s briefing on Russian interference" by Julian E. Barnes and Nicholas Fandos New York Times, March 10, 2020
WASHINGTON — Since his election, President Trump has tried to play down or even dismiss discussions about Russia’s interference campaigns, chafing at the prospect that he won with the help of a foreign power. Some officials have said that they worry that the president’s dismissive comments make it harder for intelligence agencies and officials with the Department of Homeland Security to counter Moscow’s covert operations to influence the presidential election in November.
That's the New York Times for you. Keep flogging the bullshit.
Russia has stepped up those efforts, officials have said, exploiting existing divisions among Americans to sow chaos. In particularly, Kremlin intelligence operatives have sought to amplify the messages of white supremacist groups to try to incite violence.
Hey, look, a new low for the American pre$$ (they do it every day)!
Why would the Russians need to do that when we have a ma$$ media to do to for them?
According to seven US officials briefed on recent intelligence, the Russian government has stepped up efforts to inflame racial tensions in the United States as part of its bid to influence November’s presidential election, including trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups and to stoke anger among Blacks.
How very interesting that the Jew York Times would capitalize Black and not white. They are sending a very powerful signal there (whites are untermensch), and i expect an endless parade of false flags, scripted and staged events, and outright hoaxes and fakes over the next 8 months. Read it here first.
Russia’s lead intelligence agency, the SVR, has apparently gone beyond 2016 methods of interference, when operatives tried to stoke racial animosity by creating fake Black Lives Matter groups and spreading disinformation to depress black voter turnout.
Are you sure it wasn't the CIA leaving their fingerprints?
Now, Russia is also trying to influence white supremacist groups, the officials said; they gave few details, but one official said federal investigators are examining how at least one neo-Nazi organization with ties to Russia is funded.
PFFFT!
The Russians helping Nazis? Right!
Is there anyone on the planet that believes anything that comes from the bowels of the shadow government and its deep state bureaucracy anymore? I know I don't. These fucking liars are the most disgusting cretins one can come across.
The briefing on Tuesday was arranged by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not Representative Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The Senate will receive an identical briefing later Tuesday afternoon.
Schiff fired back, noting that the officials briefing lawmakers were the president’s “own people” including several agency heads. “We will insist on the truth, whether you like it or not,” Schiff said on Twitter.
Trump’s tweet showed his frustration over lawmakers’ continued concern that Russia is mounting efforts to influence the 2020 election. Trump has nurtured a grudge against Schiff since he took a leading role investigating ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia, and his leadership of the impeachment trial reignited the president’s ire.
The New York Times can shove it up its ass.
The classified briefings on Tuesday are some of the first on election security since a contentious closed-door briefing last month to the House Intelligence Committee. Lawmakers are expected to press the officials on Russia’s efforts in support of Trump and in support of Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primaries and its attempts to incite racial violence ahead of the fall vote.
Well, they failed there, didn't they?
PFFFFFFFFFFT!
Other Russian efforts, which US intelligence agencies have tracked, involve simply prodding white nationalists to more aggressively spread hate messages and amplifying their invective. Russian operatives are also trying to push Black extremist groups toward violence, according to multiple officials, though they did not detail how.
This is ALL CRAP! Impeachment failed, and now we are getting this garbage heading into 2020 so the demented pervert Biden can be bolstered.
Oh, Lawdy!
Russia’s more public influence operations, like state-backed news organizations, have continued to push divisive racial narratives, including stories emphasizing allegations of police abuse in the United States and highlighting racism against Blacks within the military, and as social media companies more vigilantly monitor for foreign activity than they did in 2016, Russia has also adjusted its methods to evade detection. Rather than disseminate messages as widely as possible, as in 2016, Russian operatives are using private Facebook groups, posts on the online message board 4chan, and closed chat rooms that are more difficult to monitor, according to intelligence officials.
Russia’s primary goal, according to several officials briefed on the intelligence who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, is to foster a sense of chaos in the United States, though its motivations are under debate and difficult to decipher in the absence of high-level intelligence sources inside Moscow.....
We already have the pre$$-driven coronavirus doing that!
--more--"
That was the Globe's National lead with this below it:
"Trump’s acting intelligence chief declines to meet with Congress for election threats briefing" by Seung Min Kim and Ellen Nakashima Washington Post, March 10, 2020
WASHINGTON — Acting director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declined to appear before Congress on Tuesday to speak about foreign election threats, citing apprehension about his preparedness to address sensitive subjects that tend to upset the president, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Now the Washington ComPost is getting into the act!
The top intelligence community official asked President Trump to be excused from the briefings because he anticipated pointed questions from Democrats about politically volatile subjects — such as intelligence assessments that Russia is once more interfering in American politics, two of the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
You know what we should do then in light of the massive Russian interference in our election process (good thing the U.S. government never screwed with anyone elections or support regime change coups of any sort) and the coronavirus crisis?
CANCEL THE ELECTION!
LEAVE ALL OFFICEHOLDERS IN PLACE INDEFINITELY!!
Maura Beard, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, said in a statement that the agency never told Congress that Grenell would participate in the briefing. She said so despite a list circulated to lawmakers on Monday showing that he was scheduled to appear.
What is the WaComPo saying, she lied?
‘‘FBI and DHS are the lead in charge of securing our elections, and the [intelligence community] is participating in today’s briefings in support of that mission,’’ Beard’s statement said. ‘‘The IC is focused on detecting and countering foreign election-related threats.’’
That should alarm the fuck out of the Republicans and Trump given what happened in 2016! They SPIED ON HIS CAMPAIGN using a PHONY DOSSIER CONCOCTED by British agent with UKRAINIAN/RUSSIAN CONTACTS hired by the DNC and the CLINTON CAMPAIGN!
Trump has long chafed at notions that Russia has interfered in or sought to intervene in the election, dating back to his pique at the US intelligence community’s unanimous conclusion that Moscow took steps to aid his election in 2016.
‘‘There is another Russia, Russia, Russia meeting today,’’ Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. ‘‘It is headed up by corrupt politician [House Intelligence Committee Chairman] Adam ‘‘Shifty’’ Schiff, so I wouldn’t expect too much!’’
Another notable absence in the briefings is the intelligence community official who ordinarily would appear before Congress, election threats executive Shelby Pierson, who was not scheduled to be present at the closed, all-members meetings in the House and the Senate scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
She drew Trump’s ire last month after she informed lawmakers that Russia had developed ‘‘a preference’’ for Trump. Though she believed she was fulfilling her duty to keep Congress informed about foreign interference attempts, the disclosure angered the president, who feared Democrats would leak the assessment to undermine him in the 2020 election.
Looks like they did, so the fear was justified -- unlike the pre$$-driven coronavirus cri$i$.
Grenell, who lacks substantive intelligence community experience, has been one of Trump’s most vocal and partisan backers. Even before he took the ambassador position, he cast doubt on the idea of Russian interference in the 2016 election. In an opinion article for Fox News, he played down the severity of the threat, saying ‘‘Russian or Russian-approved tactics like cyber warfare and campaign of misinformation have been happening for decades.’’
Maybe an outsider(?) is just what is needed to clean up that rat's nest of vipers.
--more--"
Related:
"The Justice Department must release to congressional Democrats secret grand jury evidence lawmakers are seeking in ongoing investigations into President Trump, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Tuesday. The divided ruling, which can be appealed, is a victory for Democratic lawmakers. The 2-1 decision is unlikely to be the final word and can be appealed to the full court or to the Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed before the formal start of the impeachment inquiry centered on Trump’s alleged effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival, but House lawyers told the court that lawmakers are still trying to determine whether Trump lied in his written responses to questions from Mueller’s investigators. Lawmakers said they needed access to the material to try to establish a pattern of the president’s conduct....."
Why didn't they wait then?
"You’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of the Republican Party’s transition to Trumpism than this: Both of President Trump’s two predecessors as the Republican presidential nominee voted against him on a key vote, and each found himself suddenly less popular with Republicans than Democrats. A new Gallup poll Tuesday showed the support for Mitt Romney, the senator from Utah, cratering among Republicans following his vote to remove Trump from office in his impeachment trial. For his trouble, Romney is something amounting to a pariah in the national Republican Party. Gallup pegged his approval among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters at 84 percent when he was the GOP nominee in November 2012. Now it has it at just 23 percent. In contrast, Romney’s approval rating has surged among Democrats and Democratic leaners. It’s at 56 percent — more than twice his approval among his party’s base. The situation is a more-pronounced version of what happened to the late senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican. After he voted against the Republican replacement for Obamacare, effectively killing the legislation, his approval dropped among Republicans and rose among Democrats. Gallup at the time also found more Democrats who approved of him (71 percent) than Republicans (51 percent). If there’s a silver lining for Romney, it’s that he hasn’t seen quite as much erosion among his home-state Republicans as he has nationally, but even there, he’s not in a great position. A poll last month showed 40 percent of Utah Republicans approved of him, while 49 percent disapproved. His overall approval rating was 50 percent, again indicating he was more popular outside his party than in it. (Romney doesn’t face reelection until 2024, though.)"
Time to switch parties, Mitt!
Also see:
"In Russia’s tightly controlled political system, the choreographed flurry of events Tuesday was the clearest sign yet that after 20 years as president or prime minister, Putin, the 67-year-old former KGB spy and icon of strongman rule, is intent on staying in the Kremlin possibly for the rest of his life or at least until 2036. While momentous, the events that unfolded Tuesday in Parliament were hardly a surprise. Under Russia’s current constitution, Putin is obligated to step down at the end of his presidential term in 2024, but few in Russia expected him to relinquish power so soon, and analysts and politicians have long been speculating about how the president would hold on to the reins. It became clear Tuesday that a constitutional overhaul initiated by Putin in January would become the vehicle to do just that. What followed was a quick cascade of developments that seemed to be carefully planned to carry a patina of spontaneity......"
The New York Times has become impossible to read anymore as they tell me Russia is planning to invade the Netherlands, and here is another guy trying to hold on to power:
"An Israeli court on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay the start of his corruption trial, clearing the way for proceedings to begin as planned next week. Netanyahu’s lawyers had appealed for a delay, saying they needed more time to review evidence. State prosecutors responded that they oppose any delays and the court accepted their position. In overruling the request the presiding judge wrote that the first session on March 17 was a procedural reading of the charges only and the defendant’s response was not needed, therefore there was no justification for a delay....."
Time to end the feud.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
I know I said I was shutting the blog down; however, recent developments leave me starting below the fold this morning:
"Baker declares state of emergency as coronavirus cases more than double" by Felice J. Freyer, Matt Stout and Martin Finucane Globe Staff, March 10, 2020
Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency for Massachusetts on Tuesday, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the state more than doubled to 92 and the first cases with no known source broke out in Berkshire County.
Seeking to slow the spread of the virus, Baker announced travel restrictions on all 42,000 employees of the state’s executive branch, banning out-of-state work-related travel and in-person conferences and seminars. He urged other large employers to do the same.
“I would have to say that the risk has increased,” Baker said at a State House news conference. “Responding to this evolving health threat requires everyone to be vigilant and everyone to be part of this effort.”
It's a big experiment with you as the guniea pig.
The Berkshire cases mark a turning point in the outbreak in Massachusetts, because they indicate the virus may be spreading freely in the community. Previously, all the infected people in the state had either traveled abroad or had contact with an infected person, the majority at a conference of Biogen employees.
See: "The virus raced through this two-day conference at a frightening speed that state health officials and company executives were unable to match. As one of the biggest and best-known biotech firms in Massachusetts and public health authorities in one of the nation’s premier medical communities struggled to connect the dots, dozens of Biogen employees were developing symptoms of the dangerous disease — even as they traveled around Boston, the country, and the world. Concerns about holding large gatherings were already circulating locally at least a week before the Biogen conference. Massachusetts had detected its first coronavirus case on Feb. 1 — a man in his 20s who had flown back from Wuhan, China, where the virus was widespread. On Feb. 19, the Japanese tech company Sony announced that due to concern about infections it would skip the annual PAX East gaming expo at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Feb. 27- March 1. Biogen spokesman David Caouette said he is unaware of any internal discussions about canceling the Biogen conference due to the global spread of the virus. “At the time of the meeting, we were absolutely following national guidance on travel and in-person meetings,” Caouette said in a statement......"
“Person-to-person spread of the virus is beginning to occur among individuals without identifiable risk factors,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, saying the focus now shifts from containing the virus’s spread to mitigating it. A health department expert has been dispatched to help with the Berkshire County outbreak, she said. With this leap to so-called community transmission, the goal becomes slowing the outbreak’s progress so the health care system does not become overwhelmed with too many patients at once, Baker said. “It’s only possible if everybody does their part.”
You must heed his pleas or all is lost!
Baker said the emergency declaration will “give our administration more flexibility to respond to the developing outbreak," including in quickly finding space to stockpile supplies or, if need be, empowering the governor to cancel large-scale events to help contain the spread of the virus.
He noted that people with chronic health conditions and adults over 60 are at greatest risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19, and urged them to avoid large gatherings — but assured them that MBTA stations, trains, and buses are being regularly cleaned.
See: MBTA has seen ‘lowest crime rate in history for four continuous years,’ Transit Police boss says
That's because no one is riding them as they fight for parking spots.
Baker noted that he expected to see less of his own 91-year-old father, to protect him. “He and I are probably going to have a lot of conversations over the phone over the course of the next few weeks,” Baker said.
Some of us have no choice, and the last thing we want to do is stick them in a nursing home.
Maybe the Kraft case should be dismissed on a medical basis, eh?
Meanwhile, the state will provide new guidance to long-term-care facilities, in keeping with plans by nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the nation to begin screening all visitors and restricting entry to all but essential health care workers.
That is going to be a troubling choice for a lot of people.
Baker also said he was easing state rules on school attendance so that officials would feel free to close down schools if need be. He also urged “all districts to cancel out-of-state travel.” The state won’t require any to extend their school year past June 30, and the state Department of Early and Secondary Education would disregard any attendance data after March 2.
The teachers have threatened to go on strike if classes are not canceled.
For now, Baker said, officials are still discussing whether to hold the Boston Marathon on April 20, but he praised the decision to cancel the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade and said “large gatherings are probably not a great idea." Lawrence has also canceled its St. Patrick’s parade.
And yet he flew to Utah on Friday for a ski vacation!
“We believe it’s important to start taking more aggressive action now,” Baker said. Officials expect “this disruption to continue for the foreseeable future,” he added.
Earlier Tuesday, legislative leaders said they intend to allocate $15 million to Covid-19 response efforts, although they didn’t specify where the money would go. Scheduled for a vote next week, the spending package would be the first major infusion of state cash to address the virus.
$o THAT i$ what the coronaviru$ cri$i$ is being u$ed for. To pump as much money into this collapsing economy in the hopes it can be propped up.
Baker said he expects the funds to help both the state Department of Public Health and local health boards.
Across the border in Rhode Island, the Department of Health reported Tuesday that a woman in her 50s who traveled to Egypt and a Rhode Island Hospital health care worker in her 30s have tested positive, the state’s fourth and fifth cases.
The unknown cases include at least some of the patients in Berkshire County, whose illnesses have already had far-reaching effects. Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield is facing staffing shortages after it furloughed dozens of staff members who came in contact with five Covid-19 patients before the sick people could be tested.
According to a hospital spokesman, starting March 1, the patients separately came to the Berkshire Medical Center emergency department with severe flu-like symptoms and were admitted. In each case, the state Department of Public Health did not agree to test the patients for about five days.
During that time, nurses and other employees who were exposed to the patients were placed on a 14-day quarantine as soon as the test results came back. (The nurses had worn masks but not the eye shield and gowns needed to protect against the coronavirus.)
Message received! Stay out of the hospitals!
The Massachusetts Nurses Association, a union representing workers at Berkshire Medical Center, said that 70 employees were on furlough, including 54 nurses. The hospital, which has about 800 nurses, remains open.
Salute them from afar!
The hospital acknowledged that staff members had been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days but declined to specify how many or to confirm the union’s numbers.
The union said it has not received any reports of nurses or other health care workers who have been infected with the virus.
Testing capacity in the state is expected to increase rapidly, however, making delays like those experienced in Berkshire County less likely.
The state public health laboratory, currently the only place in the state equipped to test for the coronavirus, is automating an aspect of the testing and expects to increase its capacity from 40 to 50 tests a day to 200 a day, Public Health Commissioner Bharel said at the press conference. The lab has also received an additional 2,000 test kits, she said. Additionally, private laboratories are working on getting federal approval to start doing the tests.
Cha-Ching!
Political officials are also taking precautions. The Massachusetts Democratic Party is temporarily suspending all of its remaining caucuses, the weekend gatherings at which Democrats elect delegates for the state party convention, where they will endorse a candidate in the Senate primary between Senator Edward Markey and Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, according to chair Gus Bickford.
“In the event that this temporary suspension must continue for an extended period of time, the party will develop a replacement to the caucus process,” Bickford said Tuesday. "The party has informed Senator Markey and Congressman Kennedy of this decision, and each supported the necessary decision by the state party to postpone the caucuses.”
Meanwhile, as calls to avoid needless travel increased, passenger traffic through Logan Airport dropped considerably last week. About 351,000 passengers passed through security checkpoints between March 2 and March 8 — down about 53,000, or 13.2 percent, from the same week a year ago......
--more--"
What is on the way, fellow citizen:
"National Guard sent into New York suburb to help control virus" by Marina Villeneuve and Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press, March 10, 2020
New York’s governor announced Tuesday he is sending the National Guard into a New York City suburb to help fight what is believed to be the nation’s biggest cluster of coronavirus cases — one of the most dramatic actions yet to control the outbreak in the United States.
The move came as health authorities contended with alarming bunches of infections on both sides of the country and scattered cases in between.
Schools, houses of worship, and large gathering places will be closed for two weeks in a “containment area” centered in New Rochelle, and the troops will scrub surfaces and deliver food to the zone, which extends a mile in all directions from a point near a synagogue connected to some of the cases, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
Oooooh, every.... single.... time!!
“It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster of cases in the country,” he said. “The numbers are going up unabated, and we do need a special public health strategy.’’
It must be a Nazi creation then.
Who knew you didn't need a Hitler?
In Oakland, Calif., meanwhile, thousands of increasingly bored and restless passengers aboard a cruise ship struck by the coronavirus waited their turn to get off the vessel and go to US military bases or back to their home countries for two weeks of quarantine. In Washington state, where at least 19 deaths have been connected to a Seattle-area nursing home, Governor Jay Inslee announced new rules for screening health care workers and limiting visitors.
“If we assume there are 1,000 or more people who have the virus today . . . the number of people who are infected will double in five to eight days,” he warned.
When you assume, you make an ass of u and me!
On Wall Street, stocks climbed higher during the day, recouping some of their staggering losses from the day before. The United Nations closed its headquarters in New York to the public and suspended all guided tours.
Oh, good, stocks were higher. Was worried for a minute.
The virus has infected over 700 people in the United States and killed at least 27, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession. New Jersey reported ts first coronavirus death Tuesday. Worldwide, nearly 120,000 have been infected and over 4,200 have died.
They jack up the death toll by about 100 every day.
In California, passengers from the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess were allowed off the vessel and walked to the bottom of a ramp, where masked officials in yellow protective gear and blue plastic gloves took their temperature and led them to a tent for more screening before they lined up to board a bus.
Authorities said foreign passengers would be flown home, while Americans would be flown or bused to military bases in California, Texas, and Georgia for testing and 14-day quarantines.....
Time to flee to Canada or the Canary Islands.
--more--"
It goes without saying that you cancel all trips to China:
"China’s leader tours center of coronavirus epidemic, signaling confidence" by Steven Lee Myers New York Times, March 10, 2020
BEIJING — China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, toured Wuhan, the city at the center of a now global epidemic, for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began, hoping to demonstrate that his government was containing a crisis that has tarnished his image at home and abroad.
The NYT rot is what is making me sick!
Xi stopped short of declaring victory, but his visit to Wuhan was clearly intended to send a powerful signal that the government believes the worst of the national emergency could soon be over in China — just as others are being struck by their own outbreaks. As if to echo the message, some cities, even in surrounding province of Hubei, announced plans to loosen some of the most onerous limits imposed on millions of people.
Xi and other Communist Party officials have faced a torrent of criticism at home and abroad for the initial delays and obfuscation that hastened the virus’s spread. Now that the rate of infections is slowing, they have responded by portraying China as a trailblazer in the global effort to contain the coronavirus.
China’s counterattack in what Xi has called a “people’s war” has included harsh restrictions on travel and personal liberties that were widely questioned in the beginning but that other nations like Italy are now, reluctantly, choosing as well.
Related:
"Italy on Tuesday was a country in quiet emergency: little chatter, few hugs, few cars, no sports, empty piazzas, vacated restaurants, and a deepening sense that a prolonged period of social isolation was the only way to slow the coronavirus. Infections in Italy topped the 10,000 mark with 10,149 cases — more than anywhere else but China — and the number of deaths from the virus rose to 631, from 463 a day earlier, Italian Civil Protection authorities said. There were fewer new cases reported than in previous days, but the new figures show the largest single daily jump in deaths. The government’s historic ordering of a nationwide lockdown — limiting the movement of 60 million people — has transformed Italy into a testing ground for not only what it might take to control the virus, but how much a democracy is willing to upend life’s most basic routines and joys. Italy’s initial response to the coronavirus outbreak had been to try to preserve normalcy and limit the economic sacrifices, but as active cases have accelerated, the approach has changed dramatically, leading to restrictions on movement unprecedented by a democracy. On the first day of the nationwide lockdown, Italians appeared to be largely heeding orders. Most who have died from the coronavirus were in their 70s or older......"
Why Italy of all places?
Xi’s tour dominated state media throughout the day, as it was surely intended to do, but it will take more than a propaganda campaign to ease the anguish and grief the epidemic has already caused and to repair the damage to the economy, which could take months to get back to normal.
Do you ever get tired of the $hit NYT projecting the EUSraeli Empire's problems and their own behavior on others like I do?
Hundreds of millions of Chinese still live under quarantine-like restrictions, with travel limited between cities. Big factories are barely up and running, if at all, and millions of small businesses face uncertainty, if not ruin.
In recent days, the official numbers have offered some hope that the virtual siege could be easing.....
--more--"
It's hard to take the Globe seriously when below the article is Globe content sponsored by Pfizer.
A ro$e, but any other name.....
"Politicians’ use of ‘Wuhan Virus’ starts a debate health experts wanted to avoid" by Katie Rogers New York Times, March 10, 2020
WASHINGTON — The name Covid-19 was clinical and nondescript, and that was exactly the point when the World Health Organization revealed it to guard against stigmatization of the place from which it originated, but a month later, the recommended terminology for the coronavirus has not extended to every corner of politics.
Some conservative politicians and officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are using “Wuhan virus,” a term that proliferated on news sites and in political commentary, mostly before the virus received an official name. Senator Tom Cotton, Republican from Arkansas, has frequently used the term on the Senate floor, and on Monday evening, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, drew criticism for calling the disease “the Chinese coronavirus” in a tweet. Representative Paul Gosar, Republican from Arizona, used it when announcing that he and several staff members had come into contact with a person who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference and tested positive for the virus.
“I am announcing that I, along with 3 of my senior staff, are officially under self-quarantine after sustained contact at CPAC with a person who has since been hospitalized with the Wuhan Virus,” Gosar wrote on Twitter. “My office will be closed for the week.”
All to distract from the fact that it is looking like the virus was created at a US biological weapons facility and then released in Wuhan, and I notice the AIPAC infections have been scrubbed from my pre$$.
What followed was a torrent of online criticism that his comment was xenophobic and racist, and that attaching geography to a virus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, will lead to continued stigmatization of the Chinese. Among the critics was Representative Ted Lieu, Democrat from California, who tweeted Monday that the term was “an example of the myopia that allowed” the virus to spread in the United States.
The debate over racism, the coronavirus and partisan politics has grown uglier by the hour, and it is precisely the type of geopolitical back-and-forth that health officials have tried to avoid since releasing more stringent guidelines for naming viruses in 2015.
“This is the consequence they didn’t want by calling it the ‘Wuhan Virus,’ ” Frank Snowden, the Andrew Downey Orrick professor emeritus of history and history of medicine at Yale University, said in an interview.
Of the politicians who are using the term, he added: “I think that’s actually quite an aggressive thing and politically charged, and I imagine that people that are still calling it that are using it in a very loaded, ethnic way, and I believe it’s mainly associated with people on the political right. That shows exactly the wisdom of trying to refer to something scientific and factual.”
(Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough)
What you say?
Attempts to assign blame to a certain place or people in the face of a global health scare have occurred throughout modern history, and it is a phenomenon that public health officials have tried to guard against in recent years.
In this outbreak, Gosar and members of his congressional staff have been aggressive in pushing back against criticism of their use of “Wuhan virus.” They have also shared screenshots of news articles that used the term in headlines, many from the weeks before the virus received an official name.
“The only people who seem outraged by the term ‘Wuhan Virus’ are those whose primary goal is to continue” politicizing the outbreak, Ben Goldey, the congressman’s press secretary, wrote in an e-mail Monday. “Our priority is ensuring the health and safety of the American people, not debating the use of the term ‘Wuhan virus.’ ”
For Pompeo’s part, a State Department official said Monday that the secretary was using this language to counter Chinese Communist Party disinformation. This echoes public remarks made by Pompeo, when he rejected a suggestion made last week by Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, that the coronavirus may not have originated in China, and that it was “highly irresponsible” to connect the two.
Hit a nerve, did he?
In a slate of interviews, Pompeo did just that. He also accused the Chinese of withholding information as the virus spread and conspiracy theories proliferated, some claiming the virus had actually come from the United States.
Now I know the Chinese are on to something!
“As a first matter, the Chinese Communist Party has said that this is where the virus started,” Pompeo said in an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Friday. “So don’t take my word for it, take theirs.”
By Monday, the Chinese were targeting Pompeo directly.
“We condemn the despicable practice of individual US politicians eagerly stigmatizing China and Wuhan by association with the novel coronavirus, disrespecting science and WHO,” Geng Shuang, another Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a news conference.
After Hong Kong and the Higher concentration camps failed to grab the American imagination.
“The international society has a fair judgment, and Pompeo’s attempts of slandering China’s efforts in combating the epidemic is doomed to fail,” he added.
--more--"
Related:
In Iran, health system wages war against the virus
Also see:
Sporting events take a hit in the European Union
Virus tensions continue to build on sports events around country, world
Here, too:
San Jose has a gathering ban. How will that affect the Bruins-Sharks game?
Celtics accepting of coronavirus precautions, but wary of what’s ahead
We don’t want to imagine sports events without fans — but we must
Trying to keep you informed — while keeping our distance — at Red Sox camp
You can skip the trip to Baltimore.
Ivy League tournament cancellation seen as a harbinger of coronavirus’s effects
Just as BU was about to make the tournament.
At TD Garden, high school games go on amid coronavirus concerns
They “can’t imagine them canceling the state final,” but I can (Trump was just there) and yet the 2020 Census is off and running for much of America now even as public life in Boston gradually shuts down:
"As coronavirus cases mount, just how paranoid — or cautious — should we be?; The line between prudence and nervous Nellie-ism keeps shifting" by Beth Teitell Globe Staff, March 10, 2020
We’re being told the risk in Massachusetts is low, but Harvard University is telling students to stay away from campus, and Boston has canceled its St. Patrick’s Day parade.
See:
"The last time Harvard took such drastic measures, officials noted, was in the 1940s, during World War II, when the campus was given over to military training, but amid fears that the coronavirus will continue to spread, universities find themselves in a vulnerable spot. The University of Massachusetts Amherst has warned students about traveling to places where the coronavirus cases have spiked and urged them to practice good hygiene. The university has said that it is making preparations for online learning but hasn’t decided whether to move in that direction. “I understand they’re trying not to cause panic,” said Alexandra McCandless, a senior at UMass Amherst. “It feels like the whole response has been muted. . . . I want to know, are we going to be here for graduation?”
The stakes are so high. It’s not just about keeping yourself from getting sick, it’s about not spreading the illness to others, but in the face of scant specific advice from leaders, except to avoid cruise ships, Bostonians are wondering whose precautions should we follow?
“I’m a mess of contradictions,” said writer Beth Jones. She’s stopped going to the public library “because it’s not well-ventilated,” but she’s also looking for international hotel deals. “I’m trying to figure out what to do on a minute-by-minute basis.”
The world is waiting to see where the spiraling epidemic will go, but one thing is already clear: We’ve definitely reached the judgment phase. People downplaying the coronavirus’s danger are being accused of acting like Trump. People texting corona death reports to friends and family are being accused of fear mongering, but the epidemic is so big, so scary, that many people are not only judging others but themselves.
You finally took a look in the mirror, huh, Globe?
Did you like what you saw?
In the span of one brief conversation at the Fenway Target on Sunday morning, Angela Marini, a project manager for a large Boston firm, criticized people for overreacting and then speculated she herself might go bananas.
“People are so crazy that soon we are going to run out of bottled water,” she said. Then, a few minutes later: “But talk to me in one month, I don’t know what I”ll tell you.”
I hope we are both still around for the conversation.
As cancellations mount, costing people money and opportunities, a backlash is forming.
The coronavirus is as vast as the entire world, but also as tiny as the marital bedroom. Which is to say it has, of course, entered the family and marital counseling space. “People have different ideas about how much caution to exercise,” said Liz Brenner, a clinical social worker in Watertown.
I want a divorce!
Such is the divide that in one suburb, a wife is planning to hide hundreds of dollars of emergency supplies from her beloved. “I’m paying cash,” she said.
Yes, don't happy, be worry!
Who gives a fuck about the people that make life worth living?
Fuck 'em!
What kind of monsters exist in Bo$ton and at the Globe anyway?
What a mindset!
Oh, for the good old days, when people concealed designer handbags and expensive fishing reels from each other, and the scariest thing about a cruise was the weight gain.....
Those days are gone forever!
--more--"
Now about that cruise:
"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. may be cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings as fears intensify that the coronavirus will continue to dramatically reduce travel. S&P placed Royal Caribbean’s BBB- on watch negative as the spreading virus batters the tourism industry, affecting everything from airlines to casinos. As multiple cruise ships have been quarantined globally in an effort to contain the virus, investors have sold bonds or bought protection against default tied to debt of Royal Caribbean, as well as those of rivals Viking Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corp."
As least that will help mitigate the environmental problem of climate change as spring begins to stir, and the Globe piggybacks upon that by saying the coronavirus emergency should make us act on the climate crisis:
"Pacific Gas & Electric told a bankruptcy judge Tuesday that it has settled a dispute with disaster-relief agencies that threatened to siphon money away from a $13.5 billion fund earmarked for victims of catastrophic wildfires in California caused by the nation’s largest utility. The breakthrough disclosed by a PG&E lawyer during a court hearing in San Francisco could remove a major stumbling block as the company scrambles to meet a June 30 deadline to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings that began early last year. The truce is designed to ensure people who lost family members and homes during a series of fires ignited by PG&E equipment during 2017 and 2018 get paid before two different taxpayer-backed agencies. It’s still unclear whether the deal worked out between the Federal Emergency Management Agency, California’s Office of Emergency Services, and lawyers for wildfire victims will satisfy everyone involved. PG&E attorney Stephen Karotkin said some final details were still being worked out with the help of a federal mediator."
The coronavirus extinguished all the concern about fires, didn't it?
Well, get used to it because.....
"Boston’s international connections are an important contributor to the local economy, but with the spread of the coronavirus, we are seeing a big downside to that interconnectedness: some businesses are hurt more than others. A few might even thrive. For everyone, it’s a new world order......"
Ya' got that, dear and beloved reader?
So globali$m has failed and made us less safe, huh?
"Trump, Democrats duel over how to counter the economic damage of coronavirus; The president wants a payroll tax holiday, but his opponents have other ideas" by Larry Edelman Globe Staff, March 10, 2020
President Trump and congressional Democrats staked out dueling positions Tuesday on how to help the United States weather the economic storm caused by the spreading coronavirus, as some congressional Republicans gave a lukewarm reception to the White House’s stimulus plans.
Democrats countered that they want to help workers, too, but rejected the payroll tax cut proposal. Instead, they are pushing measures including no-cost virus testing, paid family and sick leave, adequate unemployment insurance benefits, and food security, especially for low-income families whose children receive free lunch benefits at public schools.
“We know more needs to be done,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
On Wall Street, the anticipation of Washington pumping money into the economy helped stocks recover some of their big losses on Monday.
The White House is dusting off a playbook used by the George W. Bush administration and Congress following the financial crisis in 2008. The idea is to put more money in consumers’ pockets so they will spend and bolster the economy.
I'm not surprised; Trump has been governing just like a dick Republican. That's why he wasn't removed from office and why the puppet show continues.
During the financial crisis that began in 2008, most filers received a $600 credit — $1,200 for joint filers — minus child and earned income credits, according to the Tax Policy Center. People who qualified for the credit also could receive an extra $300 credit for each child eligible for the regular child credit, the center said.
Senator Ed Markey said a payroll tax cut would be misdirected.
“A tax cut will do nothing to address the Trump administration’s failure to adequately respond to the coronavirus epidemic," the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.....
--more--"
"Stocks climb as investors look to Washington" by Jeanne Smialeand Alexandra Stevenson New York Times, March 10, 2020
NEW YORK — “Markets are always enamored with tax cuts, or even the hope thereof. Yesterday’s sell-off was so extreme that it’s not at all surprising to see a bounce,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Conn., said in an e-mail.
This whole fu*king thing is a HUGE MONEY GRAB!
Technology shares led the climb as investors rushed to buy the recently beaten down shares of tech behemoth such as Apple and Microsoft, which both rose roughly 7 percent.
Financial stocks also rebounded, reversing some of the damage the sector sustained in recent weeks tied to a sharp decline in yields on government bonds. Government bond yields influence the interest rates that banks charge, and sharp declines in yields can hurt banks’ profitability, but analysts stressed that any recovery in the markets is likely to be tenuous. The White House had not announced any specific measures, and increased testing for coronavirus is expected to generate rising numbers of new infections in the coming weeks, which could be a new challenge for investors’ nerves, and measures like tax cuts, rebates, or expanded insurance benefits and other spending increases are far from guaranteed.
“Given the nation’s charged politics, especially in the lead-up to the presidential election, these steps could prove difficult if not impossible for lawmakers,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote in a note to clients.
In Monday’s global plunge, the S&P 500 fell nearly 8 percent, its sharpest daily decline since December 2008 and a tumble so swift that trading in the United States had to be halted for 15 minutes early in the day. In Asia and Europe, some of the biggest financial exchanges flirted with or crossed into bear market territory — a decline of more than 20 percent from their highs. Through Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down about 15 percent.
The price of oil, which had slumped by a quarter on Monday, rose about 8 percent on Tuesday, but oil prices remain down more than 40 percent this year.
Trump took his pitch for a coronavirus-related economic stimulus package to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, joining Senate Republicans over lunch to discuss cutting payroll taxes, offering targeted relief to the tourism and hospitality industries, and possibly taking other steps to lift economic growth.
After the meeting, a Senate aide said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California would take the lead on negotiating a bipartisan package.
Proving once and for all what a fraud is Pelosi!
Trump emerged from his lunch with no new details to share on the package, which remained in flux throughout the day, amid internal struggles at the White House and a cool reception among congressional Republicans to the idea of a temporary payroll tax cut. Trump said that and other ideas were discussed, adding “there’s great unity within the Republican Party.”
He acknowledged there was no consensus on how to proceed but had confidence the economy will endure. “Be calm,” he said after speaking with lawmakers. “The consumer has never been in a better position than they are now.”
Walmart, the nation’s largest employer, said it was taking steps to ensure its 1.4 million workers would continue to be paid if they contracted the virus or were subject to a quarantine.
The company said employees forced into a mandatory quarantine would receive up to two weeks of pay and their absence would not be counted against their attendance record. Additionally, any US worker with the virus unable to return to work would be paid up to 26 weeks. The policy, announced Tuesday, came as concerns mounted about low-wage workers who risk lost wages if they miss work. Walmart confirmed an employee in Cynthiana, Ky., had tested positive for the virus.
As the epidemic spreads, companies are less worried about factory shutdowns by Chinese suppliers and more about a lack of US customers.
You made your bed, now lie in it.
With any luck, the economic crash will ruin Trump's chance at reelection.
Some have already taken action. Jay Foreman, chief executive of Basic Fun, said the coronavirus crisis had forced him to lay off 18 of the toy company’s 175 workers, 10 of them in the United States.
“China is slowly starting to open up, so we’re getting shipments,” said Foreman. “But now what I‘m worried about is a demand scenario in the United States, where people decide the only thing they’re buying is hand sanitizer and Wet Wipes and Campbell’s Soup.”
The root of Monday’s financial market meltdown was the start of an oil-price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia over the weekend, when the Saudis slashed prices after Russia refused to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in production cuts.
That's strange, because my pre$$ has led me to believe it was the contagion of the coronavirus.
WTF?
The sudden upheaval in the oil markets may take months to assess, but the impact on the US economy is bound to be considerable. Many smaller US oil companies could face bankruptcy if the price pressure goes on for more than a few weeks; larger ones will be challenged to protect dividend payments. Thousands of oil workers are about to receive pink slips.
Trump is fini$hed come November!
Several airlines announced the temporary suspension of all flights to and from Italy, a day after the country announced a nationwide lockdown.....
--more--"
"As Saudis ramp up oil output, US producers scale back" by Carlos Caminada Bloomberg News, March 10, 2020
CALGARY — For more than two years, the United States has been the world’s No. 1 oil producer, a status often hailed proudly by President Trump. Now, the crown is at risk.
The standing of the United States has largely been based on a concession from Saudi Arabia, which orchestrated output curbs in tandem with Russia that helped prop up prices, but with the Saudis now threatening to flood the world with oil after its production pact fell apart. The result: Most shale wells are now unprofitable and drillers are scrambling to scale back operations.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Tuesday cut its dividend for the first time in at least 20 years, opting to conserve cash to cover its debt. Parsley Energy Inc. and Diamondback Energy Inc. both said they would curtail drilling and fracking for the rest of this year. Overall, the industry could cut the number of frack crews in US shale fields by half this year to 140, according to an estimate by Coras Oilfield Research.
The environment and our drinking water thank you.
That large a drop in activity could quickly threaten America’s nascent status as a net petroleum exporter, achieved only in the last few months. Last week, the United States was a net exporter of 1.52 million barrels a day of crude and refined products.
Still, the US shale industry has shown extraordinary resilience in the past.
In early 2016, the industry was in tatters when crude plunged to about $30 a barrel. That’s when the Saudis stepped in, building a coalition that tied OPEC to Russia and other countries in a move that limited global production, boosting prices. Meanwhile, shale producers became increasingly more efficient at shaking loose the oil hidden in the ground.
Production could continue to rise in the short term this year before it starts to fall, according to Rystad. Moving forward, though, with the Saudis and Russia feuding, the US industry is caught in the middle with a lot less room to maneuver.
The sector has found itself on a treadmill of sorts, with fracked wells experiencing steep declines over time compared with conventional wells. That’s compelling shale producers to keep drilling simply to maintain output levels and cash generation.
Trump's oil boom is built on sand?
At the same time, shale explorers were already falling out of favor before the price crash, with investors demanding they focus on delivering free cash flow and returns, rather than burn borrowed cash to grow. The S&P index of oil and gas explorers, which declined more than 40 percent over the last three years, has plunged 62 percent so far in 2020. In the bond market, the rout triggered by the global virus outbreak was already pushing the debt of many explores to distressed levels. The median yield on bonds of drillers with a market value below $500 million was at about 30 percent last week, at par with government bonds issued by Lebanon, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
I expect they will default then.
Now concerns are growing that the number of sector bankruptcies will rise, though that’s a factor that would likely take six months or more to wind out.....
--more--"
Now about those airline flights:
"Airlines brace for a virus-fueled crisis" by Richard Clough Bloomberg News, March 10, 2020
US airlines outlined deep cuts to their flight schedules as the coronavirus provokes an industry crisis that’s shaping up to be worse than the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
How much of a bailout are they going to need this time?
Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. withdrew their profit forecasts and said they would reduce domestic and international flying. United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it was running stress tests for a potentially “dire scenario” in which revenue would plunge as much as 70 percent in April and May. That compares with a decline of about 40 percent in the two months after 9/11.
“We’re not planning for hope,” United President Scott Kirby said at a JPMorgan Chase & Co. conference that was held virtually. “We’re planning for extreme scenarios.”
Another terror attack?
With all due respect, the only thing that could top the visceral reaction to 9/11 would be a mushroom cloud over Chicago.
The severity of the sudden slump prompted President Trump to pledge help Tuesday, as the virus’s spread upends economies and prompts travelers to stay home. An airline trade group said last week that the industry will lose as much as $113 billion in sales because of the virus, while Jefferies anticipates the biggest annual drop in commercial air traffic since at least the 1970s.
While Trump didn’t mention the details of any assistance, his promise of aid was enough to spur an airline rally after two weeks of deep declines. American led the gains, surging more than 15 percent after jumping as much as 20 percent for a record intraday gain. United advanced 12.36 percent.
While investors bet on a measure of government relief, the airlines are bracing for a sharp drop in demand.
As a show of good faith during tough times, some airline executives have said they would give back some of their compensation. At United, Kirby and CEO Oscar Munoz will give up their base salaries through at least June 30, the carrier said.
I'll believe it when I $ee it.
At Southwest Airlines Co., CEO Gary Kelly said he would take a 10 percent pay cut amid a drop in bookings that “may be worse” than after 9/11.
“The velocity and the severity of the decline is breathtaking,” he told employees in an internal video. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on the comments.
He is talking about the free-fall destruction of the twin towers and building 7, right?
“There is no question this is a severe recession for our industry and for us,” Kelly said. “It’s a financial crisis.”
--more--"
What caught my eye underneath that article was the printed ad for the "Artists For Humanity/Creative Jobs For Creative Teens/Greatest Party on Earth Goes Goes Global" scheduled for Saturday, March 21. Sponsors include the Boston Globe, Fidelity, and State Street, among others.
Also see:
"The third chief executive of Wells Fargo in four years appeared in front of Congress on Tuesday, saying that there’s much the bank needs to do to fix its cultural problems, and isn’t expecting it to be done until 2021. Charles Scharf took over the troubled bank late last year. He replaced Tim Sloan, who resigned in March only a couple of weeks after being lambasted by members of Congress in his own hearing. Unlike Sloan, Scharf is an outsider, previously holding the jobs of CEO of Bank of New York Mellon and Visa. Since taking the job, Scharf has been candid that the bank still has much work to do and has been trying to resolve all of the bank’s legal problems. Wells Fargo’s sales practices scandal is nearly four years old at this point, and the bank continues to remain mired in legal and regulatory trouble. The San Francisco-based company paid a $3 billion fine just last month for its illegal sales practices, on top of the roughly $1.2 billion in fines it had already paid. The bank remains under restrictions imposed by the Federal Reserve, not allowing Wells Fargo to grow any larger until its cultural problems are fixed."
The lack of trust leaves on Stumpfed.
The best advice I can give you, dear readers, is buy all the products you need, arm yourself, and hunker down until the pandemonium passes.
UPDATES:
WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic
Here are 17 shows to binge watch.
Dow falls 5% on Wall Street as stakes rise in coronavirus pandemic
Nothing about the price of oil and root of the financial market meltdown that preceded the virus.
Dow plummets into bear market as fear of coronavirus fallout grips markets
It dropped 1,464 points in one of the swiftest sell-offs of all time as investors are calling for coordinated action from governments and central banks around the world to stem the threat to the economy from the virus. Doubts are rising about what can come from the U.S. government, though, as the stakes are rising.
Coronavirus cases edge higher, while hundreds are self-quarantined
Now they have a running tally to the right. Good God!
Seattle shuts down schools for 53,000 students amid coronavirus outbreak
NBA’s Warriors to play games with no fans, MLB’s Mariners moving games in wake of coronavirus outbreak
That's one way to get Lebron out of the game.
NCAA Tournament to be held without fans due to coronavirus concerns
I don't think I will even bothering watching this year then.
Ivy League, NESCAC cancel spring sports seasons due to coronavirus concerns
It looks like they will be postponing Opening Day in Major League Baseball, too.
NBA suspends season indefinitely due to coronavirus concerns
All because one player presumedly tested positive, and "it was a strange scene Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. According to reports, the starting lineups were announced, and it looked like the game was ready to begin, but after a conference among the officials, the teams were sent back their respective locker rooms and the officials left the floor. While fans were curious about what was going on, the Thunder mascot and dance team tried to keep the fans distracted from the delay, but 35 minutes after the scheduled start, the announcement came that the game would be called off."
Everyone who had season tickets and NCAA reservations will be refunded in full, of cour$e.
Trump announces ban on foreign travelers from European countries for 30 days
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, test positive for coronavirus in Australia
They can at least act like they got it, right?
How the Movie “Contagion” Laid the Blueprint for the Coronavirus Outbreak
That's how they prepare you for the management of your perceptions, dear reader.
COVID-19 Coronavirus “Fake” Pandemic: Timeline and Analysis
