https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-benefits-of-playing-music-help-your-brain-more-than-any-other-activity?utm_source=pocket-newtab
John Rampton
•••••
Science has shown that musical training can change brain structure and function for the better. It can also improve long-term memory and lead to better brain development for those who start at a young age.
Furthermore, musicians tend to be more mentally alert, according to new research from a University of Montreal study.
"The more we know about the impact of music on really basic sensory processes, the more we can apply musical training to individuals who might have slower reaction times," said lead researcher Simon Landry.
•••••
Initially, these studies couldn't determine if these differences were caused by musical training or if anatomical differences predispose some to become musicians. Ultimately, longitudinal studies showed that children who do 14 months of musical training displayed more powerful structural and functional brain changes.
These studies prove that learning a musical instrument increases gray matter volume in various brain regions, It also strengthens the long-range connections between them. Additional research shows that musical training can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills.
•••••
Brain-scanning studies have found that the anatomical change in musicians' brains is related to the age when training began. It shouldn't be surprising, but learning at a younger age causes the most drastic changes.
Interestingly, even brief periods of musical training can have long-lasting benefits. A 2013 study found that even those with moderate musical training preserved sharp processing of speech sounds. It was also able to increase resilience to any age-related decline in hearing.
Researchers also believe that playing music helps speech processing and learning in children with dyslexia. Furthermore, learning to play an instrument as a child can protect the brain against dementia.
•••••
Sunday, March 22, 2020
The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity
Journalistic ethics
March 22, 2020
I have heard some journalists trying to get government health officials to say something that contradicts Trump, which would open them to revenge by Trump. Those journalists are unprofessional jerks.
Doctors and nurses in Spain are taping garbage bags to their bodies for protection against the novel coronavirus as supplies dwindle
https://news.yahoo.com/doctors-nurses-spain-taping-garbage-184700233.html
Rachel Askinasi
,INSIDER•March 21, 2020
Doctors and nurses at hospitals in Spain are taping garbage bags to their arms in hopes of protecting themselves against contracting the novel coronavirus, Bloomberg reported.
As more people around the world are being admitted into hospitals, medical workers are being forced to ration their protective gear.
Marcia Santini, a registered nurse at an emergency room in California, told Business Insider, "We need to keep our healthcare workers healthy, and if they get sick, that would collapse the healthcare system." But that's proving hard to do with limited protective equipment.
•••••
Rachel Askinasi
,INSIDER•March 21, 2020
Doctors and nurses at hospitals in Spain are taping garbage bags to their arms in hopes of protecting themselves against contracting the novel coronavirus, Bloomberg reported.
As more people around the world are being admitted into hospitals, medical workers are being forced to ration their protective gear.
Marcia Santini, a registered nurse at an emergency room in California, told Business Insider, "We need to keep our healthcare workers healthy, and if they get sick, that would collapse the healthcare system." But that's proving hard to do with limited protective equipment.
•••••
Children more at risk for abuse and neglect amid coronavirus pandemic, experts say
https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-children-more-risk-abuse-220816036.html
Suzanne Hirt, Andrea Ball and Katie Wedell, USA TODAY NETWORK
,USA TODAY•March 22, 2020
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable U.S. children could face a heightened risk of abuse and neglect as coronavirus-related school closures keep them at home and away from the nation’s biggest group of hotline tipsters: educators.
Teachers, administrators, school counselors and other educational professionals report one in every five child-mistreatment claims in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Other major sources include law enforcement and social workers.
Those reports could plummet, experts predict, as children’s social circles contract to just family members, which collectively represent just 12% of hotline calls.
Even kids in otherwise functional families could face peril as parents unaccustomed to providing round-the-clock care and stressed by the collapsing economy are pushed to the edge.
Some experts, like Sophie Phillips, chief executive officer of TexProtects, a Texas-based child abuse prevention advocacy group, fear that parents still required to work outside the home may leave children on their own.
Meanwhile, state agencies tasked with investigating complaints and keeping kids safe have scaled back services to slow the spread of the pandemic. In Florida, some child protection groups have turned to virtual home visits instead of in-person check-ins.
•••••
Risk factors for child abuse and neglect – including parental stress, economic instability and housing insecurity – increase in situations like this, according to Dr. Melissa Merrick, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America.
“School and workplace closings greatly increase stress in parents’ lives,” Merrick said, adding that children with existing behavioral problems are prone to act out as their parents’ tension levels rise.
•••••
Medical professionals and child advocates offered several stress-relief tips for families stuck at home.
•••••
tags: child abuse
Suzanne Hirt, Andrea Ball and Katie Wedell, USA TODAY NETWORK
,USA TODAY•March 22, 2020
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable U.S. children could face a heightened risk of abuse and neglect as coronavirus-related school closures keep them at home and away from the nation’s biggest group of hotline tipsters: educators.
Teachers, administrators, school counselors and other educational professionals report one in every five child-mistreatment claims in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Other major sources include law enforcement and social workers.
Those reports could plummet, experts predict, as children’s social circles contract to just family members, which collectively represent just 12% of hotline calls.
Even kids in otherwise functional families could face peril as parents unaccustomed to providing round-the-clock care and stressed by the collapsing economy are pushed to the edge.
Some experts, like Sophie Phillips, chief executive officer of TexProtects, a Texas-based child abuse prevention advocacy group, fear that parents still required to work outside the home may leave children on their own.
Meanwhile, state agencies tasked with investigating complaints and keeping kids safe have scaled back services to slow the spread of the pandemic. In Florida, some child protection groups have turned to virtual home visits instead of in-person check-ins.
•••••
Risk factors for child abuse and neglect – including parental stress, economic instability and housing insecurity – increase in situations like this, according to Dr. Melissa Merrick, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America.
“School and workplace closings greatly increase stress in parents’ lives,” Merrick said, adding that children with existing behavioral problems are prone to act out as their parents’ tension levels rise.
•••••
Medical professionals and child advocates offered several stress-relief tips for families stuck at home.
•••••
tags: child abuse
Lack of sleep can make you sick
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
Yes, lack of sleep can affect your immune system. Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick.
During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you're under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don't get enough sleep.
So, your body needs sleep to fight infectious diseases. Long-term lack of sleep also increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease.
•••••
Yes, lack of sleep can affect your immune system. Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick.
During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you're under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don't get enough sleep.
So, your body needs sleep to fight infectious diseases. Long-term lack of sleep also increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease.
•••••
Federal law enforcement document reveals white supremacists discussed using coronavirus as a bioweapon
https://news.yahoo.com/federal-law-enforcement-document-reveals-white-supremacists-discussed-using-coronavirus-as-a-bioweapon-212031308.html
Hunter Walker and Jana Winter
,Yahoo News•March 21, 2020
White supremacists discussed plans to weaponize coronavirus via “saliva,” a “spray bottle” or “laced items,” according to a weekly intelligence brief distributed by a federal law enforcement division on Feb. 17.
Federal investigators appeared to be monitoring the white nationalists’ communications on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has become popular with neo-Nazis. In the conversations, the white supremacists suggested targeting law enforcement agents and “nonwhite” people with attacks designed to infect them with the coronavirus.
“Violent extremists continue to make bioterrorism a popular topic among themselves,” reads the intelligence brief written by the Federal Protective Service, which covered the week of Feb. 17-24. “White Racially Motivated Violent Extremists have recently commented on the coronavirus stating that it is an ‘OBLIGATION’ to spread it should any of them contract the virus.”
•••••
Hunter Walker and Jana Winter
,Yahoo News•March 21, 2020
White supremacists discussed plans to weaponize coronavirus via “saliva,” a “spray bottle” or “laced items,” according to a weekly intelligence brief distributed by a federal law enforcement division on Feb. 17.
Federal investigators appeared to be monitoring the white nationalists’ communications on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has become popular with neo-Nazis. In the conversations, the white supremacists suggested targeting law enforcement agents and “nonwhite” people with attacks designed to infect them with the coronavirus.
“Violent extremists continue to make bioterrorism a popular topic among themselves,” reads the intelligence brief written by the Federal Protective Service, which covered the week of Feb. 17-24. “White Racially Motivated Violent Extremists have recently commented on the coronavirus stating that it is an ‘OBLIGATION’ to spread it should any of them contract the virus.”
•••••
Water is an under-used weapon in climate change fight, UN says
https://www.reuters.com/article/global-water-climate-change/water-is-an-under-used-weapon-in-climate-change-fight-un-says-idUSL8N2BD7OJ
Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation
March 21, 2020 / 8:01 PM
Using water more efficiently in everything from daily life to agriculture and industry would help reduce planet-warming emissions and curb climate change - a potential benefit that has yet to be widely recognised, the United Nations said on Sunday.
In a report issued on World Water Day, U.N. agencies said global warming would “affect the availability, quality and quantity of water for basic human needs”, threatening the right to water and sanitation for “potentially billions of people”.
But as well as using limited supplies more wisely and fairly, policymakers and businesses should also seek to manage water resources better to economise on the electricity and fuel needed to pump, clean and deliver water, the report said.
“If you save water, you’re saving energy and reducing the greenhouse gases to produce that energy to bring the water,” said Richard Connor, the report’s editor.
Using less energy cuts down further on the water needed to produce electricity, creating a virtuous circle, he said.
Even more water can be saved by switching to less-thirsty clean power sources like wind instead of fossil fuels, he added.
Water use has increased six-fold over the past century and is rising by about 1% a year, said the United Nations World Water Development Report 2020.
•••••
Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation
March 21, 2020 / 8:01 PM
Using water more efficiently in everything from daily life to agriculture and industry would help reduce planet-warming emissions and curb climate change - a potential benefit that has yet to be widely recognised, the United Nations said on Sunday.
In a report issued on World Water Day, U.N. agencies said global warming would “affect the availability, quality and quantity of water for basic human needs”, threatening the right to water and sanitation for “potentially billions of people”.
But as well as using limited supplies more wisely and fairly, policymakers and businesses should also seek to manage water resources better to economise on the electricity and fuel needed to pump, clean and deliver water, the report said.
“If you save water, you’re saving energy and reducing the greenhouse gases to produce that energy to bring the water,” said Richard Connor, the report’s editor.
Using less energy cuts down further on the water needed to produce electricity, creating a virtuous circle, he said.
Even more water can be saved by switching to less-thirsty clean power sources like wind instead of fossil fuels, he added.
Water use has increased six-fold over the past century and is rising by about 1% a year, said the United Nations World Water Development Report 2020.
•••••
Smoke from Australia's bushfires killed far more people than the fires did, study says
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/21/smoke-from-australias-bushfires-killed-far-more-people-than-the-fires-did-study-says
John Pickrell
Fri 20 Mar 2020 15.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 20 Mar 2020 15.02 EDT
Smoke pollution that blanketed Australia’s south-east for many months during the bushfire crisis may have killed more than 400 people, according to the first published estimate of the scale of health impacts – more than 10 times the number killed by the fires themselves.
The figures, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, are “definitely alarming”, according to Chris Migliaccio, who studies the long-term effects of wildfire smoke at the University of Montana in Missoula and was not involved in the research.
Lead author Fay Johnston, an epidemiologist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, estimates 80% of Australia’s population of about 25 million was blanketed by smoke this summer.
•••••
“When you’re affecting millions of people in a small way, there are going to be enough people at high enough risk that you’re going to see really measurable rises in these health effects,” Johnston said.
•••••
Many of the deaths and hospitalisations are likely to have been older patients with heart disease or lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis or emphysema – but severe asthma attacks will likely have resulted in deaths in younger people too, Johnston said.
In patients with pre-existing cardiorespiratory issues, smoke exposure promotes inflammation, stresses the body and makes blood more likely to clot, increasing the risk of a heart attack. “In someone at high risk, subtle changes due to stress … can be the precipitating factor for a very serious or terminal event,” she said.
•••••
John Pickrell
Fri 20 Mar 2020 15.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 20 Mar 2020 15.02 EDT
Smoke pollution that blanketed Australia’s south-east for many months during the bushfire crisis may have killed more than 400 people, according to the first published estimate of the scale of health impacts – more than 10 times the number killed by the fires themselves.
The figures, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, are “definitely alarming”, according to Chris Migliaccio, who studies the long-term effects of wildfire smoke at the University of Montana in Missoula and was not involved in the research.
Lead author Fay Johnston, an epidemiologist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, estimates 80% of Australia’s population of about 25 million was blanketed by smoke this summer.
•••••
“When you’re affecting millions of people in a small way, there are going to be enough people at high enough risk that you’re going to see really measurable rises in these health effects,” Johnston said.
•••••
Many of the deaths and hospitalisations are likely to have been older patients with heart disease or lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis or emphysema – but severe asthma attacks will likely have resulted in deaths in younger people too, Johnston said.
In patients with pre-existing cardiorespiratory issues, smoke exposure promotes inflammation, stresses the body and makes blood more likely to clot, increasing the risk of a heart attack. “In someone at high risk, subtle changes due to stress … can be the precipitating factor for a very serious or terminal event,” she said.
•••••
Amazon Prime Video to slow streaming to fight broadband overload
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/20/amazon-prime-video-to-slow-streaming-to-fight-broadband-overload
I think this might be happening in the U.S., because the internet seems better today than it has been recently, even just yesterday.
Mark Sweney
Fri 20 Mar 2020 08.44 EDT
Amazon’s Prime Video, the world’s second-largest streaming service, is set to join YouTube and Netflix in reducing the speed of its streams across Europe to make sure broadband networks can handle the surge in usage as millions are confined to their homes.
It is understood that the BBC is discussing whether to implement similar temporary measures for the iPlayer, which has the largest UK audience of any streaming service, along with Disney+, which launches across most of western Europe and the UK next week.
•••••
'We were on borrowed time': coronavirus could strike final blow to local newspapers
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/20/local-newspapers-coronavirus-economic-impact
Abené Clayton in Oakland
Fri 20 Mar 2020 06.00 EDT
Several local newspapers on the west coast announced this week that the coronavirus crisis is forcing them to suspend publication, perhaps indefinitely.
Jeff vonKanael, the president of the Sacramento, Chico and Reno News & Reviews, three small alternative weekly newspapers in California and Nevada, on Tuesday announced the economic impact of the corona pandemic “could be the end” for the organizations. Almost all of the staff will be temporarily laid off, and the print editions will cease to be published for now.
VonKanael said in a statement that the drastic move came because of a steep drop in ad revenue from local events and businesses, after many California cities closed “non-essential” businesses including movie theaters, concert venues and art galleries to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Chico News & Review reported losing 50% of its ad revenue in less than a week.
•••••
News of the recent closures and layoffs are a stark reminder of the precarious financial positioning of some local news organizations, and it comes exactly at a time when local outlets are a potentially lifesaving, trusted source of information for readers in communities across the US.
“The possibility of newspapers closing is incredibly worrisome right now, especially because the information we need around the coronavirus are things at the local and municipal level,” said Mike Rispoli, director of News Voices, a not-for-profit local news advocacy group.
Rispoli said the closure of local newspapers would leave many readers to seek information from major national news sources. Those sources have larger and more diverse revenue streams, wider circulations and bigger audiences, but they often lack the specific local information that people need to navigate their daily lives, he noted.
•••••
Abené Clayton in Oakland
Fri 20 Mar 2020 06.00 EDT
Several local newspapers on the west coast announced this week that the coronavirus crisis is forcing them to suspend publication, perhaps indefinitely.
Jeff vonKanael, the president of the Sacramento, Chico and Reno News & Reviews, three small alternative weekly newspapers in California and Nevada, on Tuesday announced the economic impact of the corona pandemic “could be the end” for the organizations. Almost all of the staff will be temporarily laid off, and the print editions will cease to be published for now.
VonKanael said in a statement that the drastic move came because of a steep drop in ad revenue from local events and businesses, after many California cities closed “non-essential” businesses including movie theaters, concert venues and art galleries to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Chico News & Review reported losing 50% of its ad revenue in less than a week.
•••••
News of the recent closures and layoffs are a stark reminder of the precarious financial positioning of some local news organizations, and it comes exactly at a time when local outlets are a potentially lifesaving, trusted source of information for readers in communities across the US.
“The possibility of newspapers closing is incredibly worrisome right now, especially because the information we need around the coronavirus are things at the local and municipal level,” said Mike Rispoli, director of News Voices, a not-for-profit local news advocacy group.
Rispoli said the closure of local newspapers would leave many readers to seek information from major national news sources. Those sources have larger and more diverse revenue streams, wider circulations and bigger audiences, but they often lack the specific local information that people need to navigate their daily lives, he noted.
•••••
Saturday, March 21, 2020
US faces blood shortage as donation sites shutter
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/21/us-blood-donations-shortage-coronavirus
Victoria Bekiempis
Sat 21 Mar 2020 04.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 21 Mar 2020 04.02 EDT
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads across the US, a dangerous blood shortage threatens to create another public health crisis – with one medical director warning: “This could kill our patients.”
Coronavirus control methods mandate social distancing that has ranged from banning in-person seating in restaurants to closing schools to issuing shelter-in-place orders. Many places where blood donation might take place – such as campuses and libraries – are presently shuttered.
The result has been a disaster for blood donation as the medical sector finds its blood supplies running out.
The American Red Cross said that as of 19 March, more than 5,000 of its blood drives were canceled across the US over coronavirus concerns – resulting in approximately 170,000 fewer donations. More than 80% of donated blood collected from the Red Cross is from drives at places closed for social distancing: workplaces, schools, and college campuses.
•••••
Victoria Bekiempis
Sat 21 Mar 2020 04.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 21 Mar 2020 04.02 EDT
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads across the US, a dangerous blood shortage threatens to create another public health crisis – with one medical director warning: “This could kill our patients.”
Coronavirus control methods mandate social distancing that has ranged from banning in-person seating in restaurants to closing schools to issuing shelter-in-place orders. Many places where blood donation might take place – such as campuses and libraries – are presently shuttered.
The result has been a disaster for blood donation as the medical sector finds its blood supplies running out.
The American Red Cross said that as of 19 March, more than 5,000 of its blood drives were canceled across the US over coronavirus concerns – resulting in approximately 170,000 fewer donations. More than 80% of donated blood collected from the Red Cross is from drives at places closed for social distancing: workplaces, schools, and college campuses.
•••••
At least 4 U.S. senators sold stock after getting coronavirus threat briefings in January
https://fortune.com/2020/03/20/senators-burr-loeffler-sold-stock-coronavirus-threat-briefings-in-january/
By David Kocieniewski
and Bloomberg
March 20, 2020 4:54 AM EST
Four U.S. senators sold stock after receiving sensitive briefings in late January about the emerging threat of the coronavirus, sparking concerns that they put safeguarding their private finances before their duty to protect public health.
Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, and Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, both completed their sales at a time when the Trump administration and GOP leaders were downplaying the potential damage the virus might cause in the U.S. and before drastic stock-market plunges set off by the pandemic.
Burr is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which receives frequent briefings about threats facing the country, and has experience responding to public-health crises. Loeffler – who was appointed to her seat in December after Senator Johnny Isakson announced that he was resigning because of health problems – is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Jeffrey Sprecher.
Two other members of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and Senator James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, also sold stock after the briefings, according to financial records.
•••••
By David Kocieniewski
and Bloomberg
March 20, 2020 4:54 AM EST
Four U.S. senators sold stock after receiving sensitive briefings in late January about the emerging threat of the coronavirus, sparking concerns that they put safeguarding their private finances before their duty to protect public health.
Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, and Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, both completed their sales at a time when the Trump administration and GOP leaders were downplaying the potential damage the virus might cause in the U.S. and before drastic stock-market plunges set off by the pandemic.
Burr is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which receives frequent briefings about threats facing the country, and has experience responding to public-health crises. Loeffler – who was appointed to her seat in December after Senator Johnny Isakson announced that he was resigning because of health problems – is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Jeffrey Sprecher.
Two other members of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and Senator James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, also sold stock after the briefings, according to financial records.
•••••
Intelligence officials were warning Trump about a pandemic as early as January, but they 'couldn't get him to do anything about it'
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-intelligence-warned-trump-of-pandemic-in-january-2020-3
Sonam Sheth
Mar 20, 2020, 9:27 PM
United States intelligence agencies were warning President Donald Trump about an impending pandemic as early as January, The Washington Post reported.
Officials were giving Trump classified briefings on the matter at the same time that the president was publicly downplaying the risk of the novel coronavirus and insisting the US was well prepared to handle the outbreak.
The Post reported that intelligence documents closely tracked the virus' spread in Wuhan, China, where it originated and as it later progressed through mainland China, but they did not specify when the disease would make it to the US.
"The system was blinking red," one US official with access to the intelligence told The Post. Agencies "have been warning on this since January."
"Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn't get him to do anything about it," the official added.
•••••
Sonam Sheth
Mar 20, 2020, 9:27 PM
United States intelligence agencies were warning President Donald Trump about an impending pandemic as early as January, The Washington Post reported.
Officials were giving Trump classified briefings on the matter at the same time that the president was publicly downplaying the risk of the novel coronavirus and insisting the US was well prepared to handle the outbreak.
The Post reported that intelligence documents closely tracked the virus' spread in Wuhan, China, where it originated and as it later progressed through mainland China, but they did not specify when the disease would make it to the US.
"The system was blinking red," one US official with access to the intelligence told The Post. Agencies "have been warning on this since January."
"Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn't get him to do anything about it," the official added.
•••••
Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West, EU document says
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinformation/russia-deploying-coronavirus-disinformation-to-sow-panic-in-west-eu-document-says-idUSKBN21518F?mc_cid=02a4d0803e&mc_eid=fbfdc38749&fbclid=IwAR37lFRoEI6mu7rRNeUSoXTi0sU_OomENIW9s1_27PaRkGSzHk4w-LX8A3s
Robin Emmott
March 18, 2020 / 5:28 AM
Russian media have deployed a “significant disinformation campaign” against the West to worsen the impact of the coronavirus, generate panic and sow distrust, according to a European Union document seen by Reuters.
The Kremlin denied the allegations on Wednesday, saying they were unfounded and lacked common sense.
The EU document said the Russian campaign, pushing fake news online in English, Spanish, Italian, German and French, uses contradictory, confusing and malicious reports to make it harder for the EU to communicate its response to the pandemic.
“A significant disinformation campaign by Russian state media and pro-Kremlin outlets regarding COVID-19 is ongoing,” said the nine-page internal document, dated March 16, using the name of the disease that can be caused by the coronavirus.
•••••
Robin Emmott
March 18, 2020 / 5:28 AM
Russian media have deployed a “significant disinformation campaign” against the West to worsen the impact of the coronavirus, generate panic and sow distrust, according to a European Union document seen by Reuters.
The Kremlin denied the allegations on Wednesday, saying they were unfounded and lacked common sense.
The EU document said the Russian campaign, pushing fake news online in English, Spanish, Italian, German and French, uses contradictory, confusing and malicious reports to make it harder for the EU to communicate its response to the pandemic.
“A significant disinformation campaign by Russian state media and pro-Kremlin outlets regarding COVID-19 is ongoing,” said the nine-page internal document, dated March 16, using the name of the disease that can be caused by the coronavirus.
•••••
Friday, March 20, 2020
Autism rates declining among wealthy whites, while escalating among poor, minorities
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/uoca-ard032020.php
News Release 20-Mar-2020
University of Colorado at Boulder
Wealthy, white California counties--once considered the nation's hotbeds for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)--have seen prevalence flatten or fall in the last two decades, while rates among poor whites and minorities keep ticking up, new CU Boulder research has found.
The study, published March 19 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, raises the possibility that parents in wealthier counties are successfully reducing environmental exposures that may contribute to autism risk, or taking other steps to curb its severity early on.
•••••
Some health experts have attributed such increases among minorities to better screening and diagnosis, but the authors believe environmental factors also play a role.
Just which factors may be at play is unclear, but Parker notes that many of the same things that fuel disease-causing inflammation--toxins, unhealthy food and emotional stress--are also associated with autism. And lower-income and minority families tend to have a harder time accessing or affording healthier lifestyle options.
Established risk factors associated with autism include: advanced parental age, challenges to the immune system during pregnancy, genetic mutations, premature birth and being a twin or multiple.
The authors cannot say if their findings would translate to other counties around the country or to milder forms of autism. They also cannot rule out that wealthy families are opting out of state services in favor of private services. More research is underway.
•••••
News Release 20-Mar-2020
University of Colorado at Boulder
Wealthy, white California counties--once considered the nation's hotbeds for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)--have seen prevalence flatten or fall in the last two decades, while rates among poor whites and minorities keep ticking up, new CU Boulder research has found.
The study, published March 19 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, raises the possibility that parents in wealthier counties are successfully reducing environmental exposures that may contribute to autism risk, or taking other steps to curb its severity early on.
•••••
Some health experts have attributed such increases among minorities to better screening and diagnosis, but the authors believe environmental factors also play a role.
Just which factors may be at play is unclear, but Parker notes that many of the same things that fuel disease-causing inflammation--toxins, unhealthy food and emotional stress--are also associated with autism. And lower-income and minority families tend to have a harder time accessing or affording healthier lifestyle options.
Established risk factors associated with autism include: advanced parental age, challenges to the immune system during pregnancy, genetic mutations, premature birth and being a twin or multiple.
The authors cannot say if their findings would translate to other counties around the country or to milder forms of autism. They also cannot rule out that wealthy families are opting out of state services in favor of private services. More research is underway.
•••••
E-cigarette users had substances linked to bladder cancer in urine, review finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/ulcc-euh031920.php
News Release 19-Mar-2020
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
An analysis of evidence from multiple scientific studies found six substances that have a strong link to bladder cancer in the urine of people who had used electronic cigarettes and sometimes other tobacco products, researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and NYU Langone Health reported.
•••••
News Release 19-Mar-2020
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
An analysis of evidence from multiple scientific studies found six substances that have a strong link to bladder cancer in the urine of people who had used electronic cigarettes and sometimes other tobacco products, researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and NYU Langone Health reported.
•••••
Can stress trigger a second heart attack? Yes, new research suggests
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/acoc-cst031720.php
News Release 19-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
We all have stress in our lives--whether it's due to financial woes, work pressures, relationship issues, illness or even natural disasters or health crises like the emerging coronavirus. For some people who survive a heart attack, it seems mental stress--as opposed to physical stress--may be a stronger predictor of a repeat heart attack or dying from heart disease, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
•••••
News Release 19-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
We all have stress in our lives--whether it's due to financial woes, work pressures, relationship issues, illness or even natural disasters or health crises like the emerging coronavirus. For some people who survive a heart attack, it seems mental stress--as opposed to physical stress--may be a stronger predictor of a repeat heart attack or dying from heart disease, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
•••••
Patients with type 2 diabetes belonging to online support groups have poorer health
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/upf--pwt031920.php
Maybe people with poorer health are more likely to belong to online support groups, to try to get health or emotional support.
News Release 19-Mar-2020
Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona
Diabetes is a disease that affects people's lives more in the long term and requires emotional support and information. It is increasingly common for people with diabetes to participate in digital communities and seek help in so-called OSGs (online support groups) to share experiences and glean information. This social phenomenon has been little studied.
•••••
Analysis of the study data has shown that "people with diabetes who participate in these groups generally have worse health than those who do not and, in addition, they also have more disease-related complications (neuropathy, nephropathy, etc.)", says Herrero, who plans to continue in the course of her doctoral studies at the Department of Communication at UPF with this line of research taking the role of health personnel and technologies available to patients into account.
The results indicate that participants in these forums present lower levels of disease management, and more disease-related health complications. So far, this connection is not statistically significant for users with type 1 diabetes, but is strong for users with type 2 diabetes, the authors suggest in their article.
The findings of this research are very important because people with diabetes, as occurs with other diseases, look to the Internet and social networks for information and support, and it may be that, contrary to what they might believe, the information they find there may not be sufficiently reliable and their consultation could be counterproductive for their health.
US sees sharp increase in hypertension-related deaths
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/acoc-uss031720.php
News Release 19-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
While it typically has no symptoms, high blood pressure--or hypertension--has serious health consequences. Rates of deaths related to hypertension have risen by 72% and 20% in rural and urban areas of the U.S., respectively, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
Hypertension is defined by the ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure in Adults guideline as blood pressure consistently above 130 mm Hg systolic pressure or 80 mm Hg diastolic pressure and is a leading risk factor for heart disease. Over time, high blood pressure causes damage to arteries and restricts blood flow, which can weaken the heart muscle or lead to events such as a heart attack or stroke. The study reveals a dramatic uptick in hypertension-related deaths nationwide between 2007 and 2017.
•••••
Nambiar said that a combination of poor diet, a high prevalence of obesity and diabetes and a lack of access to health care could contribute to the regional differences. She added that targeted public health measures could help close the gap by addressing some of those factors.
•••••
Since the increase in hypertension-related deaths does not align with trends in coronary heart disease deaths, Nambiar said the data could suggest an increased prevalence of heart failure, a form of heart disease in which the heart becomes too weak to adequately pump blood through the body.
•••••
News Release 19-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
While it typically has no symptoms, high blood pressure--or hypertension--has serious health consequences. Rates of deaths related to hypertension have risen by 72% and 20% in rural and urban areas of the U.S., respectively, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
Hypertension is defined by the ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure in Adults guideline as blood pressure consistently above 130 mm Hg systolic pressure or 80 mm Hg diastolic pressure and is a leading risk factor for heart disease. Over time, high blood pressure causes damage to arteries and restricts blood flow, which can weaken the heart muscle or lead to events such as a heart attack or stroke. The study reveals a dramatic uptick in hypertension-related deaths nationwide between 2007 and 2017.
•••••
Nambiar said that a combination of poor diet, a high prevalence of obesity and diabetes and a lack of access to health care could contribute to the regional differences. She added that targeted public health measures could help close the gap by addressing some of those factors.
•••••
Since the increase in hypertension-related deaths does not align with trends in coronary heart disease deaths, Nambiar said the data could suggest an increased prevalence of heart failure, a form of heart disease in which the heart becomes too weak to adequately pump blood through the body.
•••••
'Sushi parasites' have increased 283-fold in past 40 years
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/uow-ph031520.php
News Release 19-Mar-2020
University of Washington
The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms.
A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm.
•••••
Despite their name, herring worms can be found in a variety of marine fish and squid species. When people eat live herring worms, the parasite can invade the intestinal wall and cause symptoms that mimic those of food poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In most cases, the worm dies after a few days and the symptoms disappear. This disease, called anisakiasis or anisakidosis, is rarely diagnosed because most people assume they merely suffered a bad case of food poisoning, Wood explained.
•••••
Seafood processors and sushi chefs are well-practiced at spotting the worms in fish and picking them out before they reach customers in grocery stores, seafood markets or sushi bars, Wood explained. The worms can be up to 2 centimeters in length, or about the size of a U.S. 5-cent nickel.
"At every stage of seafood processing and sushi preparation, people are good at finding worms and removing them from fish," Wood said.
Some worms can make it past these screening steps. Still, Wood -- who studies a range of marine parasites -- said she enjoys eating sushi regularly. For sushi consumers who remain concerned about these worms, she recommends cutting each piece in half and looking for worms before eating it.
•••••
The authors aren't sure what caused the large increase of Anisakis worms over the past several decades, but climate change, more nutrients from fertilizers and runoff, and an increase in marine mammal populations over the same period could all be potential reasons, they said.
•••••
News Release 19-Mar-2020
University of Washington
The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms.
A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm.
•••••
Despite their name, herring worms can be found in a variety of marine fish and squid species. When people eat live herring worms, the parasite can invade the intestinal wall and cause symptoms that mimic those of food poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In most cases, the worm dies after a few days and the symptoms disappear. This disease, called anisakiasis or anisakidosis, is rarely diagnosed because most people assume they merely suffered a bad case of food poisoning, Wood explained.
•••••
Seafood processors and sushi chefs are well-practiced at spotting the worms in fish and picking them out before they reach customers in grocery stores, seafood markets or sushi bars, Wood explained. The worms can be up to 2 centimeters in length, or about the size of a U.S. 5-cent nickel.
"At every stage of seafood processing and sushi preparation, people are good at finding worms and removing them from fish," Wood said.
Some worms can make it past these screening steps. Still, Wood -- who studies a range of marine parasites -- said she enjoys eating sushi regularly. For sushi consumers who remain concerned about these worms, she recommends cutting each piece in half and looking for worms before eating it.
•••••
The authors aren't sure what caused the large increase of Anisakis worms over the past several decades, but climate change, more nutrients from fertilizers and runoff, and an increase in marine mammal populations over the same period could all be potential reasons, they said.
•••••
Certain cancers come with higher risk of serious heart rhythm disorder
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/acoc-ccc031620.php
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
•••••
"When we looked at everyone with some form of AFib, those with certain types of cancer were more likely to have heart rhythm abnormalities, and this trend persisted even after accounting for other cardiovascular risk factors and disease," said Muhammad Khan, MD, a resident at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and the study's lead author. "We found 2.3-fold increased odds of having AFib with all cancers studied. There was a greater than 50% increased risk of AFib in prostate, colon and lung cancer patients. Of these three, those with prostate cancer had the highest risk of AFib."
•••••
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
•••••
"When we looked at everyone with some form of AFib, those with certain types of cancer were more likely to have heart rhythm abnormalities, and this trend persisted even after accounting for other cardiovascular risk factors and disease," said Muhammad Khan, MD, a resident at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and the study's lead author. "We found 2.3-fold increased odds of having AFib with all cancers studied. There was a greater than 50% increased risk of AFib in prostate, colon and lung cancer patients. Of these three, those with prostate cancer had the highest risk of AFib."
•••••
Music as medicine? 30 minutes a day shows benefits after heart attack
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/acoc-mam031620.php
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
Listening to music can be enjoyable, but is it also good for your heart? Patients who suffered episodes of chest pain soon after a heart attack, known as early post-infarction angina, had significantly lower levels of anxiety and pain if they listened to music for 30 minutes a day, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
•••••
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
Listening to music can be enjoyable, but is it also good for your heart? Patients who suffered episodes of chest pain soon after a heart attack, known as early post-infarction angina, had significantly lower levels of anxiety and pain if they listened to music for 30 minutes a day, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
•••••
To reap heart benefits of a plant-based diet, avoid junk food
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/acoc-trh031620.php
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
Plant-based diets are becoming more popular in many areas of the world, but the health benefits of this dietary pattern may depend largely on the specific foods consumed. A new study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC) suggests that people following a plant-based diet who frequently consumed less-healthful foods like sweets, refined grains and juice showed no heart health benefit compared with those who did not eat a plant-based diet.
"Based on these results, it seems that simply following a plant-based or vegetarian diet is not enough to reduce cardiovascular disease risk," said Demosthenes Panagiotakos, PhD, professor of biostatistics, research methods and epidemiology at Harokopio University of Athens, Greece and the study's lead author. "It is also important to focus on specific, healthful plant-based food groups to see a benefit in terms of reducing cardiovascular disease."
•••••
News Release 18-Mar-2020
American College of Cardiology
Plant-based diets are becoming more popular in many areas of the world, but the health benefits of this dietary pattern may depend largely on the specific foods consumed. A new study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC) suggests that people following a plant-based diet who frequently consumed less-healthful foods like sweets, refined grains and juice showed no heart health benefit compared with those who did not eat a plant-based diet.
"Based on these results, it seems that simply following a plant-based or vegetarian diet is not enough to reduce cardiovascular disease risk," said Demosthenes Panagiotakos, PhD, professor of biostatistics, research methods and epidemiology at Harokopio University of Athens, Greece and the study's lead author. "It is also important to focus on specific, healthful plant-based food groups to see a benefit in terms of reducing cardiovascular disease."
•••••
Media reports of celebrity suicide linked to increased suicide rates
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/b-mro031720.php
News Release 18-Mar-2020
BMJ
Media reporting of suicide, especially celebrity suicides, is associated with increases in suicide in the general population, particularly by the same method as used by the celebrity, finds an analysis of the latest evidence published by The BMJ today.
•••••
News Release 18-Mar-2020
BMJ
Media reporting of suicide, especially celebrity suicides, is associated with increases in suicide in the general population, particularly by the same method as used by the celebrity, finds an analysis of the latest evidence published by The BMJ today.
•••••
Netflix announces $100M relief fund after TV and film production halted
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/20/netflix-100-million-fund/
Anthony Ha@anthonyha / 3:34 pm EDT • March 20, 2020
When it comes to the entertainment industry, the COVID-19 outbreak isn’t just affecting movie theaters — it has also halted TV and film production around the world. For Netflix, that has included production on high-profile titles like “The Witcher” and “Stranger Things.”
So the streaming company just announced that it has created a $100 million fund that it says will support the cast and crew who have suddenly found themselves out of work.
In the announcement, Netflix Chief Creative Ted Sarandos said that there are now “hundreds of thousands of cast and crew without jobs,” including “electricians, carpenters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis.”
He said that most of this money will go to “the hardest hit workers on our own productions around the world” — though it sounds like the company is still figuring out exactly what form that support will take. (Sarandos noted that Netflix is already providing two weeks’ pay to the productions suspended last week.)
In addition, Sarandos said $15 million will go to “third parties and non-profits providing emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast in the countries where we have a large production base.”
•••••
Anthony Ha@anthonyha / 3:34 pm EDT • March 20, 2020
When it comes to the entertainment industry, the COVID-19 outbreak isn’t just affecting movie theaters — it has also halted TV and film production around the world. For Netflix, that has included production on high-profile titles like “The Witcher” and “Stranger Things.”
So the streaming company just announced that it has created a $100 million fund that it says will support the cast and crew who have suddenly found themselves out of work.
In the announcement, Netflix Chief Creative Ted Sarandos said that there are now “hundreds of thousands of cast and crew without jobs,” including “electricians, carpenters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis.”
He said that most of this money will go to “the hardest hit workers on our own productions around the world” — though it sounds like the company is still figuring out exactly what form that support will take. (Sarandos noted that Netflix is already providing two weeks’ pay to the productions suspended last week.)
In addition, Sarandos said $15 million will go to “third parties and non-profits providing emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast in the countries where we have a large production base.”
•••••
Coronavirus in California: Toilet paper alternatives cause sewer problems
https://nypost.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-in-california-toilet-paper-alternatives-cause-sewer-problems/
By Yaron Steinbuch
March 20, 2020 | 8:08am
Some desperate California residents resorted to using shredded T-shirts in the absence of toilet paper during the coronavirus crisis – but ended up wiping out a sewer line.
Wastewater management officials in Redding said workers had to take swift action to prevent a dangerous spill after the soiled fabric caused a backup.
“The pumps were clogged by what appeared to be shredded T-shirts that were used in place of toilet paper,” the city said, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.
As a result of the crappy situation, officials put out the word: “Bag it. Don’t flush it.”
•••••
By Yaron Steinbuch
March 20, 2020 | 8:08am
Some desperate California residents resorted to using shredded T-shirts in the absence of toilet paper during the coronavirus crisis – but ended up wiping out a sewer line.
Wastewater management officials in Redding said workers had to take swift action to prevent a dangerous spill after the soiled fabric caused a backup.
“The pumps were clogged by what appeared to be shredded T-shirts that were used in place of toilet paper,” the city said, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.
As a result of the crappy situation, officials put out the word: “Bag it. Don’t flush it.”
•••••
A uninsured cancer patient who tested positive for COVID-19 was billed $34,927.43
https://news.yahoo.com/uninsured-cancer-patient-tested-positive-195906049.html
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz)
,INSIDER•March 20, 2020
Danni Askini tested positive for coronavirus after three trips to the ER and was billed nearly $35,000 for her tests and treatment.
Now recovered, Askini has applied for Medicaid and is hoping the program will retroactively cover her bills.
The US government has since passed a law that makes coronavirus testing free, but treatment can still be expensive.
•••••
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz)
,INSIDER•March 20, 2020
Danni Askini tested positive for coronavirus after three trips to the ER and was billed nearly $35,000 for her tests and treatment.
Now recovered, Askini has applied for Medicaid and is hoping the program will retroactively cover her bills.
The US government has since passed a law that makes coronavirus testing free, but treatment can still be expensive.
•••••
Returning troops denied water, bathrooms under quarantine
https://news.yahoo.com/military-works-improve-conditions-quarantined-163810271.html
LOLITA C. BALDOR
,Associated Press•March 20, 2020
It wasn’t the welcome home that U.S. soldiers expected when they returned from war zones in the Middle East in the past week.
When their planes landed at Fort Bliss, Texas, they were herded into buses, denied water and the use of bathrooms, then quarantined in packed barracks, with little food or access to the outdoors. “This is no way to treat Soldiers returning from war,” one soldier told The Associated Press in an email.
The soldiers posted notes on social media about the poor conditions. Their complaints got quick attention from senior Army and Pentagon leaders. Now changes are under way at Fort Bliss and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where the first soldiers placed under quarantine also complained of poor, cramped conditions.
•••••
Fort Bliss said that the food service plan has already increased to give troops three hot meals a day and that soldiers are now getting donated snacks and are allowed to order food and have it delivered to a central location. The troops are also allowed to go outside more and will get more access to gym equipment.
Another soldier at Bliss, who had been deployed to Kuwait, said in a message that the food has gotten better and troops are now allowed to go outside more. But as they begin Day Six there, packages have been held up and there has been no access to laundry facilities.
•••••
LOLITA C. BALDOR
,Associated Press•March 20, 2020
It wasn’t the welcome home that U.S. soldiers expected when they returned from war zones in the Middle East in the past week.
When their planes landed at Fort Bliss, Texas, they were herded into buses, denied water and the use of bathrooms, then quarantined in packed barracks, with little food or access to the outdoors. “This is no way to treat Soldiers returning from war,” one soldier told The Associated Press in an email.
The soldiers posted notes on social media about the poor conditions. Their complaints got quick attention from senior Army and Pentagon leaders. Now changes are under way at Fort Bliss and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where the first soldiers placed under quarantine also complained of poor, cramped conditions.
•••••
Fort Bliss said that the food service plan has already increased to give troops three hot meals a day and that soldiers are now getting donated snacks and are allowed to order food and have it delivered to a central location. The troops are also allowed to go outside more and will get more access to gym equipment.
Another soldier at Bliss, who had been deployed to Kuwait, said in a message that the food has gotten better and troops are now allowed to go outside more. But as they begin Day Six there, packages have been held up and there has been no access to laundry facilities.
•••••
The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What's Coming
https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-interview-larry-brilliant-smallpox-epidemiologist/?fbclid=IwAR0ZgrMJ7PTa21IMcqYcCF95GYWDHPf0Pch6lIoTk8RilXYxj93O63simdc
Steven Levy
03.19.2020 02:47 PM
Larry Brilliant says he doesn’t have a crystal ball. But 14 years ago, Brilliant, the epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox, spoke to a TED audience and described what the next pandemic would look like. At the time, it sounded almost too horrible to take seriously.
•••••
Now the unthinkable is here, and Brilliant, the Chairman of the board of Ending Pandemics, is sharing expertise with those on the front lines. We are a long way from 100 million deaths due to the novel coronavirus, but it has turned our world upside down. Brilliant is trying not to say “I told you so” too often. But he did tell us so, not only in talks and writings, but as the senior technical advisor for the pandemic horror film Contagion, now a top streaming selection for the homebound. Besides working with the World Health Organization in the effort to end smallpox, Brilliant, who is now 75, has fought flu, polio, and blindness; once led Google’s nonprofit wing, Google.org; co-founded the conferencing system the Well; and has traveled with the Grateful Dead.
•••••
People say Contagion is prescient. We just saw the science. The whole epidemiological community has been warning everybody for the past 10 or 15 years that it wasn't a question of whether we were going to have a pandemic like this. It was simply when. It's really hard to get people to listen. I mean, Trump pushed out the admiral on the National Security Council, who was the only person at that level who's responsible for pandemic defense. With him went his entire downline of employees and staff and relationships. And then Trump removed the [early warning] funding for countries around the world.
•••••
did we get good advice from the president of the United States for the first 12 weeks? No. All we got were lies. Saying it’s fake, by saying this is a Democratic hoax. There are still people today who believe that, to their detriment. Speaking as a public health person, this is the most irresponsible act of an elected official that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. But what you're hearing now [to self-isolate, close schools, cancel events] is right. Is it going to protect us completely? Is it going to make the world safe forever? No. It's a great thing because we want to spread out the disease over time.
•••••
By slowing it down or flattening it, we're not going to decrease the total number of cases, we're going to postpone many cases, until we get a vaccine—which we will, because there's nothing in the virology that makes me frightened that we won’t get a vaccine in 12 to 18 months. Eventually, we will get to the epidemiologist gold ring.
That means, A, a large enough quantity of us have caught the disease and become immune. And B, we have a vaccine. The combination of A plus B is enough to create herd immunity, which is around 70 or 80 percent.
•••••
I don't want to pretend that this is an exercise worth going through in order to get to that state. This is a really unprecedented and difficult time that will test us. When we do get through it, maybe like the Second World War, it will cause us to reexamine what has caused the fractional division we have in this country. The virus is an equal opportunity infector. And it’s probably the way we would be better if we saw ourselves that way, which is much more alike than different.
Steven Levy
03.19.2020 02:47 PM
Larry Brilliant says he doesn’t have a crystal ball. But 14 years ago, Brilliant, the epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox, spoke to a TED audience and described what the next pandemic would look like. At the time, it sounded almost too horrible to take seriously.
•••••
Now the unthinkable is here, and Brilliant, the Chairman of the board of Ending Pandemics, is sharing expertise with those on the front lines. We are a long way from 100 million deaths due to the novel coronavirus, but it has turned our world upside down. Brilliant is trying not to say “I told you so” too often. But he did tell us so, not only in talks and writings, but as the senior technical advisor for the pandemic horror film Contagion, now a top streaming selection for the homebound. Besides working with the World Health Organization in the effort to end smallpox, Brilliant, who is now 75, has fought flu, polio, and blindness; once led Google’s nonprofit wing, Google.org; co-founded the conferencing system the Well; and has traveled with the Grateful Dead.
•••••
People say Contagion is prescient. We just saw the science. The whole epidemiological community has been warning everybody for the past 10 or 15 years that it wasn't a question of whether we were going to have a pandemic like this. It was simply when. It's really hard to get people to listen. I mean, Trump pushed out the admiral on the National Security Council, who was the only person at that level who's responsible for pandemic defense. With him went his entire downline of employees and staff and relationships. And then Trump removed the [early warning] funding for countries around the world.
•••••
did we get good advice from the president of the United States for the first 12 weeks? No. All we got were lies. Saying it’s fake, by saying this is a Democratic hoax. There are still people today who believe that, to their detriment. Speaking as a public health person, this is the most irresponsible act of an elected official that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. But what you're hearing now [to self-isolate, close schools, cancel events] is right. Is it going to protect us completely? Is it going to make the world safe forever? No. It's a great thing because we want to spread out the disease over time.
•••••
By slowing it down or flattening it, we're not going to decrease the total number of cases, we're going to postpone many cases, until we get a vaccine—which we will, because there's nothing in the virology that makes me frightened that we won’t get a vaccine in 12 to 18 months. Eventually, we will get to the epidemiologist gold ring.
That means, A, a large enough quantity of us have caught the disease and become immune. And B, we have a vaccine. The combination of A plus B is enough to create herd immunity, which is around 70 or 80 percent.
•••••
I don't want to pretend that this is an exercise worth going through in order to get to that state. This is a really unprecedented and difficult time that will test us. When we do get through it, maybe like the Second World War, it will cause us to reexamine what has caused the fractional division we have in this country. The virus is an equal opportunity infector. And it’s probably the way we would be better if we saw ourselves that way, which is much more alike than different.
USDA fights to purge food stamps recipients despite pandemic
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/usda-fights-to-purge-food-stamps-recipients-despite-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR0ezdfsX-eFOhNnEqtSwyw0DdX-5EyVrFZL-8MYaIVkhmOA6lOHqlaPDQo
Mar 18, 2020 7:13 PM EDT
The Agriculture Department said Wednesday that it would appeal a judge’s ruling that it would be “arbitrary and capricious” to move forward during a global health crisis with food stamp changes that could force hundreds of thousands from the program.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that “USDA disagrees with the court’s reasoning and will appeal its decision.”
Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they’ve worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps.
However, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would have taken that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000.
In response to a lawsuit brought by a group of state attorneys general, Howell ordered a freeze on the changes.
•••••
Vollinger said that if the Agriculture Department really does intend to fight for the SNAP program changes, it might end up publicly clashing with Congress. The economic relief package recently approved by the House also suspends the government’s ability to remove SNAP benefits over the work requirement.
Mar 18, 2020 7:13 PM EDT
The Agriculture Department said Wednesday that it would appeal a judge’s ruling that it would be “arbitrary and capricious” to move forward during a global health crisis with food stamp changes that could force hundreds of thousands from the program.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that “USDA disagrees with the court’s reasoning and will appeal its decision.”
Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they’ve worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps.
However, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would have taken that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000.
In response to a lawsuit brought by a group of state attorneys general, Howell ordered a freeze on the changes.
•••••
Vollinger said that if the Agriculture Department really does intend to fight for the SNAP program changes, it might end up publicly clashing with Congress. The economic relief package recently approved by the House also suspends the government’s ability to remove SNAP benefits over the work requirement.
Taxes 2020: April 15 federal tax filing deadline extended to July 15
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/20/taxes-2020-irs-delay-april-15-tax-filing-deadline-july-15/2883840001/
I'm sure AARP was letting them know how badly this was needed for the people who depend on Tax-Aide, which has been suspended because of Covid-19. A large percentage of our volunteers and clients are retired and older.
Jessica Menton
Mar. 20, 2020
The Trump administration will push the income tax filing deadline to July 15 from April 15, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday in a tweet.
Mnuchin said that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.”
Earlier this week, the IRS had deferred the payment deadline to July 15 but had left the April 15 filing deadline in place.
If you’re getting a refund, experts suggest still filing as soon as possible.
•••••
We shouldn't have to pay for Jack Dorsey's $40m estate when it crumbles into the sea
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/08/california-climate-crisis-jack-dorsey-home
Adrian Daub
Sun 8 Mar 2020 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Wed 11 Mar 2020 06.26 EDT
Even by the standards of overpriced San Francisco, the Sea Cliff neighborhood is astronomically expensive. Nestled between two gorgeous parks and with what a realtor might describe as commanding views of the Golden Gate, it could hardly be different. Homes in the area routinely go for more than $10m. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and the payment service Square, recently bought a place here for $21.5m – next door to his $18m present home. The 0.62-acre compound is recessed from the street and perched on a cliff overlooking the beach.
And that’s where things get interesting, because cliffside living has become an increasingly risky proposition in California. Warming ocean temperatures are whipping up stronger surfs and more brutal winter storms, causing cliffs to crumble ever faster into the sea. The consequences for thousands of cliff-top houses such as Dorsey’s could be catastrophic. Still, @Jack’s bet isn’t a bad one: depending on when the house goes over the edge, it might well be the rest of us that gets stuck with the bill.
That’s because most of the cost of protecting California properties from coastal erosion, wildfires and other effects of the climate crisis will eventually have to be met by the state, with public money. This means those costs won’t fall on the disproportionately white and wealthy people who own property. Rather, they’ll be increasingly borne by the working- and middle-class Hispanic, black and brown Californians that make up the majority of the state, many of whom don’t own real estate. Without really grappling with this reality, the state is slipping step by step towards a massive wealth transfer from the general public to the owners of private property. It’s one more way in which the climate crisis is also a crisis of racism and inequality.
•••••
Adrian Daub
Sun 8 Mar 2020 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Wed 11 Mar 2020 06.26 EDT
Even by the standards of overpriced San Francisco, the Sea Cliff neighborhood is astronomically expensive. Nestled between two gorgeous parks and with what a realtor might describe as commanding views of the Golden Gate, it could hardly be different. Homes in the area routinely go for more than $10m. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and the payment service Square, recently bought a place here for $21.5m – next door to his $18m present home. The 0.62-acre compound is recessed from the street and perched on a cliff overlooking the beach.
And that’s where things get interesting, because cliffside living has become an increasingly risky proposition in California. Warming ocean temperatures are whipping up stronger surfs and more brutal winter storms, causing cliffs to crumble ever faster into the sea. The consequences for thousands of cliff-top houses such as Dorsey’s could be catastrophic. Still, @Jack’s bet isn’t a bad one: depending on when the house goes over the edge, it might well be the rest of us that gets stuck with the bill.
That’s because most of the cost of protecting California properties from coastal erosion, wildfires and other effects of the climate crisis will eventually have to be met by the state, with public money. This means those costs won’t fall on the disproportionately white and wealthy people who own property. Rather, they’ll be increasingly borne by the working- and middle-class Hispanic, black and brown Californians that make up the majority of the state, many of whom don’t own real estate. Without really grappling with this reality, the state is slipping step by step towards a massive wealth transfer from the general public to the owners of private property. It’s one more way in which the climate crisis is also a crisis of racism and inequality.
•••••
Sen. Kelly Loeffler Dumped Millions in Stock After Coronavirus Briefing
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing?source=facebook&via=desktop&fbclid=IwAR3HY-Q433FiT1J1wPCBzdR2kw2kfKx2dx8JsVWYjfeZkK5YU7GSn9_HzTI
Lachlan Markay
William Bredderman
Sam Brodey
Updated Mar. 19, 2020 9:38PM ET / Published Mar. 19, 2020 8:49PM ET
The Senate’s newest member sold off seven figures worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Health of the United States, on the coronavirus.
•••••
It was the first of 29 stock transactions that Loeffler and her husband made through mid-February, all but two of which were sales. One of Loeffler’s two purchases was stock worth between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software and which has seen a small bump in its stock price since Loeffler bought in as a result of coronavirus-induced market turmoil.
•••••
It’s illegal for members of Congress to trade on non-public information gleaned through their official duties.
In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus.
“Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on #Coronavirus readiness,” she tweeted on February 28. “Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”
“Concerned about #coronavirus?” she tweeted on March 10. “Remember this: The consumer is strong, the economy is strong, & jobs are growing, which puts us in the best economic position to tackle #COVID19 & keep Americans safe.”
•••••
The 15 stocks that Loeffler reported selling have lost more than a third of their value, on average, since she reported offloading them. She initially reported many of the transactions as sales of stock owned by her husband. Last week she amended the filing to note that most of them were jointly owned.
•••••
Lachlan Markay
William Bredderman
Sam Brodey
Updated Mar. 19, 2020 9:38PM ET / Published Mar. 19, 2020 8:49PM ET
The Senate’s newest member sold off seven figures worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Health of the United States, on the coronavirus.
•••••
It was the first of 29 stock transactions that Loeffler and her husband made through mid-February, all but two of which were sales. One of Loeffler’s two purchases was stock worth between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software and which has seen a small bump in its stock price since Loeffler bought in as a result of coronavirus-induced market turmoil.
•••••
It’s illegal for members of Congress to trade on non-public information gleaned through their official duties.
In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus.
“Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on #Coronavirus readiness,” she tweeted on February 28. “Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”
“Concerned about #coronavirus?” she tweeted on March 10. “Remember this: The consumer is strong, the economy is strong, & jobs are growing, which puts us in the best economic position to tackle #COVID19 & keep Americans safe.”
•••••
The 15 stocks that Loeffler reported selling have lost more than a third of their value, on average, since she reported offloading them. She initially reported many of the transactions as sales of stock owned by her husband. Last week she amended the filing to note that most of them were jointly owned.
•••••
Senator Dumped Up to $1.7 Million of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus Preparedness
https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-dumped-up-to-1-6-million-of-stock-after-reassuring-public-about-coronavirus-preparedness
Well, it didn't take long for my surmise to be verified.
by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis March 19, 5:01 p.m. EDT
Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions.
•••••
by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis March 19, 5:01 p.m. EDT
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., reassured the public about coronavirus preparedness and then soon dumped stocks. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Series: Coronavirus
Is the United States Prepared for COVID-19?
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Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions.
As the head of the intelligence committee, Burr, a North Carolina Republican, has access to the government’s most highly classified information about threats to America’s security. His committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings around this time, according to a Reuters story.
A week after Burr’s sales, the stock market began a sharp decline and has lost about 30% since.
On Thursday, Burr came under fire after NPR obtained a secret recording from Feb. 27, in which the lawmaker gave a VIP group at an exclusive social club a much more dire preview of the economic impact of the coronavirus than what he had told the public.
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“Senator Burr filed a financial disclosure form for personal transactions made several weeks before the U.S. and financial markets showed signs of volatility due to the growing coronavirus outbreak,” his spokesperson said. “As the situation continues to evolve daily, he has been deeply concerned by the steep and sudden toll this pandemic is taking on our economy.”
•••••
Members of Congress are required by law to disclose their securities transactions.
Burr was one of just three senators who in 2012 opposed the bill that explicitly barred lawmakers and their staff from using nonpublic information for trades and required regular disclosure of those trades. In opposing the bill, Burr argued at the time that insider trading laws already applied to members of Congress. President Barack Obama signed the bill, known as the STOCK Act, that year.
Stock transactions of lawmakers are reported in ranges. Burr’s Feb. 13 selling spree was his largest stock selling day of at least the past 14 months, according to a ProPublica review of Senate records. Unlike his typical disclosure reports, which are a mix of sales and purchases, all of the transactions were sales.
His biggest sales included companies that are among the most vulnerable to an economic slowdown. He dumped up to $150,000 worth of shares of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, a chain based in the United States that has lost two-thirds of its value. And he sold up to $100,000 of shares of Extended Stay America, an economy hospitality chain. Shares of that company are now worth less than half of what they did at the time Burr sold.
The assets come from accounts that are held by Burr, belong to his spouse or are jointly held.
•••••
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Scam to record you saying "yes"
https://www.fcc.gov/scam-glossary
I suspect someone tried to use this phone scam on me earlier this week. I screen calls thru my answering machine. A woman was leaving a message asking about something I had for sale, so I answered the phone to let her know she had the wrong number. When I answered and started telling her she had the wrong number, I didn't have anything for sale, she talked over me, repeating the same sentence about calling about something for sale. Then she started saying "hello" over and over. I knew not to say "yes", I asked a couple of times "can you hear me", then hung up.
"Can You Hear Me" Scam
Scammers open by asking a yes-or-no question, such as: "Can you hear me?" or "Is this X?" Their goal is to record you saying "yes" in response. They then may use that recording to authorize charges over the phone.
Intelligence Chairman Raised Virus Alarms Weeks Ago, Secret Recording Shows
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818192535/burr-recording-sparks-questions-about-private-comments-on-covid-19
How many of the people at the meeting made stock and business decisions based on this information?
Sen. Burr is a republican.
The NPR Morning Edition program can be heard at the following link:
Tim Mak
March 19, 20205:08 AM ET
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned a small group of well-connected constituents three weeks ago to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, according to a secret recording obtained by NPR.
The remarks from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr were more stark than any he had delivered in more public forums.
On Feb. 27, when the United States had 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19, President Trump was tamping down fears and suggesting that the virus could be seasonal.
"It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear," the president said then, before adding, "it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We'll see what happens."
On that same day, Burr attended a luncheon held at a social club called the Capitol Hill Club. And he delivered a much more alarming message.
"There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history," he said, according to a secret recording of the remarks obtained by NPR. "It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic."
•••••
Thirteen days before the State Department began to warn against travel to Europe, and 15 days before the Trump administration banned European travelers, Burr warned those in the room to reconsider.
•••••
Burr has a unique perspective on the government's response to a pandemic, and not just because of his role as Intelligence Committee chairman. He helped to write the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which forms the framework for the federal response.
But in his public comments about the threat of COVID-19, Burr never offered the kind of precise warning that he delivered to the small group of his constituents.
•••••
One public health expert told NPR that early warnings about a coming health crisis and its effects could have made a difference just a few weeks ago.
"In the interest of public health, we actually need to involve the public. It's right there in the name. And being transparent, being as clear as possible is very important," said Jason Silverstein, who lectures at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
"The type of language that could have come out there at the end of February saying here's what we ought to expect could have, you know, not panicked people, but gotten them all together to have to all prepare," Silverstein added.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
More than 80 national security professionals break with tradition and endorse a presidential candidate — Biden
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/more-than-80-national-security-professionals-break-with-tradition-and-endorse-a-presidential-candidate--biden/2020/03/18/448bdde6-6943-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html
By Ellen Nakashima
March 18, 2020 at 6:22 p.m. EDT
More than 80 career national security professionals have signed an open letter of support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying that President Trump “has created an existential danger to the United States.”
Most of the signatories, who include career diplomats, intelligence officers and defense policymakers, have served both Republican and Democratic administrations. They noted that their policy views cover a spectrum and as officials they “have often been in opposition, sometimes bitterly, with each other.”
But in a letter published online Wednesday, they expressed a shared belief that Trump’s approach to leadership has undermined the country’s role in the world.
“His reelection would continue this downward spiral and will likely have catastrophic results,” say the signatories, most of whom have never publicly endorsed a candidate for president.
•••••
“We need to restore courtesy, respectability and consensus decision-making based not on the personal interests of Donald J. Trump but on the personal interests of Americans,” said Wise, who retired in 2016 after 48 years of government service.
•••••
Paul Rosenzweig said he was a Republican but became an independent in 2017 because “the standard-bearer for my party no longer represented the values that I think the party should stand for.”
“Even though I am sure I will disagree with much of what [Biden] does, I am also certain that the overall result will be far superior under Biden than under Trump,” said Rosenzweig, who served as a senior policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and as a senior counsel to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in the Clinton administration.
•••••
By Ellen Nakashima
March 18, 2020 at 6:22 p.m. EDT
More than 80 career national security professionals have signed an open letter of support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying that President Trump “has created an existential danger to the United States.”
Most of the signatories, who include career diplomats, intelligence officers and defense policymakers, have served both Republican and Democratic administrations. They noted that their policy views cover a spectrum and as officials they “have often been in opposition, sometimes bitterly, with each other.”
But in a letter published online Wednesday, they expressed a shared belief that Trump’s approach to leadership has undermined the country’s role in the world.
“His reelection would continue this downward spiral and will likely have catastrophic results,” say the signatories, most of whom have never publicly endorsed a candidate for president.
•••••
“We need to restore courtesy, respectability and consensus decision-making based not on the personal interests of Donald J. Trump but on the personal interests of Americans,” said Wise, who retired in 2016 after 48 years of government service.
•••••
Paul Rosenzweig said he was a Republican but became an independent in 2017 because “the standard-bearer for my party no longer represented the values that I think the party should stand for.”
“Even though I am sure I will disagree with much of what [Biden] does, I am also certain that the overall result will be far superior under Biden than under Trump,” said Rosenzweig, who served as a senior policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and as a senior counsel to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in the Clinton administration.
•••••
Younger Adults Comprise Big Portion of Coronavirus Hospitalizations in U.S.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/health/coronavirus-young-people.html
By Pam Belluck
March 18, 2020, 7:04 p.m. ET
American adults of all ages — not just those in their 70s, 80s and 90s — are being seriously sickened by the coronavirus, according to a report on nearly 2,500 of the first recorded cases in the United States.
The report, issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that — as in other countries — the oldest patients had the greatest likelihood of dying and of being hospitalized. But of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger — between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who were admitted to intensive care units were adults under 65, the C.D.C. reported.
•••••
In the C.D.C. report, 20 percent of the hospitalized patients and 12 percent of the intensive care patients were between the ages of 20 and 44, basically spanning the millennial generation.
•••••
The risk of a patient requiring hospitalization or dying of the infection caused by the coronavirus increased with age, as has been the pattern in other countries.
•••••
The youngest age group, people 19 and under, accounted for less than 1 percent of the hospitalizations, and none of the I.C.U. admissions or deaths. This dovetails with data from other countries so far. This week, however, the largest study to date of pediatric cases in China found that a small segment of very young children may need hospitalization for very serious symptoms, and that one 14-year-old boy in China died from the virus.
•••••
By Pam Belluck
March 18, 2020, 7:04 p.m. ET
American adults of all ages — not just those in their 70s, 80s and 90s — are being seriously sickened by the coronavirus, according to a report on nearly 2,500 of the first recorded cases in the United States.
The report, issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that — as in other countries — the oldest patients had the greatest likelihood of dying and of being hospitalized. But of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger — between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who were admitted to intensive care units were adults under 65, the C.D.C. reported.
•••••
In the C.D.C. report, 20 percent of the hospitalized patients and 12 percent of the intensive care patients were between the ages of 20 and 44, basically spanning the millennial generation.
•••••
The risk of a patient requiring hospitalization or dying of the infection caused by the coronavirus increased with age, as has been the pattern in other countries.
•••••
The youngest age group, people 19 and under, accounted for less than 1 percent of the hospitalizations, and none of the I.C.U. admissions or deaths. This dovetails with data from other countries so far. This week, however, the largest study to date of pediatric cases in China found that a small segment of very young children may need hospitalization for very serious symptoms, and that one 14-year-old boy in China died from the virus.
•••••
IRS Issues Guidance On Tax Payment Deferrals, Confirms That Tax Filing Due Dates Have Not Been Extended
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2020/03/18/irs-issues-guidance-on-tax-payment-deferrals-confirms-that-tax-filing-due-dates-have-not-been-extended/#c3d3c3f48529
Not extending the deadline for filing income taxes is not good. Tax-Aide has been suspended for safety reasons, and many of our clients do feel able to figure out how to file their taxes themselves, and it would be a real hardship for them to have to pay a professional tax preparer. They might not be able to figure out how to file for an extension on their own.
Kelly Phillips Erb
Mar 18, 2020,03:41pm EDT
As the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the United States, the federal government is taking action to reduce the impact on taxpayers. Specifically, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has officially announced that the due date for making tax payments has been pushed to July 15, 2020.
•••••
Interest, penalties and additions to tax will accrue on tax in excess of the these amounts due but not paid by April 15, 2020.
•••••
The relief also does not apply to the filing of any tax return or information return. In other words, filing dates are not extended. The official deadline for filing your individual federal income tax returns remains April 15, 2020. If you need more time to file your federal income tax return, consider filing for an extension.
•••••
Social Security Administration is closing all of its local offices to the public
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/social-security-offices-are-shut-due-to-coronavirus-how-to-cope.html
Lorie Konish
Published Tue, Mar 17 202012:49 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Mar 18 20201:15 PM EDT
The Social Security Administration is closing all of its local offices to the public starting on Tuesday due to coronavirus.
•••••
Local offices will still be available by phone with a priority on critical services, the agency said. That includes benefit payments for those who did not receive their checks or need them reinstated; cases with severe blindness, disability or terminal illness; and eligibility decisions needed for urgent Medicaid approval.
Other in-person services, such as benefit verifications or getting a new or replacement Social Security card, may be delayed until the offices reopen.
•••••
Lorie Konish
Published Tue, Mar 17 202012:49 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Mar 18 20201:15 PM EDT
The Social Security Administration is closing all of its local offices to the public starting on Tuesday due to coronavirus.
•••••
Local offices will still be available by phone with a priority on critical services, the agency said. That includes benefit payments for those who did not receive their checks or need them reinstated; cases with severe blindness, disability or terminal illness; and eligibility decisions needed for urgent Medicaid approval.
Other in-person services, such as benefit verifications or getting a new or replacement Social Security card, may be delayed until the offices reopen.
•••••
The Emperor Has no Clothes
Mar. 18, 2020
Trump is calling Covid-19 the "Chinese" virus. Obviously he doesn't realize that mentioning that it originated on the other side of the world, where they experience the results before it got over here, just points up the fact that he chose to refuse to act right away even thought we had advance warning of the seriousness of the problem.
Cleave to your ideals
Mar. 18, 2020
I'm sure all good conservatives and libertarians will refuse help from governments if they are adversely affected by the Covid-19 shutdowns.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
What to expect when you get a coronavirus test: Stay calm, don't wiggle and it will take just 10 seconds
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/16/coronavirus-what-expect-when-you-get-tested-covid-19/5061120002/
Saw someone on Facebook claim the Covid-19 test just consists of swabbing a nostril, when he was claiming Trump didn't get the test. It's more invasive than that.
Jorge L. Ortiz
USA TODAY
Mar. 16, 2020
•••••
Experts say the process, though invasive and uncomfortable, is quite simple and quick, essentially the same as what’s done to test for the flu.
Patients have a swab – think of it as a long Q-tip – inserted through their nose to reach what's known as the nasopharyngeal region, from where cells are collected.
“If you were to open your mouth and say ‘Ahh’ and look straight back, that’s the region, right where the respiratory (tract) meets the back of your mouth,’’ said Kirsten Hokeness, an immunology expert who teaches at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. “The virus likes to latch on there and start replicating.’’
•••••
Between a rock and a hard place
March 17, 2020
Some people complain about the primaries that have been postponed, claim it's a plot against democracy. Then some people complain about the ones which were not postponed, putting people's health at risk.
15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home
https://playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home?fbclid=IwAR0-ODT5z-H_ta2b9SBIFn6goDTZ5WU67bQUs9JHfQLg-MyfTsiVt0KXQ7o
By Logan Culwell-Block
Oct 06, 2017
This article has been updated as of March 16, 2020.
While it used to be a rare treat when a Broadway show was filmed live on stage, it’s becoming more and more common today—great news for Broadway fans. Now, if you can’t make it to New York City or just want to see a show you may have missed, there’s an ever-growing list of productions available to watch wherever you are.
•••••
[See article for more info]
•••••
By Logan Culwell-Block
Oct 06, 2017
This article has been updated as of March 16, 2020.
While it used to be a rare treat when a Broadway show was filmed live on stage, it’s becoming more and more common today—great news for Broadway fans. Now, if you can’t make it to New York City or just want to see a show you may have missed, there’s an ever-growing list of productions available to watch wherever you are.
•••••
[See article for more info]
•••••
Air pollution likely to increase coronavirus death rate, warn experts
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/17/air-pollution-likely-to-increase-coronavirus-death-rate-warn-experts
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 17 Mar 2020 05.02 EDT
The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate from coronavirus infections, experts have said.
Dirty air is known to cause lung and heart damage and is responsible for at least 8m early deaths a year. This underlying health damage means respiratory infections, such as coronavirus, may well have a more serious impact on city dwellers and those exposed to toxic fumes, than on others.
However, strict confinement measures in China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, and in Italy, Europe’s most affected nation, have led to falls in air pollution as fewer vehicles are driven and industrial emissions fall. A preliminary calculation by a US expert suggests that tens of thousands of premature deaths from air pollution may have been avoided by the cleaner air in China, far higher than the 3,208 coronavirus deaths.
The experts stressed, however, that no one is claiming the pandemic can be seen as good for health and it is too early for conclusive studies to have been done. In particular, they said, other indirect health impacts of the coronavirus, via lost income and lack of treatment for other illnesses, will also be large.
•••••
The experts stressed, however, that no one is claiming the pandemic can be seen as good for health and it is too early for conclusive studies to have been done. In particular, they said, other indirect health impacts of the coronavirus, via lost income and lack of treatment for other illnesses, will also be large.
There is evidence from previous coronavirus outbreaks that those exposed to dirty air are more at risk of dying. Scientists who analysed the Sars coronavirus outbreak in China in 2003 found that infected people who lived in areas with more air pollution were twice as likely to die as those in less polluted places.
•••••
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 17 Mar 2020 05.02 EDT
The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate from coronavirus infections, experts have said.
Dirty air is known to cause lung and heart damage and is responsible for at least 8m early deaths a year. This underlying health damage means respiratory infections, such as coronavirus, may well have a more serious impact on city dwellers and those exposed to toxic fumes, than on others.
However, strict confinement measures in China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, and in Italy, Europe’s most affected nation, have led to falls in air pollution as fewer vehicles are driven and industrial emissions fall. A preliminary calculation by a US expert suggests that tens of thousands of premature deaths from air pollution may have been avoided by the cleaner air in China, far higher than the 3,208 coronavirus deaths.
The experts stressed, however, that no one is claiming the pandemic can be seen as good for health and it is too early for conclusive studies to have been done. In particular, they said, other indirect health impacts of the coronavirus, via lost income and lack of treatment for other illnesses, will also be large.
•••••
The experts stressed, however, that no one is claiming the pandemic can be seen as good for health and it is too early for conclusive studies to have been done. In particular, they said, other indirect health impacts of the coronavirus, via lost income and lack of treatment for other illnesses, will also be large.
There is evidence from previous coronavirus outbreaks that those exposed to dirty air are more at risk of dying. Scientists who analysed the Sars coronavirus outbreak in China in 2003 found that infected people who lived in areas with more air pollution were twice as likely to die as those in less polluted places.
•••••
I'm an Italian mom under coronavirus lockdown. Here's what I wish I had done differently before things got bad.
https://news.yahoo.com/m-italian-mom-under-coronavirus-152400574.html
Katherine Wilson)
,INSIDER•March 17, 2020
•••••
Katherine Wilson, a mother of two who lives in Rome, said she wished that she and other Italians had listened to warnings about the coronavirus. She warned Americans not to make "similar misguided choices."
In Italy right now, we are experiencing a complete and total national lockdown — something that might happen in the US in the near future.
The virus has ravaged our country. Hospitals in the north are on the verge of collapse. Intensive-care units are full of people who are elderly, but also people who are 40 and 50. The streets are empty, and restaurants are closed.
•••••
So, reasoning that this was a disease that didn't strike teenagers, we told them to wash their hands and unleashed them onto the sidewalks and piazzas, into other people's cars and homes.
Nearly two weeks later, I realize that this was a mistake. But this wasn't the only one that contributed to Italy's demise amid the coronavirus outbreak. To help prevent my American friends from making similar misguided choices, I've compiled a list of do's and don'ts for families in the US — a list I wish I'd had only a couple of weeks ago.
•••••
Do keep your children home
The only thing that could have prevented — or mitigated — this tragedy in Italy is social distancing.
I'm not talking about a high-five instead of a handshake, or grandchildren not hugging their grandparents. I'm talking about not being close to another human being who is not your immediate family. This is the only available and effective measure to help slow the transmission of the disease.
•••••
Do shop responsibly
There is no reason to hoard supplies. In Italy, even now, we are still allowed to go to the supermarket every day if we need to, and the shelves are full.
Instead of stocking up on toilet paper, buy food that you've always wanted to cook but never had the time to. In lockdown, you'll have the leisure to let things simmer, soak, and rise.
•••••
Don't obsessively read COVID-19 updates
As you're likely already aware, this pandemic can become addictive and horrifying. Reading about it can add stress and anxiety and encourage you to envision apocalyptic scenarios.
Instead, focus on what we can do that's actually effective: Wash our hands, take care of our health, and stay at home.
Katherine Wilson)
,INSIDER•March 17, 2020
•••••
Katherine Wilson, a mother of two who lives in Rome, said she wished that she and other Italians had listened to warnings about the coronavirus. She warned Americans not to make "similar misguided choices."
In Italy right now, we are experiencing a complete and total national lockdown — something that might happen in the US in the near future.
The virus has ravaged our country. Hospitals in the north are on the verge of collapse. Intensive-care units are full of people who are elderly, but also people who are 40 and 50. The streets are empty, and restaurants are closed.
•••••
So, reasoning that this was a disease that didn't strike teenagers, we told them to wash their hands and unleashed them onto the sidewalks and piazzas, into other people's cars and homes.
Nearly two weeks later, I realize that this was a mistake. But this wasn't the only one that contributed to Italy's demise amid the coronavirus outbreak. To help prevent my American friends from making similar misguided choices, I've compiled a list of do's and don'ts for families in the US — a list I wish I'd had only a couple of weeks ago.
•••••
Do keep your children home
The only thing that could have prevented — or mitigated — this tragedy in Italy is social distancing.
I'm not talking about a high-five instead of a handshake, or grandchildren not hugging their grandparents. I'm talking about not being close to another human being who is not your immediate family. This is the only available and effective measure to help slow the transmission of the disease.
•••••
Do shop responsibly
There is no reason to hoard supplies. In Italy, even now, we are still allowed to go to the supermarket every day if we need to, and the shelves are full.
Instead of stocking up on toilet paper, buy food that you've always wanted to cook but never had the time to. In lockdown, you'll have the leisure to let things simmer, soak, and rise.
•••••
Don't obsessively read COVID-19 updates
As you're likely already aware, this pandemic can become addictive and horrifying. Reading about it can add stress and anxiety and encourage you to envision apocalyptic scenarios.
Instead, focus on what we can do that's actually effective: Wash our hands, take care of our health, and stay at home.
Facebook is wrongly blocking some links, including coronavirus info
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/17/facebook-link-spam-filter-coronavirus/
Josh Constine@joshconstine / 7:25 pm EDT • March 17, 2020
Facebook is suffering from a massive bug in its News Feed spam filter, causing URLs to legitimate websites including Medium, Buzzfeed, and USA Today to be blocked from being shared as posts or comments. The issue is blocking shares of some but not all coronavirus-related content, while some unrelated links are allowed through and others are not. It’s not clear what exactly is or isn’t tripping the filter. Facebook has been trying to fight back against misinformation related to the outbreak, but may have gotten overzealous or experienced a technical error.
A source tipped us off and provided numerous examples of blocked links. We reached out to Facebook for comment and a company spokesperson told us “We’re looking into this right now and working as quickly as possible to share information. [I] can confirm at this point that we’re looking into the matter, can’t confirm what might be happening just yet.”
Facebook’s Guy Rosen later tweeted that “We’re on this – this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We’re in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back. More soon.” Facebook sent home its content moderators this week and announced it would be relying more on its artificial intelligence systems, warning it could make “more mistakes”.
•••••
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/17/21184445/facebook-marking-coronavirus-posts-spam-misinformation-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3RWu-MaGUUka8uaEfjRyCDjHivzmu5LEP_K1dHCQ2lw21Iqq3JuFhD1Zg
By Jay Peters@jaypeters Mar 17, 2020, 7:29pm EDT
•••••
Following publication of The Verge’s report, Rosen said Facebook ahd resolved th issue and restored the affected posts. “We’ve restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics — not just those related to COVID-19,” Rosen explained. According to Facebook, the issue was with an automated moderation tool and was not related to any changes to its moderator workforce.
The company previously announced that it would remove false claims and conspiracy theories about coronavirus in January. Facebook also joined Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube in publishing a joint statement yesterday committing to fighting coronavirus-related fraud and misinformation.
A new report published by Ranking Digital Rights argued on Tuesday that Facebook’s current approach to moderation may not be able to address the issue of coronavirus-related misinformation on its platform.
•••••
No blank check for airlines seeking coronavirus aid after spending $39 billion on stock buybacks, unions say
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-airline-aid-must-include-worker-protections-unions-say.html
Leslie Josephs, Lauren Hirsch
Published Tue, Mar 17 202011:58 AM EDT
The more than $50 billion in government aid U.S. airlines are seeking as the coronavirus ravages their businesses must include worker and consumer protections, some lawmakers and labor unions said.
•••••
Labor unions and lawmakers say that while the carriers didn’t cause the dire situation they’re now in, they shouldn’t get a blank check.
“We have told Congress that any funds for the aviation industry must come with strict rules,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents some 50,000 cabin crews at United, Alaska, Spirit and others. “That includes requiring employers across aviation to maintain pay and benefits for every worker. No taxpayer money for CEO bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. No breaking contracts through bankruptcy.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., on Monday tweeted her support of the framework laid out by Nelson.
The four biggest U.S. carriers — Delta, American, Southwest and United — have collectively spent about $39 billion over the last five years buying back shares, according to a tally from S&P Dow Jones Indices. Those carriers’ shares are now trading at multiyear lows. Boeing, which is also seeking government aid, spent more than $35 billion in that period.
“We fully recognize that the company had the opportunity to build up its cash reserves and repeatedly advocated for them to do so,” wrote Todd Insler, chairman of the union that represents United’s pilots, the Air Line Pilots Association. “In spite of ALPA’s warnings, they instead chose to spend company resources differently.
•••••
Leslie Josephs, Lauren Hirsch
Published Tue, Mar 17 202011:58 AM EDT
The more than $50 billion in government aid U.S. airlines are seeking as the coronavirus ravages their businesses must include worker and consumer protections, some lawmakers and labor unions said.
•••••
Labor unions and lawmakers say that while the carriers didn’t cause the dire situation they’re now in, they shouldn’t get a blank check.
“We have told Congress that any funds for the aviation industry must come with strict rules,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents some 50,000 cabin crews at United, Alaska, Spirit and others. “That includes requiring employers across aviation to maintain pay and benefits for every worker. No taxpayer money for CEO bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. No breaking contracts through bankruptcy.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., on Monday tweeted her support of the framework laid out by Nelson.
The four biggest U.S. carriers — Delta, American, Southwest and United — have collectively spent about $39 billion over the last five years buying back shares, according to a tally from S&P Dow Jones Indices. Those carriers’ shares are now trading at multiyear lows. Boeing, which is also seeking government aid, spent more than $35 billion in that period.
“We fully recognize that the company had the opportunity to build up its cash reserves and repeatedly advocated for them to do so,” wrote Todd Insler, chairman of the union that represents United’s pilots, the Air Line Pilots Association. “In spite of ALPA’s warnings, they instead chose to spend company resources differently.
•••••
The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51906530
As is so often the case, the headline of the article is overly dramatic:
"Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds"
The rich do much more to damage the environment, but they are not alone.
Eg., in some countries, poor people cut down trees to burn for fuel. Land clearing and fuel burning started global warming before the industrial age, although of course it has gotten far worse with more people and more energy use.
By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst
16 March 2020
The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, a study by the University of Leeds of 86 countries claims.
The wealthiest tenth of people consume about 20 times more energy overall than the bottom ten, wherever they live.
The gulf is greatest in transport, where the top tenth gobble 187 times more fuel than the poorest tenth, the research says.
That’s because people on the lowest incomes can rarely afford to drive.
The researchers found that the richer people became, the more energy they typically use. And it was replicated across all countries.
And they warn that, unless there's a significant policy change, household energy consumption could double from 2011 levels by 2050. That's even if energy efficiency improves.
•••••
They say another alternative is to electrify vehicles more quickly, although previous studies suggest even then demand for driving must be reduced in order to reduce the strain on resource use and electricity production and distribution.
•••••
The research also examined the relative energy consumption of one nation against another.
It shows that a fifth of UK citizens are in the top 5% of global energy consumers, along with 40% of German citizens, and Luxembourg’s entire population.
Only 2% of Chinese people are in the top global 5% of users, and just 0.02% of people in India.
Even the poorest fifth of Britons consumes over five times as much energy per person as the bottom billion in India.
•••••
COVID-19 Emergency Funding and Artist Resources
https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2020/03/covid-19-emergency-funding-artist-resources/?fbclid=IwAR1ZGGvRQla4S3Nf1A7tOlMHZPOfR2wuEEcTdSYnHpGTAmRK8tgqpgN7CTo
March 16, 2020 at 6:00 am
With the increased spread of COVID-19 in the United States, it has been an extremely challenging and unprecedented week for our creative community. We recognize that many people are feeling anxious and uncertain about the immediate future in the wake of massive event cancellations and the resulting loss of freelance income.
To help address these concerns, we are pressing pause on our “This Week: Concerts in NY” weekly event listing, and instead, we are compiling a round-up of as many emergency funding sources and additional resources for artists as we can find. We will continue to add to this listing as more resources become known and available.
•••••
March 16, 2020 at 6:00 am
With the increased spread of COVID-19 in the United States, it has been an extremely challenging and unprecedented week for our creative community. We recognize that many people are feeling anxious and uncertain about the immediate future in the wake of massive event cancellations and the resulting loss of freelance income.
To help address these concerns, we are pressing pause on our “This Week: Concerts in NY” weekly event listing, and instead, we are compiling a round-up of as many emergency funding sources and additional resources for artists as we can find. We will continue to add to this listing as more resources become known and available.
•••••
Air pollution clears in northern Italy after coronavirus lockdown
https://news.yahoo.com/air-pollution-clears-northern-italy-204020365.html
March 15, 2020
Air pollution over northern Italy fell after the government introduced a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus, satellite imagery showed on Friday, in a new example of the pandemic’s potential impact on emissions.
March 15, 2020
Air pollution over northern Italy fell after the government introduced a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus, satellite imagery showed on Friday, in a new example of the pandemic’s potential impact on emissions.
Alibaba's Ma donates coronavirus test kits to US
https://news.yahoo.com/alibabas-ma-donates-coronavirus-test-064906652.html
BBC•March 16, 2020
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has sent the first shipment of surgical masks and coronavirus test kits to the US.
The Chinese billionaire tweeted two pictures of the pallets of goods being loaded on to a plane in Shanghai.
Earlier this month he said he would give 500,000 testing kits and one million masks to America.
Mr Ma is also sending consignments of medical supplies to Europe as he called for international cooperation efforts to combat the pandemic.
•••••
BBC•March 16, 2020
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has sent the first shipment of surgical masks and coronavirus test kits to the US.
The Chinese billionaire tweeted two pictures of the pallets of goods being loaded on to a plane in Shanghai.
Earlier this month he said he would give 500,000 testing kits and one million masks to America.
Mr Ma is also sending consignments of medical supplies to Europe as he called for international cooperation efforts to combat the pandemic.
•••••
In France, more than half of coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 60, suggesting it's not just the elderly at risk
https://news.yahoo.com/france-more-half-coronavirus-patients-140950187.html
Mia Jankowicz
,Business Insider•March 16, 2020
More than half of France's coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 60, the country's top health official said on Saturday.
According to CNN, Jerome Salomon, the director-general for health, said, "We have serious cases also amid adults, and let me remind you that more than 50% of people in intensive care are under 60."
•••••
Salomon did not give a detailed breakdown of the intensive-care figures, so it's unclear how many are significantly younger than 60.
In Italy, which has one of the world's oldest populations, the average age of people who have died from the virus is 81, Business Insider's Rosie Perper reported last week.
A study published in February by China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention also found that older people were more seriously affected, Business Insider's Aria Bendix reported.
•••••
Mia Jankowicz
,Business Insider•March 16, 2020
More than half of France's coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 60, the country's top health official said on Saturday.
According to CNN, Jerome Salomon, the director-general for health, said, "We have serious cases also amid adults, and let me remind you that more than 50% of people in intensive care are under 60."
•••••
Salomon did not give a detailed breakdown of the intensive-care figures, so it's unclear how many are significantly younger than 60.
In Italy, which has one of the world's oldest populations, the average age of people who have died from the virus is 81, Business Insider's Rosie Perper reported last week.
A study published in February by China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention also found that older people were more seriously affected, Business Insider's Aria Bendix reported.
•••••
Monday, March 16, 2020
What is civilized
March 16, 2020
From a friend's Facebook post:
...Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said."
We are at our best when we serve others. Let us be civilized.
**Ira Byock, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012)
Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/trump-inauguration-warning-scenario-pandemic-132797
By NAHAL TOOSI, DANIEL LIPPMAN and DAN DIAMOND
03/16/2020 06:48 PM EDT
Updated: 03/16/2020 07:45 PM EDT
In a tabletop exercise days before an untested new president took power, officials briefed the incoming administration on a scenario remarkably like the one he faces now.
•••••
unlike the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the globe, this 2017 crisis didn’t really happen — it was among a handful of scenarios presented to Trump’s top aides as part of a legally required transition exercise with members of the outgoing administration of Barack Obama.
•••••
The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials, and that having a coordinated, unified national response was “paramount” — warnings that seem eerily prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
•••••
But roughly two-thirds of the Trump representatives in that room are no longer serving in the administration. That extraordinary turnover in the months and years that followed is likely one reason his administration has struggled to handle the very real pandemic it faces now, former Obama administration officials said.
•••••
“The advantage we had under Obama was that during the first four years we had the same White House staff, the same Cabinet,” said former deputy labor secretary Chris Lu, who attended the gathering. “Just having the continuity makes all the difference in the world.”
•••••
Obama aides, in op-eds and essays ripping the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, have pointed to the Jan. 13, 2017, session as a key example of their effort to press the importance of pandemic preparedness to their successors.
•••••
In a Friday op-ed, Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, blasted Trump for comments such as “you can never really think” that a pandemic like the coronavirus “is going to happen.” She mentioned the 2017 session as one of many instances of the Obama administration’s efforts to help their successor be ready for such a challenge. She also slammed the Trump team for dismantling the National Security Council section that would play a lead role in organizing the U.S. response to a global pandemic.
•••••
Lisa Monaco, Obama’s homeland security adviser, explained the thinking behind the January 2017 session in a recent essay for Foreign Affairs. “Although the exercise was required, the specific scenarios we chose were not,” she wrote. “We included a pandemic scenario because I believed then, and I have warned since, that emerging infectious disease was likely to pose one of the gravest risks for the new administration.”
None of the sources argued that one meeting three years ago could have dramatically altered events today. But Obama aides say that the Trump administration’s fumbling of the coronavirus outbreak is partly rooted in how unprepared — and in some cases unwilling — they were to engage in transition exercises at all in late 2016 and early 2017.
•••••
Asked whether information about the pandemic exercise reached the president-elect, a former senior Trump administration official who attended the meeting couldn’t say for sure but noted that it wasn’t “the kind of thing that really interested the president very much.”
•••••
“He was never interested in things that might happen. He’s totally focused on the stock market, the economy and always bashing his predecessor and giving him no credit,” the person said. “The possibility things were things he didn’t spend much time on or show much interest in.”
“Even though we would put time on the schedule for things like that, if they happened at all, they would be very, very brief,” the former official continued. “To get the president to be focused on something like this would be quite hard.”
Anything associated with Obama or his administration was also a no-go zone for Trump aides. If you brought them up, “that would be an immediate rejection, like ‘Why are they even here? Why the fuck did you ask them?’”
By NAHAL TOOSI, DANIEL LIPPMAN and DAN DIAMOND
03/16/2020 06:48 PM EDT
Updated: 03/16/2020 07:45 PM EDT
In a tabletop exercise days before an untested new president took power, officials briefed the incoming administration on a scenario remarkably like the one he faces now.
•••••
unlike the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the globe, this 2017 crisis didn’t really happen — it was among a handful of scenarios presented to Trump’s top aides as part of a legally required transition exercise with members of the outgoing administration of Barack Obama.
•••••
The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials, and that having a coordinated, unified national response was “paramount” — warnings that seem eerily prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
•••••
But roughly two-thirds of the Trump representatives in that room are no longer serving in the administration. That extraordinary turnover in the months and years that followed is likely one reason his administration has struggled to handle the very real pandemic it faces now, former Obama administration officials said.
•••••
“The advantage we had under Obama was that during the first four years we had the same White House staff, the same Cabinet,” said former deputy labor secretary Chris Lu, who attended the gathering. “Just having the continuity makes all the difference in the world.”
•••••
Obama aides, in op-eds and essays ripping the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, have pointed to the Jan. 13, 2017, session as a key example of their effort to press the importance of pandemic preparedness to their successors.
•••••
In a Friday op-ed, Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, blasted Trump for comments such as “you can never really think” that a pandemic like the coronavirus “is going to happen.” She mentioned the 2017 session as one of many instances of the Obama administration’s efforts to help their successor be ready for such a challenge. She also slammed the Trump team for dismantling the National Security Council section that would play a lead role in organizing the U.S. response to a global pandemic.
•••••
Lisa Monaco, Obama’s homeland security adviser, explained the thinking behind the January 2017 session in a recent essay for Foreign Affairs. “Although the exercise was required, the specific scenarios we chose were not,” she wrote. “We included a pandemic scenario because I believed then, and I have warned since, that emerging infectious disease was likely to pose one of the gravest risks for the new administration.”
None of the sources argued that one meeting three years ago could have dramatically altered events today. But Obama aides say that the Trump administration’s fumbling of the coronavirus outbreak is partly rooted in how unprepared — and in some cases unwilling — they were to engage in transition exercises at all in late 2016 and early 2017.
•••••
Asked whether information about the pandemic exercise reached the president-elect, a former senior Trump administration official who attended the meeting couldn’t say for sure but noted that it wasn’t “the kind of thing that really interested the president very much.”
•••••
“He was never interested in things that might happen. He’s totally focused on the stock market, the economy and always bashing his predecessor and giving him no credit,” the person said. “The possibility things were things he didn’t spend much time on or show much interest in.”
“Even though we would put time on the schedule for things like that, if they happened at all, they would be very, very brief,” the former official continued. “To get the president to be focused on something like this would be quite hard.”
Anything associated with Obama or his administration was also a no-go zone for Trump aides. If you brought them up, “that would be an immediate rejection, like ‘Why are they even here? Why the fuck did you ask them?’”
Greenland and Antarctica are now melting six times faster than in the 1990s, accelerating sea-level rise
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/03/16/climate-change-greenland-antarctica-melting-6-times-faster-than-90-s/5060236002/
Doyle Rice
Mar. 16, 2020
Here's some unsettling news from the other global crisis.
Greenland and Antarctica have lost 6.4 trillion tons of ice in the past three decades; unabated, this rate of melting could cause flooding that affects hundreds of millions of people by the end of the century, NASA said in a statement.
Satellite observations showed that the regions are losing ice six times faster than they were in the 1990s, according to a new study.
If the current melting trend continues, the regions will be on track to match the "worst-case" scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of an extra 6.7 inches of sea level rise by 2100.
•••••
The findings were published by an international team of 89 polar scientists from 50 organizations, and are the most comprehensive assessment to date of the changing ice sheets, NASA said.
While it's true that the seas have risen and fallen before, what's new is the enormity of coastal development around the world that will need to be protected, moved or abandoned due to sea-level rise from human-caused global warming.
•••••
Sea level has risen nearly 8 inches worldwide since 1880 but, unlike water in a bathtub, it doesn't rise evenly. In the past 100 years, it has climbed about a foot or more in some U.S. cities because of ocean currents and land subsidence.
•••••
Doyle Rice
Mar. 16, 2020
Here's some unsettling news from the other global crisis.
Greenland and Antarctica have lost 6.4 trillion tons of ice in the past three decades; unabated, this rate of melting could cause flooding that affects hundreds of millions of people by the end of the century, NASA said in a statement.
Satellite observations showed that the regions are losing ice six times faster than they were in the 1990s, according to a new study.
If the current melting trend continues, the regions will be on track to match the "worst-case" scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of an extra 6.7 inches of sea level rise by 2100.
•••••
The findings were published by an international team of 89 polar scientists from 50 organizations, and are the most comprehensive assessment to date of the changing ice sheets, NASA said.
While it's true that the seas have risen and fallen before, what's new is the enormity of coastal development around the world that will need to be protected, moved or abandoned due to sea-level rise from human-caused global warming.
•••••
Sea level has risen nearly 8 inches worldwide since 1880 but, unlike water in a bathtub, it doesn't rise evenly. In the past 100 years, it has climbed about a foot or more in some U.S. cities because of ocean currents and land subsidence.
•••••
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Bad Thinkers
https://aeon.co/essays/the-intellectual-character-of-conspiracy-theorists
Quassim Cassam is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick in Coventry. His latest books are Berkeley’s Puzzle: What Does Experience Teach Us? (2014) and Self-Knowledge for Humans (2014).
Edited by Ed Lake
13 March, 2015
•••••
Polling evidence suggests that Oliver’s views about 9/11 are by no means unusual. Indeed, peculiar theories about all manner of things are now widespread. There are conspiracy theories about the spread of AIDS, the 1969 Moon landings, UFOs, and the assassination of JFK. Sometimes, conspiracy theories turn out to be right – Watergate really was a conspiracy – but mostly they are bunkum. They are in fact vivid illustrations of a striking truth about human beings: however intelligent and knowledgeable we might be in other ways, many of us still believe the strangest things. You can find people who believe they were abducted by aliens, that the Holocaust never happened, and that cancer can be cured by positive thinking. A 2009 Harris Poll found that between one‑fifth and one‑quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation, astrology and the existence of witches. You name it, and there is probably someone out there who believes it.
•••••
My claim is this: Oliver believes what he does because that is the kind of thinker he is or, to put it more bluntly, because there is something wrong with how he thinks. The problem with conspiracy theorists is not, as the US legal scholar Cass Sunstein argues, that they have little relevant information. The key to what they end up believing is how they interpret and respond to the vast quantities of relevant information at their disposal. I want to suggest that this is fundamentally a question of the way they are. Oliver isn’t mad (or at least, he needn’t be). Nevertheless, his beliefs about 9/11 are the result of the peculiarities of his intellectual constitution – in a word, of his intellectual character.
•••••
It is in the nature of many intellectual character traits that you don’t realise you have them, and so aren’t aware of the true extent to which your thinking is influenced by them. The gullible rarely believe they are gullible and the closed-minded don’t believe they are closed-minded. The only hope of overcoming self-ignorance in such cases is to accept that other people – your co-workers, your spouse, your friends – probably know your intellectual character better than you do. But even that won’t necessarily help. After all, it might be that refusing to listen to what other people say about you is one of your intellectual character traits. Some defects are incurable.
Gullibility, carelessness and closed-mindedness are examples of what the US philosopher Linda Zagzebski, in her book Virtues of the Mind (1996), has called ‘intellectual vices’. Others include negligence, idleness, rigidity, obtuseness, prejudice, lack of thoroughness, and insensitivity to detail. Intellectual character traits are habits or styles of thinking. To describe Oliver as gullible or careless is to say something about his intellectual style or mind-set – for example, about how he goes about trying to find out things about events such as 9/11. Intellectual character traits that aid effective and responsible enquiry are intellectual virtues, whereas intellectual vices are intellectual character traits that impede effective and responsible inquiry. Humility, caution and carefulness are among the intellectual virtues Oliver plainly lacks, and that is why his attempts to get to the bottom of 9/11 are so flawed.
•••••
Intellectual character explanations of questionable beliefs are more controversial than one might imagine. For example, it has been suggested that explaining peoples’ bad behaviour or weird beliefs by reference to their character makes us more intolerant of them and less empathetic. Yet such explanations might still be correct, even if they have deleterious consequences. In any case, it’s not obvious that character explanations should make us less tolerant of other peoples’ foibles. Suppose that Oliver can’t help being the kind of person who falls for conspiracy theories. Shouldn’t that make us more rather than less tolerant of him and his weird beliefs?
•••••
Differences in intellectual character help to explain why people in the same situation end up believing such different things. In order to think that intellectual character traits are relevant to a person’s intellectual conduct, you don’t have to think that other factors, including situational factors, are irrelevant. Intellectual character explains intellectual conduct only in conjunction with a lot of other things, including your situation and the way your brain processes information. Situationism certainly would be a problem for the view that character traits explain our conduct regardless of situational factors, but that is not a view of character anyone has ever wanted to defend.
In practical terms, one of the hardest things about dealing with people such as Oliver is that they are more than likely to accuse you of the same intellectual vices that you detect in them. You say that Oliver is gullible for believing his 9/11 conspiracy theory; he retorts that you are gullible for believing the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission. You say that he dismisses the official account of 9/11 because he is closed-minded; he accuses you of closed-mindedness for refusing to take conspiracy theories seriously. If we are often blind to our own intellectual vices then who are we to accuse Oliver of failing to realise that he believes his theories only because he is gullible?
•••••
Should Oliver be condemned for his weaknesses? Philosophers like to think of virtues as having good motives and vices as having bad motives but Oliver’s motives needn’t be bad. He might have exactly the same motivation for knowledge as the intellectually virtuous person, yet be led astray by his gullibility and conspiracy mentality. So, both in respect of his motives and his responsibility for his intellectual vices, Oliver might not be strictly blameworthy. That doesn’t mean that nothing should be done about them or about him. If we care about the truth then we should care about equipping people with the intellectual means to arrive at the truth and avoid falsehood.
Education is the best way of doing that.
•••••
Meanwhile, those who have the gall to deliver homilies about other peoples’ intellectual vices – that includes me – need to accept that they too are likely very far from perfect. In this context, as in most others, a little bit of humility goes a long way. It’s one thing not to cave in to Oliver’s attempt to turn the tables on you, but he has a point at least to this extent: none of us can deny that intellectual vices of one sort or another are at play in at least some of our thinking. Being alive to this possibility is the mark of a healthy mind.
Quassim Cassam is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick in Coventry. His latest books are Berkeley’s Puzzle: What Does Experience Teach Us? (2014) and Self-Knowledge for Humans (2014).
Edited by Ed Lake
13 March, 2015
•••••
Polling evidence suggests that Oliver’s views about 9/11 are by no means unusual. Indeed, peculiar theories about all manner of things are now widespread. There are conspiracy theories about the spread of AIDS, the 1969 Moon landings, UFOs, and the assassination of JFK. Sometimes, conspiracy theories turn out to be right – Watergate really was a conspiracy – but mostly they are bunkum. They are in fact vivid illustrations of a striking truth about human beings: however intelligent and knowledgeable we might be in other ways, many of us still believe the strangest things. You can find people who believe they were abducted by aliens, that the Holocaust never happened, and that cancer can be cured by positive thinking. A 2009 Harris Poll found that between one‑fifth and one‑quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation, astrology and the existence of witches. You name it, and there is probably someone out there who believes it.
•••••
My claim is this: Oliver believes what he does because that is the kind of thinker he is or, to put it more bluntly, because there is something wrong with how he thinks. The problem with conspiracy theorists is not, as the US legal scholar Cass Sunstein argues, that they have little relevant information. The key to what they end up believing is how they interpret and respond to the vast quantities of relevant information at their disposal. I want to suggest that this is fundamentally a question of the way they are. Oliver isn’t mad (or at least, he needn’t be). Nevertheless, his beliefs about 9/11 are the result of the peculiarities of his intellectual constitution – in a word, of his intellectual character.
•••••
It is in the nature of many intellectual character traits that you don’t realise you have them, and so aren’t aware of the true extent to which your thinking is influenced by them. The gullible rarely believe they are gullible and the closed-minded don’t believe they are closed-minded. The only hope of overcoming self-ignorance in such cases is to accept that other people – your co-workers, your spouse, your friends – probably know your intellectual character better than you do. But even that won’t necessarily help. After all, it might be that refusing to listen to what other people say about you is one of your intellectual character traits. Some defects are incurable.
Gullibility, carelessness and closed-mindedness are examples of what the US philosopher Linda Zagzebski, in her book Virtues of the Mind (1996), has called ‘intellectual vices’. Others include negligence, idleness, rigidity, obtuseness, prejudice, lack of thoroughness, and insensitivity to detail. Intellectual character traits are habits or styles of thinking. To describe Oliver as gullible or careless is to say something about his intellectual style or mind-set – for example, about how he goes about trying to find out things about events such as 9/11. Intellectual character traits that aid effective and responsible enquiry are intellectual virtues, whereas intellectual vices are intellectual character traits that impede effective and responsible inquiry. Humility, caution and carefulness are among the intellectual virtues Oliver plainly lacks, and that is why his attempts to get to the bottom of 9/11 are so flawed.
•••••
Intellectual character explanations of questionable beliefs are more controversial than one might imagine. For example, it has been suggested that explaining peoples’ bad behaviour or weird beliefs by reference to their character makes us more intolerant of them and less empathetic. Yet such explanations might still be correct, even if they have deleterious consequences. In any case, it’s not obvious that character explanations should make us less tolerant of other peoples’ foibles. Suppose that Oliver can’t help being the kind of person who falls for conspiracy theories. Shouldn’t that make us more rather than less tolerant of him and his weird beliefs?
•••••
Differences in intellectual character help to explain why people in the same situation end up believing such different things. In order to think that intellectual character traits are relevant to a person’s intellectual conduct, you don’t have to think that other factors, including situational factors, are irrelevant. Intellectual character explains intellectual conduct only in conjunction with a lot of other things, including your situation and the way your brain processes information. Situationism certainly would be a problem for the view that character traits explain our conduct regardless of situational factors, but that is not a view of character anyone has ever wanted to defend.
In practical terms, one of the hardest things about dealing with people such as Oliver is that they are more than likely to accuse you of the same intellectual vices that you detect in them. You say that Oliver is gullible for believing his 9/11 conspiracy theory; he retorts that you are gullible for believing the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission. You say that he dismisses the official account of 9/11 because he is closed-minded; he accuses you of closed-mindedness for refusing to take conspiracy theories seriously. If we are often blind to our own intellectual vices then who are we to accuse Oliver of failing to realise that he believes his theories only because he is gullible?
•••••
Should Oliver be condemned for his weaknesses? Philosophers like to think of virtues as having good motives and vices as having bad motives but Oliver’s motives needn’t be bad. He might have exactly the same motivation for knowledge as the intellectually virtuous person, yet be led astray by his gullibility and conspiracy mentality. So, both in respect of his motives and his responsibility for his intellectual vices, Oliver might not be strictly blameworthy. That doesn’t mean that nothing should be done about them or about him. If we care about the truth then we should care about equipping people with the intellectual means to arrive at the truth and avoid falsehood.
Education is the best way of doing that.
•••••
Meanwhile, those who have the gall to deliver homilies about other peoples’ intellectual vices – that includes me – need to accept that they too are likely very far from perfect. In this context, as in most others, a little bit of humility goes a long way. It’s one thing not to cave in to Oliver’s attempt to turn the tables on you, but he has a point at least to this extent: none of us can deny that intellectual vices of one sort or another are at play in at least some of our thinking. Being alive to this possibility is the mark of a healthy mind.
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