March 19, 2020

The New York Times is providing free access on the global coronavirus crisis. (signup link below)

https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus

March 19, 2020

Need a Coronavirus Test? Being Rich and Famous May Help

A shortage in testing has left sick people and health care workers around the U.S. without answers. Yet the list of celebrity patients grows every day, raising questions about privileged access.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/coronavirus-testing-elite.html

The Brooklyn Nets managed to arrange tests for its entire roster. Four were positive, and one exhibited symptoms.

Politicians, celebrities, social media influencers and even N.B.A. teams have been tested for the new coronavirus. But as that list of rich, famous and powerful people grows by the day, so do questions about whether they are getting access to testing that is denied to other Americans. Some of these high-profile people say they are feeling ill and had good reason to be tested. Others argue that those who were found to be infected and then isolated themselves provided a good example to the public.

But with testing still in short supply in areas of the country, leaving health care workers and many sick people unable to get diagnoses, some prominent personalities have obtained tests without exhibiting symptoms or having known contact with someone who has the virus, as required by some testing guidelines. Others have refused to specify how they were tested.

Such cases have provoked accusations of elitism and preferential treatment about a testing system that has already been plagued with delays and confusion, and now stirred a new national debate that has reached the White House — with President Trump being asked at a Wednesday news conference whether “the well-connected go to the front of the line.”

“You’d have to ask them that question,” he replied, suggesting that should not be the case. “Perhaps that’s been the story of life. That does happen on occasion, and I’ve noticed where some people have been tested fairly quickly.” Inside the N.B.A., where eight entire teams have been tested, there are differing views. Bob Myers, the president of basketball operations for the Golden State Warriors, said his team thought it would be unfair for its players to seek special access.

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March 19, 2020

Holy shit, Boeing, who spent $43 billion on stock buybacks in 2017/18, now needs a bailout???

https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1240417047860764672



12:17 AM · Mar 19, 2020
9.6K Retweets
24.4K Likes

Boeing Crashes: $43 Billion in Share Buybacks Turn into Existential Threat

Can Boeing stave off a liquidity crisis?

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/03/boeing-crashes-43-billion-in-share-buybacks-turn-into-existential-threat.html

March 19, 2020

With #DemExit now once again being thrust about all over social media and certain sites, I think

looking at its true history could prove to be somewhat fruitful. I was asked by The Magistrate to turn a reply to another thread into an OP, and well, here it is.....



I am NOT seeking to re-litigate 2016 at all. Hell, I was 18 years old when that campaign first started in 2015, and had never even heard of DU at that point. I am merely showing the origin of the meme because it is now, once again, coming to the fore and is VERY relevant for the 2020 campaign, especially in regards to the general election.

-------------------------------------------

#DemExit has been around as a true mass-traction meme since July 2016.

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/demexit

About

#DemExit is a social media campaign and political movement encouraging Bernie Sanders supporters to leave the Democratic Party in protest of Hillary Clinton's nomination in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Origin

On July 12th, 2016, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders formally endorsed rival Hillary Clinton for president against Republican candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming general election. That day, political news blogger Harlan Hill published an article titled "The Death of a Revolution and #DemExit," noting that millions of Democrats would be considering leaving the political party to protest Clinton's candidacy.

Spread

The same day, the /r/DemExit subreddit was launched for discussions about the political movement. On July 22nd, 2016, Wikileaks published a collection of nearly 20,000 e-mails exchanged among key staff members within the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the governing body of the United States Democratic Party, as well as unofficial correspondences with members of the press, between January 2015 and May 2016. In the emails, high ranking members of the DNC discuss various tactics to undermine the campaign of Bernie Sanders in order to secure Hillary Clinton’s victory in the primaries. On July 24th, Redditor staomeel submitted a post titled "If the DNC nominates Hillary Clinton for President. I can no longer support Democrats #DemExit," to /r/SandersForPresident. The following day, Sanders was booed by supporters after calling for them to support Hillary Clinton in the upcoming general election (shown below).

Also on July 25th, Fox News broadcast a news segment about the the DNC protests, featuring an interview with an anti-Hillary protester who announced that 13 million people would be leaving the Democratic Party on Thursday in light of the DNC email leak (shown below). Later that day, a post about the planned #DemExit event was submitted to the /rSandersForPresident subreddit, where it accumulated upwards of 4,600 votes (91% upvoted) and 620 comments over then next four days. On July 26th, Redditor LuddieStreak submitted a post encouraging viewers to leave the Democratic Party titled "#DemExit" to the /r/SandersForPresident subreddit, where it received more than 2,500 votes (93% upvoted) and 400 comments in 72 hours. The same day, 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein posted a tweet encouraging people to leave the "neoliberal Democratic Party" with the "#DemExit" hashtag (shown below). Meanwhile, hundreds of Sanders delegates staged a walkout en masse following the roll call vote to nominate Hillary Clinton for president at the Democratic National Convention (shown below). On July 29th, Salon published a listicle titled "10 Reasons Why #DemExit Is Serious," which subsequently reached the front page of /r/politics.

snip (referenced links can be found at the top link above)


my thoughts

It was all a VERY coordinated operation IMHO.

I think it was aided by Russian media, networks, and deeply embedded shills and trolls (and their associated bot farms) seeking to sow division within our Party. It was also amplified from its genesis by the Trump campaign and other Republican forces and agents. In fact as you will see below, they likely started the entire thing or at least came in on the ground floor.

Jill Stein and Wikileaks were huge players in both its spread and also as coordinated sources of extreme discontent, which was then amplified and turned into a truly divisive force.

https://harlanhill.com/



AND

much more recently:


Real News Insights with Harlan Hill and Lara Trump

Donald J Trump <<< on the official Trump YouTube channel
298K subscribers

Since the first day I took office, Democrats have been trying to impeach. This is a COUP!

snip


finally:

Here is a Fox News interview RIGHT BEFORE Hill started the #DemExit meme:











Non-Linear Warfare and Reflexive Control - NATO Defense College

http://www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.php?icode=877


What is Hybrid Warfare?

https://globalsecurityreview.com/hybrid-and-non-linear-warfare-systematically-erases-the-divide-between-war-peace/


Redefining Hybrid Warfare: Russia’s Nonlinear War against the West

http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1538&context=jss


Putin’s Way of War
The ‘War’ in Russia’s ‘Hybrid Warfare’

https://www.academia.edu/24314231/Putins_Way_of_War


The Hidden Author of Putinism
How Vladislav Surkov invented the new Russia

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/hidden-author-putinism-russia-vladislav-surkov/382489/

“I am the author, or one of the authors, of the new Russian system,” Vladislav Surkov told us by way of introduction. On this spring day in 2013, he was wearing a white shirt and a leather jacket that was part Joy Division and part 1930s commissar. “My portfolio at the Kremlin and in government has included ideology, media, political parties, religion, modernization, innovation, foreign relations, and ...”—here he pauses and smiles—“modern art.” He offers to not make a speech, instead welcoming the Ph.D. students, professors, journalists, and politicians gathered in an auditorium at the London School of Economics to pose questions and have an open discussion. After the first question, he talks for almost 45 minutes, leaving hardly any time for questions after all. It’s his political system in miniature: democratic rhetoric and undemocratic intent.

March 19, 2020

Alabama beaches remain open despite COVID-19

https://www.wsfa.com/2020/03/18/alabama-beaches-remain-open-despite-covid-/

MOBILE, Ala. (WSFA) - Despite Americans being urged to avoid large crowds and to self-isolate as a way of limiting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama’s coast is still drawing crowds and beaches remain open. WALA-TV in south Alabama reports the illness is having “minimal impact” on places like Gulf Shores and Orange Beach as spring break gets underway.

Asked Wednesday why people are still flocking to the area despite the risks, tourism officials said they don’t have the authority to close the beaches. The beaches in Baldwin County are a mix of private, city, county and even state property, which could make any efforts to mutually close them a difficult task.

"I don’t want to be in their shoes,” said Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Tourism Pres./CEO Herb Malone. "It’s big decisions to make, whether it’s in the city halls of Orange Beach or Gulf Shores or in the county commission. All these elected people have a lot of weight on their shoulders right now.”

The City of Orange Beach says all public access points to its area beaches are owned by the state and any decisions about their closure would have to come from the state. Baldwin County tourism authorities say hotels and other rentals are at 70 percent capacity. Restaurants continue to serve dine-in customers for now, although that could soon change.

snip

March 18, 2020

No one can possibly be this clueless.

https://twitter.com/LakotaMan1/status/1240048543613632512

March 18, 2020

No, COVID-19 Coronavirus Was Not Bioengineered. Here's The Research That Debunks That Idea

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/03/17/covid-19-coronavirus-did-not-come-from-a-lab-study-shows-natural-origins/#593bd0803728

Don’t you just love conspiracy theories? Especially when two groups of people have pretty much the same conspiracy theory about each other? Some folks including politicians in the U.S. and China have both suggested that the COVID-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) that’s causing the pandemic may actually be a bioweapon that was manufactured in a lab. The only difference between their conspiracy theories is who’s being accused of doing the manufacturing.

On the one corner are some people in the U.S. who are hinting or in some cases openly claiming that China put together this virus. For example, look at what Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) tweeted out back on January 30:
https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1222971592403226628
Then, Steve Mosher wrote on February 22 an opinion piece for the New York Post entitled, “Don’t buy China’s story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab.” Take a wild guess at what Mosher wrote about in his piece. By the way, Mosher is not a biomedical scientist, but instead is the president of the Population Research Institute and author of book called Bully of Asia: Why China’s ‘Dream’ Is the New Threat to World Order. So chances are that he didn’t love China in the first place. But who knows, love works in mysterious ways.

So what evidence have Cotton, Mosher, and others provided to support these suggestions or claims? Incriminating pictures? Suspicious emails? Some awkward selfies? Any kind of scientific evidence?

snip

March 18, 2020

Iran warns virus could kill 'millions' in Islamic Republic

https://apnews.com/6e92d93551ee6c6ae51d0acaaad9eb32

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran issued its most dire warning yet Tuesday about the new coronavirus ravaging the country, suggesting “millions” could die in the Islamic Republic if people keep traveling and ignore health guidance.

A state TV journalist who also is a medical doctor gave the warning only hours after hard-line Shiite faithful on Monday night pushed their way into the courtyards of two major shrines that were finally closed due to the virus. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious ruling prohibiting “unnecessary” travel.

Roughly 9 out of 10 of the over 18,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the Middle East come from Iran, where authorities denied for days the risk the outbreak posed. Officials have implemented new checks for people trying to leave major cities ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on Friday, but have hesitated to quarantine the areas.

The death toll in Iran saw another 13% increase Tuesday. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the virus had killed 135 more people to raise the total to 988 amid over 16,000 cases. Jordan announced a state of emergency, banning gatherings of more than 10 people, and Israel issued its own strict guidelines.

snip

March 18, 2020

Say Goodbye to Movie Theaters. For now.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/03/the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-hollywoods-nightmare/608104/

When MGM delayed the release of the next James Bond movie, No Time to Die, on March 4, it was a decision made in the face of economic realities. Because of the spread of the coronavirus, movie theaters were closed all across China, and there were growing concerns that large gatherings in mainland Europe would soon need to be limited. But no other studio immediately followed suit; MGM seemed to be in a uniquely precarious position, needing the Bond film to open big, because it had little else on its 2020 slate.

What a difference a couple of weeks make.

The dominoes are now falling for the rest of Hollywood: Fast & Furious 9 was pushed from May to April of next year. A Quiet Place Part II was delayed indefinitely. Disney actually held some press screenings of its Mulan remake, but then announced that it would be delayed, along with the planned April releases of The New Mutants and Antlers. As of now, the next wide release being planned by a major studio is Universal’s Trolls World Tour on April 10. But it will likely have to wait, along with big May releases such as Marvel’s Black Widow. (Today, NBCUniversal said that several of its films, including Trolls World Tour, would be available on demand to rent as soon as they hit theaters.) It’s hard to guess when normalcy will return and when people will feel comfortable going back to crowded movie theaters—if the theaters are even allowed to reopen.

Many major municipalities, such as New York and Los Angeles, have closed all movie theaters as part of wider bans on group gatherings. The theaters that remain open around America are trying to limit audience sizes—AMC and Regal, the country’s two biggest cinema chains, have reduced capacity by 50 percent in all their screens. Last weekend’s box office sold a total of about $55.3 million in tickets, the worst figure for Hollywood since 2000 (without adjusting for inflation).

It’s hard to offer any meaningful analysis of the weekend’s box office. Pixar’s Onward was still No. 1, but dipped 73 percent from the weekend before, almost double the typical kind of drop for a children’s animated feature. Vin Diesel’s action flick Bloodshot and the inspirational Christian drama I Still Believe both took about $9 million. Also on offer to viewers are the controversial Blumhouse thriller The Hunt and leftovers such as The Invisible Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Way Back. Whatever theaters do stay open in the coming weeks will have little else to tempt viewers with.

snip

March 18, 2020

The Coming Bailout's a Moral Failure, as small businesses struggle, the lobbyists are set to plunder

Congress has leverage to rebalance the economy, but so far, it isn’t using it.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coming-bailout-moral-catastrophe/608179/

Yesterday, I left the protective membrane of my house to get a bit of exercise. As I ran down to the corner, along our main street, I could see the victims of the virus everywhere. There was the movie palace, which has existed since the 1930s as the source of neighborhood identity and a monument to the past. The windows holding promotional posters were bare; the shades were pulled down over the ticket booth. As I peered into the empty stores, I saw the familiar figures of daily life slumped over their counters. There was the dry cleaner, who has promised my daughter a job when she turns 15; there was the surly woman at the Italian deli counter, who has inexplicably given me the stink eye for the past 20 years. I got teary-eyed as I plodded past them. Before social distancing ends, they will likely be erased from commercial and communal existence.

In the meantime, the lobbyists are set to plunder. This morning I heard Nicholas Calio on the radio. During George W. Bush’s administration, he was the White House’s smooth operator on the Hill, a kibitzer and arm-twister who advanced its legislative agenda. Now he works for the airline industry, and he was pleading on its behalf. Of course, there’s every reason to keep vital industries afloat. A vibrant economy needs a transit system. But the injustice of spending $50 billion on the airlines should drive the public to apoplexy. The companies that used their fat profits to buy back stocks as they constricted the distance between seats, that only managed to innovate by charging new fees, will be the ones the government chooses to salvage.

The coming bailout is a familiar moral catastrophe. During the financial crisis, the government saved the banking industry’s bacon, while asking exceedingly little of the culprits. When the government spends billions of dollars to save industries, it has enormous leverage. This is the moment when Congress can shape an economy. It should demand, for instance, that the airlines keep their workers in their jobs; it should place hard caps on executive pay and prohibit stock buybacks; it can demand that airlines take steps to reduce their Sasquatch-size carbon footprint. (And, damnit, Congress should require that their seats actually recline!) If the industry wants the public’s money, it will have to deal with it.

In a crisis, the government can’t save everything. Just as hospitals must ration ventilators, the government must make choices. These choices are excruciating because every industry that perishes will take down workers and investors with it. But just because choices are excruciating doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be made. Rather, if the public doesn’t make moral demands of its politicians, then the politicians will protect the well connected; they will siphon money to cronies: The Trump administration is considering billions in aid to casino magnates like Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson. While casinos are important employers, they also preside over a gambling industry that addicts and abuses citizens—why should they get pulled from the fire while independent booksellers and local florists wither and die?

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