Antarctica: Continent That Coronavirus Pandemic Has So Far Failed to Reach

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed been sweeping all across the globe (the WHO would otherwise not have given this status to the virus), there is at least one corner that is still untouched by the novel plague - icy Antarctica.

It appears to be the only continent without a single registered case to date, while according to Worldometrics.info, the total cases around the world have hit 287,100, with the death toll at nearly 12,000.

Stijn Thoolen, a 29-year-old researcher with the European Space Agency, who has been part of a research team at the Concordia Station in Antarctica since November, told ABC News in an email exchange that the experience of living in the southernmost part of the globe is already very much “otherworldly”. He went on to point out, referring the coronavirus outbreak, that the sad news from the rest of the world makes him feel even more detached.

Thoolen, part of a 12-person crew stationed there performing biomedical experiments involving the weather, said that for some of his colleagues, namely from Italy and France, it has been extremely challenging to be away from their homes while their countries are being affected the worst by the raging COVID-19.

"At times it feels a little inconsiderate", Thoolen said, further explaining what he means:

”When we enjoy ourselves dressing up for the Saturday night or celebrating a second Christmas just because we can”.

He is in regular contact with his family and friends, who even jokingly ask him to share tips with them on effective self-isolation, which is recommended across the board amid the healthcare crisis.

Italy has overtaken China, the place of origin of the virus, to become the epicentre of the pandemic, with a registered 47,021 COVID-19 cases and over 4,000 deaths. Governments have been instructing citizens on sweeping quarantine and self-isolation measures. Due to disrupted logistics and economic networks, concerns are mounting over possible shortages of staple items and other commodities.

https://sputniknews.com/society/202003211078658841-antarctica-continent-that-coronavirus-pandemic-has-so-far-failed-to-reach/

‘We Don’t Have Definitive Proof That it Works:’ Fauci on Efficacy of Chloroquine Against CCP Virus

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said on Friday that there’s no definitive proof that chloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, works against the CCP virus.

The top immunologist clarified that he didn’t dismiss the effectiveness of chloroquine and is open to testing as it’s been suggested anecdotally that it may be effective.

“What I said it that we don’t have definitive proof that it works. So what we need to do, since there are suggestions anecdotally that it works, try to get it available but to do it in the context of a protocol where we accomplish two things,” he said during an interview with Fox News. “We make something that’s maybe hope and promising for someone. At the same time, we determine whether or not it’s safe and whether or not it actually does work. I wasn’t dismissing it. I was saying we need to be careful.”

He mostly aligned with what he said during the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Friday.

President Donald Trump said he’s optimistic about the effectiveness of chloroquine during the briefing. The Coronavirus Task Force is talking with the governors about making the drug available, but they’re waiting for final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“It may work and it may not work,” he said. “I feel good about it. That’s all it is. Just a feeling.”

Fauci appeared to refer to the research (pdf) conducted by a group of French researchers who say the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could change the test results for the CCP virus from positive to negative.

The research was conducted on a small group of 36 people, with 14 of them treated with hydroxychloroquine, 6 with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, and 20 in the control group.

The Epoch Times could not verify that the study was peer-reviewed.

The FDA announced on Thursday that they are investigating if chloroquine can be used to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, and potentially reduce the duration of symptoms and viral shedding.

They are also trying other approaches to discover a potential cure for the widespread disease, including an investigation into antiviral drug remdesivir from Gilead Sciences.

About 250 patients have been granted access to remdesivir, the agency said.

Therapies including convalescent plasma, hyperimmune globulin, and antibody-rich blood products taken from blood donated by people who have recovered from the virus are also under evaluation to see if they can shorten the length, or lessen the severity of the illness.

However, the FDA reaffirmed that there are no FDA-approved therapeutics or drugs to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan, China and causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/we-dont-have-definitive-proof-that-it-works-fauci-on-efficacy-of-chloroquine-against-ccp-virus_3280836.html

Security Forces Foil Attempt To Smuggle ISIS Wives, Children From Al-Hawl Camp

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) security forces, commonly known as Asayish, have foiled an attempt to smuggle ISIS wives and children out of the notorious al-Hawl camp in northeast Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on March 20.

The attempt was foiled thanks to surveillance cameras installed inside the camp. The cameras were able to detect the smuggler.

“Security forces thwarted the smuggling of five Russian women, accompanied by 13 of their children, from the families of the Islamic State … A woman attempted to smuggle them out of the camp, she is the wife of an ISIS official responsible for the affairs of the group’s non-Syrian fighters who were killed,” the SOHR’s report reads.

According to the monitoring group, the smuggler and ISIS wives attempted to sneak out of the camp through the side fence. However, they were immediately busted.

More than 66,000 people, including 40,000 family members of ISIS fighters, are being held in the al-Hawl camp, which is located in the eastern al-Hasakah countryside.

Recently, the al-Hawl camp became notorious for the criminal activities of ISIS wives. In the most recent incident, that took place last week, an Iraqi refugee was murdered in the camp by these terrorists with a sledgehammer.

https://southfront.org/security-forces-foil-attempt-to-smuggle-isis-wives-children-from-al-hawl-camp/

Grim US Corona Body Count Discussed During Goldman Sachs Conf Call

It would appear that last week Goldman Sachs held an investee call in which they forecasted the coronavirus’ effects and mortality in US and discussed it with clients.

Yes, whilst you are busy stocking up on non-perishable goods, the powers that be are already checking how many of you will make it past this beast from the east.

(Editor's note: the 'call' has also been mentioned in Forbes and other business outlets- see source links)

User ‘nottodaymonk’ posted on Reddit that his friend had just “got off a Goldman Sachs Investee call where 1500 of their investee companies dialed in”.

He listed several “takeaways” from the call, the most significant of which was a prediction of “global health and economic collapse” in 6 to 8 weeks.

Goldman Sachs has now officially reacted to those frightening statistics, stating:

“the comments being circulated on social media platforms attributing statistics on COVID-19 to Goldman Sachs were prepared by an unidentified author, were not authorized, and contain erroneous information and attribution.”

“On March 12, the firm’s chief economist and chief medical officer held a call for clients, during which they conveyed information on the economic and market impact of COVID-19.”

“During the call, various statistics on the pandemic were cited and attributed to legitimate sources including governments and were not necessarily presented as a Goldman Sachs view. The market and economic views presented on the call were consistent with current published research views.” (Patrick Scanlan, vice president of corporate communications at Goldman Sachs).

What were the numbers?

According to the conference call, over the next 6-8 weeks, investors could see a global health and economic collapse.

• 50% of Americans will get Coronavirus (150M people)

• 70% of German will get Coronavirus (58M people)

• Of those impacted 80% will be at early state, 15% mid stage, and 5% critical stage.

• Overall mortality will be 2%.

• China's economy will be impacted by imports and exports. There might be shortage of raw materials and the global supply chain will be broken for a period of time.

• Global GDP growth rate will be the lowest in 30 years at under 2%.

• S&P 500 will see a negative growth of -15% to -20%.

• Stock markets will only recover in the 2nd half of the year.

We did the math. 2% mortality of 150 million people means 3 million dead.

Good luck everyone.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/03/16/the-private-goldman-sachs-coronavirus-meeting-thats-setting-the-internet-on-fire/#69c2cd9450dd

https://themarketherald.com.au/1500-goldman-sachs-employees-listened-to-this-coronavirus-call-2020-03-19/

https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/comments/fix9w7/goldman_sachs_investee_call/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=post_title

https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-walks-back-from-viral-apocalyptic-investee-call

https://ebolachan.wixsite.com/website/post/secret-goldman-sachs-conf-call-forecasts-grim-us-corona-body-count

U.S. & French Ammunition Found At Former Hay’at Tahrir Al-Shame Position In Greater Idlib (Photos)

On March 21, Russian journalist Oleg Blokhin shared photos of U.S. and French ammunition which were found in a former position of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Greater Idlib.

Blokhin’s photos show dozens of containers of 120 mm M933A1 mortar rounds, which are used in the U.S.-made M120. The mortar is a copy of the Israeli Soltam K6. This type of mortars was spotted before with the defunct U.S.-backed New Syrian Army (NSA) in southeast Syria.

The Photos also show several CM5\CM6 38 mm tear gas grenades. These grenades, which are meant to be used for crowd-control, are manufactured by France’s SAE Alsetex.

The M933A1 rounds were likely supplied by the U.S. years ago. Loads of weapons were supplied to Syrian “moderate” opposition group as a part of a train and equip program that run between 2014 and 2017.

The French-made CM5\CM5 grenades, however, were never spotted in Syria before. It’s unclear how HTS acquired these grenades, or how it was planning to use them. Tear gas can be used to simulate the exposure to prohibited chemical weapons.

Greater Idlib militants received support from the Western and Arab countries for years. Now, most of their supplies come from Turkey.

https://southfront.org/u-s-french-ammunition-found-at-former-hayat-tahrir-al-shame-position-in-greater-idlib-photos/

Nearly 5,500 National Guard Troops Deployed in 32 States Over Coronavirus Outbreak

Nearly 5,500 Air and Army National Guard troops have been deployed in 32 states because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The deployment is said to be to help clean and disinfect public spaces, assist at medical testing facilities, support Emergency Operations Centers, provide logistic support and personal protective equipment training and sample collection.

“National Guard members work and live in every community across the nation and have a proven track record of success supporting civilian authorities after homeland emergencies,” spokesperson for the National Guard told The Hill.

The Hill reports that when asked if the White House could federalize the Guard to respond to the illness, National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel told reporters that President Trump could do so if desired, but that such a move “would not make sense in this situation.”

“Every state has a different way to deal with disasters. If you were to federalize [the Guard], you would lose that ability,” he said.

The US now has an emergency declaration in every state, territory and the District of Columbia.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has deployed the state’s National Guard to assist at food banks. He has said that he will be using them for both humanitarian and public safety needs.

Mississippi is using their National Guard to distribute supplies and possibly helping to set up and support drive-thru COVID-19 screening facilities.

General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard, took to social media to combat rumors of martial law or a nationwide lockdown, tweeting “I hear unfounded rumors about #NationalGuard troops supporting a nationwide quarantine. Let me be clear: There has been no such discussion.”

I hear unfounded rumors about #NationalGuard troops supporting a nationwide quarantine. Let me be clear: There has been no such discussion. … For news about the great work the Guard IS doing to support the #Covid_19 response, click the link. #COVID19 https://t.co/JZROM4xfF9

— Gen. Joseph Lengyel (@ChiefNGB) March 20, 2020

After a video of a train full of military vehicles said to be going through the Chicago area went viral, the Illinois National Guard responded on social media and claimed that it has nothing to do with coronavirus and that they haven’t moved vehicles through the area in over a month.

This video was taken in Barrington IL (NW suburb of Chicago) about 3 hours ago.

Metra North line heading to Chicago and then further East.

Coming soon? pic.twitter.com/C7bKNdn3mA

— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) March 20, 2020

“There are a lot of rumors going around about the Illinois National Guard being activated to enforce a quarantine in Chicago or other areas of the state. Some even have video of a train moving military equipment near the city,” they wrote on Facebook. “We confirmed with our logistics officer that we haven’t had trains moving Illinois National Guard equipment through Chicago in more than a month. These are not our vehicles. The military moves equipment all the time. This has nothing to do with COVID-19 response.”

The IL National Guard also responded to another video on Twitter.

Ryan – The only troops we are sending to the Chicago area is a small contingent of medical personnel – doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical technicians. The military ships vehicles all the time. This is in no way related to COVID-19.

— IL National Guard (@IL_Natl_Guard) March 19, 2020

“People are understandably anxious about coronavirus. We will let people know as troops are activated for additional missions,” the organization wrote in a statement. “Please remember, the National Guard is a community-based organization. We are your neighbors, your friends, your relatives, your co-workers – we are you. We’re all in this together and we’ll get through it together. Stay safe!”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/nearly-5500-national-guard-troops-deployed-in-32-states-over-coronavirus-outbreak/

New Jersey Orders 9 Million Residents To 'Stay At Home'; 86 Million Americans Now On Lockdown

Following a hint from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who suggested during a press conference earlier this week that Connecticut and New Jersey might follow suit with lockdowns of their own, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday signed an executive order barring citizens from leaving their homes unless they're part of the "essential" workforce.

The stay-at-home order covers all of the state's 9 million residents, and follows similar mandates that have been handed down in California, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania.

Murphy insisted that residents practice social distancing when they leave the house to buy food or pick up medicine, or go to perform 'nonessential' jobs.

"We must flatten the curve and ensure residents are practicing social distancing," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in announcing the new restrictions. But, he added, "Even with this order in effect…life in New Jersey does not have to come to a complete standstill."

He told residents not to panic, but added "we are at war."

Starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, New Jersey residents must stay home and all nonessential businesses have to close indefinitely. All gatherings including weddings, in-person services and parties, are canceled until further notice, Murphy said. He added that the rules he laid out supersede all those set by towns or cities or counties in his state, The governor made the announcement during his Saturday press conference. "We need you to just stay home," he said, adding that, as of 12:30 pm, the state had counted 1,327 positive tests and 16 deaths.

Including New Jersey's 9 million people, 86 million Americans are under a China- or Italy-style lockdown, or something closely approximating that.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/new-jersey-orders-9-million-residents-stay-home

Thousands of French citizens ignore quarantine as cops issue nearly 39,000 citations for violating lockdown

French law enforcers have slapped fines on tens of thousands of uncooperative citizens, less than a week after the government introduced restrictions on non-essential travel and business in an effort to combat Covid-19.

The Ministry of Interior disclosed on Saturday that police across the country had carried out 867,695 inspections to ensure that people using transport or participating in other restricted activities had good reason to do so. As a result, cops reported some 38,994 instances of non-compliance resulting in fines between Tuesday and Friday. French authorities have also warned that they will become stricter with enforcement going forward.

Some of the fines were reportedly issued to homeless people in Paris, Lyon and Bayonne, according to an advocacy group for the disadvantaged. However, the group did not disclose how many people living on the streets have been penalized for violating the lockdown.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that people should work from home wherever possible, and imposed a ban on all travel except for medical care, shopping and urgent family-related business.

As part of the extreme measures, people who choose to go outside need to have a certificate, which can be printed from the government website, stating the reason for their trip. Those caught without the document risk a €135 ($145) fine.

https://www.rt.com/news/483722-france-fines-police-coronavirus-lockdown/

The New York Times’ Insidious Ongoing Disinformation Campaign on Russia and Elections

A series of stories loudly proclaim the Russian election meddling narrative but offer no real facts supporting the most sensational claims, writes Gareth Porter.

For the past three years the new narrative of Russian interference in U.S. elections has bound corporate news media more tightly than ever to the interests of the national security state. And no outlet has pushed that narrative more aggressively – and with more violence to the relevant facts — than The New York Times.

Times reporters have produced a series of stories that loudly proclaim the Russian election meddling narrative but offer no real facts in the body of the story supporting its most sensational claims.

The Times service to the narrative was introduced by its February 2017 story headlined, “Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts with Russian Intelligence.” We now know from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign that the only campaign aide who had contacts with Russian intelligence officials was Carter Page, and those had taken place years before in the context of Page’s reporting them to the CIA. The Horowitz report revealed that FBI officials had hidden that fact from the FISA Court to justify its request for surveillance of Page.

But the Times coverage of the Horowitz report in December 2019 failed to acknowledge that the calumny about Page’s Russian intelligence contacts, which it had published without question in 2017, had been an FBI deception.

Two more Times Russiagate stories in 2018 and 2019 featured spectacular claims that proved on closer examination to be grotesque distortions of fact. In September 2018 a 10,000-word story by Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti sought to convince readers that the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) had successfully swayed U.S. opinion during the 2016 election with 80,000 Facebook posts that they said had reached 126 million Americans.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/new-york-times-ongoing-disinformation-campaign-russia-elections/5706855

Gun-Rights Group Files Suit Challenging Coronavirus Shutdown

Second Amendment advocates exploring legal options amid coronavirus shutdowns

A top gun-rights group is challenging the state-ordered shutdown of "non-essential" businesses because of the coronavirus outbreak, and leading Second Amendment advocates say more could be in store.

Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, said his group filed a case on Friday asking the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to block Democratic governor Tom Wolf from including gun stores in a statewide shutdown of "non-essential" businesses. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has told Gov. Wolf he has until 8 p.m. on Friday to respond to the arguments in the case.

"Weapons and ammunition retailers are one of the most essential business types in the United States," Combs told the Washington Free Beacon. "There is no ‘except in emergencies’ clause in the Constitution and the government cannot shut down the people’s right to keep and bear arms."

Government mandates shuttering businesses in several states have raised the prospect that more gun retailers could be ordered to shut their doors. California and Pennsylvania have already started shutting down businesses other than grocery stores, gas stations, and other "life-sustaining" industries, as Wolf described them. At least one gun store near San Jose has been forced to close in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, according to a Mercury News report.

But gun-rights advocates say Americans' access to firearms and ammunition should not be prohibited despite the threat of the virus.

"They [retailers] are required by the government to be a point of access to the exercise of fundamental human rights," Combs said.

As fears of the pandemic increase and police in major cities announce they will no longer make arrests over certain crimes, Americans have flooded gun stores and online ammunition dealers in recent weeks. A shutdown of gun stores would drastically limit their ability to purchase firearms for self-defense. It would also raise significant constitutional questions that gun-rights groups say they will challenge in court if lawmakers attempt to curb gun sales.

"We are monitoring and working to resolve all these issues in a timely manner. All options—legal, legislative, and otherwise—are on the table," Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the NRA, told the Free Beacon. "Law-abiding Americans must not be deprived of the right to defend themselves and their loved ones at any time."

https://freebeacon.com/issues/gun-rights-group-files-suit-challenging-coronavirus-shutdown/

Commission President Under Real Pressure Over Corona Credibility Problem

The new EU commission president got her 30 day shutdown agreement from member states, but there are signs that her appointment was a real gaffe by euro federalists as it becomes clear that the EU is not in control of any virus contingency plans.

“Be careful what you wish for” might be words some mutter when they think of the engagement of Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president last November. Traditionally the post of the powerful Commission president has always gone to an obscure, failed politician from an even obscurer EU member state, with perhaps the exception of Jacques Delors in the mid 80s, who, arguably, wasn’t known much outside of France in that period.

But this German lightweight, with the unfortunate nickname of VDL (which in Britain conjures ideas of a sexually transmitted disease), broke the mould on failing to achieve anything while being in the federal government where even colleagues in Berlin opposed her nomination for the EU post on the ground of being sensationally unremarkable.

But the EU elite, the real powers in Brussels who have funny handshakes and whose sweaty palms are on the real powers over member states, like “also ran” candidates. This is seen as very much a positive thing when installing your own puppet in the top euro job.

Yet, given the EU’s rancid if not delusional ideas of how to pull itself out of its own political crisis – take more power, decentralise more away from member states, build stronger foreign policy and swell the budget considerably (presumably to pay for more fake news from journalists who are indirectly on the EU payroll) – one would have thought that this old business model needed a second look. Surely, a heavyweight pro federalist leader with a guilt edged profile, which media lapped up, would have been the ticket? Someone like Tony Blair for example?

Dear Ursula’s failure this week to garner support from EU member states to all stick to a single policy on the dreaded Corona Virus, rather than all develop their own policies on borders and national health initiatives, failed spectacularly though. If anything, it goes to show how weak and ineffective the EU is as, when tested under a crisis, the real confidence, the vote of confidence from national governments no less, just isn’t there. It’s like governments are saying we love the EU, we really do, and we see it as such a great thing…but when the shit hits the fan, we’ll take it from here, thanks.

On Sunday 15th of March, Germany moved to impose travel restrictions along most of its borders, without even bothering to informed its neighbouring countries. Several European Union members — including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal and Denmark — had also taken moves to impose border restrictions, in some cases with little advance notification. Is any of this legal? What about Schengen?

This must have panicked Ursula who, on the Monday 16th, made the cringe-worthy plea through a video conference for calm and for everyone to do as the new EU Commission president wants. And so on the following day, she appealed to member states through a video conference for her 30 day travel ban proposal to be approved.

Finally the chaos was brought under control. But it was Germany’s Angela Merkel who announced the news of an EU-wide 30-day shut down on non-EU citizens. Until that point, 27 member states went ahead with their own polices and almost certainly the move to agree on the Ursula proposal, was pushed through by Macron and Merkel as not only a common sense move, but also a political one to support the new European Commission president who for a number of days was really not on the ball.

And yet it didn’t stop a number of EU member states continuing with their own internal border rules, which bypassed entirely the European Commission president.

But what no one saw coming was the extraordinary reaction from Serbia – an EU candidate country – whose president took the opportunity to more or less declare its loathing of Brussels, as it saw the proposal as a direct threat to its relations with China. Importantly, the draft of the text prohibits EU member states (and those in line to join the EU) seeking to acquire medical equipment outside of the EU (as well as exporting medical equipment out of the EU-27 block) which drew the wrath of the Serbian president, who more or less spat blood while taking about Brussels.

“European solidarity does not exist. That was a fairy tale,” he said at a conference which soon became vital on social media. “The only country that can help us in this hard situation is the People’s Republic of China. For the rest of them, thanks for nothing.”

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/03/21/commission-president-under-real-pressure-over-corona-credibility-problem/