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Ruth King

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COVID-19, the Elephant, and the House Cat The really scary thing about this latest health scare is not the disease but the unexpected depths of passivity it revealed. By Roger Kimball

By on March 22nd, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/03/21/covid-19-the-elephant-and-the-house-cat/

Here’s something special: a headline in The Economist that speaks the truth: “In Europe, and around the world, governments are getting tougher.” You betcha. Last week, I wrote with contempt about San Francisco’s mayor who had just announced she would “legally prohibit residents from leaving their homes except to meet basic needs.” “Well,” I thought, “It’s California, what do you expect?”

But now several other states, including New York, Connecticut, and Illinois, have issued “shelter-in-place” orders. They closed all “nonessential” businesses (nonessential to whom? To they people who work there?) and are throwing their weight around in other ways.

Restaurants: closed, except for take-out and delivery. Gymnasiums: closed. Museums: closed. Concert halls: closed. Public fraternization: essentially prohibited.

Why? Because of the biggest threat to mankind that the world has ever seen: the COVID-19 virus, also know as the Chinese flu, which to date has killed—are you ready—276 people in the United States, almost all of them over 80, almost all with serious co-morbidities.

Two-hundred-and-seventy-six people! And yes, that frightening number will rise. It will be 400, 500 before you know it. Maybe when all is said and done, we’ll see 1,000-1,200 identified who have died from complications that can be traced to this respiratory illness.

Meanwhile, somewhere between 22,000 and more than 50,000 people have died from the seasonal flu in the United States this year. Why is there no panic about that?

The Wuhan virus is a bad bug. But far more lethal than the “pandemic”—it sounds so much scarier to say “pandemic” than “epidemic,” even if the term is not justified—far more lethal, I say, are two other “P” words: panic and passivity.

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GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on March 22nd, 2020

http://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Virus protection masks. (TY UWI) Israel’s Sonovia (see here) is now in full production of its face masks that protect the wearer from the coronavirus. Sonovia will donate the first 120,000 of the new masks to the Israeli government, for use by medical workers, patients and key employees. More will be donated to other countries.

https://tps.co.il/articles/we-know-that-we-can-kill-the-coronavirus-israeli-company-donates-120000-cutting-edge-protective-masks-to-govt/ https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-start-up-to-donate-120000-masks-to-stop-coronavirus-spread-621077

Treatment saves coronavirus patient. The Israel-Arab bus driver, who was critically ill from the coronavirus, is out of danger. He caught the virus from a group of Greek tourists and was treated with anti-viral medications. Chloroquine, Remdesivir and several experimental medications (see link) are being used in severe cases.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Health-Ministry-approves-experimental-treatments-for-coronavirus-621209

Stem cell treatment may relieve coronavirus symptoms. Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics’s placenta-based cell therapy (see here) could be used to treat patients suffering from respiratory and inflammatory complications associated with coronavirus. Pluristem has launched a joint project with two Berlin-based medical institutions.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-cell-therapy-to-treat-acute-COVID-19-patients-prevent-ARDS-621016 https://unitedwithisrael.org/novel-israeli-therapy-takes-aim-at-coronavirus/

30-minute coronavirus testing kit. Israel’s BATM has developed a diagnostics kit to detect coronavirus from saliva samples in less than half an hour. The kit already detects SARS and MERS virus infections. BATM is now busy commercializing the kit for large-scale production.

https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-company-develops-rapid-diagnostic-kit-for-covid-19/

Double boost for potential ALS treatment. (TY Atid-EDI) The US FDA has given Orphan drug status to the PrimeC ALS therapy from Israel’s NeuroSense (see here). Meanwhile, NeuroSense has begun Phase 1 human clinical trials of PrimeC at two US sites and a Phase 2a human trial at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center.

https://alsnewstoday.com/2020/02/12/als-combination-therapy-primec-receives-fdas-orphan-drug-designation-enters-clinical-trials/

Trial success for diabetes pill. (TY YL & UWI) Israel’s Oramed announced good results of its Phase 2b trials of ORMD-0801 treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Oramed will now discuss its Phase 3 plans with the US FDA.

https://www.oramed.com/oramed-reports-positive-results-in-the-final-cohort-of-its-phase-2b-oral-insulin-trial/

Breakthrough designation for corneal implant. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s EyeYon Medical (see here) has been awarded Breakthrough Device designation for its EndoArt polymer film implant, attached to the posterior corneal surface, to treat chronic corneal edema. EndoArt has been successful in early human clinical trials.

https://eye-yon.com/endoart-received-the-breakthrough-device-designation-from-the-fda/

Only take the vitamins you need. Israeli app Nutricco monitors a person’s nutrient intake, provides dietary advice and delivers missing vitamins to your home. It is intended for those who currently waste money and risk their health by taking unnecessary supplements.

https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-startup-helps-you-take-only-the-vitamins-you-need/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChnHcV_DaBY https://www.nutricco.com/

Smells to boost memory while you sleep. Scientists from Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute have demonstrated that administering certain scents during sleep bolsters memory processes in the brain. The study tested memory recall after using rose scent while memorizing words and then during a short nap.

https://www.israel21c.org/rose-scents-while-you-sleep-can-boost-your-memory/

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30171-8?_return

EU approval for blood pressure wristband monitor. (TY Atid-EDI) In Sep 2019 Israel’s Biobeat received FDA approval for its medical smartwatch and patch (see here). It has now also received CE Mark approval. The smartwatch measures blood pressure, cardiac output, stroke volume, blood oxygenation and heart rate.

https://www.medgadget.com/2020/03/biobeat-receives-eu-clearance-for-vital-sign-monitoring-with-wristwatch-and-patch.html

A surgical sewing-machine. Israel’s Anchora Medical develops single-use suturing devices used to bring soft tissue into the desired placement during open and minimally invasive surgeries. Anchora has just raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by Japan’s Hoya Corporation.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3798190,00.html http://anchora-medical.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrE0VGqt0UM

Building an imaging system for prostate cancer. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Isotopia Molecular Imaging has entered into a development partnership with Germany’s Eckert & Ziegler for the development of its PSMA-11-Kit for prostate cancer imaging. Isotopia’s team includes some of Israel’s leading scientists.

https://isotopia.co.il/isotopia-molecular-imaging-and-eckert-ziegler-to-start-partnership-for-prostate-cancer-imaging/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5yhCGBqsiA

Predicting success of cancer treatments. Israeli scientists are frequently finding new ways of personalizing cancer treatments. Some are based on genetics (see here) or proteins expressed by the body (see here). Now Weizmann Institute researchers are devising a system to predict how patients will respond to immunotherapy.

https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/predicting-immunotherapy-success

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14639-9

Unlocking more medical data. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s MDClone (see here) organizes patient data to help medical research in Israel and in the US. It has now expanded to Canada with The Ottawa Hospital – one of Canada’s largest hospitals. MDClone’s technology can potentially benefit thousands of Canadians.

https://www.mdclone.com/resources/mdclone-expands-to-canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-TaH32O1ec

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The New York Times Downplays Promising COVID-19 Development By Alexandra DeSanctis

By on March 22nd, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-new-york-times-downplays-promising-covid-19-development/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=right-rail&utm_content=corner&utm_term=third

In an article published on Thursday and updated on Friday, New York Times reporters downplayed the possibility of using hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ), an anti-malaria drug, to treat COVID-19.

“With Minimal Evidence, Trump Asks F.D.A. to Study Malaria Drugs for Coronavirus,” the headline reads. And the subtitle: “The use of the existing drugs against the new virus is unproven, and some shortages have already been reported.”

The article went on to claim that the president had “exaggerated the potential of drugs available to treat the new coronavirus, including an experimental antiviral treatment and decades-old malaria remedies that hint of promise but so far show limited evidence of healing the sick.”

Another Times article on the topic bore the headline “Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Defies Science.”

No one should suggest, based on the available evidence, that HCQ is some sort of silver bullet that will cure COVID-19 and get us out of this global crisis. But neither should reporters cover a possible positive development from the angle of how best they can disparage the president. And Trump’s comments about the drug, though perhaps more optimistic than warranted, were not unreasonable.

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The COVID-19 paradigm shift on war and weaponry By Scott Ruppert

By on March 22nd, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/03/the_covid19_paradigm_shift_on_war_and_weaponry.html

It’s time to shift our thinking about an arms race coming in the form of a nuclear mushroom cloud and devote some serious thought to biological warfare.

Over the course of the last two months, we have witnessed how a virtually invisible yet highly insidious weapon like a virus strain can glom onto the human body and wreak worldwide havoc.  We’re witness to wholesale closure of countries, home restrictions, economic slowdown on some fronts with total destruction on others and long-term catastrophic effects on the rest, broken supply chains on a global scale, and a sense of uncertainty to paralyze anyone who has been paying attention.

We’ve all seen the black-and-white videos of nuclear tests, read about the nuclear build-up in Iran, discussions about which countries can be trusted to be in the global “nuclear club,” and heard how rogue elements could detonate a low-yield dirty bomb from a small suitcase in downtown Manhattan.  But the COVID-19 coronavirus strain is right out of a Hollywood movie that we’ve been watching for the last 50 years.  I’m not so far out on the conspiracy theory limb to aver that this is what is happening, but it certainly provokes some thought.

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What did Dr. Fauci have to say in 2009 about the deadly H1N1 pandemic? By M. Catharine Evans

By on March 22nd, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/03/what_did_dr_fauci_have_to_say_in_2009_about_the_deadly_h1n1_pandemic.html

It seems some viral infection pandemics are more equal than others. At least when it comes to burning a vibrant Trump economy to the ground. 

In September 2009, after millions had become infected with the H1N1 influenza and thousands had died, some of whom were young people and children, a relaxed and unalarmed Dr. Anthony Fauci told an interviewer that people just need “to use good judgment.”

“Parents should not send their kids to school if they’re sick, if you’re sick don’t go to work … avoid places where there are people who are sick and coughing, now that’s a difficult thing to do,” he said. “…You can’t isolate yourself from the rest of the world for the whole flu season.” That’s quite a change from the esteemed expert’s views on the current virus from China sweeping the world.

From YouTube:

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Coronavirus Vindicates Capitalism Drug companies will save lives, even as Bernie Sanders is denouncing them.Kimberley A. Strassel

By on March 22nd, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-vindicates-capitalism-11584659306

The left is never apt to let a serious crisis go to waste, as we see with its daily use of the coronavirus pandemic to bash the Republican administration. The bigger danger is the efforts it is already making to exploit the panic for its longer-term goal of destroying U.S. capitalism.

Socialist Bernie Sanders led the charge last Sunday in his Democratic primary debate with Joe Biden. Bernie rolled out his usual themes, this time through the virus lens. The pandemic “exposes the incredible weakness and dysfunctionality” of the U.S. health system, he said; the cure is centralized, socialized care. Americans can’t get the drugs they need because “a bunch of crooks” run drug companies, “ripping us off every single day.” The virus exposes the “cruelty and unjustness” of an economy that allows “big-money interests” and “multimillionaires” to profiteer off “working families.”

He’s hardly alone. The coronavirus has “laid this bare: America was less prepared for a pandemic than countries with a universal health system,” declared Vox. The pandemic has “inflicted new stress on a system already too unequal to function,” wrote Sarah Jones in New York magazine, lecturing on the need to “devolve power from wealthy interests.” “The coronavirus crisis exposes the stupidity of Trump’s healthcare policies,” railed Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik. A Morning Consult poll suggests this opportunistic sloganeering is resonating, with 41% of the public more likely to support universal health-care proposals amid this pandemic.

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Coronavirus Tests America’s Social Capacity By Matthew Continetti

By on March 21st, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-tests-american-society/#slide-1

Is American society ready for the coronavirus pandemic?

Afew months after September 11, 2001, David Brooks went back and looked at coverage of Pearl Harbor for an article in The Weekly Standard (“After Pearl Harbor,” December 10, 2001). What he saw intrigued him. A sense of unity and patriotism followed both surprise attacks. But media after Pearl Harbor had none of the sorrow, sensitivity, and angst that filled the news, with reason, after 9/11. Recognizing the inevitable costs of war, Americans on the home front at the outset of World War II were nonetheless eager to carry on as usual. They did not apologize or second-guess. They soldiered on. “When you step back and contemplate the range of post-Pearl Harbor media,” Brooks wrote, “you are struck by how extraordinarily proud of itself America then was.”

I revisited Brooks’s article this week while thinking about the differences between America during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918–1919 and America during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic today. Some of the distinctions are self-evident. America is far more wealthy, free, and technologically advanced than it was then. We enjoy the benefits of incorporating half the population into our economy and society, of ending de jure anti-black racism, of attracting the best and most ambitious talent from across the globe. We are no longer a rising power but a reluctant hegemon. A raw deal awaits any American who trades places with a doppelgänger from midway through Woodrow Wilson’s second term.

What changed is the American ethos. Expressive individualism replaced self-restraint. Narcissism and the therapeutic sensibility triumphed over the reticence and sense of tragedy that comes from living in places and times where there is no safety net and death is a constant presence. The culture of debunking, revisionism, and repudiation informs education, entertainment, art, and occasionally sport.

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Moulin Rouge on Broadway By Madeleine Kearns

By on March 21st, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/movie-review-moulin-rouge-better-than-broadway-version/

B roadway has shut down until at least April 12. But for those hoping to see Moulin Rouge, worry not. The film version, which you can enjoy from the coronavirus-free comfort of your home, is far superior.

It’s been 20 years since Baz Luhrmann’s famously over-the-top movie musical came to screens. Based on La Bohème, the story (cowritten by Luhrmann) is about a young English poet, Christian (played by Ewan McGregor), who falls in love with a French courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman) — the “sparkling diamond” of the famous Parisian cabaret the Moulin Rouge. This leads to a gripping, passionate affair that sadly ends in tears.

The film opens to Nat King Cole’s hit “Nature Boy” (“There was a boy, / A very strange, enchanted boy”) and a 30-year-old McGregor sitting bearded and depressed at his typewriter. Christian then mournfully relays that the woman he loves “is dead.” The rest of the movie is a flashback. We soon learn that Christian is an idealist who moved from London to Paris in 1899 to be part of the Bohemian movement. Soon after moving, he discovered an eccentric band of performers living in the apartment above him. They spotted his writing talent and enlisted his help in selling their show Spectacular Spectacular to Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge.

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COVID-19 and the Limits of Law By Andrew McCarthy

By on March 21st, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-response-executive-power-limits-of-law/

The extent to which law is a barrier against to future presidential muscle-flexing, for good or ill, depends not on what the statutes and opinions say, but on how scared we are.

Earlier this week, Jim Geraghty posted about the decision by Dare County, N.C., to close its borders to non-residents. Is it merely a reaction, or an overreaction, to the coronavirus pandemic creeping across the nation?

The county’s move raises all sorts of constitutional questions about federalism. At what level of government do we properly resolve such questions — federal, state, county, municipal? Do Americans have a settled right of travel — intrastate, interstate, international — that applies at all times, or is the law flexible in this regard (as it can be regarding the imposition of martial law in times of war, invasion, and insurrection)? If a county can ban the entry of non-residents from its territory, can it ban the exit of residents, or at least of their property?

We could bat these questions around for some time. The bottom line, however, is that there are probably no settled legal answers. We miss that in normal times of peace and prosperity, when the rule of law governs. But in crisis, we see the limits of law. In essence, these questions call for political determinations. They turn on the perception of peril at a given time, which is a function of fluid circumstances that cannot be forecast with precision.

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Is This a PANDEMIC or a DEMPANIC? By Joan Swirsky 

By on March 21st, 2020

https://canadafreepress.com/article/is-this-a-pandemic-or-a-dempanic

These are just a few of the forces who have been working overtime for the past four years to sabotage, undermine, and ultimately destroy both candidate and then President Trump

Now that we’re in a de facto Martial Law mode––a shutdown of entire industries and small businesses, nighttime curfews, social isolation, a run on goods, huge sports events cancelled, a “shelter-in-place” mandate in California, releasing prisoners in New York (God forbid these  miscreants get a flu!), Broadway gone dark, and a craven media inciting and delighting in the panic they’re causing, it is relevant to ask:

Are the powers-that-be withholding information about a deadly germ-warfare attack on the entire world, started by an aggrieved Chinese Communist nation that was perfectly happy with the Bush1 and Clinton1&2 and Bush1&2 and Obama1&2 regimes that kowtowed to their outrageous demands and unfair trade deals but is now existentially threatened because a Patriot President expects more equitable deals?
Isn’t it both alarmist and immoral, as reported in American Thinker by Andrea Widburg, that the fake-news media have never told the American people that the scary statistics from Italy are the result of Italy’s recent Silk Road Project agreement with China, which resulted in more than 300,000 Chinese workers entering Italy?
Is it just one of those strange coincidences that one of the four richest men in the world, the uber-leftist and population-control fetishist Bill Gates––just weeks after the corona virus hit in January––stepped down from the Microsoft giant he founded in 1975, and just weeks earlier, in December, sponsored a “fictional” simulation of such a corona virus catastrophic event which  spread wildly and caused 65 million deaths worldwide? Just asking.

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