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Netanyahu Announces Full Lockdown Of Israel Ahead Of Passover
Netanyahu Announces Full Lockdown Of Israel Ahead Of Passover
Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the entire country will enter complete lockdown starting 4 pm on Tuesday until 7 am Friday.
This will also include a mandated home-confinement for all citizens from Wednesday׳s Passover Seder until 7am on Thursday, with citizens only allowed to venture outside up to 100 meters from their home during that time. All travel between cities will be banned, which appears to have already begun to be enforced by police.
Netanyahu further indicated some restrictions will remain in effect for the full holiday week, with some likely to be lifted gradually following the Passover holiday. It’s being interpreted as a controversial move to prevent families from traveling to gather for Passover.
Local media reports have suggested the move is in part a bid to open up the economy again after the intensive period of ‘stay at home’ orders.
Passover typically includes large family gatherings and heightened travel across the Jewish state, and the PM framed the drastic nationwide police-enforced lock down as aimed at preventing large-scale transmissions during the festivities.
He also said during his statements, “we see positive signs on the horizon” at a moment over 8,400 Israelis have been confirmed for COVID-19, including 53 deaths as of Monday afternoon.
Netanyahu in his remarks touted that Israel has successfully initiated testing on a more expansive level than any other country currently hard-hit by the pandemic, and emphasized health officials are determined to reach 10,000 tests a day.
Police have been particularly active in resistant ultra-Orthodox towns, especially Bnei Brak outside of Jerusalem, for broad refusal to shut down synagogues and religious schools amid local mandates.
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When Will The Coronavirus Lockdowns Be Lifted? Here Are One Bank’s Estimates
When Will The Coronavirus Lockdowns Be Lifted? Here Are One Bank’s Estimates
With most of the developed world on lockdown, and markets and economies paralyzed until there is a material decline in new coronavirus cases, i.e., until we slide “over the hump” of the coronavirus curve, the biggest question – and variable – in assessing the economic damage unleashed by the covid-19 virus is the length of the lockdowns now in force, with Deutsche Bank’s Luke Templeman pointing out that “politicians and health officials have discussed dates ranging anywhere from weeks to over a year.”
In an attempt to answer this most important for capital markets question, namely when will the civic and economic restrictions begin to be lifted in various key countries, Deutsche Bank provides some estimates largely based on the experience of the lockdown and reopening in China’s Hubei province.
Using the “Chinese” experience as indicative of what other countries can achieve, recent studies have confirmed that after implementing various suppression measures, several large countries “appear to be converging onto the decline in the daily growth rate of deaths” seen in China. An Imperial College study in particular pointed out that the overall number of deaths in other countries could be between two and eight times the number of deaths as in China.
As DB notes, one way to look at how other countries are converging on the experience in Hubei province, China is shown in the following chart. As the German bank explains, it uses “a three-day comparison in order to filter out the noise from sudden jumps and drops when figures were relatively small. We also start each time series at the point at which restrictions were introduced to attempt a closer comparison. We then show all the countries individually against the Hubei experience.”
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Coronavirus Spells the End of the Neoliberal Era. What’s Next?
Coronavirus Spells the End of the Neoliberal Era. What’s Next?
Coronavirus is a political crucible, melting down and reshaping current norms. Will the new era be a “Fortress Earth” or a harbinger of a transformed society based on a new set of values?
Think Bigger
Whatever you might be thinking about the long-term impacts of the coronavirus epidemic, you’re probably not thinking big enough.
Our lives have already been reshaped so dramatically in the past few weeks that it’s difficult to see beyond the next news cycle. We’re bracing for the recession we all know is here, wondering how long the lockdown will last, and praying that our loved ones will all make it through alive.
But, in the same way that Covid-19 is spreading at an exponential rate, we also need to think exponentially about its long-term impact on our culture and society. A year or two from now, the virus itself will likely have become a manageable part of our lives—effective treatments will have emerged; a vaccine will be available. But the impact of coronavirus on our global civilization will only just be unfolding. The massive disruptions we’re already seeing in our lives are just the first heralds of a historic transformation in political and societal norms.
If Covid-19 were spreading across a stable and resilient world, its impact could be abrupt but contained. Leaders would consult together; economies disrupted temporarily; people would make do for a while with changed circumstances—and then, after the shock, look forward to getting back to normal. That’s not, however, the world in which we live. Instead, this coronavirus is revealing the structural faults of a system that have been papered over for decades as they’ve been steadily worsening. Gaping economic inequalities, rampant ecological destruction, and pervasive political corruption are all results of unbalanced systems relying on each other to remain precariously poised. Now, as one system destabilizes, expect others to tumble down in tandem in a cascade known by researchers as “synchronous failure.”
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Depression Strikes America, Looting Begins, Panic Searching “Buy Ammo” Hits Record
Depression Strikes America, Looting Begins, Panic Searching “Buy Ammo” Hits Record
With a labor market in freefall, ten million Americans have lost their jobs in two weeks. CNN reported Thursday afternoon that stimulus checks for households could take up to 20 weeks, which is creating a perfect storm of possible social unrest.
The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies recently warned that a “social bomb could explode at any moment” over Western cities. That is because the evolution of the pandemic, which has crashed the American economy into a depression, could result in social unraveling in major metros, specifically in low-income areas.
We’ve noted in the last several weeks that Americans are panic hoarding guns as the fear of social unrest could be imminent. President Trump signed an executive order last Friday that allows for up to one million National Guard and reservists to be called up to fight the virus or be used to maintain social order.
With lockdowns across the country, the National Guard has been deployed across many states. Here are some sights from Baltimore:
Baltimore
Signs of social unrest are already starting to develop this week. Law enforcement agencies in South Carolina and California have charged people with looting businesses during the shutdowns, reported The Sun.
Police in Santa Cruz, California, arrested five people who were robbing businesses in the city, despite a “shelter-in-place” public health order enforced by the state government.
In South Carolina, police arrested two men as they attempted to raid a storage warehouse unit.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Draconian Lockdown Powers: It’s a Slippery Slope from Handwashing to House Arrest
Draconian Lockdown Powers: It’s a Slippery Slope from Handwashing to House Arrest
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”—Viktor Frankl
We still have choices.
Just because we’re fighting an unseen enemy in the form of a virus doesn’t mean we have to relinquish every shred of our humanity, our common sense, or our freedoms to a nanny state that thinks it can do a better job of keeping us safe.
Whatever we give up willingly now—whether it’s basic human decency, the ability to manage our private affairs, the right to have a say in how the government navigates this crisis, or the few rights still left to us that haven’t been disemboweled in recent years by a power-hungry police state—we won’t get back so easily once this crisis is past.
The government never cedes power willingly.
Neither should we.
Every day brings a drastic new set of restrictions by government bodies (most have been delivered by way of executive orders) at the local, state and federal level that are eager to flex their muscles for the so-called “good” of the populace.
This is where we run the risk of this whole fly-by-night operation going completely off the rails.
It’s one thing to attempt an experiment in social distancing in order to flatten the curve of this virus because we can’t afford to risk overwhelming the hospitals and exposing the most vulnerable in the nation to unavoidable loss of life scenarios. However, there’s a fine line between strongly worded suggestions for citizens to voluntarily stay at home and strong-armed house arrest orders with penalties in place for non-compliance.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
China Shuts Down All Cinemas, As Scientists Fear Second Coronavirus Wave
China Shuts Down All Cinemas, As Scientists Fear Second Coronavirus Wave
China spent most of March attempting to normalize its economy after several months of virus-related shutdowns. There were reports of retail stores opening, people going outside, virus cases declining, factories restarting, and even movie theaters reopening.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that the government gave nearly 600 movie theaters across China the green light for phased reopening in the third week of March. Then by March 27, Beijing’s Film Bureau requested that all theaters go into lockdown.
“This second closure will not be a one or two-week issue,” an executive at a major exhibition company told The Hollywood Reporter. “They are going to be even more cautious when they attempt to reopen again—and this will set us back a long time.”
The Chinese government did not explicitly cite the reason for the latest theater closings. Still, scientists are now warning that a second coronavirus wave could be arriving by the end of April:
“It’s time to relax the lockdown, but we need to be alert for a potential second wave of infections,” says Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong.
Cowling warned that a second wave of the fast-spreading virus could hit China by the end of April.
China’s large network of 70,000 movie screens were all shuttered in January because of the COVID-19 outbreak that started in December and has since infected 741,000 people globally and killed 35,114.
Many Chinese theaters were closed on the weekend of the Chinese New Year, which is the most significant moviegoing time of the year. Box office sales in the country for the first two months were down $2 billion over the same period last year.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Trump Weighs “Enforceable” Quarantine Order For Greater New York, Including Conn. & NJ: Live Updates
Trump Weighs “Enforceable” Quarantine Order For Greater New York, Including Conn. & NJ: Live Updates
Summary:
- Global case total tops 600k
- Japan fast-tracks approval of treatment drug for COVID-19
- Third UK minister self-quarantines after showing symptoms of virus
- Trump weighing enforceable quarantine order for all of greater NY area
- Trump tells NBC reporter that quarantines of New York, NJ & Conn. were “possible”
- Italy case total surpasses China
- Spain reports deadliest day yet
- UK case total climbs north of 17k
- Navy hospital ships leave for New York, LA
- Abe says he’s “just barely avoiding” declaring a national emergency
- Yale University slammed for denying aid to city of New Haven
- Shinzo Abe promises unprecedented stimulus package
- Trump gives Pentagon power to call up retired soldiers and reservists
- NYPD detective dies from COVID-19
- Italian centennarian survives battle with COVID-19
* * *
Update (1420ET): As the death toll skyrockets, Spanish officials said they would need to tighten quarantine rules, and are now ordering all people to stay indoors at all times, unless they’re going to work at an “essential” job. We expect the bare minimum of exceptions (trips outside permitted to get food) will continue.
Meanwhile, in France, large numbers of the public continue to ignore the quarantine.
Though France’s health minister said Saturday that the country could soon face shortages of critical drugs, he assured the public that an order for 1 billion masks had recently been put in to ‘China’.
In Italy, the tone was far more somber.
* * *
Update (1412ET): The coronavirus outbreak has pitted many interests against one another in the scramble for resources. But some of the most flagrant examples of communal selfishness so far have occurred in ritzy Connecticut, where a town full of wealthy bankers and doctors shut down a drive thru testing center (well, they stopped it from opening in the first place), and now, Yale University is at the center of a controversy after refusing to allow the town access to any of its (now empty) facilities to help the community fight off the virus.
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WHO Expert: Lock Downs Won’t Stop This Virus
WHO EXPERT: LOCK DOWNS WON’T STOP THIS VIRUS
A World Health Organization expert has come forward warning that lockdowns and economic depression are not going to stop this virus. Michael Ryan, who heads the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, urged world governments to take further tyrannical measures in combating the coronavirus.
But his solution is complete global totalitarianism. Ryan wants governments to do things such as identifying people with the virus and quarantining them, forcibly if necessary. Forced quarantine with a gun to your head. “What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them,” Ryan told the BBC on Sunday, according to Reuters.
“The danger right now with the lockdowns … if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up,” Ryan said. “Once we’ve suppressed the transmission, we have to go after the virus. We have to take the fight to the virus.”
Yet other experts, such as Johns Hopkins senior scholar Dr. Amesh Adalja says the coronavirus is here to stay, and it will now be a part of our seasonal illnesses such as the flu and the common cold. Because of that, we should work hard to treat it and save the lives of those who do get sick, much like we do with the flu.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump does not want the solution to this pandemic to be worse the crisis itself.“It’s going to become a part of our seasonal respiratory virus family that causes disease,” Adalja said on “Squawk Box.” Adalja compared the coronavirus to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu outbreak, which is now seen as a regular flu virus. Eventually, we’ll have to deal with this virus just like we do all the others.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Martial Law in the United States: How Likely is it, and What will happen under Martial law?
Martial Law in the United States: How Likely is it, and What will happen under Martial law?
The march towards martial law is something that is often ignored by the general public, often labeled as Quackery or something belonging on conspiracy websites. But what’s happening in this country is exactly what our founders warned us about, and martial law is something they took very, very seriously.
What is martial law?
If you’re looking for a definition, then Martial Law basically means using state or national military force to enforce the will of the government on the people.
Under a declaration of martial law, Constitutional freedoms and liberties are suspended, and civilians are no longer entitled to their civil rights. It basically allows the government, or a tyrannical politician, to shred the Constitution and impose its will through military force.
History of Martial Law in the United States of America
“Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”
Winston Churchill
In one way or another, there have always been tyrants who have used the power of government to suppress and control the public. But if we are looking for specific examples of Martial Law being used inside the United States, we don’t have to look very hard or far to find them.
Using the strictest definition of the term, we can see the roots of martial law in America take hold during the lead up to the Revolutionary war. Although there were many reasons for the war, including resistance to taxes imposed by the British parliament, the main catalyst was England’s decision to use military troops to enforce everyday law throughout the colonies.
The beginning of the end? The Civil War Ushers in a Strong Central Government through Martial Law Enforcement
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Italy Goes Full “Wuhan”, Orders Most Restrictive Lockdown Yet, As Global Case Total Passes 300k: Live Updates
Italy Goes Full “Wuhan”, Orders Most Restrictive Lockdown Yet, As Global Case Total Passes 300k: Live Updates
Summary:
- Massive surge in number of deaths and cases in UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France
- New York, New Jersey deaths, cases accelerate
- Italy goes under full lockdown
- NY Gov Cuomo: “months, not weeks” to control virus
- Ukraine declares total quarantine
- Belgium sees 25% jump in cases
- Saudi Arabia reports 10% spike
- German gov’t ends years of fiscal restraint with 365 billion euro aid package
- NYC airspace closed after positive Air Traffic Controller test
- NJ declares full state lockdown; “will take action” for people not following precautions
- FDA authorizes first 45-minute COVID-19 test
- US Fiscal Aid package around $2 trillion (10% of GDP), Kudlow
- Officials increasingly calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics
* * *
Update (1835ET): Even after threatening Italians in some areas with serious criminal penalties for violating their stringent quarantine orders, it seems Italy’s coronavirus containment efforts have failed.
After reporting another shocking jump in deaths, the Italian government has gone full “Wuhan”, ordering a complete shutdown of industrial production for 15 days.
In a speech delivered just before midnight on Saturday in Rome, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that he is ordering ALL non-essential businesses to be closed, and for Italians to stay home.
These measures are slightly more restrictive than the current measures, which allow Italians more freedom to move about their towns and communities. They will also likely result in a much larger economic hit, as Italy’s industrial stalwarts are forced to pause operation.
And just like that, an entire country – 60 million Italians – is now under ‘shelter in place.’
Elsewhere, as Middle Eastern countries escalate their crackdowns, Kuwait announced that it would start imposing a curfew between 5pm and 4am due to what the government called “non-compliance with Ministry of Health’s instructions to stay indoors.” Meanwhile, the UAE has closed beaches and parks for two weeks.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Hong Kong Reports Largest Surge In Infections Yet As Experts Warn ” We’re On The Edge Of All-Out War” With COVID-19: Live Updates
Hong Kong Reports Largest Surge In Infections Yet As Experts Warn ” We’re On The Edge Of All-Out War” With COVID-19: Live Updates
When historians look back at this time, we suspect that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s landmark decision to order more than 40 million Californians to remain at home on Thursday night will be remembered as an important demarcation point – the beginning of a more heavy handed response as it becomes increasingly clear that too many Americans are simply ignoring the government.
So far, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Trump have insisted that they have no plans to issue lockdown orders. But with the number of confirmed cases expected to soar in the coming days and over the weekend, the situation is certainly evolving rapidly, and rumors about other states considering preemptive lockdowns (remember, the whole point is to stay “ahead of the curve”) continue to circulate.
Over the past week, central bankers around the world have slashed rates, stepped up bond buying programs, promised to expand their back-stopping of credit markets and – most importantly – urged the politicians in charge to do their part and pass massive fiscal stimulus. Late last night, the Senate unveiled a $1 trillion package that will feature direct transfers to many Americans.
In the US, futures are pointing higher amid mounting hopes for a second straight close in the green. The improved sentiment is ostensibly due to the latest wave of central bank interventions. But that didn’t stop a team of economists at Bank of America from releasing a new note calling for a global recession, with GDP growth dropping to 0% for the year in 2020. Explaining the shift in their thinking, the team wrote: “Our first piece on the virus shock was titled ‘Bad or worse’; now we amend that to ‘Really bad or much worse.'”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Martial Law France: Citizens Have to Fill Out Form Every Time They Leave the Home
Martial Law France: Citizens Have to Fill Out Form Every Time They Leave the Home
Stopped by police to explain their reasons for breaking quarantine.
The coronavirus lockdown in France literally forces citizens to ‘show their papers’; They have to fill out a form explaining why they are outside and present it to police.
A translation of the form posted online shows how citizens have to provide their name, date of birth, address and declare their reason for leaving quarantine.
Travel to a workplace is allowed, but only if the individual can prove they don’t have the capacity to work from home.
Other reasons include purchasing “essential necessities in authorized establishments” (how this can be proven is unknown), visiting family for “compelling reasons,” assisting vulnerable people and traveling for medical reasons.
There also appears to be an exemption for exercise so long as it takes place locally and not with groups of people.
Videos posted online show people being stopped by police and asked to explain their reason for being outside. Those without paperwork have to fill it in on the spot and face fines of up to $148 if caught lying about their activities.
100,000 extra police have been deployed to patrol streets and enforce the lockdown.
Meanwhile, in Spain, authorities are using drones to yell at people who disobey quarantine.
A video clip from the BBC shows police telling people walking in a Madrid park to go home. This message is then amplified via a loudspeaker attached to the drone.
Police in Spain have been using drones to check the streets for anyone ignoring Spanish orders to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak
On Saturday, the country’s 47 million citizens were ordered to stay indoors except for necessary tripshttp://bbc.in/2QjUZDr
“Assume Everyone Is Infected”: US & Europe Wake Up To World In Lockdown As Death Toll Rises: Live Updates
“Assume Everyone Is Infected”: US & Europe Wake Up To World In Lockdown As Death Toll Rises: Live Updates
Update (0735ET): European newswires are reporting that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel have agreed on measures to potentially close or tighten the EU border. Those measures will be released in the coming hours.
So Brussels is finally throwing in the towel…
* * *
Update (0730ET): US Surgeon General Jerry Adams said Monday that the country will likely need 6-8 weeks for the virus to run its course.
If Europeans have anybody to blame for the continent-wide spread of the novel coronavirus, the European Commission should be pretty high on that list. Since the beginning, Brussels has advised member states to leave their borders open, arguing that closures within the Schengen Area are not the answer.
Unfortunately, the absurdity of this open-borders-at-all-costs philosophy has finally been exposed as Spain and France joined Italy in imposing a national lockdown, and Germany, Austria and Denmark joined the Czech Republic, Hungary (which announced its border closure just minutes ago) and Poland – where populists hold outsize sway – in closing their borders. The Czech Republic has also joined in the mass quarantine movement, sealing off some towns entirely.
In a leaked statement on Monday, Brussels doubled-down on its stance, saying that border closures are not the answer as France mulls shutting its borders after Germany announced its border closures on Sunday.
Italy’s neighbors have mostly shut their borders with the literal ‘sick man of Europe’.
Meanwhile, in China, health officials suspiciously warned on Monday that ‘imported’ cases of the virus are creating ‘uncertainties’ as the outbreak comes to an end.
So get ready for Beijing to blame foreigners for re-starting the epidemic (giving it fodder to reject international calls for Beijing to acknowledge some accountability for the outbreak) as doctors suddenly “discover” another 100,000 ill.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Rabobank: The Dilemma Facing China Is Truly Awful
Rabobank: The Dilemma Facing China Is Truly Awful
As has been the case since Monday’s sell-off, there is an attempt to try to look on the bright side of the virus headlines. Chinese officials are spreading the word globally that things are under control and that other countries should not be closing their borders to China, in line with the WHO recommendations that says that free-flows of people during a potential epidemic is completely fine.Of course, at home China is still under draconian lockdown, with tens of millions of people not allowed to leave their homes, and hundreds of millions more voluntarily following the same advice. Moreover, as a former Mexican ambassador to China publicly notes, when Mexico briefly suffered from H1N1 bird ‘flu back in 2009 China’s response was to ignore the WHO’s recommendations and: place all Mexican nationals in China under quarantine; cancel all direct flights to Mexico; stop issuing visas to Mexicans; and closed all its consulates in Mexico.
After having extended its Lunar New Year break, and yet with more cities and firms still shutting down than doing any re-opening, Beijing is starting to become cognizant of just how deep and serious the economic damage is going to be if this goes on much longer. We are, after all, talking about 80% of the economy, and 90% of exporters, simply not functioning. This is already seeing supply-chain knock-on effects for a swathe of global firms and this, very much like the virus itself, will snowball as time passes if nothing changes. For a country that was already seeing foreign firms talk about shifting production to other locations this is a problem. Thus, perhaps, some of the urgency in trying to stress that everything is returning to normal soon, and that the WHO advice is worth following – this time.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Are You Prepared for Lockdown? How to Stay Safe When All Hell Breaks Loose in America
Are You Prepared for Lockdown? How to Stay Safe When All Hell Breaks Loose in America
Tensions are incredibly high in the United States right now. I realized that over the past three years, I’ve written that they’re “at an all-time high” far too many times. So, I’ll just say, they’re high enough that all hell could break loose at any moment given the right (wrong) application of fuel to the flame. The number one thing you can do for this situation to keep your family safe is to be prepared for lockdown.
Pretending that it isn’t happening or hoping to hug it out is not a rational response to the chaos that is coming. I know that some cling to their misguided views on the way the world works with the ferocity of a mother bear protecting cubs, but for the rest of us, there’s this thing called reality. When we accept it, we can prepare for it.
People near the border are quite reasonably concerned that if thousands of immigrants push through our border illegally, they and their families could be at risk. People in other parts of the country are concerned about the aftermath of whatever happens when these people arrive at the border. Regardless of what occurs, somebody is going to be unhappy. Add in the fiercely-fought midterm elections and the threat of civil unrest is high.
Are you prepared for lockdown?
Which leads me to a very important subject. As the situation in the United States devolves, how prepared are you really? If you had to go into lockdown mode and keep your family safely at home, how long would you last with the supplies you have on hand? If the answer is “a few days” or “a couple of weeks” you need to work on that. Immediately.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
