Officials with California’s East Side Union High School District have placed a teacher on leave after he was seen teaching a virtual math class while not wearing a shirt, a violation of a school dress code he’d reminded students about just days earlier. Elizabeth Avila said her daughter, a freshman at Silver Creek High School in San Jose, “started feeling uncomfortable. She couldn’t concentrate on the topic because all she was seeing was this old man on camera in her bedroom.” Superintendent Chris Funk would not release the man’s name. “I will say that the behavior is unacceptable, unprofessional and violates several district policies,” Funk said.
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As Sweden’s COVID-19 Measures Hint At Herd Immunity, US Experts Rethink Lockdown Strategies Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/25/2020 – 05:30
As Sweden continues to enjoy a falling COVID-19 infection rate, leading health experts have suggested the country’s decision not to lock down or require masks has resulted in herd immunity, according to MarketWatch.
“Strict rules do not work as people seem to break them,” said Arne Elofsson, a professor of biometrics at Stockholm University, adding “Sweden is doing fine.”
Anders Tegnell, an epidemiologist involved in managing Sweden’s pandemic, thinks masks give a false sense of security: “The belief that masks can solve our problem is very dangerous.”
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven thinks voluntary social-distancing rules and not closing schools but banning gatherings of more than 50 people has been the right approach.
“Now there are quite a few people who think we were right,” he told a newspaper. “The strategy that we adopted, I believe is right — to protect individuals, limit the spread of the infection.” –MarketWatch
According to the European CDC, Sweden has an infection rate of 37 cases per 100,000 people – far lower than France’s 60 per 100,000 and Spain’s 152.7 cases per 100,000 despite imposing months of lockdowns of varying degrees.
And while the New York Times (in July) and MarketWatch (in June) said that Sweden’s economy is doing ‘just as bad’ as countries which imposed lockdowns, the BBC pointed out earlier this month that Sweden’s economy ‘only’ contracted 8.6% in the April-June period vs. the previous three months, while the European Union saw a contraction of 11.9% over the same period based on newer economic data.
Meanwhile, lockdowns and the ensuing economic fallout have had a significant impact on mental health.
A new approach?
As Sweden’s model for dealing with COVID-19 appears to have survived its trial by fire, other countries are now rethinking blanket lockdowns as they weigh the economic impacts against health risks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some of their thinking agrees with Sweden’s, while several points of disagreement exist. The Journal also notes that “Sweden’s current infection and death rates are as low as the rest of Europe’s, suggesting to some experts the country may be close to herd immunity.“
In a nutshell, via The Journal:
Decide on a plan and stick with it
According to Nobel laureate economist Paul Romer, the US couldn’t decide on whether we were “going for mitigation or suppression,” who added that mitigation efforts to achieve herd immunity means accepting hundreds of thousands of additional deaths, and that a total lockdown strategy “doesn’t make sense unless you’re going to stick with it as long as it takes.”
New Zealand – an island nation which conducted draconian lockdowns for two months, were able to claim that their strict measures worked until an outbreak earlier this month resulted in another round of widespread restrictions.
“We’re harming the economy, waffling back and forth between what is right, what is wrong with a slow drift of companies closing their doors for good,” said Harvard epidemiologist, Dr. Michael Mina, who said that because the US couldn’t decide on a path forward, the result was a “complete disaster.”
Masks are good, based on results
Despite conflicting information from the World Health Organization and CDC on masks, countries and cities which quickly donned face masks did better than those who did not, such as the city of Jena, Germany vs. similar cities which did not require them, according to a study for the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, which concluded that masks resulted in a 40-60% reduction in infections.
Via the Wall Street Journal
Meanwhile Goldman Sachs estimates that a universal mask mandate vs. further lockdowns could salvage 5% of GDP.
Ramp up testing
According to Paul Romer, the economist, ramping up testing could enable a safe reopening before a vaccine is developed, and could restore $1,000 in economic activity for every $10 spent on tests.
Harvard’s Dr. Mina suggested that rapid, though less accurate paper-strip tests that can detect the virus within minutes could be used every other day to help suppress the disease.
Conduct a “smart” reopening
Dr. Mina and his team have designed a methodof reopeningbased on frequency of contacts and vulnerability to COVID-19 based on five demographic groups and 66 economic sectors. Businesses would reopen and adhere to guidelines on social distancing, working from home, and hygiene. Schools would reopen, masks are required, and large gatherings such as religious services, indoor sports and bars would stay closed.
According to McKinsey & Co., if schools don’t reopen until next January, the lost year of education will set back low-income children with a 4% reduction in lifetime earnings.
Mina also notes that “super-spreader” events – particularly in dense, indoor gatherings with singing, shouting and talking (think: sporting events, nightclubs, bars, and church services), contribute disproportionately to infections – with bars and restaurants accounting for 16% of COVID-19 clusters in Japan (defined by five or more cases). Workplace clusters contribute to 11% of infections, while bars, restaurants and casinos were traced to 32% of infections.
“We’re on the cusp of an economic catastrophe,” according to Harvard economist James Stock, who is working with Dr. Mina on models which would avoid a surge in deaths without engaging in an economically devastating lockdown. “We can avoid the worst of that catastrophe by being disciplined.”
“Emphasize the reopening of the highest economic benefit, lowest risk endeavors,” he continued, adding “Economic shutdowns are a blunt and very costly tool.”
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3aSoW6y Tyler Durden
Footage out of Paris, France shows riot police storming a bar and beating people with truncheons because they were not properly ‘social distancing’.
The incident occurred during the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, which the bar-goers were watching on television.
Around a dozen fully kitted out riot cops raided the bar and violently removed people from the premises.
“According to Paris police officials, the crowd was dispersed because some people were not wearing face coverings or were failing to follow social distancing rules,” reports Sky News.
More than 200 people receive a police caution for not wearing face masks.
The incident is made even more bizarre by the fact that the people inside the bar were behaving peacefully, while actual riots were taking place across the rest of the city.
According to RT, the streets of the French capital “descended into chaos, with multiple incidents of vandalism and looting.”
You’d think maintaining basic law and order while protecting people and property from violent criminals would be a higher priority than ensuring people in a bar are standing far enough away from each other, but in the age of COVID hysteria apparently not.
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via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3leRyvC Tyler Durden
Officials with California’s East Side Union High School District have placed a teacher on leave after he was seen teaching a virtual math class while not wearing a shirt, a violation of a school dress code he’d reminded students about just days earlier. Elizabeth Avila said her daughter, a freshman at Silver Creek High School in San Jose, “started feeling uncomfortable. She couldn’t concentrate on the topic because all she was seeing was this old man on camera in her bedroom.” Superintendent Chris Funk would not release the man’s name. “I will say that the behavior is unacceptable, unprofessional and violates several district policies,” Funk said.
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While virus cases and deaths dominate headlines, other humanitarian crises also need attention, that is, an emerging “famine of biblical proportions” that threatens much of the world, United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Director David Beasley told TASS News last weekend in an interview.
Beasley said the WFP is requesting $5 billion in emergency funds within the next six months that will help in the effort to thwart a global famine.
“All the data we have, including WFP’s forecast of an 80% increase in the number of food-insecure people – from 140 million before the pandemic to 270 million by the end of this year – points to a real catastrophe, a famine of biblical proportions, “he said.
The dramatic rise in the number of people who don’t have the means to feed themselves because of depressionary unemployment, supply chain breakdowns, and crop failures is set to cause long-term economic damage that could prevent a vibrant economic recovery.
Beasley said, “it is clear that social tensions will escalate, migration will increase, conflicts will expand, and hunger can affect those who have not experienced it before.”
David Beasley
Even in the US, a developed world economy, tens of millions of folks have gone hungry, now relying on government aid and food banks for survival. He noted that countries in the 2008 financial crash with a “stronger social protection system” were less impacted by famine.
WFP projections show significant increases in malnourished people in Latin America, countries in Eastern and Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, had a doubling of the number of people going hungry in a short period.
“World hunger is already sky-high, and if we do not act immediately, many will die, children will suffer the consequences of malnutrition for many years to come, and the whole world will be thrown back, having lost all the gains in the fight against hunger of the last decade. Will be incredibly high, we need to act quickly and wisely, balancing immediate relief and long-term recovery,” Beasley said.
He added: “WFP’s mission is to provide food to 138 million people in 2020, the largest humanitarian operation in history. And this unprecedented crisis requires an incredible amount of money.”
In a separate food insecurity report from June, the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, warned the world is on the brink of the worst food crisis ever witnessed in the post-World War II era.
All of this makes you wonder if the famine warnings are just hype or if the virus-induced downturn has really sent the world into years of crisis.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3hrvWKn Tyler Durden
Missing out on their education poses much bigger risks to children than catching the CCP virus, the UK’s chief medical officers have said in a joint statement in support of the government’s decision to reopen schools after the summer holidays.
In an unusual move, the chief medical officers and deputy chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales issued a “consensus statement” on Saturday on the risks and benefits of schools reopening following lockdown measures imposed in March to curb the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Upminster, east London, on Aug. 10, 2020. (Lucy Young/pool/AFP via Getty Images)
“Our overall consensus is that, compared to adults, children may have a lower risk of catching COVID-19 (lowest in younger children), definitely have a much lower rate of hospitalisation and severe disease, and an exceptionally low risk of dying from COVID-19,” the chief medical officers said in the statement.
“This has to be set against a certainty of long-term harm to many children and young people from not attending school,” they said, adding “a lack of schooling increases inequalities, reduces the life chances of children and can exacerbate physical and mental health issues.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson joins a socially distanced lesson during a visit to Bovingdon Primary School, near Hemel Hempstead, on June 19, 2020. (Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“The international real-world evidence suggests that reopening of schools has usually not been followed by a surge of COVID-19 in a timescale that implies schools are the principal reason for the surge,” the chief medical officers pointed out.
In a BBC interview aired on Sunday, professor Chris Whitty, the UK’s chief medical adviser and England’s chief medical officer, said the chances of children dying from COVID-19 are “incredibly small,” but missing lessons “damages children in the long run.”
“Many more were likely to be harmed by not going than harmed by going [to school],” he said.
Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Witty speaks during a press conference about the CCP virus inside 10 Downing Street in London on March 9, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli /pool/AFP via Getty Images)
A new study released by Public Health England on Sunday shows CCP virus outbreaks and infections in schools are rare.
Since year 1, 2, and 6 pupils returned to school in June amid the initial easing of the lockdown measures, only 0.01 percent of pre-schools and primary schools had an outbreak, all of which were successfully contained and just 70 children and 128 staff were affected.
Schoolchildren have a higher risk of catching the flu or being involved in a road accident than catching the CCP virus, England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries told Sky News on Monday.
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a direct appeal to parents to return their children to the classroom when schools reopen next week.
“It’s vitally important that we get our children back into the classroom to learn and to be with their friends,” he said in a statement, as “nothing will have a greater effect on the life chances of our children than returning to school.”
Earlier this month, Johnson said reopening schools in September is a “moral duty” and a “national priority.”
“Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible,” he wrote in The Mail on Sunday.
England’s Children’s Commissioner also said schools should be “first to open, last to close” in any future UK lockdowns, even at the expense of other sectors.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3gln4EE Tyler Durden
India exhibited one of the biggest increases – almost 15 percent in five years to 3.6 million cars annually.
The biggest decrease in production hit the ailing U.S. car industry, which lost 40 percent of its domestic production between 2014 and 2019.
Germany also make less cars at home, but German manufacturers like Volkswagen are a part of the rising Chinese production. In 2019, the Chinese market accounted for around 39 percent of Volkswagen’s total sales. Shifting production sites are only one aspect of the internationalization of the car industry.
Know-how also migrates with production, with established manufacturers entering into joint ventures with Chinese or other Asian companies, which usually include technology transfer.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3gm06x6 Tyler Durden
“This Is Insane”: Kenosha Melts Down As Cars Smashed, Buildings Torched And Looters Run Wild In Second Night Of Unrest Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/25/2020 – 02:30
Anarchy broke out on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin Monday as protesters squared off with National Guardsman in the second night of unrest over the shooting of a reportedly unarmed black man by police on Sunday.
Two protesters stand with raised fists as a garbage truck burns behind them (via the Daily Mail)
The night was documented by journalist Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) with photos via the Daily Mail (EPA).
Tear gas was deployed in an attempt to clear protesters who had gathered in front of the Kenosha County courthouse, while Gov. Tony Evers deployed 125 members of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement.
A woman taunts law enforcement in front of the Kenosha County courthouse (via the Daily Mail)
Massive fires were set throughout the city, including car dealerships, a Department of Corrections administrative building, and an office furniture company.
In a now-viral video, 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back while attempting to enter his car during an altercation with police. He is currently in serious condition in a Milwaukee hospital, according to the Daily Mail – which notes that in Blake was charged with resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon in 2015 after he pulled a gun at a local bar in Racine.
Meanwhile, details have emerged about Blake’s criminal past, including a recent arrest for sexual assault.
According to online records, Kenosha County prosecutors charged Blake with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse. –Daily Mail
In addition to the fire and destruction, mass looting ensued – including a Mattress store which was then burned to the ground.
On Monday, tensions flared after a Monday press conference with Mayor John Antarmian was moved from a park to inside the city’s public safety building, according to Fox News, which notes that “Hundreds of protesters rushed to the building and a door was snapped off its hinges before police in riot gear pepper-sprayed the crowd, which included a photographer from The Associated Press.”
Evers and a number of other Democrats condemned the shooting. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for “an immediate, full and transparent investigation” and said the officers “must be held accountable.”
“This morning, the nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force,” he said, just over two months before Election Day in a country already roiled by the recent deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. “Those shots pierce the soul of our nation.”
Republicans and the police union accused the politicians of rushing to judgment, reflecting the deep partisan divide in Wisconsin, a key presidential battleground state. Wisconsin GOP members also decried the violent protests, echoing the law-and-order theme that President Trump has projected during his campaign. –Fox News
On August 23rd, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began presumably cosplaying Colonel Walter E. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now (or presumably Kurtz from the novel Heart of Darkness, depending on preference). With protesters in front of the presidential palace and calling for him to give up power and organize new elections, he arrived with the presidential helicopter.
Notably, the embattled president was wearing a bulletproof vest and had an automatic rifle in his arms. This can be seen on the footage below:
He could have also had no shirt on and only worn a bulletproof vest, but it appears that he has overlooked that detail.
There are several other videos of Lukashenko in the airplane, getting off it. Also of Lukashenko’s son – Nikolai, who is 15 years old.
He was also given an assault rifle by his father and was wearing a bulletproof vest. There are also security guards and soldiers protecting him.
“Col. Kurtz” from Apocalypse Now
Later on, a photograph was released of the crisis center showing Lukashenko, his son, and presumably a presidential press secretary. Those are all of the members in the crisis center present at the event, as can be seen on the photograph below.
The Independence Palace in Minsk was closed off with a cordon of security personnel. Lukashenko went to the barricades to thank the troops for protecting him.
He thanked the security officials:
“Thank you, you are handsome!,” he said
“We are with you until the end!,” they replied, in a ridiculous exchange.
And it would appear that not all of this is without reason. Reportedly, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus recorded an attempt to violate Belarusian airspace from Lithuania. This was reported in the department’s Telegram channel.
According to the ministry, the “provocation” took place on 23rd August at 19:30 in the village of Volkovschina, Oshmyany region, which borders Lithuania.
“A probe of eight balloons with anti-state symbols was launched from the adjacent territory,” the message said.
As such, it appears that the Baltic states believe that Belarus under Lukashenko is so far ‘lost’ that it is like North Korea and needs opposition leaflets dropped from across the border.
Alexander Lukashenko holds a rifle while talking to security forces as the army takes over from police.
The flight of balloons was suppressed without the use of weapons thanks to the crews of MI-24 helicopters from the air defense forces on duty, the Defense Ministry said.
And to reinforce the notion that no external pressure is being exerted on Lukashenko and his aides, approximately 50,000 people formed a human chain from Vilnius to the Belarusian border to express solidarity with protests in the neighboring country.
The president of the “Baltic superpower” was present to support the expression of solidarity to the Belarusian opposition.
This also took place on August 23rd, which is the anniversary of when in 1989 over a million people formed a human chain spanning Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to demand an end to the Soviet occupation.
An air balloon took off from Cathedral Square and take a 15-metre long Belarusian flag into the sky. It is also not the actual Belarusian flag, but the white-red-white flag used by opposition.
The Freedom Way was followed by a concert and TV marathon in the courtyard of Medininkai Castle. A fundraiser collected money for the BY Help organisation that “has been helping injured, detained and persecuted Belarusians and their families since 2017.”
“Freedom is not only a fundamental human right but also a nation’s fundamental right. It’s also a daily commitment to defend it from any attempt on it by those who would replace freedom with darkness, oppression ands fear,” said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
“Thirty years ago Lithuania broke its shackles of oppression by forming the Baltic Way with its Latvian and Estonian brothers and showing the world that we are free and, first of all, free in our spirit,” he said.
“Today, time has come for our Belarusian brothers to say the dear word ‘Freedom’.”
No foreign meddling at all…
В Литве прошла акция «Путь свободы» — живая цепь людей соединила Вильнюс с границей с Беларусью. Это сделали в знак солидарности с жителями Беларуси, которые выступают за демократические перемены.
Фото: https://t.co/carCPBBmp0pic.twitter.com/rIAuca6Ffb
Lukashenko and his government clearly demonstrate that they are not going to submit to the foreign pressure and surrender the power to the pro-Western opposition. Meanwhile, the political and security situation in the country has been deteriorating.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2QoswMg Tyler Durden
On August 23rd, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began presumably cosplaying Colonel Walter E. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now (or presumably Kurtz from the novel Heart of Darkness, depending on preference). With protesters in front of the presidential palace and calling for him to give up power and organize new elections, he arrived with the presidential helicopter.
Notably, the embattled president was wearing a bulletproof vest and had an automatic rifle in his arms. This can be seen on the footage below:
He could have also had no shirt on and only worn a bulletproof vest, but it appears that he has overlooked that detail.
There are several other videos of Lukashenko in the airplane, getting off it. Also of Lukashenko’s son – Nikolai, who is 15 years old.
He was also given an assault rifle by his father and was wearing a bulletproof vest. There are also security guards and soldiers protecting him.
“Col. Kurtz” from Apocalypse Now
Later on, a photograph was released of the crisis center showing Lukashenko, his son, and presumably a presidential press secretary. Those are all of the members in the crisis center present at the event, as can be seen on the photograph below.
The Independence Palace in Minsk was closed off with a cordon of security personnel. Lukashenko went to the barricades to thank the troops for protecting him.
He thanked the security officials:
“Thank you, you are handsome!,” he said
“We are with you until the end!,” they replied, in a ridiculous exchange.
And it would appear that not all of this is without reason. Reportedly, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus recorded an attempt to violate Belarusian airspace from Lithuania. This was reported in the department’s Telegram channel.
According to the ministry, the “provocation” took place on 23rd August at 19:30 in the village of Volkovschina, Oshmyany region, which borders Lithuania.
“A probe of eight balloons with anti-state symbols was launched from the adjacent territory,” the message said.
As such, it appears that the Baltic states believe that Belarus under Lukashenko is so far ‘lost’ that it is like North Korea and needs opposition leaflets dropped from across the border.
Alexander Lukashenko holds a rifle while talking to security forces as the army takes over from police.
The flight of balloons was suppressed without the use of weapons thanks to the crews of MI-24 helicopters from the air defense forces on duty, the Defense Ministry said.
And to reinforce the notion that no external pressure is being exerted on Lukashenko and his aides, approximately 50,000 people formed a human chain from Vilnius to the Belarusian border to express solidarity with protests in the neighboring country.
The president of the “Baltic superpower” was present to support the expression of solidarity to the Belarusian opposition.
This also took place on August 23rd, which is the anniversary of when in 1989 over a million people formed a human chain spanning Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to demand an end to the Soviet occupation.
An air balloon took off from Cathedral Square and take a 15-metre long Belarusian flag into the sky. It is also not the actual Belarusian flag, but the white-red-white flag used by opposition.
The Freedom Way was followed by a concert and TV marathon in the courtyard of Medininkai Castle. A fundraiser collected money for the BY Help organisation that “has been helping injured, detained and persecuted Belarusians and their families since 2017.”
“Freedom is not only a fundamental human right but also a nation’s fundamental right. It’s also a daily commitment to defend it from any attempt on it by those who would replace freedom with darkness, oppression ands fear,” said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
“Thirty years ago Lithuania broke its shackles of oppression by forming the Baltic Way with its Latvian and Estonian brothers and showing the world that we are free and, first of all, free in our spirit,” he said.
“Today, time has come for our Belarusian brothers to say the dear word ‘Freedom’.”
No foreign meddling at all…
В Литве прошла акция «Путь свободы» — живая цепь людей соединила Вильнюс с границей с Беларусью. Это сделали в знак солидарности с жителями Беларуси, которые выступают за демократические перемены.
Фото: https://t.co/carCPBBmp0pic.twitter.com/rIAuca6Ffb
Lukashenko and his government clearly demonstrate that they are not going to submit to the foreign pressure and surrender the power to the pro-Western opposition. Meanwhile, the political and security situation in the country has been deteriorating.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2QoswMg Tyler Durden
