Tag: news

Many eyes are on the cruise line industry as it reels from the impacts of coronavirus. And, as The Winglest reports here, too, things are starting to look up because last week, Carnival Cruise Lines announced it was scheduling its return to the sea for August 1, just a few days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to lift their “do not sail” order.

And in a stunning twist, according to American Express travel franchise Cruise Planners, cruise bookings skyrocketed 600% over 3 days after the announcement. That was in comparison to the 3 days prior to the announcement. And in the latest confirmation that fears about the coronavirus are rapidly receding, Carnival said bookings saw a 200% year over year increase.

Of course, this is largely dependent on the CDC lifting its current sailing restriction currently in place until July 24.  Carnival said earlier this week that cruises “could potentially operate if it was determined that cruising can resume.” The cruise company announced possible cruises departing from Miami, Galveston, and Port Canaveral.  All other North American and Australian homeport cruises are cancelled through August 31.

One reason for the demand surge is that Carnival is offering cruises at incredibly reduced rates.  As an example, Passengers can book a cruise from Miami in August for as low as $119 for a four-day cruise. The cruise line is even offering an eight-day cruise for $519.  Those rates are likely a significant draw for people looking to book a cruise.

While the number is a small sampling, but it may show a ray of light for the industry in an otherwise tumultuous time. Cruises are considered Petri dishes of infection, given the close contact between customers for extended periods of time.  

As the Winglet notes, Carnival is already facing a Congressional investigation for its handling of coronavirus outbreaks on its ships.  Congress also criticized the cruise line for its advertising during the pandemic.  At one point Diamond Princess had the highest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside of China.  That ship is owned by Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruises.

Carnival said earlier this week it is focusing operations on homeports that are largely accessible by car.  But the cruise line  cautioned, “We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1.”  Therefore, this is clearly a book-at-your-own-risk scenario.

This means that those who can’t wait to book a cruise, should become intimiately familiar with the cruise line’s cancellation policy, should the August 1 departure date be scuttled. Carnival has different cancellation options based on the length of your cruise:

Cruises six or more days:

• Option 1: 100% future cruise credit and $600 onboard credit per stateroom.
• Option 2: 100% refund

Cruises five days or less:

• Option 1: 100% future cruise credit and $300 onboard credit per stateroom.
• Option 2: 100% refund

One must book a cruise by 12/31/2020 to get the onboard credit, and the cruise departure date must be by 12/31/2022.  Keep in mind, cruise lines change these policies frequently and you will want to make sure you understand any updated policy before booking.

Richard Grenell, President Trump’s acting Director of National Intelligence who successfully pressured Adam Schiff (D-CA) into releasing bombshell transcripts from the Russia investigation, is now after former officials from the Obama administration involved in the so-called “unmasking” of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn during his conversations with the former Russian ambassador following the 2016 election, according to ABC News.

“Unmasking” is a term used when the identity of a U.S. citizen or lawful resident is revealed in classified intelligence reports. Normally, when government officials receive intelligence reports, the names of American citizens are redacted to protect their privacy. But officials can request that names, listed as “U.S. Person 1,” for example, be unmasked internally in order to give context about the potential value of the intelligence. Unmasking is justified for national security reasons but is governed by strict rules across the U.S. intelligence apparatus that make it illegal to pursue for political reasons or to leak classified information generated by the process.

And much like Obama’s IRS targeting scandal, US government capabilities were exploited to accomplish political objectives.

Grenell reportedly visited the Justice Department last week to request the list of individuals, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His visit indicates his focus on an issue previously highlighted in 2017 by skeptics of the investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia, specifically allegations that former officials improperly unveiled Flynn’s identity from intercepts of his call with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Grenell’s visit came the same week that Attorney General William Barr moved to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn following his guilty plea for lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak. –ABC News

After Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice was outed as the ringleader of an unmasking campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported that she wasn’t the only administration official to participate in Flynn’s unmasking.

The news comes after the DOJ dropped all charges against Flynn, after several unsealed documents revealed that the FBI was more interested in ensnaring him in a perjury trap – after the agency’s own DC field office advised that they were barking up the wrong tree. Under pressure due to legal bills and an FBI threat to pursue his son, Flynn caved and pleaded guilty to lying about his communications with the Russian ambassador.

“They did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage, based on a perfectly legitimate and appropriate call he made as a member of the transition,” Barr told CBS last week.

In 2017, then-House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) accused the Obama administration of unmasking Trump transition officials – while two national security officials at the White House provided Nunes with supporting evidence.

Will Grenell unmask the unmaskers?

• @GenFlynn was wrongly targeted.
• The Steele Dossier was made-up.
• The Russia-collusion narrative was a farce.

Obama’s White House and Justice Department led the way on these lies. Time for Susan Rice, James Clapper, and Loretta Lynch to answer for what transpired.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 11, 2020

In a post-corona world, one Texas town could see robot delivery vehicles on city streets, ushering fast-food, supplies, and groceries back and forth from supermarkets and shops to residential housing complexes and or homes.

The drive for a contactless society has been put into hyperdrive because of the virus pandemic. Even before the outbreak, there was a big push to integrate automation and artificial intelligence into the economy. 

In one recent example, we noted how slaughterhouse robots are likely to replace humans at some meat processing facilities to address labor shortages due to virus outbreaks.

According to Community Impact Newspaper, which serves Austin, Texas, Starship Technologies, a company developing small self-driving robotic delivery vehicles, told Frisco City Council’s work session on Tuesday (May 5) that it will soon go into contract with several local shops to offer contactless delivery via the robots.

“We’ve identified the intersection around Main and Teel [streets] as probably where we’re going to start,” Starship Director of Sales Robert Buehler said.

“Vendors that have expressed interest include Fuzzy’s Tacos, Kpop Burger, Hareli Fresh Market, Kroger, Chicken Express [and] Hurts Donut—those sorts of restaurants and grocers in that area,” Buehler said. 

We have noted in the past, Starship was mainly focused on autonomous delivery at universities across the country, but it seems the company has shifted focus since schools are shutdown. 

Buehler said the service is already offered at The University of Texas at Dallas, noting that, “With the pandemic, a lot of campuses have emptied out of students. So we have accelerated our long-term plans, which is to offer neighborhood deliveries.”

He said the robots are a contactless delivery system that could help limit the spread of the virus by limiting interaction with a person and delivery driver.  

“Every person that can stay at home and order delivery via this robot is staying out of the store, staying out of the restaurant, and preventing unnecessary interactions with those frontline workers,” Buehler said.

He said the robots operate on sidewalks but can operate on city streets if need be.

“It is 99% autonomous, but there are always human-robot operators in the loop that can address any unexpected instances as it’s making its trip,” Buehler said.

Each robot weighs 60 pounds unloaded and can have a payload of up to 25 pounds. It uses 3-D mapping technology and sensors to navigate sidewalks and streets and travels up to four mph with a radius distance of about 3 miles

City officials are still working on the logistics of having miniature-sized golf carts operating on its streets. Yet, in a post-corona world, it appears the technology is being adopted at lightning speeds because it will help flatten the curve. 

Authored by Martin Armstrong via ArmstrongEconomics.com,

QUESTION: 

Why are the democrats refusing to address the recent information which confirms that COVID-19 has a death rates of less than 1%? Why do they continue to try to scare people and pass acts to invade our privacy?

REPLY: 

They have no incentive to tell the truth. There were people who sold everything long before the World Health Organization declared anything about this virus.

This has been an intended coup and that is really the bottom line. It was a Democrat who from Illinois, the basket-case of the United States, Bob Rush, who wants to effectively force people to be tested and to assist them in being imprisoned in their homes (see HR 6666).

I cannot image how a politicians grew up an American has crossed-over and became a tyrant and thinks this is OK.

They will NOT let this go because in September when the next flu season begins, the Democrats will be running headlines that people are dying because Trump opened the economy. This is all they have to try to overthrow him.

We will witness the most corrupt election in American history come 2020. Expect the votes to be rigged. The turmoil they will unleash on the nation and the world may be far more than we can even speculate. They will NEVER accept a Trump victory. It will be their way or no way.

 

Real Vision’s Ash Bennington and Managing Editor Ed Harrison discuss Raoul’s Expert View, “Global Recession – What’s Next?”, which was released today. Bennington and Harrison then take a deep dive into the real economy with a special focus on the risks posed by debt deflation. The pair also talk about the reopening of the global economy with an eye toward recent events in Germany. In the intro, Jack Farley looks at a dramatic new chapter in the WeWork saga.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that a coronavirus treatment or vaccine may be more than a year away – and in fact may never arrive, according to a 60-page ‘Covid-19 recovery strategy‘ document which details how the UK plans to emerge from lockdown.

“A mass vaccine or treatment may be more than a year away. Indeed, in a worst-case scenario, we may never find a vaccine,” said Johnson. “So our plan must countenance a situation where we are in this, together, for the long haul, even while doing all we can to avoid that outcome.”

Other notable items from the document (via The Independent):

• For the first time, the UK government is recommending that the public wear face-coverings in public settings such as mass transportation and some shops.

• Schools and non-essential shops will begin reopening starting June 1.

• “Social bubbles” where two households can mingle are under consideration.

• Easing of restrictions will be contingent upon no resurgence of the virus – which would cause the government to reimpose tight lockdowns, either nationally or locally or both.

“If the data goes the wrong way, if the alert level begins to rise, we will have no hesitation in putting on the brakes and delaying or reintroducing measures locally, regionally, or nationally,” said Johnson.

“This document sets out a plan to rebuild the UK for a world with Covid-19,” he said. “It is not a quick return to ‘normality’. Nor does it lay out an easy answer. And, inevitably, parts of this plan will adapt as we learn more about the virus. But it is a plan that should give the people of the United Kingdom hope. Hope that we can rebuild; hope that we can save lives; hope that we can safeguard livelihoods.”

Labor leader Keir Starmer wasn’t convinced, and said during a TV broadcast in response: “The prime minister said he was setting out a road map, but if we’re to complete the journey safely a roadmap needs clear directions. So many of us have questions that need answering. How can we be sure our workplaces are now safe to return to? How can we get to work safely if we need public transport to do so? How can millions of people go back to work while balancing childcare and caring responsibilities? How do our police enforce these rules? And why are some parts of the United Kingdom now on a different path to others?“

And acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “In changing the advice and changing the messaging the government has spread confusion and put at risk what people have fought so hard for. The prime minister is creating more confusion than clarity by badly communicating his government’s plans.

 

“We must put people’s health first. The only way route out of the current lockdown is to radically expand our capacity to test, trace and isolate, which the government is still a long way away from achieving.” –The Independent

Johnson admitted that lockdown protocols enacted in March “do not provide an enduring solution” due to the heavy price to social and economic life which has brought ‘loneliness and fear’ to many.

Johnson praised the “indomitable spirit of Britain” while answering MPs’ questions on the plan in the House of Commons, but warned that the administration will be weighing the freedom of citizens against the impact of the pandemic.

“Our challenge is to find a way forward that preserves our hard-won gains while easing the burden of lockdown and, I’ll be candid with the House, this is a supremely difficult balance to strike,” he said.

“I must ask the country to be patient with a continued disruption to our normal way of life, but to be relentless in pursuing our mission to build the systems we need,” Johnson added – noting that the easing of social distancing guidelines will require significant contact tracing to monitor the spread of the disease, as well as the redesign of public spaces to make them “Covid-19 secure.”

“The worst possible outcome would be a return to the virus being out of control – with the cost to human life, and – through the inevitable reimposition of severe restrictions – the cost to the economy.”

Three key phases of the plan are as follows (via The Independent):

*  *  *

Step One, to be introduced from Wednesday:

– Workers who cannot do their jobs at home to go to their workplace where it is safe to do so, with sectors like food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and scientific research expected to reopen.

– Local authorities to encourage more vulnerable children and children of key workers to attend school.

– Nannies and childminders to be allowed to work where it can be done safely.

– Public advised to wear face-coverings over the nose and mouth in enclosed spaces where social distancing cannot be maintained, such as public transport and some shops.

– Unlimited outdoor exercise or recreation with one person from outside your household, reopening of outdoor sports facilities like tennis courts, golf courses and angling lakes. Permission to drive to outdoor open spaces like parks, woods and beaches within England – all dependent on social-distancing regulations being observed.

– Socialising with one person from outside your household in a park – but not a garden – while maintaining two metres’ distance.

– A 14-day quarantine to be introduced “as soon as possible” for all international travellers arriving in the UK, with a few exemptions including people coming from Ireland.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said Step One can go ahead because scientists are “confident” that the rate of transmission – known as R – is below one, meaning that each infected person on average passes the virus on to less than one other person.

“We are confident that these quite small changes will not have a material affect on their own – provided that people stick to the social distancing and the rules that are there – on increasing R beyond where it is at the moment,” said Professor Whitty.

“Set against that, there are very clear health benefits to exercise and there are benefits to making this sustainable. We have got to do this for the long haul. Taking a very small risk to make it more sustainable for people to do has some clear benefits.

“We are not claiming there are no risks to this, but what we think is they are very small and proportionate to the advantage in terms of overall wellbeing, exercise – leading to good health – and sustainability.”

Step Two, to be made no earlier than 1 June:

– Children to return to early years nurseries, as well as reception classes, year one and year six of primary schools. All primary children to return for a month before the summer holiday if possible.

– Face-to-face contact with teachers for secondary pupils in years 10 and 12, who have GCSEs or A-levels next year.

– Non-essential shops to open where it is safe to do so, in phases from the start of June, with guidance due shortly on which kinds of stores will open when.

– Permitting cultural and sporting events behind closed doors for broadcast.

– Reopening more public transport in urban areas.

– Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies to consider whether household groups can be expanded to include one other household, to allow social contacts between broader families or between partners who do not live together.

– Government to consider permitting small weddings.

Step Three, to take place no earlier than 4 July:

– Open at least some of remaining closed businesses, including hairdressers, beauty salons, restaurants, pubs and cinemas, as well as places of worship, where they meet Covid-19 secure guidelines.

– Venues which are designed to be crowded and to allow social interacting, such as nightclubs, may still not be able to reopen safely.

“The Government must also prioritise the situation in care homes. The scarcity of protective equipment and testing means many care workers have been forced to compromise their safety whilst working. The Government is finally recognising the need to test everyone in care homes, but that should have been in place already. Care workers and residents cannot afford to wait another 3 weeks.”

Authored by The End of The American Dream blog,

Within the past several days, large earthquakes have been striking all along the outer rim of the Pacific Ocean, and many are wondering if all of this activity could potentially be building up to something really big.  Those that follow my work on a regular basis know that I have been deeply concerned about seismic activity on the west coast for a long time, and scientists assure us that it is just a matter of time before “the Big One” hits us.  According to Wikipedia, approximately 81 percent of all large earthquakes take place along the Ring of Fire, and of course the west coast of North America accounts for a large stretch of it. 

As you can see from this map, the California and Alaska coastlines have been absolutely peppered by quakes in recent days, but nobody is really talking about these quakes because everyone is so focused on COVID-19 right now.

Yes, this pandemic deserves our attention, but I would submit that all of the unusual shaking that has been happening certainly deserves our attention as well.

You may not have heard about it yet, but a magnitude 4.5 earthquake rocked San Diego on Sunday afternoon…

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake originating in Imperial County rocked San Diegans from East Village to Lakeside on Sunday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake struck at 3:07 p.m. in Imperial County about 10.5 miles southeast of Ocotillo Wells, according to the USGS. It had a depth of 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles.

That is a rather large quake for that particular area, and it is just one of hundreds that have been hitting the region.  In fact, CalTech says that there have been 1,227 earthquakes in California and Nevada over the last 7 days.

Meanwhile, the section of the Ring of Fire that runs along the west coast of South America has also been getting hit pretty hard.  A magnitude 5.4 quake struck northern Chile on Sunday, and that really shook a lot of people up.

Subsequently, the portion of the Ring of Fire that runs along the coast of Japan was hit by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake very late on Sunday…

The quake hit near the east coast of Honshu at 23.58 UTC on Sunday. The earthquake was reported to have a depth of 80km. It also hit 129km north east of Saitama and also 26km south east of Hitachi, according to emsc-csem. USGS tweeted: “Prelim M5.8 Earthquake near the east coast of Honshu, Japan May-10 23:58 UTC”

And that unusual event in Japan was very quickly followed by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Indonesia.

Of course Indonesia sits right along the Ring of Fire as well.

There has been so much shaking in Indonesia recently, but most Americans never hear about it.  Just a few days ago, Indonesia was hit by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that was so powerful that it was actually felt in Australia…

A powerful earthquake in Indonesia has been felt in the Northern Territory.

Residents of Darwin reported online they had felt the shake, which registered as a magnitude-6.9 quake late on Wednesday evening.

The tremor hit the Banda Sea, more than 600km north of Darwin, at a depth of 142km.

So as you can see, there have been significant seismic events all over the Ring of Fire within the past several days.

But it isn’t just the Ring of Fire that has been shaking.  Big earthquakes have been popping up in diverse places all over the globe, and the magnitude 5.1 quake that just hit Iran really surprised a lot of people…

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Iran shortly after midnight on Thursday night with its epicenter 34 miles east of the capital city Tehran. AFP reported that panicked residents rushed into the streets, abandoning buildings in fear they would collapse. Two people were killed and 55 injured in the earthquake. The earthquake was followed by eight more mild aftershocks.

And weird earthquakes have been happening in the U.S. as well.

Anyone that follows my work on a regular basis knows that in addition to the west coast I am always watching the New Madrid seismic zone very carefully.

So when two unusual earthquakes hit southern Tennessee on Sunday morning, it definitely got my attention…

Two earthquakes were reported back to back in southern Tennessee early Sunday morning, officials say.

Both quakes happened about 4.3 miles southeast of Sewanee, which is near the Alabama border and about 52 miles from Chattanooga, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The first, a 3.1 magnitude, hit at 3:33 a.m. and the second, a 2.8 magnitude, hit at 3:34 a.m.

Without a doubt, there is a whole lot of shaking going on right now.

That does not necessarily mean that a major event of some sort is imminent, and we should certainly hope that the next major event can be put off for as long as possible.

But as I keep warning, the crust of our planet is very unstable, and many have been warning that we should expect that instability to only get worse in the days ahead.

Seismologists have warned us over and over that it is just a matter of time before “the Big One” absolutely devastates the west coast.  They have told us that the San Andreas fault appears to be “locked and loaded” and that it could potentially “unzip all at once”.

And if that actually happens, seismologists have warned that the ground level could suddenly decline by up to 3 feet, and that could potentially result in vast portions of southern California suddenly being way below sea level.

In other words, we are talking about the sort of disaster that most people don’t even want to think about.

Of course very few people ever imagined that a coronavirus pandemic would virtually shut down the entire country, and yet here we are.

We live in very strange times, and I have a feeling that they will soon get a whole lot stranger…

Over the weekend, Indian authorities used drones and fire engines to disinfect the pandemic-hit city of Ahmedabad as the number of new cases surged and police clashed with migrant workers during the final days of a strict lockdown.

India has been living under one of the world’s most restrictive lockdowns since March 25. As the country gradually tries to reopen some areas, restrictions were actually tightened in Ahmedabad on Friday because of the accelerated spread of the virus. Across India, the number of confirmed cases is rapidly closing in on 70k.

Ahmedabad accounts for roughly 10% of those, as well as  ~343 of the almost 2,000 deaths reported nationwide. It’s also not the only city in Gujarat to be badly hit by the virus.

According to AFP, locals watched in awe from their balconies as drones sprayed disinfectant from the air while fire engines and other vehicles toured the empty streets, sending streams of cleaning agent in every direction.

Acting Chief administrator Rajiv Gupta said “all zones” of the city would be disinfected. The process unfolded as hundreds of paramilitary members flooded the city on Friday as the number of infections soared. Their mission was to kept people off the streets and virtually all stores have been closed for at least a week.

However, the addition of the paramilitaries turned the situation into a powder keg. It was set off when a crowd confronted the soldiers and started pelting them with stones. Police and paramilitary members responded by flinging tear gas. Ultimately 15 were arrested.

Then onn Saturday, fresh clashes erupted in the textile center of Surat, considered Gujarat’s industrial core, when about 500 migrant workers, demanding to return home, hurled stones at the police. Surat has reported about 900 cases of COVID-19, making it the second hardest-hit city in the state. Surat, known for its diamond and textile industries, is home to over 800,000 migrant workers. The Indian lockdown has left migrants largely to fend for themselves as they have been effectively trapped in India with no resources. Many are demanding they be allowed to return home.

Of course, India isn’t alone in using robots and drones to fight – or try to fight – the virus.

Robots patrol parks in Singapore…

 

….and here’s another nightmarish creation that is being used in Singapore as the outbreak among migrant workers in that country explodes.

And in Connecticut’s wealthy Fairfield County, the town of Westport is planning to use drones to check temperatures and perform other symptom checks.