Flashermac

Trump rejected Pelosi's hand shake after she had failed to introduce the president in the traditional manner. It was payback time. Trump lays out pitch for re-election On BBC World News, BBC North America reporter Anthony Zurcher spoke of the divided body language that coloured Trump's remarks, noting both Trump's snub of top Democrat Nancy Pelosi's attempted handshake and later, Pelosi's shredding of the president speech. But partisan tension aside, "the point of Trump's speech", like for any incumbent president before an election "is to lay out the framework of that re-election campaign," Zurcher says. And this year, America's "booming economy" was Trump's central pitch, drawing a counterpoint to the Democrats, who he says would endanger a long-term economic growth period. And Trump got most aggressive in two main areas Zurcher says: healthcare and immigration. Zurcher also noted the medal of freedom awarded to Rush Limbaugh, a figure who is is "notorious among Democrats for what they view as racist and sexist statements", and known among Republicans as a "grandfather of conservative politics". https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-51351106

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-kokopelli-flute-playing-god-conquered-pop-culture

I liked Rush when he started out because he was funny and usually on target. But then he started getting loonier and loonier. However, if you're ever in southeast Missouri, don't criticise him. Folks there think he is almost divine. Awarding him the medal should be worth a pile of votes for Trump.

Obama didn't know how many states there are and publicly showed it. Papa Bush thought Arkansas was a small state between Texas and Oklahoma. Our presidents don't seem to be that strong on American geography.

How many Americans even know that Kansas City is in (mostly) Missouri? p,s, I wonder if they're getting flak from Native Americans over the teams name.

Bangkok ‘most at risk’ for virus spread Bangkok and Hong Kong are most at risk from the spread of coronavirus based on air travellers expected to arrive from affected cities in China, population mapping experts at the University of Southampton concluded. Sydney is 12th, New York 16th and London 19th among 30 major cities, the researchers said. Thailand and Japan are the most at-risk countries, followed by the US (6th), Australia (10th) and UK (17th). The research is based 2013-15 data on typical patterns of movement by people in China during the long Lunar New Year celebrations, including the public holiday that was extended a week ago. ... https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/advanced/1849749/bangkok-most-at-risk-for-virus-spread?fbclid=IwAR0tWVXeW0Y5bbR9vMQZmZpBG4PiRTJr54H-TejlGpGP1QsNZZnFJbFydgo#cxrecs_s Rots o' ruck finding surgical masks in Bangkok. Prayut says there are more than enough, but I don't know where they must be hiding them.

I'd say those clowns are more a danger to themselves than anyone else. Idiots with war weapons.

Virus deaths in China rise to 360, exceeding SARS mainland toll China's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic soared to 360 on Monday, with deepening global concern about the outbreak and governments closing their borders to people from China. The fresh toll came a day after China imposed a lockdown on a major city far from the epicentre and the first fatality outside the country was reported in the Philippines. Authorities in Hubei, the province at the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 56 new fatalities. That took the toll in China to 360, exceeding the 349 mainland fatalities from the 2002-3 SARS outbreak. Struggling to contain the virus, authorities took action in the eastern city of Wenzhou on Sunday, closing roads and confining people to their homes. Wenzhou is some 800 kilometres from Wuhan, the metropolis at the heart of the health emergency. Since emerging out of Wuhan late last year, the new coronavirus has infected more than 16,400 people across China and reached 24 nations. The G7 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States -- have all confirmed cases of the virus. They will discuss a joint response, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Sunday. In Thailand, which has 19 confirmed cases, doctors said Sunday an elderly Chinese patient treated with a cocktail of flu and HIV drugs had shown dramatic improvement and tested negative for the virus 48 hours later. Most of the infections overseas have been detected in people who travelled from Wuhan, an industrial hub of 11 million people, or surrounding areas of Hubei province. ... China's efforts have included extraordinary quarantines in Wuhan and surrounding cities, with all transport out banned, effectively sealing off more than 50 million people. But 10 days after locking down Wuhan, authorities imposed similar draconian measures on Wenzhou, a coastal city of nine million people in Zhejiang province, part of the eastern industrial heartland that has powered China's economic rise over recent decades. Only one resident per household is allowed to go out every two days to buy necessities, and 46 highway toll stations have been closed, authorities announced. The city had previously closed public places such as cinemas and museums, and suspended public transport. Zhejiang has 661 confirmed infections, with 265 of those in Wenzhou, according to the government. This is the highest tally for any province in China after ground-zero Hubei. https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1849519/virus-deaths-in-china-rise-to-360-exceeding-sars-mainland-toll

Thai doctors have declared the use of anti-flu and AIDS drugs a success in reducing symptoms of coronavirus patients after using them on a Chinese woman. Two doctors from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok — Dr Kriangsak Atipornwanich, an expert physician, and Assoc Prof Dr Subsai Kongsangdao, a specialist — said at a briefing in Bangkok that improvements were seen in the 71-year-old woman 48 hours after administering the two groups of medications. The woman was admitted first to Hua Hin Hospital and then transferred to Rajavithi Hospital on Jan 29. After finding she had serious symptoms, the doctors decided to use oseltamivir, an anti-flu drug used to treat the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), as well as lopinavir and ritonavir, two AIDS drugs. Dr Kriangsak acknowleged that the Chinese had already been using AIDS medications on novel coronavirus patients. We checked related information and found anti-flu drugs were effective on MERS so we combined both groups of medications. “After poor lab tests for 10 days, the test finally turned positive after 48 hours of administering the medications. The treatment, as well as therecovery is fast,” he said. They noted they had reported the discovery to a medical journal and would use the drugs on additional patients. The two groups of drugs are effective on patients with serious symptoms, they said. Doctors from the Public Health Ministry also said at the briefing on Sunday the accumulated number of patients in Thailand stood at 19. One was discharged, bringing the total number of treated cases to eight. Thirty-eight more met the criteria for investigation, bringing the total under investigation to 382, they said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1849024/thai-doctors-say-two-drug-groups-effective-on-patient Be nice if it's true.

More fun and games ... Prosecutor Shokin files a complaint against Joe Biden for interference in Ukraine’s legal proceedings https://www.les-crises.fr/breaking-news-prosecutor-shokin-files-a-complaint-against-joe-biden-for-interference-in-ukraine-s-legal-proceedings/

This San Francisco apartment building's parking spot will cost you $100,000 SAN FRANCISCO -- One hundred thousand dollars can get you a house in many places across the U.S. In San Francisco, the only listing for $100,000 is a parking spot, and the agent says he's getting calls. "One block from the ballpark and one block from the Embarcadero so it's not only a good place to park your car, and to park your money," said Bill Williams with Compass Real Estate. The parking spot is located in the South Beach neighborhood one of the most coveted areas in the city. "I had a picture of it and everything and my phone was ringing off the hook. Because people thought $100,000 for property in San Francisco they were clamoring for that," said Williams. The average parking price around the area is $15. According to Williams they got a verbal offer for $90,000 but his clients didn't take it. "It's all driven by supply and demand. We're surrounded by blocks of multimillion-dollar properties and they came with one parking space," said Williams. Neighbors in the Townsend building are shocked, "It's ridiculous," said Peggy Chou. "The thing that makes it so unique is that you don't have to live in the building to use it. So, somebody might just want to have their private parking for when they go to the ballpark or to park their antique car," said Williams. As more buildings are going up in the city, parking is harder to find. Sirine Khalifa got a $72 parking ticket across the Townsend listing and even though she was upset about the fine, she said she would use $100,000 for other things. "For example for the homeless people there are a lot of people living on the street and for me that is not very human," said Khalifa. Henry Luong is a San Francisco parking enforcement officer who was also shocked by the listing. "One hundred thousand dollars for a spot, no that's too much," Luong said. "You just have to be careful, just follow the rules." Like every other unit in the building, whoever buys the parking spot will have to pay property taxes and an HOA fee of $28 a month. https://abc7news.com/5896007/?fbclid=IwAR2vHxk1xpSXY19VT1ldYWSHaoTEy8kT7Wjg5Z-2_a0EPoKBO0_ge1UTRl8

The baht has weakened a bit. You should be able to be a few more flowers now.

From the Galeries Lafayette in Paris to the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, tourist havens are feeling the absence of Chinese visitors, who normally would be flooding the globe during this Lunar New Year. Ananta Warisnaratorn, 43, sells flowers outside the shrine, where Chinese come to pray. "Usually we will welcome over 100 buses of Chinese tourists, the shrine is crowded, and tourists are overflowing the footpath," she said. "Now it's empty." An amulet seller nearby said his daily income has dropped to about $5 from $30. Tour guides said they had to little to do in what should have been one of their busiest weeks of the year. The cause of their unlucky fortunes is the new coronavirus that has struck nearly 6,000 people and killed more than 130 in China. Concerns about spreading or catching the virus were causing travelers to cancel plans even before China on Monday stopped allowing tour groups to leave the country. Individual travelers can still leave, but many are also opting to cancel, according to tourism officials. A minor part of the global tourism trade until the 2000s, Chinese visitors are now the most lucrative group for many countries. Nearly 168 million residents of China went outside the country in 2018, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization, and spent some $277 billion. That is more than three times the travelers and five times the spending of a decade earlier. One reason is relaxation of travel rules, both in China and in destination countries like Japan, making it easier for the burgeoning Chinese middle class to pop over to Osaka or Oahu for a bit of shopping and leisure. In Asia, "the share of Chinese tourism in the overall tourism industry rose quite dramatically within five or six years," said Rajiv Biswas, IHS Markit's chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region. "Now they're already starting to feel slack, and cancellations are coming." On the Indonesian island of Bali, more than a quarter of visitors are Chinese, leading many tour operators to hire Mandarin-speaking guides. But with that tourism now curtailed, an early February festival to celebrate the legendary love story of a Balinese king and Chinese princess--featuring a parade of elephants and a traditional dance with performers in lion costume--has been suspended, the governor's office said. Determining the broad economic impact of the tourism slowdown is difficult because no one knows how long the virus and travel restrictions will last. SMBC Nikko Securities chief economist Junichi Makino said if the Chinese government banned travel abroad for six months--among the more severe scenarios--spending by Chinese group tourists would decline $83.1 billion world-wide and take 0.1 percentage point off global economic growth. Shuji Tonouchi, an economist in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said a falloff in tourism resembling the slowdown during the 2003 SARS virus outbreak would reduce Japan's gross domestic product growth by 0.2 percentage point. If the consequences of the outbreak last only through March, "that wouldn't be terrible," said Bernard Arnault, chief executive of luxury-goods maker LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which just recorded record profits thanks in large part to Chinese shoppers. "If it lasts two years, that would be another story." About the only people in tourism centers benefiting from the Chinese coronavirus are those selling hygienic face masks and other health goods. Steven Wang, a 33-year-old tourist from Shanghai, arrived in Tokyo Tuesday afternoon with his girlfriend. His first purchase, at a drugstore in the Ginza shopping district, was 100 masks for friends and relatives back home. In France's capital, the Galeries Lafayette shopping emporium is usually packed with Chinese visitors and the typical luxury shop has at least one Chinese-speaking employee on hand. This week, it was a nearby pharmacy that was drawing some of the heaviest traffic. Wen Si of Beijing and her friend were looking for a particular brand of mask when they saw an older Chinese couple buying some. They asked the couple where to find them but were told none were left. "Since we begin to hear about coronavirus, it's totally different. Chinese customers are really scared," said pharmacist Daniel Machover. He said the store recently has been selling 1,000 masks a day, compared with the typical one to five. Paris, hit by several cases of the new coronavirus, has canceled its Lunar New Year Parade. A tourist from Nanjing who gave his surname as Chen said he and his wife had decided to extend their stay in the city for a week because they were too afraid to go home and risk being quarantined. He purchased a thermometer at another pharmacy and, while waiting for his wife to finish her shopping, took his temperature. It was normal. The stress of virus news had eaten into their travel plans. "We just feel tired," Mr. Chen said. "We will go to the hotel to sleep." https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1847279#cxrecs_s

I foresee a group lawsuit in the near future. Kobe Bryant helicopter firm was not allowed to fly in fog The company that owns the helicopter that was carrying basketball great Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others when it crashed was not licensed to fly in foggy conditions, officials say. Island Express Helicopters was limited to operating when the pilot was able to see clearly when flying. ... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51332546

Virus-hit Wuhan has two laboratories linked to Chinese bio-warfare program The deadly animal virus epidemic spreading globally may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory linked to China’s covert biological weapons program, according to an Israeli biological warfare expert. Radio Free Asia this week rebroadcast a local Wuhan television report from 2015 showing China’s most advanced virus research laboratory known the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Radio Free Asia reported. The laboratory is the only declared site in China capable of working with deadly viruses. Dany Shoham, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who has studied Chinese bio warfare, said the institute is linked to Beijing’s covert biological weapons program. “Certain laboratories in the institute have probably been engaged, in terms of research and development, in Chinese [biological weapons], at least collaterally, yet not as a principal facility of the Chinese BW alignment,” Mr. Shoham told The Washington Times. Work on biological weapons is conducted as part of a dual civilian-military research and is “definitely covert,” he said in an email. Mr. Shoham holds a doctorate in medical microbiology. From 1970 to 1991 he was a senior analyst with Israeli military intelligence for biological and chemical warfare in the Middle East and worldwide, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel. China in the past has denied having any offensive biological weapons. The State Department, in a report last year, said it suspects China has engaged in covert biological warfare work. A Chinese Embassy spokesman did not return an email seeking comment. Chinese authorities so far have said the origin of the coronavirus that has killed scores and infected hundreds in central Hubei Province is not known. Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state-controlled media initial signs as of Thursday indicated the virus originated from wild animals sold at a seafood market in Wuhan. One ominous sign, said a U.S. official, is the that false rumors since the outbreak began several weeks ago have begun circulating on the Chinese Internet claiming the virus is part of a U.S. conspiracy to spread germ weapons. That could indicate China is preparing propaganda outlets to counter future charges the new virus escaped from one of Wuhan’s civilian or defense research laboratories. The World Health Organization is calling the microbe novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. At a meeting in Geneva Thursday, the organization stopped short of declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The virus outbreak causes pneumonia-like symptoms and prompted China to deploy military forces to Wuhan this week in a bid to halt the spread. All travel out of the city of 11 million people was halted. The Wuhan institute has studied coronaviruses in the past, including the including the strain that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, H5N1 influenza virus, Japanese encephalitis, and dengue. Researchers at the institute also studied the germ that causes anthrax – a biological agent once developed in Russia. “Coronaviruses (particularly SARS) have been studied in the institute and are probably held therein,” he said. “SARS is included within the Chinese BW program, at large, and is dealt with in several pertinent facilities.” It is not known if the institute’s array of coronaviruses are specifically included in biological weapons program but it is possible, he said. Asked if the new coronavirus may have leaked, Mr. Shoham said: “In principle, outward virus infiltration might take place either as leakage or as an indoor unnoticed infection of a person that normally went out of the concerned facility. This could have been the case with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, but so far there isn’t evidence or indication for such incident.” After researchers sequence of the genome of the new coronavirus it might be possible to determine or suggest its origin or source. Mr. Shoham, now with the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel, said the virology institute is the only declared site in China known as P4 for Pathogen Level 4, a status indicating it uses the strictest safety standards to prevent the spread of the most dangerous and exotic microbes being studied. The former Israeli military intelligence doctor also said suspicions were raised about the Wuhan Institute of Virology when a group of Chinese virologists working in Canada improperly sent samples to China of what he said were some of the deadliest viruses on earth, including the Ebola virus. In a July article in the journal Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Mr. Shoham said the Wuhan institute was one of four Chinese laboratories engaged in some aspects of the biological weapons development. He identified the secure Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory at the institute as engaged in research on the Ebola, Nipah, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever viruses. The Wuhan virology institute is under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. But certain laboratories within it “have linkage with the PLA or BW-related elements within the Chinese defense establishment,” he said. In 1993, China declared a second facility, the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, as one of eight biological warfare research facilities covered by the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) which China joined in 1985. The Wuhan Institute of Biological Products is a civilian facility but is linked to the Chinese defense establishment, and has been regarded to be involved in the Chinese BW program, Mr. Shoham said. China’s vaccine against SARS is probably produced there. “This means the SARS virus is held and propagated there, but it is not a new coronavirus, unless the wild type has been modified, which is not known and cannot be speculated at the moment,” he said. The annual State Department report on arms treaty compliance stated last year that China engaged in activities that could support biological warfare. “Information indicates that the People’s Republic of China engaged during the reporting period in biological activities with potential dual-use applications, which raises concerns regarding its compliance with the BWC,” the report said, adding that the United States suspects China failed to eliminate its biological warfare program as required by the treaty. “The United States has compliance concerns with respect to Chinese military medical institutions’ toxin research and development because of the potential dual-use applications and their potential as a biological threat,” the report added. The biosafety lab is located about 20 miles from the Hunan Seaford Market that reports from China say may have been origin point of the virus. Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard Ebright told London’s Daily Mail that “at this point there’s no reason to harbor suspicions” the lab may be linked to the virus outbreak. https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/24/virus-hit-wuhan-has-two-laboratories-linked-chines/?fbclid=IwAR35pRFII5QfLIF8Jl-yavDJW2J59gbq-xejD4-EpLWObRl47OlHG3cuiV4

It's official! The PRC is trying to kill us all. The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China. "The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems. At least 213 people have died from the virus in China. ... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51318246

Dershie defended OJ. Why shouldnt he defend Trump? That's where the money is.

Beyoncé Set To Perform At Trump Impeachment Halftime Show IN a desperate bid to garner interest from the lethargic American public, officials involved in the Trump impeachment proceedings have announced that Beyoncé Knowles will perform at today’s Superbowl-styled halftime show, along with an array of supporting acts, WWN can confirm. Citing poor concentration skills and general apathy among American voters, it was decided entertainment during an interval was needed to increase interest in the country’s latest impeachment proceedings, which was initially billed as “the most entertaining impeachment of them all”. “Queen Bey will perform 5 songs halfway through today’s impeachment proceedings, followed by Daft Punk and a special appearance by Kanye West,” organisers confirmed. The investigation into president Trump’s alleged scheme to coerce Ukraine’s president into opening an investigation into an election rival or face military aid being withheld is now into its second day, with its findings expected to change “fuck all” in the minds of Trump supporters. “God damn witch hun’ if ya ask me,” spat Alabama soybean farmer Randy Stevens, who said he will vote for Trump again despite losing thousands in revenue this year due to the ongoing trade war with China, “Mr. Trump is a good man and understands small folk like me more than anyone else I know… he even killed ISIS,” Stevens added, hocking out a large brown pile of tobacco. The halftime show will also feature an indoor fireworks display. Ever the restrained and dignified leader, president Trump has vowed to continue to incriminate himself and justify the impeachment inquiry on Twitter before ultimately taking to the stand to scream ‘You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth’. https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2019/11/14/beyonce-set-to-perform-at-trump-impeachment-halftime-show/

Believe it or not, American football (and Canadian football) "evolved" from rugby. What went wrong?

At least one country has good sense. Coronavirus: Britons on Wuhan flights to be quarantined Hundreds of British citizens being flown back to the UK from Wuhan on Thursday will be put in quarantine for two weeks on their arrival. It is believed passengers will be required to sign a contract agreeing to commit to the quarantine period. It comes as British Airways suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China because of the coronavirus outbreak. ... https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51292590

Arizona Makes Waves, Introduces Bill BANNING Transgenders From Female Sports Teams! The measure is intended to prevent female athletes from being forced to compete against biological males, Barto said in a statement. It would apply to K-12 schools, community colleges and state universities, but only to female teams. She said most people view the issue as one of basic fairness. “When this is allowed, it discourages female participation in athletics and, worse, it can result in women and girls being denied crucial educational and financial opportunities,” Barto’s statement said. ... https://en-volve.com/2020/01/26/arizona-makes-waves-introduces-bill-banning-transgenders-from-female-sports-teams/?fbclid=IwAR34BoTS-hGjwxz8IK1jNc8W2B4fW-sx9gzRWBaOtIyl-syHWsFiFMQn2Mc How dare they!

And Biden, Pelosi, Kerry and Romney are Ukrainians. Trump guilty!