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Showing posts with label President Trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Trump. Show all posts

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Worsen US coronavirus pandemic could be a global issue, Ignorance is bliss

2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map-inline
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/


Zhong Nanshan
https://youtu.be/2QVCe22Sqgw

https://youtu.be/UILmnQNeDuE

https://youtu.be/qYosR39XT7w

https://youtu.be/yYQz3dI65IQ

In an interview with CGTN on April 3, China's top respiratory scientist  Zhong Nanshan said lockdown measures adopted by some countries in Europe or the United States are not effective as they are not exactly implementing real lockdown. He said that the lockdown should go deeper and be stricter, stressing the importance of social distancing to stop the spread of the coronavirus. "Nobody can block, can stop the spreading or stop the infection of this kind of disease. But we can try to do our best to inhibit the spreading. So, that's what we are successful," he added.

 US must take more stringent containment measures: top respiratory expert

Zhong Nanshan, 80, China's revered infectious disease expert, warned on Thursday that if the COVID-19 outbreak continues to worsen in the US, it could become a global issue, since the number of US confirmed cases account for almost a quarter of global cases.

"I am now gravely concerned with the epidemic in the US, and if it gets worse, it will become a global problem," Zhong said on Thursday night during a COVID-19 international experience sharing and exchange video conference.

Zhong said that he noticed a significant increase in the number of COVID19 patients in the US over the past few days, suggesting that the country has begun mass screening of its citizens.

Screening in the US is progressing very advanced, Zhong noted. It takes about 15-20 minutes for a patient to get test results, while it currently takes an hour and a half in China, he said.

"US has made much progress in testing and determining the infected patients, but tracing all their close contacts, separating them, isolating them and cutting the transmission chain is much important," Zhong said.

Zhong urged the US federal government to adopt stronger measures to stem the spread of the pandemic in the US.

The US has reported more than 241,000 cases as of late Thursday, almost a quarter of confirmed cases in the world, and more than 5,800 deaths.

 Source link

COVID-19 cases in US top 300,000: Johns Hopkins University

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 300,000 by 3:40 p.m. local time Saturday (1940 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

China, US cooperation key to battling coronavirus, restarting global economy

Whether the US and China can now pivot toward collaboration where interests overlap will shape the degree of global cooperation with regard to both more effectively combating the coronavirus and no less, in the huge challenge of restarting the global economy.

China's test kit providers call on world to stop smearing Chinese assistance

Chinese coronavirus test kits are desperately clamored for by many foreign clients, but some unfriendly Western media outlets have chosen to smear and discredit made-in-China products.

Westerners should embrace use of masks: Global Times editorial

Masks can help prevent people from being infected. The suggestion is scientific and Asian countries have a lot of experience in this regard. However, excessive cultural confidence has hindered the US and European countries from giving due attention to the experience of their Asian counterparts.


Ignorance is bliss

However, the kind ailing that United States' top brass has come at a devastasting cost to the Uncle Sam

https://youtu.be/sdre7SOd2hg

A news report appeared in the New York Times a week ago. It was probably glossed over, even in the Big Apple, as most New Yorkers struggle with overnight unemployment and keeping a roof over their heads.

It was conspicuously absent from CNN’s newsfeeds, too, despite its world-wide audience, as it remains preoccupied with ridiculing President Trump, while Fox News was per-script in blaming the virus on China.

Most of us outside the US were expectedly unaware of this significant event.

But on March 29, the NY Times reported about a commercial aircraft carrying 80 tonnes of gloves, masks, gowns and other medical supplies from Shanghai, touching down in New York last Sunday, marking the first of 22 scheduled flights that White House officials say will supply much-needed goods to the US by early April.

The NY Times is a credible 169-year-old American newspaper with a worldwide influence and readership. It has won 127 Pulitzer Prizes – more than any other newspaper.

The report quoted Lizzie Litzow, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who said the plane delivered 130,000 N95 masks, 1.8 million face masks and gowns, 10 million gloves and thousands of thermometers for distribution in NY, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Apparently, there should be subsequent flights to Chicago and Ohio, where supplies will be despatched to other states using private-sector distribution networks.

Now, here’s the gem. The NY Times added, attributing a White House spokesman, that the shipment from China which arrived in NY was the product of a public-private partnership – led by President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner – with major health care distributors including McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, Medline and Henry Schein.

Representatives from those companies had previously met with Trump at the White House.

So, while Trump was busy throwing punches at China, with his incessant China Virus remarks, he was, instead, quietly seeking help from the republic behind the scenes.

Trump isn’t the only one culpable, either. His Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is equally pompous with his obsession in lambasting China for everything, including Covid-19, from which spawned the now-infamous “China Virus” line.

His remarks have become much more contagious than the virus itself with each passing day.

The virus struck Wuhan, China, in December last year, then spread to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, during which Trump was still dismissive of it.

He portrayed it as a mere flu bug, with his predictable barrage of false claims and fake news, and even until last month, he kept repeating that Covid- 19 was not as bad as the seasonal flu.

And of course, as the rest of Asia was busy stocking up on face masks, sterilisers and food supplies, he still insisted that “the United States is in a far better shape than other countries.”

None of us in Asia, especially, believed him. In fact, we feel sorry that many ordinary Americans didn’t wake up to the threat. Echoing their president’s sentiments, they assumed the US would be immune to it. Mr T shot from the hip again, and in his usual condescending manner.

After all, Asians deserve it, what with their filthy eating habits and dirty animal markets, right?

The British likely thought the same, and continued to attend huge gatherings like football matches, and went on pub crawls and walks in the park, too.

Asians watched in exasperation at the continuing nonchalance of these people.

Incredibly, as the bodies pile up at the morgue, there are US leaders who continue to engage in the meaningless blame game.

If they think they can gain sympathy with this inane approach, they should know that the virus isn’t going away, and eventually, victims will wise up. And as leaders, they will still have to tackle this health disaster.

As of now, US health workers have resorted to rationing protective gear or using homemade supplies, with the Department of Health and Human Services saying it estimates the US will require 3.5 billion masks if the pandemic lasts a year.

The NY Times, quoting Litzow, said “the overwhelming demand has set off a race among foreign countries, American officials at all levels of government and private individuals to acquire protective gear, ventilators and other much-needed goods from China, where newly built factories are churning out supplies even as China’s own epidemic wanes.”

It added that the US was working with manufacturers from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Honduras and Mexico.

Until a few months ago, the US was halting trade with China, imposing barriers and tariffs, and kicking out US-based Chinese scientists, but now, the NY Times reports that “American governors, mayors and lawmakers have been trying to arrange their own shipments of products from China, with some saying the federal government has been moving too slowly, which risks losing out to other foreign buyers.

“American officials have leaned on sister cities and province relationships, liaison offices they had set up in China to attract investment and connections with state-run Chinese companies to try to secure scarce equipment.”

It also said that the private sector, comprising a motley crew of wealthy individuals, charitable organizations and corporate executives with connections to China, have also stepped forward to help deliver goods to the United States.

Tragically, as Italy and Spain, among other nations, battle helplessly against the Covid-19 virus, the European Union’s miserable failure casts a long shadow. No EU member has sent aid to their Italian brethren.

The politicians can question China’s motives in its aid offer, in what is now dubbed the “face mask diplomacy”, but real help goes a long way in tough times. Talk is cheap, President Trump.

Representing the private sector, Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire and co-founder of Alibaba, donated a million masks and 500,000 test kits to the US.

Other benefitting countries of the masks will include Spain, Belgium and France, with the same resource already sent to Czech Republic, Greece and Serbia.

For Malaysia, China has donated 100,008 units of novel coronavirus nucleic acid diagnostic (PCR-Fluorescence Probing) test kits, 100,000 pieces of N95 face masks, 500,000 pieces of surgical masks, 50,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 200 ventilators.

The Committee of 100, a leadership organisation of Americans of Chinese descent, has raised US$1mil (RM4.3mil) to purchase medical supplies and protective gear from around the world to help their country.

Against this backdrop of generosity and care, Pompeo still had time to hold a global teleconference on March 29, as he continued his offensive on China for its alleged campaign of misinformation on the virus.

Ibut yourself, President Trump. Likewise, Pompeo.

Source link


Germany says US 'hijacked' 200000 masks at Bangkok airport


Modern-day piracy': German official says US swooped on ...

https://youtu.be/29aqX_Eaf_c

Related posts:

Check the latest update:  https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/  Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across t..

Monday, January 1, 2018

Critical trends to watch in 2018

There are many issues on a fast and slow boil and some of them could reach a tipping point in the new year


ANOTHER new year has dawned, and it’s time to preview what to expect in 2018.

The most obvious topic would be to anticipate how Donald Trump, the most unorthodox of American presidents, would continue to upset the world order. But more about that later.

Just as importantly as politics, we are now in the midst of several social trends that have important long-term effects. Some are on the verge of reaching a tipping point, where a trend becomes a critical and sometimes irreversible event. We may see some of that in 2018.

Who would have expected that 2017 would end with such an upsurge of the movement against sexual harassment? Like a tidal wave it swept away Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film star Kevin Spacey, TV interviewer Charlie Rose and many other icons.

The #MeToo movement took years to gather steam, with the 1991 Anita Hill testimony against then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas being a trailblazer. It paved the way over many years for other women to speak up until the tipping point was reached. So, in 2018, expect the momentum to continue, and in more countries.

Another issue that has been brewing is the rapid growth and effects of digital technology. Those enjoying the benefits of the smartphone, Google search, WhatsApp, Uber and online shopping usually sing its praises.

But the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It has many benefits but also serious downsides, and the debate is now picking up.

First, automation with artificial intelligence can make many jobs redundant. Uber displaced taxis, and will soon displace its drivers with driver-less cars.

The global alarm over job losses is resonating at home. An International Labour Organisation report warning that 54% of jobs in Malaysia are at high risk of being displaced by technology in the next 20 years was cited by Khazanah Research Institute in its own study last April. TalentCorp has estimated that 43% of jobs in Malaysia may potentially be lost to automation.

Second is a recent chorus of warnings, including by some of digital technology’s creators, that addiction and frequent use of the smartphone are making humans less intelligent and socially deficient.

Third is the loss of privacy as personal data collected from Internet use is collected by tech companies like Facebook and sold to advertisers.

Fourth is the threat of cyber-fraud and cyber-warfare as data from hacked devices can be used to empty bank accounts, steal information from governments and companies, and as part of warfare.

Fifth is the worsening of inequality and the digital divide as those countries and people with little access to digital devices, including small businesses, will be left behind.

The usual response to these points is that people and governments must be prepared to get the benefits and counter the ill effects. For example, laid-off workers should be retrained, companies taught to use e-commerce, and a tax can be imposed on using robots (an idea supported by Bill Gates).

But the technologies are moving ahead faster than policy makers’ capacity to keep track and come up with policies and regulations. Expect this debate to move from conference rooms to the public arena in 2018, as more technologies are introduced and more effects become evident.

On climate change, scientists frustrated by the lack of action will continue to raise the alarm that the situation is far worse than earlier predicted.

In fact, the tipping point may well have been reached already. On Dec 20, the United Nations stated that the Arctic has been forever changed by the rapidly warming climate. The Arctic continued in 2017 to warm at double the rate of the global temperature increase, resulting in the loss of sea ice.

These past three years have been the warmest on record. The target of limiting temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a benchmark just two years ago by the UN’s top scientific climate panel and the Paris Agreement, seems outdated and a new target of 1.5°C could be adopted in 2018.

But it is much harder to meet this new target. Will political leaders and the public rise to the challenge, or will 2018 see a wider disconnect between what needs to be done, and a lack of the needed urgent response?

Another issue reaching tipping point is the continuing rise of antibiotic resistance, with bacteria mutating to render antibiotics increasingly ineffective to treat many diseases. There are global and national efforts to contain this crisis, but not enough, and there is little time left to act before millions die from once-treatable ailments.

Finally, back to Trump. His style and policies have been disruptive to the domestic and global order, but last year he seemed unconcerned about criticisms on this. So we can expect more of the same or even more shocking measures in 2018.

Opposition to his policies from foreign countries will not count for much. But there are many in the American establishment who consider him a threat to the American system.

Will 2018 see the opposition reach a tipping point to make a significant difference? It looks unlikely. But like many other things in 2018, nothing is reliably predictable.

Global Trends by martin khor

Martin Khor is executive director of the South Centre. The views expressed here are entirely his own.


Related Links:

 EYE ON ECONOMY] China's rising influence in global economy instilling hope in opportunity takers

 EXPERT ASSESSMENT] China is stronger in AI production and application than the US

https://youtu.be/RIDN1cDhz7c

China stable as US shakes world in 2017

The US abruptly changed some of the rules of the game in the international community, yet the tools in Washington's hands are limited. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula revealed that Washington's capabilities don't match its volition.


2018 is an exciting year for Malaysia's car industry - Business News

 Wall Street eyes 2018 gains with a side of caution - Reuters

Foreign fund inflows seen continuing in 2018 - Business News
 
 Broader China investments - PressReader



Digital currencies to shadow robust US economy in 2018 - Business News
 
A peculiar year for markets - Business News






Critical trends to watch in 2018

There are many issues on a fast and slow boil and some of them could reach a tipping point in the new year


ANOTHER new year has dawned, and it’s time to preview what to expect in 2018.

The most obvious topic would be to anticipate how Donald Trump, the most unorthodox of American presidents, would continue to upset the world order. But more about that later.

Just as importantly as politics, we are now in the midst of several social trends that have important long-term effects. Some are on the verge of reaching a tipping point, where a trend becomes a critical and sometimes irreversible event. We may see some of that in 2018.

Who would have expected that 2017 would end with such an upsurge of the movement against sexual harassment? Like a tidal wave it swept away Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film star Kevin Spacey, TV interviewer Charlie Rose and many other icons.

The #MeToo movement took years to gather steam, with the 1991 Anita Hill testimony against then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas being a trailblazer. It paved the way over many years for other women to speak up until the tipping point was reached. So, in 2018, expect the momentum to continue, and in more countries.

Another issue that has been brewing is the rapid growth and effects of digital technology. Those enjoying the benefits of the smartphone, Google search, WhatsApp, Uber and online shopping usually sing its praises.

But the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It has many benefits but also serious downsides, and the debate is now picking up.

First, automation with artificial intelligence can make many jobs redundant. Uber displaced taxis, and will soon displace its drivers with driver-less cars.

The global alarm over job losses is resonating at home. An International Labour Organisation report warning that 54% of jobs in Malaysia are at high risk of being displaced by technology in the next 20 years was cited by Khazanah Research Institute in its own study last April. TalentCorp has estimated that 43% of jobs in Malaysia may potentially be lost to automation.

Second is a recent chorus of warnings, including by some of digital technology’s creators, that addiction and frequent use of the smartphone are making humans less intelligent and socially deficient.

Third is the loss of privacy as personal data collected from Internet use is collected by tech companies like Facebook and sold to advertisers.

Fourth is the threat of cyber-fraud and cyber-warfare as data from hacked devices can be used to empty bank accounts, steal information from governments and companies, and as part of warfare.

Fifth is the worsening of inequality and the digital divide as those countries and people with little access to digital devices, including small businesses, will be left behind.

The usual response to these points is that people and governments must be prepared to get the benefits and counter the ill effects. For example, laid-off workers should be retrained, companies taught to use e-commerce, and a tax can be imposed on using robots (an idea supported by Bill Gates).

But the technologies are moving ahead faster than policy makers’ capacity to keep track and come up with policies and regulations. Expect this debate to move from conference rooms to the public arena in 2018, as more technologies are introduced and more effects become evident.

On climate change, scientists frustrated by the lack of action will continue to raise the alarm that the situation is far worse than earlier predicted.

In fact, the tipping point may well have been reached already. On Dec 20, the United Nations stated that the Arctic has been forever changed by the rapidly warming climate. The Arctic continued in 2017 to warm at double the rate of the global temperature increase, resulting in the loss of sea ice.

These past three years have been the warmest on record. The target of limiting temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a benchmark just two years ago by the UN’s top scientific climate panel and the Paris Agreement, seems outdated and a new target of 1.5°C could be adopted in 2018.

But it is much harder to meet this new target. Will political leaders and the public rise to the challenge, or will 2018 see a wider disconnect between what needs to be done, and a lack of the needed urgent response?

Another issue reaching tipping point is the continuing rise of antibiotic resistance, with bacteria mutating to render antibiotics increasingly ineffective to treat many diseases. There are global and national efforts to contain this crisis, but not enough, and there is little time left to act before millions die from once-treatable ailments.

Finally, back to Trump. His style and policies have been disruptive to the domestic and global order, but last year he seemed unconcerned about criticisms on this. So we can expect more of the same or even more shocking measures in 2018.

Opposition to his policies from foreign countries will not count for much. But there are many in the American establishment who consider him a threat to the American system.

Will 2018 see the opposition reach a tipping point to make a significant difference? It looks unlikely. But like many other things in 2018, nothing is reliably predictable.

Global Trends by martin khor

Martin Khor is executive director of the South Centre. The views expressed here are entirely his own.


Related Links:

 EYE ON ECONOMY] China's rising influence in global economy instilling hope in opportunity takers

 EXPERT ASSESSMENT] China is stronger in AI production and application than the US

https://youtu.be/RIDN1cDhz7c

China stable as US shakes world in 2017

The US abruptly changed some of the rules of the game in the international community, yet the tools in Washington's hands are limited. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula revealed that Washington's capabilities don't match its volition.

 
2018 is an exciting year for Malaysia's car industry - Business News

 Wall Street eyes 2018 gains with a side of caution - Reuters

Foreign fund inflows seen continuing in 2018 - Business News
 
 Broader China investments - PressReader



Digital currencies to shadow robust US economy in 2018 - Business News
 
A peculiar year for markets - Business News