Yes, it is worse than the flu: busting the coronavirus myths

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/02/worse-than-the-flu-busting-the-coronavirus-myths-face-masks-vaccine-covid-19

Claim: ‘It is no more dangerous than winter flu’

Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally.

Stelter: This can be just as damaging as the coronavirus

המחלוקת והאגדה על ה... "משנה ברורה"

https://www.kikar.co.il/349499.html

לאחר נאומו הנוקב של החפץ חיים ב'ועידת פטרבורג', נפוצה בעולם התורני האגדה שהחפץ חיים, כדי לפייס את רבי מאיר שמחה מדווינסק, הזכיר את שמו המלא במשנה ברורה (מעניין)

 

Sanders defends attacks on Israel’s Netanyahu

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/01/sanders-defends-position-israel-118408

Sanders has often criticized Israel's policy toward Palestinians, particularly those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as being racist and inhumane. Speaking at the annual AIPAC conference in Washington on Sunday morning, Danon dug into Sanders for the criticism, saying: "We don't want Sanders at AIPAC. We don't want him in Israel. Anyone who calls our prime minister a 'racist' is either a liar, an ignorant fool, or both."

Netanyahu saw Trump plan as asset, but now polls show surge of angry Arab voters

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-saw-trump-plan-as-asset-but-now-polls-show-surge-of-angry-arab-voters/

 Netanyahu has championed the Trump plan as unprecedentedly good for Israel, and formulated solely because of the extraordinary relationship he has managed to build with Trump and the US administration.

Euphoric over its content, he plainly anticipated that it would help him win Monday’s elections. It would be a momentous irony if that plan — and especially the provision for redrawing the border; a provision that a worried Netanyahu last week said he rejects — were to wind up costing him a Knesset majority, again.

 

Avraham was concerned that Sarah was pregnant from Avimelech or Pharoh

מדרש תנחומא (ורשא) פרשת תולדות סימן א
בא וראה כח השלום שבשעה שנתטלטלה שרה מיד פרעה ליד אבימלך ונתעברה ביצחק היו אומות העולם אומרים הלבן מאה שנה יולד אלא היא מעוברת מאבימלך או מפרעה והיתה חשד בלבו של אברהם על אלו הדברים מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא אמר למלאך הממונה על יצירת הוולד עשה כל אקונין שלו כדמות אביו כדי שיעידו הכל שהוא בנו של אברהם

Tanchuma(Toldos#1):
Look how great is the power of peace. After Sarah was saved from Avimelech and Pharoh (25 years later)- - she became pregnant with Yizchok. People gossiped and said,”Is it conceivable that a 100 year old can produce a son? Obviously not therefore she must have become pregnant from either Avimelech or Pharoh” This aroused suspicion in Avraham. Consequently G-d told the angel who was in charge of forming the embryo, to make its appearance  in the image of his father – to clearly testify that this was the son of Avraham

Rashi (Toldos) רש"י בראשית פרשת תולדות פרק כה פסוק יט

אברהם הוליד את יצחק - על ידי שכתב הכתוב יצחק בן אברהם הוזקק לומר אברהם הוליד את יצחק,ב לפי שהיו ליצני הדור אומרים מאבימלך נתעברה שרה, שהרי כמה שנים שהתה עם אברהם ולא נתעברה הימנו, מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא, צר קלסתר פניו של יצחק דומה לאברהם, והעידו הכל אברהם הוליד את יצחק, וזהו שכתב כאן יצחק בן אברהם היה, שהרי עדות יש שאברהם הוליד את יצחק:
 

BAVA METZIA 87A):                   And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck?28 How many children then did Sarah suckle?29 — R. Levi said: On the day that Abraham weaned his son Isaac, he made a great banquet, and all the peoples of the world derided him, saying, ‘Have you seen that old man and woman, who brought a foundling from the street, and now claim him as their son! And what is more, they make a great banquet to establish their claim!’ What did our father Abraham do? — He went and invited all the great men of the age, and our mother Sarah invited their wives. Each one brought her child with her, but not the wetnurse, and a miracle happened unto our mother Sarah, her breasts opened like two fountains, and she suckled them all. Yet they still scoffed, saying, ‘Granted that Sarah could give birth at the age of ninety, could Abraham beget [child] at the age of a hundred?’ Immediately the lineaments of Isaac's visage changed and became like Abraham's, whereupon they all cried out, Abraham begat Isaac.30

Markets not buying Trump administration is ready for coronavirus | Don Lemon

Secret tapes reveal Natan Eshel making racist remarks

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Secret-tapes-reveal-Natan-Eshel-making-racist-remarks-619327

 Netanyahu’s former chief of staff Natan Eshel was caught in a tape revealed on Channel 12 making racist statements against Sephardi voters.

Netanyahu aide in leaked recording: ‘Hate is what unites our camp’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-aide-in-leaked-recording-hate-is-what-unites-our-camp/

 

 

 

 

Agudah supports Maryland's divorce legislation

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101537112001&ca=c10dc5cd-27fc-4b0a-9935-9ec446145c65

 Rabbi Ariel Sadwin joined noted constitutional attorney Nat Lewin at hearings before two committees in Maryland in support of a proposed "Get Law." The bill would help Jewish women who are unable to remarry following a civil divorce because of a husband's refusal to grant their spouse a religious divorce. To read Rabbi Sadwin's testimony see below.

 

Gantz blames Netanyahu for leaked Yisrael Bachar recording

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276625

Gantz blames Netanyahu for leaked recording of top aide, in which aide is heard saying Blue and White head presents security risk.

 

Donald Trump’s Strange and Dangerous ‘Absolute Rights’ Idea

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/president-trump-absolute-rights/607168/

Where Trump derived the idea that as president he enjoys absolute rights is unclear. But his chosen phraseology is sticky and evocative. It carries a quasi-juridical ring that belies its conceptual incoherence. Closely examined, his incessant invocation of the phrase evokes the image not of the leader of the free world, but of a freeholder enjoying untrammeled and indefinite possession of his estate. Constitutionally baseless but rhetorically compelling, the whole concept of “absolute rights” is best described as a legal innovation by a real-estate mogul who understands power through the prism of private property rather than public obligation.

As the owner and developer of a sprawling global real-estate empire, Trump, of course, knows a thing or two about property. And in the world of property, the best kind of ownership is “absolute”—or “perfect”—title. Absolute title grants the title holder unequivocal, unchallengeable ownership rights. The property is free and clear, to be enjoyed and used by the owner as he sees fit. It is encumbered by nothing. The owner is beholden to no one.

 

Anderson Cooper blasts WH response to coronavirus: Ignorance doesn't kill viruses

Trump hits Democrats over coronavirus criticism: 'This is their new hoax'

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485245-trump-hits-democrats-over-coronavirus-criticism-this-is-their-new-hoax

 

Trump, who opened the rally by declaring the "fake news just doesn't get it," accused the press of being "in hysteria mode" in its coverage of the virus.

The president's criticisms at Friday's rally reflected a broader White House effort to blame Democrats and the news media for some of the fallout of the virus.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney earlier Friday claimed the press was seeking to use the virus to harm Trump, while Donald Trump Jr. claimed on Fox News that Democrats are hoping coronavirus "kills millions of people" so it ends the president's "streak of winning."

Trump Calls Coronavirus Fear The Dems' 'New Hoax' As More Cases Confirmed | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

ממה לפני: נתניהו לצד "הרב שהקליט את היועץ"

https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5686277,00.html

היועץ ישראל בכר פוטר לאחר שהוקלט מכנה את יו"ר כחול לבן "סכנה לישראל". מקורביו אמרו שהרב גיא חבורה הוא שהקליט אותו בסתר, למטרות פוליטיות. שלשום נכח חבורה לצד נתניהו, בישיבת "תורה והוראה" בת"א. הליכוד: "עשרות רבנים נכחו בביקור"

The Trump Administration’s Many Vacancies Could Complicate its Coronavirus Response

https://time.com/5792015/trump-coronavirus-vacancies/

But many top positions across the government that could play a role in coordinating the government’s efforts to prepare for coronavirus remain empty. Birx’s appointment was necessary in part because Trump had eliminated a National Security Council office dedicated to managing pandemics in May 2018. Other key roles at the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services are being carried out by temporary, unconfirmed officials.

President Trump Contradicts Health Officials on Coronavirus Response | Andrea Mitchell | MSNBC

Coronavirus Vaccine 'At Least a Year' Away 'at Best' From Being Publicly Available, National Health Official Says

https://www.newsweek.com/anthony-fauci-coronavirus-vaccine-year-away-public-availability-14892

During a press conference in India on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told reporters that America was "very close" to a vaccine. Some questioned the validity of his claim, even accusing him of lying, while others used the news that Moderna, a biotech company, shipped a vaccine to researchers as proof that the president was correct.

On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), clarified information about the state of COVID-19 in the United States, including when a vaccine could be made available.

"In order to get a vaccine that's practically deployable for people to use, it's going to be at least a year to a year and a half at best," Fauci told CNN New Day host John Berman.

Appointing Pence to Lead Response, Trump Scrambles to Contain Fallout From Coronavirus Threat to U.S.

https://time.com/5791424/trump-coronavirus-pence/

 why not Jered or Ivanka?

Trump knows the stakes are high, which is why he was walking a narrow line during the Wednesday briefing between offering the concrete action of appointing Pence and trying to tamp down the alarm he felt the CDC had unnecessarily whipped up by urging schools, hospitals and state and local officials to prepare for the coronavirus. He continued to express optimism that the virus could be contained and won’t infect many more people inside the U.S. 

 

That is not a view shared by Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who joined him in the briefing room. When Trump restricted travel to the U.S. by non-citizens who had recently visited China, limited flights and called for quarantining Americans who had recently traveled Wuhan Province, the epicenter of the virus, the administration managed to delay, but not stop, the spread of coronavirus inside the U.S., Schuchat said.

“Our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working and is responsible for the low levels of cases that we have so far. However, we do expect more cases,” Schuchat told reporters during the briefing.

U.S. Demand for Syria Ceasefire Ignored As Turkey and Russia Vow to Continue War's Final Battle

https://www.newsweek.com/us-demand-syria-ceasefire-ignored-turkey-russia-vow-continue-war-final-battle-idlib-1489212

Pompeo on Tuesday condemned Assad's "brutal new aggression there, cynically backed by Moscow and Tehran." He warned, "The regime will not be able to obtain military victory. The regime's offensive only heightens the risk of conflict with our NATO ally Turkey."

Instead, both sides must agree to a "permanent ceasefire and U.N.-led negotiations," Pompeo added. The Secretary of State noted that the U.S. is "working together with Turkey on seeing what we can do together."