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”
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.
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…
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Could it be possible that the stage is being set for horrific famines that the Bible has been warning us about for nearly 2,000 years? A few years ago, any talk of “coming famines” would have seemed absolutely ludicrous to most people in the western world, but the events of the last several months have changed everything. Now, the UN is openly warning that famines of “biblical proportions” could be on the way, and the head of the UN World Food Program is telling us that we could soon see 300,000 people literally starve to death every single day. Nightmarish droughts, African Swine Fever, COVID-19 and armies of locusts in Africa the size of major cities have combined to create a “perfect storm”, and global food supplies are becoming tighter with each passing month.
As conditions continue to deteriorate, many are starting to wonder if certain prophetic passages in the Bible are starting to come to fruition. For example, in Matthew 24:7 Jesus specifically warned us that there would be “famines” in the days immediately preceding His return…
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
We can also find very similar warnings from Jesus in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.
So if we actually are living during the time just before the return of Jesus, we should expect to see horrifying global famines start to emerge, and that is precisely what we are witnessing at this moment.
In Revelation 6:8, we are told that “hunger” will eventually be a major factor in the deaths of a large portion of the global population…
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Of course we aren’t at that point yet.
But are we starting to move in that direction?
David Beasley is the executive director of the UN World Food Program, and he recently stated that we are heading directly into “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”. Hunger is rapidly rising all over the globe, and he believes that if dramatic intervention does not happen quickly we could see an astounding death toll.
According to Beasley, we could soon see 300,000 people around the world starve to death every single day, and that figure doesn’t even factor in the effect of this coronavirus pandemic…
“If we can’t reach these people with the life-saving assistance they need, our analysis shows that 300,000 people could starve to death every single day over a three-month period”, he upheld. “This does not include the increase of starvation due to COVID-19”.
As fear of COVID-19 pushes us into an unprecedented global economic downturn, how much worse will that make our rapidly growing global food crisis?
Of course in the western world we are much better off than most of the rest of the planet for now. Famine is definitely not an immediate concern for us, but thanks to COVID-19 we are now wrestling with significant food shortages. Because meat supplies are so tight, approximately one-fifth of all Wendy’s restaurants have taken burgers off their menus. When I first read that, I was absolutely stunned.
Of course Wendy’s is not the only one dealing with strained supply chains. Costco has started limiting the amount of meat that each customer can purchase, and Tyson Foods has announced that their capacity to slaughter hogs has fallen “by about 50 percent”. Time Magazine is warning us that the meat shortages “could last for months”, and they could stretch even longer than that if this coronavirus pandemic doesn’t start to subside.
Meanwhile, farmers all over America are seeing their hard work go to waste because broken supply chains have made it impossible to sell what they have produced. One industry expert is actually claiming that “billions” of dollars worth of crops have gone to waste as a result of this crisis…
Crops planted months before based on pre-pandemic demand spoiled without buyers. Billions of dollars’ worth of produce went to waste, much of it tilled back into the soil, said Cathy Burns, CEO of the Produce Marketing Assn., which represents produce companies.
I have a feeling that eventually we will greatly regret allowing so much good food to go to waste.
Sadly, most of the rest of the world is actually in much worse shape than we are right now.
Long before COVID-19 came along, crazy weather patterns were playing havoc with harvests all over the world. For instance, Australia is traditionally a major exporter of wheat to the rest of the world, but unprecedented droughts have forced Australia to actually start importing wheat…
Australia, which made a rare purchase of Canadian wheat in the current marketing year, is expected to continue buying more wheat in the 2019-20 marketing year (October-September), as weather conditions remain difficult in key states, market analysts say.
Australia’s wheat output dropped 45.6% to 17.3 million mt in the 2018-19 marketing year from a record high of 31.8 million mt in 2016-17, owing to prolonged drought conditions, data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics shows. This forced the country to import wheat for the first time in 12 years.
In addition, another plague of “biblical proportions” has been killing off pigs in unprecedented numbers.
When I tell people that African Swine Fever has already killed off half the pigs in China and one-fourth of all the pigs in the entire world, a lot of people don’t believe me.
A quarter of the world’s domestic pigs have died this year as a virus rampages across Eurasia, and that may be just the start. Half the pigs in China – which last year numbered 440 million, some 50 percent of the world’s pigs – have either died of African swine fever (ASF) or been killed to stamp out the virus.
ASF comes from East Africa. In 2007, it reached Georgia in the Caucasus in contaminated meat, and in infected wild boar. Now, it is all over Russia and eastern Europe and infected wild boar have turned up as far west as Belgium. It is also spreading in east Asia, killing many pigs in Vietnam and elsewhere.
And if you don’t believe them, just do a Google search and you will find countless mainstream news sources telling you the exact same facts.
This is actually happening, and the death toll is rising with each passing day.
Meanwhile, a new generation of locust armies that is being described as “20 times bigger” than the last generation is destroying countless farms all across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. The following comes from one of my previous articles…
Even before COVID-19 became the biggest public health crisis to hit the globe in decades, enormous swarms of locusts the size of major cities were devouring crops throughout eastern Africa, across the Middle East and even in some parts of Asia. Now a new generation that officials are describing as “20 times bigger” has emerged, and the devastation that this new generation of locusts is causing is extremely alarming. These colossal locust swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, and as you will see below, when they descend upon a field they can literally eat everything there in as little as 30 seconds. This new generation of locusts has been spotted as far south as Congo, as far north as Iran and as far east as India. In other words, the food supplies of billions of people are at risk.
Never before have we seen so many catastrophic threats to the global food supply emerge at the same time.
It appears that “the perfect storm” is now upon us, and I anticipate that global events will continue to accelerate in the months ahead.
Of course we still have quite a way to go before we get to the type of famines described in the Scriptures, but it certainly looks like the stage is being set for severe hunger on a global scale.
But Jesus didn’t warn us about these things so that we would live in fear. God knew about all of this in advance, He is in control, and He has a plan.
Unfortunately, most of the world doesn’t want anything to do with the God of the Bible or His plan, and so they will be facing what is to come all by themselves.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Is Kim Jong Un dead? He has not been seen in public for weeks, and all over the globe there is speculation that he has passed away following a botched surgery. It is being reported that an emergency heart procedure went bad because his doctor’s hands were shaking, and according to a magazine in Japan that resulted in Kim Jong Un going into a “vegetative state”. But of course we don’t really know for sure what happened, and the North Korean government is insisting that he is alive and well. And it is entirely possible that Kim Jong Un just pulled a fast one on us and that he will come out of hiding tomorrow. But if the rumors are true, this could finally be the moment that the people of North Korea have been waiting for. After decades of living under tyranny, this could finally be the moment when freedom arrives.
It has been said that there is no place on Earth worse than a North Korean prison camp. Many will remember King Jong Un for his comical relationship with Donald Trump, but let there be no doubt that he was a tyrant. He ruthlessly murdered any North Korean that crossed him, and that included members of his own extended family.
And considering the fact that he was still fairly young, it was expected that he would rule North Korea for decades to come. But at this point he has not been seen in public since April 11th, and it was very strange that he did not make an appearance for the April 15th festivities…
April 15 is North Korea’s most important holiday, the Day of the Sun.
It celebrates the birthday of the country’s founding father, Kim Il Sung, and has in the past been marked with events like satellite launches and massive military parades. The North Korean calendar even begins on April 15 and years are measured from the date of Kim’s birth.
The whereabouts and health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remain shrouded in mystery—but Reuters is reporting that China sent medical experts to the communist state in an advisory capacity. The delegation left Beijing on Thursday, but the news agency said it was unable to determine what the trip indicated about Kim’s medical condition. Kim has not been seen in public for two weeks, sparking reports that he had fallen gravely ill after some type of surgery.
It definitely sounded like Kim Jong Un was facing something very serious, and then there have been all of the rumors about the “botched surgery” over the past several days.
But at this point the North Korean government keeps insisting that he is “alive and well”…
South Korea continued to pour water on mounting speculation about the health of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, telling CNN he is “alive and well.”
“Our government position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN. “Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
So we will just have to wait and see what happens.
Residents in the North Korean capital have resorted to panic-buying amid reports that controversial leader Kim Jong Un is gravely ill or dead, according to a report.
Store shelves in Pyongyang were being cleaned out of everything from liquor to laundry detergent, canned fish to cigarettes in recent days — as conflicting reports continue to surface about the portly dictator’s possible demise, the Washington Post wrote Sunday.
If Kim Jong Un really is dead, we might not get official confirmation until a new leader is firmly in place, and so far most of the speculation has centered around his sister Kim Yo Jong.
Not that much is known about Kim Yo Jong, but we do know that she has been strongly supportive of her brother’s regime and we also know that she represented the regime publicly at some key events…
Her first public appearance was at her father’s funeral in 2011. Since then, she has worked quietly in the background of Kim Jong Un’s regime, even accompanying him in 2018 as he met South Korean leader Moon Jae-in during the historic summit between the two nations.
Just months beforehand, she attended the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, becoming the first member of North Korea’s ruling family to visit the region since the end of the Korean War in 1953. She later attended a highly publicized lunch with Moon Jae-in.
As I told my wife earlier, it is entirely possible that Kim Yo Jong could be even worse than Kim Jong Un.
But let’s hope that will not be the case.
If Kim Jong Un really is gone, let’s pray that this will finally be a historic turning point for the people of North Korea.
The mainstream media in the western world rarely talks about it anymore, but the truth is that there is a vast network of concentration camps all across North Korea, and thousands upon thousands of people are deeply suffering in these camps every hour of every day.
According to Amnesty International, these camps hold “at least 200,000 men, women and children”…
Amnesty estimates that these camps hold at least 200,000 men, women and children (estimates by other human rights groups are much higher.) Untold numbers of innocent North Koreans have passed through and passed away in the camps since they were created 60 years ago. Most have no idea why they were arrested; they are held without charge or trial, without access to an independent judiciary.
Offenses that might lead to arrest include: criticizing the ruling family; listening to unauthorized radio broadcasts; trying to leave the country; performing poorly on the job. Many are held simply because they are related to someone who was detained – husbands, wives, children, grandparents, siblings, cousins.
Of course one of the main offenses that can get you sent to one of these camps is being a Christian.
But any sense of happiness or relief quickly disappeared when I arrived at the camp. I remember seeing moving, shapeless forms. It took me a moment to realize they were people. Some were bent over; others were missing an arm or a leg. I looked down at my own arms and legs, thin like matches. I didn’t look much better than the other inmates.
In the camp, I work 12 hours a day. Sometimes more. Every day is just one long living nightmare. But at least I am not alone in a cell anymore.
Eventually she encountered other Christians in the camp, and they ultimately formed a secret church.
Inside this North Korean prison, we wound up forming a secret church. When we met and felt safe enough, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.
She was actually much braver than I was. She spoke to others about Christ as well.
That’s why one day a car came to pick her up. When I saw her leave, I knew they were taking her to a maximum-security Kwan-li-so. I knew I would never see her again.
No matter how bad your problems are, they pale in comparison to what those living in these camps are going through on a daily basis.
For their sake, and for the sake of every precious soul living in North Korea, let us pray that this is the moment when freedom finally breaks out in that nation.
Millions of North Koreans are living in total darkness, and they have deeply suffered for so long. There is now a spark of hope, and we should do all that we can to help fan that spark into a flame.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Even before COVID-19 became the biggest public health crisis to hit the globe in decades, enormous swarms of locusts the size of major cities were devouring crops throughout eastern Africa, across the Middle East and even in some parts of Asia. Now a new generation that officials are describing as “20 times bigger” has emerged, and the devastation that this new generation of locusts is causing is extremely alarming. These colossal locust swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, and as you will see below, when they descend upon a field they can literally eat everything there in as little as 30 seconds. This new generation of locusts has been spotted as far south as Congo, as far north as Iran and as far east as India. In other words, the food supplies of billions of people are at risk.
Yesterday, I reported that the UN had used the phrase “biblical proportions” to describe the famines that are starting to happen around the globe as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
While much of the world focuses on the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 1.6 million people across the globe, East Africa is battling the worst invasion of desert locusts in decades — a months-long “scourge of biblical proportions” that experts warn could get worse with a larger second wave already arriving in parts of the region.
And now, at the worst time, a second wave of locusts 20 times bigger than the first has descended on the region, thanks to heavy rains late last month, according to the FAO. The swarms have infiltrated Yemen and firmly established themselves across the Persian Gulf, having laid eggs along 560 miles of Iran’s coastline. New swarms are particularly severe in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Unfortunately, this is a really, really bad time for a new generation of locusts to show up, because this is the time of the year when farmers are planting their fields.
When the locusts invade a new area, all the farmers can do is watch as all their hard work is destroyed. The following is how one FAO official is describing the current state of affairs…
“The timing is really horrendous, because the farmers are just planting, and the seedlings are just coming up now since it’s the beginning of the rainy season,” says Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer with the FAO. “And it’s right at the same time when you have an increasing number of swarms in Kenya and in Ethiopia. There’s already pictures and reports of the seedlings getting hammered by the swarms. So basically that’s it for the farmers’ crops.“
Here in the United States we have never experienced anything like this, and so most Americans don’t really understand how destructive these locusts can be.
As I noted above, when they come storming into a field they can literally eat all the crops there “in as little as 30 seconds”…
Massive swarms of locusts are devouring entire fields of crops in as little as 30 seconds – fuelling fears of a major food crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries, international aid organisation Concern Worldwide has warned.
The charity said communities in Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are facing alarming food shortages, with the crops they grow to survive being eaten in seconds by the flying desert locusts.
The United Nations is calling these locust armies “an unprecedented threat” to global food security.
Of course the exact same thing could be said about the coronavirus.
This truly has become a “perfect storm” for global food production, and many believe that what we have seen so far is just the beginning.
And please don’t be tempted to think that this is just a problem that Africa is dealing with. All the way over in Pakistan, officials are using the word “disaster” to describe the threat posed by these locusts. The following comes from a Pakistani news source…
Parliamentary leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Balochistan Minister for Secondary Education Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind has expressed deep concern over the procreation of locusts across the province, stressing upon anti-locust spray on urgent basis.
“If procreation of locusts does not stop it would badly affect crops and will also lead to nutritional disaster in Balochistan,” Rind noted, adding that due to consecutive attacks, growers and farmers are facing extreme difficulties as widespread destruction of crops is feared due to procreation of locusts.
And after everything that they have already been through, farmers in Australia are facing an enormous invasion of locusts as well, although it is a different species that they are dealing with…
After a year of battling drought, fire, dust, flood and disease, farmers in far western New South Wales are now facing a plague locust infestation.
The Australian plague locust species, if not controlled, can cause significant damage to crops and pastures by consuming all in their path.
In the post-World War II era, can you point to another time when the world was facing so many major problems all at once?
As I write this article, I can’t seem to think of one.
In the days ahead, the coronavirus pandemic will continue to dominate the headlines, and the global death toll will soon cross the 200,000 mark.
But this plague of locusts should also be receiving a tremendous amount of attention, because it is wiping out farms at a blinding pace and countless numbers of people could face severe food shortages as a result.
Efforts will continue to be made to spray these locust swarms with pesticides, but when you are talking about swarms that are the size of major cities, the truth is that spraying really doesn’t make that much of a dent.
It truly is a plague of “biblical proportions”, and despite all of our advanced technology we are powerless to stop it.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Top health officials and the mainstream media keep insisting that “the worst is behind us”, but is that actually true? According to Worldometers.info, 2,804 new coronavirus deaths were added to the U.S. total during the 24 hour period that just ended, and that was a huge increase over the 1,939 new deaths from the previous 24 hour period. In addition, we are seeing an alarming explosion in the number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Peru, India, Brazil and Russia. So while it is true that the lockdowns have temporarily slowed down the spread of the virus in some areas of the globe, it appears that we are witnessing the emergence of a “second wave” in other areas. And of course the countries that have been successful in slowing down this pandemic could see another huge surge in cases once their lockdowns are ended. Sadly, the truth is that we are still in the early stages of this crisis, but most people don’t seem to realize that.
On Tuesday, CDC Director Robert Redfield made headlines all over the globe when he warned that there could be a “second wave” of COVID-19 next winter…
A second coronavirus outbreak could emerge this winter in conjunction with the flu season to make for an even more dire health crisis, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told The Washington Post in an interview.
“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a story published Tuesday. “And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean.”
But what if he is completely wrong and the “second wave” is already here?
Or perhaps it may be more accurate to say that the first wave has never ended.
If you go to the Johns Hopkins dashboard for this pandemic, you will notice that the global curve of confirmed cases has not “flattened” much at all even though much of the planet has been “locked down” for weeks.
And the antibody data is telling us that virtually the entire global population is still vulnerable. According to the WHO, only 2 to 3 percent of the entire global population has developed antibodies for this virus…
The head of the World Health Organization on Monday said that likely no more than 2% to 3% of the global population have developed antibodies for COVID-19.
Here in the United States, a study of adults in L.A. County found that only 4 percent of them had developed antibodies for this virus…
Four percent of adults in Los Angeles County tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in a recent study, suggesting hundreds of thousands of people might have actually been infected in early April when only 8,000 cases had been confirmed.
So what this means is that we are a long, long, long way from herd immunity.
More than 95 percent of the population is still vulnerable, and that means once the lockdowns are lifted this virus could start spreading like wildfire inside the U.S. once again.
In fact, the number of confirmed cases in Georgia is soaring just as that state is preparing to end the current restrictions…
The number of coronavirus deaths and infections in Georgia has spiked over a 24 hour period as the state prepares to partially lift lockdown restrictions this week – and cases across the country have doubled in two weeks to more than 200,000.
The death toll in the state increased by 85 in 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 772. Infections spiked by more than 1,000, bringing the number of cases in the state to more than 19,300.
And in Massachusetts, authorities are warning that the death toll in that state will likely double “in less than a week”…
Massachusetts has quickly become a hot spot of coronavirus infections with the state’s death toll expected to double in less than a week.
COVID-19 deaths are expected to surpass 2,000 this week in Massachusetts where officials are scrambling to boost hospital capacity and trace new infections to curb the spread of the disease.
That certainly doesn’t sound like “the worst is behind us” to me.
The horror of the coronavirus pandemic took an especially macabre turn on Sunday afternoon when a Ford pickup truck pulled up behind the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office with five or six bagged bodies stacked in its open cargo bed.
The driver got out, spoke briefly to a medical examiner’s employee who seemed unnerved by the delivery, and then climbed onto the cargo bed, walking on bodies that initially had been covered by mats, according to an Inquirer photographer who was working near the site in University City.
Look, I understand that a lot of people out there are still mocking this pandemic and are absolutely convinced that it is a “nothingburger”.
So please don’t mock this virus, because if you get hit really hard by COVID-19 it will be one of the worst experiences of your life even if you live through it.
For those that believe that a vaccine will be the golden ticket that gets us out of this mess, I am afraid that you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. There has never been a successful vaccine developed for any coronavirus, and one leading expert is openly warning that it is possible that “we will never get a coronavirus vaccine”.
And if things weren’t already complicated enough, now a new study has discovered that there are “at least 30 different variations” of COVID-19.
A new study in China has found that the novel coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different variations.
The results showed that medical officials have vastly underestimated the overall ability of the virus to mutate, in findings that different strains have affected different parts of the world, leading to potential difficulties in finding an overall cure.
So not only do scientists have to come up with a successful vaccine for a coronavirus for the first time in history, they also have to hope that they are targeting the correct strain.
Good luck with all that.
Unfortunately, the truth is that this pandemic is going to be with us for a long time to come, and what we have experienced so far is just the very beginning of our problems.
Even if all of the lockdowns around the world were kept in place for the foreseeable future, this virus would continue to spread.
And in the long run, approximately the same number of people are going to catch this virus and approximately the same number of people are going to die no matter what restrictions are instituted.
This pandemic is not going to be over until COVID-19 roars through most of the population and herd immunity is achieved, and the numbers are telling us that we are a long, long way from that point.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
What the head of the UN’s World Food Program just said should be making front page headlines all over the globe. Because if what he is claiming is true, we are about to see global food shortages on a scale that is absolutely unprecedented in modern history. Even before COVID-19 arrived, armies of locusts the size of major cities were voraciously eating crops all across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, and UN officials were loudly warning about what that would mean for global food production. And now the coronavirus shutdowns that have been implemented all over the planet have brought global trade to a standstill, they are making it more difficult to maintain normal food production operations, and they have forced countless workers to stay home and not earn a living. All of this adds up to a recipe for a complete and utter nightmare in the months ahead.
David Beasley is the head of the UN’s World Food Program, and on Tuesday he warned that we could actually see famines of “biblical proportions” by the end of this calendar year. The following comes from ABC News…
The coronavirus pandemic could soon double hunger, causing famines of “biblical proportions” around the world by the end of the year, the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
Beasley warned that analysis from the World Food Programme, the U.N.’s food-assistance branch, shows that because of the coronavirus, “an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. That’s a total of 265 million people.”
He described what we are facing as “a hunger pandemic”, and he insisted that urgent action must be taken in order to avoid a nightmare scenario.
But in some parts of the globe a nightmare scenario is already unfolding. For example, close to half the population of South Sudan is currently facing starvation, and for many of them the only food that is available is what gets dropped from the sky…
The villagers hear the distant roar of jet engines before a cargo plane makes a deafening pass over Mogok, dropping sacks of grain from its hold to the marooned dust bowl below.
There is no other way to get food to this starving hamlet in South Sudan. There are no roads, and the snaking Nile is miles away.
Over in South Africa, the “chronic food shortages” have already become so severe that they are starting to spark rioting, looting and civil unrest…
UNREST broke out in parts of South Africa amid chronic food shortages sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Looters raided shops, attacked each other, the army and police after breaching one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
Police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the mobs but local community leaders fear more outbreaks of violence are imminent.
Here in the western world we don’t have to worry about such things yet, but without a doubt the number of needy people is rapidly rising.
This past Saturday, vehicles literally began lining up at 2 AM in the morning for a food distribution event at the San Antonio Food Bank…
The San Antonio Food Bank teamed up with Atascosa County to feed meals and hope to hundreds of people Saturday morning. Vehicles began to line up around 2 AM Saturday outside the county courthouse, winding through neighborhoods at least two miles away.
I have never heard of people lining up so early before.
I have heard of vehicles lining up at the crack of dawn around the country in recent days, but 2 AM is absolutely nuts.
But these people realize that when the food is gone there will be no more handouts that day, and there are many that are absolutely desperate to get something to feed their families.
As this coronavirus pandemic has created an enormous amount of fear all over the country, empty shelves have been reported in frozen food sections all over the nation, and the fact that an increasing number of meat processing plants are being temporarily closed down is certainly not helping things. According to CBS News, at least 17 meat processing plants in the United States have been shut down so far…
Coronavirus infections in at least 17 meat processing plants across nine states are contributing to a spike in confirmed cases in the Midwest. Although 13 plants are already closed temporarily or operating at reduced capacity, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says shutting down plants would hurt farmers and the national food supply.
In a desperate attempt to keep as many facilities in her state open as possible, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has enlisted the help of the National Guard…
Hundreds of National Guard personnel are being activated in Iowa as coronavirus sweeps through meat-processing plants in a state that accounts for about a third of U.S. pork supply.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said 250 National Guard members have been moved to full-time federal duty status and could help with testing and contact tracing for workers at plants operated by Tyson Foods Inc. and National Beef Packing Co.
The good news is that authorities are telling us that any product shortages should just be temporary and that all of these processing plants will eventually be brought back on line.
But for the planet as a whole, life is not going to be getting back to “normal” any time soon.
In fact, Takeshi Kasai of the World Health Organization is warning that we need to accept “a new way of living” until a vaccine finally arrives…
“At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal,” he said.
“Individuals and society need to be ready for a new way of living.”
Coming up with a successful vaccine for any coronavirus would be a historic feat, and now scientists also have to hope that they will pick the particular strain of COVID-19 that will become dominant in the future.
And of course many people around the globe will not want to take any vaccine that is developed under any circumstances.
So those that are thinking that there will be an easy way out of this crisis are likely to be deeply disappointed.
Meanwhile, the global economic downturn is getting deeper with each passing day, and global food supplies are getting tighter and tighter.
A global famine is coming, and the UN is sounding the alarm.
Unfortunately, most people in the western world are still not listening.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
The insanity that we are currently witnessing in the financial markets is difficult to believe. Personally, even though I operate a website called “The Economic Collapse Blog” and I write about these things every day, when someone told me that the price of oil had fallen below minus 30 dollars a barrel on Monday I initially didn’t think that it could possibly be true. Yes, I always knew that it was theoretically possible that the price of oil could go into negative territory, but we had never seen such a thing actually happen before. And I knew that a crunch was coming as futures contracts expired, but I certainly did not expect the extreme carnage that we witnessed on Monday …
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell more than 100% to settle at negative $37.63 per barrel, meaning producers would pay traders to take the oil off their hands.
This negative price has never happened before for an oil futures contract. Futures contracts trade by the month. The June WTI contract, which expires on May 19, fell about 18% to settle at $20.43 per barrel. This contract, which was more actively traded, is a better reflection of the reality in the oil market. The July contract was roughly 11% lower at $26.18 per barrel.
When global economic activity is rising, that usually creates an increased demand for oil.
And when global economy activity is declining, the demand for oil also tends to drop.
Thanks to the coronavirus lockdowns, global demand for oil has dropped to levels that are absolutely unprecedented. The amount of oil that is being produced is far, far greater than the amount that the world can use right now, and storage space has been rapidly running out.
Speculators that found themselves stuck with oil contracts that they were not able to resell went into panic mode on Monday, and that created the most memorable day for oil trading in history.
I would like to share what a couple of experts are saying about this absolutely crazy oil price crash. This first comment comes from Wolf Richter…
It seems some oil trading firms and hedge funds were caught on the wrong side of heavily leveraged bets, and couldn’t roll over their contracts due to a liquidity crunch and horrible market conditions in that space. But if they can’t sell the contracts by tomorrow, they’ll have to take delivery of the physical oil at the delivery point for NYMEX futures, namely in Cushing, Oklahoma.
The delivery time is in May. But storage in Cushing for May seems to have been spoken for, and now these traders see that they have no place to go with this oil that they might have to take delivery of in May.
What is happening today is trades or speculators who had bought the contract are finding themselves unable to resell it, and have no storage booked to get delivered the crude in Cushing, OK, where the delivery is specified in the contract.
This means that all the storage in Cushing is booked, and there is no price they can pay to store it, or they are totally inexperienced in this game and are caught holding a contract they did not understand the full physical aspect of as the time clock expires.
The contract roll and liquidity crunch that made the extreme sell-off today possible but it DOESN’T necessarily represent futures market conditions: NYMEX June settled today at $21.13.
Last week, Russia, Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers cut a deal to significantly reduce global oil production, but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the nightmarish decline in global economic activity that we have been witnessing.
So right now oil producers are pumping far more oil than the world can currently use, and that has become a massive problem.
And if things don’t turn around quickly, we could soon see hundreds of bankruptcies in the energy industry…
Many oil companies took on too much debt during the good times. Some of them won’t be able to survive this historic downturn.
In a $20 oil environment, 533 US oil exploration and production companies will file for bankruptcy by the end of 2021, according to Rystad Energy. At $10, there would be more than 1,100 bankruptcies, Rystad estimates.
In the short-term, what the energy industry desperately needs is for the lockdowns to end and for people to resume their normal economic patterns.
But as one analyst has pointed out, getting people to do that would be extremely difficult even if all of the lockdowns were lifted immediately…
“The government can declare whatever they want in terms of encouraging people to get out and do stuff,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. “Whether or not broad swaths of society do that remains to be seen. It’s going to take seeing people start to get out and do stuff again. That will be the necessary positive development, not just declaring getting things open.”
In the long run, the good news for the energy industry is that there are several reasons why the price of oil will eventually be going back up to higher levels.
First of all, economic activity will rise as lockdowns are lifted all over the world, and hopefully all of the lockdowns will be over by the end of this calendar year.
Secondly, central banks and national governments around the globe are flooding the system with massive amounts of fresh money, and this will eventually cause very painful inflation. But for the energy industry this will actually turn out to be a good thing because it will cause upward pressure on oil prices.
Thirdly, it is just a matter of time before a major war erupts in the Middle East, and once that happens the price of oil will immediately shoot into the stratosphere.
So the truth is that this is just a temporary downturn for the energy industry, but a lot of energy companies are so deep in debt that they may not be able to ride this storm out.
For the U.S. economy as a whole, it is critical for all of us to understand that things are never going to go back to exactly the way they were before COVID-19 came along. All of the financial dominoes are starting to tumble, all of the economic momentum is heading in the wrong direction, and there will be many more challenges that we will have to face after this current pandemic is over.
There will be a lot more wild ups and downs in the months ahead, but this is what an economic collapse looks like, and it is just getting started.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Is it not just a coincidence that this coronavirus pandemic is hitting the United States much harder than anyone else? As I write this article, the U.S. has more than 600,000 confirmed cases, and no other nation has even hit the 200,000 mark yet. Of course just a couple of months ago that would have been unthinkable. At the turn of the year, COVID-19 was racing across China and there was not a single confirmed case in the United States at that time. In fact, the first confirmed case in this country was not announced until the second half of January. But now here we are in April and we have more than seven times as many confirmed cases as China does.
So what in the world happened?
As I warned back in January, all throughout history those that have blessed Israel have been blessed, and those that have cursed Israel have been cursed. And as I clearly warned in that article, there would be severe consequences for attempting to divide the land of Israel.
For a few moments, let’s review some of the events of the past several months.
On January 21st, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Trump administration’s “peace team” was holding “a series of meetings with Middle East officials” in order to discuss the rollout of Trump’s upcoming Middle East peace plan…
The United States’s peace team – Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the president; Avi Berkowitz, special representative for international negotiation; and Brian Hook, special representative for Iran — is holding a series of meetings with Middle East officials and other relevant leaders to discuss a possible rollout of the US administration peace plan. The three are currently attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, where they are expected to stay until Wednesday, before traveling to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.
On the same day, the very first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the United States.
One week later, Trump’s peace plan was officially rolled out. His plan would double the size of territory currently under Palestinian control and would give them a capital in East Jerusalem. The following is an excerpt from an article that I published on January 28th…
Ever since I learned the details of President Trump’s “peace plan”, I haven’t been able to focus on anything else for very long. Under Trump’s plan, the U.S. would formally recognize a Palestinian state, the Palestinians would be allowed to set up a capital in East Jerusalem, and the amount of territory under Palestinian control would double. Yes, you read that correctly. Needless to say, I am very deeply upset right now and anyone that loves Israel should also be very deeply upset. The good news is that the Palestinians hate Trump’s plan so much that it has absolutely no chance of being implemented any time soon. But the fact that the Palestinians have already rejected this deal does nothing to diminish the fact that this is the biggest mistake that Trump has made in his entire presidency.
And in a subsequent article on that day, I specifically warned that this plan to divide the land of Israel would curse our nation.
Now here we are less than 3 months later, and there are more than 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, and more than 25,000 Americans have died so far.
When Trump’s Middle East peace plan was made public on January 28th, virtually every major evangelical Christian leader in America came out in public support of it. This deeply, deeply grieved me, because they knew better and they still did it.
There was a very small minority of Christian leaders that did choose to speak out against the plan to divide the land of Israel, and several of them are good friends of mine, and I can’t thank them enough for standing up for the truth when it was not popular to do so.
But overall, the evangelical community in the United States was overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s plan to divide the land of Israel, and I knew that would mean big trouble.
Now here we are less than 3 months later, and churches all across America have been shut down by this coronavirus pandemic.
Do you actually believe that is just a coincidence?
Never before in American history have we witnessed a nationwide shutdown of churches like we are witnessing right now.
I believe that it would greatly help if some of these evangelical Christian leaders that originally supported the division of the land of Israel would publicly repent and admit that they were wrong. I am calling for that to happen, and hopefully it will happen.
As I discussed in this article, the Bible makes it exceedingly clear that the land of Israel is not supposed to be divided and given to someone else. That land belongs to God, and God gave that land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob forever and ever, and if you try to mess with that you are literally cursing yourself.
Over the last several decades, whenever the U.S. has made a major move toward dividing the land of Israel, the consequences have always been incredibly severe. The following are 10 examples of this phenomenon that I shared in a previous article…
#1 On March 26th, 1979 the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington. As a result of that treaty, Israel gave up a tremendous amount of territory. Two days later, on March 28th, the worst nuclear power plant disaster in U.S. history made headlines all over the globe. The following comes from Wikipedia…
#2 On October 30th, 1991 President George H. W. Bush opened the Madrid Peace Conference which brought Israelis and Palestinians together to negotiate for the very first time. In his opening speech, Bush told Israel that “territorial compromise is essential for peace”. At the exact same time, “the Perfect Storm” was brewing in the north Atlantic. This legendary storm traveled 1000 miles the wrong direction and sent 35 foot waves slamming directly into President Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
#3 On August 23rd, 1992 the Madrid Peace Conference moved to Washington D.C., and the very next day Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida causing 30 billion dollars in damage. It was the worst natural disaster up to that time in U.S. history.
#4 On January 16th, 1994 President Clinton met with President Assad of Syria to discuss the possibility of Israel giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, the devastating Northridge earthquake hit southern California. It was the second worst natural disaster up to that time in U.S. history.
#5 On January 21st, 1998 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House but received a very cold reception. In fact, President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright actually refused to have lunch with him. That exact same day the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, sending the Clinton presidency into a tailspin from which it would never recover.
#6 On September 28th, 1998 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was working on finalizing a plan which would have had Israel give up approximately 13 percent of Judea and Samaria. On that precise day, Hurricane George slammed into the Gulf Coast with wind gusts of up to 175 miles an hour.
#7 On May 3rd, 1999 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was supposed to hold a press conference to declare the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital. On that precise day, the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded in the U.S. ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas. At one point one of the tornadoes actually had a recorded wind speed of 316 miles an hour.
#8 On April 30th, 2003, “the Road Map to Peace” that had been developed by the so-called “Quartet” was presented to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer. Over the next seven days, the U.S. was hit by a staggering 412 tornadoes. It was the largest tornado cluster ever recorded up to that time.
#9 In 2005, President George W. Bush (the son of George H. W. Bush) convinced Israel that it was necessary to remove all of the Jewish settlers out of Gaza and turn it over entirely to the Palestinians. According to the New York Times, the very last of the settlers were evacuated on August 23, 2005. On that precise day, a storm that would be given the name “Katrina” started forming over the Bahamas. The city of New Orleans still has not fully recovered from the damage that storm caused, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in all of U.S. history up to that time.
#10 On May 19th, 2011 Barack Obama told Israel that there must be a return to the pre-1967 borders. Three days later on May 22nd a half-mile wide EF-5 multiple-vortex tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. According to Wikipedia, it was “the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.”
When Trump’s peace plan was rolled out on January 28th, I waited to see what would happen.
At first, it didn’t seem like any major judgment had hit us in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s announcement, but now it is clear that we have been hit harder than on any previous occasion.
Unfortunately, what I have shared with you in this article is not even part of the national conversation right now, but it should be.
Dividing the land of Israel will never be acceptable in the eyes of God, and there will be grave consequences whenever anyone attempts to do so.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
The mysteries surrounding this COVID-19 pandemic just keep getting deeper and deeper. When you catch a virus, you are not supposed to test positive, fully recover and test negative, and then some time later start testing positive again. But this is actually happening in an alarming number of cases, and scientists are absolutely baffled by this. The information that I am about to share with you is quite disturbing, and hopefully scientists will eventually be able to explain to us precisely why this is taking place.
On Monday, headlines all over the globe breathlessly declared that 51 coronavirus patients in the South Korean city of Daegu had “tested positive again” after supposedly fully recovering…
FEARS have been raised that the coronavirus may be able to remain in the body and “reactivate” later after 51 recovered patients tested positive again.
The patients, from the city of Daegu, South Korea, had all spent time in quarantine while recovering from the virus, but were diagnosed again within days of being released.
At this point, nobody knows how to explain this.
Could it be possible that the tests were faulty?
Could it be possible that these patients became infected a second time?
The researchers that studied these patients are rejecting both of those explanations and instead are floating the theory that the virus “reactivated” in these particular victims…
The 51 cases were identified as part of a study conducted in Daegu, the epicentre of the outbreak in South Korea, by a team of epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The center said it did not believe the patients had been reinfected, but that the virus had remained at undetectable levels in their cells and later “reactivated”.
But of course the truth is that they don’t really know why this is happening.
And similar cases have been popping up all over China for quite some time. In fact, “second-time infections” have been documented “in many regions”…
As China releases more patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, there are an increasing number who are testing positive for the second time. The State Council ’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism said last Saturday that second-time infections have been reported in many regions, including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital city.
Needless to say, it is likely to have a tremendous impact on public policy if scientists are able to confirm that “second-time infections” can happen very rapidly following a full recovery, and so it is absolutely imperative that scientists get to the bottom of this mystery as rapidly at possible.
So far, researchers in China are reporting that “between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected” shortly after fully recovering from the virus. The following comes from Fox News…
As many as 10% of recovered coronavirus patients in China tested positive again after being discharged from the hospital, according to a report.
Doctors on the front lines of the outbreak in Wuhan, China — where the virus emerged — reported that between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected with the illness, though it’s unclear whether they were contagious the second time, the South China Morning Post reported.
In the western world, there has been a lot of talk about how it will be “safe” for those that have had the virus to go back to work once they recover because of the immunity that they will have supposedly acquired.
But that may not be a safe assumption to make.
This virus appears to behave very unusually, and making a wrong choice can be the difference between life and death.
In one very alarming case in Wuhan, China, a 36-year-old man that became a confirmed coronavirus case was admitted to the hospital on February 12th. Two weeks later he was released after he was deemed to have “fully recovered”, but that was not the end of the story…
A 36-year-old man has died of respiratory failure in Wuhan, five days after being discharged from one of the makeshift hospitals built to contain the outbreak, according to a report by Shanghai-based news portal The Paper.
The report, which was later removed, said Li Liang had been admitted to the hospital – built to treat patients with mild and moderate symptoms – on February 12, according to his wife, surnamed Mei. He was discharged two weeks later with instructions to stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days.
On March 2nd, Li Liang died, and the death certificate clearly stated that COVID-19 was the cause.
But that wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to have made a complete recovery.
Something isn’t adding up.
Hopefully our scientists will be able to unravel this mystery very soon, because the death toll is rapidly rising.
The very first coronavirus death in the United States happened on February 29th, and now here we are just over a month later and more than 10,000 Americans have perished…
There were 10,335 deaths as of Monday afternoon, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard, which tracks the numbers.
That total surpasses the number of battle deaths from six U.S. wars combined, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA data says a total of 9,961 soldiers died on the battlefield during these six wars: The American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
This pandemic has escalated so dramatically in the U.S. that nearly the entire nation is currently shut down and creepy drones that are barking orders to “maintain social distancing” are hovering over parks in New York City…
Our society has been fundamentally transformed in just a matter of weeks by this pandemic, and many believe that our problems have just begun.
But at this moment there is a lot of optimism in America because the numbers are not growing quite as rapidly as they were last month.
That is definitely a promising sign, but it is only happening because most people are confined to their homes right now.
Once people start resuming their normal activities, that will give the virus a lot more opportunities to spread, and we shall see what happens at that point.
Hopefully these mysteries surrounding COVID-19 can quickly be resolved, because it looks like we will be fighting this virus for a long time to come, and we need the best information that we can possibly get.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
It is starting to look like there will not be a return to normalcy for a very long time. Even though about half of the world is currently under some sort of a “shelter-in-place” order, COVID-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate. Of course the U.S. is seeing far more newly confirmed cases than anyone else at this point, and that is a huge concern. The United States now has more confirmed cases than Italy and China combined, and the daily death toll in our nation just hit another new high. Sadly, one of the big reasons why the U.S. is having such a problem is because a whole lot of people are completely disregarding the “shelter-in-place” orders. As a result, a lot of them are getting sick and spreading the virus.
But even if everyone all over the planet was strictly following the “shelter-in-place” orders, the virus would still continue to spread, it would just be at a slower pace.
Needless to say, many of those that have been confined to their homes are very much looking forward to resuming their normal lives, but that may not happen for quite a while.
This week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the people of his country that it will be “at least six months” before this pandemic is behind us…
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reiterated that life as we know it will not return for months as global leaders race to find a coronavirus vaccine.
He said he had been “very upfront” with all Australians “to say you’re looking at least six months for this, and that’s why we have to adapt”.
Does that mean that the entire nation of Australia will continue to be locked down until then?
Starting Saturday, we will limit the number of customers who can be in a store at once. Stores will now allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20 percent of a store’s capacity.
To manage this restriction, the associates at a store will mark a queue at a single-entry door (in most cases the Grocery entrance) and direct arriving customers there, where they will be admitted one-by-one and counted. Associates and signage will remind customers of the importance of social distancing while they’re waiting to enter a store – especially before it opens in the morning.
Once a store reaches its capacity, customers will be admitted inside on a “1-out-1-in” basis.
Can you believe that?
Of course most retailers across the nation have been completely shut down indefinitely, and many of them are boarding up their storefronts…
A growing scene for those who venture out into the streets of Manhattan these days is boarded up storefronts. From luxury retailers to small bars, establishments that have no idea when they are going to be allowed to reopen are putting up protection over their glass doors and windows.
The businesses have taken the unsightly measure in an effort to defend against the potential for civil unrest caused by the coronavirus and a lack of officers on the streets.
Sadly, many of those stores will never open up again.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of churches in America have been shut down as well. In fact, one new survey found that only 7 percent of America’s churches are still gathering as usual…
The study by LifeWay research found that on March 1, some 99% of churches were still gathering as usual. The following weekend, roughly 95% held services. By March 15, the number had dropped down to 64%, and by March 22, 11% of pastors say their churches gathered in person.
By March 29, just 7% of church leaders report meeting with their congregations in a face-to-face setting.
Did you ever think that you would see the day when such a thing would happen?
The reason why such extreme measures are being taken is because this virus is exceedingly dangerous.
Coronavirus could cause brain damage in some patients by triggering inflammation that can lead to bleeds and the killing of cells, doctors have warned.
The virus appears to have resulted in neurological complications in some of those infected – including one Florida man in his 70s who temporarily lost the ability to speak.
The rapidly-spreading coronavirus can be transmitted between your feline pets, according to a new Chinese study.
Researchers at Harbin Veterinary Research Institute found that cats are not only susceptible to contracting COVID-19 but can pass it on to their furry friends as well.
If cats can spread COVID-19, it is possible that many other types of animals can spread it as well?
If that turns out to be true, it is going to be nearly impossible to ever completely defeat this virus.
Remember just two weeks ago when a long list of conservative publishers (and even some doctors) rolled out “bad math” articles that claimed the seasonal flu had a ten times higher fatality rate than coronavirus? They all now look strangely disconnected from reality as the real coronavirus death numbers continue to climb, debunking their bizarre theories rooted in mathematical illiteracy.
With the coronavirus pandemic now killing over 1,000 Americans per day, it has achieved a daily mortality total that’s ten times higher than daily regular flu deaths, on average.
Things are particularly bad in New York City.
According to the Daily Mail, an average of 23 people are dying from the coronavirus every single hour in NYC right now…
Overnight, the death toll rose from 2,373 to 2,935 – the single highest increase in a day yet and the equivalent of 23 people dying every hour. The number of cases went up by 10,482 to 102,863.
More people have now died across the state of New York as a result of the coronavirus than were killed in New York City in the Twin Towers attacks on 9/11. That day, 2,753 died in New York and an additional 224 died in the attacks on the Pentagon and on United Flight 93.
We have never seen anything like this before, and many believe that the numbers will soon get a lot worse.
For a long time I have been warning that a “perfect storm” is coming to America, and now that it is here a lot of people are getting mad at me. It is almost as if they think that I am helping to cause all of the bad stuff that is happening because I am reporting on it.
Of course the truth is that we were warned in advance about these things, watchmen such as myself have been strongly urging people to get prepared for a very long time, and now all of the things that we have been warning about are starting to unfold.
Now is not a time to wallow in denial. A deadly virus really is sweeping across the globe, and the dead bodies are really beginning to pile up.
We need to get our emotions under control and act wisely during this time, because the decisions that we are making now could literally be the difference between life and death for ourselves and our families.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Can you imagine being in “blinding pain” for weeks, constantly gasping for air as you feel like you are being suffocated, and screaming for mercy because you are in so much constant torment? As you will see below, coronavirus survivors are telling us about their hellish ordeals, and they are warning us to do everything that we can to avoid this virus. Of course they are the lucky ones. As I detailed in another article, the global death toll has doubled over the past six days, and so far the very high death rate in the United States is extremely alarming. So those that survive should consider themselves to be very fortunate, but many of those same individuals will be left with permanent lung damage. This virus attacks the respiratory system with a ferocity that is shocking doctors, and those that are still attempting to claim that COVID-19 is “just like the flu” need to stop, because they are just making things worse.
Researchers have found that this virus has an incubation period of up to 24 days, and people can spread it around long before they are showing any symptoms.
And you don’t even have to encounter someone with the virus to catch it. According to Bloomberg, new research has discovered that this virus can remain on surfaces “for as many as 17 days”…
Traces of new coronavirus were found on surfaces in cruise-ship cabins for as many as 17 days after passengers left, researchers said, though it wasn’t possible to determine whether they caused any infections.
Researchers looked at the rooms of infected passengers aboard the Diamond Princess, both those who showed symptoms and those who didn’t, according to a study Monday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
When you combine those two factors, it makes COVID-19 nearly impossible to contain.
This is a major emergency, and it makes me angry that there are prominent voices out there that are still trying to downplay this pandemic. As a result, many people are not taking proper precautions, and a lot of them are going to end up catching the virus.
If you are reading this and you still don’t think that COVID-19 is a big deal, please take a moment to consider the following five stories about coronavirus survivors…
That night I woke up in the middle of the night with chills, vomiting, and shortness of breath. By Monday, I could barely speak more than a few words without feeling like I was gasping for air. I couldn’t walk to the bathroom without panting as if I’d run a mile. On Monday evening, I tried to eat, but found I couldn’t get enough oxygen while doing so. Any task that was at all anxiety-producing — even resetting my MyChart password to communicate with my doctor — left me desperate for oxygen.
“Imagine your lungs turning solid. It’s like suffocating without holding your nose,” said Harris, who owns an auto body shop and typically runs 5 miles every day.
“Every time I lay down, my breathing gets lower and lower. I thought my lungs would fail me. I was screaming for mercy and praying to God.”
A Welshman who caught the coronavirus in China has described how the deadly disease hit him “like a train” leaving him “suffocating” and in blinding pain for weeks.
Connor Reed, from Llandudno, got ill while working as an English teacher in Wuhan.
The 25-year-old described how it started as “just a sniffle” on November 25 – a month before authorities officially announced the virus – but over the next three-and-a-half weeks he got increasingly ill and was unable to move.
‘It’s like having glass in your lungs, it’s hard to explain, but every breath is a battle.
‘It’s absolutely horrible and I wouldn’t want to go through anything like this ever again. I’d been ill for about five days before I was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
‘I’d originally been diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics and advised to take ibuprofen and paracetamol. I was taking about eight ibuprofen a day and they now think that that exacerbated the problem.
Emma, a 12-year-old girl, is “fighting for her life” in an Atlanta hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to her cousin.
Justin Anthony told CNN that Emma was diagnosed with pneumonia on March 15 and tested positive for coronavirus on Friday night. As of Saturday, she was on a ventilator and is currently in stable condition, Anthony said.
As you can see, this virus is not just hitting “old people” extremely hard.
But if you are above the age of 60, please understand that you at very high risk, and you need to stay away from public places for the foreseeable future.
I know that it can be hard to stay home day after day, but this is truly a very, very deadly virus.
Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus in the United States say it’s “the first time” they’ve been scared to go to work. With a shortage of personal protective equipment, some have resorted to using bandanas to cover their faces.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever been truly scared to come to work, but despite being scared we are trained to save lives and we’re committed to doing that,” Dr. Cornelia Griggs, a surgeon in New York City, told “CBS This Morning.” “I’m embarrassed to say, but prior to this, my husband and I had never gotten around to writing a will, but this weekend that became one of our to-do list items.”
As I have been writing this article, over 2,000 more confirmed cases were added to the rapidly growing total here in the United States. And as I discussed yesterday, it looks like the U.S. is going to have a very high death rate just like we are seeing in western European countries such as Italy and Spain.
So please take this pandemic very seriously. A lot of Americans are going to die, and it is going to be a great national tragedy.
Please pray for those that have caught the virus and are deeply suffering. It is in our darkest moments that we need a miracle the most, and there are a whole lot of people out there that need one right now.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Everyone that tried to tell us that this pandemic would fade away quickly has been proven dead wrong. Right now, approximately 187 million Americans are under “shelter-in-place” orders as COVID-19 sweeps across the nation like wildfire. There are now more than 43,000 confirmed cases in the U.S., but by the time many of you read this article that number is likely to be far higher. But what is even more concerning is what we are seeing with the cases that have come to a final resolution one way or the other. Of all U.S. cases that have been officially resolved, 553 patients have died and only 295 patients have recovered. Over time, the number of patients that have officially recovered will eventually surpass the number that have died for a couple of reasons. For one, some victims are dying in just a few days while it can take weeks for some patients to fully recover. Secondly, more widespread testing will start to reveal more mild cases, and most of those mild cases will ultimately recover. But without a doubt it is starting to appear that the U.S. will have a very high death rate like we are seeing in Italy, Spain and other western European nations. Monday was the very first time that more than 100 Americans died in a single day, and it looks like the days ahead could be much, much worse.
Overall, the global death toll is rising at a pace that is very alarming. It hit 16,000 on Monday, and that means it only took six days to double from 8,000.
If the death toll keeps doubling like that, we are going to be in very big trouble.
The number of confirmed cases is rising at an exponential rate as well, and on Monday the head of the WHO warned that this pandemic “is accelerating”…
The coronavirus “pandemic is accelerating,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Monday.
Almost every country in the world has reported cases, he announced in a Geneva press conference.
“It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases. Eleven days for the second 100,000 and just four days for the third 100,000,” he said.
As I write this article, there are 260,133 open cases around the world and 118,947 closed cases.
Out of the closed cases, 86 percent of the victims have recovered and 14 percent of the victims have died.
To put that into perspective, the Spanish Flu pandemic that stretched from 1918 to 1920 had a death rate of less than 3 percent.
But even after everything that has transpired, there are still lots of Americans that are not taking this pandemic seriously. I don’t understand this, because all of our medical authorities are warning us that the worst is yet to come. In fact, Surgeon General Jerome Adams just told us that “it’s going to get bad” …
Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned Monday that the coronavirus outbreak will worsen this week and said people across the country are not taking the threat seriously enough.
“I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad,” Adams said in an interview on the “TODAY” show.
And as I have been warning for weeks, this pandemic is going to plunge the United States and the entire globe into a horrifying economic nightmare.
A global recession, once unthinkable in 2020, is now a foregone conclusion and some experts warn that the pandemic could drag the world’s economy into a depression. More bad news: The coronavirus outbreak may just be getting started.
Central banks and governments are now unleashing a tsunami of interest rate cuts, loan guarantees and new spending, tapping emergency powers to reassure investors, cushion the shock to companies and workers and preserve the foundations of a functioning economy for the future.
A month ago, most Americans wouldn’t have imagined that such a thing could be possible.
But now “the everything bubble” has burst and we have just witnessed the fastest 30 percent decline for the S&P 500 in all of U.S. history…
Twenty-two days.
That’s all it took for the S&P 500 to fall 30% from its record high, the fastest drop of this magnitude in history.
The second, third and fourth quickest 30% pullbacks all occurred during the Great Depression era in 1934, 1931 and 1929, respectively, according to data from Bank of America Securities.
In the short-term, the good news for investors is that we should see a substantial bounce in stock prices this week, and that could especially be true when Congress finally gets around to passing their “stimulus” package.
But whether the market goes up or down in the short-term, it isn’t going to stop the complete and utter economic meltdown that is now unfolding.
According to billionaire Tom Barrack, the commercial mortgage market is on the precipice of a historic collapse…
Real estate investor Tom Barrack said the U.S. commercial-mortgage market is on the brink of collapse and predicted a “domino effect” of catastrophic economic consequences if banks and government don’t take prompt action to keep borrowers from defaulting.
Barrack, chairman and chief executive officer of Colony Capital Inc., warned in a white paper and in a subsequent interview on Bloomberg Television of a chain reaction of margin calls, mass foreclosures, evictions and, potentially, bank failures due to the coronavirus pandemic and consequent shutdown of much of the U.S. economy.
Sadly, Barrack is 100 percent correct.
All of the dominoes are going to fall, and it is going to be horrifying to watch.
Major U.S. airlines are drafting plans for a potential voluntary shutdown of virtually all passenger flights across the U.S., according to industry and federal officials, as government agencies also consider ordering such a move and the nation’s air-traffic control system continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus contagion.
No final decisions have been made by the carriers or the White House, these officials said. As airlines struggle to keep aircraft flying with minimal passengers, various options are under consideration, these people said.
To me, this is something that is exceedingly difficult to imagine, but we will see things a lot stranger than this in the days ahead.
As America literally shuts down from coast to coast, the job losses are going to be absolutely staggering. In fact, we are being warned to expect numbers that are unlike anything we have ever seen before…
Upcoming weekly jobless claims will shatter the standards set even during the worst points of the financial crisis and the early-1980s recession, with Bank of America forecasting a total of 3 million when the number is released Thursday. Those figures are expected to be so bad, in fact, that the Trump administration, according to several media reports, has asked state officials to delay releasing precise counts.
If this pandemic stretches on for an extended period of time, we will very quickly surpass the unemployment levels that we witnessed during the Great Recession.
Back then, the unemployment rate didn’t exceed 10 percent, but now the head of the St. Louis Fed is warning that we may see a 30 percent unemployment rate in the second quarter…
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard predicted the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronavirus, with an unprecedented 50% drop in gross domestic product.
How long could you sustain your household if you were to stop earning income? If you are like most Americans, the answer is not for long. Only 40 percent of Americans can afford an unexpected $1,000 expense with their savings. In fact, nearly 80 percent of workers are living paycheck to paycheck. It is no surprise that the probability of an economic recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic caused many to worry.
For years, many of us have been begging and pleading with people to get ready. We warned that when things finally broke loose that events would move very quickly. I even co-authored an entire book entitled “Get Prepared Now”, but now it is too late to get prepared in advance because a day of reckoning is now upon us. I really like how Mike Adams of Natural News made this point…
Over the last several days, I’ve been called by many people I haven’t heard from in years. Suddenly they’re interested in what I have to say, even though they ignored everything I said for the last decade. And they want to assure me they’re “fully prepared” with 2-3 weeks of food.
These are the same people who probably have four months’ worth of toilet paper, but only a 3-week supply of food.
I’m not even trying to educate them at this point. That day is long gone. Anyone who thinks “2-3 weeks of food” is going to carry them through a national food supply line collapse, a global consumer goods supply line collapse and a systemic, cascading finance and banking collapses is living in a land of sheer delusion.
A lot of the same people that didn’t listen and didn’t get prepared in advance are now trying to convince us that this crisis will soon be gone.
And it would be wonderful if they are right.
But at this moment the global numbers are rising rapidly with each passing hour, and the global economy is literally imploding all around us.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
One of the great mysteries of this coronavirus pandemic has been the widely varying death rates that we have been witnessing all over the globe. For example, the death rate in Italy has been many times higher than the death rate in South Korea, and that has greatly puzzled the experts. Initially I thought that perhaps Italy was dealing with a different strain of the virus than South Korea was, and that may still turn out to be true once we learn more. But another potential factor has emerged that I wanted to share with my readers, because it has to do with something that might be in your medicine cabinet right now. Health authorities in Europe are now warning that ibuprofen may accelerate the multiplication of the virus, and they are instructing everyone not to use it.
On Saturday, the health minister of France sparked headlines all over the globe when he tweeted the following…
“The taking of anti-inflammatories [ibuprofen, cortisone … ] could be a factor in aggravating the infection. In case of fever, take paracetamol. If you are already taking anti-inflammatory drugs, ask your doctor’s advice.”
Unfortunately, many people in Europe have been immediately reaching for ibuprofen once they get the virus because they want something that will help them deal with the pain.
In fact, researchers discovered that most Italians that developed serious complications once they caught the coronavirus had been taking ibuprofen at home…
They studied why the disease pathway in Italy is more serious, finding that most patients took ibuprofen at home. Researchers joined the virus and ibuprofen in the laboratory and came to the conclusion that administering ibuprofen accelerates multiplication of the virus and is related to a more serious course of the disease. They recommend to avoid ibuprofen and to administer paracetamol, aspirin, diclofenac.
Consultant Pediatrician in London John Greenwood was quoted as saying: “We have just been sent a medical alert that no one is to use anti-inflammatories (e.g. Ibruprofen, Voltarol, naproxen, and others) for pain or high temperature. Use paracetamol instead. There seems to be a link between severe cases of COVID-19 affecting young people with no underlying illnesses and taking anti-inflammatories. Initial reports started coming from French doctors on Friday. This has been confirmed by infectious diseases consultants here – there are four young people in ICU in Cork who have no underlying illnesses – all were taking anti-inflammatories and there are concerns this has caused a more severe illness.”
This information needs to get out to everyone as quickly as possible, but so far the mainstream media in the United States has been very slow to pick up on this story.
And that is extremely unfortunate, because accurate information could make the difference between life and death in a lot of cases.
On Facebook, a British man named Dan Collins shared what happened when he gave his very young daughter ibuprofen to treat her coronavirus infection…
To those of you that have children please read
If your child has symptoms of corona virus, DO NOT give them ibuprofen
Amelia’s been unwell since Tuesday, cough, fever, cold. This morning she came into my room and got into my bed burning hot and not wanting to get up. Anyone that knows Amelia knows that this isn’t like her at all! Once she’s awake she’s awake and spends the day bouncing off the walls! We took her temperature and it was 38, along with every other symptom of corona virus, so called 111 who said they’d send out paramedics within 2 hours to check on her
We couldn’t get calpol anywhere in staple hill yesterday so got nurofen instead thinking nothing of it, within an hour of giving her nurofen she dropped dramatically. She was panting while trying to breathe, her heart rate was very rapid, she couldn’t keep her eyes open, couldn’t lift her head up, her body was shaking, she started being sick on herself and her temperature had risen to 39.4!
We called back up and they sent out an emergency ambulance, once the paramedics got here they managed to bring her temp and stats down a bit, they’re still higher than normal but not dangerous high anymore. Now she’s back on calpol she’s back to just being her poorly self. The paramedics only told us while here that were not to give her ibuprofen!
The paramedic said about self isolating and calling back if her temp rises that high again, so I asked if it’s just for the 7 days as it’s already been 5 days but they said that as she has all symptoms were to keep her isolated until all symptoms are gone.
So please don’t give them ibuprofen!
For those that aren’t familiar with “Nurofen”, the primary active ingredient it contains is ibuprofen.
If we don’t get the word out about this, a lot of otherwise mild cases could become very serious, and our hospitals will be even more overwhelmed.
Ten days ago, I was asked to see a patient. I’m a respiratory specialist in an intensive-care unit at a hospital in London, so it wasn’t surprising that the patient needed a ventilator. It seemed fairly typical. But the patient turned out to have the coronavirus — our hospital’s first case and one of nearly 2,000 people who have so far tested positive in Britain. I hadn’t worn a mask. Soon I developed a cough.
Though I experienced neither fever nor breathlessness, I was told to self-isolate for 14 days. That’s where I am now, in self-isolation. And I’m not the only one from my hospital. After just one patient with Covid-19, a quarter of our junior staff are off with coughs and sniffles we would normally work through. A single case of the coronavirus has wreaked havoc in our hospital.
New York City has recorded 1664 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, taking the total number to 3615.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the shocking statistic in a press conference held Thursday afternoon, with the official number soaring by over 1000 in the hours since state Governor Andrew Cuomo updated the public earlier in the morning.
He later told CNN that the city will run out of medical supplies in between two and three weeks if infections continue at the current rate.
And New York City pediatric surgeon Cornelia Griggs just wrote an open letter to the New York Times in which she proclaimed that “the sky is falling”, and she ominously warned that we are about to face an absolutely unprecedented public health crisis that we are not ready for…
Alarmist is not a word anyone has ever used to describe me before. I’m a board-certified surgeon and critical care specialist who spent much of my training attending to traumas in the emergency room and doing the rounds at Harvard hospitals’ intensive care units. I’m now in my last four months of training as a pediatric surgeon in New York City. Part of my job entails waking in the middle of the night to rush to the children’s hospital to put babies on a form of life support called ECMO, a service required when a child’s lungs are failing even with maximum ventilator support. Scenarios that mimic end-stage Covid-19 are part of my job. Panic is not in my vocabulary; the emotion has been drilled out of me in nine years of training. This is different.
We are living in a global public health crisis moving at a speed and scale never witnessed by living generations. The cracks in our medical and financial systems are being splayed open like a gashing wound. No matter how this plays out, life will forever look a little different for all of us.
Anyone that is not taking this outbreak seriously at this point is just being delusional.
It appears that we are going to be fighting this virus for a long time to come, and it is absolutely critical that we get people the information that they desperately need.
Unfortunately, many in the mainstream media appear to be more concerned about what their advertisers will think, and that is extremely unfortunate.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Since the end of World War II, have we ever seen the entire globe gripped by so much fear? This week, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe has absolutely exploded, and authorities all over the western world are rushing to shut down public gatherings of all kinds. The NCAA has banned fans from upcoming tournament games, the NBA just suspended the entire season because a Utah Jazz player tested positive, and dozens of other sporting events have been canceled all over the planet. In both the U.S. and Europe, schools are being shut down for weeks, some universities are telling their students not to come back for the rest of the semester, and a whole host of concerts, conferences, festivals and religious gatherings are either being postponed or canceled altogether. We have never seen anything like this before, and the implications are staggering.
Keeping everyone at home for a few weeks is one thing.
But what is going to happen if this pandemic just keeps growing for the rest of this calendar year or even longer?
According to NBC News, the attending physician of Congress believes that “70 million to 150 million people in the United States will become infected”…
Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, said he expects 70 million to 150 million people in the United States will become infected with COVID-19, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing two sources.
Monahan made the comments to Senate staff during a closed-door meeting Tuesday afternoon, according to NBC News.
Right now, there are less than 2,000 confirmed cases in this country and fear is off the charts.
Can you imagine the societal meltdown that will ensue if 70 million Americans get infected?
Dr. Anthony Fauci is also warning that we we should expect to see “more cases” and that things will continue to “get worse”…
“I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday at a hearing on the nation’s preparedness for the outbreak.
Unfortunately, these sorts of warnings don’t hit home for many Americans until someone that they personally love is affected.
But now that Tom Hanks and his wife have both tested positive, a lot of people that previously did not take this outbreak seriously are now officially freaking out.
Tom Hanks is one of the most greatly loved actors in America, and this is going to be the moment when a lot of Americans finally wake up and realize that this virus is definitely not “like the flu”.
Over in Europe, things are actually quite a bit worse than they are in the United States right now. Just like Italy, Denmark has just locked down the entire country, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to warn that 70 percent of the German population could eventually become infected…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country’s population – some 58 million people – could contract the coronavirus.
Mrs Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.
But it may take a couple of years to get to that number.
So what are we going to do? Are we actually going to shut down the entire western world for the foreseeable future?
If you go look at the map that Johns Hopkins has put up, the numbers coming out of Europe right now are like something out of a science fiction movie.
This is definitely a virus that you want to avoid if at all possible. In many instances it causes devastating damage to the lungs, and even if you survive your lungs may not ever fully recover.
Has the flu ever left you “in blinding pain for weeks”?
Of course not.
And he was one of the fortunate ones that survived. For those that die, the suffering can be far worse.
I truly don’t understand why there are still people out there that are attempting to downplay this pandemic. This is a truly insidious virus, and numerous experts are warning that it could eventually kill millions.
As I wrap up this article, I would like to share with you an excerpt from a firsthand account from an American that is right in the middle of the nightmare that is currently unfolding in Italy. I think that you will find what Christina Higgins posted on her Facebook page to be quite sobering…
When Prime Minister Conte announced last night that the entire country, 60 million people, would go on lock down, the line that struck me most was “there is no more time.” Because to be clear, this national lock down, is a hail mary. What he means is that if the numbers of contagion do not start to go down, the system, Italy, will collapse.
Why? Today the ICUs in Lombardy are at capacity – more than capacity. They have begun to put ICU units in the hallways. If the numbers do not go down, the growth rate of contagion tells us that there will be thousands of people who in a matter of a week? two weeks? who will need care. What will happen when there are 100, or a 1000 people who need the hospital and only a few ICU places left?
On Monday a doctor wrote in the paper that they have begun to have to decide who lives and who dies when the patients show up in the emergency room, like what is done in war. This will only get worse.
There are a finite number of drs, nurses, medical staff and they are getting the virus. They have also been working non-stop, non-stop for days and days. What happens when the drs, nurses and medical staff are simply not able to care for the patients, when they are not there?
And finally for those who say that this is just something that happens to old people, starting yesterday the hospitals are reporting that younger and younger patients – 40, 45, 18, are coming in for treatment.
You have a chance to make a difference and stop the spread in your country. Push for the entire office to work at home today, cancel birthday parties, and other gatherings, stay home as much as you can. If you have a fever, any fever, stay home. Push for school closures, now. Anything you can do to stop the spread, because it is spreading in your communities – there is a two week incubation period – and if you do these things now you can buy your medical system time.
And for those who say it is not possible to close the schools, and do all these other things, locking down Italy was beyond anyone’s imagination a week ago.
Soon you will not have a choice, so do what you can now.
Please share.
No matter how many reassuring press conferences our leaders hold, and no matter what moves global central banks make, most people are going to want to avoid places where they could become infected as long as this virus keeps spreading.
If our normal lives are interrupted for a few weeks, it ultimately won’t be that big of a deal.
But if this crisis just keeps going month after month, it will quickly bring us to the brink of societal collapse.
Let us pray for a miracle, because we definitely need one right now.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
What is our country going to look like if COVID-19 keeps spreading this rapidly? The map that Johns Hopkins University is using to track the spread of this virus has become extremely popular, and I refer to it several times a day. On Monday, I watched as the number of confirmed cases in the United States crossed the 500 mark, and then on Tuesday I was really shocked to see it jump up to 1,025. In less than 48 hours, the number of confirmed cases more than doubled. Needless to say, we are going to be in a whole lot of trouble if this keeps happening. Of course the U.S. is far from alone. This outbreak has gotten completely out of control all over the western world, and right now Europe is being hit harder than anyone else.
On Monday night, computer scientist Mark Handley, Professor of Networked Systems and part-time Roboticist at UCL in London, tweeted a graph showing how growth figures in other infected countries compare to Italy’s.
‘Everyone else will be Italy in 9-14 days time,’ Handley tweeted along with the data.
At this moment, the entire nation of Italy has been locked down. If Handley is correct, we should expect to see this happen in a bunch of other countries before two more weeks are gone.
Of course Handley is not the only one making these sorts of projections. Dr. John Crane of the University of Buffalo says that the U.S. is “on the exact same trajectory” as Italy…
He told DailyMail.com in an interview that the world had never seen anything like the outbreak and that the US seemed to be watching how Italy responded before making any drastic decisions of its own.
‘It looks like they’re on the exact same trajectory. Italy had an 11.5 day head start,’ he said, referring to the data.
We definitely do not want what is happening in Italy to happen here.
There are now more than 10,000 confirmed cases in Italy, the death toll is up to 631, and their healthcare system is being absolutely overwhelmed…
Italian hospitals are so ‘overwhelmed’ by coronavirus that strokes are going untreated and elderly patients are not even being assessed, a doctor at the centre of the crisis has said – while another medic said people in the UK and US should be panicking more.
Doctors in Italy have been forced into life-or-death decisions over who should receive intensive care, with virus cases piling up around the country.
The same thing could soon start happening in the United States.
When there are too many people to treat, not everyone will be treated.
This is yet another reason why you want to stay away from public places so that you do not get this virus.
Top national disease expert Anthony Fauci is urging the nation to take an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to the coronavirus – and urging officials to plan for immediate measures even in states that haven’t had cases show up yet.
‘It doesn’t matter if you’re in a state that has no cases or one case,’ Fauci said at a press briefing with Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday. ‘You have to start taking seriously what you can do now that if and when the infections will come – and they will come – sorry to say, sad to say, they will,’ he told reporters.
Like so many others, Fauci seems resigned to the fact that we are going to see a lot more cases in this country.
But where will we put them? We only have a limited number of hospital beds, and those will fill up pretty quickly.
According to Washington Governor Jay Inslee, there could be 64,000 cases in his state alone by May…
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus are swiftly ballooning across the United States, and President Trump’s former Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert says time is running out to control the spread.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), who is overseeing one of the country’s largest clusters, said “if you do the math” there could be 64,000 cases of COVID-19 in the Evergreen State by May, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the positive cases in the city are “coming in so intensely now” that public officials are struggling to keep up with them. He said he wasn’t in a position to give the media a “detailed case breakdown” because of the rapidly changing number.
Speaking of New York, a state of martial law has essentially been instituted in New Rochelle in a desperate attempt to contain the cluster that has erupted there…
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the most rigorous actions to date to combat the spread in New Rochelle, which he described as the “most significant cluster in the country” and accounts for the lion’s share of the surging caseload in the tri-state area.
Those measures include deploying National Guard troops to a Health Department command post and setting up a satellite testing facility and one-mile, two-week containment area in the city. Public schools in that containment zone will be closed through March 25; National Guard troops will help clean surfaces and deliver food in that one-mile radius.
Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before similar measures are put into place in communities all across the nation.
The months ahead are going to be extremely challenging for all of us, and so let us hope that this outbreak begins to subside as soon as possible.
We are already starting to see things happen that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago. If you can believe it, colleges and universities all over America are choosing to cancel classes for the foreseeable future…
A growing number of U.S. colleges have canceled in-person classes because of the coronavirus. The closures began in Washington state, and now include Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Rice University, Stanford University, Hofstra University, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington, among others. As of midday Tuesday, more than half a million students are affected by the cancellations.
Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden’s presidential campaigns canceled rallies set for Cleveland on Tuesday night due to coronavirus concerns, the first disruptions the outbreak has caused in the 2020 Democratic primary.
In separate announcements, the Democratic presidential contenders’ campaigns said they exercised caution about holding large public gatherings after hearing guidance from public health officials.
At this point, there is even talk that the Tokyo Olympics could be delayed for a year or two.
In the short-term, bringing public activity to a screeching halt all over the western world won’t hurt too much.
But what if this outbreak continues to keep growing month after month?
Right now, it looks like this virus is going to be with us for a long time to come.
In Spain, the number of confirmed cases tripled in just two days, and the number of confirmed cases in France rose 70 percent from Monday to Tuesday.
Health minister Nadine Dorries has tested positive for coronavirus and fears for Boris Johnson’s health have been sparked after she attended an event hosted by the Prime Minister at No 10 last week. Ms Dorries is understood to have fallen ill on Thursday and then over the weekend, the “classic symptoms” of the disease emerged.
But everything that I just shared with you pales in comparison to what just happened in Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly told the German Parliament that 60 to 70 percent of the German population will eventually catch the virus…
Angela Merkel says she expects around 60-70 percent of Germans will be infected with the coronavirus, which equates to about 53 million people.
Reportedly, the German Parliament fell completely silent when Merkel stated the number.
News outlet Bild reported the German Chancellor’s comments, which echoed numbers forecast by Berlin virologist Christian Drosten, who added that such a total could take 2 years or longer to reach.
If we eventually see similar numbers throughout the entire western world, the global economy will collapse, there will be great civil unrest all over the globe, and tens of millions of people will die.
Let us continue to hope that such a nightmare scenario can be avoided somehow.
But let us also prepare for an extended battle with this virus, because it certainly appears that COVID-19 is not going to disappear any time soon.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Jesus specifically warned us that there would be “pestilences” in the end times, and so if we really are approaching the time of His return this is one of the things that we should be watching for. Of course we don’t know if COVID-19 is one of the “pestilences” that Jesus was referring to, but in recent days it has greatly distressed me to see so many Christians attempting to downplay the severity of this virus. The number of confirmed cases and the global death toll have both been rising at an exponential rate day after day, and experts are warning that over half of the population of the world could eventually get this virus, but so many voices out there are boldly assuring people that they don’t have anything to be concerned about even though they don’t have any medical credentials at all. Personally, I think that it pays to listen to the experts during a crisis like this, and the experts are telling us that millions could soon die. In fact, as you will see below, a doctor that sat on the White House Homeland Security Council is saying that this is the most “frightening disease” that he has ever encountered. After everything that we have already learned about this virus, anyone that is not taking this pandemic seriously is not being wise.
But is this just another pandemic that will come and go, or is this one of the “pestilences” that we were warned about almost 2000 years ago?
In Luke chapter 21, Jesus explained to His disciples what conditions would be like just prior to His return, and in verse 11 He specifically warned that there would be “pestilences”. The following comes from the King James Version…
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
We have definitely seen a rise in seismic activity in recent years, billions of locusts are devouring crops from eastern Africa all the way to China right now, and Australia just had the worst harvest season that they have ever recorded.
So it is interesting to note that the stage is being set for some of the other signs that Jesus mentioned at the very same time that this coronavirus outbreak is starting to spiral out of control.
Only time will tell if COVID-19 is truly one of the “pestilences” that Jesus was referring to, but at this point it has become exceedingly clear that we should all be taking it very seriously.
This virus jumps from person to person with incredible ease, and it has a death rate that is about 34 times higher than the ordinary flu. In fact, the death rate for COVID-19 is actually higher than the death rate during the Spanish Flu pandemic. And let us never forget that the Spanish Flu pandemic killed between 50 million and 100 million people from 1918 to 1920.
I do not understand why anyone would possibly want to try to downplay this outbreak, and those that are doing so could end up greatly contributing to the spread of this virus.
Proverbs 22:3 says this…
3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Fortunately for us, this outbreak started on the other side of the globe and so we had some time to prepare before it got here.
An infectious diseases expert at the forefront of the search for a coronavirus vaccine said on Friday that it was the most “frightening disease“ he’s ever encountered, and that “war is an appropriate analogy” for what the country is facing, as “50 – 70 percent of the global population” may become infected.
Dr. Richard Hatchett, who sat on the White House Homeland Security Council in 2005 – 2006 and was a principal author of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan, and currently heads the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, told the UK’s Channel 4:
“This is the most frightening disease I’ve ever encountered in my career, and that includes Ebola, it includes MERS, it includes SARS. And it’s frightening because of the combination of infectiousness and a lethality that appears to be manyfold higher than flu.”
That sure sounds like a “global pestilence” to me.
Let us pray that he is completely wrong.
But as we pray, it will also be important for us to take recommended precautions. During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the elderly and those with “underlying conditions” will need to make adjustments to their lifestyles immediately…
“If you are an elderly person with an underlying condition, if you get infected, the risk of getting into trouble is considerable. So it’s our responsibility to protect the vulnerable,” he said.
“When I say ‘protect,’ I mean right now. Not wait until things get worse. Say no large crowds, no long trips. And above all, don’t get on a cruise ship.”
Personally, I think that is great advice for all of us.
If you have family members or friends that are not taking this outbreak seriously, you need to try to get through to them.
US hospitals are preparing for 96 million coronavirus infections and nearly half a million deaths from the outbreak, leaked documents have revealed.
The spread of the deadly disease could be far worse than officials claim, with 480,000 Americans expected to die from the virus and 4.8 million hospitalized, according to a presentation hosted by The American Hospital Association (AHA) in February.
For years, Bible-believing Christians all over America have been preaching that Jesus is coming back soon.
And for years, we have seen so many other pieces of the end times prophetic scenario start to come together.
Now a global pestilence has erupted, and in Luke 21 we were specifically warned to watch for “pestilences” in the last days.
Once again, only time will tell if COVID-19 is one of those “pestilences”, but without a doubt all of us should be taking this virus very, very seriously.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Over the past week, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside of China more than tripled once again. Hopefully it is extremely unlikely that such a rapid growth rate will continue, because if it does, there will be more than a million confirmed cases outside of China just a month from now. I don’t even want to imagine the level of fear that would cause, and needless to say that would be absolutely devastating for the entire global economy. Of course if we do get to a million confirmed cases, there won’t be any way to keep it from spreading everywhere on the entire globe, and the ultimate death toll could be unimaginable.
According to the WHO, the current death rate for this outbreak is 3.4 percent, and many experts believe that it will continue to go higher.
That means that a whole lot of people will die if this virus cannot be contained somehow.
Researchers at a major university in Australia modeled seven different scenarios for how a COVID-19 pandemic might go, and in the “best-case scenario” the death toll was 15 million…
New modeling from The Australian National University looks at seven scenarios of how the COVID-19 outbreak might affect the world’s wealth, ranging from low severity to high severity.
Four of the seven scenarios in the paper examine the impact of COVID-19 spreading outside China, ranging from low to high severity. A seventh scenario examines a global impact in which a mild pandemic occurs each year indefinitely.
But even in the low-severity model — or best-case scenario of the seven, which the paper acknowledged were not definitive — ANU researchers estimate a global GDP loss of $2.4 trillion, with an estimated death toll of 15 million.
A pandemic that kills 15 million people would change everything.
I sincerely hope that we don’t see anything like that, but other experts are coming up with similar projections. A Harvard epidemiologist is warning that 40 to 70 percent of the entire global population will eventually catch this virus, and Mike Adams is projecting that more than two million Americans could be dead by July 4th “if domestic travel is not aggressively halted”…
Today I finished tweaking the first draft of a pandemic projection model that simulates the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. The assumptions of the model are explained here, and you will find they are extremely conservative (using R0 value of just 1.82, for example).
The model’s predictions are nothing short of apocalyptic if the virus is allowed to spread without restraint across the United States. According to the model, there will be 2.16 million dead Americans by July 4th if domestic travel is not aggressively halted very soon (see the full projections below). This is not a prediction, since I believe that state governments and the federal government will intervene long before July 4th to declare, essentially, medical martial law.
Let us pray that nothing like this ever happens.
But if we all stick our heads in the sand and pretend that this virus isn’t a major threat, that will just make matters a lot worse.
At this point, the truth is that we don’t really know the true extent of the outbreak in the United States because authorities are just now starting to ramp up testing. Vice-President Pence had hoped to get a million testing kits to local communities this week, but that is simply not going to happen…
Mike Pence admitted Thursday that the administration will not be able to follow meet its promise to deliver one million coronavirus testing kits by the end of the week.
‘We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate the demand going forward,’ Pence said during a visit to a 3M Company plant in Minnesota Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, things are really starting to get weird out there.
The number of confirmed cases in the Seattle area has surged to 70, and authorities have transformed an aging EconoLodge into a “quarantine village”…
The EconoLodge in Kent, which is in the heart of the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area, will be America’s first Covid-19 quarantine village. As cases and deaths surge in Washington state, officials aren’t constructing modular hospitals in two weeks like China did last month, but rather buying existing commercial properties, such as motels, and stuffing infected people within.
Markovich said another “Covid-19 quarantine village using modular units now underway at 1100 block of 128th St. in North Seattle. There has been no public announcement about this so far.”
I suppose that such facilities will be able to house a few hundred people, but what are local officials going to do if hundreds of thousands of people get the virus?
Once this virus begins to spread in a community, the number of cases can escalate at a staggering rate. If you have any doubt about this, just look at what is happening in France.
We will probably see that sort of a growth rate in certain communities here in the U.S., and that is truly chilling.
In Iran, the number of confirmed cases has now crossed the 3,500 mark, and it is being reported that “dozens of bodies” are piling up in Iranian morgues…
Dozens of bodies sheathed in black bags line the floor of an Iranian morgue, while workers in protective suits and masks busily walk among them.
It’s unclear which, if any, of the people whose bodies lie in the morgue were infected with the coronavirus gripping the country, in this footage from inside Qom’s Behesht-e Masoumeh morgue.
The official death toll in Iran is only 107 at this point, but many believe that the true number is much, much higher.
As usual, the Iranians are blaming their problems on the United States and Israel. In fact, one Iranian general is publicly claiming that this virus is “a manmade bioweapon” that was purposely deployed against China and Iran…
An Iranian military leader has suggested that the coronavirus is not a naturally occurring disease, and that it is a manmade bioweapon cultivated and released against China and Iran by a ‘hostile state’.
Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, an Iranian officer in charge of the country’s Civil Defense Organization claimed Tuesday that “A study of the consequences of the virus in terms of tolls or the extent of the epidemic and the type of media propaganda over this issue that is aimed at increasing fear and panic among people strengthens the speculations that a biological attack has been launched against China and Iran with economic goals.”
Of course the truth is that this virus has created a major crisis for the entire planet.
In the UK, there is so much anxiety about this virus that British supermarkets are actually preparing for “food riots”…
British supermarkets are prepared for food riots if panic buying becomes widespread in the worst-cast scenario of a coronavirus pandemic, a retail expert has said.
Former Tesco supply chain director Bruno Monteyne said a major outbreak of the virus would result in ‘panic buying, empty shelves and food riots’ but that at this stage retailers would revert to ‘feed the nation’ status to avoid anyone going hungry.
If this outbreak continues to rapidly escalate, the way that we live our lives is going to be dramatically altered. So let us pray for mercy, because we definitely need it.
Sadly, many Americans are not getting prepared for a potential pandemic because they have been told over and over again that this virus is not any more dangerous than the flu.
That is definitely not true. As I explained the other day, the flu usually has a death rate of about 0.1 percent each year, and this virus currently has a death rate of 3.4 percent…
“Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing Tuesday. The rate describes the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases. And it wasgreater than the previous coronavirus CFR estimate (2 percent in China), far higher than the seasonal flu (which kills 0.1 percent of those infected on average), and even worse than the Spanish flu pandemic (which killed 2 to 3 percent of those infected).
Last century, the Spanish Flu pandemic killed somewhere between 50 million and 100 million people, and this virus currently has an even higher death rate.
Are you starting to understand?
This outbreak has the potential to kill millions upon millions of people, and anyone that is not taking it seriously is not being very wise at all.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
We haven’t seen anything cause this much worldwide fear in a really long time. But even though there is so much fear, we still don’t know if this is going to evolve into the next great global pandemic that kills millions of people or not. I wish that I had a definitive answer for you. At this point we do know that the number of confirmed cases outside of China continues to rise at a very alarming rate, and we also know that this virus is about 34 times more deadly than the flu according to the latest numbers. But in order for it to kill millions of people, a substantial percentage of the global population would have to be infected, and we don’t know if that is actually going to happen.
But in major cities around the globe where there has been an eruption of COVID-19 cases, we are seeing severe disruptions in normal activity.
For example, now that several coronavirus deaths have been reported in the area, the lack of tourists has turned downtown Seattle into “a ghost town”…
In Seattle, bracing for the coronavirus also means preparing for what could be a devastating economic impact. Business owners and residents have already seen a drop-off in tourists in areas of the city that heavily depend on foot traffic.
“It’s like a ghost town,” Francisco said about the famous Pike Place Market where she has her shop.
If you have ever been to Pike Place Market, then you know that it is normally bustling with activity.
But now virtually everyone wants to stay away, and you can’t exactly blame them. With this virus on the loose, I wouldn’t want to venture down there either.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has already declared a state of emergency, and this will give her the power to cancel a wide range of public events…
As the death toll climbed Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, proclaimed a civil emergency. The declaration allows her to bypass regulations to increase city spending, contracting and borrowing to address the growing public health threat. It will also allow her office to close facilities and cancel events to prevent the virus from spreading further.
The streets of Seoul, the South Korean capital, stood nearly empty this week. Those who do venture out wear masks. The normally busy subways have few passengers and riders make sure to sit far away from one another. Many residents are relying on grocery and restaurant delivery apps.
Most Americans don’t realize this, but the population of Seoul actually exceeds the population of New York City.
Normally it is one of the busiest cities on the entire planet, but due to the fear that more than 5,700 confirmed cases in South Korea has caused, it has also become something of “a ghost town”.
Speaking of busy cities, Beijing’s 21 million residents continue to wait for life to return to normal.
Most people are staying home as much as possible, and those that do venture out risk having their temperatures scanned “at regular checkpoints”…
Many shops are still closed in Beijing, and residents’ temperatures are scanned at regular checkpoints, as well as inside each store. On streets that are normally so crowded that people are forced to brush shoulders, those who are out keep a good distance from one another.
Could you imagine the uproar that would ensue if similar “checkpoints” were set up here in the United States?
In Milan, Italy’s business capital and the center of the country’s outbreak, restaurants, bars and train stations are much less crowded than normal. The usually teeming Piazza del Duomo, home to the city’s cathedral and lined with shops and bars, was almost empty at points Monday.
Italian authorities are absolutely desperate to get this outbreak under control, and so they are implementing pretty extreme measures.
Incredibly, that even includes banning fans from all sporting events until April 3rd…
The Italian government have taken drastic measures to help prevent the outbreak of coronavirus by closing all sport events to fans throughout the entire country until April 3. Italy has been the worst-hit European country from the coronavirus, with 107 deaths so far.
It is nice that they have set a deadline, but what are they going to do if we get to April 3rd and this outbreak has gotten even worse?
Could it be possible that Italian fans will not be able to attend sporting events for the foreseeable future?
And will other western countries soon follow suit?
Our lives could be about to change in ways that we couldn’t even imagine just a few weeks ago.
Britons could be forced to put their lives on hold for three months under a ‘battle plan’ to combat Coronavirus amid warnings today that the deadly disease could incapacitate a fifth of the UK’s workforce.
Boris Johnson today set out the Government’s blueprint to deal with a mass outbreak of the bug that includes a raft of socially and economically costly contingency moves as a last resort.
Could you put your life on hold for three months?
Of course most major pandemics last longer than just three months. In fact, the Spanish Flu pandemic lasted for three years and it killed tens of millions of people.
Hopefully this outbreak will not be anything like that.
But without a doubt, this is a truly horrible virus. The following is an excerpt from the account of a 25-year-old British man that actually caught COVID-19…
Day 12: I’ve had a relapse. Just as I thought the flu was getting better, it has come back with a vengeance. My breathing is laboured. Just getting up and going to the bathroom leaves me panting and exhausted. I’m sweating, burning up, dizzy and shivering. The television is on but I can’t make sense of it. This is a nightmare.
By the afternoon, I feel like I am suffocating. I have never been this ill in my life. I can’t take more than sips of air and, when I breathe out, my lungs sound like a paper bag being crumpled up. This isn’t right. I need to see a doctor. But if I call the emergency services, I’ll have to pay for the ambulance call-out myself. That’s going to cost a fortune. I’m ill, but I don’t think I’m dying — am I?
I certainly do not want to experience that, and I am sure that you do not want to either.
Coming into this year, I warned about what was ahead, but I definitely did not anticipate that we could potentially be facing a full-blown global pandemic by early March.
For the foreseeable future, the entire globe is going to be gripped by fear of this virus, and that has very serious implications for all of us.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
(By Samantha Biggers) There are many different ways that COVID-19 is going to affect the world. To quote the CDC “The disruption of daily life might be severe.” They are talking about the USA but this applies to the world as well. They should know because they totally failed the public on many levels at this point and increased the threat and danger to every person residing in the USA.
In this article, I am going to concentrate on some of the things that at this point are either starting to occur or very likely to occur over the next few months.
Before I address supply chain disruptions and other societal impacts, I want to address how the government and the Center For Disease Control have totally failed and endangered the medical professionals and law enforcement officers of the United States.
They failed in the following ways:
Did not provide timely and accurate information to police, medics, doctors, nurses, and other professionals. They did not tell these fine folks how contagious COVID-19 actually is. They never expressed that this disease is aerosolized.
Provided no way for medical professionals to test. The long delay in testing supplies combined with delivering dirty and unusable test kits has made a bad situation much worse than it had to be.
The CDC has stopped reporting testing after complaints about how few they were doing. This is irresponsible and not how an agency that is supposed to be working in the best interest of the health of America should act.
Refusing to acknowledge that the incubation period of COVID-19 is likely longer than 14 days. The result is an inadequate quarantine period.
The Potential Economic and Societal Impacts of COVID-19
The people that work hard to provide medical and emergency services for us are being let down and we will all pay for this in the future. What happens when the people trained to take care of us when we are sick and keep communities safe cannot because they are sick too?
The results of these decisions are highlighted in the stories and videos below.
5 Dallas police officers were sent home after it was discovered they were potentially exposed to COVID-19 due to interaction during the arrest and processing of a man.
Even if you ignore the rest of my article, I urge you to at least watch the video below that highlights the struggle of doctors and how they cannot get what they need to test patients.
Clothing
Almost all clothing was made in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Even the fancy name brand designer labels that cost a fortune per piece take advantage of the low labor costs in these countries to produce their designer duds.
All those inexpensive cotton socks, underwear, and packs of t-shirts that we are used to are not going to be on the shelves. Some are still made in America but it will take quite some time to create the infrastructure necessary to meet increased domestic demand.
Food
Luckily, America is a country that produces more food than it consumes. There will be food as long as there are people to work on the farms. However, there are imported food items that you and your family may like a lot that could become either impossible to get or more expensive due to the collapse of the global shipping industry and how hard it is to procure the ingredients.
Other countries that rely on the United States for food on some level will suffer a lot as crops and foods are not exported but consumed domestically or only exported to countries that are close enough to make it economically feasible.
Pharmaceutical Drugs
We rely on China for most antibiotics. India produces a lot of final product medications but many of the active ingredients are produced in China. There are already some medications that are starting to be harder to find. While some may rest a bit easier when reassured by Indian drug manufacturers that they have an 8 week supply on hand, that is not a big enough cushion to make me think this is not a serious problem.
Many people renewed their prescriptions sooner rather than later when items started appearing in the news that indicated that meds may be harder to get or that they may need to stay at home for many weeks. This led to supplies becoming more depleted at the beginning of the situation. Those that did not renew and get their meds, will be the first to suffer the consequences of doing without. Even so, everyone that is on meds will eventually feel the impact.
Of course, there are also those that are on prescription medications that are only allowed a 30 day supply at a time. This is how it works with some drugs that are prescribed for mental health or pain. You also have to go to an actual pharmacy to get these meds. They won’t ship you major painkillers or drugs like Adderall or Ritalin for ADHD.
Some medications you cannot quit suddenly without some potentially serious or fatal consequences. Consider how some people that rely on mental health medications are going to do if they suddenly have to quit. In the USA we have a pretty significant population on psychiatric medications.
From face masks to gloves to major medical equipment, China is the main manufacturer. Considering that we are dealing with an epidemic or pandemic depending on what you believe, now is a heck of a time to be facing shortages of medical supplies.
The increased cost alone will lead to more stealing and other crimes committed out of desperation to get the substance the user relies on. Some drugs incapacitate those in withdrawal while others don’t so much thus you have people that are desperate and capable of some pretty awful things.
Appliances
Some of the larger appliances are still made domestically but that doesn’t mean that they don’t rely on components manufactured in foreign countries. Usually, this country is China. Almost all small appliances are made in China from toasters ovens to coffee pots and blenders. Any device, even if you buy a better than average brand, has a working life.
At some point, what appliances and parts that are already in the country or at least in a nearby one, will start to dwindle. It is hard to say when this will happen because there are many factors at play. Maybe we have enough to get by until manufacturing starts up in US or else ware but I kind of doubt it.
When your coffee pot breaks if may be a little harder to find a replacement that is anywhere near the price point you are used to paying. Even the small appliances that were considered cheaply made, will be resold for a much higher cost to those that want the convenience that they bring to their lives.
Tools
A lot of the power and hand tools we use every day are made in China or Japan. As a farmer and someone that built their house with their husband, I put a lot of value in tools. During hard times a lot of us may have to do more tasks on our own. Hopefully, our tools hold out for a while. There are some good hand tools made in the USA but like so many things, the supply is far lower than the demand.
Auto and Machine Parts
A lot of auto manufacturers have decreased or stopped production because they cannot get the materials and components they need to produce vehicles or the parts needed to repair existing ones. How many of us have bought an aftermarket part for a car or small machine? Almost all the aftermarket generic parts that are affordable are made in China.
Just about everything that the average person uses to maintain and run their household.
I could list many more things that are in your home that may be harder to get. Sheets for your bed, towels, and blankets are just a few of the other items that are often made in China or India. Although India is not reporting a ton of cases yet, I suspect that the numbers are much greater and considering the population density, the potential for a major outbreak is extraordinary.
More expensive goods due to a lack of low labor costs. Manufacturing will occur closer to home.
We are used to being able to get a lot things at a low cost. This is not going to be as common. People will not work and are not able to work for the wages that they will in China, Vietnam, or Cambodia.
It will take a long time to get any production going domestically or in an alternative foreign location. There are many components that go into even basic electronics and appliances. Metals, small parts, etc, are something we used to take for granted as always being there.
Price gouging is already happening. Demand is much higher for some items like N-95 masks. Price gouging and people reselling items on eBay for extremely high prices is something we are likely to see more and more of.
Resentment and blame towards fellow consumers
There are already people that are blaming fellow shoppers for them not being able to get items that they want. One person was angry because they could not find something for their baby and blamed people for stocking up. They called them selfish. Another man couldn’t put in his weekly order for 2 loaves of bread and was livid about it.
When other more major shortages start to be apparent, the blaming will get worse, with many people in denial that the real cause is the lack of manufacturing and shipping.
Politicization and the blame game is already happening and will continue to escalate.
It really annoys me when important issues that affect us all get politicized. People from all across the political spectrum are already blaming this political party or this person. I am critical of the CDC but that is an agency that is supposed to work for all of us regardless of political leanings. I will not get caught up in the political blame game because it does nothing to help us get through this horrible virus that as all over the world. As far as I am concerned governments need to put aside some of the party politics and concentrate on the health crisis at hand.
Racism and xenophobia will surface more often towards some groups.
This is already happening all over the world. Those that kept their feelings to themselves are feeling that now is the time to express them. There are also some that have switched to this way of thinking. While checking in on a new friend in Italy I met in a preparedness group on Facebook, he told me of a man verbally abusing a Chinese lady in the street by loudly yelling that “All the s*** eaters need to go back home”. This was more than a week ago and at the very beginning of the quarantines in Italy and occurred in a town that was not yet under mandatory quarantine.
It will be harder to shelter children from the woes of the world.
Kids are going to ask a lot of questions. While causing them to panic and freak out is not the answer, it is going to be a lot harder to hide what is going on over a period of time. Some parents have decided to approach it from encouraging more hand washing and telling children and teens to avoid people that are coughing or showing signs of illness. I think that a degree of honesty is best myself but I realize that how you raise your child is something that is ultimately a personal decision.
There may be a time when kids and teens ask some other really tough questions that you will need to address and it will be practically impossible to shield them from. What if something awful like a friend or family member gets sick, is hospitalized, or even dies? Kids may also have some questions about the xenophobia and racism that could pop up.
Events that involve large groups will be rarer and many that are planned will be canceled.
Sometimes I am sitting here typing and an ad will come on Pandora from an artist telling me to catch them on tour. Now when I hear that I think about how many of those big concerts and sporting events are going to be canceled. In some cases when they are not canceled, the musicians or players will either be greeted by a nearly empty or empty venue. In Italy, soccer teams are playing without the fans due to the possibility of spread.
Children and teens that are used to the team spirit and camaraderie that comes from participating in organized sports may have to face losing that part of their life.
The travel industry will crash
Travel agents and online booking sites are facing record-breaking numbers of cancellations. This means at least a partial refund of fees that were already paid.
Anyone that works at hotels, for airlines or any industry that caters to travelers is going to be affected. The ripple effect is going to be very noticeable. I would not be surprised to see some hotels and motels shut down and never open again. Bankruptcies in the travel industry are very likely to accelerate greatly over the next year.
The cruise ship industry, in particular, is being hit hard and with good reason considering the disaster of the Diamond Princess and other cruise ships.
People will become more isolated. Social distancing will be the rule for many.
Doing what you can to distance yourself from others is one of the things that you have some control over. While staying at home is not an option for many due to their jobs or school, avoiding other social situations, shopping online, or visiting stores at very low volume times are all possible. Many people have been doing this for quite some time.
Restaurants, coffee shops, and bars are going to face some tough times.
Some of the first social distancing will be people avoiding restaurants and drinking establishments. This is one of the easiest things for people to do to reduce exposure to others. At the moment, staying at home and popping a frozen pizza in the oven makes sense to some. Going out and socializing is something people like to do but you can have a beer at home for less money and avoid exposure. There are a lot of people employed in the restaurant and bar industry. Many of these hard-working people rely on tipping that is just not going to be there.
The lack of cargo to ship will have a significant effect on the shipping and transport industries.
This is another industry that employs a lot of people. From the local UPS and FedEx drivers to the port and cargo ship workers. While at the time a lot of people are utilizing mail order, as time goes on and there are less goods to ship, the volume will drop. Volume has already dropped dramatically at ports on the western and eastern seaboards of the United States. Where shipping containers were once stacked as high as buildings, there is empty space and nothing coming in.
This video shows what some of the ports look like at this time. It was taken by a lady that drives container trucks to and from the port.
Truck drivers that service ports, as well as those responsible for moving cargo across the country, will likely feel the effects of fewer goods to distribute.
Lack of demand for oil will cause the barrel price to crash.
The oil markets are already experiencing the effects of less demand. When this continues, the price will drop a lot. Of course, if some oil production shuts down as a result, the price may go back up to some degree. Regardless there are going to be some dips and volatility in the oil market.
Families will either learn to get along or be miserable. Some will simply fall apart because they cannot cope with all that time together.
There will be more homeschooled children and teens in the future.
Some school districts are already creating plans for delivering learning materials online. Other people are thinking about homeschooling as an option. I was homeschooled from 7th-12th grade. It was the best option for me. Although I was doing very well in school, it was boring and the social aspects were not something I enjoyed. I had to spend 90 minutes of my life on a bus because the nearest junior high was 10 miles away and that took 45 minutes each way.
While parents may have to go to work, I do have to say that some responsible teens may be able to handle staying at home and completing their studies even if you are not there. I was pretty much self-taught through junior high through graduation.
If you find yourself working from home and feel that you should eliminate the risk of exposure via schools, then homeschooling is something to consider. Many kids find that they enjoy it and have more time to do other things like learn skills or even help out around the house. A lot of time is wasted within the public school system.
Conclusion
Times are not going to be easy. We are going to be facing some major disruptions to our way of life in the future. Let’s hope that a cure and better treatment becomes available soon. Even if things dramatically improve, the global supply chain is going to be forever changed.
I wish the best for you and your family during this trying time.
Best wishes,
Samantha Biggers
To keep up to date on coronavirus I encourage you to subscribe to the Peak Prosperity Youtube Channel. Chris does a fantastic job covering the latest news that you should know about COVID-19. He has been producing a daily video covering COVID-19 since the epidemic started.
COVID-19 is an extremely deadly virus, and nobody should be trying to downplay the severity of this outbreak. By now, you have probably heard a lot of people try to convince you that COVID-19 is not that dangerous because the flu has killed far more people this winter. And that is true. But what they aren’t telling you is that the death rate from the flu is extremely low. Tens of thousands of Americans die from the flu each year, but if this coronavirus spreads all over the planet the death toll will be in the tens of millions. This coronavirus outbreak is likely only in the very early stages, and if it becomes as widespread as the flu, it will become a public health crisis unlike anything we have ever faced in modern times.
After taking a look at the numbers, hopefully you will understand what I am trying to say.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that the global death rate for COVID-19 is now 3.4 percent…
World health officials said Tuesday the case fatality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%.
“Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. In comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected, he said.
I have a feeling that number will continue to go up, but for the purposes of this article let’s assume that number if accurate.
As for the flu, the CDC says that there will be between 32 million and 45 million illnesses in the United States during this flu season, and somewhere between 18,000 and 46,000 deaths.
If that happens, we will see a death toll in the tens of millions at a minimum.
Here in the United States, the death rate is running well above 3.4 percent so far. Out of 118 confirmed cases, nine victims have died so far…
The eighth and ninth persons confirmed to have died in the U.S. from the coronavirus lived in Washington state, just like the previous seven victims. Washington accounts for 27 of the 118 cases so far reported in the U.S., and state officials said 231 people are under public health supervision.
I have a feeling that the death rate in the U.S. will go down once we start testing more people, but we will see.
At this point, coronavirus clusters are starting to pop up all over the nation. For example, the number of victims in Santa Clara County has now risen to 11…
Santa Clara County announces 2 new cases of COVID-19 Total now 11.
The latest coronavirus case in New York City is a 50-year-old lawyer who resides in Westchester County, about 20 miles north of New York City, and is a partner at a firm based in midtown Manhattan, multiple sources confirmed to Business Insider. The office building is in the vicinity of Grand Central Terminal, which sees about 750,000 daily commuters.
Before he was finally diagnosed, was he spreading the virus to countless others in midtown Manhattan?
We shall see what happens in the coming days.
As I discussed yesterday, the U.S. has been much slower than other nations to conduct widespread testing for the virus, and it looks like that was a major mistake.
Down in South Florida, one woman was recently told by her doctor that she probably has COVID-19, but officials refused to test her for it…
In what may be the first case of coronavirus in South Florida, a woman who recently returned home from Italy says she was told by doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital that she “likely” has COVID-19, but that they are unable to verify it because state and federal officials refused to conduct the necessary tests to confirm it.
“The doctor himself told me that, you know, he thinks that the results of my [preliminary] tests mean that I most likely have the COVID-19, but that the Department of Health did not want to pursue it further,” said the woman, who requested that her name not be used to protect her privacy. “It was either the Department of Health or the CDC that decided not to further pursue the inquiry. But I was basically told that it is most likely that I have this virus and that I should self-quarantine.”
As Dr. Matt McCarthy has said, this refusal to test probable patients is a national scandal. There is no excuse for this sort of negligence, and it has the potential to create all sorts of problems.
At this point, fear is spreading like wildfire all over the nation. Due to concerns about COVID-19, Twitter is asking “its entire workforce” to “work from home”…
Twitter is asking its entire workforce of 5,000 people to work from home, part of its effort to keep employees safe and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The company said working from home was mandatory for its workers in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, where there are higher rates of the COVID-19 disease.
Other companies are taking similar steps, and this will inevitably slow down the economy.
But this could be just the beginning. If you can believe it, one NBA owner is actually saying that the NBA could eventually “ban fans” from games if things get bad enough…
Marc Lasry, co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, told CNBC on Tuesday that sporting events could possibly ban fans if the coronavirus outbreak worsens.
“If you’re going to do it to basketball, you’re going to do it to baseball,” Lasry said on “Fast Money.” “I hope we don’t get there.”
I hope we don’t get there either.
Because once we start banning public gatherings, we won’t be able to go back to normal until this pandemic is over.
And sometimes pandemics can last for a very long time. The Spanish Flu pandemic lasted for three years and killed tens of millions of people. If what we are facing is similar, then all of our lives are about to change in a major way.
Sadly, some people are saying that if they get the virus they will actually purposely go into large crowds to try to spread it. Here is one example…
Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca is getting major blowback over a controversial tweet sent on Friday.
CdeBaca quoted a tweet that said, “For the record, if I do get the coronavirus I’m attending every MAGA rally I can.”
How sick in the head do you have to be to say something like that?
We live at a time when hearts are growing very cold, and it is only going to get worse as time rolls along.
Hopefully by now most of my readers understand that we need to take COVID-19 very seriously.
This isn’t anything like the flu. This is an extremely deadly virus that has the potential to kill millions of Americans.
Let us continue to keep praying that this outbreak will eventually subside, but let us also continue to brace ourselves for a worst case scenario.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
This is already the most frightening virus outbreak that we have seen in the past several decades, and it appears that it is just getting started. A week ago, there were about 3,000 confirmed cases outside of China and now there are more than 10,000. 4,812 cases have been confirmed in South Korea, 2,036 cases have been confirmed in Italy, and 1,501 cases have been confirmed in Iran at this point. Of course by the time you actually read this article those numbers are likely to be significantly higher. It is like we are watching a really bad Hollywood disaster movie play out right in front of our eyes, and so far every effort to contain this virus has failed. On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci stunned many people when he told NBC News that COVID-19 has likely reached “pandemic proportions”…
News of the additional deaths came after Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC News on Monday that the disease had likely reached ‘pandemic proportions’ as 100 cases were confirmed across the U.S.
‘We’re dealing with an evolving situation. We’re dealing with clearly an emerging infectious disease that has now reached outbreak proportions and likely pandemic proportions,’ Dr Fauci said. ‘If you look at multiple definitions of what a pandemic is… multiple sustained transmissions of of a highly infectious agent in multiple regions of the globe.’
Dr. Fauci is definitely not an alarmist, and for him to use the word “pandemic” is a major red flag.
Last week a lot of people were pointing out that not a single American had died from this virus yet, but now six victims have died in the state of Washington alone…
Four more people have died of the coronavirus in Washington state, raising the death toll in the state and the nation to six, health officials said Monday.
Jeffrey Duchin, a health officer in King County and Seattle, said at a news conference Monday that five of the deaths were people from King County and one was from Snohomish County, north of Seattle.
If you live in the Seattle area, you need to understand that you are in the middle of a crisis zone. As I discussed yesterday, it is likely that the virus has been circulating in that region for weeks, and each day the number of potential carriers will only get higher.
“To increase your chances of staying healthy, avoid crowded settings if possible,” King County Public Health said on Twitter. “Especially if you are over 60, or have other chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or a weakened immune system.”
There’s particular concern about the spread of the virus in nursing homes. One such facility, Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, said in a statement that one of its residents and one of its associates have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The center is banning visitors for now.
And this doesn’t mean that you will need to change your behavior for a few days or even a few weeks.
At a minimum, if you live in the Seattle area you are going to want to avoid crowded settings for the next several months.
Of course it is just a matter of time before other major cities are facing similar outbreaks. In recent days the number of states with confirmed cases has grown quite a bit larger…
Arizona – 1
California – 20
Florida – 2
Illinois – 4
Massachusetts – 1
New York – 1
Oregon – 3
Rhode Island – 2
Washington state – 18 (includes 6 fatalities)
Wisconsin – 1
Unfortunately, this list probably only represents the very small tip of a very large iceberg. Up until just recently, the CDC was mandating that the only people that should be tested are those that have traveled to China or those that have had close contact with a known victim. By using such restrictive criteria, the number of Americans being tested was kept extremely low, and a lot of infected people slipped through the cracks.
Now this virus has escaped containment, and authorities are telling us that “community spread” is inevitable all over the United States.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues to sweep across much of the rest of the planet like wildfire.
AN adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died of coronavirus, state media reported today.
Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, died in hospital in Tehran as the pariah nation reels from a worsening outbreak that has left several senior officials in hospital.
But despite the fact that the number of confirmed cases in Iran is escalating at an exponential rate, and despite the fact that dozens of Iranians have already died, many Iranians continue to engage in the practice of “kissing and licking Shi’ite shrines throughout the country”…
Videos spreading on social media are showing Iranians kissing and licking Shi’ite shrines throughout the country as many call to close the shrines amid a severe coronavirus outbreak in the Islamic Republic.
The epicenter of the outbreak in Iran, Qom, is a religious city home to several shrines. The shrines remain open as some reports place the death toll in Iran in the hundreds.
Can you believe that?
We live at a time when it seems like much of the world has gone nuts. Most people believe whatever they feel like believing, and most people do whatever they feel like doing. But there are always consequences for our actions, and I have a feeling that this virus is going to spread particularly rapidly in the Middle East.
Here in the United States, it appears that this outbreak is far more extensive than we are being told. As the U.S. starts to finally ramp up testing, it is inevitable that a lot more existing cases will be found. In fact, in just a little while I will be posting an article on End Of The American Dream about an ER doctor in New York that is claiming that there is “going to be thousands” of confirmed cases inside this country by next week.
I don’t think that it is going to happen quite that rapidly, but it appears to be inevitable that the number of cases is going to be steadily rising.
This is not a drill. This is an exceedingly dangerous virus that is killing people all over the planet, and we need to prepare for a scenario in which this crisis could extend for many months or even for several years.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
The CDC has announced that there is a newly confirmed coronavirus case in northern California, and authorities have no idea how the victim was exposed to the virus. This particular individual had not traveled to a foreign country lately and also had not had any contact with a known infected patient. In other words, it appears that this individual was infected by someone that the CDC does not know about yet. As soon as this news dropped, financial markets started freaking out and there was an explosion of speculation on social media. Have the efforts to contain the coronavirus in the United States failed? And if people are going this crazy even though not a single American has died from this virus yet, what is going to happen if people start dropping dead in the streets?
The global tipping point we have been waiting for has now arrived. The number of new coronavirus cases outside of China is now surpassing the number of new coronavirus cases being reported inside China each day, and this virus continues to pop up in even more countries. On Wednesday alone, Norway, Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, Pakistan and Brazil all reported their very first cases. In fact, the case in Brazil was the very first to be reported in all of South America.
But most Americans don’t care too much about what is going on in the rest of the world. What they do care about is what is happening within our own borders, and a lot of people are extremely concerned that there is now a confirmed case of “unknown” origin in northern California…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday confirmed an infection in California that would represent the first U.S. person to contract the virus despite not visiting a foreign country recently or coming in contact with an infected patient.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” the CDC said in a statement. “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States. Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
This announcement came just one day after Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC warned that the U.S. should get prepared for a widespread outbreak of this virus…
Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday the agency expects a sustained transmission of the virus and called for businesses, schools and communities to brace themselves and plan for potential outbreaks.
Also on Tuesday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency even though there were no publicly confirmed cases in San Francisco at the time…
“Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step up preparedness,” Breed said. “We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
Is it possible that they already knew about this case of “unknown” origin in northern California on Tuesday?
And could it be possible that there are already many more cases that have not been publicly announced yet?
I understand that one of their top priorities is to keep the public calm, but the American people deserve to know if they are at risk of potentially catching a very deadly virus.
We have already seen how rapidly this virus can spread. A week ago, there were hardly any confirmed cases in South Korea, and now there are 1,595.
Italy now has 400 cases — the largest outbreak outside Asia. And the virus is spreading across Europe, with several countries reporting their first cases, including Norway, Romania, Georgia, and North Macedonia. Many European countries are now implementing emergency measures, with Italy effectively placing 100,000 under quarantine with travel restrictions.
But as this virus continues to spread all over the planet, what are we going to do to try to contain it?
After all, we can’t exactly quarantine the entire world.
On Wednesday, President Trump continued to insist that this coronavirus outbreak is “under control”…
Trump has repeatedly downplayed the coronavirus threat, saying it was “under control.”
“The people are getting better. They’re all getting better,” Trump said Tuesday. “I think that whole situation will start working out. A lot of talent, a lot of brainpower is being put behind it.”
Hopefully his very optimistic assessment is 100 percent correct.
Hopefully this outbreak will start to fade when warmer weather arrives, and hopefully we won’t even be talking about it by the time the election rolls around in November.
But here’s one forecast that caught our eyes from The Atlantic. It is titled, “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus.” That piece quotes extensively a Harvard epidemiologist. The article describes him as a cautious professional, the kind of person who carefully considers every word and then backs it with data.
What the professor told the magazine is this: “I think the likely outcome is the coronavirus will ultimately not be containable.” He went on to predict that in the next year 40 to 70 percent of the people on Earth will be infected with coronavirus.
If his projection is accurate, tens of millions will die.
So let us hope that he is dead wrong.
And Zero Hedge has just reported on a brand new study that was just released that has discovered that this coronavirus has “an ‘HIV-like mutation’ which allows it to bind with human cells up to 1,000 times stronger than the Sars virus”…
While mainstream scientists continue to perform mental gymnastics to insist that the new coronavirus wasn’t man-made, new research from scientists in China and Europe reveal that the disease happens to have an ‘HIV-like mutation’ which allows it to bind with human cells up to 1,000 times stronger than the Sars virus, according to SCMP.
Recall that at the end of January, a team of Indian scientists wrote in a now-retracted, scandalous paper claiming that the coronavirus may have been genetically engineered to incorporate parts of the HIV genome, writing “This uncanny similarity of novel inserts in the 2019- nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature,” meaning – it was unlikely to have occurred naturally.
Fast forward to new research by a team from Nankai University, which writes that COV-19 has an ‘HIV-like mutation’ that allows it to quickly enter the human body by binding with a receptor called ACE2 on a cell membrane.
If this information is accurate, that would help to explain why this virus spreads at lightning speed once it hits a particular area.
At this moment, you might not have any confirmed cases in your area.
But by this time next week you could potentially have a thousand people walking around with the virus in your community.
So use the time that you have now to make preparations, because in the not too distant future you might be avoiding going out in public as much as possible.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Is a widespread coronavirus outbreak inside the United States inevitable? After weeks of generally optimistic statements, officials are now warning us to prepare for the worst. Over the past several days we have seen the number of confirmed cases outside of China escalate dramatically, and this has really rattled global financial markets. After being down more than 1,000 points on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell another 879 points on Tuesday. U.S. stocks have lost more than 1.7 trillion dollars in value in just two days. Much more importantly, a wave of tremendous panic is starting to sweep across America, and it looks like this crisis is just getting started.
Usually officials at the CDC choose their words very carefully so that they do not needlessly alarm the public. With that in mind, I would like for you to consider three statements that the CDC’s Dr. Nancy Messonnier made about a potential outbreak inside the United States during a press conference on Tuesday…
#1 “It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen.”
The CDC outlined what schools and businesses will likely need to do if the COVID-19 virus becomes an epidemic outbreak in the U.S. Schools should consider dividing students into smaller groups or close and use “internet-based tele-schooling,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call. “For adults, businesses can replace in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and increase teleworking options,” Messonnier said.
On a temporary basis such measures would not be too disruptive, but what if this virus just keeps spreading month after month?
We are potentially facing a scenario that is truly unprecedented, and it is becoming increasingly clear that officials have lost confidence that they will be able to contain this virus. In fact, one former U.S. official told USA Today that “the horse is out of the barn”…
Dennis Carroll, former director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Global Health Security and Development Unit, credited China’s “extraordinary control measures” with delaying the spread of the virus. But he said avoiding a pandemic is “very unlikely.”
“The dramatic uptick of cases in South Korea, Iran and Italy are reflective of a self-sustaining spreading of the virus,” Carroll, who now leads the Global Virome Project science cooperative, told USA TODAY. “And a clear message that the horse is out of the barn.”
At this point there are still only a few dozen confirmed cases in the United States, but authorities are bracing for the worst. If you can believe it, San Francisco Mayor London Breed just declared a state of emergency because of this virus…
Mayor London Breed declared a local emergency in San Francisco Tuesday amid the coronavirus outbreak, despite there being no confirmed cases among the city’s residents.
“Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step-up preparedness,” Breed said in a statement. “We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
And after being quite apathetic about this outbreak at first, people all over America are suddenly realizing that they should be preparing for a potential pandemic.
In fact, Silicon Valley investor Geoff Lewis created quite a stir when he asked for advice on stockpiling food. The following is the question that he posted on Twitter that caused so much of an uproar…
If one were hypothetically stockpiling four months of shelf stable food, what would folks recommend (optimizing for keto friendly)?
We haven’t seen anything like this in the United States in a very long time.
But we haven’t even had a single death from this virus in our country yet. How crazed will people get when victims start dropping dead in the streets like they have been in Wuhan?
There is now talk that the IOC could potentially cancel or postpone the Olympic Games in Tokyo. At one time such talk would have seemed crazy, but this is how serious this outbreak has become.
In Iran, the number of confirmed cases has now jumped to 95, although many people believe that the true number is far, far higher.
During a press conference on Monday, Iran’s deputy health minister attempted to downplay the seriousness of this outbreak, but on Tuesday we learned that he has been infected too…
Iran’s deputy health minister said he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is in self-quarantine at his home just a day after he appeared at a news conference in Tehran where he sought to quell fears about the outbreak. Iraj Harirchi, the head of Iran’s counter-coronavirus task force, announced the illness in a video online while vowing that authorities would continue working to control the spread.
Apparently not wanting to be outdone, one of the officials in South Korea that was overseeing the response to this outbreak decided to jump off a bridge…
But in Seoul took on a more morbid tone Tuesday following reports in the local press that a civil servant from the Ministry of Justice’s Emergency Safety Planning Office jumped off a bridge in Seoul at around 5 am local time Tuesday.
The official was one of several individuals charged with overseeing the government’s response to the virus. As cases soar and hysteria mounts, we suspect this news won’t exactly help quiet the public’s nerves.
Suicide is never the answer to anything, and we should all be praying for that man’s family.
Over in Italy, the number of confirmed cases has surpassed 300 to 322, while the number of dead climbed to 10, according to Italian emergency chief Angelo Borrelli, who said the newly deceased were over the age of 80. That’s up from just 20 confirmed cases on Friday.
Newly deceased were over 80 years old, says at press conference in Rome Tuesday. The new infections include three cases in southern Sicily region, Italian Civil Protection official Borrelli said.
All of a sudden, people all over Europe are wanting to avoid Italians because of the potential of catching the virus. In most cases that fear is irrational, but we do know that an Italian just spread the virus to a hotel in Spain’s Canary Islands…
Hundreds of staff and tourists staying at a hotel in Spain’s Canary Islands were put under lockdown on Tuesday, El Pais newspaper reported. One person who had stayed at the establishment was later found to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
I lived in Italy for a few years as a child, and I have a great love for the country.
It is so sad to watch what is happening over there, but the same things are going to start happening here. In fact, Dr. Messonnier has told the public that now is the time “to begin preparing” for a massive outbreak…
“People are concerned about this situation – I would say rightfully so,” Messonnier said. “But we are putting our concerns to work preparing. Now is the time for businesses, hospitals, communities, schools and everyday people to begin preparing as well.”
If you do prepare and all of this turns out to be a false alarm, at least you will be ready for the next crisis that is coming.
But if you don’t do anything to prepare and things get really, really bad, it could end up costing you dearly.
If this virus starts spreading across the United States like wildfire, you and your family will want to minimize contact with the public as much as possible. So stock up on the things you will need now, because when things start getting really crazy the stores will be cleaned out very quickly.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
U.S. government officials are doing their best to keep the general population calm, but everyone can see what is happening in the rest of the world. There are now empty store shelves in Italy just like there are in China. People are waiting in extremely long lines to buy masks in South Korea just like we saw in Hong Kong. And victims are literally collapsing in public in Iran just like we witnessed in Wuhan. This coronavirus outbreak is rapidly becoming a true global pandemic, and the panic that this has caused on Wall Street resulted in a 1,031 point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday. Fear is rising all over the planet, and many believe that it is just a matter of time before the same things that are happening elsewhere start happening here.
Originally, 99 percent of the confirmed cases were in China, but now the rest of the globe is starting to catch up.
In fact, the number of confirmed cases outside of China has gotten more than 10 times larger over the last three weeks.
If we continue to see that sort of exponential growth we will soon be facing a nightmare of epic proportions.
In Italy, the number of confirmed cases went from a handful to 229 in just a matter of days. Authorities are desperate to stop this sudden outbreak, and so at this point much of northern Italy is being shut down…
Checkpoints block entry to a dozen towns across northern Italy. Milan’s landmark cathedral and opera house lie empty. Venice’s Carnival was ordered closed two days early. Schools are shuttered, soccer matches called off.
Realizing that they may have to stay home for an extended period of time, many in northern Italy have been “panic buying” food…
People in several regions of Italy have reacted to coronavirus spreading throughout the country by panic buying, leaving some store shelves empty.
With 165 people infected, Italy has the most coronavirus victims out of any country in Europe. Five people have died.
Footage out of Milan shot yesterday shows some products almost or entirely out of stock.
Once this virus starts spreading rapidly inside the United States, the same thing will start happening here.
So you might want to take this opportunity to stock up on the things you will need while you still can.
In South Korea, the number of confirmed cases has now risen to 833, and the national government has raised the alert level to the highest possible level…
Meanwhile, South Korea reported another spike in new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing its total to 833 cases with seven deaths. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has raised the national alert level for the virus to “highest,” the first time the country has done so in 11 years.
Just like we have seen elsewhere in Asia, demand for face masks is off the charts. In fact, at one South Korean store there were literally “hundreds of people” lined up around the block to buy masks…
Aerial footage shows hundreds of people lining up around the block to buy face masks in Daegu as most of the new South Korean cases of coronavirus were traced to the city.
Here in the U.S., there will come a point where masks are not available for the general public at all if this outbreak gets bad enough.
So if you think that you may need masks, you should grab them now while you still can.
The other day my wife checked our local Home Depot, and there were only a few left on the shelves. They are still available in most areas, but supplies are definitely getting tighter.
CORONAVIRUS has claimed the lives of “50 people” in just one single Iranian city, a politician has claimed, accusing the government of covering up the true seriousness of the outbreak.
And one expert in infectious diseases has suggested the country could become a “hotspot” for “seeding” countries outside Iran with the virus, officially known as Covid-19. The Iranian Government this morning put the total number of deaths for the entire country at 12 – but Ahmad Amirabadi Farhani, a Parliamentary representative for the city of Qom, insisted the true figure was many times higher. The semi-official ILNA news agency reported Mr Farhani as saying: “Up until last night, around 50 people died from coronavirus. The health minister is to blame.”
Is that true?
Have approximately 50 people already died in Iran?
If that is accurate, that is an extremely ominous sign.
This certainly has the potential to become a truly horrifying global pandemic, and the World Health Organization is warning that the world is “not ready for a major outbreak”…
As new cases of the coronavirus spiked on two continents, the World Health Organization warned on Monday that the world was not ready for a major outbreak, even as it praised China’s aggressive efforts to wrest the epidemic under control.
After two weeks on the ground in China, a team sent by the W.H.O. concluded that the draconian measures China imposed a month ago may have saved hundreds of thousands of people from infection. Such measures — sealing off cities, shutting down businesses and schools, ordering people to remain indoors — have provoked anger in China and could be difficult to replicate in democratic countries with a greater emphasis on protecting civil liberties.
Despite all of the measures that have been taken to control the spread of this virus, it just continues to pop up in more areas around the globe.
In an article entitled You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus, the Atlantic explains how the coronavirus is particularly dangerous because it may cause cause no symptoms at all in many carriers of the infection.
According to Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch, this contributes to his prediction that coronavirus “will ultimately not be containable.”
“Lipsitch predicts that, within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19,” reports the Atlantic.
If that projection ends up being accurate, the death toll will be in the millions.
We should truly hope that Lipsitch and the other experts that are warning of imminent doom are dead wrong.
But we would also be exceedingly foolish to completely ignore their warnings.
These scientists have been studying infectious diseases throughout their entire careers, and now they are telling us that the next great global pandemic has arrived.
If that is true, all of our lives are about to change in a major way.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
We just witnessed the third largest single day point drop in U.S. stock market history, and experts are warning that things will only get worse if this coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a whopping 1,031 points, and it looks like there could be more volatility on Tuesday. In fact, the Nikkei is already down 787 points as I write this article. Of course this sudden decline is being mostly driven by fear of the coronavirus. The rapid spread of the virus in South Korea, Italy and Iran over the weekend really rattled investors, and there was a rush to sell stocks when the markets opened on Monday morning. And the worse this pandemic becomes, the lower stock prices are going to go.
You see, the truth is that stock prices are primarily based on what investors believe the future is going to look like.
For a long time, investors have assumed that the future would be exceedingly bright, and stock prices have steadily trended upwards.
But a coronavirus pandemic changes everything. If worldwide economic activity comes to a standstill like we are already seeing happen in China, it is inevitable that there will be a very serious global economic downturn.
And this outbreak comes at a time when stock prices have been more overvalued than they have ever been before in American history. Most stocks have been priced “beyond perfection”, and so it was just a matter of time before those prices started to fall.
As I have explained many times before, stock prices tend to fall much faster than they rise, and the rapid decline on Monday was quite breathtaking…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,031.61 points lower, or 3.56%, at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 slid 3.35% to 3,225.89 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 3.71% lower at 9,221.28. It was the Dow’s biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up its gain for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and wiped out its year-to-date gain as well.
Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet collectively lost more than $250 billion in value as part of a broader market plunge. The tech companies make up nearly one-fifth of the value of the S&P 500, which itself is down more than 3.6%. Apple has the largest exposure to China, as it relies heavily on Chinese manufacturing plants for its top products and on Chinese consumers to buy iPhones.
Of course stock prices were so ridiculously inflated that the markets can easily absorb what happened on Monday.
What really matters is what happens next.
If U.S. authorities can keep this virus from spreading widely here in the United States, the impact on our economy won’t be that dramatic.
But if there is a widespread outbreak, all bets are off. More than a decade ago, the CBO conducted a study which examined this sort of a scenario, and what they discovered is definitely alarming…
CBO did a study in 2005 and 2006, modeling the impact of a 1918-sized flu pandemic on the economy. They found that a pandemic “could produce a short-run impact on the worldwide economy similar in depth and duration to that of an average postwar recession in the United States.” Specifically, a severe pandemic could reduce U.S. gross domestic product by about 4.5%, followed by a sharp rebound.
The CBO assumed that 90 million people in the U.S. would get sick, and 2 million would die. There would also be demand-side effects, with an 80% decline in the arts and entertainment industries and a 67% decline in transportation. Retail and manufacturing would drop 10%.
Personally, I think that those numbers are probably too optimistic.
In China, people are deathly afraid to leave their homes right now, and that has caused economic activity to come to a crashing halt.
In fact, during the first portion of this month vehicle sales in China were down 92 percent…
As The Epoch Times reported late last week, for example, sales of Chinese passenger vehicles has tanked a whopping 92 percent “on an annual basis the first 16 days of February,” according to the China Passenger Car Association.
Sales of passenger vehicles only amounted to 4,909 units during the first 16 days of the month, the organization reported, which fell from 59,930 vehicles sold over the same period a year ago. These are the first figures to demonstrate just how hard the Wuhan coronavirus is hitting the world’s largest auto market.
Up until now, the financial markets have been mostly overlooking the fact that the second biggest economy on the entire planet has been imploding because of this virus.
I think that many investors were assuming that this outbreak was just a temporary phenomenon, but now reality is starting to set in…
“The second-largest economy in the world is completely shut down. People aren’t totally pricing that in,” said Larry Benedict, CEO of The Opportunistic Trader, adding a 10% to 15% correction in stocks may be starting. He also said some parts of the market, particularly large-cap tech stocks, appear to be over-owned. “It seems like there’s much more to come.”
Hopefully U.S. stocks will bounce back on Tuesday. Following a decline of the magnitude that we just witnessed, that is often what happens.
And President Trump is certainly doing his best to keep everyone feeling optimistic. The following is what he tweeted on Monday…
The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!
Hopefully President Trump is correct.
And hopefully he is also correct when he claims that this pandemic will start to subside once warmer weather arrives.
But so far this mysterious new coronavirus is winning the battle, and investors all over the globe are really starting to freak out.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Many were hoping that this coronavirus outbreak would begin to subside, but instead we witnessed an explosion of newly confirmed cases over the weekend. In fact, the number of confirmed cases outside of China has doubled over the past five days. If that number continues to double very rapidly, authorities will be talking about a full-blown “global pandemic” in no time. When I watched a victim suddenly collapse and start to twitch on a subway in Hong Kong, I thought about the sort of panic that would set off if that happened in New York. When I saw a video of Chinese authorities using butterfly nets to capture sick people, it made me wonder what U.S. authorities might do to round up those that are ill. The level of fear that a full-blown pandemic would cause would transform our society overnight. Even now, Chinese restaurants in Canada are completely empty due to concerns about catching this virus. But once this virus is being spread in virtually every city in North America, many of us won’t want to go anywhere at all, and that would bring economic activity to a complete and utter standstill.
For a while, it seemed like this outbreak was almost entirely a Chinese problem, and most Americans were not too alarmed about it. But over the weekend the rapid spread of the virus in South Korea, Italy and Iran spooked financial markets and mainstream news outlets in the U.S. started publishing stories about this outbreak with very alarming headlines.
And those alarming headlines are justified, because experts are telling us that we could very well be on the verge of a horrifying global pandemic…
“We are at a turning point in the Covid-19 epidemic,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University. “We must prepare for the foreseeable possibility, even probability, that Covid-19 may soon become a pandemic affecting countries on virtually all continents.”
Once this virus starts to spread in a community, the number of cases can explode within hours. For example, the number of confirmed cases in South Korea went from 30 to 602 in just 96 hours…
Confirmed infections in South Korea have exploded over the last 96 hours from just 30 cases to 602 confirmed cases. Local residents there are scrambling to purchase preparedness supplies, stripping shelves bare and leading to a sense of urgency. Some cities in South Korea have already taken on a “ghost town” vibe, with streets emptied and nearly all community functions shut down.
And as I write this article, the number of confirmed cases in South Korea has now shot up to 763. By the time you read this article, it will probably be even higher.
In Italy, officials said a third person infected with the flu-like virus had died, while the number of cases jumped to above 150 from just three before Friday.
Authorities sealed off the worst affected towns and banned public gatherings in much of the north, including halting the carnival in Venice, where there were two cases, to try to contain the biggest outbreak in Europe.
Alarmingly, Italian officials can’t even figure out how the virus got to Italy in the first place, and then have now placed “almost a dozen towns” under quarantine…
Italian health authorities were struggling to find out how the virus started. “If we cannot find ‘patient zero’ then it means the virus is even more ubiquitous than we thought,” said Luca Zaia, the regional governor of the wealthy Veneto region.
Almost a dozen towns in Lombardy and Veneto with a combined population of some 50,000 have effectively been placed under quarantine.
This morning I went to take a look at the Serie A results from over the weekend, and I was particularly interested in seeing how Atalanta had done after their stirring Champions League victory last week. Unfortunately, their game was among three matches that were called off due to the virus…
On orders from the government, the Italian league games that were set to be played today – Inter Milan v Sampdoria, Atalanta v Sassuolo and Hellas Verona v Cagliari – were called off.
However three other matches in Genoa, Turin and Rome on Sunday were allowed to go ahead as scheduled with many fans wearing facemasks while sitting in the stands.
This is basically the equivalent of cancelling NFL games in the United States. It is something that simply does not happen under normal circumstances.
But these are not normal times.
There has also been an eruption of cases in Iran, and five of their confirmed cases have already died…
Very quickly, the country’s narrative about the virus has changed. Schools and universities across the country are being shuttered as a “preventive measure,” along with some cinemas and restaurants, according to Al Jazeera.
So now we can’t just try to isolate ourselves from China and assume that everything is going to be okay.
This virus has already spread all over the world, and that means that it could come into the United States from almost any direction.
Of course China continues to be the epicenter of this outbreak. According to Epoch Times reporter Jennifer Zeng, there are tens of thousands of people in the hospitals in Wuhan, and crematoriums continue to burn bodies 24 hours a day…
50-60 K people in hospitals in #Wuhan, out of 18 cremators at a crematorium, 3 were burned out due to overuse. Other 15 in operation 24/7. Many families died out.
Here in the United States, we only have 35 confirmed cases so far, and many have been wondering why that number has stayed so low.
Well, perhaps it is because the CDC has only tested 414 people so far…
Given the tens of thousands of Chinese nationals entering the United States of America every month, the thousands of Chinese students and the many thousands of residents who are under “observation” by state health authorities in places like Washington and California, a reasonable person might expect that the CDC has so far tested at least 10,000 people for the CoVid-19 coronavirus. But guess how many the CDC has actually tested?
To the great shock of anyone paying attention, the CDC’s own website admits the agency has tested only 414 people in the entire country.
As I discussed the other day, there are thousands upon thousands of people currently under “self-quarantine” in the United States.
Why have the vast majority of them not been tested?
And it looks like the quarantine period being used in the U.S. and in much of the rest of the world may be way too short.
A Chinese pensioner who took 27 days to show coronavirus symptoms has sparked fears that a 14-day quarantine is two weeks too short.
The 70-year-old man was infected with the killer virus in China’s Hubei Province and showed symptoms nearly four weeks later, the local government said on Saturday.
So we may be releasing countless numbers of potentially sick people back into the general population way too early.
This is a nightmare that is getting worse with each passing day, and if this turns into a true global pandemic the impact on the global economy is going to be off the charts.
We can get an idea of where things could be heading by taking a look at what is already happening inside China. Small businesses all over the nation are rapidly running out of cash, and in just a matter of weeks virtually all of them will be out of cash. The following comes from Zero Hedge…
Let’s start with Chinese businesses: while China’s giant state-owned SOEs will likely have enough of a liquidity lifeblood to last them for 2-3 quarters, it is the country’s small businesses that are facing a head on collision with an iceberg, because according to the Nikkei, over 85% of small businesses – which employ 80% of China’s population – expect to run out of cash within three months, and a third expect the cash to be all gone within a month.
Should this happen, not only will China’s economy collapse, but China’s $40 trillion financial system will disintegrate, as it is suddenly flooded with trillions in bad loans.
Now try to imagine what that might look like on a global scale.
We have never dealt with something like this in the post-World War II era, and there is still so much about this virus that is not known.
Personally, I am still hoping that this outbreak will start to fizzle out once warmer weather arrives. But so far nothing seems to be able to slow this virus down, and it appears that a “tipping point” has now arrived.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Global food production is being hit from seemingly every side. Thanks to absolutely crazy weather patterns, giant locust armies in Africa and the Middle East, and an unprecedented outbreak of African Swine Fever in China, a lot less food is being produced around the world than originally anticipated. Even during the best of years we really struggle to feed everyone on the planet, and so a lot of people are wondering what is going to happen as global food supplies become tighter and tighter. The mainstream media in the United States is so obsessed with politics right now that they haven’t been paying much attention to this emerging crisis, but the truth is that this growing nightmare is only going to intensify in the months ahead.
In Australia, conditions have been extremely hot and extremely dry, and that helped to fuel the horrific wildfires that we recently witnessed.
And everyone knew that agricultural production in Australia was going to be disappointing this year, but it turns out that it is actually going to be the worst ever recorded…
Australia’s hottest and driest year on record has slashed crop production, with summer output expected to fall to the lowest levels on record, according to official projections released Tuesday.
The country’s agriculture department said it expects production of crops like sorghum, cotton and rice to fall 66 percent — the lowest levels since records began in 1980-81.
The continent of Australia is considered to be one of the breadbaskets of the world. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2018/19 Australia exported over 9 million tons of wheat to the rest of the world.
But thanks to relentless crop failures, Australia has started to import wheat, and that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
So instead of helping to feed the rest of the world, Australia is now relying on the rest of us to help feed them.
And what is happening this year didn’t just barely break the old records. In fact, one senior economist says that this will be the worst summer crop production the country has ever seen “by a large margin”…
“It is the lowest summer crop production in this period by a large margin,” Peter Collins, a senior economist with the department’s statistical body ABARES told AFP.
Of course if the rest of the world was doing great we could certainly survive a downturn in Australia.
Unfortunately, that is definitely not the case.
Right now, billions upon billions of locusts are voraciously devouring farms in eastern Africa and the Middle East. As I detailed the other day, giant armies of locusts the size of large cities are traveling up to 100 miles per day as they search for food. When they descend on a farm, all the crops can be consumed literally within 30 seconds. It is a nightmare of epic proportions, and UN officials are telling us that this crisis is only going to get worse over the next couple of months.
In Uganda, the army has been called out to help fight this locust plague, but it is making very little difference…
Under a warm morning sun scores of weary soldiers stare as millions of yellow locusts rise into the northern Ugandan sky, despite hours spent spraying vegetation with chemicals in an attempt to kill them.
From the tops of shea trees, fields of pea plants and tall grass savanna, the insects rise in a hypnotic murmuration, disappearing quickly to wreak devastation elsewhere.
The most effective way of fighting these locust swarms is to spray insecticide on them from the air, but even that only produces very limited results.
However, at least it is better than doing nothing.
The UN is trying to raise a lot more money to get more planes into the air, because if nothing is done the number of locusts “could grow up to 500 times by June”…
The U.N. has said $76 million is needed immediately. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Ethiopia said the U.S. would donate another $8 million to the effort. That follows an earlier $800,000.
The number of overall locusts could grow up to 500 times by June, when drier weather begins, experts have said. Until then, the fear is that more rains in the coming weeks will bring fresh vegetation to feed a new generation of the voracious insects.
Meanwhile, China has been dealing with the worst outbreak of African Swine Fever in history.
African Swine Fever does not affect humans, but it sweeps through herds of pigs like wildfire. There is no vaccine, there is no cure, and once African Swine Fever starts infecting pigs in a certain area the only thing that can be done is to kill the rest of the pigs to keep it from spreading anywhere else.
Unfortunately, China has not been able to get this outbreak under control, and the losses have been staggering.
According to the New York Times, the number of pigs that have been wiped out in China already is equivalent to “nearly one-quarter of all the world’s pigs”…
But of course China is not the only one dealing with African Swine Fever.
In fact, cases of African Swine Fever have now been identified “in 50 countries”, and U.S. pig farmers are deathly afraid of what would happen if this disease starts spreading here.
As a result of this crisis, pork prices in China have gone through the roof, and many families are no longer able to eat pork at all.
Never before in the modern era have we seen so many major threats to global food production emerge simultaneously.
There are more than 7 billion people living on our planet today, and we need to be able to grow enough food to feed everyone.
If we aren’t able to do that, food prices will start to get really high, and people in the poorest areas simply will not have enough food to feed their families.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
The more scientists study this new coronavirus, the more alarming it becomes. When this outbreak first emerged, officials told us that it was very unlikely that it could be transmitted from human to human. When that was shown to be obviously wrong, officials started claiming that human to human transmission would be “limited” like we saw during the SARS epidemic. Of course that was completely wrong too, and now we know that this new coronavirus actually spreads like wildfire among human populations, and that is because it is much different from the SARS virus. In fact, brand new research conducted by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin has discovered that this coronavirus “is up to 20 times more likely to bind to human cell receptors”…
The deadly new coronavirus is up to 20 times more likely to bind to human cell receptors and cause infection than severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), a new study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has found.
The novel coronavirus and Sars share the same functional host-cell receptor, called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).
According to this new study, the “high affinity of 2019-nCoV S for human ACE2 may contribute to the apparent ease with which 2019-nCoV can spread from human to human”, and that statement should definitely send a chill down your spine.
The speed with which this virus spreads has been absolutely stunning, and the latest numbers that we have indicate that it has a reproduction rate which is almost unprecedented. The following comes from Natural News…
The reproduction rate (R0) of the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) – meaning the number of other people that one infected person could potentially spread it to – has been steadily rising over the past several months. Early on, it was in the 1.0-2.0 range. Then, it changed to as high as 6.6. Now, the latest science says we’ve breached 7.05.
What this means is that one infected person could spread the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) to seven other people, who could then each spread it to seven other people themselves. In other words, one infected person infects seven other people, who then collectively infect 49 other people, who then infect 343 other people, who then infect 2,401 people, and on and on it goes.
And even if you get this virus and eventually recover, there is a chance that you could get it again fairly quickly…
Li QinGyuan, director of pneumonia prevention and treatment at China Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, said a protective antibody is generated in those who are infected.
“However, in certain individuals, the antibody cannot last that long,” Li said. “For many patients who have been cured, there is a likelihood of relapse.”
Needless to say, all of the information that I have just shared with you is really bad news.
This is an exceedingly dangerous virus, and the potential for a horrific global pandemic is definitely there.
But Chinese President Xi Jinping insists that the outbreak is slowing down in his country and that his government “is witnessing positive changes”…
Xi said, “the battle has reached a crucial time” and China had “mobilized the entire country, and adopted the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough prevention and control measures,” Xinhua reported.
“Thanks to those arduous efforts, the situation is witnessing positive changes,” Xi said.
Hopefully he is correct, but at this point there is a tremendous amount of skepticism about the official numbers coming out of China. In fact, even the White House has expressed skepticism about the numbers.
It would definitely be welcome news if the Chinese were actually getting this outbreak under control, but if that is the case then why did they just bring 40 industrial incinerators into Wuhan?…
China has reportedly deployed 40 industrial incinerators to the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak Wuhan.
Chinese media reports that the furnaces have been shipped to the city amid ongoing fears the death toll is being covered up.
NTD reports that the cabins are for the disposal of animal carcasses, while China Ship news reports the incinerators are for medical waste.
We know that funerals have been banned in the affected areas and that the government is mandating that all bodies be burned.
And we also know that dead bodies have been piling up at crematoriums in Wuhan even though they have been burning bodies 24 hours a day.
So are these industrial incinerators being brought in to help burn the backlog of dead bodies?
We don’t know, but that is what a lot of people suspect.
Meanwhile, this outbreak continues to escalate all over the globe. Just a few hours ago, we learned that the number of confirmed cases in South Korea has risen to 46…
The number of coronavirus cases in South Korea rose to 46 on Wednesday, after 15 new cases were reported, including a cluster of nearly a dozen centred on the southeastern city of Daegu.
Of the new cases, 13 were in Daegu and neighbouring North Gyeongsang province, said the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), and eleven were believed to be linked to a single patient, a 61-year-old woman.
And I was quite surprised to learn that Iran has reported two deaths due to the coronavirus…
The 2 Iranians who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 have died, according to several foreign media reports cited by Reuters.
As we reported earlier, a health ministry spokesperson said both cases were found and isolated in the city of Qom, where the two were treated in quarantine. Their conditions were said to be relatively stable earlier.
There are very few areas of the globe that have not been hit yet, and the number of cases outside of China continues to rise at an exponential rate.
Here in the United States the number of confirmed cases is still fairly low, but the secrecy with which some officials are treating this outbreak is quite curious. The following example comes from Natural News…
According to the Tampa Bay Times, “state health officials say they can’t disclose how many people have been tested for the virus… state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said the Florida Department of Health is not authorized to publish the number of people in the state being tested for the virus out of privacy concerns.”
But that’s a lie.
Publishing aggregate numbers without any personally identifiable information doesn’t violate any law or regulation related to personal health privacy.
Hopefully those officials are just being overly protective and they aren’t trying to cover something up.
I am still hoping that President Trump is correct and that this outbreak will start to fade once winter ends and warmer temperatures arrive. But all of the scientific research that has been conducted so far indicates that this is an extremely dangerous virus, and we should all be taking this outbreak very seriously.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
Why is the mainstream media so scared of asking difficult questions about this coronavirus outbreak? At one time the United States had the greatest investigative journalists in the entire world, but today it is very rare to see any of our major news outlets go much beyond the basic facts of a story. In particular, the coverage of this coronavirus outbreak has been absolutely abysmal. Other than dutifully repeating the basic information being fed to them by the CDC and the Chinese government, mainstream media coverage of this crisis has amounted to little more than assuring everyone that everything is going to be just fine. As a result, Americans are increasingly turning to independent journalists for some honest coverage of this outbreak, because they know that they aren’t getting the whole truth from the usual suspects.
There is still so much we don’t know about this virus, and very few of our “journalists” are willing to dig deeper to find the answers we need.
The public is hungry for information, and getting to the truth starts with asking the right questions. The following are 10 very important questions that the mainstream media should be asking about this very alarming coronavirus outbreak…
#1 The Washington State Department of Health has announced that 746 people are currently being “monitored” for coronavirus symptoms. Are all 746 being quarantined, or are they being allowed to mix with the general public? According to the agency’s official website, it is unclear what “monitoring their health” actually entails…
The number of people under public health supervision includes those at risk of having been exposed to novel coronavirus who are monitoring their health under the supervision of public health officials. This number includes close contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, as well as people who have returned from China in the past 14 days and are included in federal quarantine guidance.
#2 In Hawaii, a local resident named John Fukiwara recently had very close contact with a Japanese man that later was confirmed to be infected by the coronavirus. After contacting health officials, why was Fukiwara told to “go about his normal day-to-day routine”?…
That said, the Times reporter did manage to find John Fukiwara, a local resident who said he believes the Japanese man is a friend of his whom he would not identify by name. The man recently visited the island and had coffee with Fukiwara before they exchanged gifts of chocolate.
Fukiwara then contacted a local newspaper and then reached out to state health officials, with whom he offered to self-quarantine. But amazingly, state health officials told him to simply go about his normal day-to-day routine and to be sure to report any symptoms.
#3 If this coronavirus outbreak “isn’t that serious”, then why has everyone in Hubei province now been ordered to stay at home until further notice?
The central Chinese province of Hubei escalated its restrictions to contain a coronavirus epidemic on the weekend, ordering the province’s residents – including 24 million people in rural areas – to stay home until further notice.
#4 If this coronavirus outbreak “isn’t that serious”, then why did Russia just ban all Chinese citizens from entering the country?…
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order temporarily banning Chinese citizens from entering Russia for tourism, personal reasons or work starting Thursday, Interfax reported, citing Deputy PM Tatyana Golikova’s office.
#5 Chinese officials have just released data which show that this virus “could be 20 times more lethal than the flu”. Why does hardly anyone in the western world know about this?…
The director of a Chinese hospital at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak became one of its victims Tuesday despite “all-out” efforts to save his life, Chinese health officials said.
The death came the same day Chinese officials released data indicating the new virus could be 20 times more lethal than the flu.
#6 Why is this virus killing 15 percent of all victims that are over the age of 80?…
The deadly coronavirus rapidly sweeping the world kills up to 15 per cent of patients over the age of 80, scientists have revealed.
Chinese health officials carried out the biggest ever study on the never-before-seen strain of the virus, using data from 72,000 cases.
#7 On the flip side, why are so few children being infected by this virus?…
Scientists are still learning about the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 1,384 people and infected more than 64,000 in China. One of the biggest mysteries is why so few children have gotten sick.
The outbreak was first reported on December 31, but no children younger than 15 years old had been diagnosed as of January 22. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine said at the time that “children might be less likely to become infected or, if infected, may show milder symptoms” than adults.
#8 What is this coronavirus outbreak going to mean for the entire global economy? This is something that I have written about repeatedly in recent days, but the mainstream media in the western world continues to insist that this crisis will just be a small bump in the road. Meanwhile, over in India there are warnings that there could be “massive disruptions” and “shortages” if this crisis doesn’t end soon…
Pankaj R. Patel, chairman of Zydus Cadila, said prices of medicine in India have exponentially jumped in the last several weeks, thanks to much of the medicine is sourced from China.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is experiencing massive disruptions that could face shortages starting in April if supplies aren’t replenished in the next couple weeks, Patel warned.
A top health official at the National Institutes of Health acknowledged that the quarantine aboard the coronavirus-infected Diamond Princess Cruises ship failed while discussing the decision to evacuate hundreds of American passengers – 14 of whom tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said the original idea to keep people safely quarantined on the ship wasn’t unreasonable. But even with the quarantine process on the ship, virus transmission still occurred.
#10 The number of confirmed cases outside of China has doubled in less than a week. If the number of cases continues to double every week, how bad will this crisis eventually become?
I’ll answer that one.
If the number of confirmed cases outside of China doubles every week, there will be a million cases just 10 weeks from now.
And once there are a million people with coronavirus walking around all over the planet, nobody is going to be able to “contain” it.
So let us hope that the measures that authorities are currently taking to control the spread of this disease will work.
President Trump believes that this outbreak will start to fizzle when warmer weather arrives, and I truly hope that he is correct.
Because right now this outbreak is getting worse with each passing day, and we definitely aren’t getting good information about this crisis from the mainstream media.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
All of a sudden, really crazy things are starting to happen all over the world. Giant swarms of locusts are absolutely devastating entire regions, extremely unusual storms are confounding meteorologists, earthquake and volcanic activity are both on the rise, and five very dangerous diseases are sweeping across the globe. So far in 2020, it has just been one thing after another, and many are speculating about what could be ahead if events continue to escalate. The other day my wife mentioned that one of her friends suggested that I should put together a list of all the weird stuff that has been taking place, and so that is what I have decided to do. The following is a list of 10 plagues that are hitting our planet simultaneously…
#1 Armies Of Locusts – As I detailed the other day, swarms of locusts the size of major cities have been devouring entire farms in Africa in as little as 30 seconds. These swarms have also been spreading throughout the Middle East, and now we have learned that they have even reached China…
A gigantic swarm of locusts that belong to a plague that has ravaged millions of acres of crops across east Africa has been spotted reaching the Chinese border.
Billions of the insects have destroyed food supplies across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in what has been described as the worst plague for decades.
#2 Extremely Bizarre Weather Patterns – It is almost as if virtually all of the old rules have suddenly been thrown out the window. An all-time record 209 mph wind gust just hit Calfiornia, and absolutely crazy storms are happening all over the planet. For example, just check out what just took place in Australia…
Sydney has been thrown into chaos by a devastating storm that saw two months of rainfall in just two days – forcing mass evacuations, leaving 150,000 homes without power, and prompted warnings not to drive to work. The storm dumped 400mm of rain on the city over the weekend, causing mayhem for commuters on Monday morning with roads blocked, ferries canceled and trains suffering major delays across the network.
#3 Unprecedented Flooding – We are seeing unusual flooding all over the world right now, and the flooding that is devastating the southern U.S. at this moment is being called “unprecedented”…
In Jackson, Mississippi, hundreds of residents either watched their homes flood over the weekend or worried their residence would soon be drenched as the Pearl River crested Monday at 36.8 feet, its third-highest level ever recorded – behind only 1979 and 1983.
Calling the Jackson floods “historic” and “unprecedented,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a Sunday press conference that “we do not anticipate this situation to end anytime soon. It will be days before we are out of the woods and the waters recede.”
#4 Major Earthquakes – Really big earthquakes are happening with such frequency now that it is very difficult for me to write about them all. For example, a magnitude 7.7 quake recently struck off of the coast of Jamaica, but I have been so busy writing about other disasters that I have not even mentioned it until now…
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Tuesday about 80 miles from Jamaica, shaking people in the Caribbean and as far away as Miami.
A tsunami of 0.4 feet was recorded in the Cayman Islands at George Town, but no tsunami was observed at Port Royal, Jamaica, or Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
#5 Unusual Volcanic Eruptions – Seismic activity has been rising all over the globe, and over the past couple of months we have seen volcanoes all over the world pop off like firecrackers. One of the most notable eruptions that we have seen in recent days was the most powerful eruption of Mount Merapi in 90 years…
One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, Mount Merapi just experienced its most powerful eruption since 1930! The eruption reportedly took place on Thursday and was caught on video displaying a powerful and terrifying eruption showing the moment the crater exploded and launched lava and ash an estimated 2,000 meters into the air forcing local residents to stay outside of the designated no-go zone 3km (1.8 miles) from the crater.
#6 The Coronavirus – Needless to say, the coronavirus outbreak in China has been getting more headlines than anything else on this list. The numbers continue to rise, and many are speculating that this could potentially become the worst global pandemic since the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. In a desperate attempt to keep the truth from getting out, the World Health Organization is asking the major social media companies to censor their users…
The World Health Organization has held talks with tech giants to stop the spread of coronavirus “misinformation,” despite the fact that some things once labeled “misinformation” have since turned out to be true.
The meeting was organized by the WHO but hosted by Facebook at its Menlo Park campus in California. Attendees included representatives from Amazon, Twilio, Dropbox, Google, Verizon, Salesforce, Twitter, YouTube, Airbnb, Kinsa and Mapbox.
#7 The African Swine Fever – “Pig Ebola” has already wiped out millions upon millions of pigs in China, and it has now spread to more than 40 other countries. The price of pork is absolutely skyrocketing in China right now, and to help fill the demand the Chinese are increasingly importing pork from U.S. sources…
Tyson Foods Inc. says it’s just starting to see the benefits of the African swine fever outbreak in China, which includes a 600% year-over-year increase in pork orders to China in the fiscal first quarter.
#8 The H1N1 Swine Flu – Unlike the African Swine Fever, the H1N1 Swine Flu can actually kill humans. In fact, it has already killed more people outside of China than the coronavirus outbreak has. For instance, 13 people in Taiwan died from the virus in one recent week alone…
As of now, the H1N1 virus is posing a great threat once again as it has claimed 13 lives in Taiwan in the last week. This virus is highly contagious and is known to spread from human to human. It is especially dangerous for those with a compromised immune system like those suffering from chronic medical conditions and long-term health conditions.
#9 The H5N1 Bird Flu – This strain of the bird flu caused a massive global scare a number of years ago, and now it is experiencing a stunning resurgence. China has had to kill thousands of chickens so far, and experts are warning that this outbreak could be just getting started…
China also is reportedly dealing with an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in chickens in the Hunan province, an area that borders the province where the coronavirus emerged, according to the South China Morning Post.
As of Feb. 1, local authorities had culled 17,828 poultry after the H5NI outbreak, according to a statement by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
#10 The H5N8 Bird Flu – This strain is different from the H5N1 bird flu, but many believe that it is even more frightening. It has started to pop up in numerous places around the globe, and experts were really surprised when it recently made an appearance in Germany…
Germany has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus in a backyard in the southwestern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday.
The virus killed 44 birds out of a flock of 69 in Bretzfeld, in the Baden-Wurttemberg region, the Paris-based OIE said, citing a report from Germany’s food and agriculture ministry.
Can any of you remember a time when we have been hit by crisis after crisis like this all at once?
2020 has certainly started off with quite a bang, and many expect global events to continue to accelerate.
So hold on to your hats, because things are likely to get even crazier in the months ahead.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
