On a tip from Ed Kilbane
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Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Friday, March 13, 2020
The untold story
Coronavirus will bankrupt more people than it kills — and that's the real global emergency
We may look back on coronavirus as the moment when the threads that hold the global economy together came unstuck
Coronavirus’s economic danger is exponentially greater than its health risks to the public. If the virus does directly affect your life, it is most likely to be through stopping you going to work, forcing your employer to make you redundant, or bankrupting your business.
The trillions of dollars wiped from financial markets this week will be just the beginning. Worldwide, Covid-19 has killed 4,389 with 39 US deaths as of today. But it will economically cripple millions, especially since the epidemic has formed a perfect storm with stock market crashes, an oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the spilling over of an actual war in Syria into another potential migrant crisis.
We may look back on coronavirus as the moment when the threads that hold the global economy together came unstuck; and startups and growing businesses could end up paying the price.
Just as important as fighting the virus — if not more important — is vaccinating our economies against the incoming pandemic of panic. Human suffering can come in the form of illness and death. But it can also be experienced as not being able to pay the bills or losing your home.
Small businesses in particular are struggling as supply chains dry up, leaving them without products or essential materials. Factory closures in China have led to a record low in the country’s Purchasing Manager’s Index which measures manufacturing output. China is the world’s largest exporter and is responsible for a third of global manufacturing, so China’s problem is everyone’s problem — even in the midst of a trade war between the White House and Beijing.
All this makes it even more worrying that governments continue to see this as a health crisis, not an economic one. It is time the economists took over from the doctors, before the real pandemic spreads.
It is difficult to imagine Italy not entering a recession (the world’s ninth largest economy is now on lockdown). It is also difficult to imagine that failing to affect Europe and its largest trading partner, the United States. And it is impossible to see how any of this will not add up to a global downturn, unless governments step in faster and harder than they did 12 years ago during the last financial crisis.
The stakes are higher this time, because there seems to be a coordinated effort to economically hurt many Western countries, and warn them away from the aggressive trade policies that Trump has so enthusiastically adopted.
Although China bore the brunt of the virus’s economic and human cost, many in Beijing will see a silver lining in the weakening of the US economy, and a distraction from Trump’s trade wars that appeared to be escalating with no end in sight.
Almost perfectly synchronized with the coronavirus, a Russia-Saudi oil war has erupted. In the short-term, both Moscow and Riyadh can afford the 30 per cent overnight drop in the oil price. But America’s shale gas business cannot: The more expensive process of fracking means that much of the US oil sector will simply not exist if oil prices stay at historic lows, leading to shut downs, job losses and perhaps even state-level recessions.
President Trump has pushed through overdue payroll tax cuts and help for hourly workers — measures that will help both employers and employees survive. In the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a ‘Coronavirus Budget’. But everyone needs to think bigger if they want to properly deal with how this new factor changes the status quo.
This is about much more than coronavirus, oil prices, or even the global economy. This is about the balance of power between East and West. The epicenter of this has been, for the last 10 years, Syria. After a decade of conflict on the ground, the face-off seems to have now escalated from proxy war to economic conflict.
The emerging superpowers of Russia and China witnessed what many saw as American irrelevance in Syria. And they are now trying to cement their vision of a truly multi-polar world. Rather than allowing US ally Saudi Arabia to lead the oil markets through the OPEC cartel, Russia and China want to reshape global markets — and power balances — to their advantage.
To survive these shifts, the US, UK and others will need to protect the future of their businesses, large and small, and look for opportunities to benefit from the new economic world order, not deny it. Ignoring these changes will be even more damaging than any flu pandemic.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Texting and Driving Accident Statistics vs CoronaVirus
Putting things in perspective
As of this moment 38 people have died in the US from CoronaVirus. In 2017 3,166 people were killed driving and texting. That averages out to about 264 deaths per month or about 9 people per day. Think about that before going spastic getting into a panic and dumping your entire stock portfolio. Selling stock does not inoculate you from the CoronaVirus.
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Shocking Statistics That Will Make You Think Twice About Grabbing Your Phone
The numbers illustrating the dangers of cell phone use while driving are downright startling. In fact, at any given time throughout the day, approximately 660,000 drivers are attempting to use their phones while behind the wheel of an automobile.
Smartphones have made it easy for us to stay connected at all times. But that can pose serious safety risks if someone decides to check his or her text messages, emails, phone calls, or any other mobile applications while driving.
Cell phone distraction rates are alarmingly high. We hope with a little information, you'll make the right decision when you're on the road. The following figures were the most up-to-date statistics at the time of our latest research. If you have any questions, or require more recent information, please refer to our sources at the bottom of this page for more information.
General Cell Phone Statistics
The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.
Nearly 390,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving.
1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.
Texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.
Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. Traveling at 55 mph, that's enough time to travel the length of a football field.
Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
Of all cell phone related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity.
94 percent of drivers support a ban on texting while driving.
74 percent of drivers support a ban on hand-held cell phone use.
Teen Driver Cell Phone Statistics
According to a AAA poll, 94 percent of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, but 35% admitted to doing it anyway.
21 percent of teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by their cell phones.
Teen drivers are 4x more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near-crashes when talking or texting on a cell phone.
A teen driver with only one additional passenger doubles the risk of getting into a fatal car accident. With two or more passengers, they are 5x as likely.
2017 U.S. Cell Phone and Driving Statistics
Parents with young children were more 13 percent likely to be distracted while driving than adults with no small children
3,166 people were killed by distracted driving in 2017
In 2017, there were 34,247 distracted driving accidents
15,341 drivers aged 15-29 were involved in fatal crashes due to distraction or cell phone use
2016 U.S. Cell Phone and Driving Statistics
Fatalities in distraction-affected crashes decreased from 3,526 in 2015 to 3,450 in 2016, or a decrease of 2.2 percent.
263 teens (age 15 to 19) were killed as a result of distracted driving in 2016.
10 percent of all teen motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2016 involved distracted driving.
The NHTSA estimates that every day 660,000 drivers use electronic devices while behind the wheel.
2015 U.S. Cell Phone and Driving Statistics
In 2015, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
2013 U.S. Cell Phone and Driving Statistics
In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in distraction-related crashes.
About 424,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.
In 2013, 10% of all drivers ages 15 to 19 involved in fatal accidents were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash.
2012 U.S. Cell Phone and Driving Statistics
In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-related crashes.
About 421,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.
In 2012, 11% of drivers under age 20 involved in fatal accidents were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash.
One-fourth of teenagers respond to at least one text message every time they drive and 20% of teens and 10% of parents report having multi-text message conversations while driving.
2012 National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors
Nearly half (48%) of drivers admit to answering their cell phoneswhile driving.
Of those who answered their phones while driving, 58% of drivers continued to drive while talking on the phone.
In the survey, 24% of drivers reported that they are willing to make a phone call while driving.
One in 10 drivers surveyed said that, at least sometimes, they send text messages or emails while driving.
Of the drivers surveyed, 14% said they read text messages or emails while driving.
A majority of respondents supported laws that banned talking on cell phones, texting, or emailing while driving.
2012 Texting Pedestrian Study
Researchers from the University of Washington monitored 20 of Seattle's busiest intersections and observed the following:
Pedestrians who text are 4x less likely to look before crossing the street, cross in crosswalks, or obey traffic signals.
They also found that texting pedestrians take an average of two seconds longer to cross the street.
For statistics from 2011 and before, check out our Past Cell Phone and Driving Statistics.
Another story MIA by the MSM
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar reveals she is MARRIED to her chief fundraiser lover after they were spotted together wearing wedding rings
Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar revealed on Wednesday that she has married her fundraising chief, Tim Mynett. It is believed that her wedding took place earlier this week.
Omar revealed the news by sharing a picture of the couple cuddling up to each other on her Instagram handle. The pair have both been divorced and reportedly tied the knot at an unknown location. Omar had captioned the black and white image, "From partners in politics to life partners. So blessed."
The pair had been seen wearing the same rings in Washington, DC, last week, reports Daily Mail. The duo, both 37, had initially denied that they were having an affair. However, sources in the Somali community in Minneapolis revealed that she was forced into announcing the news after reports surfaced.
One Somali leader shared, "She sent this picture to a friend saying she wanted to announce her wedding because the reporting of the Daily Mail had been so accurate." Omar has a long and complicated marriage history that includes several allegations that she had married her own brother.
(Actually, she did marry her brother. It boggles the mind clicking on the link below how she remains a sitting member of the House of Representatives?)
She married her first husband Ahmed Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony, which was not registered with state authorities. She also had two children with her first husband. However, in 2009, she married British citizen Ahmed Elmi in a civil ceremony that took place in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
She shared that she had an Islamic divorce from Hirsi before the ceremony. She and Elmi ended up splitting up in 2012 but did not get a divorce till 2017, the year before she remarried Hirsi, with whom she had already had a third child. Hirsi and Omar got a divorce in November last year after he flew to Washington to surprise Omar only to find her in her apartment with Mynett wearing nothing but pajamas.
Mynett had been married to Dr Beth Jordan who is the head of the District of Columbia prison system's medical team. The couple got divorced a month after Omar.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Harvey Weinstein (the epitome of hygiene) sentenced to 23 Years In Prison
Harvey Weinstein arrives at the courthouse in Manhattan for a hearing last month. The jury convicted the disgraced Hollywood mogul of rape and sexual abuse after six women testified that he sexually assaulted them.
I often wondered about Hollywood's motivation to make a movie about a sexual pervert at the height of the me too movement choosing to make 'Bombshell' about Roger Ailes completely overlooking Weinstein the most prolific serial rapist in all of Hollywood.
I'm sure politics had nothing to do with it.
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Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. Judge James Burke handed down the decision in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday as the disgraced movie mogul watched, flanked by his legal team.
His 20-year sentence for a criminal sexual act, the more serious of the two counts he was convicted of last month, is on the higher end of New York state's guidelines. For the other count, rape in the third degree, Weinstein was sentenced to three years in prison.
The sentencing Wednesday caps Weinstein's precipitous fall from the heights of Hollywood, where, for decades, he brandished his power and influence like a blunt instrument — and allegedly sexually assaulted dozens of young women, intimidating them and others into silence.
Those allegations, which gathered momentum with the release of a pair of exposés in October 2017, landed him in court earlier this year to face his first criminal trial. The charges, including two counts of predatory sexual assault, could have led to his spending the rest of his life in prison — but jurors, after hearing weeks of arguments and deliberating another five days, acquitted him of the most serious charges.
Weinstein's legal team cited this mixed verdict in its sentencing letter to the court, pointing out his charity work and arguing that two of the principal witnesses in the trial — Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann — offered "extremely complicated" descriptions of their relationships with Weinstein.
"Given his age and specific medical risk factors," his attorneys said, "any additional term of imprisonment above the mandatory minimum — although the grave reality is that Mr. Weinstein may not even outlive that term — is likely to constitute a de facto life sentence."
Weinstein displayed signs of poor health throughout the court hearings, which he attended with the aid of a walker. After his verdict was read — and before heading to the Rikers Island jail complex, where he awaited sentencing — authorities took him to a hospital, where doctors placed a stent in his heart.
When he returned for his sentencing hearing Wednesday, he did so in a wheelchair.
Weinstein, who did not take the stand during the trial, did speak to the court during the hearing. He compared himself to Dalton Trumbo, an American screenwriter who was notoriously blacklisted in the 1940s for being a member of the Communist Party. And Weinstein, whose alleged assaults help spur the #MeToo movement, which boosts the voices of survivors, compared environment it has created to the Red Scare.
"I'm worried about this country," he said.
Prosecutors argued against leniency by relating a list of deeply detailed allegations of sexual assault, harassment and other abuse dating back to the 1970s. In their letter to the judge, prosecutors said the examples bolstered the accounts offered by Mann, Haley and the four other women who told their stories on the witness stand.
"Rape is not that one moment of penetration," Mann said in her statement to the court Wednesday. "It is forever."
She and the five other women who testified that Weinstein assaulted them sat together during the sentencing hearing as a gesture of solidarity. Among the group was Tarale Wulff, whose allegation of rape was not included in the charges but who nevertheless took the stand during the trial to support the prosecutors' case.
In a message published Tuesday, she uttered a similar sentiment in hoping that Weinstein's sentence "reflects what he has done to us."
"Those events," she wrote, "will continue to haunt me and the other survivors for the rest of our lives."
Wednesday does not represent the last of Weinstein's legal woes. Los Angeles prosecutors have also filed criminal charges against the former producer, alleging two incidents over a two-night period.
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