End of the world: The Bible !

Bible passage on ‘locust plague and epidemic’ sparks shock claim

THE END OF THE WORLD is upon us, according to wild claims online sparked by a Bible passage that has gone viral. The passage is featured in the Book of Chronicles, a Hebrew prose of text featured in the Old Testament. It contains a story from Adam, some teachings from Jesus and a narrative of the history of ancient Judah and Israel until the proclamation of King Cyrus the Great. But, according to claims online, it also prophesied current events leading to the end of the world.

Biblical Prophecies and Predictions for the Future - http://Alamongordo.com

The passage being shared online reads: “Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. “I will watch over this temple and be ready to hear all the prayers that are offered here.”

According to claims, this extract is referring to the coronavirus / Covid-19, the current locust plague and the Australian wildfires which are still being contained in some areas. On Monday, American artist Jeffrey Williams, known as Young Thug, shared the passage with his seven million followers on Instagram, with the message: “Pay attention children,” sparking thousands of comments.

One response reads: “He held back rain in Australia, the locusts are eating up Africa, now the epidemic is the coronavirus, we living in our last days.” Another added: “We’ve got to pray for better times.” And a third claimed: “Welcome to Revelation.”

The same passage has also been shared countless times on Twitter, with users making reference to the same three recent events. Currently, COVID-19 is a pandemic that has infected more than 1.400.000 tested people worldwide (around 50.000.000 people in total, including the non-tested) , amounting to 75.000 deaths.

Meanwhile, a plague of locusts which has ravaged through East Africa is set to descend on the Middle East in time for Passover. Last year, the world watched in horror when hundreds of fires burned through Australia enhanced by extended drought.But, there is no reason to fear just yet, according to Jeff Kinley, a biblical author, who says there will be many more signs before the Second Coming.This week, Mr Kinley pointed to Revelation 6:8, which forecasts deaths all over the globe “by sword, famine and plague”.

http://www.alamongordo.com - For Nation will rise against Nation - CoronaVirus and COVID-19 Visions

Rev6:8 – And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

He also added Jesus’ words about the events before the end times in Luke 21:11: “There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” Mr Kinley concluded: “I think he’s referring to a future time, I don’t think this is an actual fulfilment of that.”

He added that the Bible is very specific about what will happen before the End Times. One major event, for example, is the ancient temple in Jerusalem is supposed to be rebuilt first. COVID-19 is “increasing the intensity and frequency” of events prophesied in the Bible, which will lead to the end of the world, Christian pastors have claimed.

More than 70,000 people have died from the deadly COVID-19 virus and almost 1.000.000.000 affected worldwide, in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a pandemic. Yesterday saw the worst day in the stock market for 30 years, following a stand-off between Saudi Arabia and Russia over oil prices, in the wake of panic brought on by the virus outbreak. As many countries go into lockdown, Christian pastors Marko Kiroglu and Mark Osborne say these are just some of the signs prophesied in the Bible that Jesus Christ will return.

Speaking on YouTube channel Countdowntochrist this week, Mr Osborne said: “If you turn to Matthew 24 and start at verse four, Jesus is talking to his disciples and they want to know when the end is going to happen. “So Jesus starts giving some signs – and we must be careful because he’s talking about his Second Coming. “He starts by saying ’you will hear of wars and rumours of wars’ are we not hearing that?”

He added: “There is so much tension between nations – China and the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia, Turkey and Syria – so all these wars and rumours.

“But, it is more specific than that – ‘see that you are not alarmed for this must take place, but the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be pestilence and earthquakes’. “What did the World Health Organisation say about the coronavirus?” Mr Kiroglu answered: “Yesterday, the World Health Organisation declared it to be a pandemic.”

Mr Osborne explained the idea of the Second Coming being like giving birth, that the signs would intensify and become more frequent. He added: “All these are the beginnings of birth pains. “There have always been wars, there have always been pestilences, but it seems as though they are getting out of hand – more and more frequent. “It seems more and more intense, like birth pains.” Mr Kiroglu then went on to put this idea into the context of rumours of wars around the world.

He said:  “The other thing is that look at the last couple of weeks, the entire world economy is crumbling into pieces because of wars, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are fighting over the oil price.

“Sanctions nations are putting against each other, the building of armament is costing billions too. “These are all increasing in intensity and frequency.” Mr Osborne does not think the coronavirus will mark the Second Coming though, instead, he says it is just the start of the End Times. He continued: “I believe, in the midst of all that, is this pestilence – The coronavirus / COVID-19 – is part of the sign of the End Times.

“There have always been these things [pandemics], but it seems to be coming on more and more frequently, and more intense. “It’s pointing to the coming of Jesus. “The question is whether we should be fearful of the coronavirus, or live perfect. “My view is, be careful, don’t be silly, but don’t be afraid of it, because the virus is not the end, it is just the BEGINNING.”

COVID-19 deaths and recovered stats without China !

COVID-19 deaths and recovered without China. China lies about their coronavirus deaths. http://www.alamongordo.com

China is not a country that is known for honesty, is the WHO ?

  • Deaths in China: 4,2% of the closed cases
  • Deaths in the rest of the world: 31% (!!!) of the closed cases

I’m sure they tried to tweak the testing system every way possible to downplay the actual numbers. They’re run by a Communist regime that must appear to be on top of stuff.

Health officials were instructed not to test dead people who died without being tested. They changed the testing system a few times since then, each time reporting a bigger decrease in total cases.

The reason why Italy is showing such a high number of Coronavirus deaths (43% of all closed cases), because they’re apparently testing everyone. My question is: Why is the WHO (World Health Organisation) lying to us ?!?

Day of reckoning

Last Judgment – Judgement Day

The Last Judgment or The Day of the Lord is part of the eschatological world view of the Abrahamic religions and in the Frashokereti of Zoroastrianism. Some Christian denominations consider the Second Coming of Christ to be the final and infinite judgment by God of the people in every nation resulting in the approval of some and the penalizing of others. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. Christian Futurists believe it will take place after the Resurrection of the Dead and the Second Coming of Christ while Full Preterists believe it has already occurred. The Last Judgment has inspired numerous artistic depictions.

Christianity

The doctrine and iconographic depiction of the “Last Judgment” are drawn from many passages from the apocalyptic sections of the Bible.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Rev 20:11–12)

Islam

According to Islamic tradition, Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة‎ “the Day of Resurrection”) or Yawm ad-Din (Arabic: يوم الدين‎ “the Day of Judgment”) is believed to be God’s (Allāh) final assessment of humanity. The sequence of events (according to the most commonly held belief) is the annihilation of all creatures, resurrection of the body, and the judgment of all sentient creatures. It is a time where everyone would be shown his or her deeds and actions with justice.

Judaism

In Judaism, beliefs vary about a last day of judgment for all mankind. Some rabbis hold that there will be such a day following the resurrection of the dead. Others hold that this accounting and judgment happens when one dies. Still others hold that the last judgment only applies to the gentiles and not the Jewish people.

Bahai Faith

The Bab and Baha’u’llah taught that there is one unfolding religion of one God and that once in about every 1000 years a new messenger prophet, Rasul al-Nabii, or as Bahais call them, Manifestation of God, comes to mankind to renew the Kingdom of God on earth and establish a new Covenant between humanity and God. Each time a new Manifestation of God comes it is considered the Day of Judgement, Day of Resurrection, or ‘the Last Hour'[57] for the believers and unbelievers of the previous Manifestation of God. The Bab told of the judgment:

“There shall be no resurrection of the day, in the sense of the coming forth from the physical graves. Rather, the resurrection of all shall occur (in the form of) those that are living in that age. If they belong to paradise, they shall be believers, if to hell, they shall be unbelievers.

There is no denying that upon the Day of Resurrection, each and every thing shall be raised to life before God, may he be praised and glorified. For God shall originate that creation and then cause it to return. He has decreed the creation of all things, and he shall raise them to life again. God is powerful over all things.”

Also Read >>> DoomsDay

Leaked Public Health Document : coronavirus crisis in the UK could see 7.9m hospitalised !

UK coronavirus crisis ‘to last until spring 2021 and could see 7.9m hospitalised ! Exclusive: Public Health England document seen by Guardian says four in five ‘expected’ to contract virus

Observations from the Johns Hopkins University real-time tracking dashboard indicate that Coronavirus cases maybe 10 times higher than reported. In response to the ongoing public health emergency, Johns Hopkins University developed an interactive web-based dashboard hosted by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, to visualize and track reported Coronavirus cases in real-time - http://www.alamongordo.com/

The coronavirus epidemic in the UK will last until next spring and could lead to 7.9 million people being hospitalised, a secret Public Health England (PHE) briefing for senior NHS officials reveals.

The document, seen by the Guardian, is the first time health chiefs tackling the virus have admitted that they expect it to circulate for 12 more months and lead to huge extra strain on an already overstretched NHS.

It also suggests that health chiefs are braced for as many as 80% of Britons becoming infected with the coronavirus over that time.

Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, has previously described that figure as the worst-case scenario and suggested that the real number would turn out to be less than that. However, the briefing makes clear that four in five of the population “are expected” to contract the virus.

The document says that: “As many as 80% of the population are expected to be infected with Covid-19 in the next 12 months, and up to 15% (7.9 million people) may require hospitalisation.”

Book of Revelation: Did the #Bible warn of coronavirus? Prophecy of ‘seven plagues’ to come! The #BookofRevelation may hold vital clues about the coronavirus epidemic if outrageous claims made by Christian hardliners are to be believed. The Book of #Revelation is the final book of the Bible in which John the Apostle outlined his visions of the #endtimes. The scripture reveals many terrible events that will supposedly precede the Second Coming of Christ, including #plagues. http://Alamongordo.COM/

The briefing sets out the latest official thinking about how severely the infection could affect both the public’s health and that of personnel in critical services such as the NHS, police, the fire brigade and transport.

It has been drawn up in recent days by PHE’s emergency preparedness and response team and approved as accurate by Dr Susan Hopkins, PHE’s lead official dealing with the outbreak. It has been shared with hospital bosses and senior doctors in the NHS in Engand.

“For the public to hear that it could last for 12 months, people are going to be really upset about that and pretty worried about that”, said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. “A year is entirely plausible. But that figure isn’t well appreciated or understood,” added Hunter, an expert in epidemiology.

“I think it will dip in the summer, towards the end of June, and come back in November, in the way that usual seasonal flu does. I think it will be around forever, but become less severe over time, as immunity builds up,” he added.

The admission that the virus will continue to cause problems for another year appears to undermine hopes that the arrival of warmer weather this summer would kill it.

The document also discloses that an estimated 500,000 of the 5 million people deemed vital because they work “in essential services and critical infrastructure” will be off sick at any one time during a month-long peak of the epidemic. The 5 million include 1m NHS staff and 1.5 million in social care.

However, the briefing raises questions about how Britain would continue to function normally, warning that: “It is estimated that at least 10% of people in the UK will have a cough at any one time during the months of peak Covid-19 activity.” Under revised health advice Boris Johnson unveiled last Thursday, anyone with a cough should self-isolate for at least seven days.

The document also states that:

  • The health service cannot cope with the sheer number of people with symptoms who need to be tested because laboratories are “under significant demand pressures”.
  • From now on only the very seriously ill who are already in hospital and people in care homes and prisons where the coronavirus has been detected will get tested.
  • Testing services are under such strain that even NHS staff will not be swabbed, despite their key role and the risk of them passing the virus on to patients.

A senior NHS figure involved in preparing for the growing “surge” in patients whose lives are being put at risk by Covid-19 said an 80% infection rate could lead to more than half a million people dying.

If the mortality rate turns out to be the 1% many experts are using as their working assumption then that would mean 531,100 deaths. But if Whitty’s insistence that the rate will be closer to 0.6% proves accurate, then that would involve 318,660 people dying.

Experts advising governments worldwide on the way epidemics grow and eventually decline say there will be a rapid rise in cases to a peak – and then a falling off. Whitty, who has seen the modelling done by UK and global scientists, says the case numbers will go up fast over the next 10 to 14 weeks.

Prophecies for 2020 and predictions 2021. Biblical 2020 Prophecies, COVID-19 and CoronaVirus, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and World war III visions for the future. Nuclear war with N-Korea Iran. New cold war, cold war 2.0, Prophecies for 2020 - http://www.alamongordo.com/

That will mean a peak at around the end of May to mid-June, when the NHS will be under great pressure. The strategy of all countries is to delay that peak and stretch it out over a longer period of time, so that health services are better able to cope. There is also the possibility that new treatments will be available by then.

After the peak, case numbers and deaths are expected to drop for 10 weeks or more, until they reach a fairly low level, which may not be zero. In the summer months especially, the case numbers are expected to reduce because people spend more time out of doors and are less likely to be confined at close quarters in small rooms in a house or office with people who are infected.

There is still a worry that the virus could resurge in the autumn or winter months, which means planning for the long term will be necessary. Until a vaccine is developed, perhaps in 18 months, health planners cannot be sure of being able to protect people from the disease.

Source: The Guardian

COVID-19 in the Book of Revelation!

Book of Revelation: Did the Bible warn of coronavirus? Prophecy of ‘seven plagues’ to come!

The book of revelation about COVID-19 Coronavirus

The Book of Revelation may hold vital clues about the coronavirus epidemic if outrageous claims made by Christian hardliners are to be believed.

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the Bible in which John the Apostle outlined his visions of the end times. The scripture reveals many terrible events that will supposedly precede the Second Coming of Christ, including plagues, earthquakes and locust swarms.

And experts in the US predict a major earthquake could cripple North America in just 50 years. Conspiracy theorists have also bizarrely drawn links between the ongoing coronavirus epidemic and passages in the Book of Revelation.

One person said on Twitter said: “In line at the pharmacy yesterday, the guy in front of me informed the pharmacist that the Bible predicted Coronavirus and all you need to do to protect yourself is read it, ‘cause it’s better than any history book. “Ok dude please also wash your hands tho.”

Another Twitter user said: “I do believe the Coronavirus is worse than we are being told. “I also believe that if there is a way to stop it that Trump will find it and we will be ok. “I also believe this falls in line with the prophecies in the Bible too.”

Coronavirus manmade, COVID-19 is a weaponized virus and bioweapon - http://www.alamongordo.com

Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues ~ Book of Revelation

Another person also tweeted: “The biblical apocalypse”. “1/3 of the world will die of pestilence, starvation and diseases“. Is Corona virus one of the diseases prophecied by the Bible? “If it is, then it proves the existence of this biblical God.” Although the coronavirus is not mentioned by name in the Bible, the Book of Revelation speaks of terrifying plagues descending on Earth in the end times. Revelation 15-16 John the Apostle speaks of “seven angels with seven plagues”.

The scripture reads: “Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. “They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” Since the coronavirus emerged in December last year, it has infected more than 86,000 people and killed nearly 3,000.

Alamongordo Prophecies for 2020 and prections for 2021. Visions of the future of humankind. http://Alamongordo.COM

Despite these figures, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not yet consider the COVID-19 threat to be pandemic, so it is unlikely to be on par with a biblical plague.

The coronavirus also has a very low mortality rate of no more than two to three percent. The WHO said: “If you are not in an area where COVID-19 is spreading, or if you have not travelled from one of those areas or have not been in close contact with someone who has and is feeling unwell, your chances of getting it are currently low.

“However, it’s understandable that you may feel stressed and anxious about the situation. “It’s a good idea to get the facts to help you accurately determine your risks so that you can take reasonable precautions.”

Source: Express

Coronavirus Cases Maybe 10 Times Higher Than Reported !

Observations from the Johns Hopkins University real-time tracking dashboard indicate that Coronavirus cases maybe 10 times higher than reported. In response to the ongoing public health emergency, Johns Hopkins University developed an interactive web-based dashboard hosted by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, to visualize and track reported Coronavirus cases in real-time.

Covid 19 predictions and Coronavirus prophecies. http://www.alamongordo.com

Among the serious observations available in a post under the heading “Public Health” dated January 31, 2020 from Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering are two significant claims that still stand entirely neglected in media treatment:

That official China novel Coronavirus statistics were at least at that writing nearly six weeks ago only reflective of 10% of actually occurring cases; that is, that the figures issuing from China should be considered depressed by 90% by whatever semantics one allows to indulge China’s self-exculpatory pretense of obliviousness in statistic-gathering and/or reporting strategies, and that novel Coronavirus infections already had numbered in the hundreds at least in Wuhan as of November 2019.

Estimated vs. Reported Cases of 2019-nCoV cases globally - www.alamongordo.com

One may note in this regard that collation of Coronavirus COVID-19 cases on the Johns Hopkins real-time dashboard indicates both The World Health Organization and United States Center for Disease Control as figuring among its contributing data sources.

Altogether, the foregoing presents a peculiar disparity of figures and posturing. On the one hand, following the first point above, it is suggested conversely that even at least as of January 31, 2020, cases of novel Coronavirus in Mainland China should be calculated at ten times the reported number; from which to present at least a ten-fold assumption would hold because currently reported decreases in cases at this writing would be speciously based on modeling from the 90% under-reporting that it is reasonable to impute in large measure to WHO and CDC as significant source base for Johns Hopkins, which wisely indicates the disparity for consideration.

Then, considering the second point, assuming hundreds of cases extant already in Wuhan as of any time in November, 2019, there could be no possible way to accept China’s initial figures at all. Johns Hopkins politely states the case for us and it may perhaps be perilous to neglect this intended or unintended favor hiding in plain sight.

Heatmap of Countries and regions with highest risk of imported 2019-nCoV cases. http://www.alamongordo.com/ CoronaVirus

This information was forwarded by the author to United States Congresswoman Judy Chu (Democrat, California’s 27th Congressional District). Rep. Chu currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation pertaining to taxes, revenues, Social Security, and Medicare. In that Committee, Rep. Chu is a member of the Subcommittees on Health and Human Resources, Worker and Family Support, and Oversight, giving her oversight over healthcare reform and crucial safety net programs. However, as of this writing no reply has been forthcoming from Ms. Chu or any of her staff on the matter.

References:

  1. The reference to the official January 31, 2020 public-health posting is archived on the Johns Hopkins site: https://systems.jhu.edu/research/public-health/ncov-model-2/
  2. The live dashboard: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

By Russell Errett, Professor Emeritus for GreatGameIndia.

China has buried the truth about the coronavirus !

COVID-19 lies to keep Chinese economy going

Over the past 70 years, the Chinese Communist party has subjected its country to a succession of manmade catastrophes, from the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square massacre, to the forceful suppression of rights in Hong Kong and Tibet, and the mass internment of Uighurs in Xinjiang. Official coverups and corruption have multiplied the death toll of natural calamities, from the Sars virus to the Sichuan earthquake.

Data on March 10th 2020 – Johns Hopkins University

Xi Jinping’s mishandling of the CoronaVirus Pandemic must now be added to the party’s shameful list of crimes. With serious outbreaks occurring in Japan, South Korea, Iran and Italy, it is clear that the virus of Xi’s totalitarian rule threatens the health and freedoms not only of the Chinese people, but of all of us everywhere.

PROPBABLY OVER 3 MILLION INFECTED CHINESE PEOPLE !

Xi’s vacuous, self-aggrandising ideological vision lies at the heart of this global crisis. When he was appointed party leader in 2012, he announced his “China dream” of national rejuvenation, promising that the country would be moderately prosperous by the party’s 2021 centenary, and fully advanced into global economic hegemony by the republic’s centenary in 2049. Xi vowed that, by then, the world would concede that his one-party dictatorship is superior to the mess of liberal democracy.

Appointing himself “president for life”, Xi now has more power than any party leader since Mao Zedong, and has crushed all dissent by attempting to build a hi-tech totalitarian state. The Communist party is an insidious pathogen that has infected the Chinese people since 1949. But under Xi’s rule, it has mutated into its most sinister form, allowing capitalism to grow rapaciously while reaffirming Leninist control. The promise of wealth and national glory has blinded many Chinese people to the chains around their feet, and to the barbed wire around the faraway internment camps.

OFFICIAL CORONA / COVID-19 FIGURES – 50% DEATHS ?!?

In a speech on 31 December 2019, Xi heralded triumphantly a new year of “milestone significance in realising the first centenary goal!” Naturally, he didn’t mention the mysterious pneumonia reported that day by health authorities in Wuhan, Hubei province. Although the World Health Organization had been notified, the Chinese people were largely kept in the dark. How could an invisible bug be allowed to dampen the glory of Xi’s China dream?

In times of crisis, the party always places its own survival above the welfare of the people. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan central hospital, has become the tragic symbol of this disaster. On 30 December, he notified his former medical classmates on WeChat that seven people with an unspecified coronavirus, which reminded him of Sars (the virus that killed almost 800 people in 2003), were in quarantine at his hospital, and advised them to protect themselves. In any normal society, this wouldn’t be considered subversive – but in China, even a small act of kindness, a cautious and private alert to colleagues, can land a person in political danger. On 3 January, Li was reprimanded by police – he then went back to work, and within days contracted the virus.

Over the next two weeks – the critical window of containment – authorities claimed the problem was under control. But coronavirus is indifferent to the vain desires of despots. Left unchecked, it spread. By the time Xi deigned to publicly acknowledge the outbreak, on 20 January, ordering it to be “resolutely contained”, it was too late.

On 23 January, Wuhan was placed in lockdown. Yet on that same day, at a reception in Beijing, Xi merely stressed the need to “race against time and keep abreast with history to realise the first centenary goal of the China dream of national rejuvenation”. Videos on WeChat and Weibo revealed the hollowness of Xi’s ambitions. There was footage of deserted boulevards in affected cities. Corpses lying unattended on pavements. A woman on the balcony of a luxury tower block striking a gong and wailing into the sky: “My mother is dying, rescue me!”

As Li lay on his deathbed on 30 January, he revealed the truth about his experience of the epidemic. Despite being a party member, he spoke to the New York Times about official failures to disclose essential information about the virus to the public, and told the Beijing-based journal Caixin: “A healthy society cannot have just one voice.” In that one sentence, he identified the root cause of China’s sickness. Xi suppresses truth and information to create his utopian “harmonious” society. But harmony can only emerge from a plurality of differing voices, not from the one-note monologue of a tyrant.

After the eruption of public grief and anger that followed Li’s death on 6 February, the government backtracked, and hailed the doctor they had muzzled “a hero”. But behind the scenes, the silencing continued: several people who documented and spoke out about state handling of the outbreak were detained.

In the thick of calamity, people finally understand that if your leaders have no regard for human life or liberty, no amount of money can save you. Entire families have been wiped out by the virus as more than 70 million people have been confined to their homes. Chinese officials have today reported 78,064 infections and 2,715 deaths, mostly in Hubei. But no one trusts the party’s figures. The only certainty about the numbers it releases is that they are the numbers it wants you to believe. In an effort to change the narrative after Li’s death, the party has called for a people’s war against the virus, and has urged journalists to replace “negative content” on social media with “touching stories from the frontline of combating the disease”. Having buried the truth about the calamity of the Cultural Revolution and other earlier crimes, the party is now dragging the nation back to its Maoist past.

Official language is being contaminated once more with military jargon; society is being divided once more into antagonist groups – not the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, but the infected against the yet-to-be-infected. Rural police post videos of their attacks on citizens who dare venture outside without a face mask.

The state media have posted photographs of pregnant nurses in hazmat suits serving on the frontline; there are masked patients in another field hospital being awarded party membership on their deathbeds, joyfully raising their fists in the air as they pledge undying loyalty to Xi. To anyone with a conscience, these sad individuals look like victims of an inhumane cult. That it is believed these snapshots could promote “positive energy” reveals the moral abyss into which totalitarianism has sunk the nation.

Meanwhile, with the epidemic still raging, Xi has ordered the country back to work, all to ensure that the economic targets of his 21st-century goals are met. Of course, he is keeping the political elite safe, though, by postponing the National People’s Congress in March. Further proof, if it was at all needed, that Xi’s China dream is a sham.

Ma Jian is an author from Qingdao, China. He left Beijing for Hong Kong in 1987 as a dissident, and after the handover moved to London. All his books are banned in China. Check Updates Yourself @ CSSE

Source : TheGuardian

If Coronavirus is not stopped now, It’ll Be Armageddon !

This week a new phrase – social distancing measures – entered our lexicon.

Introduced by Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, she described “social distancing measures” as part of standard protocol to limit “community spread” of disease in the case of a pandemic, which the coronavirus (officially COVID-19) has not yet reached but threatens to do so.

The President and government officials are working valiantly to reassure Americans that the “threat to the American public remains low,” as VP Pence said in Wednesday’s nationally televised news conference.

However, in a separate news briefing the same day, Dr. Messonier was less than reassuring. “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country,” she said. “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness.”

During that briefing, she outlined three categories of non-pharmaceutical interventions or NPIs to contain community spread of the virus. There are common-sense personal NPIs like washing hands, covering coughs, and not touching one’s face. Environmental NPIs include frequent washing of surfaces people touch.

And then there are community NPIs. “Social distancing measures designed to keep people who are sick away from others,” she said. “These are practical measures that can help limit exposure by reducing exposure in community settings.” In other words, keeping out of public places and in one’s home to avoid potential exposure.

It may mean closing schools and businesses, as has been done in Northern Italy, an emerging hot spot for the disease. The Guardian described the region as effectively in “lockdown” with schools, businesses, public offices, and restaurants closed, and sporting events and religious services canceled.

Recognizing there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty about what’s to come because this is a new virus and totally unpredictable, Dr. Messonnier stressed that community interventions will vary depending on local conditions. But she also warned, “We would implement these NPI measures in a very aggressive, proactive way.” The CDC has set up a separate website to provide updates on the progress of the disease in the country.

Community interventions will mean closed businesses

Should community NPIs become necessary, it could be devastating to brick-and-mortar retailers especially, but even to e-commerce retailers which may be forced to close fulfillment facilities or be unable to make home deliveries. Forgive me for going biblical on you, but since we’ve long talked about the “retail apocalypse,” we may as well go all the way to the potential for a retail Armageddon if our public health officials enact such aggressive, proactive measures to halt the spread of the disease.

We all hope and pray this disease abates like the flu as the warm weather arrives, but it may take a turn for the worse. Nobody knows. Nobody can predict. And it may come back stronger in the fall, as flu typically does.

Consumer confidence shaken

Already investors are seeing the writing on the wall. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.4% this week with a drop of more than 3,500 points, making February the worst month since 2009.

Doug Cohen, managing director at Athena Capital Advisors, is quoted saying, “This unfortunately is the perfect storm. This is not something out of a standard economic textbook.” Combine consumers’ fear of contracting a potentially fatal disease with fears about the economy and you have that “perfect storm” Cohen speaks about coming to retailers dependent on consumer confidence to open their wallets and spend. Also on Wednesday, the National Retail Federation’s president and CEO Matthew Shay was characteristically bullish about prospects for retail in 2020.  

“The nation’s record-long economic expansion is continuing, and consumers remain the drivers of that expansion,” he said, predicting that retail sales will increase between 3.5% and 4.1% in 2020, “despite uncertainty from the lingering trade war, coronavirus and the presidential election.”

“With gains in household income and wealth, lower interest rates and strong consumer confidence, we expect another healthy year ahead,” he continued. “There are always wild cards we cannot control like coronavirus and a politically charged election year. But when it comes to the fundamentals, our economy is sound and consumers continue to lead the way.”

Consumers signal caution

However, a new survey indicates consumers are leading the way to a slowdown in retail sales, not an uptick especially if the coronavirus takes hold.

“U.S. consumers are already becoming cautious—and if the situation worsens (or even the perception of the situation), U.S. consumers could dramatically change habits to reduce the risk of infection, and this could hit retailers hard,” Coresight Research reports from its survey among 2,000 adult Americans conducted February 25-26.

Currently, some 28% of those surveyed said they are already steering clear of public places, like shopping centers, entertainment venues, and changing travel plans.

Further, 58% said they will avoid public areas or travel if the outbreak worsens in the U.S., with about one-fifth as of now uncertain what they will do if it becomes more of a threat. Frankly, those undecideds may have no choice depending upon the measures enacted by public health officials.

Digging deeper into consumers’ expectations of how their behavior will change, the survey found shopping centers and malls are the first place consumers will avoid, followed by public transportation and international travel.

Some 75% of those who say their behavior will change if the outbreak worsens will avoid malls, as compared with 73% avoiding public transportation, and 68% postponing international travel.

As compared with shopping centers and malls, they are less likely to stay out of stores in general, with some 53% of those who expect to change behavior if the outbreak worsens saying they will avoid stores.

But it is far more likely they will shop primarily for necessities in grocery, drug, and hardware stores, rather than stores that cater to discretionary purchases. Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops are also likely to take a hit, with 61% saying they will avoid these if the outbreak worsens.

Beyond necessity purchases, retailers’ success is far more dependent on how people feel. If consumers feel confident, they will spend. If they don’t, then they will delay unnecessary purchases and sit tight. That is what could happen if this disease advances, as it likely will.

Picking up the pieces in the aftermath

Assuming a best-case scenario, retailers might take a short-term hit, but consumers could come back strong later to make up their delayed purchases. But retailers should plan for rising consumer uncertainty that could have devastating long-term consequences.

In a recent article by Jing Daily columnist Jiaqi Loa, exploring the psychological impacts of the coronavirus on Chinese citizens, wrote, “It’s become a disorienting, time-stopping social disaster. How can a company convey a marketing message that doesn’t sound out of place to a public who just experienced this type of fear, trauma, and paranoia?”

American consumers are already on edge, as the Coresight Research study indicates, and with the stock market imploding this week amid fears it will continue to tank, consumer confidence could be rattled to the core, like it was in 2008-2009. In a prescient article by fellow Forbes.com contributor Nikki Baird, she predicts the coming decade may bring the “death of consumerism.”

She writes, “Consumers are becoming more mindful and sensitive to their environmental footprint, and consumerism is highly vulnerable to that sensitivity. I would even go so far as to say that in the next decade, retail sees a substantial shrinking of consumerism.” Even before the coronavirus, there have been deep changes taking place in the minds of consumers, resulting from their growing recognition that our consumer culture is a major contributor to environmental damage.

Combine this with the psychologically-disorienting effect from fear of catching a contagious disease and any self-imposed or even forced halt to unnecessary shopping caused by a potential pandemic, and we can expect dramatic changes to how consumers shop and what they spend their money on. 

A perfect retail storm is brewing. It may mean deep and long-lasting changes in consumer psychology. We can hope for the best, but we need to plan for the worse.

Source: Forbes

CoronaVirus outbreak predicted in 1981 by Dean Koontz !

COVID-19 predicted in 1981 !?!

Did a 1981 Dean Koontz thriller predict the coronavirus outbreak? Readers share extracts from novel which chillingly refers to deadly viral infection named after Wuhan.

Koontz novel The Eyes Of Darkness describes a killer virus named ‘Wuhan-400’ The fictional virus was developed as a bioweapon in Wuhan research lab. Coronavirus first emerged from the same Chinese city in December 2019 However there are several big differences between the novel and real life

Dean Koontz wrote The Eyes Of Darkness in 1981, describing the ‘Wuhan-400’ virus. Fans of author Dean Koontz are insisting that a novel he wrote in 1981 predicted the coronavirus outbreak.

Koontz’s thriller The Eyes Of Darkness describes a killer virus named ‘Wuhan-400‘ after the Chinese city it originated in — the same city where COVID-19 was first reported.

Says one character in the novel: ‘They call the stuff ‘Wuhan-400’ because it was developed at their RDNA labs outside the city of Wuhan.’

‘A Dean Koontz novel written in 1981 predicted the outbreak of the coronavirus!’ wrote Twitter user Nick Hinton, who first posted a screenshot of the passage from the novel earlier this month. Koontz did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com about the purported prediction in his novel.

Wuhan Virology Lab

Although coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, there is not yet scientific consensus about how and where it jumped to humans. Initial theories suggested that it jumped to humans from exotic animals in a Wuhan ‘wet market.’ Others have suggested, so far without proof, that the pathogen may have escaped from the Wuhan Virology Lab, China’s only biosafety-level four facility.

Other than the city of origin, however, there is little similarity between the fictional Wuhan-400 and the real coronavirus. In The Eyes Of Darkness, Wuhan-400 is a bioweapon virus that has a fatality rate of 100 percent within 12 hours.

The characters explain that the Chinese intended to use it ‘to wipe out a city or a country’ without the need for ‘expensive decontamination’. ‘Wuhan-400 is a perfect weapon. It afflicts only human beings. No other living creature can carry it. And like syphilis, Wuhan-400 can’t survive outside a living human body for longer than a minute, which means it can’t permanently contaminate objects or entire places the way anthrax and other virulent microorganisms can,’ one character says.

2020 CORONAVIRUS PREDICTION

Despite the surface similarity, there are big differences between Koontz’s fictional virus and the real coronavirus:

  • Fictional Wuhan-400
  • Origin: Wuhan, China
  • Incubation period: Four hours
  • Symptoms: Infects and eats away brain tissue like acid
  • Mortality rate: 100%
  • Real Coronavirus / COVID-19
  • Origin: Wuhan, China
  • Incubation period: one to three weeks
  • Symptoms: Fever, Cough, Shortness of breath
  • Mortality rate: Estimated 3% – 5%

Coronavirus however has an estimated mortality rate of just 3 to 5 percent. It can survive on surfaces for much longer than a minute, possibly hours or days, though scientists are working now to determine such properties with more precision.

In the Koontz novel, the Wuhan-400 attacks the brain.

As one character describes it: ‘The virus migrates to the brain stem, and there it begins secreting a toxin that literally eats away brain tissue like battery acid dissolving cheesecloth. It destroys the part of the brain that controls all of the body’s automatic functions.’

Coronavirus, on the other hand, primarily affects the respiratory system, in severe cases resulting in pneumonia. The primary symptoms are fever, coughing, and shortness of breath.

The book also describes a virus that has an incubation period of just four hours, whereas coronavirus incubates for several days to two weeks.
Finally, to the disappointment of conspiracy theorists, it turns out that in the first edition of The Eyes Of Darkness, the virus was originally called ‘Gorki-400’, after the Russian city where Koontz originally wrote the bioweapons lab. After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Koontz apparently changed later editions to make China the villain.

Pets at Risk of Contracting and spreading COVID-19 !

Can house pets transmit the Coronavirus to humans?

Previously detailed investigation had found that SARS was transmitted from civet cats to humans in China in 2002, while MERS was transmitted from dromedary camels to humans in 2012. While the source behind the current COVID-19 has not been identified yet, this does not mean that you can catch the virus from any animal or even from your pet but: Several studies point to that direction… There is no (official) evidence yet that companion animals or pets such as cats and dogs have been infected or could spread the virus that causes CoronaVirus COVID-19 but you should wash your hands every time you touch your pet (WHO).

Wash hands after touching your dog or cat

Dogs, for example, are susceptible to strains of Coronaviruses which include the Canine Respiratory Coronavirus that affects canines and cannot be passed onto humans. Canine Coronaviruses are typically transmitted through dog-to-dog contact such as coughing and sneezing, as well as through poor hygiene when handling bowls, collars, and leashes. The
hands and clothing of people who have handled infected dogs can also be transmitted to a healthy dog.

Although it is likely that an animal source from the live animal market in China was responsible for some of the first reported human infections, there is credible evidence that suggests that our companion animals have the ability to transmit the current COVID-19 strain of virus to us.

Unlike human symptoms, it is hard to detect Coronavirus-related symptoms in dogs. But when they do, you would notice a sudden onset of diarrhoea alongside your dog feeling lethargic and having a poor appetite. Your dog’s diarrhoea may also contain blood or mucus. While it is possible for the symptoms to match a couple of other illnesses, the best thing to do is to always seek clarification from a vet.