WHO warns of second peak & cautions against easing restrictions

President Trump has been eager to scale back coronavirus restrictions in hopes of restoring the US economy. However, the World Health Organization warns against lifting back shelter-in-place orders too quickly, as this could lead to an immense growth in the number of new cases. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's health emergencies program, warns that countries could experience another peak in the number of coronavirus cases even before the second wave, which is expected to hit in a few months.

However, enforcing coronavirus restrictions is becoming increasingly difficult as summer approaches. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Americans crowded pools and stands and danced together in the streets, blatantly disregarding social distancing guidelines. In response to viral images of partners at the Lake of the Ozarks, St. Louis County officials issued a travel advisory.


Party at Lake of the Ozarks


Based on the weekend's occurrences, the prospects of keeping coronavirus cases in check seems bleak. We must all continue to do our part in preventing the spread of the virus by staying at home, social distancing, and wearing masks when exiting our homes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-warns-of-second-peak-and-cautions-against-scaling-back-restrictions-too-soon/2020/05/26/1ea21676-9f63-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html

1. How can we effectively encourage people to stay home amidst the festivities that come with the summer months?
2. Based on how things are going now, do you believe that there could be another peak in the number of coronavirus cases before the peak that is expected to hit in a few months? Elaborate.

Germany's factories close due to Covid-19 causing an economic recession

Like many former posts, Covid-19 has again disrupted the chain of supply and demand.This has caused Europe's largest economy to enter a recession. Part of what has caused Germany to enter this recession is that their economy relies heavily on exports. More specifically, some of Germany's major exports includes cars, vehicle parts, pharmaceuticals, and aircraft engine parts, for example. With German factories closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the world has lost its leading supplier of precision engineered goods 

1. How can Germany save its economy while keeping its factory workers safe? 

2. Can Germany find alternate sources of revenue that don't depend on producing engineered goods in a large scale factory?

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/15/856785115/germany-europes-largest-economy-enters-recession-due-to-coronavirus

  

Brazil Goes Through Two Health Ministers in a Month

   





Should places start to open despite the pandemic? In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro believes things such as gyms should open up for the public. In disagreement, Nelson Teich, the health minister, criticized  Bolsonaro's opinion and believes people should maintain social distancing.  Bolsonaro isn't taking the pandemic very seriously as he compared Covid-19 to the common flu. Even with Brazil surpassing France in Corona virus cases with around 200,000 cases according to BBC News, Bolsonaro still believes things should open. Mr. Teich did not like this and resigned from his position due to their clashing views about the precautions that should be taken during this pandemic. This is the second health minister Brazil has gone through in a month! Earlier this month, the previous health minister was fired by Mr. Bolsonaro after he advocated for people to continue social distancing. Bolsonaro seems very insistent to get things up and running in Brazil even though two separate health ministers didn't agree with his opinions. Now, Brazil currently doesn't even have a health minister employed during this crisis. The death tolls are rapidly increasing in Brazil and Bolsonaro chooses to ignore it and make the whole pandemic seem less severe than it really is.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52682358
1. Do you think Brazil will be able to find somebody to fill the position of health minister because of Bolsonaro's antics?




2. Do you think things like gyms, salons, and restaurants should open?






3. Do you think Brazil will reek the consequences of Bolsonaro's actions?

Senate Narrowly Rejects New Limits on Internet Surveillance

Whether or not to protect the browsing history of internet users has arisen as a discussion. On Wednesday, May 13th, the Senate was voting on this topic. The Senate ended up short one vote of approving the proposal to keep federal law enforcement from getting internet browsing information or obtaining search history without getting a warrant. Ron Wyden, the co-author of the bipartisan amendment and democratic sen, said, “Should law-abiding Americans have to worry about their government looking over their shoulders from the moment they wake up in the morning and turn on their computers to when they go to bed at night? I believe the answer is no. But that’s exactly what the government has the power to do without our amendment.” Before congress left due to the coronavirus pandemic, the vote came as the Senate considered the renewal of three surveillance provisions. The Senator’s Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, inspired the senators to vote against Wyden and Daines amendment and their reasoning for that was already a “delicate balance”. They advised provisions wouldn’t be renewed had they change it. McConnell said before the vote, “We cannot let the perfect become the enemy of the good when key authorities are currently sitting expired and unuseable,” Two months ago, the compromise legislation was passed by The House. However, McConnell couldn’t get enough support to approve the part in the Senate. As a substitute, a simple extension of the surveillance laws was passed. It is not clear if McConnell will be able to get all the votes he needs for the passage on Thursday.

1. Do you think the proposal to prevent federal law enforcement from obtaining internet browsing information or searching history without seeking a warrant should be approved?   
2. Should Americans have to worry about the government looking into them all the time?

How Long Until You Can Watch Your Favorite Sport Be Played?

Throughout the past few weeks, as nations across the world and their various semi-autonomous regions have aimed to reopen the economy, they have also had to consider the reentry process of sports leagues. In the United States, the return of these competitions will be a slow process and with a number of question marks still remaining, return dates are unclear. As Trump continues to push for “liberation”, he drives claims of vanquishing coronavirus, although various health officials and politicians interpret the data otherwise. Despite encouraging signs, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, views the information differently. He stated on Tuesday that failure to take adequate precautions could lead to an economic groundhog day in which the nation struggles to get fully up and running. He also notes that to not approach the pandemic with appropriate caution will invite “some suffering and death that could be avoided”. So, what does this mean for American competitions? LA county, the largest in the nation, recently informed the public of it’s plans to extend the stay at home orders, adding a further layer of complexity to the matter. Although Trump’s White House approves of the reemergence of sports leagues, precautions taken by the states and their individual counties make it far more challenging to identify return dates. In Germany, a similar paradox has appeared. After the premier soccer league in Germany, the Bundesliga had its return set for May 16th, a few players from the second division team Dynamo Dresden tested positive for coronavirus. Although the Bundesliga advocates for a quarantine of individuals who were found to have the virus, the states make the final decision. In this case they demanded a 14 day quarantine of the entire team. Despite the scare, Germany’s governing soccer body will continue with the previously decided scheduling of leagues. They’ve only canceled games which fall in Dynamo Dresden’s quarantine period, inviting criticism of the situation’s handling.

1. What health standards must be met in order for professional sports to continue?

2. How should athletes be permitted to function in society in light of their physical contact with others? Should they be allowed to be in public?

3. Is the return of sports a reasonable idea, or should they be delayed until the outbreak is properly contained?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/13/coronavirus-updates-los-angeles-reopening-plans-fauci-rand-paul/3116843001/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/12/coronavirus-fauci-issues-stark-warning-disease-odds-trump/3117983001/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/plans-finish-german-football-season-22003944

Image Source:

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/cpsprodpb/10E92/production/_111266296_gremio2.jpg

Cyber Crime in Pandemic Time

As more of the world's business moves online cybercriminals have more opportunities than ever. Cybercriminals have been targeting VPNs, virtual private networks that people use in hopes of protecting themselves from these threats. Additionally they target the IoT which is a system of computers that communicate data without human to human or human to computer interaction. A leading Managed Security Service Provider, Nurspire released its quarterly Landscape Report which details cybercrime activities, techniques, and procedures. Phishing is a method that cybercriminals use to obtain information by sending emails impersonating companies and organizations in hopes of getting the recipient to click a link that while then extract information from their system. This form of cybercrime has more than doubled in the first quarter of 2020. Additionally Nuspire has reported a resurgence in the use of macro malware which are lines of code that are run when opening a Microsoft word document that then invade your system extracting information and potentially running ransomware. Furthermore, emotet malware use has surged peaking in the first week of March. Emotet malware is a costly trojan that can infect entire systems and can affect any computer linked to the system. This virus is virtual machine-aware which can develop false indicators making it much harder to remove from systems. This viruses can be spread from phishing emails, macro malware and pretty much any link that has a download attached. In this time of increased internet usage it is important to stay safe on the internet and be careful of suspicious links.

1. What methods can you use to prevent yourself from being hacked?

2.What can our government do to protect us from cyber-attacks?

Source: https://www.nuspire.com/resource-library/quarterly-threat-landscape-report-2/

What is the Future of the Pandemic?

Safe distances for passengers to wait in shown by the white circles (Paris train station)

2020 has been an extremely hard time for the entire world. One of the most key points has been the outbreak of COVID 19. It has changed everyone's lives from going to work and school every day to staying at home and only leaving when necessary. Civilian protests are encouraging many states to loosen restrictions. As Marc Lipstich, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health said, "It's going to be a matter of managing it over months to a couple of years. It’s not a matter of getting past the peak, as some people seem to believe" (nytimes.com). Many people would get upset at the scientists and doctors that are working hard to combat this epidemic for its slow cure. However, people forget that our generations have never been in this situation before and as most viruses do, COVID 19 could change or adapt to anything because we just don't know enough about it. Another important thought to realize is that studies show 70% of the world will get infected by the Coronavirus. Now, it's perfectly reasonable to ask, "So why should we quarantine and wear masks if most of us will contract it anyways?".  The reasoning is that even if a high majority of people will receive the virus, the goal is to slow the transmission from person to person so that the healthcare system doesn't get overwhelmed. Will the world be able to stay in this situation for much longer?

1. What are some ways people can stay calm during this period?

2. Do you think the rules on quarantine should be lifted?

Sources:

This Is the Future of the Pandemic - The New York Times

Coronavirus may infect up to 70% of the world's population, expert warns - CBS News

Should Remote Learning Stick Around After This Pandemic?

 School has changed a lot since the pandemic started, one of the biggest changes being remote learning. About a month ago, a New York Times Journalist by the name of Nicole Daniels asked about 400 high schoolers how they felt towards remote learning. Many said they missed their friends and the ambiance they would have while at school. Some said they felt that they were being robbed from a good and traditional education. The surprise was when some students said they loved it, they said they liked being free from "the stressful environment of school" and being able to work at their own pace and set their own school schedule. Some students even said that they would like for some of the remote learning strategies integrated into their everyday school life. When thinking about whether or not this is a good idea there's lots of things you have to think about. What would that mean for the typical 8:oo am- 3:00 pm school schedule? Would there be days where school is fully online and students don't have to come to school? These are some of the questions students were asked too, their answers were very different from what was expected. Some students said that they would be okay with adding more time into the school day while others said the 8 hours they have to spend at school was already too much time to begin with and that adding time would be worse for the students. For reference, college-bound high school were asked in December if they were open to taking even some of their classes online, fewer than a quarter said they would be open to the idea. The same students were asked late March after a few weeks of remote learning, if they would be open to having some online classes while starting college, about 50% of the students who had said no said that they would be open to the idea. There are mixed emotions about whether it's a good idea is up to debate but the question still stands, should schools change the way they operate once we go back to school?


1) What are some benefits from remote learning? What are the repercussions of remote learning?

2) Do you think that grade level should play a part on how remote learning is used?

3) Do you think that once we are back to a normal school schedule we should still enforce some of what we use during remote learning?

Source: When the Pandemic Ends, Will School Change Forever? - The New York Times

Gunfire Exchanged Along the Korean DMZ

South Korean troops stationed along the Korean DMZ

On Sunday 03-May-2020, North and South Korean soldiers exchanged gunfire across the demilitarized zone along the North-South Korean border. All sources indicated that there were no casualties taken on either side. A defense official from South Korea stated that they believe the incident to be accidental. According to the South Koreans on Sunday morning gunfire hit a South Korean guard post in the town of Cheorwon. South Korean troops in response fired 20 warning shots along with a warning broadcast. They state that their warning shots were fired into an uninhabited zone, eliminating the chances of North Korean casualties. So far there has been no response from the DPRK in any way shape or form. They haven't made a press statement or told anything to the South Koreans. Currently all troop movements in the North remain normal and there are no signs of any mobilization. This incident occurred days after Kim Jong Un made a public appearance for the first time in 3 weeks. No one knows what the Supreme Leader was doing during that time, and it seems that it will remain that way. It seems very unlikely that this was a Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Even if the North wanted a war, creating one right now makes zero logical and strategical sense. After all, Disease and war are a deadly combination. It's also fair to assume that due to the DPRK's isolation they have relatively few Covid-19 cases, and it would make no sense to put themselves at risk by pouring into South Korea. Thankfully as time goes on, war it seems is becoming both too expensive and risky. Leading everyone to try to avoid it as much as possible no matter what.

1. Did this situation have the potential to spark a conflict?

2. Is it possible that Kim Jong Un's unusual absence is in any way related to the incident?

3. Was this another Marco Polo Bridge incident (was is provoked)?

Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2020/5/3/21245664/north-south-korea-gunfire-exchange-shoot
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/at-the-border-between-north-and-south-korea-royalty-free-image/916185938?adppopup=true

Elon Musk's Newest Release: X Æ A-12

Elon Musk and his wife (Claire Boucher) Grimes

This Monday, Elon Musk's announcement of his newborn child took the internet by storm. The reason for the commotion amongst the general public was the child's name: X Æ A-12.
Many wondered whether it was a joke at first because it seemed extremely odd that anyone would give their kid such an unusual name. However, Musk and his wife have made it quite clear that they were serious. Still, people are questioning the legitimacy of the name since California, like many other places such as Sweden and New Zealand, have regulations on baby names. Regardless, Musk and Grimes seem insistent on keeping the name. Grimes even posted on Twitter giving an explanation of the name's origin. The first letter of his name X, stands for the variable representing and unknown value often used in math. The Æ, according to Grimes is her elven spelling of love/artificial intelligence. The symbol is pronounced "ash" and can also be found in Latin and Old English as well as a letter in languages like Icelandic, Danish, and Norwegian. Lastly, the A-12 stands for the couple's favorite aircraft that was built for the CIA and is known by its designers by the name; Archangel. It is still unclear how the name is pronounced but the most common speculation is "X Ash Archangel". The newborn hasn't even been alive for a week and he already has millions of people tracking his growth. 


1.) Do you think that because of Elon Musk's announcement we'll begin to see an increase in unusual baby names around the world?

2.) Was it a good move to give the child such an odd name considering that he will be growing up in public eye for his entire childhood and early life?

3.) How might the newborn's unusual name affect his life as he gets older?




Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52557291
https://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/2020050589328/elon-musk-grimes-baby-boy-name-fans-react/0-428-187/elon-musk-grimes-baby-t.jpg

Covid-19's Threat to the Amazon Tribes

In the midst of a pandemic, people from all over the world has been affected by the potentially deadly Coronavirus. Precautions have been taken everywhere around the world, including school closures, social distancing measures, and shelter-in-place orders. However, one group has been gravely overlooked throughout this; the indigenous groups who live in Brazil's rain forest, also known as the Amazons. This community of people are well known for being completely detached from the rest of human society, which means Coronavirus proves a threat to their kind because of their lack of modern technology and medicine. Currently, a global coalition of artists, celebrities, scientists, and intellectuals are calling for Brazillian leaders to take action against a potential "genocide", as some are calling it. They point out that throughout history, Amazons have been devastated by new diseases brought by other people, and Coronavirus will be no different. If no action is taken to protect these indigenous groups, we may be looking at a genocide capable of wiping out the entire Amazon population.

1. What are some ways Brazilian leaders could protect these tribes from Coronavirus?

2. Why do you think Brazilian leaders have not taken any action about this already?

3. Would you classify this situation as a potential genocide? Why or why not?

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/eve-of-genocide-brazil-urged-save-amazon-tribes-covid-19-sebastiao-salgado
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/indigenous-tribe-celebrates-court-decision-to-protect-amazon-rainforest