________
________
________
from Aleteia English
Catholic Media/News Company
How the Black Plague changed the “Hail Mary” prayer
The “Hail Mary” prayer that Christians have been praying for centuries is composed of two main parts. The first part of the prayer is derived from the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary by saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) The next part of the prayer is taken from the Visitation, when Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42) At first the prayer was known as the “Salutation of the Blessed Virgin,” and only consisted of the two verses joined together. However, during the Black Plague (also known as the “Black Death”) the prayer was further developed and a second part was added to it. This second part (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death”) is believed by many to have been added during the plague to ask for the Blessed Mother’s protection from the fatal disease.
________
How the Black Plague changed the “Hail Mary” prayer
The “Hail Mary” prayer that Christians have been praying for centuries is composed of two main parts. The first part of the prayer is derived from the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary by saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) The next part of the prayer is taken from the Visitation, when Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42) At first the prayer was known as the “Salutation of the Blessed Virgin,” and only consisted of the two verses joined together. However, during the Black Plague (also known as the “Black Death”) the prayer was further developed and a second part was added to it. This second part (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death”) is believed by many to have been added during the plague to ask for the Blessed Mother’s protection from the fatal disease.
________
from CNN
Toilet paper makers: 'What we are dealing with here is uncharted'
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, households across the country are hunkering down and emptying out store shelves. Toilet paper has a become the ultimate symbol of the panic buying; it's seemingly scooped up as soon as new rolls hit the shelves. Companies that help supply these everyday paper products are stunned and trying to adjust to this rapidly evolving new normal in consumer behavior.
________
from First Things
KEEP THE CHURCHES OPEN!
R. R. Reno: Cancelling church services is the wrong response to the coronavirus pandemic. When we worship, we join the Christian rebellion against the false lordship of the principalities and powers that claim to rule our lives, including sickness and death. This does not mean carelessness about our health, nor does it mean indifference to the health of others. Instead, it means that as Christians we have higher priorities. Our end is in God. [C.S., along with many others, does not agree with the reasoning in this article]
Melbourne scientists make major coronavirus breakthrough
Melbourne scientists have discovered how the human body overcomes coronavirus in a global breakthrough hoped to fast-track treatments, vaccines and even identify those at risk of dying. The Doherty Institute researchers have also shown that healthy people can expect to fight off mild to moderate COVID-19 cases in three days.
________
5 Pandemic Movies That You Might Not Want To Stream This Weekend
Every pandemic movie ever made has precisely zero educational value. When it comes to pandemics, Hollywood is here to sell tickets, not to give a health science class. If you want to really know what we should be doing in a public health emergency, read some responsible analysis or go to the real Center for Disease Control website.
________
from First Things
KEEP THE CHURCHES OPEN!
R. R. Reno: Cancelling church services is the wrong response to the coronavirus pandemic. When we worship, we join the Christian rebellion against the false lordship of the principalities and powers that claim to rule our lives, including sickness and death. This does not mean carelessness about our health, nor does it mean indifference to the health of others. Instead, it means that as Christians we have higher priorities. Our end is in God. [C.S., along with many others, does not agree with the reasoning in this article]
________
from Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)
Melbourne scientists make major coronavirus breakthrough
Melbourne scientists have discovered how the human body overcomes coronavirus in a global breakthrough hoped to fast-track treatments, vaccines and even identify those at risk of dying. The Doherty Institute researchers have also shown that healthy people can expect to fight off mild to moderate COVID-19 cases in three days.
________
from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.
5 Pandemic Movies That You Might Not Want To Stream This Weekend
Every pandemic movie ever made has precisely zero educational value. When it comes to pandemics, Hollywood is here to sell tickets, not to give a health science class. If you want to really know what we should be doing in a public health emergency, read some responsible analysis or go to the real Center for Disease Control website.
________
from HumanProgress.org Education Website
Green Colonialism in Africa Led to the Locust Plague
A plague of locusts has hit Africa. Massive swarms are devouring crops and other vegetation in their path, imperiling millions and setting the stage for a humanitarian disaster. On his recent visit to three African countries, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo committed a welcome $8 million to aid in locust control. If the U.S. really wants to help, it would stand firm against the radical anti-insecticide agenda. The best way to stop the locusts is to spray insecticide from the air. Unfortunately, Kenya lacks adequate supplies of the best and most effective insecticide, fenitrothion, and is scrambling to get additional stocks. The radical environmental movement, which seeks to ban fenitrothion and other safe and effective chemicals, has made Kenyan authorities’ work more difficult. Since last September, European Union-funded nongovernmental organizations in Kenya have been petitioning the Kenyan Parliament to ban more than 250 registered agricultural insecticides. Foremost among these groups is the Route to Food Initiative, funded by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which in turn is affiliated with the German Green Party. The chemicals the Greens seek to ban are essential for controlling not only locusts but also common agricultural pests, weeds and fungi. Even as locusts devastate Kenyan crops, NGO lobbyists continue their anti-insecticide crusade.
________
from Mises Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED
The EU's Once-Open Internal Borders Are Closing Down
As the member states of the EU begin to shut their internal borders to their neighbors, we're reminded that state-to-state open borders in a place like the US do come with a downside.
IS THE CORONACRISIS GIVING THE FED COVER TO HOLD CORPORATE DEBT?
Since 2008, banks have largely abandoned the discount window, opting instead to sit on excess reserves, in part to avoid the appearance of being stressed. The Fed is now actively trying to reverse this trend. The cut brings the discount window rates down to the closest they’ve been to the federal funds rate since the 2008 crisis. In case that was too subtle, Chairman Powell also explicitly emphasized the opportunity banks have to utilize the discount window. This may end up being the most important piece of yesterday’s historic announcement, because it may serve not only as a lifeline to banks, but as a means to prop up a dangerous corporate debt bubble.
The Fed Has Sufficient Tools—to Wreck the Economy
These famed "tools" of the central bank are nothing but cunning and arcane techniques for conjuring additional trillions of dollars out of thin air and pumping them into the global economy.
________
from The New England Journal of Medicine
world’s leading medical journal and website
A novel human coronavirus that is now named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (formerly called HCoV-19) emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and is now causing a pandemic. We analyzed the aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 and compared it with SARS-CoV-1, the most closely related human coronavirus.
________
from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
________
from STAT
Media/News Company in Boston reporting from the frontiers of health and medicine
A fiasco in the making? As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data
Yet if the health system does become overwhelmed, the majority of the extra deaths may not be due to coronavirus but to other common diseases and conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, trauma, bleeding, and the like that are not adequately treated. If the level of the epidemic does overwhelm the health system and extreme measures have only modest effectiveness, then flattening the curve may make things worse: Instead of being overwhelmed during a short, acute phase, the health system will remain overwhelmed for a more protracted period. That’s another reason we need data about the exact level of the epidemic activity. One of the bottom lines is that we don’t know how long social distancing measures and lockdowns can be maintained without major consequences to the economy, society, and mental health. Unpredictable evolutions may ensue, including financial crisis, unrest, civil strife, war, and a meltdown of the social fabric. At a minimum, we need unbiased prevalence and incidence data for the evolving infectious load to guide decision-making. In the most pessimistic scenario, which I do not espouse, if the new coronavirus infects 60% of the global population and 1% of the infected people die, that will translate into more than 40 million deaths globally, matching the 1918 influenza pandemic. The vast majority of this hecatomb would be people with limited life expectancies. That’s in contrast to 1918, when many young people died.”
________
from STAT
Media/News Company in Boston reporting from the frontiers of health and medicine
A fiasco in the making? As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data
Yet if the health system does become overwhelmed, the majority of the extra deaths may not be due to coronavirus but to other common diseases and conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, trauma, bleeding, and the like that are not adequately treated. If the level of the epidemic does overwhelm the health system and extreme measures have only modest effectiveness, then flattening the curve may make things worse: Instead of being overwhelmed during a short, acute phase, the health system will remain overwhelmed for a more protracted period. That’s another reason we need data about the exact level of the epidemic activity. One of the bottom lines is that we don’t know how long social distancing measures and lockdowns can be maintained without major consequences to the economy, society, and mental health. Unpredictable evolutions may ensue, including financial crisis, unrest, civil strife, war, and a meltdown of the social fabric. At a minimum, we need unbiased prevalence and incidence data for the evolving infectious load to guide decision-making. In the most pessimistic scenario, which I do not espouse, if the new coronavirus infects 60% of the global population and 1% of the infected people die, that will translate into more than 40 million deaths globally, matching the 1918 influenza pandemic. The vast majority of this hecatomb would be people with limited life expectancies. That’s in contrast to 1918, when many young people died.”
________
from The Washington Times
News & Media Website in Washington, D.C.
'Wake-up call': Chinese control of U.S. pharmaceutical supplies sparks growing concern
As the war of words between China and the U.S. over COVID-19 heats up, Chinese state media have raised the specter of using Beijing’s pharmaceutical leverage to block critical components and supplies for dependent U.S. drug companies and send America into “the hell of a novel coronavirus epidemic.” While India and several European nations play critical roles in the global medical supply chain, China is among the top providers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) — the basic components for antibiotics and other prescription drugs consumed by Americans. With the coronavirus crisis threatening to strain the U.S. government’s large stockpiles of such drugs, health experts warn that China’s own outbreak and related societal shutdown could mean major shortages ahead as Chinese factories struggle to keep up production of the APIs.
________
'Wake-up call': Chinese control of U.S. pharmaceutical supplies sparks growing concern
As the war of words between China and the U.S. over COVID-19 heats up, Chinese state media have raised the specter of using Beijing’s pharmaceutical leverage to block critical components and supplies for dependent U.S. drug companies and send America into “the hell of a novel coronavirus epidemic.” While India and several European nations play critical roles in the global medical supply chain, China is among the top providers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) — the basic components for antibiotics and other prescription drugs consumed by Americans. With the coronavirus crisis threatening to strain the U.S. government’s large stockpiles of such drugs, health experts warn that China’s own outbreak and related societal shutdown could mean major shortages ahead as Chinese factories struggle to keep up production of the APIs.
________
No comments:
Post a Comment