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Wuhan Virus -
I’m not going to track the count - many other threads that do that. I’m monitoring the US and the potential impact to this country.
Infections have increased significantly and deaths are being reported in Washington State where virologists indicate that the virus has been making round for as much as 6 weeks already before being detected in the rest home. States with confirmed cases include: WA, OR, CA, AZ, UT, NE, TX, IL, WI, MA, RI, NY, and FL.

New travel restrictions going in place and there is contemplation of a shutdown of the border with Mexico. A closed border will cause economic issues for border states.

Still the best advice out there - up your precautions for typical flu season; hand washing, personal space, recognition of syndromes etc. Add additional vitamins like C and D to your diet to make sure you system is up to speed.

ASSESSMENT - US corporations have been caught with their pants down over outsourcing so much of their production to China. The economic impacts will be relatively long lasting. Already the DOW has lost 12%, shortages of medical materials/drugs becoming evident and that is just the start of the external impacts. Expect another rough week for the markets. Personal Note: My local stores in Kalifornia have sold out of masks and hand sanitizer as well as having lowered stocks of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alchol. No signifcant rush on food stuffs yet. For grins and giggles I checked amazon for sanitizer prices - Hold your hats - an 8 oz bottle that typically sold for under $4 was being offered for $44.

Two areas of concern for spreading. One are rest home/nursing centers and the second is the west coast homeless population. Personal note again, my MIL was caught in a Norovirus outbreak that swept thru a hospital she was in then followed her to a nursing home. These folks have very compromised resistance to infections. Very evident from the rest home in Washington State, where 27/108 residents and 25/180 staff have reported symptoms. Homeless are equally compromised and abysmal hygiene promises to pass the virus quickly and then into the down town area were the rest of the world comes to work - spreading it eventually to the suburbs. Very troublesome potential for spread.

Turkey/Syria/Russia-
Turkey reported that this offensive has neutralized 2,200 Syrian regime troops, a drone, 8 helicopters, 103 tanks, tens of howitzers, 3 air defense systems during the operation. Overnight Turkey also shot down two Syrian warplanes. Turkish backed forces continued to regain territory in southern Idlib lost over the course of the past few weeks.

Erdogan’s call to NATO last week has not garnered the support he hoped for. Both Turkey and Russia are knife-edged close to all out open conflict. Iran has reportedly threatened Turkey as well with direct attacks.

Turkey has kept their border crossings open, bringing Greek and Bulgarian forces into conflict with millions of Syrian refugees trying to enter Europe. So far both countries have refused entry.

Iran/Wuhan Virus -
Gaining its separate post. An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died from the new corona virus. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, was an Expediency Council member who advised Khamenei and settled disputes between him and parliament. COVID-19 has already infected Iran’s vice president and deputy health minister. Incredible number of Iranian leaders have been infected. The Iranian parliament has announced it will stop meeting temporarily with 4 of the lawmakers testing positive for the virus. Iran has reported the highest number of causalities outside of China. Meanwhile the ruling clergy are still encouraging pilgrims to go to Qom, lick the temple and such. If these actions and indicators are correct, the elderly religious rules are at high risk of death from the virus, cleaning out the despots.

Protests broke out between security forces and citizens angry at the government’s handling of the crisis with videos surfacing on social media of clashes. Add to this the abyssal economics, ongoing expenditures of money to support proxy wars over civil needs, abusive crackdowns and other violations, continued protests are expected for the future.

Sanctions/crushed economy, plague of locusts and now the Wuhan virus has placed Iran on the ropes. They will be hard pressed to do much with so much on their plate in the homeland.

N Korea -
Popped of a couple short range missiles overnight. Historically NK has tested missile in the spring. Their country leadership is conducting meeting via video conference to avoid Wuhan virus contamination.

CW2 -
BLM took over the stage at a Kolbuchar rally in St Lewis last night. It is an interesting turn that this leftist group is turning on a left-center democrat candidate. I think this is evidence that these leftist groups are going to become more vocal/active in order to keep pushing the democrat party further to the left.