Tag Archives: Coronavirus

Snowden Warns of Coronavirus Surveillance

I sense that this is going to get out of hand in a myriad of ways.  It is like throwing all the cards up in the air.  Perhaps the joker is the only one face up…

https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/snowden-coronavirus-pandemic-could-lead-to-extended-government-surveillance/

Snowden: Coronavirus pandemic could lead to extended government surveillance

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden warned that the use of surveillance to track coronavirus cases during the pandemic could continue once the crisis subsides, according to a report.

“When we see emergency measures passed, particularly today, they tend to be sticky,” Snowden said in an interview with the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, CNET reported. “The emergency tends to be expanded. Then the authorities become comfortable with some new power. They start to like it.”

Snowden, who released highly classified information from the National Security Agency, said governments could extend the access they have to monitor people’s personal information during a crisis.

During the coronavirus outbreak, governments could raise concerns about public health and send orders to smartphones and fitness trackers for information about pulse and heart rate.

Once the pandemic ends, they could raise other fears, like terrorism, and continue to gather the data.

“They already know what you’re looking at on the internet,” Snowden said. “They already know where your phone is moving. Now they know what your heart rate is, what your pulse is. What happens when they start to intermix these and apply artificial intelligence to it?”

The report said the US government is working with Facebook and Google to use location data to keep track of where coronavirus cases are concentrated.

Snowden fled to Russia after the Justice Department unsealed espionage charges against him in 2013.

Pirbright Institute Patented the Coronavirus

In the public interest.

This organization was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. See previous blog for further information.

Note: https://www.fbcoverup.com/docs/library/2020-01-28-The-Pinbright-Institute-Woking-GB-Coronavirus-et-al-Patents-Assigned-to-AN_Pinbright-compiled-Jan-28-2020.pdf

Note: https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/coronaviruses/

https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/press-releases/2019/04/pirbright-institute-appoints-new-chair-and-six-new-trustees-its-trustee-board

The Pirbright Institute appoints a new Chair and six new Trustees to its Trustee Board

Posted: 1 April, 2019

The Pirbright Institute, a world-leading centre of excellence in research and surveillance of virus diseases of farm animals and viruses that spread from animals to humans announces the appointment of Professor John Stephenson as Chair of the Trustee Board and six new Trustees. Professor Stephenson succeeds Professor Quintin McKellar CBE, who is stepping down. Professor Stephenson is joined by Trustees Mr Ian Bateman, Mr Ian Black, Mr Jon Coles, Professor Vince Emery, Dr Sandy Primrose and Jane Tirard. Mike Samuel and Dr Theo Kanellos have retired as Trustees after serving for nine and five years respectively.

Dr Bryan Charleston, Director of The Pirbright Institute, said: “We thank Professor Quintin McKellar for 15 years of dedicated service, including five years as Chair of the Trustee Board, and Mike Samuel and Dr Theo Kanellos for their service on the Board of Trustees. Under the leadership of Professor McKellar the Trustee Board has overseen capital improvements to the site of circa £300 million over the last ten years that have equipped the Institute for 21st Century science, enabling Pirbright to continue to be a world leader in innovation and research on the control and surveillance of livestock diseases.

“Professor John Stephenson brings his wealth of experience to the Chair of the Trustee Board, from a distinguished research career in virology and immunology as well as five years as a Pirbright Trustee. He is the ideal candidate to continue to push forward the Institute’s excellent reputation in livestock disease research, diagnostics and surveillance and navigate the potential challenges ahead.”

Professor Stephenson has had a distinguished research career, with a long-standing interest in the interaction between virus infection and the immune system. In 1999 he joined the Department of Health as Chief Research Officer responsible for managing programmes on Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), vaccines, pandemic influenza and counter terrorism. In 2007 he was appointed Director of Research and Development for the Health Protection Agency. Professor Stephenson also holds an honorary professorship at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he is also a member of Council.

Professor John Stephenson said: “I am honoured to have been appointed Chair of the Trustee Board for The Pirbright Institute. The unique state-of-the-art facilities and globally-recognised expertise at Pirbright provides the United Kingdom with a National Capability to control highly infectious viral diseases of livestock, helping to protect the livelihoods of farmers and national economies in the UK and around the world. I look forward to helping provide strategic counsel as we deal with the ever-changing landscape in global livestock disease control and surveillance.”

Six new members are joining the Trustee Board to broaden the range of expertise amongst Board members and to facilitate succession planning. Together they have a huge amount of experience in research, industry, academia and business.

Mr Ian Bateman is currently Director of Quality at NHS Blood and Transplant. He is an Executive Director and Board member with significant strategic leadership experience across a range of industries, in well established, newly developing and aggressively growing organisations. He has a strong background in corporate leadership of quality, regulatory affairs, corporate governance, assurance, risk, health and safety, environment management and continuous improvement. This experience has been gained in areas such as blood, tissues and cells, organs, pharmaceuticals, in vitro diagnostic devices and communications; within both the commercial and public sector.  

Mr Ian Black has worked as a senior executive in a number of global organisations including NCR, AT&T, RIL and BAT with a business sector focus on engineering, technology and fast moving consumer goods. He is also the founder and a Director of Arch Management Consultants focusing on organisation strategy, HR leadership, change management, remuneration, talent management, governance and performance improvement. In this capacity he has provided consulting services to organisations in various sectors including, insurance, consumer goods, aviation, pharmaceuticals and technology. He also served on the Board of Quadram Institute BioScience (QIB) in Norwich and chaired its Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Mr Jon Coles joins The Pirbright Institute from Brunswick Group LLP, the leading international communications consultancy. He has been a Partner at Brunswick for over 28 years advising the Boards of Directors of global groups on strategic communications and corporate reputation, with a particular focus on clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agriculture industries. Jon graduated in Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of Southampton. 

Professor Vince Emery is Senior Vice-President (Global) and Professor of Translational Virology at the University of Surrey. Professor Emery leads the University of Surrey’s global strategy seeking to catalyse and expand international research networks, student and staff recruitment and mobility, to foster teaching collaborations, and to realise transnational educational opportunities. His current research aims to provide an interdisciplinary approach to understanding viral infections in immunocompromised hosts such as HIV-infected patients and transplant recipients. He is also Deputy Director of I-sense which is developing early warning sensing systems for infectious diseases and is supported through a multi-million pound grant support from EPSRC (www.i-sense.org.uk). Professor Emery is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and was selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation in 2017 for his contribution to infectious disease research and its impact on patients following transplantation. There is a close working relationship between The Pirbright Institute and School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, to the benefit of students and researchers at both institutions.

Doctor Sandy Primrose has a detailed business knowledge gained at a senior level in a diversity of industries, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, instrumentation, food microbiology, radio-chemicals, fine chemicals and environmental testing. His expertise includes mentoring early-stage companies, managing complex products from concept to commercialisation and technology transfer, setting strategic direction, preparation of detailed operational plans and overseeing plan implementation. He has also worked at senior level with government organisations such as the Food Standards Agency, Defra and Health Protection Agency.

Jane Tirard has over 30 years of regional and global experience in business and financial management, spanning both the private and public sectors. Her experience includes high level strategic financial planning and working knowledge of government departments, funding councils, academia and the pharmaceutical sector. Prior to joining Pirbright’s Trustee Board she was the Director of Finance and Corporate Services at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron science facility. Previously she was the Finance Director at Queen Mary University of London, and Executive Director of Finance at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

The new Trustees join existing Board members so that the full membership of the Trustee Board now comprises: Mr Ian Bateman, Mr Ian Black, Mr Jon Coles, Professor Vince Emery, Mr Roger Louth, Dr Vanessa Mayatt OBE, Dr Sandy Primrose, Sir Bertie Ross, Professor David Rowlands, Professor John Stephenson (Chair), Jane Tirard.

ENDS


For more information please contact communications@pirbright.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1483 231120.

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About The Pirbright Institute

The Pirbright Institute is a world leading centre of excellence in research and surveillance of virus diseases of farm animals and viruses that spread from animals to humans. Based in the UK and receiving strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Institute works to enhance capability to contain, control and eliminate these economically and medically important diseases through highly innovative fundamental and applied bioscience.

The Institute is an independent company, limited by guarantee and a registered charity, governed by a Board of non-executive Trustee Directors.

With an annual income of nearly £32.1 million from grants and commercial activity, and a total of £14.3 million strategic investment from BBSRC during 2017-2018, the Institute contributes to global food security and health, improving quality of life for animals and people.

For more information about The Pirbright Institute see: www.pirbright.ac.uk

About BBSRC

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.

BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Funded by government, BBSRC invested £498 million in world-class bioscience in 2017-18. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

More information about BBSRC, its science and its impact: www.bbsrc.ukri.org

More information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes

John Hopkins is in Partnership with the World Economic Forum

In the public interest I will post Democracy Now! latest news report which discusses COVID-19.  I noted John Hopkins commentary and found the following document about the World Economic Forum pandemic simulation.  The world must critically think about this problem to uncover the truth.  Journalist must explore narratives more closely. There has to be investigations into bio-weapons.

This is a perspective indicating coronavirus is a bioweapon. If so there will be war crimes trial in the future and it must be banned. https://patriots4truth.org/2020/01/28/corona-virus-is-a-globalist-bioweapon/

https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/

Event 201

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted Event 201, a high-level pandemic exercise on October 18, 2019, in New York, NY. The exercise illustrated areas where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences.

Statement about nCoV and our pandemic exercise

In recent years, the world has seen a growing number of epidemic events, amounting to approximately 200 events annually. These events are increasing, and they are disruptive to health, economies, and society. Managing these events already strains global capacity, even absent a pandemic threat. Experts agree that it is only a matter of time before one of these epidemics becomes global—a pandemic with potentially catastrophic consequences. A severe pandemic, which becomes “Event 201,” would require reliable cooperation among several industries, national governments, and key international institutions.

Event 201 discussions

Coronavirus PR Campaign

In the public interest.

Carbon Media was commissioned by the government.  My first response is a citizen is that I do not want PR involved in information dissemination, I want only experts so that I know I am getting independent information.  I am concerned about misinformation and manipulating information. So those involved are important to look at in the public interest.  I will look at Carbon Media in the next blog.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/australian-government-did-not-commission-coronavirus-campaign-until-a-month-after-first-case

Australian government did not commission coronavirus campaign until a month after first case

Australia’s health minister Greg Hunt, prime minister Scott Morrison and chief medical officer Brendan Murphy

Labor says the Morrison government has been slow educating the public about coronavirus, as details of the public health campaign tender emerged. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The Morrison government only engaged a creative agency for its national public health campaign about coronavirus on 3 March, more than a month after the first case of the disease was reported in Australia.

According to the contract notice on AusTender, the health department engaged Carbon Media to provide creative services for the Covid-19 campaign on 3 March.

A spokesman for the health minister Greg Hunt defended the timeline, telling Guardian Australia the department “had access to creative services from a range of sources, both internal and external, well before Carbon Media was engaged” but conceded the contract for the national campaign began on 3 March.

Labor has seized on the revelation to step up its criticism that the Morrison government was too slow to educate the public about preventing the spread of coronavirus through hygiene and social distancing measures.

On Sunday the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced that Australia will require all international arrivals in Australia to self-isolate for 14 days and is now encouraging social distancing for others. The escalation comes on top of a recommendation that from Monday all non-essential mass gatherings of more than 500 people be cancelled.

The suite of new measures comes after criticism the government has failed to give clear messages about social distancing. The chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, advised as late as Sunday morning that handshakes between people who have not returned from overseas were still advisable.

The $407,700 Carbon Media contract is due to run until 30 June and was awarded by limited tender, subject to the exemption on open tenders for government advertising contracts.

Carbon Media has numerous other contracts with the health department including for seasonal influenza communications and childhood immunisation.

Labor’s shadow health minister, Chris Bowen, told Guardian Australia: “Time will tell whether this is in an effective advertising campaign, but Labor questions why it took the government over two months to commence an advertising campaign to provide the most basic public health information on Covid-19.

“They should be doing more, sooner.”

The coronavirus ads, which were rolled out on Saturday, direct Australians to visit health.gov.au to access up-to-date advice:

Pinterest

Another version of the ad urges people who have been overseas or had contact with people with coronavirus to call ahead before visiting the doctor and stay home if the illness is mild:

Pinterest

Australians are directed to cough or sneeze into their arm or a tissue, and to wash their hands regularly:

Pinterest

On Wednesday Hunt announced the $30m ad campaign as part of the $2.4bn health response to the coronavirus.

So far, the health department has paid $2.3m to Mediabrands Australia for the media buy for the campaign, and $56,375 to Snapcracker Research and Strategy for concept testing for the campaign. Those contracts run from 12 March and 4 March.

The department has paid $17,270 to Ansible Pty Ltd to develop a mobile application, although it is unclear if the contract relates to development of a new coronavirus app.

At a press conference on Sunday Bowen said Labor welcomed the fact the advertising campaign has started in earnest.

“I have made the point consistently that the public information has not always been clear and consistent,” he said.

Bowen said the campaign “needs to be a nationally coordinated, fully integrated campaign to allay misinformation on social media” and should also “make people’s obligations for self-isolation very clear”.

On Monday, Scott Morrison told ABC’s AM resources for the campaign were put in place “several weeks ago” and the government had taken coronavirus seriously since mid-January.

He cited travel bans and evacuations from Wuhan, without explaining why the health campaign was commissioned on 3 March.

The first case of coronavirus in Australia was confirmed on 25 January.

On 11 March Hunt defended the pace of rolling out ads by noting the government had already started using signage at airports to communicate about measures to combat coronavirus.

“In addition, we’ll be focusing on online, electronic media and messages to the home to make sure that people have as many avenues [to receive information] as possible,” he said.

Hunt’s spokesman said the government had run “a range of messages and advertising, particularly targeted at the Chinese community and international travellers as was the original need in the early phases of the outbreak”.

“The public has been provided with the latest developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak through nearly daily press conferences, media releases, updates on the department’s website and social media channels.”

“Multiple fact sheets and communiques have been posted on the website and distributed to key stakeholders and industries to address their specific requirements.”

San Francisco coronavirus spending $5 million to clean Homeless Shelters

In the public interest.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/san-francisco-coronavirus-outbreak-homeless-population-2020-3?op=1&r=US&IR=T

San Francisco is spending $5 million to deep-clean homeless shelters and SROs as the coronavirus outbreak threatens the city’s most vulnerable residents

Melia Robinson/Business Insider
  • San Francisco is spending $US5 million to protect members of its homeless population amid a coronavirus outbreak in the city.
  • The funding will be used to hire cleaning crews that will sanitize homeless shelters, supportive housing buildings, and SROs daily.
  • San Francisco now has 13 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease and is taking precautions to contain the disease, but those living on the streets are more at risk of contracting infectious diseases.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The city of San Francisco is funelling $US5 million into protecting the 25,000 people living in the city’s homeless shelters and in single-room occupancy (SRO)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Monday that dozens of workers will be hired to be part of a cleaning crew that will regularly deep-clean the shelters, supportive housing buildings, and the SRO’s, which are funded by the city. The money will also be used to keep shelters, including Navigation Centres, open 24/7.

Meal offerings will also be made more available at shelters and SROs to encourage occupants to stay indoors. The funding will allow the city to keep up with the daily cleaning and the around-the-clock shelter hours for a few months, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The city of San Francisco now has 13 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19. The mayor declared a state of emergency on February 25 that would make it easier for officials to access resources and funding needed to address a potential outbreak. Companies are advising employees to work from home, large events exceeding 50 people are banned at city-owned facilities until March 20, and some of the biggest annual tech conferences to be held in the city have been cancelled or turned into virtual events in an attempt to contain the disease.

But those living on the streets are more at risk of contracting infectious diseases such as the coronavirus, in San Francisco and in other US cities. A 2019 count placed the number of homeless individuals in the city at 8,011.Many don’t have the luxury of taking the recommended precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19, like handwashing and keeping a distance from sick people, as Business Insider’s Holly Secon reported.

Other major cities with coronavirus outbreaks with large homeless populations, like Seattle, are facing similar obstacles, as Secon reports.