VIRUS KILLS CAPITALISM

Coronavirus: Dow erases Trump presidency gains

    WOT ME WORRY?!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 major American companies fell more than 4.5% on Friday, erasing all the gains it had made since Donald Trump became president in January 2017.

The drop helped to finish the worst week on Wall Street since 2008, with all three indexes down at least 12%.

The falls come as authorities tighten restrictions on activity in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

New York state on Friday ordered non-essential businesses to close.

Illinois also made a similar move, while California earlier mandated that its residents shelter in place.

The Dow lost more than 900 points to close at 19,173, while the wider S&P 500 dropped 4.3% to 2,304 and the Nasdaq lost 3.8% to 6,879.5.

They have now fallen more than 30% from their recent records.

Mr Trump has taken credit as the share indexes climbed during his presidency - gaining nearly 50% as of last month. He has written about them on Twitter at least 131 times, according to a tally by the New York Times.

At briefings this week, Mr Trump has said he is not worried about the economy in the long-run, arguing that business will bounce back after the pandemic eases and restrictions can be relaxed.

For now, however, the upheavals are severe.

Unemployment claims in the US surged 30% this week, as thousands of people lost their jobs, while in the restaurant industry alone as many as 7 million jobs could be cut in the next three months, according to estimates by the National Restaurant Association.

Delta Air Lines on Friday said it would lose $10bn in its second quarter, while United Airlines warned that it would cut jobs starting in April if the government does not provide relief funding. Both firms saw share prices fall about 30% this week.

Coca-Cola lost more than 8%, after warning the virus had upended its growth forecast, as sales to theatres, sporting venues and restaurants evaporate.

Earlier, the FTSE 100 index of top UK firms ended up 0.76%, while Germany's Dax and France's CAC 40 gained more than 3%.

'Drastic action'

The market moves came as the state of New York ordered staff at all "non-essential" businesses to remain at home as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise.

The move expands earlier restrictions and comes as California on the west coast said its nearly 40 million residents should "shelter in place".

The US has confirmed more than 14,000 cases of the coronavirus, including more than 7,000 in New York.

The surge has started to strain its health care system.

"This is the most drastic action we can take," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said,

New York said pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and shipping firms were among those exempt from the order, which goes into effect on Sunday.

REUTERS

Many places have already been forced to shut, including schools, shopping centres, and theatres.

Mr Cuomo also issued additional rules for the state's 19.5 million citizens, saying healthy people who are not at risk may go outside for exercise and to go grocery shopping, but should otherwise remain at home.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, who has been a leader of the national response, said he supported the move.

"Please co-operate with your governor," he said at the White House's daily coronavirus briefing.

The US also said it would bar non-essential travel between the US and Canada, from midnight.

However, US President Donald Trump said he did not think shelter in place orders needed to be expanded nationally, noting that many states have far lower infection rates.

"They're watching it on television but they don't have the same problems," he said.

Restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus have expanded rapidly this week and are already having a devastating economic effect, with the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits surging more than 30% this week.

Economists are predicting a sharp contraction in economic growth in coming months, and have warned that millions of jobs are at risk.

Congress is working on a more than $1tn relief bill, that is expected to include direct payments of more than $1,000 for each American who earns less than a certain amount. It would also include millions for businesses affected by the pandemic, such as airlines and hotels.

Dow ends worst week since 2008 financial crisis

A worker sweeps the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after the closing bell on Wall Street in New York City on Friday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

March 20 (UPI) -- Stocks attempted to rally early Friday, but tumbled further throughout the day, ending the worst week in over a decade for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Dow closed at 19,248, down 4.5 percent for the day. The S&P 500 slid 4.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.8 percent, despite a 2 percent jump earlier in the day.

The Dow was down more than 17 percent for the week, its biggest weekly decrease since October 2008, when it dropped 18.2 percent. The S&P 500 lost 13 percent and the Nasdaq 12.6 percent this week.

Stocks attempted to rally with gains early Friday, but sources told CNBC that news that clearing firm Ronin Capital failed to meet its capital requirements dragged trading down toward the end of the day.

Oil prices, which have plummeted in recent weeks, showed some gains Friday but fell back into the negative. Brent crude was trading at $29.44 per barrel.

Friday's losses followed reports that multiple U.S. senators moved to sell off some of their stock weeks ago at the start of the coronavirus outbreak. Among those reported to have dumped shares are Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.

NOT REAL NEWS: Another week of false coronavirus content

FILE - In this Friday, March 20, 2020 file photo, a member of the New Jersey National Guard helps direct traffic at COVID-19 drive-through testing center in Paramus, N.J. On Friday, March 20, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting that within 48-72 hours the president will evoke what is called the Stafford Act, will order a two week mandatory quarantine for the nation, and that the National Guard will mobilize and martial law will go into effect. The National Security Council knocked down the rumors on Twitter. “As we saw over the wkend, disinfo is being spread online about a supposed national lockdown and grounding flights. Be skeptical of rumors. Make sure you’re getting info from legitimate sources," the council tweeted. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the real facts:

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CLAIM: Please be advised that within 48-72 hours the president will evoke what is called the Stafford Act. The president will order a two week mandatory quarantine for the nation. The National Guard will mobilize and martial law will go into effect. Stock up on whatever you need to make sure you have an adequate supply of everything.

THE FACTS: Screenshots of text messages are circulating in group chats and on social media warning that the U.S. will go into lockdown and that martial law will go into effect. The texts are often attributed to a friend of a friend or a relative who knows someone working in an official capacity for the U.S. government or a medical institution. They claim the government — sometimes federal, sometimes state or local — is about to put a quarantine in place and people won’t be allowed to leave their homes for weeks. The National Security Council knocked down the rumors on Twitter. “As we saw over the wkend, disinfo is being spread online about a supposed national lockdown and grounding flights. Be skeptical of rumors. Make sure you’re getting info from legitimate sources,” the council tweeted Thursday. The texts first emerged on a local level with messages saying that New York and Washington state would go under lockdown, with later claims suggesting that the whole nation would enforce a lockdown. President Donald Trump said at a briefing Friday that he has no plans for a national lockdown at this time. “I don’t think we’ll ever find that necessary,” he told reporters.

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CLAIM: Using a blow dryer to shoot hot air into your sinuses will kill the new coronavirus.

THE FACTS: Medical professionals said taking such action would be dangerous and would not kill the new coronavirus. Social media users are sharing clips from a 6-minute video that suggests that heat kills the coronavirus and applying heat to your nose will help eliminate it. The false claim is one of many around the new virus which doctors are actively trying to debunk. “False! Please don’t. Our nose carries bacteria, as part of normal flora. Those bacteria may get confused,” tweeted Faheem Younus, who specializes in infectious diseases at the University of Maryland. The World Health Organization has said that hand dryers cannot kill the new coronavirus and noted that the virus can still be transmitted in hot and humid climates. Dr. Jen Caudle, a family physician and associate professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, also confirmed that blowing hot air into a nose will not prevent or cure the new coronavirus. “Depending on how hot the blow dryer gets, I would be concerned with some adverse effects,” she said. Doctors like Younus and Caudle are using their social media platforms to debunk myths around the virus that has infected more than 200,000 worldwide.

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CLAIM: Research by scientists at the University of Queensland in Australia has proven that bananas bolster the immune system due to the super source of vitamin B-6 and helps prevent coronavirus.

THE FACTS: As researchers rush to develop a vaccine to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a video circulating on social media falsely claimed they had found a tie between preventing the virus and bananas. It’s not true. The 58-second video takes footage from an ABC Australia news segment, which aired in January about research at the Queensland university to create a vaccine for the virus, and combines it with a Wall Street Journal video on research around the vaccine. It then adds images of bananas overlaid with text suggesting the benefits of bananas in combating the virus. The ABC Australia and The Wall Street Journal videos, which are both available online, make no reference to bananas preventing or killing the coronavirus. A University of Queensland spokesperson told The Associated Press in an email that the video is fake and said they strongly recommend people do not share it. The claim spread in the Philippines in March after officials in the country claimed that bananas could kill the virus. While bananas are a good source of nutrients, including vitamin B6, fiber and potassium, there is no evidence that bananas can prevent or kill coronavirus.

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CLAIM: The first person to receive an experimental coronavirus vaccine during testing in Seattle is a crisis actor

THE FACTS: All participants who volunteered for vaccine test being led by Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle were screened and had to meet a set list of criteria. They were not hired as actors to simulate a role. After researchers began the first round of testing on an experimental vaccine, posts began circulating on social media claiming the first person tested was a crisis actor. To support the claim, the posts falsely suggested that volunteers were injected with saline and that a needle not used for vaccines was used. Both are false. The AP was granted exclusive access to observe the first injections. No saline shots were given as part of the study and photos taken by the AP confirm that the vaccine was given by intramuscular injection. To find participants, Kaiser Permanente advertised for volunteers in the Seattle area. Subjects were screened by phone, and had to meet a set list of criteria. Those who met the criteria were then medically assessed in person at the Kaiser Permanente facility. Some posts making the false crisis actor claim featured photos of Jennifer Haller, the first person to receive the test vaccine. The AP observed Haller, an operations manager at a small tech company, as she received the injection in an exam room. The testing that began Monday marked just the beginning of a series of studies in people needed to prove whether the shots are safe and could work. Even if the research goes well, a vaccine would not be available for widespread use for 12 to 18 months, said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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CLAIM: Coronavirus remains in the throat for four days, drinking water and gargling with warm water mixed with salt or vinegar eliminates the virus.

THE FACTS: Medical officials said there is no evidence that gargling with the mixture will combat the novel coronavirus. False posts containing the claim have been shared widely on social media. One widely shared post states: “Corona virus before it reaches the lungs it remains in the throat for four days and at this time the person begins to cough and have throat pains. If he drinks water a lot and gargling with warm water & salt or vinegar eliminates the virus. Spread this information because you can save someone with this information.” Dr. Robert Legare Atmar, Infectious Disease expert at the Baylor College of Medicine, told the AP while the virus may be detected in the throat for at least a week after the onset of symptoms, the information about gargling is false. “There is no evidence for coronavirus or other respiratory viruses that drinking water or gargling protect against subsequent infection and illness,” he said. “In fact, doing these activities might give people a false sense of security, which would be dangerous if it resulted in behavior that is more risky.” It can be detected in the throat for at least a week after symptom onset, at least in some people, Atmar said.

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CLAIM: Parents who can’t find or afford baby formula right now, Enfamil and Gerber will send you a free case of formula.

THE FACTS: As consumers emptied store shelves stocking up on necessities in anticipation of shortages around the novel coronavirus, social media posts claimed that makers of baby formula would help ease any scarcity by sending a case of formula to those in need. “For parents who cannot find formula in stores for their babies right now, grab the can for formula that you do have and call the number on the back and they will send you a whole case during this time,” said one tweet posted just after midnight Monday. By Tuesday afternoon it had more than 21,000 shares and 16,000 likes. Both Gerber and Enfamil said the posts circulating online are not true, and emphasized they are working with retailers to keep shelves stocked.

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This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

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Find all AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck

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Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

RIP
Victor Olaiya: Nigeria's 'evil genius' trumpeter who influenced Fela Kuti

THE DEVILS GABRIEL 

MYDRIM GALLERY 

YOUTUBE MUSIC AT THE END OF ARTICLES

Nigeria has been mourning music legend Victor Olaiya, who created Nigeria's highlife rhythms and influenced a generation of musicians including Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Nduka Orjinmo looks back at the life of the trumpeter, who died last month at the age of 89.

Just like the well-turned out government filing clerk that he was, Olaiya always carried a pen in his breast pocket. This was not for noting instructions that had to be precisely followed, but rather because he needed to write down the musical notes and phrases as they came to him.

This was at the beginning of the 1950s, his early days as a performer, when the trumpeter was trying to create Nigeria's highlife rhythms.

More musician than bureaucrat

At this stage, music was something he did in his spare time and Olaiya thought he had lost his job in the civil service when his boss saw a newspaper photo of him performing at a nightclub.

Instead, he was told that he was a better musician than a bureaucrat at the survey department of Lagos mainland local government.

He left the job and took on music full time.

Olaiya's family Victor Olaiya

Born to wealthy Yoruba parents in the southern city of Calabar, Olaiya had an early start in music.

His father was a church organist and his mother a folk singer from the western city of Oyo.

He was also influenced by Caribbean calypso and included the popular song Sly Mongoose in his repertoire that he recalled first hearing when he was nine years old.

As a teenager, though, he was taught Western classical music, and played the clarinet and French horn in his school orchestra in eastern Nigeria.

Years later, wielding his gold trumpet and dabbing his face with a white handkerchief, Olaiya would perform a new type of music in Nigeria that would go on to inspire a young Fela Anikulapo-Kuti among others.

Victor Olaiya is hailed as the father of Nigerian highlife music

After his secondary school, Olaiya moved to Lagos where he joined the Lagos City Orchestra and then the band of composer Sammy Akpabot, playing ballroom music for wealthy urban audiences.

But it was as the head of Bobby Benson's Alfa Carnival Group that his talent would be properly nurtured.

Benson took a number of musicians under his wing and it was here that Olaiya polished the skills that would help him form his own band, the Cool Cats.

Listening to the recordings now, the gentle swinging rhythm and the prominence of the horn section, you sense a sepia tinge to Olaiya's songs.

MYDRIM GALLERY

Victor Olaiya rose to fame as Nigeria was moving away from British rule

They evoke memories of the fading British Empire and transition to independence, conjuring up images of afro hair combed into a dome, of middle-class Nigerians appearing overdressed in tuxedos and gowns with a cigarette neatly tucked between the fingers.

By the late 1950s, the colonial administrators were on their way out and a young generation of educated Africans was about to take over.

As the disco bars and ballrooms gradually thinned out of the British and their music, in stepped the elite class of Africans seeking that same high life but fused with their own culture.

And the bands responded to satisfy their new patrons, incorporating local rhythms and melodies into their repertoire.

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The story of Ghanaian highlife

The songs were romantic and the lyrics, which to today's eyes appear sexist, often used erotic imagery.

Olaiya's 1961 track Adelebo Tonwoku (Single Lady Looking for a Husband) says that if a woman, referred to as "Cinderella shaking her buttocks", finds a husband she should "forgo education".

As a musical term, highlife was first used in Ghana in the 1920s to describe a band playing a fusion of foreign and local instruments driven by multiple guitars and horns.

Olaiya's influence came from Ghana, as he was a keen admirer of the Tempo band of highlife legend ET Mensah, who toured Nigeria multiple times from 1951.

When Olaiya formed his Cool Cats band, he adopted Mensah's style and had Ghanaian Sammy Lartey as saxophonist. Years later, Olaiya and Mensah would release a joint album.

In bombastic style, Olaiya was once described by a newspaper editor as "the evil genius of highlife", perhaps because once someone heard his music it was impossible not to dance.

His music became so popular that in 1960 he played at the party to celebrate Nigeria's independence in front of Queen Elizabeth's sister, Princess Margaret.

Fela comes to Olaiya

Olaiya was a multi-linguist and sang in Twi, Igbo, Efik, Pidgin and Yoruba and his band would go on to serve as a training ground for musicians who would revolutionise music in Africa.

Chief among those that interned with Olaiya was Fela, creator of the Afrobeat genre and arguably Nigeria's most influential musician.

Fresh from secondary school in 1957, Fela spent time playing with Olaiya's Cool Cats in Lagos and headed another of the maestro's bands.

Olaiya recognised a prodigy and gave him a platform, in the same way that he had been supported by Benson.

Fela's drummer, Tony Allen, was also among those who played with Olaiya. Other notable musicians that passed through his band were guitar wizard Victor Uwaifo, juju musician Dele Ojo and saxophonist Yinusa Akinnibosun.

MYDRIM GALLERY

Olaiya collaborated with American soul musician James Brown (R) for the 1970 album Up-To-Date Mover

By 1970, under the influence of James Brown, Olaiya had branched into soul and funk music. His Up-to-Date Mover album of that year included five tracks co-written with Brown.

But Olaiya will forever be associated with highlife, and this gradually faded from the scene until the genre became a stacked collection of dusty vinyl for senior citizens who hung onto the memories of an era when "things were good".

The Cool Cats were no longer cool, as first Fela's Afrobeat and later Afro hop swept succeeding generations off their feet.

Olaiya tried to keep up in later decades by doing things like shooting music videos but he never looked comfortable with the format.

He was used to the disco bars, the big orchestra and the larger-than-life bands performing for dandy crowds.

Recognised by a later generation

There were attempts to introduce his music to a new audience.

In 2013, Tuface Idibia, a music legend in his own right, remixed Olaiya's Baby Jowo. It was a homage to another era but only underlined how things had changed.

A handful of highlife musicians are still scattered in the eastern and western parts of Nigeria but their tunes are now mostly heard at funerals.

When Olaiya is laid to rest, perhaps a band led by an immaculately turned out trumpeter will be at the front of the procession?

And when he is lowered into the ground, it may be more than flesh that is returning to dust. The highlife music he pioneered may just be buried along with him.

Victor Olaiya - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Victor_Olaiya

Alhaji Alade Odunewu of the Daily Times described him as "The Evil Genius of Highlife." Contents. 1 Early life and career; 2 Personal life; 3 Music; 4 Discography; 5 Further reading; 6 References; 7 External links. Early life and career[edit]. Olaiya was born on 31 December 1930, in Calabar, Cross River ... During the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–70, Olaiya was given the rank of a ...

‎Early life and career · ‎Music · ‎Discography

Nigeria’s Victor Olaiya: Trumpeter and ‘evil genius’ of highlife music (1931-2020)
Olaiya revolutionized highlife dance music on the West African coast
Posted 19 February 2020 

Screenshot of a video about Victor Olaiya's history of album covers, by Andrew MusicOdyssey via YouTube.

Editor's note: This essay was written by Dami Ajayi and first published in the Lagos Review. This version was lightly edited and published here with permission by Dami Ajayi.

Victor Abimbola Olaiya, highlife maestro, trumpeter, vocalist and band leader, died in the afternoon of Wednesday February 12, 2020. He was 89 years old.

An accomplished trumpeter, Olaiya was one of the key figures of highlife, the popular dance music that became the rave on the West African Coast from the 50s.

Did this thread in 2018 on Highlife music and I recall it as I do a thread this morning on the Evil Genius of Highlife music himself, Victor “Papingo Devalaya” Olaiya.

Olaiya was born in Calabar to Yoruba parents and was a very brilliant chap growing up, with a love for music. https://t.co/N9zXX480yP
— Demola Olarewaju (@DemolaRewaju) February 14, 2020

Highlife as a musical form originated from Sierra Leone and Ghana, but it was in Ghana that it gained its name as a ballroom dance enjoyed by the “elitist natives.”

In 1952, Olaiya formed his own band called the Cool Cats, which was later renamed the All Stars Band.

Victor Olaiya's All Stars Soul International (CD digipack + 16 page booklet/Heavy vinyl LP gatefold) Vampisoul, 2009-04-21. Image credit: Paris DJs, used with permission.

Emmanuel Teytey Mensah, a Ghanaian pharmacist — famed to have knocked out his incisors for the greater calling of blowing the trumpet — is often seen as one of the founding fathers of highlife music. Another founding father was Bobby Benson whose Jam Orchestra was the stomping ground for some of the finest highlife musicians Nigeria has ever had.

A young Victor Olaiya played in Bobby Benson’s Jam Orchestra.

Historians are not exact about how highlife music became a Nigerian staple, but by the late 40s and 50s, this music held Nigeria’s nightlife by the scruff of the neck. Hotel dance halls and night clubs had resident bands and Saturday nights were special.

By the 50s, Victor Olaiya was already a highlife music star. A young Fela Kuti had a stint as a trumpeter in Olaiya’s Cool Cats band before his own career as a band leader took off.

Victor Olaiya played at the Independence Ball before important dignitaries.

If there is any music that encapsulates the nostalgia and optimism of Nigeria’s independence, it is highlife music. Imagine the piquant tunes of the trumpet piercing the night as the Union Jack was lowered and Nigeria’s National Flag was hoisted, fluttering bi-colour, triband and proud.

Screenshot of Victor Olaiya's album cover from YouTube video by Andrew MusicOdyssey.

When this optimism was dashed in the ethnic flavoured coup and countercoup that devolved into a civil war, highlife music also tracked this era.

War hardly provided an opportunity for nocturnal pleasures because curfews emptied the streets of people.

There was also the fact that a fine proportion of highlife musicians and instrumentalists were also from eastern Nigerian, hence their relocation behind the tentative territories of Biafra which brutally shrunk in a war that left millions of people dead.

Even though highlife music seemed intertwined with politics, it was in itself, deeply apolitical. It had no pretensions about what it was: it was dance music for dance halls, for socialites, for nocturnal men and women, for wiggling waists, for quivering buttocks and for theatrical leg works.

Victor Olaiya held Lagos down when the city became empty of highlife stars.

He had an honorary army title and his band played for the Nigerian troops to entertain them during the war. In terms of honour, he was also conferred an honorary doctorate degree at the First Jazz International Festival in Prague. By far his most enduring honour was being called the “evil genius” of highlife for his ability to keep people on their feet.

His style of music features a unique way of playing the trumpet and his ability to sing in several Nigerian languages made his highlife a somewhat nationalistic endeavor. The Stadium Hotel in Surulere, Lagos, perhaps so named for its proximity to the National Stadium, was a famous highlife spot during his active years.

Today, it stands in a state of quaint disrepair yet quite functional for the old heads and unusual young oddballs and inquisitive creatures who fancy highlife music.

Since old age and ill-health left Victor Olaiya a shadow of his old self, Bayowa Olaiya, banker by day and son of Victor Olaiya, holds court and renders some of the finest tunes of his now deceased father.

Victor Abimbola Olaiya (born 31 December 1930), also known as Dr Victor Olaiya, is a Nigerian trumpeter who plays in the highlife style. Though extremely famous in Nigeria during the 1950s and early 1960s, Olaiya received little recognition outside his native country. Alhaji Alade Odunewu of the Daily Times described him as "The Evil Genius of Highlife. Olaiya was born on 31 December 1930, in Calabar, Cross River State, the 20th child of a family of 24. His parents, Alfred Omolona Olaiya and Bathsheba Owolabi Motajo, came from Ijesha-Ishu in Ekiti State. Olaiya came from a very rich family. His father's house called Ilọijọs Bar stood on 2 Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island, until it was demolished on September 11, 2016. At an early age he learned to play the Bombardon and the French Horn. After leaving school he moved to Lagos, where he passed the school certificate examination in 1951 and was accepted by Howard University, US, to study civil engineering. Olaiya instead pursued a career as a musician, to the disapproval of his parents. He played with the Sammy Akpabot Band, was leader and trumpeter for the Old Lagos City Orchestra and joined the Bobby Benson Jam Session Orchestra.

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RIP Dr. Catherine Hamlin: Grief in Ethiopia as trailblazing Australian doctor dies

19 March 2020

GETTY

Dr Catherine Hamlin with staff and cured fistula patients in Addis Ababa in 2008

No-one came to meet Catherine Hamlin the day she arrived at a tiny airport in Ethiopia in 1959.

More than 60 years later, the news of the Australian gynaecologist’s death at the age of 96 was met with an outpouring of grief in the country she had made her home.

That is because of the work Dr Hamlin - along with her late husband, Reginald - did transforming and, in some cases, saving the lives of tens of thousands of women who had been cast out of their communities.

Treating obstetric fistulas - a preventable injury sustained in childbirth that leaves women incontinent and can lead to other infections - would become her life’s work.

"These are the women most to be pitied in the world," Dr Hamlin told the New York Times in 2003.

"They're alone in the world, ashamed of their injuries. For lepers, or Aids victims, there are organisations that help. But nobody knows about these women or helps them."
The 'cursed' women living in shame

Elinor Catherine Nicholson was born in Sydney in 1924, one of six children. She decided to train to be a doctor because she wanted to help women and children.

After she completed her training, she began work at Crown Street Women’s Hospital, where she met a doctor from New Zealand, Reginald Hamlin.

They were married in 1950, and had a son, Richard, two years later.
'We never came back'

But the two wanted to go and work in a developing nation, and one day an advert in British medical journal The Lancet caught their eye.

"It just read 'gynaecologist wanted in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa'," Dr Hamlin told the BBC in 2016. It was enough to pique their interest, and the couple applied.

"We felt we would like to do something to help people in the world, because we had had so many advantages," Dr Hamlin explained.

The idea was to stay for a couple of years. "But we never came back."

So they set off from Sydney, sending a cable from the middle of the Indian Ocean to let their new colleagues know of their imminent arrival. It didn’t quite go according to plan.

"The cable didn’t get there until three weeks after we did, so there was nobody to meet us."

GETTY Reginald (L) and Catherine (R) Hamlin during a visit to Australia in 1971

But they soon settled in, and it wasn’t long before they began to notice a number of women with a condition they had never seen before: obstetric fistula.

"We were touched and appalled by the sadness of our first fistula patient: a beautiful young woman in urine-soaked ragged clothes, sitting alone in our outpatients department away from the other waiting patients," Dr Hamlin later recalled to the Guardian.

"We knew she was more in need than any of the others."

Two million women live with the condition globally, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Without help, many die. Those who survive - like the woman in the waiting room - are left with injuries that leave them incontinent, sometimes heavily.

In Ethiopia many were left with a deep sense of shame. They found themselves banished to the outskirts of their communities, abandoned by their husbands. The stigma and social isolation led some to end their lives.
'I felt so happy'

But the Hamlins knew it was both fixable and preventable - as they told Ethiopia's then ruler, Haile Selassie.

"He said, why do my women get this terrible thing where they can’t control their body waste?" Dr Hamlin told the BBC.

"We said, it is nothing to do with your women, it is to do with your lack of doctors in the countryside when they need to have a Caesarian section."

Mamitu Gashe was one of the women who Dr Hamlin and her husband treated in the early days, when they worked at Princess Teshai Hospital.

It was 1962, and Mamitu had suffered a fistula giving birth to her first child. It was a three-day labour, and the baby did not survive.

Dr Hamlin with Mamitu Gashe in 1994

Like so many other women in Ethiopia, she was left incontinent. But she had a sister in the capital, and her family took her to the city to find help.

It was then they discovered the Hamlins’ specialist ward.

"As soon as I arrived there, they treated me with compassion and I started to feel much better," she told the BBC after she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women 2018.

“They told me that I was not the only one suffering from this, that other women had this. As soon as they said that, I felt hopeful, I felt so happy."

But the Hamlins would not only help repair the damage; they also gave Mamitu - who has no formal education - a new career: she is now an internationally respected fistula surgeon, having been taught by the Hamlins.

"I couldn’t read or write," she explained in 2018. "Everything I knew, I knew from the Hamlins."

Mamitu was one of the staff members the Hamlins took to Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital when it opened in 1974.

'She broke our hearts'

In 1993, Dr Hamlin lost her beloved husband. Faced with a choice to stay or leave, she decided her work was not yet done.

In the following years, the Hamlin Foundation opened five rural hospitals offering healthcare to women, as well as a facility for long-term care patients. Then, in 2007, Dr Hamlin saw one of her initial dreams finally fulfilled: the Hamlin College of Midwives opened.

It is thought the organisation has treated more than 60,000 women for obstetric fistulas over the decades.

But in spite of these successes, Dr Hamlin was still disappointed at how little had been achieved,

"We had one little girl not too long ago, who had terrible injuries," she told the UN’s World Food Programme in 2011.

"She had been lying curled up for nine years on the floor on a mat. Her mother had been looking after her, thinking perhaps that the urine would dry up. She was in a state of malnutrition, 22kg (48lb), as she was carried on the back of her poor old mother, coming into the hospital.

"She broke our hearts."
Fighting fistula: Razia's brave recovery from pregnancy nightmare

And so, Dr Hamlin continued her fight for the women of Ethiopia to the end.

Last year, Ethiopia's Nobel Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed handed her a prestigious citizenship award - one of many she was given during her lifetime. Then, in January, she celebrated her 96th birthday. Mamitu was by her side.

“We called Catherine mum, because she is like our mother,” she explained to the BBC last year.

Dr Hamlin died on 18 March at her home in Addis Ababa, the place she made her home. She left behind her son, grandchildren and a dream she wants others to fulfil in her memory.

"My dream is to eradicate obstetric fistula. Forever," she said.

"I won’t do this in my lifetime, but you can in yours."

More on fistula
Occurs as a result of obstructed labour causing a hole in the bladder and/or bowel
Patient is constantly leaking urine and/or faeces
In most cases where it occurs, the baby dies during childbirth
Two million women living with the condition globally, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Up to 100,000 new cases globally each year
Condition is entirely preventable and treatable

Video Fistula: British doctors help sufferers in Africa
10 March 2014
Fighting fistula: Razia's brave recovery from pregnancy nightmare
10 December 2015
The 'cursed' women living in shame
10 March 2014
BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list?
19 November 2018

Coronavirus: US Senators face calls to resign over ‘insider trading’

GETTY IMAGES

Richard Burr is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while Kelly Loeffler sits on the Senate Health Committee

Four US senators are under scrutiny over claims they used insider knowledge about the impending coronavirus crisis to sell shares before prices plummeted.

Republicans Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler face calls to quit after selling millions in stocks last month.

James Inhofe, a Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, also reportedly sold holdings at the time.

It is illegal for Congress members to trade based on non-public information gathered during their official duties.

Mr Burr, of North Carolina, reportedly dumped up to $1.7m (£1.45m) of stocks last month.

Mrs Loeffler, of Georgia, is reported to have sold holdings worth up to $3m in a series of transactions beginning the same day as a Senate briefing on the virus.

Mr Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has also come under fire after US outlet NPR obtained a recording of him warning a group of wealthy constituents last month about the dire economic impact of the coronavirus, at a time when the Trump administration was publicly downplaying the threat. He also told the group to curtail their travel.

Mr Burr has accused NPR of “misrepresenting” his speech.



The latest revelations come after an investigation by ProPublica into his financial filings.

As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr Burr receives nearly daily briefings on threats to US national security.

On 7 February, shortly after the first case of coronavirus was reported, Mr Burr wrote on Fox News that the US government was “better prepared than ever” to tackle an outbreak.

But a week later, when President Donald Trump assured the public that the virus would not hit America hard, Mr Burr and his wife sold between $628,000 and $1.72m in stocks, including shares in two hotel groups. Two weeks after that, he gave the speech obtained by NPR.

Among those calling for his resignation and investigation are Fox News host Tucker Carlson, usually a supporter of Republicans.

The presenter said that unless an honest explanation for Mr Burr's stock sell-off was forthcoming, "he must resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading".

Several of the stocks that Mr Burr sold, including in the hotel and travel industry, have since lost value.

On Friday, Mr Burr again responded, tweeting that his decision to sell stock was made "solely based on public news reports". He specifically cited the Asia coverage provided by the CNBC network.

"Understanding the assumption many could make in hindsight however," he said in a short statement, "I spoke with the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee this morning and asked him to open a complete view of the matter with full transparency."
A recipe for political upheaval 

In these early days of the coronavirus crisis, the American people have shown a significant capacity to endure hardships to slow the spread of the virus. They've stayed in their homes and watched as the economy crumbled around them. Many have confronted the loss of income and wealth with no guarantee these setbacks are only temporary.

What they may not abide, however, is the prospect that the rich and influential have used their positions of power to avoid the worst consequences of this financial collapse - particularly as their leaders were telling them to hold fast.

That's why the stories of senators selling stock portfolios in anticipation of a market drop are so toxic. It's a controversy that cuts across normally impervious partisan lines and has even conservatives and those "close to the president" sharply criticising the Republicans, like North Carolina Senator Burr, at the centre of the fury.

This story comes on the heels of grumbling over how some of the well-connected were getting virus tests while most Americans had to wait. It's a sign that this pandemic could lay bare the sharp divides in the US between the haves and the have-nots and make more than a few realise that - perhaps to their surprise - they are among the latter, not the former.

That's a recipe for political upheaval.

Separately, an investigation by the Daily Beast found Mrs Loeffler, who sits on the Senate Health Committee, and her husband sold millions of dollars in stocks, beginning on 24 January, the day her panel received a private briefing on the coronavirus from top US public health officials.

In the weeks after the sale, she sought to downplay the virus’ impact on the economy and public health in a series of tweets.

“Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on #Coronavirus readiness,” she tweeted on 28 February.

“Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”

At least $100,000 of stock in a teleworking software company, Citrix, was also reportedly bought in Mrs Loeffler's name. The shares have risen during the pandemic.

Mrs Loeffler has called the Daily Beast's investigation a “ridiculous and baseless attack”.

In a statement, she said decisions about her investments were made by “multiple third party advisors without [her or her husband’s] knowledge or consent”.

GETTYMs Feinstein and her husband reportedly sold stock worth up to $6m

Mrs Loeffler is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and is thought to be the wealthiest member of Congress, with an estimated fortune of $500m.

Mr Inhofe sold $400,000 of stock at the end of January, according to a Senate disclosure report, including shares in Apple, PayPal and a real estate company.

The senator for Oklahoma responded in a statement that his financial adviser made the decisions for him, and he was "not aware of or consulted about any transactions".

GETTY James Inhofe of Oklahoma

The senator said he had told his adviser to move into mutual funds after he became chairman of the armed services committee in 2018, and he said these share sales were part of those transactions.

Top California Democrat Ms Feinstein and her husband meanwhile reportedly sold stock worth between $1.5m and $6m in a biotech company between the end of January and mid-February.

A spokesman for the senator, who is a member of the intelligence committee, told the New York Times her assets were in a blind trust and she had "no involvement in her husband's financial decisions".

The US government has come under criticism for its early response to the outbreak - testing and tracing for the virus has lagged far behind that of other countries, and the president initially downplayed the threat caused by the virus.

More than 14,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the US, along with 205 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.


Watchdog group files complaints against Burr, Loeffler over stock sales in run-up to coronavirus crisis

***https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/01/06/meet-corporate-war-profiteers-making-killing-trumps-attacks-iran 

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee Friday against Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., suggesting they may have engaged in insider trading based on their knowledge about the coronavirus pandemic.

News reports surfaced Thursday and Friday about how Burr and Loeffler, along with Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., sold large amounts of stock before the market crashed due to concerns about the coronavirus, igniting accusations from critics of possible insider trading. The complaint says Burr and Loeffler may have violated the 2012 STOCK Act, a law that bans insider trading by members of Congress.

The senators have denied wrongdoing, but the watchdog group is calling for a probe.

© Provided by FOX News Senators selling stocks before the coronavirus pandemic rocked the markets have renewed attention on something called the STOCK Act. Here's what you need to know.

"If Senator Burr had inside information about how bad the coronavirus outbreak could be and used it to protect his personal fortune, while reassuring the public that the government was prepared for the disease, that would be a shocking violation of the public trust and may have been a violation of the law,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement Friday.

On Loeffler, a release from CREW says that Loeffler "attended a briefing on the situation as a member of the Senate HELP Committee. That same day, she and her husband made the first of dozens of stock sales executed between then and February 14, worth up to $3.1 million. She also purchased several stocks during this period, including Citrix, which produces teleworking software and could have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak."

All four senators have defended their actions, with Burr -- who says that he based his decisions on news reports and not information he learned through his job -- taking the most drastic step of calling for a Senate ethics investigation into himself in order to clear the air.

He sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stocks on Feb. 13, according to ProPublica. According to Roll Call, Burr's net worth was approximately $1.7 million in 2018.

WHAT IS THE STOCK ACT?

SEN BURR SEEKS ETHICS REVIEW OF HIS STOCK SALES IN RUN-UP TO CORONAVIRUS CRISIS, AFTER SCATHING REPORT

"I relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks on February 13,” Burr said in a Friday statement defending himself. “Specifically, I closely followed CNBC’s daily health and science reporting out of its Asia bureaus at the time."

A Feinstein spokesman said all of her assets are in a blind trust so she doesn't make those financial decisions. Inhofe also said he does not have anything to do with his financial decisions. Loeffler, who sold millions of dollars worth of stock -- but is so rich that the investment moves add up to a very small percentage of her net worth -- also said that she has no involvement with investment decisions that are made by her financial advisors.

"This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband's knowledge or involvement," she said in a tweet early Friday morning. "As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020 — three weeks after they were made."

While CREW refrains from making outright accusations that the senators made their trades with corrupt intention, it does say the developments are concerning and urgently calls for investigations.

"The job of a U.S. senator is to serve the American people,” Bookbinder said. “It appears that in a time of crisis, these senators chose instead to serve themselves, violating the public trust and abdicating their duty. They must be immediately investigated."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 20,000 for the first time since 2017 this week after expectations earlier this year were that it could hit 30,000 any day. Additionally, the New York Stock Exchange has seen four stoppages of trading due to sharp sell-offs in the last two weeks. As of Friday afternoon, the Dow is down more than 700 points on the day.

Fox News' Dom Calicchio and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Sens. Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler Face Calls to Resign Over Stock Sales

Senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler have faced calls to resign after it was revealed that the Republican lawmakers sold off stock holdings before the COVID-19 epidemic crashed markets.

Both of the senators reportedly attended briefings on the novel coronavirus outbreak and publicly sought to calm nerves as they dumped chunks of their portfolios ahead of market turmoil in March.

ProPublica reported on Thursday night that North Carolina Sen. Burr, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, sold between $628,000 and $1.7 million worth of stock on February 13.

The stock dump came days after he co-authored a Fox News op-ed claiming the United States was "better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus."

Following the news of Sen. Burr's stock sell off, the Daily Beast reported that Sen. Loeffler of Georgia recorded a sale of stock on January 24 — the day of an all-senators briefing with administration health officials that covered the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a Thursday night Twitter post reacting to the news of the stock dumps, former Democratic primary candidate Andrew Yang said: "If you find out about a nation-threatening pandemic and your first move is to adjust your stock portfolio you should probably not be in a job that serves the public interest."

"Burr knew how bad it would be. He told the truth to his wealthy donors, while assuring the public that we were fine," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted on Thursday. "THEN he sold off $1.6 million in stock before the fall. He needs to resign."

The freshman congresswoman also called on Sen. Loeffler to resign over her stock dump in a later tweet.

"Senators Burr and Loeffler should be investigated by authorities and the Senate Ethics Committee," the Obama-era Housing Secretary Julián Castro said. "If the evidence suggests they engaged in insider trading, they should be charged and stand trial."

Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, simply tweeted: "Members of Congress should not own individual stocks, period."

The Republican lawmakers were also hit with criticism from the right, with the Students for Trump Chair Charlie Kirk calling on them to resign and saying: "I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat. If you trade with inside info to enrich yourself during a crisis you are a disgrace."

Fox News host Tucker Carlson also called for Burr to leave office if he had no "honest explanation" for his decision to dump millions in stocks before the COVID-19 pandemic struck markets.

"He had inside information about what could happen to our country, which is now happening. But he didn't warn the public," Carlson said on his show Thursday night.

He later added: "Instead, what did he do? He dumped his shares in hotel stocks so he wouldn't lose money, and then he stayed silent. Now, maybe there's an honest explanation for what he did. If there is, he should share it with the rest of us immediately. Otherwise, he must resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading."

Reacting to a clip of Carlson condemning the senators, the author Matt Stoller said: "Tucker Carlson is calling for an important Republican Senator to be put in jail for #PandemicProfiteering. He's right. And it's not a partisan issue. This behavior is rancid."

At the time of writing, Burr is ninth in the U.S. Twitter trending charts amid criticism of his reported stock sell-off.

Newsweek has contacted the offices of both senators for comment, and will update this article with any response.

In a statement posted on social media overnight, Sen. Loeffler said: "This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband's knowledge or involvement."

Sen. Loeffler also claimed that she was informed of the sales "three weeks after they were made."

"Senator Burr filed a financial disclosure form for personal transactions made several weeks before the U.S. and financial markets showed signs of volatility due to the growing coronavirus outbreak," his spokesperson told ProPublica.

"As the situation continues to evolve daily, he has been deeply concerned by the steep and sudden toll this pandemic is taking on our economy."

INSIDER TRADING BY ANY OTHER NAME
Four Senators Sold Millions In Stocks Ahead Of Coronavirus Market Crash

By Llowell Williams 03/20/20

KEY POINTS 

Sen. Burr sold up to $1.7 million in shares ahead of the market crash

Sens. Loeffler, Inhofe and Feinstein also sold millions in stocks

These lawmakers had attended private briefings about the coronavirus crisis

Democrats, conservatives both calling for investigations, resignations

Damning new reports show that at least four senators, including a Democrat, reportedly offloaded millions worth of shares just ahead of the severe crash that hit Wall Street last month over fears of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Now figures on both sides of the political spectrum are calling for them to resign, if these allegations prove true.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who serves as a chairman on the Senate Intelligence Committee, reportedly gave a closed door briefing to a group of individuals on Feb. 27. During that meeting, which was secretly recorded, Burr can be heard explaining that the coronavirus situation would end up being far more dire than he’d told the public.

In early February, Burr had helped co-author an editorial for Fox News in which he explained that the United States was “better prepared than ever before” to tackle a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate records show that on Feb. 13, Burr sold as much as $1.72 million of his personal stocks – just days before the markets cratered on Feb. 20. Most of the stocks were in hotel and resort companies. 

In 2012, Burr voted against a bill which would forbid lawmakers from participating in insider trading.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is facing similar allegations. The freshman senator is accused of selling as much as $100,000 in stocks owned jointly by her and her husband on the same day that she attended a private briefing held by health officials on the coronavirus crisis on Jan. 24.



Loeffler continued to sell her stocks over the next month, but did make some purchases: She bought as much as $250,000 in Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS), a company that specializes in providing technology used in telecommuting work. Citrix stocks have since risen about 5% as of Thursday's close, as American businesses began asking their employees to work from home.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., also appears to have sold at least $180,000 in stocks days after the coronavirus briefing.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is also facing allegations of dropping a great deal of stocks ahead of the market crash, selling at least $1.5 million in January and February. 

UNRELATED TO THE GOP INSIDER TRADING THOUGH SHE TOO SITS ON THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HER STOCKS ARE IN A BLIND TRUST. THAT TRUST BUYS AND SELLS INDEPENDENT OF THE SENATOR

Since these senators sold their stocks, the markets have contracted nearly 30%.

Several lawmakers are now calling for Burr to be investigated and to possibly resign. Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, have said Burr’s stock selloff needs to be examined. Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that the senator “told the truth to his wealthy donors, while assuring the public that we were fine. Then he sold off $1.6 million in stock.”

Fox ew host Tucker Carlson has also come out as a conservative voice calling for Burr to be probed. During his show Thursday night, Carlson blasted Burr. “There is no greater moral crime than betraying your country in a time of crisis, and that appears to be what happened,” he said.

Sen. Richard Burr resists calls to resign over coronavirus insider trading -- scandal could affect control of Senate

By DAVE GOLDINER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAR 20, 2020

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., second from right, greets Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, left, as she and National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, right, appear before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the coronavirus on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Washington.(Andrew Harnik/AP)

Sen. Richard Burr pushed back against growing calls to quit Friday over his massive sale of stock after he learned of the severity of the coronavirus crisis -- and the scandal could impact the fight for control of the Senate.

The North Carolina Republican was slammed by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and a chorus of pundits and ordinary Americans for profiteering off the pandemic and a source close to President Trump said he wants him to quit.

Burr, who dumped up to $1.7 million in stocks, Friday asked the Senate Ethics Committee Friday to investigate whether his actions were improper or illegal.

He did not say he was considering stepping down.

President Trump called Burr and three other senators who sold stock after the coronavirus crisis spread are “honorable people” and ignored a question about whether he should resign.

He struck a partisan tone by only naming Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and sparring with a reporter who asked about Burr and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia)

“They said they did nothing wrong,” he said. “I’ll have to look into it.”

If Burr quits, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper would appoint a replacement who would serve until the November general election, but it would have to be a Republican.

That’s because North Carolina’s heavily gerrymandered GOP-controlled state legislature passed a 2017 law mandating that in case of a vacancy the governor must appoint one of three candidates put forward by the party of the outgoing senator.

North Carolina’s other senator Thom Tillis is already facing a contentious battle for reelection against Democrat Cal Cunningham.

If Burr’s seat were also up for grabs, it could dramatically improve the odds of Democrats seizing control of the Senate in November.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) also sold significant amounts of stock since hearing about the coronavirus crisis, but his transactions were not big enough to trigger mandatory disclosure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Perdue, who insists he did nothing wrong, is facing what could be a tricky reelection fight against former Congressional candidate Jon Ossoff, who accused Perdue of unethical behavior.

“Instead of warning us, he downplayed the threat, sold casino stock, & bought up to $260,000 in pharma stock,” Ossoff wrote.

My opponent Sen. Perdue was briefed on the severe threat of COVID-19.

Instead of warning us, he downplayed the threat, sold casino stock, & bought up to $260,000 in pharma stock.

If this isn’t a crime, it should be. Donate to kick him out of the Senate: https://t.co/GwoLTQ1CQr— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) March 20, 2020

Burr was one of just three senators to vote against a 2012 law banning lawmakers from

trading on information they receive through their official capacities.