ALBATROSS

GOP dread over possible Kobach nomination in Kansas

Republicans fear that Democratic meddling has helped to erase Roger Marshall's lead in this week's primary, potentially costing the party another Senate seat and perhaps its majority.

Kris Kobach is vying to succeed retiring Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts. | Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images


AND KANSAS IS WHERE THE FIRST ARMED
BATTLE FOR ABOLITION BEGAN AGAINST 
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By JAMES ARKIN
POLITICO
08/02/2020 

On Thursday, the top operative for Senate Republicans' campaign arm appeared on a private Zoom call organized by GOP operatives to discuss the party's efforts to stave off a Democratic takeover.

During the presentation, National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director Kevin McLaughlin warned that if hardline conservative Kris Kobach wins next Tuesday's Kansas Senate primary, it could doom the GOP Senate majority — and perhaps even hurt President Donald Trump in a state that hasn't voted Democratic since 1964.

“The Senate majority runs through Kansas,” McLaughlin warned, according to people familiar with the call.

The new warning came after a flurry of Democratic meddling has scrambled the closing weeks of a primary race that had otherwise gotten back on track. Senate Republicans have opposed Kobach for a year, fretting that he can’t win a Senate contest after losing the 2018 gubernatorial race, and have warned about him consistently in public and in private.

After failing to woo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo into the race, Republicans had mostly rallied behind Rep. Roger Marshall, who was leading Kobach comfortably in internal polling earlier in the summer. But after nearly $5 million was dumped in by a super PAC with ties to Democrats to elevate Kobach and bash Marshall’s image, Republicans acknowledge that the primary is a dead heat.

A Kobach victory would upend the battle for control of the Senate. Democrats haven't won a Senate race in Kansas since the 1930s, but with Kobach on the ballot, Republicans would be forced to sink millions into trying to defend a seat party officials believe should have stayed safely in their column.

Republicans are already stretched thin on a Senate map that features more than a half-dozen GOP incumbents in competitive races. GOP leaders concede the fight to keep the Senate has gotten harder in recent months but believe the party still can maintain control if it isn't dumping money into places like Kansas.

2020 ELECTIONS
Mystery, Democratic-linked super PAC meddles in Kansas GOP primary
BY JAMES ARKIN

Democrat Barbara Bollier, a state senator and former Republican, faces only nominal opposition in her primary and has outraised all of her potential GOP foes.

Trump has remained on the sidelines in the race, frustrating some Republicans who believe a late endorsement could deliver a victory to Marshall, whom they view as much more electable.

Republican officials, including Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), the NRSC chairman, have spoken with the president as recently as last week about making an endorsement in the race, believing that he could single-handedly alter the current trajectory, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations. Internal Republican polling has shown a Trump endorsement would shift potential Kobach supporters towards the president’s pick, according to a Republican familiar with the data.

The president discussed the race with his political advisers on Air Force One last week returning from an event in Texas. Trump indicated he was unlikely to intervene, according to people familiar with the discussion.

During the in-flight conversation, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pointed out Marshall’s previous support for John Kasich in the 2016 presidential primary, according to two sources briefed on the discussion. CNN first reported on the conversation. A person familiar with the White House’s thinking disputed the idea that Cruz’s comment swayed the president but acknowledged that it made it harder for Marshall to earn the endorsement.

All of the candidates have relied on Trump’s name and his supporters, even without his backing. An ad from Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC aligned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, featured a photo of Trump and Marshall, with a narrator saying Trump has called Marshall a “great friend.” A recent Kobach ad featured heavy use of footage from an October 2018 rally Trump held boosting Kobach's gubernatorial campaign, with a small insignia in the corner making the date clear.

Two years ago, Trump endorsed Kobach the day before the 2018 gubernatorial primary, and Kobach defeated then-Gov. Jeff Colyer by 343 votes. Kobach then lost to now-Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, by five percentage points. Trump has expressed frustration with expending political capital for Kobach only to see him lose, according to Republicans familiar with the discussions.

Recent polling has shown this year's primary coming down to the wire. One recent GOP survey showed Marshall with 33 percent support compared to 30 percent for Kobach, with businessman Bob Hamilton and former NFL player Dave Lindstrom trailing, according to multiple officials who described the poll.

Additionally, an internal survey conducted for the NRSC last week showed that in a general election matchup, only 54 percent of Republican primary voters would back Kobach, while 29 percent would instead to vote for Democrat Barbara Bollier, according to three people familiar with the data, which has been presented to the White House. That much potential crossover support for Bollier, who has the backing of major Kansas and national Democrats, could doom Republicans' chances in the race.

In addition to private entreaties, Republicans opposed to Kobach have sounded the alarm consistently and publicly. The NRSC blasted Kobach on the day he announced last year. Sen. Pat Roberts, who is retiring from the seat, endorsed Marshall last month despite previously pledging to stay neutral, and Senate Leadership Fund is spending nearly $2 million on positive ads boosting Marshall, according to recent FEC filings. Additionally, a GOP-linked super PAC that won't have to disclose its funding until after the primary, has spent more than $3 million to run TV ads attacking Kobach.

Republican Senate candidates debate in Kansas May 23 (from left): David Lindstrom, Susan Wagle, Kris Kobach, Bob Hamilton and Roger Marshall. | Orlin Wagner/AP Photo

The president has intervened privately in the race. He called David McIntosh, the head of the conservative Club for Growth, to ask the group to stop running ads attacking Marshall, according to people familiar with the conversation, which was first reported by The New York Times.

Many Kansas Republicans hoped Trump would endorse and boost Marshall to ease their concerns about the fall. One veteran Republican operative in the state, who requested anonymity to speak frankly, said Trump likely knows “if he doesn’t have Kansas, the Senate majority is fried.

“Republicans were hopeful the president would be doing something by now already — and are agitating that if he’s going to do it, he better do it quickly,” the GOP operative said.

Kelly Arnold, a former state GOP chairman, told POLITICO Trump’s endorsement put Kobach over the top in 2018. But while many Republicans would like to see him endorse Marshall, Arnold said Republicans on the ground are unsure where he stands.

“All of our candidates are making a bid to get his support [and to] try to show to the voters that they are the president's closest supporter. It is important,” Arnold said. “They're definitely making that play to try to earn the president's endorsement and the president's supporters here in Kansas.”

While Trump hasn't weighed in, other Republicans are trying to help Marshall close things out. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, made an appearance on a local radio station last week and hammered Kobach as a threat to the GOP majority. After the radio appearance, Gingrich agreed to sign a fundraising email for Marshall and to record a robocall for him.

In the call, going out to Kansas voters, Gingrich calls Marshall a “committed pro-life conservative, a great supporter of President Trump.” While he doesn’t mention Kobach, he does say, "Too much is at stake to take a chance on anyone else."

“Every poll I’ve seen says that Kobach can't win a general election,” Gingrich said on the radio. “[Kobach] did the worst statewide numbers when he ran for governor of any Republican in the last more than a decade. He's weaker now. Kobach is the Schumer candidate, and people just need to understand that.”

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report.

Key impeachment witness Vindman rebukes Trump on retirement from military

The former top Ukraine policy officer on the NSC staff compares the administration to an authoritarian regime in new op-ed.
Former National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

By EVAN SEMONES

08/01/2020

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the House’s impeachment inquiry, issued a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump and his administration in an op-ed published Saturday.

“At no point in my career or life have I felt our nation’s values under greater threat and in more peril than at this moment,” Vindman wrote in the Washington Post. “Our national government during the past few years has been more reminiscent of the authoritarian regime my family fled more than 40 years ago than the country I have devoted my life to serving.”

Vindman’s comments come on the first day of his retirement from the military. The Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who until February served as the top Ukraine policy officer on the National Security Council staff, cited a lack of career advancement due to “bullying, intimidation and retaliation” by Trump and his allies as reasons for his decision to retire.

“The circumstances of my departure might have been more public, yet they are little different from those of dozens of other lifelong public servants who have left this administration with their integrity intact but their careers irreparably harmed,” Vindman said.

Vindman testified in last year’s impeachment inquiry, telling congressional lawmakers that he raised alarms about Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president in which Trump appeared to make U.S. aid to the country contingent upon an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son’s business dealings.

Trump, who was reported to have privately fumed over Vindman’s testimony, relentlessly attacked the Ukraine expert in tweets before firing him in February, saying he was “insubordinate.”

Reaction to Vindman’s op-ed was swift online, with some of Trump’s ardent supporters, including Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, coming to the president’s defense.

“Vindman is no martyr,” Zeldin tweeted. “He lied under oath about not knowing who the whistleblower was. He falsely claims to be a chain of command guy, but didn’t use his chain of command to speak to Tim Morrison.”

Vindman also chastised Trump’s response to the coronavirus, saying the “mendacious president” downplayed the threat the pandemic posed to the country’s residents.

“Millions are grieving the loss of loved ones and many more have lost their livelihoods while the president publicly bemoans his approval ratings,” Vindman said.

CANNABIS USA

The pandemic is eating away at the illicit marijuana market

Legal sales have boomed since March, though it’s hard to say how many customers previously bought from illegal dealers.


An illegal cannabis cultivation site in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. | Santa Barbara County Sheriff/ AP Photo


By PAUL DEMKO and ALEXANDER NIEVES

08/02/2020 07:00 AM EDT

The legal marijuana industry has spent years battling illegal sellers who have eaten away at its market share and undercut its prices.

But the coronavirus has proven to be a boon for legal pot shops, as customers fear the risks associated with inhaling questionable products and are nervous about letting sellers into their homes.

Legal operations have moved quickly to take advantage of the situation, seizing on relaxed rules to expand shopping options in states across the country, including curbside pickups and deliveries.

Also, pandemic-frazzled Americans are simply getting stoned more often.

“It's understandable that people may be more hesitant to get their products from sources that are unregulated,” said Kris Krane, CEO of 4Front Ventures, which operates dispensaries in multiple states. “They may not want to go to their dealer’s house, or they may not want to have their dealer come into their house, at a time when people are social distancing and not supposed to be interacting with people that they don't know.”

In addition, cities that never allowed pot shops in their towns, even in states where marijuana is legal, are rethinking the local bans in search of fresh tax revenue. And more people than ever are registered as medical marijuana patients: Florida added nearly 5,000 patients a week in June, and more than 50,000 since March.

The data is murky — credible sales figures on illegal marijuana transactions are inherently difficult to come by — and it’s likely that those sales are also booming as anxious Americans smoke more weed while hunkered down. But many close industry watchers believe the current circumstances are pushing more Americans into state-legal markets. Revenues are expected to hit $17 billion this year, according to New Frontier Data — a 25 percent spike over 2019.

Mitch Baruchowitz, managing partner at cannabis investment firm Merida Capital Partners, argued in a paper in May that the pandemic is “cannibalizing” the illegal market. He hasn’t seen anything in the ensuing months to change that assessment.

“The vast majority of the current growth in the cannabis space is being driven by consumers transitioning from the black market to the legal market,” Baruchowitz wrote.

A cannabis dispensary customer smells a marijuana sample from a budtender at CannaDaddy's Wellness Center marijuana dispensary in Portland, Ore. | Don Ryan/AP Photo

The boom in sales is driven in large part by new legal markets, particularly the start of recreational sales in Illinois and Michigan. But even some states with relatively mature markets have seen big spikes in sales. In Oregon, for example, monthly revenues jumped from just below $70 million during the first two months of this year to more than $100 million in May and June.

Trulieve, Florida’s biggest retailer, doubled its fleet of delivery drivers across the state to keep up with demand.

“Obviously we all understand because we're living it, that there is an increased anxiety level, which can trigger increased consumption,” said Kim Rivers, the company’s CEO.

The California problem

Even with this year’s rapid growth, however, the legal marijuana market is still dwarfed by illegal sales, which New Frontier estimates at $63 billion for this year.

Nowhere is the underground weed market a bigger problem than in California, where it’s estimated that 80 percent of marijuana sales are still from illegal sources — and most industry officials are deeply skeptical that the pandemic will significantly alter that reality in the short term.

One of the major challenges state regulators have faced since voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 is moving consumers away from the thousands of shops made legal under California’s medical cannabis law. That supply chain has existed since 1996.

According to Josh Drayton, communications director for the California Cannabis Industry Association, growth in the illegal market has likely outpaced that of legal businesses during the pandemic, in part because they offer products for significantly cheaper prices. Legal marijuana products cost an estimated 40 percent to 50 percent more than their unregulated competitors, after expenses related to taxes and testing are tacked on.

“While there may be a short-term uptick in sales coming from consumers concerned about safety, many more consumers will be even more concerned about price now that they are out of work,” said Jackie McGowan, founder of Green Street Consulting.


A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy keeps watch on a group of people apprehended at an illegal marijuana dispensary in Compton, Calif. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

Efforts to step up enforcement actions against illegal businesses and educate consumers about the differences between regulated and unregulated shops have largely been put on hold due to budgetary constraints.

Drayton also pointed to a dearth of cannabis-related legislation being considered in the state capitol as a sign that illegal operations will continue operating unchecked even as the legal market grows.

“Without a strong education campaign, which cannot be afforded during these times, I think we're going to stay in these parallel paths for quite some time,” he said.

One positive the industry has seen in recent weeks is an increase in the number of cities considering cannabis revenues as a tool for plugging coronavirus-related budget gaps. While the proliferation of licensed shops could put a dent in the unregulated market in the future, these jurisdictions are likely years away from seeing cannabis shops open in their borders.

Still, the potential for the legal market to expand in the next few years and put more pressure on unregulated businesses gives industry observers in California a reason for hope.

Michigan faces a similar problem in quashing illegal sales: The vast majority of cities in the state — including Detroit — still don’t allow recreational pot shops to operate. In addition, marijuana cultivation is still ramping up in the state, since full legalization only took effect in December.

“Demand, especially in the adult-use market, is still higher than the supply as the production in the industry continues to grow,” said Andrew Brisbo, executive director of Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency. “That keeps prices still higher than I think they will be in the long term.”

Cash crunch could drive more legalization

Industry officials are divided on whether the pandemic is eroding the illicit marijuana market, but there’s little doubt that the current economic troubles will push more states to consider legalization.

That’s in large part because states' desperation for cash is only going to grow. Even if marijuana taxes would only make a difference at the margins, it undoubtedly will prove enticing to lawmakers.

Some New York lawmakers are pushing this idea, after legalization efforts failed in each of the last two years. They’ll likely face even greater pressure to enact recreational sales if New Jersey voters pass a recreational legalization referendum in November, as expected.

Even in deep red states, the idea is likely to get a good look. A Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma has argued the state should look at allowing recreational sales, suggesting it could raise $100 million per year.

Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national advocacy group that opposes legalization, doesn’t believe those arguments will prove decisive.

“This pandemic will give lawmakers who already support legalization another talking point they’ll emphasize,” Sabet said. “I don’t think this is going to change minds.”

But Krane, of 4Front Ventures, points to the end of alcohol prohibition as a historic template for what might happen with marijuana in the coming months.

“Alcohol prohibition was largely ended as a result of the Great Depression, as the country was in desperate need of new sources of revenue,” Krane argued. “It went from something that was seen as politically impossible to a political necessity in a very short amount of time, and I think we're seeing a similar situation here.”

TRUMP'S DEEP STATE

Cuccinelli relaxed oversight of DHS intel office

The No. 2 official at the Department of Homeland Security greenlit a move to reduce the role of an internal civil liberties watchdog in intelligence reports.


Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, testifies during a hearing. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images


By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN

08/02/2020

Before the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence arm put together intelligence reports about journalists, its leaders advocated for less internal oversight of the office.

Several months ago, the leadership of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis asked DHS’s second-in-command, Ken Cuccinelli, to limit a department watchdog from regularly reviewing the intelligence products it produces and distributes.

Cuccinelli signed off on the move, according to two sources familiar with the situation, which constrained the role of the department’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in approving the intelligence office’s work.

Before the policy change, I&A had to get the civil liberties watchdog’s signoff to distribute its intelligence products to law enforcement partners. If CRCL didn’t sign off on a product, one of the sources said, the head of I&A could appeal to the deputy secretary — the office where Cuccinelli now sits. The policy change gave I&A more latitude to quickly share products with partners. But former DHS officials say it may have contributed to the intelligence shop’s recent missteps.

In the months since the change, I&A’s work has drawn withering criticism. The Washington Post reported last week that the office distributed an intelligence report documenting communications between protesters over the Telegram messaging app. The Post also reported that I&A compiled intelligence reports on journalists covering DHS’s response to protests in Portland, Oregon against racism and police brutality. Those reports, according to the paper, were based on public information from the journalists’ Twitter feeds. But they still raised significant concerns in DHS, and the department released a statement saying acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told the office to end the practice and had “ordered an inquiry” into the situation. Senior DHS leadership also deposed the intelligence office’s acting chief, Brian Murphy.


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A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on this reporting.

Nate Snyder, who worked in I&A during the Obama administration, told POLITICO the reports would have worried CRCL if they had reviewed them.

“If CRCL had been part of the product review process, they would have immediately raised issues on the recent reports on the release of the products developed on journalists, and also various other things,” he said.

Congressional Democrats have sent the department a blizzard of letters in recent days regarding its activity in Portland. Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee sent a letter to Murphy before his removal asking a host of questions, including how the office collects open source intelligence on protesters. The letter also asked if the civil liberties unit had reviewed the intelligence office’s Portland-related work.

And the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, along with the chairman of its intelligence and counterterrorism subcommittee, also pressed Murphy for answers on the intelligence reports regarding journalists.

“This is a shocking misuse of the information-sharing apparatus meant to protect American communities,” they wrote.

World’s cartoonists on this week’s events

Drawing the top stories around the globe.

By POLITICO 

8/1/20, 4:00 AM CET

First published in The Salt Lake Tribune, U.S., July 29, 2020 | By Pat Bagley


First published on Caglecartoons.com, U.S., July 28, 2020 | By Rick Mckee



First published on POLITICO.com, U.S., July 27, 2020 | By Matt Wuerker

MORE TOONS HERE
https://www.politico.eu/interactive/worlds-cartoonists-on-facebvook-google-apple-amazon-coronavirus-donald-trump/

India’s capacity to be crucial when effective vaccine is ready: Anthony Fauci

Updated: 31 Jul 2020,Leroy Leo

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (REUTERS)

There are seven companies developing various vaccine candidates in India
AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate, which is being co-developed by the University of Oxford, is the front runner globally with a phase III trial underway

India’s position as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume will play a crucial role when an effective vaccine is developed globally and the US government is monitoring the vaccine development efforts of Indian companies through its 30-year-old partnership with India’s department of biotechnology, Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US, said on Thursday.

“India’s private sector also has a very important role in being the world’s leading manufacturer of vaccines. As effective covid-19 vaccines emerge from our research effort, this manufacturing capability is going to be very important," Fauci said at the international symposium on vaccines against the covid-19 pandemic, hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Fauci is the top infectious diseases expert in the US government.

NIAID and India’s department of biotechnology have had a partnership of more than 30 years through the Indo-US Vaccine Action Plan (VAP), and this is playing a role in monitoring India’s research and development (R&D) efforts in vaccine development, Fauci added.

“Three weeks ago, VAP convened an expert advisory committee to review covid-19 vaccine research and development in India. Eleven vaccines were reviewed by a panel that provided recommendations for how these candidates might be further developed and assessed, and we look forward to continuing this involvement and supporting the vaccine R&D efforts," Fauci said.

There are seven companies developing various vaccine candidates in India, with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, partnering AstraZeneca plc to produce about 1 billion doses of its covid-19 vaccine.


AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate, which is being co-developed by the University of Oxford, is the front runner globally with a phase III trial underway and interim data published in the Lancet journal earlier this month indicated that it was safe and provided two levels of immunity.

Governments should start taking financial risks in scaling up production of vaccines to meet demand, but when vaccine candidates get regulatory approval, companies and governments should not take short cuts as this can endanger patients, said Fauci.

Professional gaming community on tenterhooks as India mulls PUBG ban

Updated: 02 Aug 2020, Abhijit Ahaskar

PUBG Mobile is particularly popular for virtual tournaments which fetch crores of rupees in prize money

With 180 million downloads, the game accounts for 24% of total game downloads worldwide and has generated close to $28 million since July 2019 through in-app purchases
Tencent has recently updated its privacy policy and announced that all user data generated in India is stored on local servers

NEW DELHI: India’s professional gaming community is an anxious lot as the government mulls banning popular mobile gaming application PUBG Mobile owing to its Chinese origins. With 180 million downloads, the game accounts for 24% of total game downloads worldwide and has generated close to $28 million since July 2019 through in-app purchases.

The game is particularly popular for virtual tournaments which fetch crores of rupees in prize money. “It can be said beyond reasonable doubt PUBG Mobile is holding the flag of Indian eSports because of its massive audience and investment. And if it gets banned, it will be a huge loss for the eSports ecosystem in India," said Sabyasachi Bose, a professional gamer.

Though PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) was originally developed by South Korean company PUBG Corporation for PC and later console, the mobile version of the game was launched and distributed by Chinese tech company Tencent. It is this connection that has put it on the Indian government’s radar.

Tencent on its part recently updated its privacy policy and announced that all user data generated in India is stored on local servers.

Rushindra Sinha, founder Global Esports points out, the average viewership for larger scale PUBG Mobile tournaments is easily over 2 million. In all our engagements with the gaming community the highest response for the community tournaments and customs hosted have been for PUBG Mobile.

“Tournament prize money in India grew 180% YoY (year on year) in 2019. The single most important driving factor has been PUBG Mobile. Although we're just halfway through the year there has already been a total of 5 crores in prize money from PUBG Mobile tournaments," adds Sinha.

Gaming industry in India has grown significantly after covid-19 compelled people to stay indoors. Online games or multiplayer gaming platforms have reported getting huge traction. PUBG Mobile added over 25 million new users.


Sinha said monetise-able opportunities like brands sponsorship grows if more people play and watch a game. “Smaller tier tournaments and the hundreds of new platforms that are popping up everyday allow even casual players to make a quick buck by winning community tournaments like the ones we've been hosting throughout the lockdown. An average eSports player playing at the Tier 1 level has the potential to earn anywhere between ₹50,000 to ₹2,50,000 depending on how skilled they are," adds Sinha.

In the recently concluded PUBG Mobile India Series 2020, winners TMS Entity took home cash prize of ₹20,00,000. The second ranked Team Fnatic won ₹5,00,000. PUBG Mobile was one of the four games that were included in the ESL India Premiership that has a total prize pool of ₹1.15 crore. There are several tournaments with big brand endorsements lined up for the remainder of the year.


Though PUBG Mobile is the biggest mobile game, it isn’t the only option out there offering a world class gaming experience. Downloads of Fortnite and Call of Duty (COD) Mobile have also soared, but they still don’t have the same following as PUBG Mobile. The gaming community in India has shown to be very receptive of new games.

“I don't think switching to other games like COD Mobile will be that difficult or will take that much time. For instance, Valorant from Riot games (a multiplayer shooting game on the lines of Counter Strike: GO) was recently released and it's already getting a huge response in India," adds Bose.

Covid vaccines: Rich countries lock up supplies of over 100 crore*** doses

LIVEMINT INDIA

The U.S., Britain, European Union and Japan have so far secured about 1.3 billion doses of potential Covid immunizations. (AP)

Covid vaccines: Rich countries lock up supplies of over 100 crore doses

02 Aug 2020, Bloomberg

The European Union has also been aggressive in obtaining shots, well before anyone knows whether they will work

Sanofi and Glaxo intend to provide a significant portion of worldwide capacity in 2021 and 2022

Wealthy countries have already locked up more than a billion doses of coronavirus vaccines, raising worries that the rest of the world will be at the back of the queue in the global effort to defeat the pathogen.

Moves by the U.S. and U.K. to secure supplies from Sanofi and partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and another pact between Japan and Pfizer Inc., are the latest in a string of agreements. The European Union has also been aggressive in obtaining shots, well before anyone knows whether they will work.

Although international groups and a number of nations are promising to make vaccines affordable and accessible to all, doses will likely struggle to keep up with demand in a world of roughly 7.8 billion people. The possibility wealthier countries will monopolize supply, a scenario that played out in the 2009 swine flu pandemic, has fueled concerns among poor nations and health advocates.

The U.S., Britain, European Union and Japan have so far secured about 1.3 billion doses of potential Covid immunizations, according to London-based analytics firm Airfinity. Options to snap up additional supplies or pending deals would add more than 1.5 billion doses to that total, its figures show.

“Even if you have an optimistic assessment of the scientific progress, there’s still not enough vaccines for the world," according to Rasmus Bech Hansen, Airfinity’s chief executive officer. What’s also important to consider is that most of the vaccines may require two doses, he said.

A few front-runners, such as the University of Oxford and partner AstraZeneca Plc and a Pfizer-BioNTech SE collaboration, are already in final-stage studies, fueling hopes that a weapon to fight Covid will be available soon. But developers must still clear a number of hurdles: proving their shots are effective, gaining approval and ramping up manufacturing. Worldwide supply may not reach 1 billion doses until the first quarter of 2022, Airfinity forecasts.

Investing in production capacity all over the world is seen as one of the keys to solving the dilemma, and pharma companies are starting to outline plans to deploy shots widely. Sanofi and Glaxo intend to provide a significant portion of worldwide capacity in 2021 and 2022 to a global initiative that’s focused on accelerating development and production and distributing shots equitably.

The World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are working together to bring about equitable and broad access. They outlined an $18 billion plan in June to roll out shots and secure 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

The initiative, known as Covax, aims to give governments an opportunity to hedge the risk of backing unsuccessful candidates and give other nations with limited finances access to shots that would be otherwise unaffordable.

Tangle of Deals

Countries would need to strike a series of different agreements with vaccine makers to raise their chances of getting supplies, as some shots won’t succeed, a situation that could lead to bidding battles and inefficiencies, Seth Berkley, Gavi’s CEO, said in an interview.

“The thing we worry about most is getting a tangle of deals," he said. “Our hope is with a portfolio of vaccines we can get countries to come together."

Some 78 nations have expressed interest in joining Covax, he said. In addition, more than 90 low- and middle-income countries and economies will be able to access Covid vaccines through a Gavi-led program, the group said Friday. There’s still concern the rest of the world might fall behind.

“That is exactly what we’re trying to avoid," Berkley said.

Biggest Investment

AstraZeneca in June became the first manufacturer to sign up to Gavi’s program, committing 300 million doses, and Pfizer and BioNTech signaled interest in potentially supplying Covax.

The Trump administration agreed to provide as much as $2.1 billion to partners Sanofi and Glaxo, the biggest U.S. investment yet for Operation Warp Speed, the nation’s vaccine development and procurement program. The funding will support clinical trials and manufacturing while allowing the U.S. to secure 100 million doses, if it’s successful. The country has an option to receive an additional 500 million doses longer term.

The European Union is closing in on a deal for as many as 300 million doses of the Sanofi-Glaxo shot and is in advanced discussions with several other companies, according to a statement Friday.

“The European Commission is also committed to ensuring that everyone who needs a vaccine gets it, anywhere in the world and not only at home," it said.

The U.S. has invested in a number of other projects. Pfizer and BioNTech last week reached a $1.95 billion deal to supply their vaccine to the government, should regulators clear it. Novavax Inc. earlier this month announced a $1.6 billion deal, while the U.S. earlier pledged as much as $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca to spur development and production.

U.S. investment to speed up trials, scale up manufacturing and boost vaccine development is “great news for the world," assuming vaccines are shared, Berkley said.

“It helps drive the science forward," he said. “On that I’m very positive. My concern is that we need global supply."

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*** In American English, what Indians call 100 Crore is called one billion. = 1 billion. Note that some older people might tell you that 1 billion = 1 million millions.

What is the term of 100 crore in America? - Quora

https://www.quora.com › What-is-the-term-of-100-crore-in-America

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Indian numbering system - Wikipedia

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

There are words for numbers larger than 1 crore as well, but these are not commonly used and are unfamiliar to most speakers. These include 1 arab (equal to 100 ...

‎Use of separators · ‎Names of numbers · ‎Vedic numbering systems

Crore - Wikipedia

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A crore (/krɔːr/; abbreviated cr) karor or koti denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 10⁷ in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local style of digit group separators (a lakh is equal to one hundred thousand and is written as 1,00,000).

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Million - Crore - Lakh Conversion Calculator

https://ncalculators.com › number-conversion › million-billion-calculator

Jul 9, 2020 - trillion - billion - million - crore - lakh conversion calculator is a number & currency conversion tool ... 1 Crore, 100 Lakhs ... system, people bit confused of how much lack or crore is equal to 1 million, where this million - billion ...

RIP Wilford Brimley Dead - 'Cocoon' Actor & Face of Quaker Oats Dies at 85

SUN, 02 AUGUST 2020 AT 12:32 AM

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Wilford Brimley has sadly passed away at the age of 85.

The actor died on Saturday morning (August 1) at his home in Utah, TMZ reports.

According to a source, Wilford was on dialysis while being treated in an intensive care unit at a local hospital after his death started going downhill during his final days.

Wilford is best known for his roles in Cocoon, The Natural, The Thing, and Hard Target.

In the ’80s and ’90s, Wilford became the spokesperson for Quaker Oats and in the early 2000s, he starred in the iconic diabetes commercials for Liberty Medical. He was first diagnosed with diabetes in 1979.

Wilford is survived by his wife Beverly and their three ki

NEO NAZI COVIDIOTS
Protest Against Virus Curbs Draws Thousands

By AFP News
08/01/20 

Loudly chanting their opposition to face masks and vaccines, thousands of people gathered in Berlin on Saturday to protest against coronavirus restrictions before being dispersed by police.

Police put turnout at around 20,000 -- well below the 500,000 organisers had announced as they urged a "day of freedom" from months of virus curbs.

Demonstrators, some of whom have branded the pandemic a conspiracy, demanded a "day of freedom" in protest against virus curbs Photo: AFP / John MACDOUGALL

Despite Germany's comparatively low toll, authorities are concerned at a rise in infections over recent weeks and politicians took to social media to criticise the rally as irresponsible.

"We are the second wave," shouted the crowd, a mixture of hard left and right and conspiracy theorists as they converged on the Brandenburg Gate, demanding "resistance" and dubbing the pandemic "the biggest conspiracy theory".

As politicians slammed the rally, a small number of counter-protesters gathered, one holding a sign reading "we are many. Berlin against Nazis" Photo: AFP / John MACDOUGALL
Few protesters wore a mask or respected the 1.5-metre (five-foot) social distancing requirement, an AFP journalist reported, despite police repeatedly calling on them via megaphone to do so.

After several warnings, Berlin police ordered demonstrators to leave the area at the end of the afternoon

Marchers unveil a banner reading "health is more than the simple absence of illness" Photo: AFP / John MACDOUGALL

Police tweeted they had launched legal proceedings against organisers for not respecting virus hygiene rules.

A handful of people held a counter demonstration. Dubbing themselves "grandmothers against the extreme right", they hurled insults against "Nazi" protesters.

The protest's "Day of Freedom" slogan echoes the title of a 1935 documentary by Nazi-era film-maker Leni Riefenstahl on a party conference by Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Although infections have been creeping back up in Germany, some marchers say imposing rafts of restrictions amount to "scare tactics" Photo: AFP / John MACDOUGALL

Several politicians condemned the demonstration as Germany seeks to minimise transmission of a virus which had claimed just over 9,000 deaths as of Saturday -- a far lower toll than its neighbours.

Saskia Esken of the Social Democrats, a junior coalition partner in Angela Merkel's government, blasted the demonstrators as "Covidiots".

Thousands railed against the German government's measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic Photo: AFPTV / Raphaelle LOGEROT

In a tweet Esken railed: "No distancing, no mask. They are not only putting at risk our health but also our success against the pandemic as well as economic recovery, education and society. Irresponsible!"

Health Minister Jens Spahn agreed: "Yes, demonstrations should also be possible in times of coronavirus, but not like this. Distance, hygiene rules and masks serve to protect us all, so we treat each other with respect."

Jan Redmann, regional head of Merkel's Christian Democrats in the eastern state of Brandenburg, also took aim at the marchers.

"A thousand new infections a day still and in Berlin there are protests against anti-virus measures? We can no longer allow ourselves these dangerous absurdities," Redmann complained.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who hails from Merkel's traditional right ally the Christian Social Union, showed a measure of understanding, however.

"Of course there are always different opinions regarding infringements of basic rights and restrictions of freedom -- first, it's normal and, in my view, it's not the majority," Seehofer told Bavarian daily Passauer Neue Presse.

Saturday saw 955 new infections -- a level which the country had not seen since May 9, according to the Robert Koch health institute.

But marchers insist the risk of catching the virus is being much overblown.

"It's pure scare tactics. I don't see any danger with the virus," one marcher, Iris Bitzenmeier, told AFP.

"I don't know any other sick people. I knew many in March -- skiers, holidaymakers. Something was really afoot in February -- but now there are no longer any sick people," she insisted.

"People who don't inform themselves -- unlike ourselves -- remain ignorant and believe what the government tells them. They get caught up in the fear the government puts in our heads -- and that fear weakens the immune system," she said.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

People protest outside the Bundestag in Berlin. Thousands gathered nearby to demonstrate against Germany's coronavirus restrictions | Felipe Trueba/EPA

German politicians warned Sunday of a coronavirus resurgence and called for vigilance after thousands of people, defying calls to wear masks and take other precautions, protested in Berlin against measures to curb the pandemic's spread.

Markus Söder, the premier of the regional state of Bavaria and a potential candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel, warned on Twitter that "we have to expect that corona will come back again with full force. I am very worried about the rising case numbers in Germany. Total alertness is needed, and that's why now is not the time for easing restrictions or naive carelessness."

He also expressed skepticism about launching the German Bundesliga football league without any restrictions. "Ghost games, yes, but I find stadiums with 25,000 spectators difficult to imagine. That would be the wrong signal," he said.

In a separate interview with the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper, he warned that the virus "would remain a constant challenge which will keep us permanently under pressure."

Germany has won international praise for its handling of the pandemic and the country has been hit less hard than other European nations such as Italy, Spain and France. But the Robert Koch Institute, the government's main biomedical body, warned last week that the number of reported cases has been rising since the beginning of July.

Söder's concerns were echoed by Saskia Esken, co-leader of the Social Democrats, Merkel's junior coalition partners. In an interview with newspaper Der Tagespiegel, Esken, said she "simply saw the realistic danger of a second wave," cautioning that a return to pre-pandemic habits could undermine the fight against the virus.

On Saturday, Esken lashed out at the protesters in Berlin, thundering on Twitter: "Thousands of Covidiots are celebrating themselves as 'the second wave,' without distancing, without masks. They are putting at risk not only our health, but our successes against the pandemic, to revive the economy, education and society. Irresponsible!"

Health Minister Jens Spahn also chimed in. "Yes, demonstrations should be possible in Corona times. But not like this. Distancing, hygiene rules and facemasks are meant to protect us all," he said. On Friday, he raised the alarm about rising infection numbers and called on holiday returnees to get tested to prevent the spread of the virus.

Anja Karliczek, Germany's education minister, on Sunday called for requiring students to wear masks inside schools when they return to classrooms in the fall.

It's "comprehensible when [regional] states want to forgo the social distancing rules at schools because the spatial conditions would only allow limited in-person classes," Karliczek told the Sunday edition of daily Welt.

"However, in-person classes will only work when additional hygiene regulations and rules for wearing masks and social distancing in school yards and corridors are strictly observed," she said.

The states of Berlin, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have already introduced such requirements. In Germany, education policy is primarily the responsibility of regional states.

Police said some 17,000 people took part in Saturday's demonstration in Berlin, organized to protest government-enforced restrictions. The gathering was organized with the title "The end of the pandemic — day of freedom." Some participants claimed the virus was "the biggest conspiracy theory," according to media reports.

Olaf Sundermeyer, an expert on the far right, cautioned that many people don't believe that the coronavirus exists. Speaking to German broadcaster ARD, he said that protesters believed the pandemic would be an invention to subdue the people: "Many say they are being systematically lied to."

Protesters in Berlin. A senior local official said the demonstration was a "disaster" | John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands protest against coronavirus measures in Berlin

Demonstrators ignore hygiene rules to rally in German capital.

By VINCENT MANANCOURT 

8/2/20, 

Thousands of people, packed close together and not wearing face masks, protested in Berlin on Saturday against official measures intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Police said they would file charges against the organizer of the gathering as demonstrators had not followed hygiene rules such as maintaining social distancing or wearing a mask covering nose and mouth.

Some 17,000 people took part in the demonstration at its peak, according to police.

The gathering was organized with the title "The end of the pandemic — day of freedom." Some demonstrators chanted "the biggest conspiracy theory is the pandemic," according to German media reports.

A Stuttgart-based organization called Querdenken 711 — which roughly translates as "thinking outside the box 711" — organized the rally.

The interior minister for the city of Berlin, Andreas Geisel, said on Friday that neo-Nazi organizations had also called for people to participate in the march. German media outlets noted that "Day of Freedom" was also the name of a Nazi propaganda film documenting the party's 1935 party congress in Nuremberg.

One banner at the march called for politicians such as German Health Minister Jens Spahn, Bavaria's state premier Markus Söder, Chancellor Angela Merkel and leading virologist Christian Drosten to be "locked away."

Protesters also "aggressively asked" journalists to remove their masks by protestors, newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported. A video by Querdenken 711 before the march said the group was peaceful and called on attendees to be polite to journalists.

Sawsan Chebli, a senior official in the Berlin city government, called the protest "a disaster."

"I just came from abroad and see these pictures. Many look to Germany, and admire us for how we have dealt with corona. Such pictures are a disaster. They destroy everything. They endanger human lives and destroy livelihoods. They scare me," she tweeted.