Notations On Our World (Thursday Edition): Out & About re #CoronaVirus & Other Thoughts

Exhausted Iranian Health Workers at the forefront of the Virus 

The World has been gearing up to fight the Corona Virus.    As we went to press, the US House of Representatives passed a 8.9 Billion Dollar Package that was slated to be voted by the US Senate and subsequent signature by President Trump.  Italy was dealing with a crisis as it closed out schools and Universities.  Iran continued to be the epic center in the MENA (Middle East/North Africa Region) as this from the indivisible provided guidance on the view of the funding bill passed by the US House of Representatives:

We know it’s been a tough week, but we have some good news to report: Earlier today we got word that all three of our asks were included in the bipartisan emergency funding bill to address the coronavirus outbreak. You can read NPR’s coverage of the bill by clicking here.  Getting all three asks means the bill has no money for DHS, includes transfer restrictions to keep Trump from stealing money for bad things (like his wall, immigration enforcement, etc.), and that there's language to help ensure that the treatment or vaccine is affordable and accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy.  Indivisibles helped make this happen by calling your members of Congress and demanding that the bill stayed clean, included a strong public health response, and didn’t exacerbate harm to vulnerable communities. As a movement, we can be really proud that we put forward an intersectional analysis that blended democracy, immigration, and healthcare; organized with coalitions, and quickly used pressure to elevate our asks.  While it’s important that we celebrate this win, we also have to face the fact that the coronavirus is spreading and that Congress still has to vote on this bill, and the Trump Administration has to implement it. Here’s what we’ll be watching for elected officials to do in the next few days:  Making sure that the supplemental funding bill is passed and signed quickly so that we can immediately address the outbreak and help those impacted. Ensuring that test kits are readily available for healthcare workers. Click here to read about how the Trump Administration only has 2500 test kits (!!). Demanding that the Trump Administration doesn’t suppress information in an effort to claim that the virus is contained. Read about how the Trump administration has tried to hide the impact of the virus. Overall, we urge you, your friends and neighbors, and every elected official to listen to medical professionals for your news and action items, not the Trump reelection campaign. You can find our coronavirus resource here -- we’ll be updating it frequently as our asks change, so stay tuned for that. On a more individual note, take care, wash your hands frequently, and try to stay home when you’re feeling ill if your job and finances allow it. Click here to read more about the coronavirus, including how to prevent and treat the illness.  Iran claimed that it approved the furlough of 54,000 prisoners although we received this on the detention of a leading Iranian Filmmaker and the continued profound challenges faced by Iranian Filmmakers as the corona virus rages on in Iran:  Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Renowned Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof Summoned to Prison https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/03/amid-coronavirus-outbreak-renowned-filmmaker-mohammad-rasoulof-summoned-to-prison/ Rasoulof’s Film About Iran’s Death Penalty Recently Won Top Prize at Berlin Film Festival  March 4, 2020 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) strongly condemns the Iranian judiciary’s decision to put internationally acclaimed filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof in harm’s way by summoning him to prison when thousands of prisoners are being released to prevent coronavirus transmissions. “Yet again we’re witnessing the cruel lengths judicial officials will go to stifle peaceful criticism of state policies,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi. “Filmmakers and free speech advocates everywhere should loudly call for this absurd sentence to be rescinded.” “Making films shouldn’t be a life-endangering act,” he added. “This case is about the state’s ongoing efforts to criminalize freedom of expression and a filmmaker’s courageous attempts to challenge them.” Rasoulof was summoned to Tehran’s Evin Prison to serve a one-year prison sentence for the content of his films via text message, his lawyer told the Associated Press. In July 2019, Rasoulof informed CHRI that he had been charged with “propaganda against the state” for the content of his films. Rasoulof was summoned less than a week after his film “There is No Evil,” about Iran’s death penalty policy, won the top prize at the Berinale – Berlin International Film Festival. He was unable to attend the award ceremony because the judiciary has banned him from traveling abroad, but discussed his film with the festival's organizers via a video interview. Filmmakers in Iran face enormous pressure from the Iranian government to refrain from producing films that challenge or criticize state policies. The Iranian judiciary has a documented history of punishing filmmakers who have resisted that pressure. Several Iranian directors have been sentenced to prison and seen their films banned in Iran after refusing to toe state lines. In November 2019, more than 200 members of the country's film industry signed an open letter condemning state censorship policies. “All these restrictions and obstacles have not only prevented Iranian films from shining internationally, but also eroded their domestic audience,” said the letter. “We express our disgust toward all policies that interfere in the form and content of our work and demand freedom of expression and thought.” As part of our commitment to be supportive in this war on the #CoronaVirus, please note this guidance courtesy the team at eHealth: Coronavirus FAQ: What You Need to Know What is the coronavirus (COVID-19), and how does it spread? Read our FAQ to understand symptoms, confirmed cases, and more. Continue reading

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On Our World.....

This weekend was the advent of the Chinese Lunar Year and TET.  Here in Southern California, The cities of Garden Grove and Westminster held parades and Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley Celebrated TET--Happy New Lunar Year to all!!

It is going to be another busy week throughout our Platforms.   In line with our continued commitment to bring the World to our Platforms, this weekly compilation courtesy the team at the Visual Capitalist underscores the state of our World and a number of focus areas for us as well:

Sunday Digest: Last Week's Infographics

Here are all the new infographics from last week in one easy place!

How China Overtook U.S. as the World's Major Trading Partner

China has become the world's major trading partner – and now, 128 of 190 countries trade more with China than they do with the United States.

Visualizing the Expanse of the ETF Universe

The global ETF universe has grown to be worth $5.75 trillion — here's how the assets break down by type, sector, and investment focus.

Tesla's Valuation Surpasses Ford and GM Combined

Tesla is not only the top valued US automaker, it's now worth more than Ford and GM combined. Will the rally go on, or will short sellers win the day?

Ranked: The World's Most Downloaded Apps

The app economy is expected to be over $6 trillion by 2021—see the world's most downloaded apps and how they're driving the future of this market.

Mapping the Global Flow of Foreign Aid

This infographic looks at who is giving – and who is receiving – the billions of dollars in foreign aid that flows between countries each year.

Internet Browser Market Share (1996–2019)

A nostalgic look back at the market share of various web browsers, from Netscape Navigator to Google Chrome.

Visualizing Unequal State Tax Burdens Across America

Poor families pay a higher share of their income towards state and local taxes than wealthy families. These maps show the inequitable tax burdens.

This Week's Flashback Favorite: The World's Most Powerful Reserve Currencies

Here are the reserve currencies that the world's central banks hold onto for a rainy day. Originally from October 2019

As our team will be providing daily assessment over our Twitter Corner regarding Impeachment, the health emergency that originated in China, the challenges throughout the Middle East, the World awaits the dawn of the Middle East Peace Plan which has been in the works for about 3 years now.  The Israeli Prime Minister and Key Opposition figure are slated to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington before it is released--the Palestinians have already rejected it as they have been left out of the process and as the United States withdrew long-standing support to the United Nations Refugee Agency, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's Capital and walked away from a commitment to a Two-State Solution.   Israel's Haaretz noted one column as the World Awaits: As the US Elections heats up, we close out this edition with this cautionary note: Global Economy A plot twist in Donald Trump’s US growth story The president’s ‘roaring geyser’ narrative may be about to run out of steam JANUARY 26, 2020 by Rana Foroohar As China dealt with the deadly outbreak (and our Twitter Channel headlines the latest courtesy China Daily), then there is India as it celebrated 71 years of Independence on Republic Day.   However, the Economist of London underscored profound challenges India Faces: '         Our cover this week looks at how Narendra Modi and the BJP are sowing division in India. Last month they changed the law to make it easier for adherents of all the subcontinent’s religions, except Islam, to acquire citizenship. At the same time, they want to compile a register of all India’s 1.3bn citizens. Those sound like technicalities, but many of the country’s 200m Muslims do not have the papers to prove they are Indian, so they risk being made stateless. Ominously, the government has ordered the building of camps to detain those caught in the net. The scheme looks like the most ambitious step yet in a decades-long project of incitement against Muslims. That is electoral nectar for the BJP, but political poison for India. By undermining the secular principles of the constitution, Mr Modi’s latest initiatives threaten to do damage to democracy. They also risk spilling innocent blood. To drive home this point, the Indian National Congress undertook a very cute outreach to the Indian Prime Minister which we caught on Social Media--it began with a notice noting that it had purchased a copy of the Indian Constitution for the Indian Prime Minister: It then went on both on Hindi & English to cite excerpts of the Constitution: Never a dull moment in our World.....