Vitamin C linked to virility, better overall health in men – Chicago Daily Herald

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Male fertility rates in the United States have been steadily decreasing over the past decade. Over 70 million couples worldwide complain of infertility with low sperm count accounting for more than 50% of the causes of infertility.

Obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic stress all contribute to this decline. Medical research has shown that, under these stressful conditions, sperm quality and quantity may be improved by regular consumption of vitamin C.

Reproduction and the resultant children are a time and energy consuming endeavor. In nature, the healthiest animals are the ones who are most able to reproduce. The same holds true for humans. Medical conditions can significantly impact health, reducing sperm quality and quantity. Chronic lifestyle stress results in an increase in anti-stress hormones (think cortisol) that reduce sperm quality and quantity as well, leading to impotence. In technologically advanced countries, chronic stress and chronic illnesses are potentiating low sperm counts and a decrease in overall fertility. All of these stress conditions reduce tissue levels of antioxidants and the testes are very susceptible to tissue damage resulting from reduce levels of antioxidants, thus resulting in a reduced quantity and quality of sperm.

Vitamin C (ascorbic) acid is a powerful antioxidant that has many metabolic functions. It was first reported to be a cure for scurvy, a disease resulting from poor wound healing. Although it is well documented that vitamin C is essential for tissue repair, it is also involved in the production of neurotransmitters, by some white blood cells in the killing of bacteria and viruses, and is needed by multiple enzymatic pathways.

Humans do not make their own vitamin C, even though we have the genes to do so. We must get our vitamin C through food or supplementation. Low levels of vitamin C combined with chronic stress and illness are the prefect recipe for low sperm counts and infertility.

Medical research has consistently demonstrated that increasing vitamin C levels can improve the quality and quantity of sperm both in humans and animals. A recent review of the medical research on vitamin C and sperm quality and quantity summarized medical research from 2004-2015. Overall the results indicated that vitamin C leads to better sperm quality/quantity, DNA protection and increased pregnancies (about a 20% increase). In some studies vitamin C administered by injection was better than taking it orally. Admittedly, most of the studies have been done in mice and rats but those human studies are equally positive.

Most Americans do not eat enough vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables as part of their daily diet so vitamin C insufficiency may be quite common. Taking a daily vitamin C supplement may be prudent not just for infertility but for overall health. Some believe that intravenous vitamin C may be more effective for sperm quality and infertility than taking a supplement.

There are very few contraindications to taking vitamin C and this simple vitamin could be part of the answer to increasing male infertility.

Dr. Patrick Massey is medical director of complementary and alternative medicine at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, and president of ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy, 1544 Nerge Road, Elk Grove Village.

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Mark Hyman, the ‘Dr. Oz’ of Nutrition, Says Food Is Killing People Like the Holocaust – American Council on Science and Health

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It's difficult to out-Oz Dr. Oz, America's Quack, who has raked in giant piles of money by promoting pseudoscience on his TV show. But at least one person comes perilously close: Dr. Mark Hyman.

Hyman is the "Dr. Oz" of nutrition. He embraces legitimate science if and only if it suits his bottom line. Otherwise, he's promoting junk science and magical thinking. To get an idea of the sort of nonsense that he spews, his website features an interview with the Food Babe, as well as his infuriatingly stupid quote, "Food isn't like medicine, it is medicine." The comma splice just makes me that much angrier.

The Many Lies of Dr. Mark Hyman

Hyman made a recent appearance on the Rubin Report, which is hosted by conservative commentator Dave Rubin. Hyman took the inadvisable step of taking a cheap shot at ACSH, so we thought we would reciprocate by fact-checking some of the interview. (Note: The interview is 55 minutes long, and my head would explode if I actually listened to all of it.) Buckle up.

"I became a doctor and kind of got indoctrinated, literally, and became very focused on traditional, good medicine, but I realized the limits of it. And then I got sick myself and ended up having to fix myself using functional medicine.

Wow, the bullsh** is strong with this one. He claims that doctors are being force-fed lies in medical school and that the real truth is what he calls "functional medicine" -- which is just a different term for alternative medicine, holistic medicine, integrative medicine, or whatever rainbow-and-unicorn term these quacks prefer. I generally frown upon Wikipedia, but the first sentence in its entry on Functional Medicine is too good to pass up: "Functional medicine is a form of alternative medicine that encompasses a number of unproven and disproven methods and treatments."

Six out of ten Americans have a chronic disease. It kills 11 million people a year from food.

Huh?! His first statistic is true, but the second is a gigantic, whopping lie. (See figure taken from the CDC.) Considering that chronic disease includes everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's, there's a lot of territory to cover. Poor nutrition is simply one risk factor among many. Other risk factors are genetic or environmental. So, to single out food as the primary cause of chronic illness is just plain wrong.

Also, I have no idea where he gets his statistic that 11 million people die from food every year. Each year, about 2.8 million Americans die from all causes. Globally, there are about 56 million deaths from all causes. Hyman just fabricated the 11 million number, which he then refers to as "like a Holocaust" (at the 6:00 mark). Twinkies, Nazis? Basically the same thing.

"If I really want to cure my patients, I have to step back and look at the big picture of what's wrong with our food system, the impact it's causing on disease, on our economy, on social justice issues, poverty, mental health, kids' academic performance, national security, environment, climate. It's all one problem that is predominantly driven by our food."

Food is not the root cause of national security problems, let alone every other problem on the planet. Hyman sounds like that guy from The History Channel who blames everything on aliens. Anytime somebody fingersa singleboogeyman for causing every disease and problem known to mankind, this is a giant red flag indicating quackery.

"Most states have obesity rates over 40%."

Obesity is a substantial problem in this country, but this is another made-up statistic. Only one state (Mississippi) has an obesity rate over 40%, according to the CDC.

"We have one in three federal dollars that are spent on Medicare."

Yet another made-up statistic. Here are the federal outlays for 2019:

Medicare cost $644 billion. With $4.4 trillion in spending, that means the federal government spent about 15% of its budget (roughly 1 in 7 dollars) on Medicare. If we're generous and include Medicaid, that is 24% of the budget (about 1 in 4 dollars). Again, Hyman just fabricates numbers out of thin air. To add yet more absurdity, Hyman claimed a moment later that 80% of the spending is unnecessary because it's caused by food. Right, if only everybody ate broccoli everyday, nobody would have cancer or dementia.

(I'm now merely 7 minutes and 25 seconds into the video, and I simply can't take anymore of this. So let's fast forward to the point where he takes a swipe at ACSH. It begins at 13:00.)

"They create front groups... to confuse consumers saying, for example, that pesticides and high fructose corn syrup and trans fats and smoking are not bad for you, like the American Council on Science and Health."

By "they," I think Hyman is referring to aliens food companies. Anyway, Hyman is lying again. ACSH has always been anti-smoking. Always. In regard to trans fats, we're sort of ambivalent on the issue. Dr. Chuck Dinerstein wrote in 2018 that the FDA has largely eliminated trans fats from the American diet, but there doesn't seem to be much of an impact on cardiovascular disease. Pesticides are safe if used at appropriate doses (which they are). (Besides, plants make 99.99% of the pesticides we consume.) And when analyzed chemically, high fructose corn syrup is basically honey.

Don't ever listen to Mark Hyman.

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Mark Hyman, the 'Dr. Oz' of Nutrition, Says Food Is Killing People Like the Holocaust - American Council on Science and Health

World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers Provides Exceptional Regenerative Treatment Options To Those in Need – GlobeNewswire

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PITTSBURGH, Oct. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Those who are looking for an alternative treatment option when compared to traditional medicine are now in luck. Recently, World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers announced that it was opening the first of its more than 300 planned locations all over the world. With access to a wide range of treatment options, it is possible for patients to visit World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers and enjoy a more comprehensive recovery process than they ever have in the past. Therefore, it is important to highlight some of the major benefits that come with visiting World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers or health treatment options.

An Introduction to World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers: The First Location is Open

Right now, the first location has opened for World Wide Stem Cell. This treatment center location is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, more than 300 locations are scheduled to open worldwide.

In many situations, treatment options from World Wide Stem Cell can actually work very well when working in combination with traditional medical therapy. The goal of World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers is to provide patients with more options, allowing them to tailor their treatment options to meet their individual needs and avoid invasive surgery whenever possible. In this manner, patients can work with the professionals at World Wide Stem Cell to develop a custom treatment plan to meet their unique needs.

Who Might Need Stem Cell Therapy from World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers?

The reality is that anyone is able to benefit from stem cell therapy from World Wide Stem Cell. At the same time, it is also important for people to know what goes into stem cell therapy.

First, one of the most common patient populations that might benefit from a visit to World Wide Stem Cell is athletes who have suffered an injury. While participating in their sport. While sports are great for conditioning and staying in shape. Injuries are always a very real risk. When an athlete suffers an injury, World Wide Stem Cell is able to treat that athlete and in most cases have that athlete participating back in his sport again in up to 1/10th of the time without invasive surgery. So with that being said the entire population at one time or another are candidates for stem cells. Whether it be a knee, hip, shoulder or any other orthopedic joint. Stem cells in most cases are able to replace invasive surgery; with a stem cell injection. World Wide Stem Cell always treats every condition with the proper cells for that particular situation. We only use orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons that do all our injections and they are all done with ultrasound guided needle injections. Whether you are interested in orthopedic treatments, facial rejuvenation, anti-aging cells, hair replacement, erectile dysfunction. We have them all at World Wide Stem Cell. Call, email, inquire!

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300 Chapel Harbor DriveSuite 204Pittsburgh, Pa 15238Contact: JS Genslinger (founder)412-408-3183

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World Wide Stem Cell Treatment Centers Provides Exceptional Regenerative Treatment Options To Those in Need - GlobeNewswire

Personal Care Encapsulation Materials Market Size Forecast to Reach $8.7 Billion by 2025 Wall Street Call – Reported Times

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Oct 19, 2020 10:10 AM ET

iCrowd Newswire Oct 19, 2020

Personal Care Encapsulation Materials Market size is forecast to reach $8.7 billion by 2025 after growing at a CAGR of 6.7% during 2020-2025. Encapsulation is a technique in which tiny particles are protected by coating them to form small capsules. The growth of the market of personal care encapsulation materials is expected to be driven by the high demand from the cosmetic industry. The other growth factor is personal care industry which is using personal care encapsulation materials for the manufacturing of soaps and shower gels.

By Type-Segment AnalysisLipids segment held the largest share in thepersonal care encapsulation materials marketin 2019. Lipids are finding increasing application in soap and shower gel manufacturing owing to the assortment of chemical composition they offer. Lipids are finding increasing applications in the cosmetics industry owing to their superior functional properties such as emulsification, density, texture, and hydrogenation. These factors are imperative to lipids market growth. Lipids and emulsifiers derived from lipids are the primary materials used in the manufacturing of cosmetics owing to their emulsification properties which form a barrier to protect the skin from external elements. With consumers preferring green cosmetics owing to the inclusion of natural ingredients and the health benefits associated with them, the demand for lipids derived from plants and other biotechnological origins is on the rise. Additionally, collaborative efforts for obtaining lipids specifically for use in cosmetics is expected to fuel lipids market growth.

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By Application-Segment AnalysisAromatherapy Products held the largest share in the personal care encapsulation materials market in 2019. Aromatherapy product are used as an alternative medicine therapy to treat many disorders. These medical applications include skin-related problems, pain management, insomnia, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, and digestion problems, cold and cough, immune system functioning, anxiety, and wound healing. The rising demand for unconventional and natural treatment procedures has influenced the growth of aromatherapy products all around the globe. The growth of the aromatherapy products market can be attributed to usage of essential oils in various applications such as flavor & fragrance and others. Moreover, healing benefits of aromatherapy products are expected to be instrumental in governing peak sales paving the way for aromatherapy products sector growth. Furthermore, wide scale adoption of aromatherapy products in industrial, commercial, and household applications also drive the global market in forecast period.

Soaps segment is the second largest segment in terms of application in the personal care encapsulation materials market. The growing concern for personal grooming and rising hygiene-consciousness among consumers has encouraged them to opt for skin-friendly bath soaps, thereby driving the market growth across the globe. Apart from this, manufacturers are introducing products with exotic fragrances and vibrant colors to expand their consumer-base and diversify their market operations. They are also launching eco-friendly bath soaps containing natural or organic ingredients which are safe for both humans and the environment. Besides this, with the growing environment concerns, the leading soap companies are offering products in biodegradable and refill packaging. Furthermore, the adoption of aggressive marketing schemes such as celebrity endorsements by manufacturers, along with value addition, are some of the other factors contributing to the market growth.

By End Use-Segment AnalysisPersonal care segment has been the primary market for the personal care encapsulation materials in 2019 growing at CAGR of 8%. The personal care industry is the one which produces consumer products that are used for beautification and personal hygiene. The subsectors of personal care comprise cosmetics and personal hygiene. Some of the products that are included in personal care wet wipes, toothpaste, toilet paper, talcum and others. The global market for personal care is extremely diversified and can be bifurcated. The global market for personal care is expected to witness substantial growth over the coming years owing to the growing disposable income of consumers, thus enabling them to spend on luxury personal care products. In order to cater to specific customer needs, manufacturers have flooded the market with specific hair and skin products. The market is also expected to be benefitted by the promotional offers, advertising, and media penetration. In emerging economies, facets such as growing spending power of consumers, abundance of international brands, and rapid urbanization is likely to help in the growth of the market in the forecast period.

Geography-Segment AnalysisAPAC dominates the personal care encapsulation materials market with a share of 40% followed by North America and Europe. The economy of APAC is mainly influenced by the economic dynamics of countries such as China and India, but with growing foreign direct investment for economic development of South East Asia, the current scenario is changing. Countries in South East Asia are witnessing high growth in the cosmetic sector. The growth in global economies, changing lifestyles, rising demands of skin and sun care products due to varying climatic conditions encourages the growth of the market for cosmetics. A shift of preference towards natural and organic beauty products, particularly in U.S. and European countries, drive the growth of the cosmetics market. Rising demand for natural, herbal and organic beauty products creates potential opportunities for manufacturers to innovate and develop new products in accordance to consumer preferences.

The coronavirus pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease and efforts to quarantine it. As the pandemic has spread around the globe, concerns have shifted from supply-side manufacturing issues to decreased business therefore, it hinder the growth of personal care encapsulation materials market in the year 2020. But after the situation became normal it will grow with steady rate in the forecast period.

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Drivers- Personal Care Encapsulation Materials MarketRise in the demand of essential oils will drive the growth of the market in forecast periodRising awareness regarding health benefits of naturally sourced oils along with increasing number of people showing inclination towards aromatherapy is estimated to drive the market. Aromatherapy is gaining prominence, especially among urban population, due to changing lifestyles and rising media influence. Shifting preference of consumers in developed countries towards natural products manufactured through environmentally sustainable processes is stirring up the demand for essential oil. In addition, rising consumption of premium products and upgraded standard of living of consumers, especially in developing countries, are creating ample growth opportunities for essential oil manufactures which derive the market of personal care encapsulation materials in the forecast period.

Emerging e-commerce companies and ease of available products will drive the marketRise of prospective population which coupled with the factors which are inducing the growth of the market such as rising personal disposable income and increasing internet penetration in the region. Further, distribution of personal care encapsulation materials market has a huge role in the success of a company as it directly impacts the demand and supply in the market and hence the revenue. With the rising penetration of internet and e-commerce across the globe, the reach of personal care products companies has increased. The perks of e-commerce have not only benefitted the companies but also the consumers in terms of pricing and a vast range of options available to them. Moreover, new customers have also been attracted by the online distribution route.

Challenges- Personal Care Encapsulation Materials MarketHigh price of raw materials will hinder the growth of marketVolatility in raw material prices could restrain the personal care encapsulation materials market. Raw materials required for the manufacturing of encapsulates are derived from petroleum-based resins. Therefore, fluctuation in crude oil prices could act as a major restraint for the personal care encapsulation materials market. In the global scenario, OPEC counties and Russia are fluctuating the price of crude oil. And recent US sanctions on Iran is a major factor that will increase per barrel of crude oil price. These are the restraints which will affect the global personal care encapsulation materials market near future.

Market LandscapeTechnology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the personal care encapsulation materials market. Major players in personal care encapsulation materials market are Biogenoci Co Ltd, Chongqing Pellet, Durae Corporation, Korea Particle Technology, Sumitomo And Subsidiary Persperse Corp and others.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches/ Product LaunchesIn July 2016, Crodda International Plc, based in England, today announced the total acquisition of the company Inventiva Ltd, from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. The transaction, completed by Croda Brazil, increase its portfolio of ingredients for the personal care industry with the encapsulation technology and delivery system of Inventiva. Croda will use technologies of Inventiva to innovate in other markets.

In September 2019, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), a leading innovator of scent, taste, and nutrition, and its affiliate, IFF-Lucas Meyer Cosmetics (IFF-LMC), announced that it has completed the acquisition of Speximo AB, a Swedish technology company focused in developing next generation stabilization and encapsulation products. This will support IFFs strategy to develop sustainable personal care and cosmetic products, along with other potential commercial application areas.

Key TakeawaysAsia-Pacific dominates the personal care encapsulation materials owing to increasing demand from personal care industry.

Rising demand from products such as anti-aging creams, shower gels and others are driving the growth of market in the forecast period.

High price of raw material will hinder the growth of the market in the forecast period.

Related Report:

Active Ingredients in Personal Care Market

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Personal Care Encapsulation Materials Market Size Forecast to Reach $8.7 Billion by 2025 Wall Street Call - Reported Times

Tough on Anti-Vaxx Nonsense, Tough on the Causes of Anti-Vaxx Nonsense – Jacobin magazine

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Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris may have given an unwitting boost to the anti-vaccination movement during her debate with Vice President Mike Pence. When asked, she said that she would refuse to take a COVID-19 vaccine if it were approved by the Trump administration.

Harris is entirely correct to be horrified at how Trump and Pence have overseen Operation Warp Speed, the administrations effort to accelerate development of a COVID-19 vaccine through funding of clinical trials and the pre-manufacturing of doses of candidate vaccines so that if they are shown to be safe and effective, distribution can begin straight away.

The overall fast-track framework of the program is supported by public health officials, but they have real concerns that President Trump has been meddling in the approval process for vaccines, pressuring the Food and Drug Administration to give the green light before the November election without safety and efficacy trials and constantly calling pharmaceutical CEOs to press them to speed up their work.

The Trump administration is not the only government that has appeared to be fiddling with vaccine safety for political gain. In August, Russia announced that its health regulator was the first in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, but without testing safety and efficacy via crucially important Phase Three clinical trials in which thousands of subjects are given either the vaccine or a placebo then tracked to see if the vaccine provides any protection as compared to the placebo. If something goes wrong as a result, the danger is not just to those receiving the vaccine, but it will almost certainly radically undermine faith in COVID-19 immunization worldwide.

Public health officials are frightened that such interference is already hindering support not just for a COVID-19 vaccine, but also for vaccines in general. A comprehensive poll performed in September showed that only 51 percent of Americans would be willing to get a vaccine, down from 72 percent in May. A similar drop in confidence has occurred in the United Kingdom, especially amongst young people.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that among children aged five months in Michigan (using the state as a proxy for the country), up-to-date status for all recommended vaccinations had declined from around two-thirds of children from over the previous three years to under half.

These declines could leave children vulnerable to diseases such as the measles because if vaccination coverage for this highly infectious disease drops below around 90 percent, outbreaks can occur. The World Health Organization and Unicef report similar global declines.

There has been a substantial drop worldwide in the number of children completing the three vaccine doses against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, the first time in almost three decades that there has been any reduction in coverage at all.

Most of this decline will have been the result of the lockdowns, as well as fear of contracting COVID-19, keeping families away from health service providers. But this is all the more reason why trust in vaccination needs to be enhanced, not undermined.

In the last few days in order to restore that trust, the Food and Drug Administration has resisted Trumps efforts to block release of stricter rules governing the emergency authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine. These include a requirement that companies producing vaccines gather data on at least 50 percent of subjects in their clinical trial for two months following a second dose of the vaccine (if the vaccine requires two doses).

This latter development automatically pushes an emergency authorization application for even the earliest likely candidate vaccine, from the firms Pfizer and BioNTech, back to mid-November as that will be the earliest time they will have been able to gather such data and, crucially, after the election. Hopefully this will be sufficient to turn the tide on vaccine trust.

Harris was absolutely right to denounce Trumps meddling, but it would have been preferable for Harris to say that Trump must halt his partisan interference in vaccine development so that there will not be a loss of confidence in vaccines at the height of a global pandemic.

Instead, she gave a gift to anti-vaccination campaigners everywhere, and, in effect, told anyone hesitant about any vaccines that their fears are warranted. She said would happily take a vaccine recommended by Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, but not one developed by Trump.

Immediately online, anti-vaxx activists were cheering her comments, or asking why is it okay for her not to trust Trump, but not okay for them to trust Big Pharma with respect to other vaccines. As Australian anti-vaxx campaigner Toby Rogers tweeted, Harris believes she has a right to refuse a vaccine because she doesnt like the current president. Parents should have the same right of refusal for their kids.

The interference by Trump, prior to his election explicitly anti-vaccination himself, plainly makes him the primary villain here along with Vladimir Putin but Harris has not helped the pro-vaccine cause. Perhaps worst of all would be if Harris has unwittingly helped turn vaccination into a partisan issue akin to the mask debate, but inverted, where mask-wearing Democrats refuse to be vaccinated, while mask-refusenik Republicans demonstrate their partisan commitment by being first in line to get a Trump jab.

And this is where we are even prior to rollout of vaccination, for which governments have generally not explained well to citizens especially how even a vaccine demonstrated and widely trusted to be safe and effective may not be a silver bullet that allows us to return to normal.

They have not really gotten across the message that the first vaccines may not provide complete immunity, and how even existing vaccines are not binaries but provide a sliding scale of protection. And few vaccines provide lifelong protection from a single dose. Some vaccine candidates require additional doses perhaps over multiple years.

It is also increasingly clear that COVID-19 reinfection, while rare, does occur. The first case of reinfection in the United States was confirmed this week, a twenty-five-year-old Nevada man with no known history of immune disorders, and whose second infection was more severe, requiring hospitalization with oxygen support.

As of the time of writing, four other cases of reinfection have been confirmed in Belgium, Ecuador, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. Reinfection cases mean it will be ineffective to attempt to achieve herd immunity acquired by natural infection. We do not yet know what this means for achieving herd immunity via vaccination.

So even in a world where trust in vaccination were not an issue, the situation would still be extremely messy.

But its already such a mess. Vaccines are one of the greatest advances in the history of our species, yet we are at great risk of losing the protection they offer at the moment of our greatest need.

This appalling situation is more or less what the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines Heidi Larson predicted two years ago: A politically degenerate and digitally enabled emotional contagion that destroys trust in vaccines will be what results in our failure to halt the spread of the next outbreak.

While the pandemic she had in mind when writing a caustic commentary published online in the journal Nature on the deluge of anti-vaccination misinformation was a highly deadly influenza on the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu, not a coronavirus, her prophecy appears to be coming true.

She is the head of the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), an international team of epidemiologists, statisticians, anthropologists, and political scientists that monitors public attitudes toward vaccines around the world. This week in the Lancet medical journal, the project published the first truly global estimate tracking levels of support for vaccination, an assessment based on interviews of more than 284,000 people across 149 countries from 2015 to 2019.

The results are not heartening. Though there has been a modest uptick in confidence in vaccines in Europe and North America over the period investigated, its an uptick from startlingly low levels, particularly in some EU states such as France and the Netherlands.

In France, just 9 percent of people believed vaccines to be safe in 2015 tied with Japan for the lowest rate in the world that year and four years later, that had jumped up to a still-appalling smidge under 30 percent. The Netherlands was around 30 percent last year, up from 20 percent in 2015. South Korea has also seen a significant drop in confidence as a result of online anti-vaxx campaigning by ANAKI the Korean abbreviation of raising children without medication.

The developed countries with the highest levels of trust in vaccines are places like Australia (72% strongly agree that they are safe in 2019), Canada (67%), and Finland (66%). But before you go off thinking: Oh there they are again, those insufferable Scando-Antipodean-Canuck goody-two-shoes that top the international league tables of just about everything, from math scores to life expectancy to people who have reached adulthood without cavities, these vaccine confidence rates are far below rates seen in much of the Global South. The three countries with the largest proportion of the population believing vaccines to be safe as of 2019 are Uganda (87%), Bangladesh (85%), and Liberia (83%).

In fact, not a single developed nation sits in the top ten, the top twenty or even the top thirty. The highest ranking wealthier state, Australia, clocks in at thirty-third place. We can see clearly from a map produced by the researchers that the safety of vaccines is questioned most strongly in the Global North, particularly in Japan and Europe.

The orange and yellow colors show lower numbers of people who agree that vaccines are safe, while the light and darker blue shades indicate higher numbers of people who believe this to be true.

Clinicians and researchers say the reason for this is straightforward: in the developed world, most of the common infectious diseases that have ravaged human society throughout history had all but been defeated by the twentieth-century marvels of vaccines, antibiotics, and modern sanitation and hygiene.

The memory of what it was like to live in constant fear of infectious disease has, until the COVID-19 pandemic, been almost entirely lost in the West outside of those communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Most people are unaware that they prevent two-three million deaths each year. We have forgotten what a wonder vaccines are.

Meanwhile in the developing world, with the exception of global efforts to eradicate smallpox (and soon, hopefully, polio), many such diseases never really went away. In these countries, people often line up for hours to get their jabs because they are all too familiar with the horror of infectious disease.

Of course, this is the overall trend. Human affairs are never clear cut. There is great variation in levels of confidence and resistance in the West, and there are developing states that have seen substantial declines in confidence. The paper in Lancet describes how while the EU as a whole suffers from particularly low vaccine confidence, public trust in vaccine safety has turned a corner in recent years, enjoying a modest uptick in the UK, Finland, Ireland, France, and Italy, albeit up from very low levels in the latter two countries.

This is particularly good news out of Italy, as the hard-right Lega and the left-right-green mlange of the Five Star Movement, both recently in coalition government together, had made anti-vaccination a signature issue. As Jacobins Europe editor, David Broder, has reported, the countrys no vax movement produced a six-fold rise in the number of individuals with measles in 2017, rising to 2,718 cases, and resulted in twelve deaths.

Though the news from most of Europe is good, Poland meanwhile has experienced a sharp drop in confidence over the period surveyed the result of a local highly organized anti-vaccine movement.

And in places with higher levels of political instability or religious extremism such as Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan, there has been a small increase in the numbers of those strongly disagreeing that vaccines are safe, again albeit up from a very low level.

A polio eradication initiative in Nigeria has been defeated due to attacks from terrorists in Boko Haram targeting and killing polio workers, disrupting the polio immunization campaign, and vandalizing or destroying clinics.

Indonesia has experienced one of the steepest declines in public trust anywhere over the 201519 period, likely the result of a fatwa issued by Muslim leaders. It claimed that the vaccine contained ingredients derived from pigs and so was haram, a misinformation campaign exacerbated by local healers pushing natural alternatives to vaccines, much like alternative medicine hucksters in the West.

In the Philippines, confidence in the safety of vaccines has sharply dropped from 2015 to 2019 as a result of a very real issue with a vaccine for dengue fever, Dengvaxia, which is produced by French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur.

Dengue fever has an unusual profile in that a first infection typically does not kill, but a second infection by a different type of dengue is made much worse because the immune systems response to the first infection actually aggravates the reaction to the second. Some dengue specialists warned at the time that this particular vaccine might have a similar effect on any children who had never had a first infection in that any subsequent exposure to the virus in the wild would act as this second infection, amplifying rather than preventing the disease.

So the vaccination program was suspended in 2017, and later restarted once protocols had been established ensuring that it was only given to children who have already been exposed to the disease. As dengue is widespread in the Philippines, most children were not at risk of such complications, but the public relations damage from the premature implementation of an otherwise safe vaccine had already been done.

Trust plummeted not only in the Dengvaxia vaccine, but in vaccines in general. This has been a disaster in the country, which had managed to achieve a reduction in child mortality of two-thirds over the course of twenty-five years thanks to a series of government immunization campaigns. What is locally called the Dengvaxia Mess has been messy indeed, with vaccination rates nosediving against all diseases.

The progress of the last two and a half decades has essentially been reversed and the nation experienced a crisis of infectious disease, not just of dengue, resulting in over 1,400 deaths from dengue as of November, but also diphtheria (47 deaths), measles (560 deaths), and polio. The latter outcome is particularly tragic as the Philippines had otherwise been polio-free since 2000. The Dengvaxia Mess, whether the result of a mistake or negligence, directly caused a reported six hundred deaths. But the drop in trust in vaccines resulted in far greater mortality.

The Vaccine Confidence Project concludes that the reasons for the drop in confidence in vaccination comes from a combination of the rapid and global spread of misinformation online, a general distrust in government and scientific elites, and the exploitation of these two phenomena by some groups for financial or political gain.

The VCP survey does offer some hope however about how to turn this around. The researchers found that most people, regardless of location, do not necessarily reject the importance of vaccines even if they question their safety.

The public seem to generally understand the value of vaccines, says Clarissa Simas, one of the researchers involved in the study, but the scientific and public health community needs to do much better at building public trust in the safety of vaccination, particularly with the hope of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, the determinants most associated with vaccine uptake were trust in health-care workers over non-medical sources of health advice such as from family or friends, higher levels of science education, and sex women are more likely than men to report having their children vaccinated.

What this suggests is that scientific and medical literacy campaigns and improved communications strategies by public health organizations should work to produce some improvement in vaccination rates.

This seems to be backed up by the improvements seen in regions in Europe where high-profile vaccine awareness campaigns have achieved modest improvements. The researchers give the examples of how both Denmark and Ireland turned around declining human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV) uptake rates through smart campaigns combatting misinformation online.

But such campaigns need to be funded at the appropriate levels. Larson laments there has been no shortage of strategic plans to improve vaccine communication infrastructure from the United States Department of Health and Human Services as far back as 1999, its National Vaccine Advisory Committee in 2011, and the WHO in 2012. Unfortunately, these plans were never fully funded or implemented.

The WHO is preparing to launch yet another such effort, the Global Vaccine Safety Blueprint 2.0, that covers not just vaccine communications but also issues surrounding governance, surveillance, and how to deal with fragile states and emergencies such as COVID or Ebola. This is yet another reason why it is essential that the United States end its financial and diplomatic war on the global health body. Without American support, this effort is not likely to do much better than previous efforts.

But even with improved scientific literacy and vaccine awareness campaigns, the underlying problem of lack of trust in scientific and political elites remains unresolved.

This question, which is ultimately one of political economy, is obviously something that scientists understandably feel uncomfortable making any pronouncements about. However, if we do not tackle it, even the most well-funded vaccine comms campaign will fail.

The most immediate concern is the spread of vaccine misinformation through social media, and also by legacy media. Fear, outrage, and partisanship are superior drivers of user activity for companies like Facebook, and, in a vicious cycle, the algorithm will deliver up anything similar to that which enjoys greater engagement.

This is what allows a, well, pandemic of COVID-19 falsehoods such as those found in Plandemic, an anti-vaxx conspiracy theory video claiming the pandemic is a ploy to coerce mass vaccinations to spread faster and more widely than accurate public health guidance, which tends to provoke little emotional response.

Yet it would be wrong to only consider social media. Following the collapse of print advertising revenues, legacy newspapers and magazines are similarly driven by emotional headline and content packaging, which drives the greatest number of clicks.

Understaffed and abjectly paid newsrooms are required to pump out content as fast as possible with insufficient time to go into much depth or find additional sources to confirm their findings, while the bullpens historical complement of copy editors, specialist editors, and fact-checkers has been gutted. The Berlin Wall between opinion and news, which was never particularly inviolable to begin with, has now tumbled.

Censorship or even flagging of fake news on social media will not work because it runs up against the profit-maximization incentive built into any enterprise in a market. Moreover, much of the current flurry of crackdowns on misinformation by social media firms are efforts to ward off state regulation.

Censorship, in any case, is counterproductive because the goal is to win people away from vaccine hesitancy rather than to drive it underground. Anti-trust break up of the social media giants is no solution either, for the emotional hijacking driven by the profit motive is there whether performed by one giant Face-amaz-oogle, or a dozen medium-sized ones.

Instead, the response in the immediate term will have to be regulation, although decommodification of the sector should be the long-term goal. Alongside this, levies placed upon the media giants and telecommunication firms could recycle revenues back to journalists and their publications to revive the institution of journalism.

But even fixing the media landscape, a colossal task in itself, is insufficient, and the breakdown of journalism is only a symptom of a wider malaise.

The Italian case is illustrative here. Broder in his Jacobin essay on the situation there describes a battle between virologist Roberto Burioni, who has become a household name for his work promoting vaccination, and the anti-vaxx pseudoscience promoted by the former coalition government of the hard-right Lega and the Five Star Movement (M5S), a party that is hard to place on the left-right spectrum but mashes together left-populist anti-globalization rhetoric, localist green politics, and anti-immigrant sentiment.

It is hard to disagree with Burionis advocacy for evidence-based policy and defense of science. But any endorsement of Burionis battle against the death of expertise has to come with a qualification.

Broder describes how Burioni insists science is not a democracy and that only those who have studied these matters should speak on issues of life and death. One can interpret these statements as saying that decisions on vaccination should be removed from democratic debate. M5S voters certainly do.

Broder writes that such statements are symptomatic of the political centers contempt for ordinary people as functional illiterates. Akin to how Hillary Clinton dismissed Trump voters in the deindustrialized heartland of America as a basket of deplorables, and centrist opponents of the UK exit from the European Union derided Brexit voters (in particular from impoverished former Labour-voting heartlands) as elderly mouth-breathing racists whom they wish would just die already, former centrist prime minister Matteo Renzi and his associates regularly sneer at M5S voters as undereducated and lazy.

One does not have to agree with these voters, or for that matter with vaccine skeptics, to recognize that dismissing ones opponents as too stupid to make decisions only feeds greater resentment.

But one should certainly be able to sympathize with how these voters feel let down by centrist governance led by experts, with policy area after policy area removed from sovereign accountability via trade agreements and treaties whose closed-door tribunals overrule domestic legislation that protects workers or the environment, and central banks (especially in Europe) that remove monetary policy from the realm of democratic debate while enforcing privatization and wage cuts.

Such austerity may not have been performed by scientific experts but they were certainly imposed by self-styled financial experts. While working in Brussels during the Eurozone crisis, I remember a senior European Commission official telling me that there was no way voters should be able to decide even fiscal policy, as they were too stupid to know what was best for them, and would constantly vote themselves into greater and greater debt if the experts did not make such decisions instead.

And how well have these experts that rule us faired in their predictions anyway? It really is no wonder that there has been a loss of faith in expertise after the 2008 economic crisis, the Eurozone debacle, and the accompanying soaring inequality across the West.

There is a pearl-clutching response in the political center and sometimes on the Left as well to the global rise over the last decade of what is sloppily called populism, that doubles down on this post-democratic, technocratic rule by experts. They feel that the people have voted the wrong way, and so these nostalgists for Before Trump advocate or work to achieve a recourse to unelected bodies such as courts, civil servants, and, in the case of Trump, even the so-called deep state of the military or intelligence services, to do the right thing and block what the people have voted for.

Science can only tell us what is, not what ought to be. Science only describes the world. Burioni is correct about science not being democratic insofar as we do not vote on what the facts are, on what is. But we do not live in science. We live in democracy. And in any democracy, it is up to the voters to decide what ought to be.

Now, given a democratically decided course of action of what ought to be, science can absolutely assist us in telling us how best to get there. If we decide democratically that we want to build a bridge, engineers can tell us how to do so. This is why expertise is essential! But engineering does not tell us we must build a bridge. There is no objectively, scientifically correct set of policies outside of democratic debate.

Thinking otherwise is pure scientism, the belief that science is the best or only way to determine our values, and what we should do. Ironically, scientism works extremely well to undermine trust in expertise because it places experts in the role of a ruler who, like an absolute monarch, can never be kicked out of office.

Put another way, scientistic technocracy undermines popular sovereignty. And any time there is an absolute ruler extinguishing popular sovereignty, eventually there will be a revolt against them. But where any democrat wishes to be rid entirely of a monarch, we do not wish an end to expertise.

We only want the experts to know their place as advisors to the true sovereign: us. In the absence of any articulation of a defense of the expert as advisor to the voters and the voters representatives, there will only be a desire to overthrow the expert as ruler. Thus expansion of democratic rule, whose purpose is self-government, not correct government, is the only solution here.

And understanding democracy as the salve to the irritation of vaccine hesitancy leads us to a comprehension of why there is mistrust of pharmaceutical firms in the first place.

Most anti-vaxx campaigners, and even those who are not opposed to vaccines per se but are just hesitant about their safety, will in the first instance point to the depravity of Big Pharma. They will say that these corporations are corrupt, only out to make money for their shareholders, and that their lobbyists have bought our political leaders. The system is rigged.

They are not wrong as far as the wickedness of these firms goes. Ben Goldacre is a British medical doctor and author who has written widely about how the pharmaceutical industry finances clinical trials where negative data is not disclosed, never published, and often plans and even ghostwrites purportedly independent scientific papers about their drugs on behalf of academics. Goldacre believes that the pharmaceutical system is utterly broken and even a murderous disaster.

These are the same firms that are lobbying diplomats to prevent affordable access in the developing world to existing drugs that work against COVID-19, and that have hiked the price of hundreds of existing drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19, from steroids to sedatives. When Gileads Remdesivir antiviral proved to be extremely powerful against the disease, the company goosed the price by 33 percent. It is no wonder that so many people have contempt for these vampires.

But instead of fighting for the decommodification of pharmaceutical science, for taking these companies out of the private sector and turning them into agencies for the public good like the fire service, the response of far too many is to embrace the pseudoscience of alternative medicine, from naturopathy and homeopathy to acupuncture and chiropractic.

They forget that the quacks that provide these services taking advantage of the lack of medical and scientific understanding of their marks to sell them purported remedies that have in fact consistently failed the battery of scientific tests are no less profit-driven than Big Pharma.

Goldacre may be a campaigner against Big Pharma for its unethical, profit-driven distortion of medical science, but he is no less a critic of the snake-oil salesmen of the alternative medicine industry much of which, it turns out, is actually owned by the same large pharmaceutical corporations that produce conventional medicine.

This makes sense: if a pharmaceutical giant will fiddle the data on a conventional drug that they know doesnt work, why would they suddenly have qualms about selling an alternative remedy that they also know doesnt work? As Goldacre puts it: Big Pharma being shit doesnt mean that magic beans cures cancer.

And this is where we on the Left or at least parts of the academic left have to admit to our own shameful role in undermining trust in vaccines, and by extension trust in all conventional medicine and medical experts.

There is a flavor of left academic influenced by poststructuralist interpretations of philosophers of science such as Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend that argues that scientific theories are merely social constructs, that science is Eurocentric ideology, that Western medicine is ineluctably the product of structures of oppression, and that there are other ways of knowing.

Those who defend science, and hence Western medicine, are benighted fools drinking from the well of nave positivism (the materialist philosophical position that no true facts about the world can be ascertained other than through the senses as interpreted by reason).

Since the 1980s, this anti-realist philosophy has escaped the academy and has infected much wider swathes of society. It is not uncommon to hear an anti-vaxx activist campaigner assert a vulgarized version of the poststructuralist notion: Science doesnt know everything. Which of course on the face of it is true, as Irish comedian Dara Briain, who also happens to be a trained theoretical physicist, concedes, while famously adding: otherwise, itd stop. But just because science doesnt know everything doesnt mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you.

The Scientific Revolution is called so precisely because the revolution in the mind that it represents was a recognition for the first time in human history that an authority should not be believed by dint of it being an authority, because human understanding of the world is inevitably incomplete and biased.

Science is the attempt we make to try to correct that bias and carry out the infinite, incompleteable process of completing our understanding. However, because scientists are themselves humans, this bias correction mechanism will itself always be biased. But the solution to this ineluctable bias is not abandonment of attempting bias-correction, but to always work to do it better.

Thus Big Pharmas dirty deeds are not yet further proof that science and medicine are indeed social constructs, but rather that the commodification of pharmaceutical research distorts the science it performs. So the solution to the problem of Big Pharma is not alternative medicine and rejection of the marvel that is vaccination, but to remove the cause of that distortion of science. Remove pharmaceutical research, development, and production from the market.

We are engaged in a complex war on multiple fronts here: against anti-vaxx and alternative medicine pseudoscience; against those in our own ranks who would abet such mumbo-jumbo; against sneering centrist post-democratic technocracy; against neoliberal underfunding of vaccine public health strategies; against the profit-motivated exploitation of behavioral science by social media; against the collapse of the institution of journalism; and, above all, against Pharmas market-driven distortion of science.

There is no one simple solution to the problem, but we cannot let up on any one of these fronts, not just to escape from the COVID-19 nightmare, but to avoid even worse should a much deadlier plague emerge, as it likely will one day.

Read more:

Tough on Anti-Vaxx Nonsense, Tough on the Causes of Anti-Vaxx Nonsense - Jacobin magazine

Are You There God? Its Me, Menopause – Glamour

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The most effective medical therapies for hot flushes are estrogen, some antidepressants, and some antiseizure medications. As a doctor, I knewdespite all the claims on social media and various wellness sitesthat diet, acupuncture, wearable magnets, and supplements were either ineffective or unproven. And on top of that, some of these so-called alternative therapies have risks. Especially supplements, which are unregulated and can sometimes contain hormones or antidepressantsmedications that shouldnt be taken without appropriate supervision.

I also practiced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for hot flushes. There is good evidence to support its use here given the connection between hot flushes and anxiety; there are some shared connections in the nervous system that explain the overlap in symptoms, which may be why some medications that can treat anxiety can also improve hot flushes. Some might call that complementary or alternative medicine, but if its proven to be effectivewhich CBT isthen, for me, its just medicine.

Menopause shouldnt be a mystery.

For many womenwomen like memenopause isnt just about the bothersome symptoms. I knew my family history put me at high risk for osteoporosis. My mother began developing fractures in her 50s. She was likely in menopause by her early 40s, but such was the cloak of shame at the time that I can only approximate her age based on what I remember about her seemingly constant yelling at my father for shutting the windows.

Like many women, my mothers osteoporosis was ignored. When I suggested she get screened for osteoporosis, she was told she didnt need it. When I suggested she start hormone therapy treatment, she was told she didnt want thatand that was even before the public concern surrounding estrogen. As women age their health concerns are often ignored as women themselves are expected to fade away into oblivion. After a miserable final 10 years with fracture after fracture, she died at age 86 from osteoporosis, having spent much of those final years in pain and in hospitals.

Estrogen prevents the accelerated loss of bone mass characteristic of menopause, so I knew it was the right choice for me to treat my hot flushes and protect my bones. I opted for estradiol, which is the main type of estrogen made by the ovary before menopause. While all pharmaceutical grade MHT is low-risk, transdermal estradiol is the safest option as its not associated with an increased risk of blood clots, so thats what I chose. To protect my uterus, I chose an oral form of progesterone, as it is associated with the lowest risk of breast cancer (and even then, research shows the low risk seems to only start after several years of therapy).

Also popular are bioidentical, or compounded, hormones, but I would never recommend that approach or choose it for myself. Bioidentical is a quasi-medical term of varying definitions. These products arent one step away from ground-up yams; they are synthesized in a multistep process in a lab, as are most hormones in MHT. In other words, these terms are not medicalthey are marketing and are misleading.

There are serious safety concerns with compounded hormones. They may contain more or less hormone than advertised and their absorption may be erratic, leading to increased risks of complications such as endometrial cancer. With an FDA-approved prescription, I know exactly what Im getting and how much is absorbed. There is a wide range of dosing and formulations available, so pharmaceutical MHT can be customized to suit each woman's need. And no, I dont take money from the pharmaceutical industryI just demand precision in my medications as all women should. We deserve to know exactly what were putting into our bodies.

A womans decision to start hormones should be based on her symptoms and her risk of osteoporosis, but also her personal medical history. Its important to consider a variety of risk factors and conditions that may be positively or negatively affected by MHT, such as breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides, blood clots, and dementia.

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Are You There God? Its Me, Menopause - Glamour

Alternative Medicine Industry Market COVID 19 Impacted In-Depth Analysis including key players Pure encapsulations, Thorne Research, Medigenics,…

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Its very difficult times ahead for human-kind for we are fighting two pandemics simultaneously. Health & Economy. Salute to all healthcare professionals across the globe, who have dived headfirst selflessly into this tough battle to keep us breathing. We at JCMR, on the other hand, are fighting the battle to save industry sectors and companies therein from a literal meltdown. With critical supply and demand lines severely impaired, we have deployed on war-footing our research folks, industry consultants, SMEs and vertical evangelists to aid CxOs across the globe in doing whatever it takes to help them keep their lights on in this difficult hour. The battle is just starting to heat up even In this situation our research team managed to gather latest information about Global Alternative Medicine Industry Market report while evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk side analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. The study provides information on market trends and development, drivers, capacities, technologies, and on the changing dynamics of Global Alternative Medicine Industry Market Report.

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COVID-19 Impact on Medical Wellness Market Analysis, Size, Trends and Forecast 2020 to 2026| Enrich Hair & Skin, VLCC Wellness Center, Guardian…

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Medical Wellness Market Report Delivering Growth Analysis with Key Trends of Top Companies (2020-2026)

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COVID-19 Impact on Medical Wellness Market Analysis, Size, Trends and Forecast 2020 to 2026| Enrich Hair & Skin, VLCC Wellness Center, Guardian...

Art Industry News: Banksy Confirms That a Relatively Meh New Mural in Nottingham Was His Handiwork + Other Stories – artnet News

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Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Heres what you need to know on this Monday, October 19.

A Plan to Recover the Titanic Radio Raises New Questions The company that owns the salvage rights to the iconic shipwreck wants to retrieve its radio equipment, sparking a debate over whether such anarcheological dig would be ethical. Lawyers for the US government have raised the concern in an ongoing court battle to block the expedition, suggesting that the company could stir remains of some 1,500 people who died in the wreck in 1912. The company, RMS Titanic Inc., claims that if there were human remains to be found, they likely would have been encountered in the 200 dives that preceded the planned expedition.(AP)

A Long-Running Bid for Looted Art Moves Ahead The New York Times is checking in on perhaps the longest-running Nazi-stolen art restitution dispute. The family of Hungarian banker Baron Mor Lipot Herzog first filed a claim in Budapest in 1945 seeking the return of 2,500 artworks, Renaissance furniture, and tapestries. The most recent legal case, which centers on dozens of works valued at more than $100 million, is now snaking its way through the courts in Washington, DC. (New York Times)

Banksy Claims Mural of Young Girl The elusive street artist has claimed authorship of a mural of a young girl doing thehula hoop with a bicycle tirein Lenton, Nottingham,putting an end to speculation that erupted last week. The mural appeared on Tuesday, October 13 alongside a bent bicycle with a missing back tire locked to a nearby poll. Local authorities rushed to protect the mural by placing plastic sheeting over it.Everyone is very excited and many, many people are coming to see the picture, said Surinder Kaur, who runs the hair salon next door. As for whether its presence would boost business, Kaur said it was too soon to tell. If were being honest, wed wager Banksy may have been slow to take ownership of the mural because hes done better.(Guardian)

Prados Post-Lockdown Exhibition Stirs Misogyny Debate The Prados first post-lockdown exhibition is already making waves. Uninvited Guests examineshow women were treated in the Spanish art world between 1833 and 1931, evolving from subjects and muses to artists in their own right. Yet some feel the historically grounded exhibition misses the point and instead promotes stereotypes. The show also hit a snag when it came to light last week that a work had been misattributed to a female artist, when it was in fact created by a man. (Guardian)

Talking Heads Singer Is Selling His Art David Byrne, the former frontman for the Talking Heads, is selling 50 hand-drawn illustrations created during Manhattans lockdown at Pace gallery. The works, available online, are $3,000 each. The drawings will be released in five series of 10, published every Monday and Thursday from October 15 to 29 (the first bunch has already sold out). Proceeds will go to Byrnes nonprofit, the Arbutus Foundation. (TAN)

Zo Buckman Joins Pippy Houldsworth Gallery The London gallery now represents the multidisciplinary artist known for her sculptures incorporating boxing gloves, textiles, and lingerie. Her first solo exhibition with the gallery, also her first in the UK, is scheduled to open on February 12.(Press release)

A Coveted Van Gogh Will Hit the Block in New York Vincent van Goghs Fleurs dans un verre(1890) will be offered at Sothebys livestreamed New York auction on October 28. The painting, which Hermann Gring seized from Jewish collectorAlfred Lindons bank vault during World War II, is expected to fetch between $14 million and $18 million.(TAN)

ArtRio Forges Ahead ArtRio is one of the few live art fairs taking place anywhere in the worldand it is among the first to be held in Brazil, one of the countries with the most COVID-19 cases, since lockdown began. Forty-seven galleries set up shop in the fairs pavilion in Rio de Janeiro for a reduced audience of Brazilian collectors over the weekend, while 71 galleries are promoting virtual booths for an international audience through October 25. (TAN)

Northern Ireland Museums Will Close for a Month Museums and galleries in six Northern Ireland counties will be shuttered for four weeks as authorities seek to limit the spread of the coronavirus amid a rising number of reported cases. Cultural institutions across the border in the Republic of Ireland have already been closed. (Museums Association)

Artist and Healer Marianne Wex Dies at 83 The artist, whose rephotographs of mass-media images probed the gendered nature of kinesics, has died at 83 in Germany. Her influence as an artist on conceptual photography and womens and gender studies was outsized; she stopped creating art in 1977 after being diagnosed with a serious illness and embarked on a successful career in alternative medicine. (Artforum)

Artist and Designer Enzo Mari Dies at 83 The Italian artist and designer, who worked with many famous Italian brands, died in Milan at 83. A show of his work,curated by Serpentine Galleries artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli, opened at Triennale di Milano on October 17. His archive will be donated to the city. (Dezeen)

Why Did PAMM Host Trumps Town Hall? Some were surprisedand dismayedto see that the Prez Art Museum Miami permitted a town hall with President Trump to be held on its premises last week. PAMM has said it has a responsibility to remain non-partisan, pointing to the American Alliance of Museumss official guidelines on election advocacy. The institution also noted that it hosted a similar town hall earlier this month with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. (Hyperallergic)

Jordan Casteels Vogue Cover Goes to SFMOMA The painting by Jordan Casteel that appeared on the cover of the September issue of Vogue is headed to a museum. The collectors Pamela Joyner and Alfred Giuffrida acquired the painting, Aurora (2020), which features the fashion designer Aurora James. The couple will send the work on long-term loan to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where it will remain on view for the next year. (ARTnews)

Carrie Mae Weems Plasters Lincoln Center The American artists ongoing project to raise awareness about the risks of COVID-19 for communities of color is popping up in New York. The most recent iteration of her public-art installation Resist COVID/Take 6! is on view now outside Lincoln Center. It offers gratitude to essential workers, guidelines on social distancing, and words of encouragement. (Hyperallergic)

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Art Industry News: Banksy Confirms That a Relatively Meh New Mural in Nottingham Was His Handiwork + Other Stories - artnet News

Watch This Superb Fan Adaptation of Peter Watts’ Blindsight – tor.com

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Peter Watts Blindsight looked at first contact with aliens in a different way when it was first published in 2006, and its been one of those books that friends have fervently recommended in the years since.

One fan has taken it upon himself to adapt as a short film, which he released this week: a short CGI short that looks absolutely stunning.

The project comes from Danil Krivoruchko, whos spent the last four years working on it. It features a voice over that introduces us to the basic premise of the plota ship sent out to the edge of the solar system to explore an object broadcasting a signal, its crew of trans-human astronauts dealing with the strange extraterrestrials that they encounter. Along the way, we get a couple of scenes from the crews perspective as they explore the object, as well as some gorgeous space vistas. Its well worth a watch, especially in 4K resolution.

Accompanying the short is a very cool website that Krivoruchko and his team put together (I found it easiest to navigate the site on my iPad), which provides an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the project. The space suit section, for example, details Watts description of the spacesuit from the books third chapter, then explains their thinking behind how they envisioned it, a number of reference photos, responses from Watts as they went through the production, and final imagery that they came up with.

Other sections cover the design of the Rorschach artifact, the spaceship Theseus, the equipment, the alien scramblers, ship interfaces, and the characters.

In another section, Krivoruchko outlines how he came to the book and how the project came to be. He read it in 2009 when it was released in Russia. It was a bit of a cult hit amongst his peers in the design world, and he was blown away by the amount of technical, scientific and psychological details Peter Watts packed into the novel while still keeping it a tense and fascinating read.

After reading it again a couple of years later, he reached out to Watts with his appreciation, and spoke with some of his friends, wanting to create some digital renders of the novels scenes and elements. The project began to grow, he explains. Initially, we wanted to make a bunch of still frames. Creating a full CG animated short felt too time-consuming and ambitious, he writes, but as time passed, more and more images were made, which helped attract even more incredibly talented people to the project. As the team grew, we realized that we now had enough resources to pull off animation.

He and his friends realized they couldnt do the entire novel, but they could adapt it. They took the story apart and figured out what scenes they wanted to create, then plotted it out, changing it up a bit from the novels structure, opting to tell the story from the end, and work their way forward. From there, they began modeling each element and scene, bouncing ideas off of Watts as they did so.

Danil reached out to me pretty close to the start of the process, Watts commented. They were in the Lets make a tribute fan site phase, which as I understand it fell somewhere between the lets do a couple of CG illustrations for the rifters gallery and Lets blow off the doors with a trailer from an alternate universe where someone made a movie out of Blindsight phases.

As Krivoruchko and his team came up with ideas, they sent them along to Watts, who provided some suggestions and what his mindset was when he was writing the book. Essentially, I let them read my mind, he says. Theyd come to me with their vision of a spacesuit or a scrambler, and Id tell them how it compared to the images that were in my head when I was writing the novel.

Sometimes theyd present an image that wasnt much like the one in my head at allbut their vision was so much better than mine that Id just nod wisely and sayYes, yes, thats exactly right.And Danil would marvel at what a master of descriptive prose I must be, to be able plant such precise imagery in the readers mind using nothing but abstract black scratches on a page.

On his website, Krivoruchko provides some of the messages that he exchanged with Watts, who enthusiastically cheered them on as they showed him what they were coming up with.

The final result is a nearly five minute long take on the novel with its own unique vantage point, but which otherwise captures the look and feel of the book. On his blog, Watts calls it a small masterpiece, and says that hes honored and humbled by the work of the team.

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Watch This Superb Fan Adaptation of Peter Watts' Blindsight - tor.com

Trump duped by fake news story of Twitter going down to protect Biden – Global News

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U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Thursdays global Twitter outage on a deliberate attempt by the company to protect Joe Biden, citing an obviously fake news story written in the style of The Onion.

Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread of Negative Biden News, read the headline on the Babylon Bee, a Christian satire site. The fake story claimed that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had smashed up his servers on Thursday to censor an unverified New York Post story about the Democratic nominee for president and his son, Hunter.

Twitter did limit the spread of the story on Thursday due to its policy around hacked materials. However, there is no evidence that the story had anything to do with the Twitter outage on Thursday afternoon.

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Wow, this has never been done in history, Trump tweeted Friday morning, along with a link to the Babylon Bee story. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T.

Its unclear if Trump actually read the story, which starts with Dorsey and several weak-armed programmers struggling to smash all the computers at Twitter HQ, and ends with a bunch of robots attacking all the cis white males in sight. The article does not include anything about Bidens town hall event on Thursday, as Trump mentioned in his tweet.

Critics mocked Trump for seemingly believing some literally fake news a term he often uses for real news reports that he does not like.

Its satire, writer Dan Fagin wrote in response to Trumps tweet. Satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose stupidity. It worked.

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The Bees website crashed multiple times on Friday as Trumps legions of followers and critics flocked to the site.

The Babylon Bee describes itself on Twitter as fake news you can trust, and its homepage is filled with satirical headlines such as Trump gets totally stoned in lively 7-hour interview with Joe Rogan, and Amazons NewLord of the Rings series to include bisexual transgender elf in wheelchair.

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The Babylon Bee is the worlds best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims, the site says.

The Bee celebrated Trumps error by sharing a link to one of its stories from 2018.

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President Trump declares the Babylon Bee his most-trusted news source, the website tweeted.

The story was originally written as satire, though Trump provided evidence to support its claims on Friday.

Trump appeared to blame Twitter for his error Friday morning in a follow-up tweet.

Big T was not a reference to me, but rather to Big Tech, which should have been properly pointed out in Twitters Fake Trending Section! he wrote.

Trump has renewed his attacks in recent days on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media companies from being held responsible for what others publish on their platforms. Trump has been targeting Section 230 amid efforts by Twitter and Facebook to fact-check his false and misleading posts about mail-in ballots.

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Section 230 protects sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube from liability for posts made by their users, including Trump.

If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trumps lies, defamation, and threats, Kate Ruane, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Associated Press in May.

Trump has a well-documented history of promoting conspiracy theories and other misinformation around the coronavirus, far-left anarchists, mail-in voting, his crowd sizes and Barack Obamas birth certificate, among other things. He has also been reluctant to condemn extreme views.

On Thursday night, for example, he refused to denounce the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, which holds him up as a warrior for God against so-called deep state pedophiles out to drink childrens blood.

I know nothing about QAnon, he claimed during the debate.

Trump made similar claims when asked about the group and its beliefs in August.

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I dont know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate, he said at the time. Ive heard these are people that love our country.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have banned the extremist movement from their platforms amid concern that it was encouraging real-world violence.

The U.S. presidential election is slated for Nov. 3.

2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Trump duped by fake news story of Twitter going down to protect Biden - Global News

Trump fooled by satirical Babylon Bee article – Vox.com

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Two embarrassing episodes over the past 24 hours highlighted the depth of President Donald Trumps credibility crisis as time runs short for him to turn around his flailing reelection campaign.

From refusing to denounce an absurd, obviously false online conspiracy theory during a high-profile town hall on NBC to retweeting a satirical website as if its breaking news, its becoming increasingly difficult to tell if Trump can separate fact from fiction.

While Trump campaigns on misleading messages about the coronavirus (which he insists is going away despite rising case numbers) and the economy (which he says is strong even as hes poised to become the first president in modern history to oversee a net shrinkage in jobs), hes behaving online like that far-right family member weve all had to mute on Facebook. And he doesnt feel any shame about it.

At this late date, everyone, whether theyre on social media or not, understands that Trump isnt above lying. But an exchange during his NBC town hall with Savannah Guthrie showcased for viewers who arent on Twitter just how off the rails his posting has become.

Guthrie grilled Trump about a retweet he posted on Wednesday evening of a conspiracy theory promoted by a QAnon account. The tweet accused Biden of pulling strings to take out the group of Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden a theory refuted by the fact that every Navy SEAL involved in the bin Laden raid is in fact still alive.

Instead of even trying to defend himself, Trump suggested to Guthrie that because he read it on the internet it might be true, describing the conspiracy theory as an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet. Ill put it out there. People can decide for themselves. I dont take a position.

Its obviously reckless and irresponsible for the president to amplify incendiary conspiracy theories that are clearly false, not to mention defend QAnon, which he did during the same town hall. And in one of the more memorable moments of the evening, Guthrie hit back, admonishing Trump, Youre the president. Youre not someones crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.

Watch:

But if you thought Guthrie drawing blood on national TV would be enough to chasten Trump, he quickly demonstrated otherwise.

On Friday morning, Trump embarrassed himself for the second time within a day by retweeting an article from the satirical Babylon Bee website (the sites motto is Fake news you can trust) as part of a failed attack on Twitter and Hunter Biden.

Suffice it to say, Twitter did not shut down in order to suppress bad Hunter Biden news. But instead of admitting his error or even deleting the tweet, Trump followed up with another, clarifying that by Big T he wasnt referring to himself, but rather Big Tech.

Its unclear whether Trump has anybody in his orbit at this point whos willing to point out to him that hes tweeting out satire as though its breaking news. Its also possible he simply has no shame about amplifying egregious fake news if he thinks getting people to believe lies is in his self-interest.

Whatever the case, its clear that this presidents truth barometer is broken beyond repair. He has access to the best intelligence in the world, yet all too often hes liable to believe anything he reads on the internet so long as its useful for his political ends. And his fake news problem only seems to be getting worse.

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Trump fooled by satirical Babylon Bee article - Vox.com

Poor numerical literacy linked to greater susceptibility to Covid-19 fake news – The Guardian

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People with poor numerical literacy are more likely to believe Covid-19 misinformation, according to a survey conducted in five countries.

Researchers at Cambridge University said the findings suggested improving peoples analytical skills could help turn the tide against an epidemic of fake news surrounding the health crisis.

Five national surveys reflecting national quotas for age and gender were conducted this year to evaluate susceptibility to coronavirus-related misinformation and its influence on key health-related behaviours.

The study found the most consistent predictor of decreased susceptibility to misinformation about Covid-19 was numerical literacy the ability to digest and apply quantitative information broadly.

People in Ireland, Spain, Mexico, the US and the UK took part in the study. Their numerical literacy levels were calculated on the basis of three different numeracy tests.

Participants were presented with nine statements about Covid-19, some false (for example, 5G networks may be making us more susceptible to the coronavirus) and some true (for instance, people with diabetes are at higher risk of complications from coronavirus).

Participants were also asked about their risk perception of Covid-19, what extent they complied with public health guidance and their likelihood of getting vaccinated if a vaccine were to become available.

Overall, higher susceptibility to fake news was associated with lower self-reported compliance with public health guidance for Covid-19, as well as peoples willingness to get vaccinated against the virus and recommend the vaccine to vulnerable family and friends.

Some scientists think that susceptibility to misinformation is related to political views, while others think it is linked to reasoning abilities, study author Dr Sander van der Linden explained.

My take is that both are relevant. And I was surprised to see numeracy playing such a strong role here it was one of the single most important predictors, he said. I like that finding in a sense because it gives me hope that theres a solution out there.

Another distinct factor linked to belief in Covid-19 fake news was age, the researchers found. Being older was associated with lower susceptibility to misinformation everywhere (except Mexico) inconsistent with prior research that typically found the opposite pattern, at least in the context of elections.

It could be that older people are less susceptible [to misinformation] but theyre still sharing it more, Linden said, adding that they may also be less inclined to endorse Covid-19 misinformation because there is an incentive to be accurate as the elderly are the biggest casualties of the disease.

The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, also found that people who were more receptive to misinformation viewed themselves as minorities and appeared resistant to voices in authority such as scientists and politicians.

Political conservatism was also linked to a slightly higher susceptibility to misinformation, the researchers found, but surprisingly, this link was not as strong in the US and UK as it was elsewhere.

Dr Emma ODwyer, a senior lecturer at Kingston University who was not involved in the study, wondered why the researchers had chosen these five countries to survey.

There are differences across the countries, she said. This paper doesnt provide an account at the country level for why these relationships are different.

The paper also does not give as much attention to how or why misinformation takes root in the first place, said Dominic Abrams, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, who was not involved in the research.

Beyond individuals susceptibility there is the question of how and why some misleading sources can achieve an air of legitimacy.

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Poor numerical literacy linked to greater susceptibility to Covid-19 fake news - The Guardian

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Beware of Fake News On City Council Races – Odessa American

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OA logo 2 wide

Posted: Sunday, October 18, 2020 5:00 am

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Beware of Fake News On City Council Races Jeff RussellOdessa Odessa American

It appears that Kirk Edwards has become the CNN or MSNBC of Odessa when it comes to spreading fake news about our local city council races.

In his recent letter to the Editor, Mr. Edwards goes on a wide ranging rant about the Ector County Republican Party and other involved parties such as the Government Accountability Project. Mr. Edwards clear intent is to spread misinformation and mistruths about groups that are working to change the status quo in Odessa - a status quo that has greatly benefited the establishment over many years but which has come at the expense of the average hardworking, taxpaying Odessan.

He calls the Government Accountability Project a foreign group but in fact this group is led by Jaimie Tisdale, a 29 year resident of our city who owns the Wilsons Corner store at Pleasant Farms. A quick review of Jaimes Facebook page would clearly show her as the leader of this group and I applaud Jaimie for her relentless efforts to uncover waste and abuse in our local governments. Mr. Edwards clearly takes umbrage against any group other than his own group of insiders releasing information to the public or supporting any candidates that he deems unworthy.

Mr. Kirk then goes on to disparage our local Republican Party officials for their recent endorsements of local candidates which were carefully chosen and vetted by duly elected Republican Precinct Chairs for their work in the local party and for their adherence to core Republican values such as fiscal conservatism and a small and limited government. The duplicity of Mr. Edwards statements in this regard are surreal; he begins with accusing Republican leaders like Dick Saulsbury who make up the Ector County Republican Party Executive Committee as being part of an AOC Squad, while in the next breath he endorses and encourages Republicans to vote for JoAnn Davenport, who is an unabashed and vocal progressive Democrat running for city council.

Mr. Kirk claims that this imaginary squad has a nefarious agenda of being against economic development and infrastructure work which couldnt be further from the truth exhibited by the candidates that were endorsed by the Republican Party. Much in the same way that President Trump is continually attacked by the insiders who would seek to rule our country for their own benefit, these candidates are, at their core, Trump Republicans who understand that, as leaders, they must strive to meet the most needs of the most Odessans and not be beholden to narrow special interests like those represented by Mr. Edwards. It makes one wonder what Mr. Edwards will gain by promoting his block of big spending politicians?

My belief is that Odessa voters are smarter than to fall for a pack of lies and mistruths that insiders such as Kirk Edwards are promoting and that they will vote for solid Trump Republicans that will put voters needs ahead of the agenda of a small group of elites who desire to rule Odessa for their own benefit. My hope is that Mr. Edwards will leave the Fake News business to the real pros who constantly attack President Trump.

Posted in Letters To Editor on Sunday, October 18, 2020 5:00 am. | Tags: Letter To The Editor

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Beware of Fake News On City Council Races - Odessa American

REFILE-‘Not fake news:’ COVID-19 cases surge in Wisconsin ahead of Trump campaign rally – Reuters

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(In paragraph eight, inserts dropped words)

CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Two weeks ago, Mark Schultz was getting ready to go to work at the tavern he owns in the Wisconsin city of Oshkosh when he started to feel sweaty, achy and chilled.

Within days, the 64-year-old was in an intensive care unit at a local hospital fighting for his life.

Schultz, his 45-year-old fiance and his 10-year-old son are three of the 41,000 Wisconsinites who have tested positive for the virus over the last two weeks, according to state health officials.

I want people to know this is real. This is not a hoax. Its not fake news like the president said, Schultz said.

Wisconsin has recently become an epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.

On Friday, the states department of health services reported grim records as daily COVID-19 cases reached 3,861 and the seven-day average of new confirmed cases topped 3,000 for the first time.

This virus is unbelievable what it does to people, he said during a phone interview with Reuters on Friday from his home, four days after getting out of the hospital. I literally thought I was taking my last breath. Its like someone has a foot on your chest.

Despite the surge in cases in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump plans on Saturday to make a campaign stop in Janesville as he seeks to make up for time lost during his own bout with the coronavirus earlier this month.

Wear a mask, Schultz said to those who plan to attend. There is so many unknowns with this thing. That is the scary part.

For a second day in a row, the United States reported more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as infections spike in all regions of the country, according to a Reuters analysis.

The United States reported over 63,000 new cases on Thursday and over 60,000 new cases on Wednesday, a level on back-to-back days not seen since late July and as total U.S. cases surpassed 8 million.

The surge in cases comes in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump has continued to minimize the threat to public health posed by the virus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans and 1 million globally.

The rise in U.S. cases is beginning to tax hospitals in some regions, with Wisconsin setting up a field hospital and reporting that in some areas more than 90% of hospital intensive care unit beds were filled as of Thursday.

The field hospital had yet to receive its first patient as of Friday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Meanwhile in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said on Friday the state was increasing medical personnel and supplies as well as personal protective equipment for hospitals in Amarillo, Lubbock and surrounding counties, which are seeing a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Deaths nationally remain fairly steady at 700 per day, but health experts caution fatalities are a lagging indicator that rise weeks after a surge in cases.

Deaths were already rising in several Midwest states over the past two weeks compared with the prior two-week period, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Reporting by Lisa Shumaker and Brendan OBrien in Chicago, additional reporting and writing by Maria Caspani in New York, editing by Cynthia Osterman

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REFILE-'Not fake news:' COVID-19 cases surge in Wisconsin ahead of Trump campaign rally - Reuters

Trump and Biden will have mics muted for part of last presidential debate – CNBC

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President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will at times have their microphones cut during their next debate, the event's sponsors announced Monday.

When one of the two candidates is given a chance to provide a two-minute answer to each of the six debate topics, his opponent's microphone will be muted, the Commission on Presidential Debates said in a statement.

"It is the hope of the Commission that the candidates will be respectful of each other's time, which will advance civil discourse for the benefit of the viewing public," the statement said.

The final debate scheduled between Trump and Biden is set for Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in Nashville. It will be moderated by NBC News' Kristen Welker. It will run 90 minutes in length, with each of the six topics allotted 15 minutes.

The topics, selected by Welker, are:

The changes were implemented in the wake of the vicious and messy first debate in late September, during which Trump frequently interrupted the former vice president and at times argued with the moderator, Fox News' Chris Wallace.

The debate commission's statement Monday night said it "considered the opinion of many who expressed concern the debate fell short of expectations, depriving voters of the opportunity to be informed of the candidates' positions on the issues."

In order to allow the candidates to freely share their views in the final debate, the commission announced that "the only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules."

"We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. One may think they go too far, and one may think they do not go far enough," the commission said in the statement.

"We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held."

The commission's statement noted that "both campaigns this week again reaffirmed their agreement to the two-minute, uninterrupted rule."

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien in a statement accused the commission of bias, but said the president "is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last minute rule changes."

Stepien's statement also signaled that Trump would bring up allegations against Biden's son, Hunter Biden, during the debate.

A spokesman for Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The commission had originally scheduled three debates between the two presidential candidates. Trump had previously pushed for a fourth debate to be scheduled.

But the second debate was canceled after Trump refused to participate, following the commission's decision hold the event virtually, rather than in person. That move was made following Trump's diagnosis with the coronavirus and subsequent hospitalization.

The president and his campaign have aggressively criticized the debate commission and its chosen slate of moderators. Wallace, who had repeatedly admonished Trump during the debate to wait his turn before speaking, was attacked by the president and his surrogates.

The now-canned second debate was set to be moderated by C-SPAN's political editor, Steve Scully. Beforehand, Trump had accused Scully of political bias.

After the debate had already been scrapped, Scully was suspended by C-SPAN after he admitted to lying that his Twitter account had been "hacked." Scully had made the false claim after tweeting a message to former White House official-turned-critic Anthony Scaramucci, which had apparently been intended to be private.

On Saturday, Trump said of Welker in a tweet: "She's always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters, but I'll still play the game."

Earlier Monday, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien shared a letter on Twitter urging the debate hosts to ensure that foreign policy would be the main focus, rather than the coronavirus, climate change or race in America.

-- CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

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Trump and Biden will have mics muted for part of last presidential debate - CNBC

Investigative journalist will address ‘fake news’ in virtual talk – Ripon Commonwealth Press

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Fake News and Conspiracy Theories in the Age of Trump, a talk by investigative journalist Michael R. Isikoff, will be offered via Zoom webinar Tuesday, Oct. 20 by Ripon College.

The talk will run from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. Registration is available at ripon.edu/fake-news.

A post-event recording will be available on YouTube at go.ripon.edu/p1a.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Politics and the People, with funding by the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Isikoff is an investigative journalist and chief investigative correspondent at Yahoo! News.

The moderators will be professor of communication Steve Martin, Ripon Class of 1996, and Henrik Schatzinger, associate professor of politics and government and co-director of the Center for Politics and People.

Isikoff will highlight the importance of a free press in a democracy. He also will address other topics and issues related to the media and the press during the Trump administration such as the idea of fake news and its impact on the election cycle.

Formerly, Isikoff was a national investigative correspondent for Newsweek and NBC, where he reported on politics and government scandals such as the abuse in Abu Ghraib and Bill Clintons involvement with Monica Lewinsky.

He also is the author of Uncovering Clinton: A Reporters Story and Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, and the coauthor of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putins War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.

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Investigative journalist will address 'fake news' in virtual talk - Ripon Commonwealth Press

Spot the fake so you can focus on the facts – WLWT Cincinnati

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A lot of people throw around the term fake news about any story that doesnt meet their ideology. But do you really know how to tell the difference between fake and the real thing?Separating fact from fiction can be difficult in the current politically-charged climate. You need to know how to tell if someone has a specific agenda to judge everything from what you repost to knowing how you want to vote.WLWT News 5 investigative reporter Todd Dykes shares a series of tips and tools that can help you spot the fake online.First, you need to be skeptical. That sounds like an easy tip, but with the flood of news articles, reposts and retweets currently clogging news feeds, it may be easier said than done.To avoid falling into traps, first ask yourself if an article backs up your own beliefs. No one wants to be the person who gets caught in an echo chamber. If a news stories verifies something youve always thought, then run a quick search with a few keywords to see if you can find an opposing viewpoint.Remember that popularity is not proof. Just because a tweet has been shared millions of times does not make it true. Likewise, a number of articles about the same subject does not always mean you can take it at face value. Several articles from reputable news sources that are all independently written almost always means you can trust the underlying facts. But if the articles you find are all from sites with a particular bias and all contain similar language, its possible one article has been reposted to several sites. Determining which news sites are reputable and independent can also be tough. Some things to look for include: Bios of authors that allow you to click through to see their backgrounds and other articles theyve written Multiple sources from various sides of the political spectrum Few if any uses of exclamation points or writing in all caps No conclusions from the author about the motives of a person in an articleWhen you read an article always check to see if it is labeled as opinion. Most reputable news sites will clearly label any opinion story.You should also be sure the site youre on -- or the story you see posted or tweeted -- is from an actual news website. A large number of websites specialize in satire or spoof stories. The more reputable among them will clearly identify that their websites are providing humor rather than news. But some need a closer examination to get to the truth.You also need to run any pictures or videos through your filters too. Both are easier than ever to fake. A few tips to help you: Check for consistent lighting. Look at surroundings to be sure they match the time and place a photo or video claims to represent. Look for the source of a photo to see if it says who took it and when. Ask yourself why its being sent to you now to understand the context of the message being conveyed. Know how to check for the origin of a photo.Several online tools are available to help you verify a photos origins:https://images.google.comwww.tineye.comhttps://yandex.com/imagesAre all quick and easy to use sites that allow you to track down a photos origin, where else its been used, and possibly the original photographer.The final tips are two of the most important points. First, remember that finding the truth is ultimately up to you. Finally, you need to work hard to avoid being part of the problem. If you see something you cant be certain is true dont share it.

A lot of people throw around the term fake news about any story that doesnt meet their ideology. But do you really know how to tell the difference between fake and the real thing?

Separating fact from fiction can be difficult in the current politically-charged climate. You need to know how to tell if someone has a specific agenda to judge everything from what you repost to knowing how you want to vote.

WLWT News 5 investigative reporter Todd Dykes shares a series of tips and tools that can help you spot the fake online.

First, you need to be skeptical. That sounds like an easy tip, but with the flood of news articles, reposts and retweets currently clogging news feeds, it may be easier said than done.

To avoid falling into traps, first ask yourself if an article backs up your own beliefs. No one wants to be the person who gets caught in an echo chamber. If a news stories verifies something youve always thought, then run a quick search with a few keywords to see if you can find an opposing viewpoint.

Remember that popularity is not proof. Just because a tweet has been shared millions of times does not make it true. Likewise, a number of articles about the same subject does not always mean you can take it at face value. Several articles from reputable news sources that are all independently written almost always means you can trust the underlying facts. But if the articles you find are all from sites with a particular bias and all contain similar language, its possible one article has been reposted to several sites.

Determining which news sites are reputable and independent can also be tough. Some things to look for include:

When you read an article always check to see if it is labeled as opinion. Most reputable news sites will clearly label any opinion story.

You should also be sure the site youre on -- or the story you see posted or tweeted -- is from an actual news website. A large number of websites specialize in satire or spoof stories. The more reputable among them will clearly identify that their websites are providing humor rather than news. But some need a closer examination to get to the truth.

You also need to run any pictures or videos through your filters too. Both are easier than ever to fake. A few tips to help you:

Several online tools are available to help you verify a photos origins:

Are all quick and easy to use sites that allow you to track down a photos origin, where else its been used, and possibly the original photographer.

The final tips are two of the most important points. First, remember that finding the truth is ultimately up to you. Finally, you need to work hard to avoid being part of the problem. If you see something you cant be certain is true dont share it.

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Spot the fake so you can focus on the facts - WLWT Cincinnati

The Trump tax bombshell | The Herald-News – The Herald-News

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Wow! Bombshell! Let me get this right. Trump pays $750 in taxes? The same amount a person making $20,000 a year pays?

I guess its OK to write off $70,000 in haircuts and $109,000 in silverware and linens, but he took away traveling expenses for those of us in the trades such as work clothes, lodging and anything used for work purposes when we need to travel to work to support our families.

Yes, that must be OK because, after all, his needs are more important than ours, right? How can he possibly be expected to be the outstanding citizen he is without getting $70,000 in haircuts and being able to write it off?

I know, I know, he says hes being smart by not paying taxes. Thats OK for him but for the rest of us it probably means prison time. Thats OK though, right Trump supporters? Double standards are acceptable for him but not us because, hey, its always the fake news and witch-hunts that are really the issue, right? Its never his fault and accountability is beneath him right? Hes never ever wrong, and they will support him no matter what he does because its always always fake news and witch hunts. Those evil Democrats are out to get him.

Its actually genius on his part. The perfect scapegoat, the media. Brilliant. Im sure there will be plenty of rebuttals defending him, there always are.

Don Morgan

Channahon

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The Trump tax bombshell | The Herald-News - The Herald-News

15 Biggest Islands on Earth – Yahoo Finance

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In this article we take a look at the 15 Biggest Islands on Earth. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 Biggest Islands on Earth.

While everybody wants to head to one of the countries with most islands in the world for their dream island getaways and the ultimate island hopping experiences - its the islands with the gigantic sizes that leave us awestruck. And, if islands are the talk of interest for you, you have brought yourself at the right discussion!

Of all the bizarre COVID 19 news we have heard recently, islands have apparently been in heavy demand for high net worth individuals ever since the pandemic started. And not just as a post-pandemic travel destination but as a real estate investment. Even as the economy dips, the wealthy have been quick to gauge the lucrativeness of islands as a safe-haven from the pandemic a perfect place to isolate while enjoying the tropical paradise life. Come to think of it, it does seem like the dream!

While many of us have wished for a possibility to holiday on an island through the pandemic, it isnt such a farfetched dream for the ultra-rich. In fact, owning private islands may not be out of ordinary for the wealthy. While a lot of them might have planned to acquire their own islands, COVID 19 has just put a timeline to it. Many of the buyers see this as a contingency plan for any future mishaps and an island to themselves now seems much more consequential. Theres also a Now or Never sentiment that has caused the buyers to commit to owning islands in these times.

However, the wish to own an isolation destination is not the only reason many are looking to buy islands this season. It is also a means to invest in a foreign country to earn citizenship. While Caribbean has always been one of the most popular spots for owning private islands, demand has also surged in countries with good COVID handling mechanisms, like Australia and New Zealand.

If you too would like to take social distancing to another level, or have always dreamt of owning your own private island it might not be as impossible as it sounds. One can buy an island for less than 100,000, depending upon the location, the development status and amenities available on the island. A small island in Nova Scotia, Canada is currently listed at a price of USD 68,104. Some, more pricier ones might come with extra perks like a private helipad or fully functional residence with recreational facilities.

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Whether you are looking to escape to an island or not, islands are an interesting topic that entices a lot of us. While there are over 2000 islands on the oceans in the world, we are likely to know so little about them. The most famous islands of the world include Santorini in Greece, Bali and Java in Indonesia and Maui in Hawaii, among others. However, when it comes to the biggest islands, some of them have always confused enthusiasts and been on the topic of interests of experts alike. One such island that features on our list is Great Britain, which is not only the ninth largest island on the Earth but also the largest island in the whole of Europe. It is one of the few island civilizations which have been reached the status of a global empire.

On another hand there is Australia, which clearly seems like an island to us -- however, it might not be! Is Australia an island - is a question that leaves the best of us perplexed. To put it simply, the island continent doesnt qualify for a position on our list because it already checks off all the requirements of being a continent! According to geographical definitions, an island and continent are considered different. Therefore, even if Australia is larger than Greenland, it cannot be considered an island and Britannica explains it perfectly for us.

As opposed to the bigwigs, there are also the smallest islands of the Earth on the other end of the spectrum, which are equally interesting to know about. Some of the smallest ones include Smyley Island, Mornington Island and Grande Comore. But if you are wondering what is the smallest island in the world, the answer is Bishop Rock, a part of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago in the Atlantic ocean in Cornwall, South West England. On the island which is 46m long and 16 meters wide, there is only a lighthouse. The rest of the list we might tackle on a future article! And then there are also the biggest river islands, like Majuli island, which is the largest river island in India and the world, as well!

Some of the most beautiful islands in the world, also might not feature in the largest. For example the beautiful islands in India. If you are thinking of taking a long sabbatical from city life and finding a way to relax when we finally get back to traveling, maybe an escape to the 10 Most Remote Inhabited Islands in the World would be of your interest.

Coming back to our current topic, we have used trusted sources like Britannica Encyclopedia and other informative sites like Brilliant Maps and World Atlas to compile our list. Lets explore the biggest islands on Earth.

Area : 109,965 km/ 42457.72 sq mi The largest island of Philippines and where the city of Manila is nestled. The Luzon strait separated the island from Taiwan. Home to many bays and gulfs, Luzon covers almost one-third of land area in Philippines. Pixabay/Public Domain

Area : 111,583 km/ 43082.43 sq mi New Zealands North Island, is divided from South Island by the Cook Strait. The island is home to a terrain rising to central mountain range with volcanic Mount Ruapehu at its highest point and within the Tongariro National Park, which is a designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Area : 138,794 km/ 53588.66 sq mi Surrounded by Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Bali, the beautiful Indonesian island is one of the most prominent islands of the country. The island has Jakarta, Indonesias Capital, and largest city.

Area : 145,836 km/ 56307.59 sq mi The larger of Indonesias two islands, South Island is dotted with mountains. The island houses several World Heritage sites including a protected wilderness area Te Wahipounamu. Achim Baque/Shutterstock.com

Area: 188,522 km / 72,789 sq mi

The fourth biggest island in Indonesia, Sulawesi is quite unique and peculiar. The island is interestingly shaped with four peninsulas and three gulfs. The landscape is dotted with mountains, the highest peak of which is Mount Rantekombola and one might even come across quite a few active volcanoes.

Fabio Lamanna/Shutterstock.com

Area: 196,236 km / 75,767 sq mi

Ellesmere Island, the number 10 on our list of biggest islands on Earth, is the third largest island in Canada and the largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the country. It is the most northerly island in the Arctic Archipelago. The island lies in Nunavut territory, and the Kennedy Channel and Kane basin separate it from Greenland. Along with being interestingly located, Ellesmere also has a fascinating history associated with it and is believed to have been visited by the Vikings in the 10th Century. Speaking of Canada, we should mention that this is the country which has the longest coastline (125,567 miles, to be precise).

Pixabay/Public Domain

Area: 209,331 km/ 80,823 sq mi

Separated from the European mainland by the English Channel and the North Sea, Great Britain includes three nations namely England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain and several other islands like the Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, we already mentioned, and others are marked with rich history, medieval architecture and prehistoric sites.

Pixabay/Public Domain

Area: 217, 291 km/ 83,896 sq mi

Canadas second largest island also finds a place among the biggest islands on Earth. It's a 'little bit' greater in size than Great Britain. Victoria Island is special since it contains the largest island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island.

Pixabay/Public Domain

Area: 227,898 km/ 87,992 sq mi

Japans main and most populous island, Honshu, houses some of the countrys major cities and sites and is also home to the famous snow-capped volcano, Mount Fuji. The island is the second-most populous island in the world right after Java in Indonesia. Honshu separates the Sea of Japan from the Northern Pacific Ocean and forms most of Japans industry belt including cities like Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, and Hiroshima.

kqlsm/Shutterstock.com

Area: 443,065 km/ 171,068 sq mi

The largest island lying wholly in Indonesia is a fascinating elongated mass of land running along a diagonal axis. The island is surrounded by a lot of other important islands in the vicinity and is separated from the Malay Peninsula by the famous Strait of Malacca. Sumatra is also known for its wide range of fauna and the unique animal species found here.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Biggest Islands on Earth.

Disclosure: 15 Biggest Islands on Earth is originally published on Insider Monkey.

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15 Biggest Islands on Earth - Yahoo Finance