Source: Somalia starts first inoculations with AstraZeneca vaccines – The Washington Post
China says foreigners inoculated with Chinese vaccines will enjoy streamlined visa process – The Washington Post (#VaccineDiplomacy)
In the latest move by China to promote its coronavirus vaccines and flex its soft power, Beijing will offer some foreigners inoculated with Chinese-made doses “conveniences” when applying for entry into the country.
Notices of the new policy to “resume people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries” were issued by Chinese embassies or consulates in the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Germany, Italy, the United States, Israel and India as of Monday. The announcements said China would simplify the application process for those with certificates proving they had been given one of several Chinese vaccines.
U.S. (under Trump) pushed Brazil to reject Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, HHS report says – The Washington Post
U.S. health officials under President Donald Trump worked to convince Brazil to reject Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
The document, released in January, drew little attention at first. But that changed on Monday when the official Twitter account for the Sputnik V vaccine posted a screenshot of the previously overlooked claim, citing a report by Brasil Wire, and criticized the United States for effectively blocking Russia’s attempts at vaccine diplomacy.
Source: U.S. pushed Brazil to reject Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, HHS report says – The Washington Post
Thailand resumes use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Thailand resumed its rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, which had been suspended since Friday following reports of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine in European countries, according to the Thai public health ministry.
The ministry gave the green light for the launch of the vaccine rollout as the World Health Organization said Monday no causal link had been established between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clotting.
Myanmar junta says treason, other offenses punishable by death ( full on dictatorship)
In an apparent attempt to quell growing protests against the Feb. 1 coup, the military junta said it would impose harsh sentences, including lengthy prison terms or even death, for offenses including treason and dissent, obstructing the military or civil service, spreading false news and incitement of fear, according to the entire martial law order published in a state newspaper.
The offenses are among 23 categories of crimes that the order says are subject to court-martial with no appeals allowed for decisions or convictions. However, it said an application to reverse a death sentence could be made to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council, within 15 days of a conviction.
Martial law was declared in two Yangon townships, Hlaingthaya and the neighboring township of Shwepyithar, on Sunday, the first such declarations in the city since the military coup, followed by orders in four more townships in Yangon on Monday.
Source: Myanmar junta says treason, other offenses punishable by death
ASIA/MYANMAR – Escalation of repression: Buddhist monks ready to protest and NGOs, including Caritas, subject to financial investigations – Agenzia Fides
“We are currently witnessing a real escalation of military violence. Yesterday alone, in Yangon and the surrounding area, we counted 189 dead, as reported by the Myanmar Now information network, which includes many activists. In our view, however, the dead could even be more. The repression is getting tougher and the population is suffering terribly, but is not giving up”, says a source of Agenzia Fides in the Catholic community of Yangon, who asks to remain anonymous for security reasons. This same source describes the situation of tension in the country, where the peaceful protest of young people, which began after the coup of 1 February, shows no signs of abating, despite an increasingly fierce response from the army.
In the face of this violence, the leaders and religious workers of the different faith communities remain alongside the population through prayer, moral and material assistance, helping to comfort the afflicted and to care for the wounded (see Fides, 16/3/2020).
In this scenario, in a message sent to Agenzia Fides, the Commission of Buddhist monks of Mandalay, who are part of a spontaneous organization called “Protest network of Buddhist monks”, warns the military who are occupying temples, monasteries and Buddhist places of prayer, calling for an immediate end to the violence of the army and the occupation of their buildings.
Should the army continue to use violence, Buddhist monks declare their readiness to march through the streets, organizing silent marches of protest across the country. Source: ASIA/MYANMAR – Escalation of repression: Buddhist monks ready to protest and NGOs, including Caritas, subject to financial investigations – Agenzia Fides
The Second-Class Treatment of U.S. Territories Is Un-American
Ordnance P-38 Lightning — Pacific Paratrooper

P-38 in the Pacific Perhaps Colonel Ben Kelsey, a P-38 test pilot, summed up the war bird’s legacy best of all. “(That) comfortable old cluck,” he said, “would fly like hell, fight like a wasp upstairs, and land like a butterfly.” The P-38 was the most successful USAAF fighter in the Pacific War. It served […]
Ordnance P-38 Lightning — Pacific Paratrooper
CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO — Escribir sobre la punta de la i

Dedicado a «el Coronel».Hoy hace un año todavía. ¿Os habéis fijado que antes, cuando alguien moría en un libro, siempre llovía? Y es que la lluvia ayudaba a crear ambiente. 274 more words
CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO — Escribir sobre la punta de la i
WHO Points To Wildlife Farms In Southern China As Likely Source Of Pandemic – MICHAELEEN DOUCLEFF March 15, 20215:41 PM ET | Just Sayin’ (BINGO!)
“They take exotic animals, like civets, porcupines, pangolins, raccoon dogs and bamboo rats, and they breed them in captivity,” says Daszak.
The agency is expected to release the team’s investigative findings in the next two weeks. In the meantime, Daszak gave NPR a highlight of what the team figured out.
“China promoted the farming of wildlife as a way to alleviate rural populations out of poverty,” Daszak says. The farms helped the government meet ambitious goals of closing the rural-urban divide, as NPR reported last year.
“It was very successful,” Daszak says. “In 2016, they had 14 million people employed in wildlife farms, and it was a $70 billion industry.”
Then on Feb. 24, 2020, right when the outbreak in Wuhan was winding down, the Chinese government made a complete about-face about the farms.
“What China did then was very important,” Daszak says. “They put out a declaration saying that they were going to stop the farming of wildlife for food.”
The government shut down the farms. “They sent out instructions to the farmers about how to safely dispose of the animals — to bury, kill or burn them — in a way that didn’t spread disease.”
Why would the government do this? Because, Daszak thinks, these farms could be the spot of spillover, where the coronavirus jumped from a bat into another animal and then into people. “I do think that SARS-CoV-2 first got into people in South China. It’s looking that way.”
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