A Deadly Terrorist Bombing Thwarted in NYC

It never fails to amaze me  how the liberal, politically correct media continues to downplay terrorism even when it's in our own country.  I had heard these terrorists referred to as "boys" and their bombs as "a prank gone wrong." How quickly people have forgotten.  Why are Americans so willing to overlook and excuse what could have been a deadly bombing in the city where nearly 3,000 lost their lives on September 11?  

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 CNN deletes outrageous post downplaying moment suspected terrorists hurled bombs near Gracie Mansion 

"CNN deleted a social media post Tuesday after outraged critics flamed it for trivializing the self-radicalized ISIS fanatics accused of hurling bombs at Gracie Mansion – calling them two “teenagers” who entered New York City for “what could’ve been a normal day.”

“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather,” the tweet from the lefty news outlet said, according to screenshots.

“But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs.”

"By Tuesday morning, a link to the social media post produced an error message and the news outlet released a statement acknowledging it was deleted.

“A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted,” CNN said in a statement.

"The full article remained available on CNN’s site, notably referring to Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, as “two Pennsylvania men,” not “teenagers,” and omitting the flowery language on the weather and “what could’ve been a normal day.” 

Your Local Epidemiologist:The Dose, 3-10-26

Cue the allergies and time change, the flu vaccine process is starting, WH's impact on Tylenol, and good news
The Dose (March 10)
Katelyn Jetelina and Hannah Totte, MPH, Mar 10, 2026

Anyone else dragging this week? Daylight saving time has arrived, along with the coffee dependency and the annual chorus of “why do we still do this?” But the time change also has real health effects. More on that below.

Also, the respiratory season is finally winding down, but spring viruses are already stepping in to fill the void. The flu vaccine process for next season has begun, and it’s already getting complicated. New data reveal just how much harm a single White House briefing caused for pregnant patients in emergency departments last fall.

Here’s what it all means to you and your health.

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Disease “weather” report

The winter respiratory season is finally easing. After six weeks stuck at high levels, influenza-like illness is starting to decline. Good riddance.

That said, RSV and common cold viruses are still climbing. Some outlets are dramatically overhyping a rise in one in particular: HMPV (black in the chart below). But… this virus isn’t showing anything unusual. A rise is normal, starting in March and peaking in April and May.

What is HMPV? It’s a virus related to RSV, and causes similar symptoms (cough, fever, congestion, shortness of breath). For healthy kids and adults, HMPV is typically a miserable cold. But for infants, older adults, and the immunocompromised, it can be as serious as RSV. Like many viruses, HMPV has no vaccine or treatment, and care focuses on symptom relief.

Positive tests for respiratory viruses; Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist.

What this means for you: Expect more snotty noses and cranky kids, but nothing unusual so far this spring season. Full viral reprieve will come in another month or two.

And, did anyone catch the measles plot on The Pitt? I addressed it on social media.

@your_local_epidemiologist

Your Local Epidemiologist | Public Health Expert on Instagram: …

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Cue allergy season

My husband is downstairs sneezing up a storm. And I know it’s not just him: Google Trends shows an enormous spike in googling allergies. If we look at pollen data, the Southern portion of the country has high levels, specifically from trees.

Data from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)

Allergy season is becoming longer—plants are releasing pollen earlier in the year (about 40 days earlier) and stopping pollination later in the year (about 2 weeks later)—due to rising temperatures. There’s also more pollen because of the increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

What this means for you: You’re getting exposed to more “pollen grains,” and your immune system may be irritated by them. Dr. Zach Rubin, an allergy doctor, joined us on our podcast America Dissected last year and gave great tips on managing allergies:

• Rinse your nose regularly with saline water (just like you brush your teeth)

• Go with second-generation antihistamines, like Zyrtec, instead of Benadryl. Benadryl was made in the 1940s as one of the first antihistamine drugs, but it has a lot of side effects. Always chat with your doctor for more information.

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Flu vaccine dominoes are starting

The U.S. annual flu vaccine rollout is a six-month process with many moving parts, refined over more than half a century. It feels early (flu is just now receding), but the sequence has to start now so vaccines are ready for you in the fall.

Last year’s process was a mess: pieces missing, timelines wobbling, disrupted by federal disarray and ideological interference.

Will this year be any different? Too soon to say.

Figure by Your Local Epidemiologist

Where things stand: Last week, WHO made its official vaccine formula recommendation: a three-strain (trivalent) formula with one newcomer. Subclade K is a subvariant of flu that mutated enough to behave differently from its parent strain. It only emerged last August and has already driven record-breaking hospitalizations in several states.

Although the U.S. formally withdrew from WHO earlier this year, CDC flu experts were granted an exception to attend the meeting virtually. That’s good news because global data sharing is essential regardless of politics. Two of the three recommended strains came from viral samples collected right here in Missouri and Pennsylvania.

The U.S. doesn’t automatically follow WHO’s recommendation. We run our own process through an FDA advisory committee called VRBPAC, which rarely diverges from WHO. But this year it might.

The uncertainty: The data clearly support an updated vaccine. Whether Americans get one is another question, for two reasons:

1. Formula in flux. RFK Jr.’s political leadership signaled a new framework that would require randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for fall vaccine approval. This is a serious problem: flu mutates fast, production must begin months before the season starts, and there’s simply no room for the long timelines RCTs require. This is also not necessary. Flu isn’t a brand new vaccine. Rather, we tweak it like editing a word or two in a Word document—we don’t create a whole new document.

2. Leadership chaos. Vinay Prasad, the official overseeing this process, is stepping down after an extraordinarily turbulent tenure.

What this means for you: You will almost certainly have a flu vaccine this fall. The open question is whether it’ll be an updated formula (matching this season’s strains, like the rest of the world will get) or last year’s formula held over due to impossible approval standards. The latter isn’t catastrophic, but it’s a poor strategy against a fast-mutating virus.

What’s next: VRBPAC meets this week. You can submit a public comment here.

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Tylenol prescriptions plummeted after White House brief

On September 22, 2025, President Trump held a White House briefing in which he claimed that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, was linked to a “very increased risk of autism” in children when used during pregnancy. This claim was not backed by new data or new scientific evidence. Read more in our response here. At the same briefing, the White House promoted leucovorin (folinic acid) as a treatment for autism.

New data is showing just how much words matter. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard tracked prescription orders at a hospital before and after the White House announcement. What did they find?

• Orders for acetaminophen for pregnant women at emergency departments dropped 20%. There was no corresponding change in orders for non-pregnant patients. Prescribing rates gradually crept back toward baseline.

• Prescriptions of leucovorin for children ages 5–17 jumped 71%. This translates to roughly 25 additional children per 100,000.

Figure Source: Scientific American.

On acetaminophen: This is just devastating. For pregnant patients in pain or with a fever, the ED is often the last resort. These are people who are already suffering. Acetaminophen is one of the very few tools available to treat them safely, and because of a baseless claim made at a press briefing, even that was being withheld. Untreated fever in pregnancy is associated with miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth.

On leucovorin: A small body of research suggests that leucovorin may help a subset of autistic children, particularly those with cerebral folate deficiency. But the largest supporting study included just 77 children, and it was retracted in January due to data errors. This means in the hospital prescriptions study, given the rarity of this disease, the president’s claim has likely replaced clinical judgment.

What this means for you: Acetaminophen remains the safest available pain and fever reducer during pregnancy. If you are pregnant and have a fever or pain, talk to a clinician and take acetaminophen.

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Losing an hour of sleep: the health impact

With the spring forward change, we lose an hour of sleep. Research has consistently linked the springtime change to a temporary increase in heart attacks, strokes, and fatal car crashes in the days following the shift. The disruption to your circadian rhythm—your body’s internal clock—is the driver. Even a small decrease in sleep can spike stress hormones and affect blood pressure, metabolism, and alertness.

What this means for you:

• Prioritize morning light. Get outside in the morning during this first week. Sunlight is the strongest signal to reset your circadian clock.

• Go easy on evening screens. That extra evening light from the time change already delays melatonin. Screens make it worse.

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Good news

• Florida’s rollback of school vaccine requirements is stalled. Despite Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s dramatic announcement last fall that Florida would eliminate all school vaccine requirements, the Florida Legislature did not take up the proposal. House Speaker Daniel Perez confirmed this week that the House version of the bill was never heard in committee and won’t be brought to the floor.

• Shift in vaccine communications. CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya posted a video last week simply saying the measles vaccine works and that vaccination is the most effective protection against measles. When you’ve been banging your head against a wall, stopping, even briefly, feels worth noting. We’ll take it. (Read our recent piece on Bhattacharya here.)

Mamdani: A Real Bomb As Mayor

Mamdani attacked a "right-wing activist" who was having an anti-Islam counter-protest, but he had nothing to say about the actual bomb-throwers, who allegedly shouted "Allah Akbar". 

And this unfortunately is the man who will be part of the commemorations this Fall for the 25th anniversary of September 11.  I suppose he can claim that the Twin Towers fell on their own without any Al Qaeda involvement. Or maybe he will be gone by then.

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New York Post, 3-9-26 

ISIS-inspired NYC bomb throwers hoped attack would be deadlier than Boston Marathon bombing: feds 

"The ISIS-inspired extremists who tried to detonate IEDs outside Gracie Mansion wanted to outdo the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, according to a newly released federal complaint. 

"Investigators asked accused wannabe terrorist Emir Balat following his arrest Saturday if he was familiar with the deadly Boston bombing and whether that was what he and his alleged accomplice hoped to accomplish.

“No, even bigger. It was only three deaths,” he replied, according to the 10-page complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court Monday.

"Balat, 18, and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi were hoping for more carnage, the feds said.

"Both are charged with tossing two IEDs at anti-Muslim protesters outside Gracie Mansion.

"According to the complaint, Kayumi handed Balat one device — which was packed with a volatile explosive known as “Mother of Satan” — which he hurled at anti-Muslim protesters at a rally organized by right-wing agitator Jake Lang.

"Balat dropped the second bomb near a group of NYPD cops, the feds said.

"Fortunately, neither of the homemade devices exploded.

"NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the botched bombing “an ISIS-inspired act of terrorism” at a Monday morning press conference.

"The two extremists both drove to New York City from their upscale family homes in Pennsylvania to carry out the alleged attack, Tisch said.

"Sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Post that both suspects had traveled overseas in recent years, including Istanbul, Turkey, a known hotspot for ISIS training.

"Balat defiantly flashed an ISIS hand symbol as he was led out of a Manhattan precinct and turned over to federal agents on Monday morning.

"Both Balat and Kayumi were being arraigned on similar charges in Manhattan federal court later Monday."

Dr Ruth Report 3-8-26

It looks like Dr Ruth Ann Crystal has changed the name of her newsletter, but it's still full of the information we need.

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Dr. Ruth Report, 3/8/26
Ruth Ann Crystal MD, Mar 09, 2026 

We are finally seeing COVID levels decrease in the Midwest and Northeast. RSV season is very late this year and is expected to continue to cause disease in babies and in the elderly until April. Flu A is low, but Flu B is high especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Other common winter viruses are mentioned below.

Wastewater levels for COVID, RSV, Flu A, Flu B:

From: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

Flu

Although Influenza A has declined, Influenza B is increasing and is HIGH in many places in the United States. Influenza activity is VERY HIGH in Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, and Missouri.

Ninety children have died of the flu this year so far. Vaccination can provide protection against severe disease and there are effective antiviral medicines against influenza that are especially effective if taken early.

RSV

We are having an unusually late RSV season this year as reflected by high RSV in wastewater and significant emergency department visits and hospitalizations for RSV in infants and children 4 years and younger. “This atypical season indicates that higher levels of RSV activity may continue into April in many regions”, according to the CDC. RSV vaccines are available and are important for pregnant women and older adults. Babies may receive monoclonal antibodies like Beyfortus to protect against RSV which can cause very severe disease in infants.

HMPV, Norovirus and Rotavirus are HIGH in wastewater now:

From: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV)

HMPV causes cold symptoms in most people, but it can make young babies, the elderly and immunocompromised people more sick. It is HIGH in wastewater now across many parts of the United States.

Norovirus

Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the “stomach flu”, causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is the top cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Norovirus has caused outbreaks on cruise ships and is very contagious. Wastewater levels of Norovirus are HIGH right now, especially in the Midwest and Northeast.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus causes diarrheal illness mostly in babies and young children under age 5. Adults are rarely affected due to immunity to the virus. We are seeing HIGH levels of Rotavirus across the nation presently.

COVID

Nationwide, SARS-CoV-2 is MEDIUM in wastewater according to WastewaterSCAN, with higher levels in the Midwest and Northeast. WastewaterSCAN is more up to date than the CDC, but it omits 12 states. Levels of COVID in wastewater have finally been decreasing over the last several weeks.

COVID Variants

According to WastewaterSCAN, variant XFG was causing most cases of COVID as of 2/22/26. Sequencing data has a lag of 1-2 weeks after collection for WastewaterSCAN. I am glad that they are reporting on COVID variants, since the CDC stopped reporting them back in August 2025. Our current COVID vaccines should protect against XFG, but vaccine efficiency against infection declines over 2 to 3 months and against severe disease declines by 6 months.

Acute COVID infections, General COVID info

The National Clinical Cohort Collaborative “conducted an emulated target trial in a retrospective cohort of [3,553] patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis who were prescribed IL-6 receptor antagonists (sarilumab or tocilizumab, pooled treatment) or other biologic agents (anakinra or baricitinib, pooled comparator) in 2022.” They found that those prescribed IL-6 receptor antagonists had a 60% lower mortality, and about 58% lower risk of being diagnosed with Long COVID compared to other biologic agents in this patient group. Protection was strongest when the IL-6 receptor antagonist medication was started before COVID infection.

A group from Hong Kong University found persistence of SARS-CoV-2 viral fragments in nasal tissue of hamsters for 120 days after COVID infection. This led to ongoing inflammation, dysregulation of tissue repair and remodeling, and increased the animals’ vulnerability to secondary respiratory infections.

🧠 DNA methylation is an epigenetic switch that controls how certain genes are turned on or off. Researchers from the Van Andel Institute in Michigan looked at whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing (WGMS) in the blood of 101 people with COVID infections ranging from asymptomatic to severe versus 105 SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals. They found widespread gene hypomethylation in infected individuals, which was more pronounced in severe COVID cases and varied depending on the severity of infection. The DNA hypomethylation turned on genes related to immune function and to neurodegenerative pathways linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and neuropsychiatric conditions. These findings show how epigenetic changes in gene methylation from COVID infection may connect to long-term neurological sequelae.

Social and Advocacy

International Long COVID Awareness Day is on March 15, and in honor of this occasion, landmarks across the globe will be lit up teal and gray. COVID Safer San Francisco Bay Area (CSSFBA) has posted a list of landmarks around the world that will be marking Long COVID awareness including San Francisco City Hall which will be lit teal and gray on March 15.

Pediatrics

“Chronic orthostatic intolerance (COI) refers to a group of conditions in which upright posture triggers a wide range of symptoms, including dizziness, fatigue, cognitive fog, and palpitations, among others, persisting for at least three months. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) represents a specific subset of COI, distinguished by an exaggerated heart rate response, defined in adolescents as an increase of ≥40 beats per minute (bpm) or an upright HR exceeding 120 bpm.” Researchers from the University of Utah studied 92 adolescents with COI and found that the teens had similar disability scores whether they met POTS heart rate criteria or not.

Long COVID

Good news! PhysicsGirl Dianna Cowern just posted her first teaching video in 3 years. “After three years away from creating videos due to severe Long COVID, Dianna returned in 2026, continuing her mission to share curiosity, resilience, and the wonder of science.”

🧠 Researchers at NYU Langone Health followed 260 adults and found Long COVID patients had a much higher rate of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over 4.4 years. About 27% of Long COVID patients developed MCI, compared with 5% of recovered COVID patients and 1% of uninfected participants. The findings suggest persistent post-COVID neurological effects may increase long-term Alzheimer’s dementia risk.

🧠 A new article shows how the gut microbiome-brain axis affects cognitive dysfunction (brain fog) in Long COVID. Researchers from the Université de Montréal performed several different experiments in mice and in vitro showing that certain gut bacteria in people with Long COVID release tiny signaling particles called gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles (GMEVs) that weaken the intestinal barrier and trigger inflammation in immune cells and in brain glial cells. First, germ-free mice were given gut microbes from women with Neuro-Long COVID and this caused brain inflammation and behavior changes in the mice. Next, GMEVs from Long COVID patients were found to induce intestinal epithelial inflammation, impair gut barrier function and activate macrophages in vitro. A third experiment showed that GMEVs from Long COVID patients induced a pro-inflammatory response in iPSC-derived microglia (brain immune cells). Finally, when wild-type mice were given GMEVs from Long COVID patients orally, their gut microbiome changed, and they developed intestinal inflammation, behavioral changes, and brain inflammation.

This study provides strong evidence that GMEVs from gut bacteria in Long COVID may contribute to cognitive dysfunction, or brain fog. The findings suggest a gut–brain inflammatory pathway that drives neurological symptoms in Long COVID and may represent a potential target for microbiome-based therapies such as synbiotics that help restore gut microbial balance.

🧠 Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden studied 22 people with Long COVID after mild infection using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) brain imaging to analyze neural connectivity. They found higher default mode brain network connectivity that correlated with reduced cognitive performance at 32 months after infection in Long COVID patients with cognitive symptoms and fatigue.

A study from Yale of 43,067 US adults found that the risk of Long COVID decreased from 20% in 2022 to 14% in 2024. Over the same time period, recovery from Long COVID increased from 51% to 60%, with less recovery seen in women and lower income groups. Although the prevalence of Long COVID has decreased over time and some people recover, there are still millions of Americans and people worldwide who continue to suffer from this debilitating disease.

A group from Zurich compared 24 Long COVID patients (LC) who reported fatigue, neurocognitive symptoms, and exercise intolerance to 40 post-severe COVID patients (PC) who most often showed pulmonary impairment. Using a 3 protein blood signature (LAMP3, CKAP4, KRT19), they were able to distinguish between the LC and the PC group with 89% accuracy.

Researchers in the United States and Sweden studied 28 adults with persistent taste complaints more than 12 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection and performed detailed taste testing and tongue biopsies in 20 participants. Eleven participants had selective loss of sweet, umami, or bitter taste, which was linked to reduced expression of key taste-signaling genes such as PLCβ2 and TAS1R3 in taste receptor cells. The overall structure of taste buds was largely preserved and viral RNA was not detected, suggesting that Long COVID taste dysfunction may reflect lingering molecular changes in taste signaling rather than permanent structural damage.

In a South Korean study of 396 people with PASC (Long COVID), a 2 week course of metformin or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) did not significantly improve recovery from PASC (Long COVID) as measured by the PASC index score at 8 weeks.

ME/CFS

Researchers in Norway studied blood proteins in 50 ME/CFS patients and 29 healthy controls using large-scale proteomics. They found reduced intracellular proteins in skeletal muscle in ME/CFS and immune reprogramming, including a distinct reduction in proteins secreted by activated neutrophils. “Focused secretome analysis supports intensified regulatory interactions related to immune activity, inflammation, vasculature, and metabolism” in ME/CFS.

Proteomics in ME/CFS from: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(26)00064-9

Measles

As of March 5, 2026, 1,281 measles cases have been confirmed so far in the United States in 2026 with 5% (62 of 1281 cases) hospitalized.

• As of March 6, 2026, the South Carolina Department of Public Health reports 991 cases of measles in an outbreak that started in October 2025.

• The Utah Department of Public Health states that 358 Utahns have been diagnosed with measles in this outbreak, with 78 new cases reported to public health in the last 3 weeks.

U.S. health officials have postponed a meeting with the regional World Health Organization until after the November midterm elections that will probably confirm that the United States has lost its measles elimination status. Delaying the meeting will not make U.S. measles cases disappear, but it could affect the elections.

ICE confirms a measles outbreak in the nation’s largest ICE detention center in Texas. There are 14 confirmed measles cases in the camp and 112 other individuals have been isolated in connection to the outbreak, according to Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. On average, every person who has the measles will infect 12 to 18 other people in an unvaccinated population. Congresswoman Escobar added, “There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city.”

Camp East Montana is an immigration detention facility on Fort Bliss along the Texas-Mexico border.

Photo by Paul Ratje / The New York Times / Redux file

This week it was reported that an unvaccinated adult who traveled from Europe to the United States while infectious with measles last year spread the virus to 17 other people on the airplane and at the airport, according to the CDC. The case-patient had a fever, persistent cough, cold-like symptoms, and conjunctivitis (“pink eye”) during travel, and his rash occurred one day after his domestic flight. People are most contagious with measles for 4 days prior to the rash and 4 days after the rash appears.

Measles and other infectious diseases are not just a health problem, they are also an economic problem. A policy analysis from the Common Health Coalition examines how declining childhood vaccination rates lead to more outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and to significantly higher medical spending due to hospitalizations, treatment, and public health responses needed.

From: https://commonhealthcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SpotlightBrief_ChildImms.pdf

Measles cases in the last 2 weeks from the John Hopkins US Measles Tracker:

Global Vaccine Preventable Disease Tracker

From: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/vaccine-preventable-disease-a-global-tracker

Tuberculosis

As of February 20, 2026, 3 cases of active tuberculosis (TB) have been confirmed at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco. Among 1,261 students and staff tested, 219 (17%) had positive TB tests, including 204 confirmed latent TB infections. Additional chest X-rays are underway to rule out active disease in the remaining cases. Health officials emphasize that latent TB is not contagious, but testing and treatment are important because it can later progress to active TB.

Other news

In 507 adults with obesity, combining bimagrumab with semaglutide led to larger weight loss and reduced body fat by 34% while preserving lean mass compared to either drug alone, highlighting a potentially more effective therapy for improving body composition.

Researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed data from 606,434 veterans with type 2 diabetes to study whether GLP-1 receptor agonists affect substance use risk. Veterans starting GLP-1 drugs had lower risks of developing alcohol, nicotine, opioid, cannabis, and cocaine use disorders compared with those starting SGLT-2 inhibitors. Among people with existing substance use disorders, GLP-1 treatment was also linked to fewer overdoses and fewer substance use disorder related hospitalizations.

A common anti-seizure drug called levetiracetam (Keppra) has been found to prevent the production of toxic amyloid-beta 42 peptides and amyloid plaques which can ultimately lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

In the 2026 Milano Paralympics, 25 competitors are expected to use the prosthetics that Paralympian Mike Schultz had initially invented for himself. Mike said, “I personally assemble all the legs that go out and being able to see the best athletes in the world, choose our equipment is awesome.”

Photo from: https://www.monstermikeschultz.com/

Giant tortoises have returned to Floreana Island in the Galápagos for the first time in nearly 200 years. Conservationists released 158 young giant tortoises descended from the extinct Floreana lineage, helping restore the island’s ecosystem and seed dispersal.

Have a good week,

Ruth Ann Crystal MD

March 8 Is UK COVID Day of Reflection

It's very sad that so many people are treating COVID and its horrors with "forgetting and indifference". It's extremely important that nobody forget what the first years of the pandemic were like, not only to make sure their loved ones are never forgotten, but also to make sure we avoid having this happen to us again.

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What the UK’s ‘day of reflection’ reveals about COVID memory

By David Tollerton. The Conversation. Published: March 6, 2026 5:17am EST 

"A couple of years ago I dug up an artefact buried under soil, grass and leaves in a park close to my home in Exeter. It was not some ancient object but rather a granite memorial plaque laid down by the local city council only three years before. Dedicated to regional victims of the COVID pandemic, it had been created, forgotten and swallowed by the ground in swift succession.

"This illustrates our conflicted relationship with remembering the pandemic in Britain. The urge to memorialise sits awkwardly alongside forces of forgetting and indifference. COVID killed over 230,000 people in the UK and had profound effects on health, wellbeing, child development and economic stability. Yet many people treat it with the ambivalence of waking from a strange dream.

"Following its official response to the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration late last year, the British government is now formally stepping into this slippery space of remembering and forgetting. March 8 has been designated as a day of reflection on the pandemic, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport taking the lead.

"And yet how much difference will this day make? What media coverage will it receive? How much public appetite is there for it? In my own work on British remembering and forgetting of the pandemic, I have found much evidence of uncertainty about what should be remembered, who should be centred and when commemoration ought to begin.

"Despite the death toll and social consequences, public memory of the COVID pandemic has been marked by hesitancy about what should be remembered, when commemoration should happen, who it should involve and how it should be enacted.

"A key challenge is the absence of a unified narrative. Pandemic experiences ranged from bereavement, illness and profound suffering in lockdown to mild inconvenience or even a welcome respite from normal life. Depending on luck and the situation with which you entered into the pandemic, it was anything from deeply traumatic to something people are quietly nostalgic about.

"When I asked for short public recollections of the period, I received stories of loss, disrupted lives and exhausted health workers, but was also inundated with descriptions of birdsong and country walks. The responses were later compiled into an online audiobook. Public memory of the pandemic has to find a way of holding these incongruities together.

"The day of reflection also has a disorientating relationship with time. COVID had no neat end point, no convenient armistice day around which to orient ourselves. The question of when public remembrance should begin was therefore unclear. Some informal memorials were created not long after the pandemic started, but when the government launched the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration in 2022, it was criticised for being too soon. In reality there is probably no perfect moment for public memorialisation, with the time always feeling either too early or too late for different people.

"The question of who should organise remembrance is equally fraught. The state’s slow response to recommendations from the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration has been shaped in part by an awareness that this is politically sensitive terrain. Perhaps remembrance should not be led by the state at all. The grassroots activist group COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK created the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, and the bereavement charity Marie Curie oversaw earlier versions of the day of reflection.

"Focusing collective recollection solely around loss of life nonetheless leaves major gaps in terms of the variety of people’s experiences. But there are also risks in wholly levelling the playing field. The loss of a loved one is not equivalent to Zoom quizzes and sourdough baking. Nor should collective memory erase the extent to which the pandemic’s impacts were systemically uneven, with higher mortality rates in some ethnic minority communities.

Remembering through the lens of war

"The day of reflection also sits awkwardly alongside existing patterns of how British people remember. These habits are most prominently shaped by rituals of war memory. The various memorial spaces associated with fundraiser and veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore emerged partly because he so neatly fused thoughts of COVID and the second world war.

"But the pandemic was not much like a military conflict. While there were praiseworthy instances of public service, most deaths did not fit a narrative of heroic sacrifice, the virus was not an ideological or national enemy, and comparisons between prime ministers Boris Johnson and Winston Churchill have not endured.

"Despite the difficulties of what is remembered, when it should happen, who should lead it and what form it should take, there has been an abundance of memorial creation since 2020.

"When researching a book on the topic, I visited one built high up a Welsh mountain. I saw one constructed elaborately from wood and later ceremonially set ablaze. Another was framed as a defiant celebration of working-class heroism. One depicts exhausted medical staff cast in bronze. There were many others. Their narratives, forms and origins vary considerably, but what they share is a tenuous grasp on public consciousness. Generally they are little known and, in some cases, their long-term survival is uncertain, dependent on funding, maintenance or continued public interest.

"The March 8 day of reflection will not settle the question of how Britain remembers or forgets COVID, but it will reveal how willing we are to try. Any national act of remembrance will only feel meaningful if it can hold together grief, inequality and ambivalence without pretending they are the same."

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David Tollerton, Associate Professor, Memory Studies, University of Exeter. During 2021-2022 David Tollerton received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to research this topic.

An Abomination in New York

I saw this on the news last night and was sickened.  Here we are, getting rid of the murderous Ayatollah and trying to free the Iranian people, and this is the thanks we get.  If these "mourners" loved Khamenei so much, then why didn't they stay in Iran? Too bad these Jew-haters can't be sent back to Iran now, because we don't want them here, especially in New York City.

From The Times of Israel, 3-7-26: 

Protesters chant ‘Death to America, death to Israel’ at NYC vigil for Khamenei 

"Protesters in New York City chant “death to America, death to Israel,” in Farsi, at a protest honoring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in New York City.

"The protesters set up images of Khamenei on a table alongside flowers and candles, hold flags showing Jeffrey Epstein’s face, and hold signs that say, “solidarity with Iran.”

“We must live like the ayatollah did, with his heart for his people, and we must die like he did,” a speaker tells the crowd.

"Iranian counter-protesters chant “USA,” “terrorist,” and “Bibi thank you” from across a metal police barricade."

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 See the photos at the link. New York Post 3-6-26:

Anti-Iranian regime protester pummeled at deluded NYC vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 

"An anti-regime protester who wanted to “show up for the Iranian people” was thrown to the ground and beaten Friday at a sparsely attended Manhattan vigil for Iran’s dead Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"While NYPD cops attempted to keep the two small groups separate, tension boiled over when Rami Even-Esh ripped down a picture of Khamenei at the demonstration in Washington Square Park.

“Take this down!” he shouted, as a swarm of the dictator’s sympathizers — some donning keffiyehs — knocked him down and kicked him, according to footage from FreedomNTV. 

"Cops quickly jumped in and placed him in handcuffs as blood gushed from the top of his nose.

“He’s a terrorist who’s killed American soldiers and I think it was insane that I was right there and there was a vigil so I just took the sign down. I felt that was the right thing to do,” the victim told The Post as cops led him away.

“I feel like someone should show up for the Iranian people.”

"Police said multiple people were taken into custody during the demonstration.

"About two dozen counter-protesters, some of Iranian descent or pro-Israel, also chanted “USA” and “death to the terrorist,” drowning out the roughly 25 mourners on hand for the detestable display of respect for the top cleric.

"The group commemorating the leader of the murderous regime claimed he defended the Iranian people — and they credited him for his bloodthirsty opposition to Israel.

"They also boasted his support for progressive causes, according to a vigil handout.

"Flowers lay on a table covered in a black and red keffiyeh. An Iranian flag and one with the depraved despot’s face on it were also flying.

"An Iranian woman who immigrated to the US said the pro-Khamenei protesters were clueless about the realities of the “terroristic regime.” 

Melanie Phillips on Iran: "An Alliance of Light Against Darkness"

She's exactly right, as usual. My reaction to Starmer's initial refusal to allow us to use UK bases was, "He's no Winston Churchill" -- which has been said by many others.

This whole week I've also been thinking, "Imagine if this were Blinken and Biden".  I'm so grateful it isn't, and I'm grateful it's Bibi and Trump who are in charge.

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An alliance of light against darkness. The war against Iran may put America and Israel at the head of a new world order

Melanie Phillips, Mar 06, 2026 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US President Donald Trump at the White House, February 2025

"The war against Iran, in which America and Israel are rapidly degrading Tehran’s powers, doesn’t merely offer the hope of relief for the whole world by eradicating one of its most evil, murderous and far-reaching regimes.

"We are also witnessing an even more momentous development — the likely birth of a new world order pivoted around that alliance between America and Israel.

"Like a drowning man clutching at a boat he doesn’t even realise is holed and sinking, Britain’s prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is clinging to the “rules-based international order”. As a result, he refused to support the bombing of Iran because he said it was illegal under international law.

"According to those rules, war is only permitted as a response to an attack that’s imminent or already underway. Defence is fine; attack is not. The fact that a pre-emptive attack might be the only effective form of defence is dismissed as against the rules.

"This means that even if the creation of an Iranian nuclear bomb was a mere 10 days away, as was reportedly the case, Israel would have to sit on its hands until almost the point of detonation before it became legal for it to attack.

"Law thus becomes a formula for national suicide.

"When the war started on February 28, Starmer refused to allow the Americans to use British-run air bases, including the crucial base on Diego Garcia, on the grounds that the war was illegal. He granted permission only after Iran started firing missiles at allies in the Gulf and at British forces stationed in Cyprus.

"Starmer then hedged this belated gesture about by saying that British forces would be used to defend its allies but not to attack Iran. And it wouldn’t defend its American and Israeli allies because they had started an “illegal” war.

"This was a wholly incoherent and morally unconscionable position. Such legalistic casuistry derives from the fact that liberal universalists like Starmer have made international law into a religion because they believe it replaces war by rules ordaining negotiation and compromise.

"Far from producing an end to tyranny, persecution and oppression, however, this international order has created a world in which the United Nations, which administers the rulebook, is in bed with Hamas. And the world body has long empowered states that pose an acute threat to freedom, such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, to hold the whole world hostage to their predatory and murderous agendas.

"Moreover, the entire international human rights and humanitarian order has been turned into a weapon against Israel. Far from promoting peace and justice, it facilitates and sanitises terrorism, genocidal mass murder and gross injustice.

"The result is that Starmer has brought shame and humiliation on his country. This is a nation that once led the world in warfare — an island nation whose storied navy dominated the seas and which in 1940 stood alone against the Nazis. Today, it has failed to defend its own people — some 240,000 Brits live in Dubai and Abu Dhabi — and won’t even get its warship out of mothballs to send to Cyprus before next week.

"Starmer has provoked the undiluted fury of the Emiratis and Kuwaitis, who say they no longer see Britain as an ally because it refuses to join the battle against Iran.

"US President Donald Trump told reporters that he was “disappointed with Keir,” who is “not Winston Churchill”. For once, that was a Trumpian understatement. Churchill must be revolving in his grave.

"Starmer has now blown up Britain’s “special relationship” with America. He has turned Israel into a pariah — principally because it stands against the liberal universalist faith in negotiated compromise that it rightly believes would bring about its own destruction.

"The resulting toxification of Israel has given rocket fuel to Islamists in an alliance with other anti-Zionists and antisemites that’s poisoning British politics and society and hanging British Jews out to dry.

"What few have properly understood is the enormous change in the world order that may result from this war. Few have realised the extent to which Iran has propped up the axes of evil that have taken the world to hell in a handbasket.

"The triumph of the Islamic revolution that brought the Tehran regime to power in 1979 galvanised, incentivised and provided material support for other Islamists to wage jihadi holy war against the West through strategies of infiltration, subversion and terror. Destroying the Tehran regime would deal a blow to the Islamist goal of destroying Western civilisation.

"It would also transform geopolitics by dealing a blow to China and Russia. Iran was indispensable to China in supplying it with oil. It was also crucial to China’s Belt and Road Initiative — its plan to create overland and maritime economic corridors to promote Chinese domination in global affairs.

"For Russia, Iran has been vital as a major supplier of drones in its war against Ukraine and as the indispensable gateway for the International North-South Transport Corridor linking the Moscow region to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. With Russian influence much diminished in the Caucasus and in Syria, Iran was one of Moscow’s last bastions against the West in Eurasia.

"Iran had recently finalised a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Russia and accelerated its 25-year co-operation programme with China. If the Iranian regime is destroyed, the baleful grip on the world by this axis of evil would be replaced by a new alliance promoting freedom and prosperity.

"At the heart of that is the military, intelligence and security alliance between America, which has recovered its position as leader of the free world rather than presiding over its surrender, and Israel, which has rediscovered its biblical warrior identity and has become the regional superpower in the Middle East.

"Israel is poised to be the fulcrum of the developing India-Middle East-European economic corridor. This stands to push the Belt and Road Initiative into the shadows.

"It will enable goods to move from Southeast Asia via India across the Middle East through Saudi Arabia and Jordan and on to Israel. From there, goods will be shipped to multiple points in Europe and on to the United States.

"India is key, and the visit to Israel by its prime minister, Narendra Modi, on the eve of this war was deeply significant. As he told the Knesset, India has been the fastest-growing major economy in the world and will soon be among the top three. And under Modi, India is a staunch ally of Israel in their common struggle against Islamic holy war.

"In addition, further normalisation agreements between Israel and moderate Arab states, not to mention a West-facing Iran itself, could usher in years of regional stability and economic prosperity.

"In other words, the destruction of the Iranian regime may unlock a really brave new world. So this is a war in which there is everything to play for in the otherwise Sisyphean attempt to defend civilisation against barbarism.

"And Keir Starmer has placed Britain on the wrong side of this seismic struggle.

"The “rules-based international order” to which he so slavishly adheres and was supposed to usher in the brotherhood of man has merely ushered in the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now well advanced in subverting and conquering Britain and other Western countries for Islam.

"This war against Iran may end in chaos or the survival in some form of the Tehran regime, which would be a tragedy for the oppressed Iranian people, and a setback for peace and justice everywhere.

"But it may be seen with hindsight as the pivotal moment when the old international order gave up the ghost of its own decadence and was replaced by a new global framework in which Israel, the light unto nations, was finally able to see that radiance begin to illuminate the world."

Jewish News Syndicate

"Stopping Iran Is The World's Responsibility"

To me, it's treasonous that the Democrats are continuing to  keep the Department of Homeland Security shutdown going, especially now that we are engaged in a war against Iran and likely have terrorist cells ready to attack right in our country.

We must not cave in to their blackmail to weaken I.C.E. and let more killers and rapists walk the streets.

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By Ran Bar Yoshafat at The Times of Israel 3-5-26

This is the war of the free world

"The removal of Ali Khamenei, the long-time supreme leader of Iran, marks a historic turning point. For decades, Khamenei stood at the apex of a regime that repressed its own citizens, financed terror across continents, and openly declared its hostility toward the United States and Israel. His leadership was not merely symbolic; it shaped a strategy of regional destabilization and confrontation with the West. His death is therefore not just an Israeli event, nor solely an American one. It is a moment with global implications.

"Predictably, some commentators have rushed to claim that Israel dragged the United States into yet another Middle Eastern conflict. This accusation misunderstands both the nature of the US–Israel alliance and the strategic reality facing the West. Alliances are not built on manipulation. They are built on shared values and shared interests.

"Preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is not a parochial Israeli concern. It is a central American interest and a matter of global security. A regime that has invested heavily in ballistic missile technology, armed proxy militias from Lebanon to Yemen, and attacked Gulf energy infrastructure cannot be permitted to acquire the ultimate deterrent.

"Iran’s missiles already reach Israeli cities. They have been launched before, and they are being launched now, targeting civilians. For Israel, thousands of ballistic missiles in the hands of a regime that calls for its destruction represent an existential threat.

"But a nuclear Iran would not stop at threatening Israel.

"The Iranian regime refers to Israel as the “Little Satan” and the United States as the “Great Satan.” That rhetoric reflects doctrine, not theater. A nuclear umbrella over Tehran would embolden its proxies, destabilize Gulf states, intimidate Europe, and challenge American global leadership. It would trigger regional proliferation and fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the Middle East.

"We are already witnessing Iran striking Gulf targets, actions that reverberate far beyond the region by threatening global energy markets and economic stability. These developments affect American households as much as they affect Middle Eastern capitals.

"The reality is this: Israel is not dragging the United States into war with Iran. Iran’s aggression is forcing both nations to confront it.

"There is also an important historical truth worth stating clearly. Israel has never asked American soldiers to fight its wars. Israelis have consistently borne the brunt of direct military confrontation. At this moment, Israeli civilians are under missile fire. Families are sheltering as ballistic projectiles fall. Israeli citizens, not Americans , are absorbing the immediate physical cost.

"Every American service member lost in conflict is a tragedy. But when American forces act, they do so in defense of American interests: preventing nuclear proliferation, protecting global trade routes, and preserving deterrence. These are not favors to Israel; they are pillars of American foreign policy.

"Lost in much of the commentary is another essential dimension: the Iranian people themselves. For years, millions of Iranians have protested corruption, repression, and economic mismanagement. Women have led courageous movements demanding basic freedoms. Students, workers, and ordinary citizens have risked imprisonment and worse for the chance to reclaim their country.

"Many of them do not see the weakening of the regime as a catastrophe. They see it as an opening.

"This moment is not about vengeance or escalation for its own sake. It is about preventing a far greater danger which is the emergence of a nuclear-armed theocracy committed to exporting revolution and confronting the West.

"History will judge whether this turning point leads to greater instability or to a freer and more stable Middle East. That outcome will depend not only on military decisions, but on political wisdom in Washington, Jerusalem, and, ultimately, Tehran.

"But one thing should be clear: stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is not Israel’s war alone. It is the world’s responsibility."

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About the Author: Attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat is an author, international speaker, Ran Bar-Yoshafat is an Israeli lawyer, historian, author, public thinker and an international speaker. He holds advanced degrees in law, business, and history, served over a decade as Deputy Director of the Kohelet Policy Forum - Israel's biggest conservative Think Tank.