Trying to cut through the fog and chatter it appears the Carnival Magic cruise ship has been denied entry to Mexico.

Cruise ship with isolated health care worker who handled Ebola samples was turned away from Mexico: http://t.co/JspTA2nLpk

— ABC News (@ABC) October 17, 2014

….And therein lies the reason for governmental obfuscation and media avoidance of the entire episode.
The political risk is obvious.
Both Belize, and now Mexico, have denied entry for a U.S. cruise ship carrying a healthcare worker who treated Patient Zero Thomas Duncan – yet U.S. President Obama refuses to shut down inbound air passengers from West Africa.
If you take the situation at face value the political argument is that Obama cares less for the risk of his citizenry than the Prime Minister of Belize and the President of Mexico.
The position of Mexico and Belize undermines the position of President Obama.
So what’s going on?
The U.S. government, and Carnival Cruise lines, are stating the cruise passenger, and her husband, are self-quarantined and exhibiting no symptoms. The Belize government has stated a divergent set of facts, at least initially.  Belize was saying the cruise passenger WAS exhibiting Ebola symptoms. (more…)

If this is accurate it would explain why no travel ban is being considered.
Washington, DC – Judicial Watch has learned that the Obama administration is actively formulating plans to admit Ebola-infected non-U.S. citizens into the United States for treatment. Specifically, the goal of the administration is to bring Ebola patients into the United States for treatment within the first days of diagnosis.
It is unclear who would bear the high costs of transporting and treating non-citizen Ebola patients. The plans include special waivers of laws and regulations that ban the admission of non-citizens with a communicable disease as dangerous as Ebola. (more…)

• Belize Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, has told U.S. State Department the cruise ship will not be allowed to port. • Dallas healthcare worker who did lab work for Patient Zero, Thomas Duncan, is on board, exhibiting Ebola symptoms and quarantined. • Armed Belize Coast Guard refuse to allow docking for emergency airlift.  • Belizean Harbor pilot also not permitted to leave ship. • Belize Government Issues Press Release.

Overnight – U.S. Media not yet reporting on the severity of the incident – Galveston, Texas-based Carnival Magic cruise ship anchored at Stake Bank off Belize’s coast.

(more…)

D’oh – When is an emergency travel ban not an emergency “travel ban”? When a subject of the emergency travel ban is relaxing on a Caribbean cruise with a captive audience of potential transfer carriers!…. Yea, ya’ can’t make this stuff up.
Apparently when they went looking for all of the potentially exposed healthcare workers to quarantine they’ve found a few went on vacation.
This story is evolving quickly – Despite the AP report (below) the Belizean authorities are stating the Dallas Healthcare worker is exhibiting Ebola symptoms (also below) and refusing port entry for emergency airlift evacuation.  Armed Coast Guard vessels are forcing the Carnival Magic Cruise Ship to remain at sea.  This is quickly becoming an international incident.  There are 3,652 passengers on board and a total population of 4,633 souls at risk.  “The Ebola Cruise” !  (more…)

The advisors to the President feel this Oval Office update was effective, hence the upload to the White House site.
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Key takeaways: The White House doesn’t support a travel ban (quarantine) from West Africa because it would drive people to be deceptive in their travel arrangements. In essence “they would lie”.
This position is undermined by the fact that patient Zero already lied to gain travel access to the U.S. subsequently creating the original Ebola exposure. This deception occurred while no travel ban is in place, so why would a travel ban increase the likelihood of deception? (more…)

Reminder – healthcare workers in Liberia are now on strike.

Pres Obama signs Exec Order authorizing use of Reservists to assist in US Military mission building Ebola treatment centers in West Africa.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 16, 2014

(more…)

Historic lows in Obama Polling “Coincide” With An Obama Change of Schedule

Major Garrett: Josh, couple of a months ago when the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine. the President carried on with his campaign schedule. … A member of the staff said “abrupt changes to the president’s schedule could have unintended consequence of unduly alarming the American people or creating a false sense of crisis.” Did you do that today?

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You might remember Major Garrett’s “hot mic” episode last week. (more…)

On the same day that White House spokesperson, Josh Earnest, states the official U.S. position is to continue allowing inbound flights from the Ebola hot zone of West Africa without change or impediment, the administration announces it will enforce mandatory quarantines’ for returning U.S. troops.
Yeah, go make sense of that….

The pentagon will quarantine returning U.S. soldiers, but will allow unimpeded access for West African citizens who choose to travel to the United States. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Washington (CNN) — In an unprecedented move to protect U.S. troops that might be exposed to Ebola, U.S. military commanders are being given the authority to quarantine troops for 21 days at a Defense Department facility where they will be monitored for signs of the disease and treated if they do contract the virus, a Defense Department memo explained.
The memo, which was obtained by CNN, spells out the details of the military’s plan for the first time. (more…)

This is what happens when you politicize a public health issue. Bureaucrats have to keep the concentric circles of protectionism around the President fully supported. Contradictions then become glaringly obvious.
CBS Reports Ms. Vinson was cleared to fly with a fever by the CDC.    Today the CDC says Ms. Vinson should never have flown.
You know…. well,… protocols and such.   Yeah…. watch: