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Today: 70 articles and 182 comments as of 23:25.
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UN committee urges France to prevent execution of convicted jihadists in Iraq
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
16 11:47 g(r)omgoru [10]
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9 19:12 trailing wife [2]
8 22:57 Whiskey Mike [3]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Man who filmed Ahmaud Arbery's death used vehicle to 'confine' and 'detain' him
[ABC] GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released warrants for the third man arrested in the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

William "Roddie" Bryan, Jr., 50, was arrested May 21. He's charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Warrants for Bryan's arrest released May 22 state Arbery was killed at the intersection of Satilla Dr. and Holmes Dr. in Brunswick between 1 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. on February 23.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 09:17 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I suppose I am supposed to be embarrassed to be white. Instead I'm glad I am not remotely related to these people.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/24/2020 10:10 Comments || Top||

#2  If I was related I might be considering an honor killing...
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/24/2020 12:40 Comments || Top||

#3  felony murder because of ATTEMPTED false imprisonment

pretty close to an insane prosecution
Posted by: lord garth || 05/24/2020 16:42 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Myrtle Beach, S.C. criminal activity is totally out of control
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — Myrtle Beach Police are investigating a shooting that occurred just after 12:30 am on Sunday, according to Cpl. Thomas Vest.

Officers responded to shots fired call at 12th Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard, where they found several people who had been injured, according to Cpl. Thomas Vest.

He said officers are still looking for those involved in the shooting.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 09:11 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sorting out the sales districts in advance of the 13-19 July... "Bike Week."
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 9:59 Comments || Top||


Dramatic footage reveals full extent of damage from massive fire that tore through warehouse on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf causing its roof and walls to collapse
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 08:21 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The price of fish just went up!
Posted by: Bobby || 05/24/2020 10:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Oh, no! What will Nancy Pelosi do for brain food now?
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 10:46 Comments || Top||

#3  You think Nancy eats brain food, #2 Clem?

Assumes facts not in evidence.
Posted by: Barbara || 05/24/2020 11:10 Comments || Top||

#4  I guess I should have used the /sarc tag.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 11:12 Comments || Top||

#5  ... with a side of Botox, sure
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 11:14 Comments || Top||

#6  #1 I thought she ate brains.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 11:15 Comments || Top||

#7  She has to eat it to know what's in it.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 11:16 Comments || Top||

#8  Jewish lightening?
Posted by: Regular joe || 05/24/2020 12:32 Comments || Top||

#9  Jewish lightening?

Smartest lightning you’ll ever meet! ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 18:05 Comments || Top||


CMP Rifle Stores to Open June 4th By Appointment Only
[CMP] The Civilian Marksmanship Program's North and South rifle stores will open June 4 by limited-visitation appointments. On Tuesday, May 26th, rifle buyers can begin scheduling appointments to shop at either the Ohio and or the Alabama store. In compliance with government COVID-19 restrictions, the CMP will be controlling the number of customers in each store.

Those wanting to make shopping appointments will need to call the CMP's national hotline for store reservations at 419-635-2111. Operators will be available to make appointments at the CMP North store between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EDT, and at the CMP South store between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. CDT.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Berserker, will you act as straw buyer for interested Rantburgians?
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 15:29 Comments || Top||


Trump donates quarterly paycheck to HHS to study coronavirus treatments
[WashingtonExaminer] President Trump continued to donate his presidential salary by signing over his latest paycheck to the Department of Health and Human Services.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced the donation during a presser on Friday, noting that the president earmarked the donation to go toward further research on treatments for the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
"I want to note the president, as you all are well aware, donates his salary to various initiatives and parts across the federal government. In this quarter, he will be donating his salary to HHS, Health and Human Services, to develop new therapies for treating and preventing COVID-19 so that we can safely reopen," McEnany said.

The president has made his quarterly donation of $100,000 to several government initiatives that he values, including a payment to the Department of Homeland Security to build the southern border wall and a donation to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health to combat opioid addiction. In March, Trump gave his first quarterly paycheck of 2020 to HHS to help the department work to contain the coronavirus.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
White House concerned with coronavirus spread in LA area, asks CDC to investigate
[MSN]
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 10:58 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Georgia's Giant Lizard Invaders
[Garden & Gun] Reaching lengths of four feet, with distinctive black and white coloring, it’s safe to say an adult tegu stands out in a Georgia pine forest. Popular in the pet trade and native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, these predatory lizards are the most recent on the list of invasive species that could pose big problems for Southern ecosystems. The good news? It might still be early enough to stop them.

"When these lizards get too large, people just release them," says Dr. Chris Jenkins of the Orianne Society, an amphibian and reptile conservation group based in Tiger, Georgia. Released pet tegus are the most likely cause of the populations that have cropped up in southeastern portions of the state over the last few years, prompting a recent warning from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which is spearheading an effort to eradicate the invaders. Once in the wild, the reptiles are well suited to establishing a foothold. "Tegus can live in a lot of places, and they eat a lot of things," says Georgia DNR biologist Daniel Sollenberger. Jenkins adds that their large size enables them to cover long distances, and that they have a high reproductive output, with females laying clutches of thirty eggs on average.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 02:51 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about adding some recipes to traditional Southern cooking?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 6:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Boots?
Posted by: AlanC || 05/24/2020 7:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Do they eat pigs?
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 8:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Service Tegas ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 8:18 Comments || Top||

#5  g(r)omgoru
Tastes Like Chicken :-)
Posted by: Sonny Black || 05/24/2020 8:24 Comments || Top||

#6  Handbags?
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 9:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Will pigs eat them ?
Posted by: Thaith Elmeresing6163 || 05/24/2020 10:37 Comments || Top||

#8  Between these and the palmetto bugs, they're living a Godzilla movie in Georgia.
Posted by: charger || 05/24/2020 13:04 Comments || Top||

#9  Snakes In Georgia: The Good, The Bad…And The TRUTH
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 15:26 Comments || Top||

#10  You think an anaconda could deal with Box Car Stacey? In fact, do you think Stacey might win that fight?
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 15:36 Comments || Top||


Coronavirus roundup


Coronavirus cases pass 5.25 million worldwide
[IsraelTimes] The number of coronavirus cases recorded worldwide has passed 5.25 million, more than two thirds of them in Europe and the United States, according to an official tally.

There are now 5,250,658 cases officially recorded, with 339,172 deaths attributed to the virus. Europe is the hardest-hit continent, with 2,003,510 cases and 173,186 deaths, while the United States is the worst-hit country, with 1,604,879 cases and 96,125 deaths.

These latest figures mean that the number of recorded cases worldwide has doubled in a month, and that 250,000 new cases have been recorded in less than three days.

The region that is seeing the swiftest rise in cases is now Latin America and the Caribbean, which saw 33,719 recorded on Friday — against 28,647 in the United States and Canada, which was previously where new recorded cases were appearing fastest.

US borders with Canada, Mexico closed another month
[IsraelTimes] The US government has extended for another month restrictions on non-essential travel across the borders with Canada and Mexico to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The US Department of Homeland Security says the closure, first ordered on March 20 and due to expire Wednesday, will be extended until June 22 and reviewed every 30 days.

Number of COVID-19 patients in France continues to slide
[AlAhram] The number of people in hospital with coronavirus in France fell by 205 to 17,178 on Saturday, continuing a gradual decline that has lasted more than five weeks since a high of 32,292 on April 14.

The number of people in intensive care fell by 36 or 2.1% to 1,665.

France did not publish a revised number of deaths on Saturday and said the COVID-19 toll will be updated on Monday. As of Thursday, a total of 28,215 people had died from the virus.


Europe’s coronavirus cases top two million
[IsraelTimes] More than two million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially declared in Europe, nearly two-thirds of which were reported in Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and France, according to an official tally.

With at least 173,133 deaths out of 2,001,995 cases, Europe is the continent most affected by the pandemic.

Worldwide, a total of 5,244,616 cases, including 339,011 deaths, have been recorded.

Russia is the European country with the highest number of cases (335,882 with 3,388 deaths) and a daily increase of about 10,000 new cases reported since the beginning of May.

The United Kingdom (257,154 cases with 36,675 deaths), Spain (234,824 cases with 28,628 deaths), Italy (229,327 cases with 32,735 deaths) and France (182,219 cases with 28,289 deaths) are the other four worst-hit European countries.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:




Virus accelerates across Latin America, India, Pakistan
[AlAhram] New coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
cases dropped to zero in China for the first time Saturday but surged in India and overwhelmed hospitals across Latin America - both in countries lax about lockdowns and those lauded for firm, early confinement. The virus hit a reopened church in Germany and probably a restaurant, too.

The pandemic's persistence stymied authorities struggling to keep people safe and revive their economies at the same time, disrupting the Memorial Day weekend in the United States and collective celebrations around the Moslem world marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Canada: 81 percent of Coronavirus Deaths are in Nursing Homes
Gov. Andrew "Fredo II" Cumho is there too?
[21stCenturyWire] From the beginning of the Coronavirus mass panic, one the main talking points for western governments was that "No one is immune. The disease can kill anyone at any time." Various versions of this propaganda set piece were used and recycled across all media platforms, whereby government’s intention was actually to scare the public into accepting ’lockdown’ or the shutdown of society and the economic, supposedly in order to "save lives." However, after a number of weeks that fear narrative is rapidly collapsing as real data and evidence comes flowing in — which shows that the overwhelming majority of public were never at any serious risk of dying from COVID-19. In Europe, the UK and in the US, the overwhelming majority of COVID fatalities have been with elderly persons, and within that demographic nearly all have been from care homes. This fact alone destroys western governments’ case for sweeping lockdown policies and school closures.

A new report citing Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, confirms that among Canada’s coronavirus fatalities, 81 percent were in nursing homes — affecting the elderly with long-term chronic health conditions.

This rate is nearly double the rate of that in the US as a whole, but is comparable to data from some individual states including two ’hot spots’ in the US, Washington state and New York State.

A Yale professor recently described the US nursing home death rate as ‘staggering', showing how more than half of all deaths in 14 US states from elderly care facilities. Similarly, countries like Scotland saw half of all deaths from care homes.

The report describes one Toronto facility, 100 people including 40 staff members are currently battling the coronavirus, and another 57 residents are said to have already have died of it, said the Washington Post.
According to those familiar with the case, cramped buildings and employees doing part-time shifts and traveling between several care facilities in order to make a living were two chief factors thought to have contributed to heavy outbreaks in assisted living facilities.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surprise surprise. The data from not just Canada but around the world is almost completely unreliable: inconsistent, inept, double-counting here and mis-counting there.

"A data fiasco," just as Dr. John Ioannidis predicted on Narch 17.
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 0:29 Comments || Top||


#3  g, We get it: you're obsessed with Sweden and hate the Swedes for supporting the Palestinians. Not relevant here. Give it a rest.
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 9:05 Comments || Top||

#4  There is a reason the except is linked, Lex - click it, you might learn something.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 10:20 Comments || Top||

#5  I doubt the people mismanaging/dismanaging the virus response in Sweden have any particular love or affection for Sweden.

Damn it, I hate to have to say this again... for years we've been teaching in the west that communism is an economic system, when it's really a political system masquerading as an economic system. And a shitty example of both a political system and an economic system.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/24/2020 14:41 Comments || Top||

#6  Fascism, too?
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 15:14 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt producing 7.2 bcf per day of natural gas: Cabinet
[AlAhram] Egypt’s production of natural gas stands at an average of 7.2 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day, the cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.

Production stood at 7 bcf last September, up from 6.8 bcf at the end of June 2019.

Rapid growth in Egypt’s natural gas supplies over recent years turned it from a net importer to exporter in late 2018.

In January, Egypt began importing gas from Israel as part of efforts to turn itself into a regional gas hub.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Egyptian Islamists destroyed the gas pipeline that crossed the Sinai and served Jordan and Israel on innumberable occasions. The attacks led Israel to seek alternative sources. And the rest, they say, is history.
Posted by: b || 05/24/2020 9:51 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
New Report Reveals China's Massive Surveillance Build-Up in Africa
[LI] China is running a massive surveillance network in Africa, reveals a new report published by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The intelligence gathering operation was most likely run through State-owned Chinese companies involved in building critical government infrastructure. These firms have built or renovated around 186 top government buildings and 14 sensitive governmental telecommunication networks across the African continent, which include a number of presidential palaces, parliaments, and military installations.

Communist China is likely using this intelligence leverage to gain influence over African governments and recruit assets, the 23-page report warned. According to the report’s findings, Beijing could also be using this network to gain intelligence on rival U.S. companies, and insights into U.S. diplomatic strategies and military counterterrorism operations."Beijing likely uses surveillance to, among other things, advantage its companies competing for contracts, spy on U.S. officials, and influence African officials" the report cautioned.

Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 02:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  The intelligence gathering operation was most likely run through State-owned Chinese companies involved in building critical government infrastructure.

I'm a bit more concerned about the Chinese "intelligence gathering" being done right here in the States.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 2:10 Comments || Top||

#2  ^Run by members of Congress?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 6:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Hmmm those buildings are built to Chinese standards. What shame they regularly collapse due to shoddy materials
Posted by: Percy Flotle3938 || 05/24/2020 6:37 Comments || Top||


Arabia
End of the dream-job era in the Arabian Gulf
From a week ago, but I think still interesting.
[AlAhram] The Covid-19 pandemic has led to growing pressure for the wealthy Gulf states to deport expatriate workers.

The presence of voices in the Gulf against the expatriate communities that make up the majority of the populations of many of the states in the region are not unprecedented, but with the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic and its economic consequences, exacerbated in the Gulf by a sharp drop in oil prices, such voices are becoming louder and more widespread.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Time for Pakistan to conquer Saudia?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 6:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Those were good days
Posted by: Ospas Dhahran 49 || 05/24/2020 11:57 Comments || Top||

#3  ...There is one flaw in this brilliant idea: Gulf nationals (and ESPECIALLY the Saudis) have usually had a monthly income from the state that has relieved the need for them to work, and the TCNs (Third Country Nationals) do all the jobs the Saudis have never wanted to do. I see some difficulty in convincing much of the male Saudi population that there is nobility in work.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/24/2020 16:10 Comments || Top||

#4  The princes of creation? No, that will be a difficult transition. But there will be plenty of girls thrilled by the independence being permitted to earn a wage will give them, at least during working hours, and humble enough to accept whatever opportunity to work is thrown their way. And their fathers and brothers will be happy enough to take their earnings, as is their lordly right.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 17:58 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Community medical officer sexually assaults minor in Tangail hospital
[Dhaka Tribune] A girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a sub assistant community medical officer (SACMO), when she went to receive treatment at a Tangail hospital.

The girl is a fourth grade school student.

The incident took place in Basail Upazila Health Complex on Friday after the girl was escorted by her mother to the hospital for ear treatment.

The accused SACMO Subodh Kumar Das was beaten by locals after the girl's mother protested the incident of her child's assault.

Keeping the girl to Subodh's supervision, her mother went outside the hospital to exchange larger bills into smaller ones to pay medical fees, said the girl's mother.

Taking the opportunity, Subodh groped the girl, and her mother protested after she came back and got to know about the incident, the girl’s mother further said.

However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits...
Subodh denied the allegations.
No, no! Certainly not!
against him.

Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Firozur Rahman said arrangements will be made to transfer the accused medical officer.

When asked if an investigation will be launched into the matter, Basail Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shamsun Nahar said the hospital authorities will take necessary actions as no complaints were filed to the upazila administration regarding the matter.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a sub assistant community medical officer

Allan damned pervert!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 6:55 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
‘We have to resist': Hundreds in Hong Kong protest China's proposed security measures for city
[France24] Hundreds of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday against Beijing’s controversial new plan to directly impose national security laws on the city, where a tight police presence guarded China's representative office in the financial hub.

The rally came as the city's government sought to reassure the public and foreign investors over the tough security laws proposed by Beijing that sent a chill through financial markets and drew a swift rebuke from foreign governments, international human rights groups and some business lobbies.

Protesters gathered in the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay where police conducted stop-and-search operations and warned people not to violate a ban on gatherings of more than eight people, imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

"Now is the beginning of the end and time is really running out in Hong Kong, and that's the reason for us, even under the outbreak of COVID-19. We still need to gather our strength to protest," said democracy activist Joshua Wong.

In drafting the legislation, which could see the setting up of Chinese government intelligence agencies in the global financial centre, Beijing plans to circumvent Hong Kong’s lawmaking body, the Legislative Council.

The move has sparked concerns over the fate of the "one country, two systems" formula that has governed Hong Kong since the former UK colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997. The arrangement guarantees the city broad freedoms not seen on the mainland, including a free press and independent judiciary.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 02:59 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


#2  After a a three-month hiatus, history resumes where it left off.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 12:40 Comments || Top||

#3  "President Xi? We were all out of the duck but I slaughtered this golden goose for your meal, I hope that works?"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2020 14:33 Comments || Top||


US adding 33 Chinese companies, institutions to economic black list
[Jpost] The US Commerce Department said on Friday it is adding 33 Chinese companies and other institutions to an economic blacklist for human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
violations and to address US national security concerns involving weapons of mass destruction and other military activities.

The department said it was sanctioning nine companies and institutions saying they were "complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs" and others.

The government cited seven commercial entities for enabling China’s high-technology surveillance. The Commerce Department also added 24 governmental and commercial organizations to the economic list for supporting procurement of items for use by the Chinese military.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 01:03 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Hopefully companies who make screws and fasteners out of soft pot metal will be included. Another of my many pet peeves.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 8:12 Comments || Top||

#2  So, for how long has this repression against the Uighurs been going on, and suddenly now the US decides to act? Hmmmm.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 9:01 Comments || Top||

#3  made in china american flag cooler plastic lawn chair paper plates plastic silverwar and since arlington is shut down from the great work they do protecting the country now including their own kids futures and rights i amsetting up seismic monitoring at arlington to monitor the rolling in graves! some have rolled to area51 already not earthquakes in nevada!
Posted by: || 05/24/2020 10:13 Comments || Top||

#4  RE #1 C'mon B, don't you like those lead core nails?

The ones that can handle any surface up to styrofoam.
Posted by: AlanC || 05/24/2020 11:00 Comments || Top||


Kim Jong Un makes appearance at military meeting, state media reports
Ah, but is it the real one or one of the body doubles?
[NY Post] North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has emerged in public for the first time since May 1, hosting a military meeting, state media KCNA reported, according to Reuters.
If he sees his shadow, 10 more years of famine
"Set forth at the meeting were new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation," KCNA said.

Photos show a robust-looking Kim sitting at an oversize desk, a white mug in front of him, presiding over rows of attendees.
Uh huh. No reason State Media would lie, right?
The Hermit Kingdom leader's last appearance ‐ after being rumored to be sick or even dead ‐ was to cut the ribbon for the opening of a fertilizer factory.

There was more speculation this week about Kim's whereabouts after his supreme commander emblem had been erased from North Korean TV.

Some surmised that Kim may have been merely holing up in his lavish seaside estate .
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Economy
SF Bay Area Docs warn: We see more deaths by suicide during quarantine period than deaths from COVID-19
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 08:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You were warned.
Sickening.
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 11:10 Comments || Top||

#2  F'in disgusting. And, of course, sad.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 11:12 Comments || Top||

#3  It's bad enough we have NY's Cuomo, the Grandma Killer, but when all is said and done, how much savagery will we discover based on the response to the COVID-19 "crisis" as opposed to the COVID-19 itself?
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 11:15 Comments || Top||

#4  WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Doctors at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek say they have seen more deaths by suicide during this quarantine period than deaths from the COVID-19 virus.

The head of the trauma [unit] in the department believes mental health is suffering so much, it is time to end the shelter-in-place order. ...

The numbers are unprecedented, he said.

"We've never seen numbers like this, in such a short period of time," he said. "I mean we've seen a year's worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks."

Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 11:31 Comments || Top||

#5  This is just one metric. Deaths from other causes are rising too. ER's are empty, doctors are being furloughed, tent hospitals are closing after never treating a single patient, and people are dying because they can't access routine healthcare.
Posted by: Iblis || 05/24/2020 11:49 Comments || Top||

#6  Indeed.

Deaths from foregone surgeries and other forms of urgent care denied because of the retarded lockdown will be even greater than the toll from increased suicides, addiction and violence.

We're already seeing this increase in the CDC's own data. The lockdown is killing as many people as it is saving lives.
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 11:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Culling the herd.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 15:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Sure. What does a course of chemo cost? $1m or something like that? Well, if you kill off 1000 people who otherwise would have needed cancer treatment, you just saved your state a cool $1B.
Posted by: Iblis || 05/24/2020 18:09 Comments || Top||


Europe
EU Planning "Vaccination Passport" Since 2018
[Off-Guardian] A report published by the European Commission in late 2019 reveals that the EU has been looking to increase the scope and power of vaccination programmes since well before the current "pandemic".

The endpoint of the Roadmap is, among many other things, to introduce a "common vaccination card/passport" for all EU citizens.

This proposal will be appearing before the commission in 2022, with a "feasibility study" set to run from 2019 through 2021 (meaning, as of now, it's about halfway through).

To underline the point: The "vaccination roadmap" is not an improvised response to the Covid19 pandemic, but rather an ongoing plan with roots going back to 2018, when the EU released a survey of the public's attitude toward vaccines titled "2018 State of Vaccine Confidence"

On the back of this research, the EU then commissioned a technical report titled "Designing and implementing an immunisation information system", on – among other things – the plausibility of an EU-wide vaccination monitoring system.

In the 3rd quarter of 2019 these reports were all combined into the latest version of the the "Vaccination Roadmap", a long-term policy plan to spread vaccine "awareness and understanding" whilst counteracting "vaccine myths" and combatting "vaccine hesitancy".

You can read the entire report here, but below are some of the more concerning highlights [emphasis throughout is ours]:

"Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccinationcard/passport for EU citizens"
"Develop EU guidance for establishing comprehensive electronic immunization information systems for effective monitoring of immunization programmes."
"overcome the legal and technical barriers impeding the interoperability of national immunisation information systems"

On the 12th September 2019, at the joint EU-WHO "Global Vaccination Summit", they announced the "10 Actions Towards Vaccination for All", which cover much of the same ground.

One month later, in October 2019, Event 201 was held.

For those who don't know, Event 201 was a simulated pandemic exercise focusing on a zoonotic novel coronavirus originating in bats. It was sponsored by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The result of the simulation was seven key suggestions.

In November of 2019, these suggestions were published as a "call to action".

One month later, China reported the first cases of Covid19.

To be clear here (and forestall any below-the-line arguments): this is not about vaccines, their effectiveness, safety or lack thereof.

The point is that proposed COVID countermeasures, which have been presented to the public as emergency measures thought up on the fly by panicking institutions, have in fact existed since before the emergence the disease.

They already wanted to monitor your vaccination records and tie that to your passport, introduce mandatory vaccinations and clampdown on "misinformation". They just didn't have a reason yet.

This was a situation which required a crisis and, fortuitously, it got one.

The exact ratio of contrivance to happenstance will never be known. What we DO know, at this point, is that Sars-Cov-2 is nothing like the threat originally reported, they admit as much themselves.

We also know they keep churning out the fear anyway.

And, thanks to documents like this, maybe now we're starting to see why.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 09:51 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The EU is behind. There’s been a formal international vaccination certificate for decades, approved by the WHO. It goes in one’s passport to document that one has received the required vaccinations for those countries that require visitors to show they have received certain vaccinations for entry. The American version can be seen here.

But that is just an official, standardized form. The trailing daughters required a note from their doctor before they started at the local public school that they’d had certain required vaccinations, notes from the doctor every year documenting that they’d had the standard physical before they could play on their soccer teams, and another doctor’s note that they were inoculated against meningitis before they could go to university.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 13:00 Comments || Top||

#2  ^Appalling tyranny!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 13:02 Comments || Top||


Ukrainian MP Found Dead With Gunshot Wound To The Head
[Zero Hedge] Ukrainian MP Valery Davydenko of the Dovira faction was found dead in his office bathroom with a gunshot wound to the head, according to a post by MP Ilya Kiva on his Facebook page and confirmed by local media.

"His body with a gunshot wound has just been found in the office of an MP Valeriy Davydenko. The circumstances are being investigated," he wrote.

According to the Ukrainian Truth news agency, a weapon was found near the body.

"The body of MP Valeriy Davydenko was found in the toilet in his own office with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. An investigative police group is working at the scene," said Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko, who added "Police and prosecutors will check all possible versions of the tragedy."

Davydenko was a defendant in several corruption cases - including the theft of funds from the country's Agriculture Fund. In February, 2014, Davydenko and Borys Prykhodko - another MP from the Dovira faction, were accused of embezzling US$75 million while Prykhodko was the First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Following Davydenko's death, ex-People's Deputy Ihor Mosiychuk called for the immediate arrest of Prykhodko, who he called the "accomplice in the theft of the agrarian fund."
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The Donna says hi"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 6:56 Comments || Top||

#2  What's Yulia been up to lately?
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 8:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Should have been eating more fiber, drinking more water, exercising, etc. A rather drastic solution, but a solution, still.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 8:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Follow the money.

Shot himself or was shot?

Interestingly, after Davydenko’s death, ex-MP Ihor Mosiychuk called for the immediate arrest of another MP from the Dovira group, Borys Prykhodko. “Take under protection or better into custody the newly shot MP Valeriy Davydenko’s accomplice in theft of the agrarian fund, another MP from the Dovira group Borys Prykhodko! Oh, another “suicide” is coming up…,” Mosiychuk wrote in the Telegram channel.

It is about the fact that Davydenko and Prykhodko were involved in another criminal case – on the theft of funds from the Agrarian Fund. Allegedly, in February 2014, Prykhodko, while holding the position of First Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, illegally seized 74,000 dollars from the Agrarian Fund by prior agreement with the Chairman of the Board of Agrarian Fund and Brokbusinessbank officials.

The investigation established that the fund placed money on the deposit account of Brokbusinessbank without the permission of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, and the bank spent these funds on its own needs. Davydenko, who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture at the time, was called Prykhodko’s business partner.

MP Anton Polyakov, who wrote a lot about this process, wrote in a Telegram channel that he would not believe in Davydenko’s suicide even if it was announced by law enforcement officers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/24/2020 8:30 Comments || Top||

#5  #2 Donna Hillary!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB || 05/24/2020 10:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Coronavirus
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 05/24/2020 13:52 Comments || Top||

#7  And just how does anybody commit suicide these days with just one shot to the head. Impossible!
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 15:12 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm pretty sure 'Dona' means lady in a lot of latin-like languages.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/24/2020 18:22 Comments || Top||

#9  Any linkage to Burisma/Biden?
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 || 05/24/2020 20:18 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Guccifer 2.0's Hidden Agenda
[ConsortiumNews] Why would an alleged GRU officer supposedly part of an operation to deflect Russian culpability suggest that Assange "may be connected with Russians?", asks Tim Leonard.

In December, I reported on digital forensics evidence relating to Guccifer 2.0 and highlighted several key points about the mysterious persona that Special Counsel Robert Mueller claims was a front for Russian intelligence to leak Democratic Party emails to WikiLeaks:
  • Guccifer 2.0 fabricated evidence to claim credit for hacking the DNC (using files that were really Podesta attachments).

  • Guccifer 2.0’s Russian breadcrumbs mostly came from deliberate processes & needless editing of documents.

  • Guccifer 2.0’s Russian communications signals came from the persona choosing to use a proxy server in Moscow and choosing to use a Russian VPN service as end-points (and they used an email service that forwards the sender’s IP address, which made identifying that signal a relatively trivial task.)

  • A considerable volume of evidence pointed at Guccifer 2.0’s activities being in American timezones (twice as many types of indicators were found pointing at Guccifer 2.0’s activities being in American timezones than anywhere else).

  • The American timezones were incidental to other activities (eg. blogging, social media, emailing a journalist, archiving files, etc) and some of these were recorded independently by service providers.

  • A couple of pieces of evidence with Russian indicators present had accompanying locale indicators that contradicted this which suggested the devices used hadn’t been properly set up for use in Russia (or Romania) but may have been suitable for other countries (including America).

On the same day that Guccifer 2.0 was plastering Russian breadcrumbs on documents through a deliberate process, choosing to use Russian-themed end-points and fabricating evidence to claim credit for hacking the DNC, the operation attributed itself to WikiLeaks.

This article questions what Guccifer 2.0’s intentions were in relation to WikiLeaks in the context of what has been discovered by independent researchers during the past three years.

TIMING
On June 12, 2016, in an interview with ITV’s Robert Peston, Julian Assange confirmed that WikiLeaks had emails relating to Hillary Clinton that the organization intended to publish. This announcement was prior to any reported contact with Guccifer 2.0 (or with DCLeaks).

On June 14, 2016, an article was published in The Washington Post citing statements from two CrowdStrike executives alleging that Russian intelligence hacked the DNC and stole opposition research on Trump. It was apparent that the statements had been made in the 48 hours prior to publication as they referenced claims of kicking hackers off the DNC network on the weekend just passed (June 11-12, 2016).

On that same date, June 14, DCLeaks contacted WikiLeaks via Twitter DM and for some reason suggested that both parties coordinate their releases of leaks. (It doesn’t appear that WikiLeaks responded until September 2016)....
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 10:01 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Clem, that is a staggering article. Thanks for this.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 05/24/2020 12:11 Comments || Top||

#2  You are very welcome, Whiskey Mike.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 12:37 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
No survivor in the Pakistani plane crash in Karachi: Mayor
[THEBAGHDADPOST] Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
Mayor said no survivors are expected among those on board the Pak plane that crashed while carrying 99 passengers and crew.

A Pakistain International Airlines aircraft A320 Airbus carrying 98 people crashed near Jinnah international airport in Sindh, after hitting homes in the area.
Having seen the vid of the plane going down, we guessed that. Only question now remaining: Did it fall or was it pushed? I'm actually leaning toward inshallah maintenance.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Anyone on that plane threaten the Clintons in any way? Jus' askin'
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 || 05/24/2020 1:55 Comments || Top||

#2  He might not expect survivors, but the news reported 2 survivors yesterday. (Yeah, I know it's a miracle.)

Glad they didn't know about the mayor's "expectations" and survived anyway.

But I wouldn't suggest those 2 guys waste their money on a lottery ticket anytime soon; they've used up all their luck.
Posted by: Barbara || 05/24/2020 11:23 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Incredible moment US Navy uses new high-energy LASER WEAPON to shoot down a drone during its first ever at-sea test
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 08:19 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Soon to be shark mounted.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 05/24/2020 16:32 Comments || Top||


Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is poised to make history today as it sends satellite-launching craft on first test flight to space
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/24/2020 08:14 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
New Disturbing Details Emerge In Case Of Elderly Man Who Was Beaten At Michigan Nursing Home
h/t Instapundit
[Daily Wire] - The father of the 20-year-old man who allegedly beat an elderly man in a Michigan nursing home last week, which went viral this week after video of the alleged incident was viewed millions of times on social media, says that his son was not supposed to be at the nursing home, but was taken there because he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 11:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Father said he had "mental issues", and now we hear the scum bag had contracted coronavirus.

So, of course, the first thing that popped into my mind was to send him to work at a nursing home. a priori all the way, baby.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 11:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Send a violent young nut to live side by side with the elderly: brilliant.

Sounds like s.t. Gov. Whitless would cook up.
Posted by: Lex || 05/24/2020 11:13 Comments || Top||

#3  #1 According to the article he wasn't sent to work there - he has housed for quarantine (funny thing, in Israel, empty hotels are used for this).
The whole issue relates to Meotti article I've already linked once today.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/24/2020 11:14 Comments || Top||

#4 
No. We do not say things that sound like threats to harm American citizens.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 05/24/2020 12:01 Comments || Top||

#5  ^ With all due respect to the mod comment above, they are sure as hell harming us, aren't they?
Posted by: Raj || 05/24/2020 13:31 Comments || Top||

#6  The reasons for this rule has been explained repeatedly, Raj.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2020 19:02 Comments || Top||

#7  These Governors are Criminally negligent for stuffing people who belong in quarantine into homes for the Elderly.
Posted by: newc || 05/24/2020 22:34 Comments || Top||

#8  The governors were voted in. Those voters are reaping the harvest of their decisions.
Posted by: Varmint Splat1454 || 05/24/2020 23:22 Comments || Top||


White House Considers Panel To Investigate ‘Left-Wing Bias’ In Silicon Valley
[Zero Hedge] Anonymously-sourced media reports published Saturday morning claimed that the White House is looking into the establishment of a panel to investigate complaints of "left-wing bias" in the tech world.

Since the earliest days of his presidential campaign, President Trump has alleged that the mainstream media - CNN, the NYT & WaPo - and Silicon Valley - FB, Twitter, Alphabet, Amazon etc. - were conspiring to try and suppress pro-Trump viewpoints on their platforms, while joining together to promote stories that slammed Trump as a racist and a Russian puppet. Many independent media organizations - including Zero Hedge - have been banned from Twitter, Facebook etc for flimsy reasons.

President Trump infuriated the left after mocking a local TV news reporter who was harassed by pro-Trump protesters at a recent rally. The president has repeatedly alleged that the "far-left" has hijacked the American mainstream media, and has hinted in the past that he planned to take action, though many undoubtedly interpreted these threats as just more of Trump's trademark bluster.



Trump has repeatedly called out what he sees as examples of media bias against him, and revels in taunting the press with boasts about how he and his campaign will once again ride to victory in November.



Several 'experts' quoted by WSJ and others - as well as Twitter itself - insisted that the platforms are totally devoid of political bias. Though the pattern of banning conservative-leaning voices on flimsy pretexts, while allowing left-wingers to make threats and seemingly violate the terms of service whenever, has become - for many - impossible to ignore.
Various ideas have been considered, including forming a committee under the auspices of the White House, or pushing the FTC and FEC to adopt a more aggressive tack while investigating these complaints.

Though this is an anonymously sourced report and in no way (at least, as far as we know) representative of an official commication from the White House, we suspect Trump's critics will seize on it as just the latest example of how Trump is more worried about winning a second term than whether your grandparents live or die.
Posted by: Clem || 05/24/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do It!

Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 || 05/24/2020 1:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Will they be considering an announcement of their contemplating setting up a committee to craft an announcement of their possible consideration of a hypothetical announcement of their sincere intention to possibly do this any day now no for realz you guys?
Posted by: charger || 05/24/2020 13:09 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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1Govt of Iraq
1Tablighi Jamaat
1Govt of Pakistan

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2020-05-24
  UN committee urges France to prevent execution of convicted jihadists in Iraq
Sat 2020-05-23
  Large cyber attack against Israel conducted from Gaza, Turkey, North Africa
Fri 2020-05-22
  PA refuses UAE aid sent via Israel, won’t be ‘tool for normalization’ – report
Thu 2020-05-21
  Iraq security forces arrest the new ISIS leader
Wed 2020-05-20
  Abbas says the PA sees itself free of all agreements with Israel and the U.S. - including on security matters
Tue 2020-05-19
  GNA captures al-Watiyah Airbase from the LNA
Mon 2020-05-18
  Afghan president inks power-sharing deal with rival
Sun 2020-05-17
  Pak Doctor on H-1B Visa Wanted to Attack U.S. for ISIS
Sat 2020-05-16
  Tomb of Mordechai and Esther in Iran reportedly set ablaze
Fri 2020-05-15
  France: Pro-Refugee Activist Murdered by Migrant He Was Sleeping With
Thu 2020-05-14
  Nangarhar Funeral Bombing Death Toll Rises to 32
Wed 2020-05-13
  President Ghani, in light of attacks, orders Afghan forces to resume attacks on the Taliban
Tue 2020-05-12
  GNA militia evacuate their headquarters in Abuslim
Mon 2020-05-11
  Iran navy own goal in Oman Gulf exercise; 24 dead
Sun 2020-05-10
  GNA militias lines collapsing quickly
in Abuslim and Salah AlDin with a LNA advance


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