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Today: 83 articles and 324 comments as of 23:04.
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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Greeks Find Tunnel Full of Weapons Under Athens,
Arrest Turkish Terrorists
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
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12 22:46 Anomalous Sources [336088] 
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6 18:57 Glenmore [336094] 
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Criminals Posing as CDC Visit Homes in Lab Coats and Masks to Attempt Robbery
[Newsweek] Burglars in the U.S. are taking advantage of the novel coronavirus outbreak by posing as medical experts to gain entry to victims' homes, multiple police departments have warned.

The culprits are reportedly dressing up in white lab coats and masks to pose as scientists linked to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before knocking on doors and offering advice about the COVID-19 disease or even claiming to be able to test for the new virus.

Daytona Beach Police Department, which described the scam on Facebook this week, said there were no reported cases in the Florida city, but it wanted to be proactive.

"They're attempting to rob the house once they get inside, sometimes by force," it said in a warning.

"If you see someone approaching your house in a white lab coat or mask claiming to be a CDC worker, do NOT let them in. Please call 911 immediately!" the post added.

It is far from the only department to issue such a notice.
Much more at link
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 03/22/2020 02:00 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just go to show you that people adapt.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 3:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Oh wonderful. So, if strangers show up on my doorstep in lab coats claiming to be CDC I can shoot them.
Posted by: Chaving Ulavise4972 || 03/22/2020 8:28 Comments || Top||

#3  That's funny, Chaving. My thought exactly.

Think of it as inoculating yourself against government interference.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/22/2020 15:16 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Couple are furious when told they're not allowed to buy 552 CANS of Mountain Dew due to coronavirus rationing at Kroger store in Kentucky
Shoulda stuck with 276 Mountain Dew and 276 of the house brand, but no, they hadda be greedy.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Boo-Hoo!
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 0:24 Comments || Top||

#2  These two put the Mountain in Mountain Dew
Posted by: Warthog || 03/22/2020 9:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Their Citrus Drop isn't bad, actually.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/22/2020 10:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Squirt
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 03/22/2020 11:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Interesting 'mullet' there, sport.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/22/2020 12:26 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, VDH has observed the Hollywood love affair with the post apocalyptic costume party, which he has also observed is simply the check out line at Wal-Mart.
Posted by: Cesare || 03/22/2020 12:46 Comments || Top||

#7  It's got what plants crave, electrolytes.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/22/2020 15:27 Comments || Top||

#8  Had they coupled it with 1,104 Moon Pies, it may have been Okey-Dokey!

Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 03/22/2020 15:37 Comments || Top||

#9  HA!
My favorite workday luncheon, for a while.
Moon Pie and orange soda.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:42 Comments || Top||

#10  They're big enough to burn diesel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/22/2020 17:15 Comments || Top||


Something to lighten the mood. 50th anniversary of the Weight. Ringo
Posted by: Beavis || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cool. Found All Along the Watchtower, too!
Posted by: gorb || 03/22/2020 1:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Two thumbs way up, Beavis.
Posted by: AlanC || 03/22/2020 17:59 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
U.S. Coronavirus Lockdown to Last 10-12 Weeks, Top Trump Official Says
[Reuters via US News] WASHINGTON - The lockdown affecting large segments of the American public to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus is likely to last 10 to 12 weeks, or until early June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Americans are adapting to the biggest change in daily life since World War Two with schools closed, sports canceled and economic upheaval as job losses mount with the shuttering of businesses across many industries.
"Improvise, Adapt and Overcome."
Hospitals are scrambling for protective equipment for healthcare workers and ventilators as they brace for a wave of patients who will need help breathing. U.S. cases climbed to over 25,000 on Sunday morning and at least 325 people have died, with about half the cases in New York state, according to a Reuters tally. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T)

The virus has killed over 13,000 globally and infected more than 300,000.

Lawmakers in Washington are nearing a deal that could pump a record $1 trillion into the economy to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told "Fox News Sunday" that he hopes Congress will vote on the bill on Monday. Proposed payments to an average family of four would be $3,000 and would only be one-time for now, he said.

Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 11:04 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome."

Reeeecon!
Posted by: Raj || 03/22/2020 11:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Grunt.
Posted by: crazyhorse || 03/22/2020 11:16 Comments || Top||

#3  I am in GA and plan to drive to my home in CO, does that mean I am going to be stuck in GA, paying hotel bills while being payed off?
Posted by: Kofi Peacock7816 || 03/22/2020 13:20 Comments || Top||

#4  "Reports" say the crisis will last somewhere between 2 weeks and 18 months (or forever if you buy what they're peddling at ZH). Henceforth, reports = 7 across for "something an asshole said."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/22/2020 13:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Kudlow said $2 trillion. I know, I know - what's a trillion between friends? But you'd think journalists would at least TRY to get their numbers right...
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 13:34 Comments || Top||

#6  So I would check Kofi. I have a team in CO heading back to AZ. They were told if they left the county they are in, they could not come back. All the hotels on CO are closed. Ya might want to call along your route to be sure.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 03/22/2020 14:57 Comments || Top||

#7  kofi, I'm in marietta. How much beer money do you have?
Posted by: Chris || 03/22/2020 17:33 Comments || Top||

#8  "Stuck in Ga." Not a native, but I got here as fast as I could.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 17:38 Comments || Top||

#9  at least it's not Lodi
Posted by: Frank G || 03/22/2020 18:14 Comments || Top||

#10  The conspiracy theorist under my tinfoil hat wonders 'who benefits' from destruction of the US (& World) economy? Are certain parties not letting a crisis go to waste?
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/22/2020 19:10 Comments || Top||

#11  ^ Of course. No one in his right mind would use a flamethrower on a pack of rats in the attic.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 21:14 Comments || Top||

#12  I think I'll be trying to look past the MSM headlines until early June.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 03/22/2020 22:46 Comments || Top||


Pop superstar Rihanna donates $5 million to coronavirus relief efforts
[WBAL] Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation is giving $5 million to the response efforts against the coronavirus.

The money will support "on-the-ground partners working on the frontlines of disaster response especially those focused on protecting and serving marginalized communities ‐ helping the most vulnerable in the United States, the Caribbean and in Africa prepare for what is to come," the foundation said in a statement.

The funding will be channeled through Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and others.

"Never has it been more important or urgent to protect and prepare marginalized and underserved communities ‐those who will be hit hardest by this pandemic," CLF’s executive director, Justine Lucas, said in the statement.

The money will go to food banks, testing, health care worker training, virus prevention and distribution of critical respiratory supplies.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 04:01 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good for her.

Bloomberg, where are you?

You just torched a cool billion for your idiotic, incompetent political vanity project.

Surely you can spare 2x or 3x that to offset the economic effects of shutting down the economy and killing off millions of American small business owners' cash flow.

Same message needs to go out to all the other shitty virtue-signaling billionaires, beginning with Jobs's left-wing SJW widow.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 9:36 Comments || Top||

#2  The money will go to food banks

She's lookin like she should give up some food.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:08 Comments || Top||

#3  finally one with some sense
Posted by: Chris || 03/22/2020 17:38 Comments || Top||


How to make a face mask
[JOANN Fabric] Help Support our Country’s Medical Personnel Making protective masks & gowns is a great way to help during this critical time.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 03:50 || Comments || Link || [336105 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What IF, NO sewing machine???
Posted by: ranture || 03/22/2020 11:39 Comments || Top||

#2  If you scroll down rhe page at the link, ranture, it looks like some of the shops will let customers use their machines for the purpose. find the one nearest you snd ask if they will. The alternative is hand sewing— but as it’s all straight seams, that shouldn’t be too hard.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 14:04 Comments || Top||

#3  What IF, NO sewing machine???

Fabric compatible GLUE GUNS, with free delivery, for the workbench.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:12 Comments || Top||

#4  You can also get fabric adhesive in a squeeze tube.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/22/2020 15:18 Comments || Top||

#5  Just cut up a bra and you have two cups. Size, well that is a variable to consider.
Posted by: Dale || 03/22/2020 21:18 Comments || Top||


Singapore to ban all short-term visitors in unprecedented virus crisis
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore will not allow any short-term visitors to transit or enter the city-state in its latest measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus and to conserve its resources for citizens who are returning from other countries.

The new measures announced on Sunday come a day after the city-state reported its first fatalities and it confirmed 47 new cases, taking its tally to 432.

Some short-term visitors have continued to arrive even after Singapore imposed a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine on anyone entering the country.

Almost 80% of Singapore’s new cases over the past three days were imported. Of the 39 imported cases reported on Saturday, six were of short-term visitors.

"During this time we have to focus our resources on returning Singaporeans, because they are coming back in large numbers," said Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore’s virus fighting task-force.

The country will also limit the return and entry of work pass holders, including their dependents, to those who provide essential services such as healthcare and transport.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 03:24 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:


Tokyo organizers quietly plan for potential Olympic delay, sources say
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo 2020 organizers have started drafting possible alternatives to holding the Olympics this summer, two sources familiar with the talks said, in contrast to the Japanese government’s stance that postponement is not an option.

While the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted sports events around the world, Japan has been steadfast in saying that the Games will go on. The top government spokesman on Wednesday said Tokyo wasn’t preparing for postponement.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has staked his legacy as Japan’s longest-serving premier on the Games and is hoping for a boom in tourism and consumer spending. At risk is more than $3 billion in domestic sponsorship, an Olympic record, and some $12 billion spent on preparations.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 03:18 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shades of 1940 Olympics!
Posted by: borgboy || 03/22/2020 13:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Cost vs. tourism revenue benefit analysis.
Oh, and foreigners consuming medical services.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:15 Comments || Top||


Coronavirus roundup


Nearly One Billion Confined To Homes As Coronavirus Toll Tops 12,000

3M doubles output of N95 respirator masks amid coronavirus outbreak

US approves 45-minute coronavirus test
[DW] As the US faces a shortage of coronavirus tests, a new test to be used mainly in hospitals and emergency rooms was approved. The test was developed by California-based molecular diagnostics company Cepheid. It gained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through emergency authorization and plans to begin shipping tests next week.



Federal Tax Deadline Extended Until July 15
[Reason] The extension allows some individuals and businesses to keep more of their money for three extra months at a time when millions of Americans are likely to be out of work and struggling to make ends meet.

Trump waives student loan payments for 60 days, also K-12 standardized tests
[The Hill]


National Institutes of Health warn that 70,000 Americans could be infected with coronavirus by the end of next week in 'dramatic increase' of cases

Gov. Cuomo says NY coronavirus cases have hit 10,300, unveils locations for makeshift hospitals, says 2 MILLION masks and 6,000 ventilators are being rushed across the state and reveals the New Rochelle lockdown slowed the spread

Palestinians announce first two cases of coronavirus in Gaza Strip
[IsraelTimes] Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, authorities say pair recently returned from Pakistain, were immediately quarantined.

Cops say they will arrest teens who are going into grocery stores and COUGHING on produce in disturbing coronavirus prank on social media

Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  From yesterday's news:

COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 1:00 Comments || Top||


#3  #1 Right. And I'm a Rabbi.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 4:15 Comments || Top||

#4  I am the walrus!
Posted by: Hupinens Uneamble7707 || 03/22/2020 5:43 Comments || Top||

#5  Since yesterday Bavaria is in lock down (the German federal system leaves the decision to the länder. Rest of Germany to follow (we should have done so a week or two earlier).

Munich is quiet, so quiet. A walk to catch some fresh air is allowed but only alone or with members of your household, and you're supposed to not venture far.

We organized working from home two weeks ago, so things run smoothly. Of course we expect losses but we'll manage for quite a while.

Supermarkets are well stocked and quiet. No "hamsterkauf" (I think that German word is popular now). Even toilet paper is available, but you're not supposed to take more than one pack.

We stock up on fine foods to keep us happy- Public services work (post office, banks, trash collection).

The Bavarian Prime Minister, Markus Söder, is getting lots of accolades for doing the right thing earlier than Merkel. And he communicates the strict measures perfectly. I'm much less impressed by the German health minister.

Markus Söder might become the next chancellor of Germany.

There were some problems in a Bavarian camp for refugees. They were settled within hours after local police mentioned unused planes at Munich airport ready to take unsatisfied guests back to Turkey.

On a positive note. Quite a few supermarket cashiers are from Syria and do their job dutifully.
Posted by: European Conservative || 03/22/2020 8:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Thanks, EC. Glad you and yours are well.
Best wishes,
L
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 10:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Bleib gesund, Lex (the new greeting in Germany now)
Posted by: European Conservative || 03/22/2020 10:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Summary and results of the promising French hydroxycholoroquine study here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/186Bel9RqfsmEx55FDum4xY_IlWSHnGbj/view
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 13:25 Comments || Top||

#9  Three countries still reporting, as of today, that deaths are increasing faster, by percentage, than infections. For more than 3 weeks now almost every day has had a bigger percentage increase in deaths than infections for each of these countries:


Iran

today- infections up about 1000 to a total of about 21.6k; deaths up about 130 to a total of about 1700.

Spain

today- infections up about 2500 to a total of about 28.6k; deaths up about 370 to a total of about 1750

Italy

today- infections up about 5500 to a total of about 59k; deaths up about 650 to a total of about 5500

In Iran both infections and deaths are probably under reported. In Spain and Italy there may actually be an over reporting of deaths as there are many people with multiple serious conditions. However, there is also likely to be under reporting of infections in all three countries as testing is restricted by the availability of the testing infrastructure.
Posted by: lord garth || 03/22/2020 13:57 Comments || Top||

#10  Everyone stay safe.
The U.S. has 32000 cases and 400 deaths. Those numbers have been doubling every 3 days. Run the numbers forward 3 weeks. 7 doublings. That's 4 million cases and 50000 deaths by mid April.

This had better start slowing down soon.
Posted by: The peanut gallery || 03/22/2020 16:38 Comments || Top||

#11  harvey weistein tested positive for Wu
Posted by: lord garth || 03/22/2020 17:35 Comments || Top||

#12  /\ Well of course he would! Think of where he's had those hands.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 03/22/2020 20:01 Comments || Top||

#13  #10 Everyone stay safe.
Yea verily.

The U.S. has 32000 cases and 400 deaths. Those numbers have been doubling every 3 days. Run the numbers forward 3 weeks. 7 doublings. That's 4 million cases and 50000 deaths by mid April.

I'll take the opposite side of that bet. We won't be anywhere close to 50k deaths by mid-April.

This had better start slowing down soon.

It will.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 20:20 Comments || Top||


DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic
[Politico] The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies ‐ part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States.

Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. POLITICO also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the documents.

The move has tapped into a broader fear among civil liberties advocates and Donald Trump’s critics ‐ that the president will use a moment of crisis to push for controversial policy changes. Already, he has cited the pandemic as a reason for heightening border restrictions and restricting asylum claims. He has also pushed for further tax cuts as the economy withers, arguing that it would soften the financial blow to Americans. And even without policy changes, Trump has vast emergency powers that he could legally deploy right now to try and slow the coronavirus outbreak.

The DOJ requests ‐ which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House ‐ span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So now more control requested. Many believe something more is going on here. So say we have martial law. Total lock down. Troops deployed. The swamp has been attacking Trump from even before he ran for office. Many in the military have said our government is capable of anything. So this would be the perfect time to have a coup. Removal of Trump, Pence and even the senate leadership. Leaving who next in line?. I smell a democrat.
Posted by: Dale || 03/22/2020 4:14 Comments || Top||


#3  ^They share their plans with Newsweek?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 4:38 Comments || Top||

#4  they're a cheap date - it sold for $1
Posted by: Frank G || 03/22/2020 4:54 Comments || Top||

#5  No! Just no! Trusted Bush with the Patriot Act, then we got Oblowme. Fool me once ...
Posted by: SR-71 || 03/22/2020 7:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Has Barr done anything with his existing powers to clean up the swamp?
Posted by: charger || 03/22/2020 15:39 Comments || Top||

#7  To all those who complain about Barr and others cleaning up the swamp I support you, but, I would just say that the swamp is huge and has been building its defenses for a long, long time.

There is only so much that can be done quickly and politics is the art of the possible. My first college paper in political science back in the '60s showed me that the swamp existed back then. It's had 50 years to accumulate more sludge and toxic waste and parasites.

Hercules and the Augean stables are nothing compared to that. Let's wish them all the best and celebrate whatever victories they have.

I'd rather try to empty the Great Lakes with a teaspoon.
Posted by: AlanC || 03/22/2020 17:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Barr's doing his best. Not Hercules but this ain't mythology class.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 17:52 Comments || Top||

#9  Oops, I see Alan beat me to it.

Agreed: the Shitshow + Swamp is orders of magnitude deeper and worse than the Augean Stables.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 17:54 Comments || Top||


American Manufacturers Step Up to Make Medical Equipment
[PJMedia] President Trump announced on Friday that even though he has invoked the Defense Production Act, American companies have not waited to be asked to step in and fill shortages of medical equipment that hospitals may face during the war on the coronavirus
...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...
that originated in China and spread throughout the world.

"We're getting calls from automobile companies. We're getting calls from other companies saying they have plant capacity, they want to make ventilators they want to make other things," he said at a White House presser on Friday. "We are literally being besieged in a beautiful way by companies that want to do the work."

Press news hounds continued to badger him about whether he "ordered" any companies to start making ventilators. The presidents said, "I have [directed companies to make equipment] and they're making a lot of ventilators and they're making a lot of masks." He added that he is working with one company that is already retooling their factory to make ventilators, which they had experience making in the past.

Mike Pence continued laying out the optimistic plans for getting masks to hospitals and said that this weekend there will be a major announcement from the federal government regarding the shipments of the equipment to the states that need them. Pence also disclosed that the current stockpile of ventilators is much higher than previously reported, coming in at 20,000 on reserve. He also disclosed that they are freeing up other ventilators from around the country and have "identified tens of thousands of ventilators that can be retrofitted and converted" to be used for patients suffering with the Chinese virus, COVID-19.

These reports come on the heels of hyperventilating news hounds who have written stories about fears of massive mask shortages at U.S. hospitals. "We have millions of masks that will be distributed to the states," said President Trump. The president conveyed a positive and confident tone. "Nothing like this has ever happened before...we're getting it ordered. We're getting it done."

The full press briefing can be seen below.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336109 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The president conveyed a positive and confident tone. "Nothing like this has ever happened before...we're getting it ordered. We're getting it done."

No wonder the public' aporoval of his handling of the crisis has soared: it's about 10 points positive per the three latest polls.

Note how the Democratic Governors - Cuomo perhaps excepted - all stress how draconian they are in shitting down all work and activity, Trump does what Roosevelt did in the depths of the Depression and what Churchill did instead 1940.

Trump can be a loose cannon but he also projects confidence, energy, determination and absolute certainty that we will defeat this by drawing on our best qualities.

Those qualities are not too-down coercion or globalist/Shitshow virtue-signaling but things like Yankee ingenuity (anyone remember that phrase?), superior organization, optimism, energy, dynamism and adaptability.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Yikes
* what Churchill did in 1940
* not top-down coercion
* not shutting down
* approval rating
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 0:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Now all the President needs to do is put out a plan for the low risk people to go back to their work, and start the economy moving again, and send the stipends to the high risk (60+ and multiple conditions like heart disease,pulmonary disease, and diabetes). As said in a post yesterday, isolating the high risk and paying them stipends is probably cheaper in the long run to keep them out of hospitals. And the able bodied going back to work reduces the quarantine madness and supply runs on groceries, etc. It also allows the healthy to build immunity since they likely have mild or no symptoms when they get the virus. Builds up herd immunity as a bonus.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 || 03/22/2020 3:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Now all the President needs to do is put out a plan for the low risk people to go back to their work

Not to rain on your parade Tojo, but maybe you should rethink you definition of low risk.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 4:11 Comments || Top||

#5  #3 Thank you for this, Marilyn. Excellent ideas.

It is crucial that we get as many of the able-bodied as possible, with face masks and distancing, back to work immediately.
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 9:54 Comments || Top||

#6  OK, one thing I've not seen spelled out is what are the high risk factors other than age?

Sure if you're in bed with pneumonia that's a risk, what if you were in the hospital (ICU) 5 years ago with pneumonia that left you with a slightly reduced lung function? Is that a big deal, a little deal or no deal at all?
Posted by: AlanC || 03/22/2020 9:59 Comments || Top||

#7  In fact, Munich hospitals treat several young people SEVERELY ill.
Small children seem to be unaffected, 30yo healthy men NOT.
Posted by: European Conservative || 03/22/2020 10:00 Comments || Top||

#8  Majority of NYC’s coronavirus cases are men between 18 and 49 years old
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 10:03 Comments || Top||

#9  what are the high risk factors other than age

Lungs scarred from:
childhood pneumonia
smoking
fire fighting
chemical inhalation
Asthma
TB
immune compromised
...*

*always opinioned, rarely expert

Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Thank you Skid it was a rhetorical question since I know that I'm higher than the average bear in risk. 70 years old to start with, damaged lung from pneumonia a few years ago.

I'm trying to persuade my kids that I'm not pegging out tomorrow cause I feel pretty good all things considered.

Best news is that my depressingly liberal son has been driven, by this, to take a much more survivalist approach to life.
Posted by: AlanC || 03/22/2020 17:57 Comments || Top||

#11  "We all have our fathers" - RFK to MLK Jr., 1962
"We all have our sons" - RFK to Joe Biden, 2019, or at least as Joe tells the story
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 18:08 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
China's Coronavirus Slowdown: Which African Economies Will Be Hit Hardest?
[TheDiplomat]
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 01:04 || Comments || Link || [336082 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Johnny crack corn
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 3:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Jimmy Crack Corn and I don't care
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Yea, well 😢
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 15:30 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Report: China Stopped Testing for COVID-19. That's Why There Are Zero New Cases.
Posted by: Spike Hupush2094 || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  XitShow
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 0:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Good one!
Posted by: gorb || 03/22/2020 0:52 Comments || Top||

#3  A comment Mr Friedman?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 3:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Friedman seems to be counting on the Deep State to help us, although the article is mostly incoherent.
Posted by: Matt || 03/22/2020 7:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Brit Hume @brithume
I hope this isn’t true. https://twitter.com/lokinhei/status/1241220936906338304 …
LO Kin-hei 羅健熙
@lokinhei Report by @appledaily_hk, Japanese news outlet interviewed Wuhan doctors, and confirmed Wuhan has stopped testing, that is why new case = 0 there. They release people in quarantine early too.
Posted by: b || 03/22/2020 10:22 Comments || Top||

#6  Why test, they are over the hump now. Either you're sick with the flu and need assistance,or ya take a few days off work and get over it. Like the flu.
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 03/22/2020 11:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Maybe they're content with the damage they've done already spreading the virus beyond their borders and have therefore downgraded the matter as a public policy concern?
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 13:40 Comments || Top||

#8  Who is going to cut out the welded steel in front of apartment doors and clean out the mess inside?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/22/2020 16:58 Comments || Top||

#9  They'll just wait for the apartment building to collapse. it won't be long.
Posted by: Matt || 03/22/2020 17:17 Comments || Top||


China's coronavirus recovery is 'all fake,' whistleblowers and residents claim
[Yahoo] China's claims of how it's handling coronavirus recovery should be taken with more than a few grains of salt.

Even before COVID-19 became a global crisis, Chinese leaders had been criticized for their handling of the situation and lack of transparency about the disease's progression. Things now look like they're on the upswing, and businesses even appear to be headed back to work ‐ but whistleblowers and local officials tell Caixan that's just a carefully crafted ruse.

Beijing has spent much of the outbreak pushing districts to carry on business as usual, with some local governments subsidizing electricity costs and even installing mandatory productivity quotas. Zhejiang, a province east of the epicenter city of Wuhan, claimed as of Feb. 24 it had restored 98.6 percent of its pre-coronavirus work capacity.

But civil servants tell Caixan that businesses are actually faking these numbers. Beijing had started checking Zhejiang businesses' electricity consumption levels, so district officials ordered the companies to start leaving their lights and machinery on all day to drive the numbers up, one civil servant said. Businesses have reportedly falsified staff attendance logs as well ‐ they "would rather waste a small amount of money on power than irritate local officials," Caixan writes.

In Wuhan, officials have tried to make it appear that recovery efforts are going smoothly. But when "central leaders" personally survey disinfecting regimens and food delivery, local officials "make a special effort" for them and them alone, one resident told Caixan. And in a video circulating on social media, residents can be seen shouting at visiting leaders from the apartments where they're being quarantined ‐ "Fake, it's all fake."
Posted by: Iblis || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  China did a lot of horrible things that made this situation worse.

They have done a few right things too such a permanently shutting the Wuhan fresh meat and seafood market and sending the correct gene sequencing info to the world.

So instead of giving them a F, I might give them a D--
Posted by: lord garth || 03/22/2020 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  a longish essay on the general Wu Flu situation called "Evidence Over Hysteria" was posted on Medium.com but was taken down at that site and is now available at ZeroHedge

Posted by: lord garth || 03/22/2020 0:38 Comments || Top||

#3  ^ saw that. Whiskey Tango...?
Chinese ownership?
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 0:40 Comments || Top||

#4  China is a big place and the situation is going to be different in every location.

Here is Chongqing they have not any existing cases in about a week, and today our community finally ended all neighborhood access restrictions. My GF promptly packed up her daughter and went to climb a local mountain.

In another province, there have also been no new cases for a while, and they are making plans to begin opening schools April 6th.

I am really dismayed by what's happening in Europe. I did not expect it to be so virulent there, but of course I am not a medical person.

In any case, I don't think it is accurate to say the recovery is "all fake". Again, it is a big country, so I am sure there are plenty of headaches out there in specific locations.
Posted by: Beau || 03/22/2020 3:37 Comments || Top||

#5  There does appear to be a "touch typing/proofreading" problem going around, however ...
Posted by: Beau || 03/22/2020 3:39 Comments || Top||

#6  #2 Thanks. Made me a PDF in case it's de-linked again.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 4:35 Comments || Top||


Cyber
Video: The IT challenges of getting feds to work from home
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 01:18 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Suppose one of the results from shutdown is that you don't actually need so many?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 5:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Work from home? It's hard enough to get them to work at the office!
Posted by: gorb || 03/22/2020 6:32 Comments || Top||

#3  We are now all 'Feds.' We will very soon all be paid at home, at least until it is all gone.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 7:49 Comments || Top||


Economy
Demand for Face Masks Is Booming, But Makers Have a Nagging Concern: Legal Liability
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 05:47 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 5:49 Comments || Top||

#2  "Legal Liability" is baked in. Has been for decades. We can thank our lawyers and judges for that. No sausage for them without it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 7:47 Comments || Top||

#3  ^Time, right now, to do something about that?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 7:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Impose damage limits to actual plus cap emotiona/pain/suffering, just like Texas did.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 || 03/22/2020 15:01 Comments || Top||


GM is partnering with Ventec Life Systems to help increase production of ventilators
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 05:45 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  from the very same company that brought us the Cobalt fiasco? no thanks. if i am gonna die i’ll do it on my own ; don’ need that GM mark of excellence on my tombstone
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/22/2020 11:13 Comments || Top||

#2  GM will undoubtedly require $350,000,000 to $650,000,000 to continue this effort.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/22/2020 11:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Soon we will have ionizing cabin filters for our cars.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 14:57 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 14:59 Comments || Top||


#6  Gonna need to bail them out again once the class action lawyers get done with them. (Doesn't matter if they do anything wrong.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/22/2020 18:57 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spain's coronavirus deaths surpass 1,300, close to 25,000 cases - Health Ministry
[YNet] - Spain's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic soared on Saturday to 1,326 from 1,002 on Friday, according to the country's Health Ministry latest data.
The number of registered cases in the country rose to 24,926 on Saturday from 19,980 in the previous tally announced on Friday.

Spain, Italy, is there a pattern?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 15:26 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Their life on Jeopardy

Alex, what is a preexisting health complication - socialism.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/22/2020 20:13 Comments || Top||


Macron's France SEIZES Lorries Carrying 130,000 Masks to British Hospitals
The importance of self-reliance in hard times
[Breitbart] French authorities impounded two lorries carrying some 130,000 masks to health workers in Britain’s embattled hospitals, following President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to "requisition" all stocks in his territory.

The move followed hot on the heels of French border guards seizing another heavy goods vehicle carrying hand sanitiser to Britain the day before. The incidents triggered a diplomatic spat between the two countries as Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) struggles against the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

"On Tuesday night, French authorities stopped the hand sanitiser and confiscated the lot," a British government source confirmed to The Sun.

"On Wednesday night, it was lorries full of FFP3 face masks to protect staff."

Another source in Whitehall tried to play down the incidents, however, claiming both were "dealt with relatively quickly."

"There is a clear understanding between countries that only a united approach will tackle the public health emergency all countries face," they suggested, adding that the mask seizure "appears to have been a misunderstanding, [and] we're confident it won't happen again."

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the eurosceptic former Tory leader and Cabinet minister, remained distinctly unimpressed, saying of the incident: "This shows you all you need to know about European co-operation."
They'll blame it on Brexit
Posted by: Frank G || 03/22/2020 12:36 || Comments || Link || [336118 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "At the narrow passage there is no brother, no friend."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 13:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Globaloney hit hardest.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/22/2020 14:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Thank goodness former PM Theresa May laid in supplies against Brexit importing problems. Now it’s time to put out a call for domestic manufacturing on this, as in other key pandemic supplies. Lots of boffins over there eager to turn their abilities to needed products. link
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 14:30 Comments || Top||

#4  adding that the mask seizure "appears to have been a misunderstanding, [and] we're confident it won't happen again" that when it happens again, it won't happen after that.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/22/2020 15:11 Comments || Top||

#5  France -- a nation of scorpions masquerading as frogs.
Posted by: JHH || 03/22/2020 21:33 Comments || Top||


Coronavirus risks taking heavy toll on migrants in Europe
[Rudaw] Syrian refugee Mahmoud Ajlouni was due to pick up his new German residency permit last week but found the door firmly shut at the processing office in Berlin.

"I had an appointment," he said, adding he has "no idea" when he'll be able to replace the flimsy sheet of paper that is his only official identification.

For Ajlouni, the uncertainty could last weeks if not months as Germany has suspended refugee intake programmes or asylum seeker hearings amid the coronavirus
...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.

Beyond Germany, fears are also growing about the fate of migrants colonists and refugees in the bloc as Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
takes increasingly stringent measures to fight contagion.

With Europe now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
has slammed shut its external borders to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Countries like La Belle France, Spain and Italia have also imposed lockdowns on their populations to restrict movements and halt the spread of the virus.

Moslem colonists Migrants and asylum seekers have become one of the most vulnerable groups hard hit by the crisis as public services that usually tend to the group are wound down.

Aid groups have also warned that already poor conditions in camps including in Greece could worsen, while tense scenes have already erupted in refugee accomodations in Germany.

'DISINFECTANT AND NOTHING ELSE'
In Suhl, eastern Germany, 200 police were called in after brawls broke out in a refugee home where 533 people were quarantined.

Twenty-two were sent for confinement in a former juvenile prison.

The quarantines had been ordered after several cases of COVID-19 were detected among refugees in Germany.

Meanwhile people are only allowed to claim asylum at present if they can show a negative test for COVID-19 or after submitting to 14 days of quarantine.

Volunteers and non-government organizations fear that locked up in close quarters, with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities, the confinement will do little to slow the virus' spread.

"Kids are still running around in the corridors," said Sophia, a volunteer working especially with Afghan families in a Berlin home.

"There's disinfectant for people's hands at the entrance, but otherwise nothing much," she adds, complaining further that now visits from outside are banned.

In the Calais area in northern La Belle France, lockdown measures and fear of infection have reduced the numbers of volunteers working with the 2,000 migrants colonists there, putting an end to food handouts.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 01:12 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Look on the positive side, Mahmoud - you can get corona and then your troubles will be over.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 3:45 Comments || Top||

#2  So the "heavy toll" seems to be mostly inconvenience. Tell that to all the business owner who won't be business owners after this is all over.
Posted by: Bobby || 03/22/2020 9:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Go home then.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/22/2020 9:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Seconding the advice to go home. It doesn't seem to be worrying the Muslim countries much, at least by their behavior, so to home and attend prayers.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/22/2020 11:10 Comments || Top||

#5  fears are also growing about the fate of migrants colonists and refugees in the bloc

Be more concerned for the residents at the hands of roving bands of Tweendults.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:23 Comments || Top||

#6  good way to get rid of them over
Posted by: Chris || 03/22/2020 17:39 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Coronavirus: Why India's busiest rail network is being shut down
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 00:53 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because I really like trains, watched a 3-part documentary on this urban/suburban rail line once.

The crowded interior photos in the link must not have been at the busiest times.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/22/2020 9:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I suppose NYC subs are still running
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 11:14 Comments || Top||


Iraq
China comes to #Iraq's aid by sending medical experts to help fight coronavirus
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under:

#1  With Chinese "help" they're fokked for sure. Please send help to Iran, Celestials.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 4:00 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Health Ministry: 20,000 Israelis will die of coronavirus at worst
[Ynet] What proportion will be Israeli Arabs and Ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to to accept the necessary precautions?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 14:20 || Comments || Link || [336095 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Or Gazoid workers bringing it in?
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 14:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Better pull the plug on guest workers.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/22/2020 17:10 Comments || Top||


Emergency regulations (Israel) take effect
Emergency regulations took effect Sunday morning at 8 am after being approved by the government over the weekend.

To read the full version of the regulations (in Hebrew), click here

The central section of the regulations states that one must not go from one’s place of residence or permanent stay into the public sphere except for one of the following reasons:

    1) To go to one’s place of work, and return from it

    2) To buy essential food, medicines and products and receive essential services

    3) To receive medical care

    4) Blood donation;

    5) Demonstration;

    6) Legal process;

    7) Going to the Knesset;

    8) For treatment within the framework of welfare;

    9) Sports activities of up to two people, the same ones every time insofar as possible, or of people living in the same place;

    10) Exit from a place of residence, of an individual or of persons living in the same place, for a short time and to somewhere near the place of residence

    11) Going to a religious ceremony, including a wedding or funeral, as well as for prayer and immersion in a mikvah

    12) Leaving to assist another person who has a medical problem or other difficulty requiring support

    13) Exit for an essential purpose not specified in paragraphs 1 to 12.


The regulations also include rules of conduct in the public sphere, most notably to keep a two-meter distance between every two people who do not live in the same place.

The regulations also include instructions on what businesses may and may not open, and conditions for opening businesses that may be opened. The validity of the regulations is currently seven days.

At the same time, at midnight last night, regulations limiting the number of employees in private workplaces and in the public service also took effect.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 04:42 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Or What?
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:07 Comments || Top||

#2  ^5000 NIS (approx 1,250 $) fine.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 15:20 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Not News or WoT but something you need to be aware of.
[Twitter]
Apple just came out with a killer I-Pad and LIDAR (optical radar) for about 1500$ with a terabyte of RAM that can give you 3D with an image skin and measurement for your spaces.

Posted by: 3dc || 03/22/2020 12:23 || Comments || Link || [336108 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Now if it would just do IR temp scans.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 14:53 Comments || Top||


Israeli doctor in Italy: We no longer help those over 60
[JPost] - Italy suffered more coronavirus-related victims than China with 4,825 confirmed deaths and 5,000 confirmed patients in the last 24 hours, Channel 12 reported on Sunday.

Israeli doctor Gai Peleg, who is currently working to save lives in Parma, Italy, told Channel 12 that things are only getting worse as the number of patients keeps growing.

As his department receives coronavirus patients who are terminally ill the focus is to allow patients to meet loved ones and communicate with them during their last moments despite the quarantine regulations. Other reports claim that, as the numbers of dead increases, some families find themselves unable to secure a proper burial for their loved ones.

Peleg said that, from what he sees and hears in the hospital, the instructions are not to offer access to artificial respiratory machines to patients over 60 as such machines are limited in number.
Wanna bet more businesses will go bankrupt in Italy than in places where quarantine was instituted in time?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 03:38 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is why we need to shut down to flatten the curve. We can't overwhelm our medical capacity or we start having to triage and lose more people than if we didn't, including those with less serious underlying conditions.
Posted by: gorb || 03/22/2020 6:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Today in my area; Corriganville Amtrak train stopped. I person removed and sent to hospital here. Two-three others sick but refused to leave train. Today Western Maryland. Entire B&O terminal shut down in Cumberland Maryland.
Posted by: Dale || 03/22/2020 12:19 Comments || Top||


British Vacuum Cleaner Firm Designs Instant-Fix Medical Ventilator
[Breitbart] Here’s a coronavirus story to gladden the heart: boffins at a UK-based vacuum cleaner firm have put together a working prototype for a cheap, easy-to-make ventilator to fill the massive shortage in British hospitals.

Worcester-based Gtech was responding to the government’s challenge to businesses to see if anyone could come up in short space with a suitable design.
Heartwarming story of clever mechanical types coming up with a device that can be made quickly and inexpensively concludes:
“We designed the ventilator entirely from parts that can readily be made from stock materials or bought off-the-shelf. This means that if government approves and wants Gtech ventilators they can be made by almost any engineering and manufacturing company” says Nick.

“Gtech could produce around 100 per day within a week or two providing we could find steel fabrication and CNC machining companies to help us make some of the parts.”

Gtech plan to produce two more ventilators tomorrow and submit them to the government for assessment.

Related: The Verge - General Motoars is partnering with Ventec Life Systems to help increase production of ventilators
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/22/2020 01:46 || Comments || Link || [336097 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good for them - lets hope some a$$hole won't stop it because their ventilator doesn't fit some NHS guidelines.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 3:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Willow Run Plant redux
Posted by: Lex || 03/22/2020 9:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Heartwarming story of clever mechanical types coming up with a device that can be made quickly and inexpensively

Ah'm hurt!
It, IT looks like a techno-bong!
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:18 Comments || Top||


Military robots go underground
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 01:16 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:


#2  "A subtext of the Subterranean Challenge is that the same technologies that lead robots to rescue people underground could also lead infantry to find enemies hiding in tunnel complexes. While Delta Force was able to corner al-Baghdadi in Syria, much of the military’s modern interest in tunnel warfare can be traced back to Osama bin Laden evading capture for years by escaping through the tunnels at Tora Bora."
Posted by: b || 03/22/2020 10:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't forget the 1st Engineer Battalion's 'Tunnel Rats' in Vietnam.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/22/2020 10:57 Comments || Top||

#4  See - Tunnel Rats
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/22/2020 10:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Or the SKOR tunnel discovery technology which helped the Customs and Border Patrol find the tunnels near Otay Mesa on the border.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/22/2020 11:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Bugs, Mr. Rico! Zillions of them!
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/22/2020 12:33 Comments || Top||

#7  ^😎
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 12:38 Comments || Top||

#8  See - Tunnel Rats

Poor bastards.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:20 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Illinois Governor Lists Gun Stores as ‘Essential,' Exempts Them from Forced Shutdown.
h/t Instapundit
[Breibart] - When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) issued an executive order Friday to put a statewide shutdown in place, he exempted gun and ammunition stores by labeling them "essential."

The order, titled "Executive Order in Response to COVID-19 (COVID-19 Executive Order No. 8)," contains various headings, under which are listings of businesses considered "essential" for day-to-day life. Under the heading, "Supplies for Essential Businesses and Operations," the order makes clear that "firearm and ammunition suppliers and retailers" can remain open, noting that they serve the purposes of "safety and security."
Told you yesterday, this guy beginning to make sense. Maybe all he needed was a bit of pounding to knock away the dirt from the metal.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/22/2020 05:23 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In other news___ Flying pigs ice skate in Hell
Posted by: Mercutio || 03/22/2020 7:00 Comments || Top||

#2  J.B. ("JellyBelly") is like a stopped clock. Acouple time a day he gets it right.

The rest of the time, not so much.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/22/2020 9:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe all he needed was a bit of pounding to knock away the dirt from the metal.

Sometimes a good whack with a shovel is all you need to get things going again.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/22/2020 12:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Illinois Gov. Pritzker slams 'profoundly un-American', 'racist speech' on coronavirus
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:03 Comments || Top||



Government
Border agents save Honduran migrant family-of-five from drowning as they try and swim from Mexico to Texas
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection saved a family who attempted to swim to Texas from Mexico

  • CBP agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, were pressed into action Sunday when they spotted the migrants struggling to stay afloat in the Rio Grande River

  • The family consisted of a father, mother, two sons and a daughter, and did not require additional medical treatment

  • CBP reported a slight rise in apprehensions [30,068] in the month of February along the southwest border following a decline in the arrests of undocumented migrants crossing the United States-Mexico border in the previous three months: 33,517 apprehensions in November, 32,854 in December and 29,206 in January
If they follow normal procedures, the family will now be sent back to Mexico or flown back to Honduras.

COVID-19 Border Shutdown: Illegal Crossers Will Get Immediately Deported To Home Countries
remember when closing the border was Unpossible™? Me too
[HotAir] Anyone crossing a US national border illegally will get immediately sent back to their home country for the next 30 days, at least, part of the ban on all border traffic except trade and other essential business. To do otherwise, the White House argued in its announcement last night, would be to put the entire immigration system at risk.

This includes those seeking asylum ‐ if they cross the border first:

In addition to closing U.S. borders to all but "essential travel" and citing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavrius, the Trump administration announced Friday that unauthorized immigrants colonists accused of crossing illegally will face immediate return to their home countries.

The unprecedented announcement raised major questions about the fate of refugees and asylum seekers who regularly cross the southern border without travel documents.

Administration officials sent a resounding message that detention protocols ‐ even for those with valid claims to stay in the U.S. ‐ pose a health risk to immigrants colonists and Border Patrol agents alike.

"Left unchecked, this would cripple our immigration system, overwhelm our healthcare system and severely damage our national security," Trump said on Friday.

The rule change took place yesterday and has already taken effect. It won’t affect legal immigration or asylum seekers who process normally, apparently, but those who try to cross the border first. The only exemption will be unaccompanied children, the New York Times

...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

reports. Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told news hounds that he was acting on recommendations from the CDC to limit contact as much as possible:

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, said the United States would also close the legal entry points along the border with Mexico and Canada to tourism. American citizens, lawful permanent residents and those crossing a border to seek medical treatment or attend educational institutions would not be affected. Commercial traffic would remain open, but port officers would stop processing those without legal authority to be in the United States, including asylum seekers.

Mr. Wolf said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued the order to turn away any people who crossed the southwestern border illegally instead of taking them to a detention center where they could ask for asylum in the United States. President Trump has sought such a restrictive policy for years, but the courts have blocked it as a violation of due process.

"We’re trying to limit the amount of contact we have with these individuals," said Mr. Wolf, adding that many migrants colonists who cross the border often lack documents to prove their medical history. "It’s going to be very rapid."

Under the new rule, set to take effect Saturday, Border Patrol agents will be issued biometric tools to process migrants colonists in the field. Moslem colonists Migrants who have a criminal history will still be detained, but agents are being directed to take others to the nearest port of entry or airfield, where they are to be returned to their home countries. Unaccompanied children will be exempt from the rule, a Customs and Border Protection official said.

The US isn’t the only country looking to give an immediate boot to uninvited guests, either. Canada announced yesterday that they’ll be handing some folks back to us:

Canada will no longer accept irregular migrants colonists trying to cross the shared border with the United States and will instead return them to U.S. authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
...hereditary prime minister of the Great White North...
said on Friday.

The move marks a significant change in tactics from the Liberal government, which earlier this week had said those traversing the frontier would be put into quarantine.

"This is a temporary measure which we’ll put in place for as long as the coronavirus
...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...
crisis lasts. These are exceptional measures to protect citizens," Trudeau told a news conference. ...

"The people who crossed up until today will be in isolation ... but in future those trying to cross will be turned back to U.S. authorities," said Trudeau.

That’s fine, and that’s as it should be. We can quarantine border-violating Americans on our side, and deport everyone who shouldn’t be in this country either. That is precisely the way it should have been all along. No one is owed entry to the US except those who apply for and receive permission to do so legally.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336106 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is why there is no Mexican Olympic Team. Everyone from there who can run, jump or swim has already left.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/22/2020 14:13 Comments || Top||

#2  "Save"

I think you mean assist in people trafficking. Some American should do a FOIA request and forward to police in Texas.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/22/2020 15:23 Comments || Top||

#3  'Catch and Release'
Pull'em out, throw'em back in.

Better than residence in a Corona cage.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/22/2020 15:44 Comments || Top||



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Sun 2020-03-22
  Greeks Find Tunnel Full of Weapons Under Athens,
Arrest Turkish Terrorists
Sat 2020-03-21
  TSA halts all NY airport departures do to infected people showing up at each one.
Fri 2020-03-20
  Militant attack kills about 30 Malian soldiers -army
Thu 2020-03-19
  Migrants at Refugee Camp in Germany Riot,
Display ISIS Flags After They’re Put Under Coronavirus Quarantine
Wed 2020-03-18
  Manchester Arena bombing: Hashem Abedi guilty of 22 murders
Tue 2020-03-17
  China expels ALL American reporters!
Mon 2020-03-16
  Saudi Arabia detains 298 officials in new corruption cases
Sun 2020-03-15
  Hezbollah commander prosecuted in Austria for terror finance
Sat 2020-03-14
  Violence by Taliban Spikes Despite Peace Efforts
Fri 2020-03-13
  Sudan moves against Bashir loyalists after assassination attempt
Thu 2020-03-12
  4 Iranian proxy forces HQ hit in airstrikes along Iraq-Syria border
Wed 2020-03-11
  Rocket attack in Iraq kills two Americans and a British citizen
Tue 2020-03-10
  US begins military pullout from two Afghan bases
Mon 2020-03-09
  Turks Use Drones in Tear Gas Attacks on Greek Border Guards
Sun 2020-03-08
  Leb defaults
Sat 2020-03-07
  Saudis reportedly detain three royal princes over ‘coup plot’

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