[Babylon Bee]WASHINGTON, D.C.—Trump excitedly unveiled his latest improvements to the White House Press Briefing Room at Monday night's press conference: ejection seats.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/13/2020
12:47 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[14 views]
Top|| File under:
h/t Instapundit
[LA Times] - A man found dead in his house in early March. A woman who fell sick in mid-February and later died.
These early COVID-19 deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area suggest that the novel coronavirus had established itself in the community long before health officials started looking for it. The lag time has had dire consequences, allowing the virus to spread unchecked before social distancing rules went into effect.
"The virus was freewheeling in our community and probably has been here for quite some time," Dr. Jeff Smith, a physician who is the chief executive of Santa Clara County government, told county leaders in a recent briefing.
How long? A study out of Stanford suggests a dramatic viral surge in February.
But Smith on Friday said data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health departments and others suggest it was "a lot longer than we first believed" — most likely since "back in December."
"This wasn’t recognized because we were having a severe flu season," Smith said in an interview. "Symptoms are very much like the flu. If you got a mild case of COVID, you didn’t really notice. You didn’t even go to the doctor. The doctor maybe didn’t even do it because they presumed it was the flu."
Just as New York has strong ties to travelers from Europe, who are believed to have brought the coronavirus there from Italy, the Bay Area is a natural hub for those traveling to and from China. Santa Clara County had its first two cases of COVID-19 almost a week before federal approval of emergency testing for the disease Feb. 4. Both were in travelers returning from Wuhan, China, where the virus was rampant.
...COVID-19 did not reappear in the Bay Area until Feb. 27, when doctors finally decided to test a hospitalized woman who had been ill for weeks. She became the region’s first case of community-spread coronavirus.
The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. In 2020, the first day of the Chinese New Year was on Saturday, 25 January, which initiated the Year of the Rat.
[Military.com] The Army asked its "soldiers for life" who are trained in medical fields to come back to do battle against the novel coronavirus pandemic. And to date, more than 25,000 have answered the call, officials said.
The service first sent out an appeal in late March to retired officers and enlisted soldiers from a targeted set of specialties, asking for volunteers to re-don the uniform and reinforce Army communities thinned by emergency field hospital and personnel deployments to regions hit hardest by the virus. It would ultimately expand the call for volunteers to recently separated soldiers in the Individual Ready Reserve and to "gray-area" soldiers -- Guardsmen and reservists who have completed 20 years but haven't yet met requirements for retirement.
The field totaled "approximately 800,000," officials said, meaning that more than 3% of all former soldiers contacted by the Army responded to say they could help.
Now, the service is working to process the horde of volunteers, ensuring those it takes are properly qualified and certified, and -- importantly -- not currently working in medical care in a civilian capacity.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
I’m confused. Why, when Mr Steward was minister and had the power and responsibility, did he not put s stop to such nonsense?
[reuters] ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has appealed to international stakeholders for urgent debt relief for developing countries so they can deal more effectively with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the government said on Sunday.
Pakistan has recorded 5,183 cases of the virus, with 88 deaths. The country's already-struggling economy has been hit hard by nationwide preventive lockdowns that have brought economic activity to a halt and caused widespread unemployment.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a video message released by the foreign office, said he was worried people in the developing world would die of hunger as a result of lockdowns.
"Pakistan with a population of 220 million, so far the best stimulus package we can afford is $8 billion," Khan said in the video, adding that highly indebted countries lack fiscal space to spend on health and social support.
Pakistan, which is over $100 billion in debt to foreign lenders and spends the largest chunk of its budget on debt servicing, last week began a $900 million cash disbursement programme to 12 million poor families rendered unemployed due to lockdowns.
Khan said he appealed to world leaders, the heads of financial institutions and the secretary-general of the United Nations to get together to announce a debt relief initiative for developing countries.
Pakistan will receive $1.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of organisation's Rapid Financing Instrument to help finance the country's response to the virus.
It is also currently in the first year of a three-year $6 billion IMF programme to help its ailing economy.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/13/2020
10:25 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[31 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Looks like some cabinet minister needs a new landscaped estate in Deosai Park. And the Generals need to pay their local bar tabs.
#2
I fear that my Canuckistan is slowly, slowly sliding into position to become Venezuela of the north. I see it in the faces of my neighbours, I hear it in their conversations, and I watch them as they praise Turdeau and castigate Trump.
Prevailing attitude is ALWAYS "get as much money from the gummint as possible" without ever a thought as to where the gummint gets its money.
Stepping closely on my 8th decade and kinda happy that I won't be around to see the crash and burn.
#3
I fear that my Canuckistan is slowly, slowly sliding into position to become Venezuela of the north.
If you'll help us overthrow the Governor of Michigan, you can become part of the Upper Peninsula. Think about it. The western provinces are going to succeed anyway.
#1
The department said the largest share of the job losses during the period from March 13 to April 6 - almost 250,000 - came at firms with 50 workers or more, rather than the smaller businesses that dominate Mexico´s economic landscape.
#2
The department said the largest share of the job losses during the period from March 13 to April 6 - almost 250,000 - came at firms with 50 workers or more, rather than the smaller businesses that dominate Mexico´s economic landscape.
#3
The department said the largest share of the job losses during the period from March 13 to April 6 - almost 250,000 - came at firms with 50 workers or more, rather than the smaller businesses that dominate Mexico´s economic landscape.
I thought the Mexican economy has always been dominated by landscaping.
#2
Yeah, sure. I can do that right now with a slingshot and a beer can that will penetrate body armour covered in back bacon and I don't need £30,000 to buy it.
#7
Unnecessarily expensive. Two miles is not the reason to use it. At two miles you might as well call in a drone. The velocity is why someone would need it. But it's still too damned expensive. I was told it's the lightweight materials used that are pricey. For that it's still 10kg. They have been testing it since 2015 in fact. I saw a prototype in 2016 when I attended their Army expo. They disassembled the thing and showed it to me. Named 'Sumrak' (Dusk or something) it was a sleek thing. The prototype was light too. About 8kgs, without the scope. The company makes bespoke arms and kits and sells these high priced things to ostentatious purchasers like the UAE I think.
#8
Seems like you could get a lot of guys whacked for 30 large, given that you'd be shooting people in the scruffier parts of the world where you have a good exchange rate. You'd need to know somebody, of course.
Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.
[PJMedia] On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis sent a letter to leaders of social movements promoting "structural changes" to the "economy of exclusion and inequality." Among other things, he encouraged these activists to use the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to spur radical change and launch a "humanistic and ecological conversion." He also endorsed the idea of a universal basic income (UBI), championed by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Pope Francis addressed his letter to the World Meeting of Popular Movements (WMPM), an alliance of Roman Catholic Church leadership and "grassroots organizations working to address the 'economy of exclusion and inequality' by working for structural changes that promote social, economic and racial justice."
In the letter, the pope argues that these activists are "invisible to the system. Market solutions do not reach the peripheries, and State protection is hardly visible there." Rather than encouraging philanthropy to reach these peripheries, Francis writes to encourage "you who are looked upon with suspicion when through community organization you try to move beyond philanthropy or when, instead of resigning and hoping to catch some crumbs that fall from the table of economic power, you claim your rights."
In this context, Francis endorses a UBI. "I know that you have been excluded from the benefits of globalization. You do not enjoy the superficial pleasures that anesthetize so many consciences, yet you always suffer from the harm they produce," he argues. "Street vendors, recyclers, carnies, small farmers, construction workers, dressmakers, the different kinds of caregivers: you who are informal, working on your own or in the grassroots economy, you have no steady income to get you through this hard time ... and the lockdowns are becoming unbearable. This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out. It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights." Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest!?!
#1
This guy is a plant by the devil. Or something.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/13/2020 11:31
Comments ||
Top||
#2
I'll take this fake pope seriously soon as he begins launching these directives at China and Russia. Until then he and all the other SJWs are just pussies making demands of soft audiences rather than addressing the real sources of real oppression.
#3
His words echo Quoranic phraseology. All this "You who are excluded from... you who are oppressed..." business.
There are verses in the Hadiths and Quoran that go like this : "You who are scattered in the kingdoms of the unjust, the jahilya of the unfaithful..." and "You who live under the yoke of unbeliever kings and priesthoods..." etc.
Very strange.
My personal theory is, he's the same spiritual phylum as the other sons of Belial so it's no surprise.
(CNN)Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sunday that he signed a series of new measures into law aimed at expanding access to voting in the commonwealth.
The new legislation will establish Election Day as a holiday, remove the requirement that voters show a photo ID prior to casting a ballot
...the real objective buried in the feel-good stuff...
and, expand early voting to be allowed 45 days before an election without a stated reason.
"Voting is a fundamental right, and these new laws strengthen our democracy by making it easier to cast a ballot, not harder," Northam said in a statement. "No matter who you are or where you live in Virginia, your voice deserves to be heard. I'm proud to sign these bills into law."
Several states and cities have already made Election Day a civic holiday, including Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky and New York. State offices typically close, though it depends on the state whether employees are entitled to paid time off to vote.
Proponents say making Election Day a holiday could improve voter turnout. But Election Day may not become a federal holiday anytime soon -- it's drawn deep division along party lines.
In January 2019, Democrats proposed a sweeping bill that would make Election Day a national holiday among other measures. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure would pay government workers to "hang out at the polls during an election" or campaign for candidates.
The new legislation also repeals the current Lee-Jackson day holiday which honored Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson as "defenders of causes." Both men owned slaves and fought to preserve slavery in the US.
The holiday is typically observed with Civil War-themed parades, wreath layings and reenactments hosted by Confederate memorial groups, though these celebrations are increasingly unpopular. Defenders of the holiday say it honors Virginia history.
"We need to make Election Day a holiday," Northam had said in his State of the Commonwealth speech earlier this year.
"We can do it by ending the Lee-Jackson holiday that Virginia holds ... It commemorates a lost cause. It's time to move on."
13 days vacation (new employee minimum)
13 days per year (use or lose) sick leave (can be used for family member care)
84 days Parental Leave for birth or adoption
[The Federalist] The New York City/New Jersey metro area is the epicenter of the United States' Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. For the last month, all eyes have been on the Big Apple as they have dealt with the pandemic. Thankfully, the curve is starting to flatten and it looks like the NYC area is finally getting a handle on the virus.
Despite that, progressive darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) believes her residents are afraid of going to the hospital because of "Trump's xenophobic COVID response."
She went on to explain why she believed the president's response is "xenophobic."
#1
Yes of course. They hate and fear the Orange Man so much they shun medical attention, preferring to stay home and expire. Principled bunch they are indeed.
[Conservative Tree House via Lucianne] Pompeo's remarks were made to the National Governors Association (NGA) Feb 8, 2020; and there's an interesting segment where Pompeo reveals his awareness of a list of U.S. governors compiled by China's communist party; and their alignment with China's interests. Makes for an interesting read.
#1
Unfortunately the linked document has not been translated from the Chinese, but a linked story highlights the governors of Indiana and Maine as being among the most pro-Chinese. The most "hardline" or less-susceptible to Chinese influence(-buying) include NY's Cuomo and FL's DeSantis.
Why it matters: “Our concern at the end of the day isn't focused on an election event. It is focused on the integrity of our policymaking process and the policymakers' decision-making ability," said the FBI official.
Key takeaway: Beijing is using economic carrots and sticks to cultivate relationships and gradually change perceptions from the ground up, so that hardline policies on China become less popular and harder to adopt.
China, Russia, and Iran all engage in influence activities, but their goals are different, the FBI official said:
"Russia wants us to tear ourselves apart."
"Iran wants us to leave them alone.”
"China wants to manage our decline."
#4
The Russian strategy is merely to nudge American hotheads to do what they're already doing: "Look at what Evil OtherSide said today! Doesn't it make your blood boil?!?!" Not benign, or innocuous but really, $600k in FB ads is close to zilch. Almost harmless in the grand scheme. They could do far worse.
The CCP strategy, OTOH, is massive and aimed at changing our policies by cultivating quislings at all levels of government, from local to state to federal;
throughout academia, both in terms of students ("Confucius Institute") and researchers and even elite department heads e.g. Harvard's Charles Lieber;
and of course across the media-- not just useful idiots like T. Friedman but ordinary journos at publications and outlets large and small.
We have never seen anything like this in our country -- not this scale, not this scope, not this degree of focus or tenacity or singlemindedmess of purpose.
The Nazis had Lindbergh and a few other symps; the Soviets had a few scores with the Rosenbergs and a few others; the 18c XYZ Affair was minor, trivial by comparison.
But none of these foreign subversion efforts came anywhere class to changing US opinion and US policy on a mass scale. The Chinese are in a league of their own. Unprecedented for sinister intent. Unprecedented for effectiveness.
#5
All politicians want to spend more. Governors and mayors are among the worst. University and college administrators are right up there too. If they can't get what they want from Uncle Sugar, there is no devil they won't deal with.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/13/2020 9:38
Comments ||
Top||
#6
How many of you made the link between that group and Chinese Communist Party officials?
How could you not make such an assumption unless your head is up your ass?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/13/2020 12:16
Comments ||
Top||
[Federalist] Some mayors and governors seem to think their authority is limitless in the face of the pandemic. They need a remedial lesson in the Constitution.
There’s nothing like a crisis to bring clarity. The response of some mayors and governors to the coronavirus pandemic in recent days has made it clear they think they have unlimited and arbitrary power over their fellow citizens, that they can order them to do or not do just about anything under the guise of protecting public health.
We’ve now witnessed local and state governments issue decrees about what people can and cannot buy in stores, arrest parents playing with their children in public parks, yank people off public buses at random, remove basketball rims along with private property, ticket churchgoers, and in one case try—and fail—to chase down a lone runner on an empty beach. All of this, we’re told, is for our own good.
SOME AUTHORITIES ARE TARGETING CHRISTIANS
The most egregious example of this outpouring of authoritarianism was an attempt by Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer to ban drive-in church services on Easter. On Holy Thursday, one day before Christians were to begin their most important religious celebrations of the year, Fischer declared that drive-in Easter services would be illegal.
To remove all doubt about his seriousness, he also threatened arrest and criminal penalties for anyone who dared violate his order, and in an Orwellian twist, invited people to snitch on their fellow citizens. Fischer justified this by saying it was "to save lives."
Thankfully, a federal judge made short work of the mayor’s idiotic power-grab, issuing a temporary restraining order against the city of Louisville on Saturday, writing so as to remove all doubt, "The Mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is, ’beyond all reason,’ unconstitutional."
The mayor shouldn’t have needed a federal judge to tell him that. Anyone with a passing familiarity with the U.S. Constitution should know the government can’t single out religious worship for special regulations and prohibitions, which is precisely what the hapless Fischer did here. His order would have barred Christians from driving to their church parking lots and sitting in their vehicles for Easter services—all while maintaining proper social distancing—while imposing no such restrictions on drive-up and drive-through restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores, or parking lots generally.
Mayors or governors—or even presidents—can no more single out Christians on Easter than they can single out Muslims during Ramadan or Jews on Yom Kippur. If you’re going to ban parking in parking lots, it has to apply to everyone everywhere.
But this didn’t just happen in Louisville. Two churches in Greenville, Mississippi, that were holding drive-in services for Holy Week said police showed up and ordered churchgoers to leave or face a $500 fine.
#5
If you ever thought that certain Americans, given a little power, would not turn on their fellow Americans, here is the proof that they will. Imagine them having a little more power than a stay at home request... Our right to peacefully assemble, free speech, gun store closures, freedom of movement, curfews, closed churches, state closures, forced quarantines, etc... have all been infringed. Did I miss anything? All by Governors operating in fear. They pitched our constitution out with the trash, for what? Now we know, very clearly, what our states governments feel is within their rights when it comes to "our" constitutional rights. It is frightening. We stay well armed, not just for the enemy outside our nation, but the ones within...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/13/2020 10:49
Comments ||
Top||
#9
Consider the ones inside being supported and perhaps mentored unknowingly by those outside. This is what the 2nd amendment is really about, to give the people the means to deal with domestic despotism as well are foreign enemies.
#13
The real problem is how many people welcome the removal of civil liberties. At least here in California Ive heard old friends praising the thing in charge of LA.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus could have saved lives if they’d been started earlier, and when they’re eased new cases are certain to arise, said the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, seeming to draw the ire of President Donald Trump.
Trump, who has been chafing at criticism that he didn’t do enough early on to fight the virus, reposted a tweet that referenced Fauci’s comments and that said "Time to #FireFauci." The Republican president again pointed to his decision in late January to restrict travel from China, writing, "Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up."
Fauci said Sunday that the economy in parts of the country could have a "rolling reentry" as early as next month, provided health authorities can quickly identify and isolate people who will inevitably be infected. Fauci also said he "can’t guarantee" that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3.
At some point OrangeMan needs to channel his inner Lincoln - not the better angels of our nature, 2nd Inaugural Lincoln but the wartime one. These people have become a public menace and a major security risk to the nation.
#5
"Fauci also said he "can’t guarantee" that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3." Petty, small minded, butt covering bureaucratic ass that this fool is, of course he would say this. We "can't guarantee" the universe will still exist in the next second. Dump him (or neuter him painfully) please.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/13/2020 11:40
Comments ||
Top||
#6
Fauci has been around long before Trump (hmmmm, whatchya up to, Tony? Like it there? Pay well?)
[Bearing Arms] A Tacoma man who was shot as he put his Sig Sauer pistol in a holster has sued the company for millions, alleging the firearms have a history of going off without the trigger being pulled.
Cody Hoefs argues the company knew about the defect and failed to do a mandatory recall.
"... Sig Sauer concealed and propagated a defective deadly weapon so as not to jeopardize a $580,000,000 contract with the United States military, whereby it chose to put profit over the safety and well-being (of) both law enforcement and the general public," the lawsuit says.
The model, the Sig Sauer P320, was the subject of a CNN investigation in 2018.
Hoefs was at home Nov. 23, 2016 when he put his loaded pistol in the holster.
The gun went off "with no prompting while fully-seated in its Sig brand holster," and Hoefs suffered a gunshot wound to his right thigh and lower leg, the complaint says.
The lawsuit lists a series of similar incidents in which Sig Sauer guns went off "without the trigger being pulled, or simply while being handled, accidentally dropped, or while being holstered."
#2
"It is the opinion of this Court that the plaintiff is a dumb-ass, the sort of person who would shoot himself in the leg while putting his pants on. Dismissed."
#6
No knowledge of alleged "inanimate object murderous intentions" of Sig triggers. However, I did have a Remington 700 and that syphilitic bugger would go off without touching the trigger, so it's not beyond belief; still waiting for the evidence, however.
[The Hill] Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Sunday called the disproportionate coronavirus deaths among African Americans in his state "very disturbing."
The governor told ABC’s "This Week" that he requested a study to track the number of cases and deaths by race because it wasn’t being monitored by anyone, including the federal government.
The study found that black Marylanders make up 52 percent of the deaths from the coronavirus despite making up only 31 percent of the state’s population.
"This disparity among African Americans is very disturbing," Hogan said. "It’s why I called for the study. You know nobody was really tracking these things."
He said the state has backtracked and has data on race for 80 percent of cases and plans to release it by ZIP code Sunday or Monday.
#1
You know, you can build a nice conspiracy theory on this.
(1) Assume novel coronavirus is a biological weapon in development that escaped the lab prematurely.
Then you have to ask.
(2) Why did Chinese build such a feeble bioweapon?
(3) It's only feeble in industrialized world. In Africa (which it reaches right now) it will be devastating.
(4) Is it to China's advantage if Africa depopulated?
#3
/\ Putting on Conspiracy Hat: it "could" have been a research into militarizing the virus into a Tactical Bioweapon aimed at Arabs, Persians, other Central Asian ethnicities, and of course Indians. Something that would render an entire area to sick to fight an invading Chinese army -- the only problem is researching a strain that hurts ethnic Chinese the least.
...or they were researching viral strains as part of a long term health initiative and somebody made a terrible mistake. ...or it is just one of those tragedies that Nature visits us with.
#6
The disparity of diabetes among the Navajo people is disturbing. Leading to early death and disability. Maybe there is some sort of social behavior factor involved? Nah. We don't want to change our behavior lets blame someone/something else.
#10
study found that black Marylanders make up 52 percent of the deaths from the coronavirus despite making up only 31 percent of the state’s population.
Adjust for population density (probably a second or third power function) and much of that disparity will vanish. Adjust again for lifestyle choices and more will go away. The rest - if there even is any - would probably be tied to co-morbidity factors. Data from Africa (with its huge China connection...) does not support a positive race factor, and even suggests a negative one.
#11
China is colonizing Africa, Middle East. Reducing/weakening those populations is a step toward those goals. And what a fortuitous oil/gas find in the lands of the Uighur. Surely coincidental to the local suppression. (puts foil hat back on)
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/13/2020 11:51
Comments ||
Top||
It's Kurt time
[TownHall] - One of the least appealing aspects of the American character is the residual Puritanism that still compels a certain percentage of our countrymen, women and others, to nag, pester, and generally annoy the rest of us by trying to make us conform to their stick-up-the-Lieu vision of propriety. These people — these obnoxious Karens, for lack of a better FCC-compliant term — are delighted by the Chinese Bat Biter grippe and the opportunity it presents for them to try to impose their arbitrary will upon the rest of us. These mewling Mussolinis need to be slapped back, verbally if not physically, but as long as we are under this lockdown, they will not stop. They live for this, the chance to dictate to and control us, and the problem is some of them have positions of power.
...This is not to say that the Chinese coronavirus pandemic is fake or unserious, nor that we should ignore it and pretend that it’s just another flu. It is to say that there is more going on now than a respiratory ailment. There’s an economic ailment that most of us are painfully aware of, and there is a freedom ailment, where the Karens in everyday life and in the corridors or power are taking advantage of this crisis to let their fascist flag fly.
...In Michigan, Governor Karen O’Karenheimer decided that buying non-essential stuff should be outlawed, and guess who decided what’s non-essential? Well, dope appears essential, but dope smokin’ morons make up a lot of the Democrat base (and the Libertarian base too), so off course hopheads get a pass. But gardening supplies and seeds? Nah. Why? Because, that’s why. You might think it was mind-bendingly stupid if you did not understand her real motivation — it’s the giddy joy of bossing you around. To paraphrase a great line from Heat, which everyone should do as often as possible, the fascism is the juice.
...This is not to say that we should pretend there’s no pandemic. In fact, few people do or want to — that’s not what freedom requires. It’s to say that persuasion must be the default, not intimidation. Like most of you, I mostly stayed at home, wore a mask, and distanced myself, not because some Karen was going to jump my Schiff if I didn’t but because I decided that these were reasonable precautions that I should take for myself and my fellow citizens. That’s how we all started off, and that’s how we should still be doing it, but the Karens gotta Karen, and we’re not going to take it.
[Breitbart] Hollywood director Spike Lee suggested that Earth was "angry" at mankind for going "too far" and unleashed the Chinese coronavirus pandemic as a form of revenge.
"Before Corona, after Corona. This is changing everything," the BlacKkKlansman director said during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show.
"But you know why, the reason, I read an article about it. How pollution is clearing up. Skies are clear. Animals are coming out. I mean you know, the Earth was angry at us," Lee explained. "People may think I’m crazy that I believe it in my heart and soul. That we had gone too far and Earth said, ’Hold up, we gotta change this.’"
h/t Instapundit
[YahooNews] - I started wearing disposable gloves and a mask in early March. Almost everyone was looking at me as if I was some kind of a freak. Today, I don’t wear a mask when I go out and people are looking at me as if I am an idiot. Very interesting maths & graphs
#1
Yes, indeed, and very transparent - open source. But it also has assumptions, like a 1% transmission rate, which are central to the analysis.
The probability of catching COVID-19 in New York City today is probably 100 times smaller than the probability of catching it a month ago. Yet, most people are 100 times more concerned about getting infected now than they were a month ago.
I think that is the problem in a nutshell.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/13/2020 14:11
Comments ||
Top||
h/t Instapundit
[PJ] - Perhaps the best thing that could come out of this entire debacle and turning America into a police state — where people are arrested for going somewhere in their cars and never leaving their cars — should be a total disdain for and disbelief in computer models. Computer modeling, IMO, is a bane of real mathematical modeling.
#4
The first of many problems with computer modeling is that there are so few good looking computers.
The second is that way too many people don't realize how "dumb" computer models are. Most spread sheets are models even if just your personal finance spread sheet. "gee what happens to my retirement if I'm making 200,000 a year instead of 20,000?......
[NYPost] Smithfield Foods, the world's biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving "perilously close to the edge" in supplies for grocers.
Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the U.S. food supply chain, crimping availability of meat at retail stores and leaving farmers without outlets for their livestock.
Smithfield extended the closure of its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant after initially saying it would idle temporarily for cleaning. The facility is one of the nation's largest pork processing facilities, representing 4% to 5% of U.S. pork production, according to the company.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Saturday that 238 Smithfield employees had active cases of the new coronavirus, accounting for 55% of the state’s total. Noem and the mayor of Sioux Falls had recommended the company shut the plant, which has about 3,700 workers, for at least two weeks.
#4
Auto ship orders out of control. Excess inventory auto shipped and required to receive. 1000 eggs warehouse overstock sent to franchises who are required to receive. Reduced hours. Poor business performance. Whatcha gonna do when they come for you, poor boys, poor boys.
#8
Re #3: not sure that jives with why 3,700 employees were needed in the SD plant. That said, Food Faire carries smithfield and they ARE China-addicted.
#9
No idiot ships pork to China for slaughter and butcher then ships it back to the US for packaging. The company may be Chinese owned, but they're slaughtering and butchering in the US, of US-raised hogs.
Doesn't anyone remember that China's pig farms were going through a swine flu outbreak mid to late 2019?
And Dale needs to lay off the bath salts. Nothing he said makes sense.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/13/2020 8:36
Comments ||
Top||
#10
I don't make this stuff up. Just pass on what I find in my many travels. Many many sources in all sorts of industry. Negative comments expected. Rantburg is my sounding board to maintain my balance. Today did find a local farm source for cured bacon. More interested in supporting local farms these days.
#15
Smithfield said it will resume operations in Sioux Falls after further direction from local, state and federal officials. The company will pay employees for the next two weeks, according to the statement.
“It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running,” Smithfield chief executive Ken Sullivan said in a statement Sunday. “These facility closures will also have severe, perhaps disastrous, repercussions for many in the supply chain, first and foremost our nation’s livestock farmers.”
The company has been running its plants to supply US consumers during the outbreak, Sullivan said.
“We have a stark choice as a nation: We are either going to produce food or not, even in the face of COVID-19,” he said.
Other major US meat and poultry processors, including Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc. and JBS USA, have already idled plants in other states.
This is pretty serious stuff. The plant had 6% of the workers with active COVID, which is about half the cases in SD. That plant is about 10% of Smithfield's US operations and 5% of the US pork production.
It sounds like the CEO wants to keep going, but the state and local governments recommended a closure and now he's looking for help and direction from the government.
If we want to keep continuity in our food pipeline, the FDA/CDC/USDA need to step in quickly in these cases (not just this particular one) and set up procedures to get people back to work asap. Yes, invoke the Defense Production Act if necessary, and put teams in place at each plant to monitor and assist. It seems these plants are shutting down with little fanfare.
#17
WH Group Acquisition was "the largest ever takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese company, roughly doubling the number of US jobs tied to direct investment by China." This happened during the Obama administration. The WH Group wikipedia entry is worth reading.
#19
More: "In addition to owning over 500 farms in the US, Smithfield contracts with another 2,000 independent farms around the country to grow Smithfield's pigs. Outside the US, the company has facilities in Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Globally the company employed 50,200 in 2016 and reported an annual revenue of $14 billion. Its 973,000-square-foot meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, was said in 2000 to be the world's largest, processing 32,000 pigs a day."
#20
Even more: "In 1992 Smithfield opened the world's largest processing plant, a 973,000-square-foot facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina, which by 2000 could process 32,000 pigs a day. Smithfield purchased John Morrell & Co in Sioux Falls, SD, in 1995 and Circle Four Farms in 1998. In 1999 it bought two of the largest pig producers in the United States: Carroll's Foods for around $500 million and Murphy Family Farms of North Carolina for $460 million. The latter was at that point the country's largest producer. Farmland Foods of Kansas City was added in 2003, as were Sara Lee's European Meats, ConAgra Foods Refrigerated Meats, Butterball (the poultry producer) and, in 2007, Premium Standard Farms. Smithfield sold its 49 percent share in Butterball in 2008 for an estimated $175 million. In 2009 Smithfield was assessed a $900,000 penalty by the U.S. Justice Department to settle charges that the company had engaged in illegal merger activity during its takeover of Premium Standard Farms.
The acquisitions caused concern among regulators in the United States regarding the company's control of the food supply. After Smithfield's purchase of Murphy Family Farms in 1999, the Agriculture Department described it as "absurdly big". According to agricultural researchers Jill Hobbs and Linda Young, writing in 2001, the acquisitions constituted a "major structural change" in the hog industry in the United States, leaving Smithfield in control of 10–15 percent of the country's hog production. As of 2006 four companies—Smithfield, Tyson Foods, Swift & Company, and Cargill—were responsible for the production of 70 percent of pork in the United States."
And yet the Obama administration allowed China to buy all that.
[JPost] - Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Sunday that they have developed a new method of testing for COVID-19 which is not only 4-10 times faster than the tests most commonly used today, but also significantly cheaper, while supplying the same level of accuracy.
Moreover, most of the materials required to perform the new test are already available in Israel, easing significantly both the country's dire shortage of testing materials and its heavy economic dependence on foreign commercial markets.
...The method commonly used today for COVID-19 testing involves extracting RNA molecules from a patient's sample to determine if they have viral RNA within them, which confirms the presence of the coronavirus.
The new test developed by the researchers performs the same action, but is made from more commonly attainable materials, that produce results at a much higher speed.
Haviv said that, "We have an efficient RNA extraction method, 4-10 times faster than the current method. It is based on magnetic beads and can be performed both robotically and manually."
Other than the magnetic beads, all of the other materials needed to perform the tests are available for purchase in Israel. The beads themselves are recyclable and can be reused to perform future tests.
[Rudaw] A police force member has died and two more have been injured after a bomb attached to one of their cars went kaboom! in Kirkuk's Askari neighborhood, a police spokesperson told Rudaw. No one has yet grabbed credit for the attack.
"The officer is a colonel who works at the police checkpoints section, and he was on his way to work but a bomb had been attached to his car, which went kaboom!," Kirkuk police spokesperson Afrasyaw Kamil told Rudaw.
The driver of the car was killed in the earth-shattering kaboom, Kamil said, but the colonel and his guard survived.
The vehicle targeted was a red Peugeot, a security source told local media outlet Kirkuk Now.
"The explosion severely injured Colonel Muhanad Tariq, head of the checkpoints section and his driver," the unnamed security source told the outlet before the driver died from his injuries.
Police are investigating the incident, Kamil added, and he did not say who they believed could be responsible for the attack. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group have launched similar attacks on Kirkuk's security forces since their sweep through swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in the summer of 2014.
Saturday's car kaboom was the second in the space of eight days, after a bomb was attached to a security force vehicle in northeast Kirkuk on April 3. A number of soldiers were killed and injured in the attack, according to Iraqi media reports.
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan intelligence arrested two more big shots of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , ISIS Khurasan, who originally hail from Bangladesh and Pakistain.
The National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) in a statement said the Afghan intelligence arrested Mohammad Tanweer having aliases (Omran, Ahmad and Nasir), who is originally a resident of Dhaka city of Bangladesh.
The statement further added that Tanweer was in charge of the Information Technology of ISIS Khurasan who was trained by Esa Panjabi, a resident of Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... of Pakistain.
According to NDS, Tanweer was playing a key role in organizing communications between ISIS Khurasan leaders in a confidential manner.
The NDS forces also arrested Ali Mohammad, a senior ISIS Khurasan leader, who was in charge of the logistics affairs of the terror group, NDS said, adding that Mohammad is originally a resident of Islamabad of Pakistain and he was playing a key role in coordinating foreign aid to support ISIS activities in Afghanistan.
The ISIS sympathizers have not commented in this regard so far.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/13/2020
00:26 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[16 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[KhaamaPress] Back to back explosions rocked Kabul city earlier today with the security officials saying the earth-shattering kabooms maimed at least three people including a civilian and security personnel.
A source in Kabul Police Headquarters said the first explosion happened at around 6:30 am local time in in the 11th district of Kabul city which maimed a civilian.
The source further added that a roadside kaboom went off in Prozha-e Jadid area of the city which targeted a police vehicle but the blast maimed a civilian.
The second explosion went off at round 7:30 am local time in the same area as the security personnel were busy defusing the second bomb.
The explosion maimed two personnel of the Explosives Ordnance Disposal team maimed, the official added.
The anti-government armed Lions of Islam including Taliban ...Arabic for students... have not commented regarding the incident so far.
[NYPOST] The US has more than 530,000 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 with every state now under an emergency disaster declaration for the first time in history, according to the latest figures.
The tally from John Hopkins University also showed the corpse count in the country surpassing 20,000 on Sunday.
The rising number of infections comes after President Trump approved Saturday a major disaster declaration for Wyoming, ensuring that now all 50 states have federal funding available to fight the pandemic.
The declarations can also help state governments coordinate with federal resources such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The US led the world Sunday for the number of confirmed COVID-19, followed by Spain and Italia, according to John Hopkins University.
#8
We're all going to be exposed. That was never in question. Flattening the curve was always only intended to spread things out enough to avoid overwhelming medical services, not to change the area under the curve (total number who get it).
#3
Flogged, beaten, flailed, nailed to then hung from a cross, speared, buried, tomb sealed with a Roman seal, guarded by Roman guards. On the third day he sat up and then walked out of the tomb. He said all of this would happen before it actually happened.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[34 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
#1
Saudis came to reclaim their slice of what looks increasingly like a 3 (or was it 4) way civil war?
Recent Wikipedia history:
On April 30, 2018, the United Arab Emirates, as part of the ongoing Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, landed troops on the island and took control of Socotra Airport and seaport.[34][30] On May 14, 2018, Saudi troops were also deployed on the island and a deal was brokered between the United Arab Emirates and Yemen for a joint military training exercise and the return of administrative control of Socotra airport and seaport under Yemeni control.
In May 2019, the Yemeni government accused the United Arab Emirates of landing around 100 separatist troops in Socotra, which the UAE denied, deepening a rift between the two nominal allies in Yemen's civil war.
In February 2020, a regiment of the Yemeni Army stationed in Socotra rebelled and pledged allegiance to the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council in Socotra, renouncing the UN-backed government of Hadi.
Saudis, et al allied with the former Sunni ruling party
Houthis, the Shiite Iranian sockpuppets
Al Qaeda in Arabia
Various tribes allied with or against any of the above as the mood and bribes sway them...
[Uh, yeah, thanks, Tony.]
[JustTheNews] The U.S. was given inaccurate information about the coronavirus at the beginning of the crisis Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Saturday.
When Fox News host Jesse Watters asked Fauci if he believes China or the World Health Organization "misled" him or if the WHO leader himself could have been "deceived," Fauci noted that while he does not know the details behind the inaccurate information, it was disseminated from the start of the crisis.
"You know I don't know where the missteps went, the only thing I know what the end result was, that early on we did not get correct information," Fauci said. "And the incorrect information was propagated right from the beginning because you know when the first cases came out, that were identified I think on December 31st in China and we became aware of this, they said this was just animal to human period."
"Now we know retrospectively that there was ongoing transmission from human to human in China, probably at least a few weeks before then," he said.
Fauci said once the illness hit the U.S. it became evident "that was misinformation right from the beginning."
He added that "whosever fault that was, you know, we're gonna go back and take a look at that when this is all over, but clearly it was not the right information that was given to us."
#1
Chinese knew by early Dec that the virus was transmitting human to human. It wasn't until late January they sort of admitted human to human transmission. The Chinese fucked the world over for 6 weeks as they drag netted the world for medical supplies.
#2
During those 6 weeks, Chinese were getting the fuck out of Wuhan and infecting the rest of the world.
January 21: The CDC announced the first U.S. case of a the coronavirus in a Snohomish County, Wash., resident who returning from China six days earlier. Washington, where nursing homes were devastated by Wuhan SARS soon after.
#5
The RNA profile (or whatever) of the virus China sent to the world scientific community in Jan was also faulty. The WHO and MSM seem to have covered that up.
Lately, they're sending out data about stuff from the State of Qin in the 7th century BC that 'seems to be working' according to them. Derivatives of chinese herbs and even the scales of Pangolins... dear Gawd in heav'n !
#9
If the people in this country who helped and paid China to make this deal funded them were from Israel in world war two they would have made ovens and has chambers and blamed Easter islanders! Phuck em!
A series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s killed 25 Talibs and maimed 17 others in Northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan, the Afghan military said.
Reacting to Taliban ...Arabic for students... claims regarding the casualties inflicted on civilians, the 209th Shaheen Corps in a statement said the Talibs not only lost the control of Khamaab district but sustained heavy casualties as well.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[33 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that it scored a new advance in the southwestern part of the country in its struggle against the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.
The spokesman for the General Command of the LNA, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, confirmed on his Facebook page on Sunday that their forces have tightened their control over the western Bograin Gate.
He stated that the LNA forces found large quantities of weapons, ammunition and military equipment in the area “after the enemy fled.”
The Bograin Gate is located near the strategic port city of Misrata in the northern part of Libya.
Misrata is one of the main strongholds for the GNA and an important logistical supply port for the latter’s forces.
The GNA have not yet commented on the news of these gains by the LNA.
[BREITBART] Virginia Gov. Ralph Coonman Northam ...Governor of Virginia, another Dem Great White Hope. He has a fondness for wearing blackface. He won election by calling his Publican opponent Ed Gillespie a racist, but then, don't they all?... (D) announced on Good Friday that he signed into law a bill his new Democrat majority rushed to approve, one that repeals most restrictions on child sacrifice abortion in the state.
Northam minimized the extremity of the Reproductive Health Protection Act, referring in a blurb to the restrictions on child sacrifice abortion that are now repealed as "anti-women’s health laws."
"No more will politicians in Richmond—most of whom are men—be telling women what they should and should not be doing with their bodies," Northam said in an accompanying statement. "The Reproductive Health Protection Act will make women and families safer, and I’m proud to sign it into law."
BREAKING: The Libyan National Army captures Abu Grein (aka Hisha) and forces the Turkish-backed Islamist militias to retreat towards Sadada and Misrata. #Libyapic.twitter.com/A4JnRGsO09
#GNA militias are in a complete Rout leaving their dead and equipment. As they realized that the #LNA surrounded the town from the East south and west since last night. #Libyapic.twitter.com/D12luju6os
Haftar's forces suffer major losses as they attack Abu Grein
[Libya Observer] The Libyan Army under the command of the Government of National Accord (GNA) has regained full control of Abu Grein town after a failed advance attempt and attacks by Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly... 's forces, said Army front man Mohammed Gununu on Sunday.
Gununu added that forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar had suffered major losses of lives and military equipment in their failed attack on Abu Grein, which saw heavy festivities since early Sunday.
Haftar's forces started attacks in an attempt to advance under Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s' cover with a multinational group of mercenaries - mainly Sudanese and Chadian - pushing GNA forces out of Qadahiya and Zamzam areas and then succeeded in entering Abu Grein with a brief control on the town for several hours.
However, the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything... when GNA forces received military backup from Misrata ans Zliten cities and Air Force drones started to fly over the area, they managed to tip the balance to their benefit and caused Haftar's forces massive losses of both lives and military equipment.
Many photos and videos of burnt and captured vehicles as well as an Egyptian armored vehicle were posted by social media pages loyal to Volcano of Rage Operation forces, not to mention the photos of bodies of Haftar's fighters killed in the fighting.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, the pilot and the copilot had both hit the silk.
Jack! Cynthia exclaimed. Do you know how to drive one of these things?
Jack wiped some of the blood from his knuckles.
No, he said. Do you?... sources from the Libyan Army said their defenses managed to shoot down Mi35 aircraft, which was confirmed by many pro-Haftar social media pages that said the three-pilot crew lost contact with the General Command of Haftar's forces.
On southern Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... frontlines, there has been an uneasy calm with few skirmishes on al-Tawaisha, Khallatat and Hamza Camp frontlines.
[SABA.YE] The army and popular committees on Sunday repelled three of the mercenaries infiltrations in al-Bayda and Marib provinces, Armed forces front man Yahya Sarie told Saba.The three infiltrations continued from midnight last night until this morning, including two infiltrations in the front of Qaniya in al-Bayda province, and another in Sirwah district of Marib province, said Sarie.
He said the enemy has suffered heavy losses of life and equipment, and dozens were killed and injured in its ranks, but no progress has been made.
Army forces repel 2 infiltration attempts in Jawf, Marib
[SABA.YE] The army and the popular committees on Saturday repelled two infiltration attempts by Saudi-led aggression coalition forces and their mercenaries on fronts of Jawf and Marib provinces,.
“The army forces were able to repel two infiltration attempts, one towards the army’s sites in Khab Washaaf district of Jawf province, and the other in Serwah district in Marib,” the army’s spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sarie told Saba.
He confirmed that the enemy forces suffered heavy losses and dozens of dead and wounded, without achieving any progress.
The aggression coalition aircraft launched seven airstrikes on separate areas in Jawf and Marib, the spokesman added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[26 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
#1
I would not have had a clue to which side the attackers and defenders belonged until I read "Saudi-led aggression coalition". Still it was a let down as only a few months ago it was the "American Saudi-led aggression coalition". I feel ... downgraded.
[Libya Observer] The Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, Justice Mohammed al-Hafi, told the Presidential Council's Head Fayez al-Sarraj and the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya al-Siddiq al-Kabir in a letter on Sunday that declaring a state of emergency gives exceptional legitimacy to the executive authorities that allow them to issue extraordinary orders and make exceptional decisions.
Al-Hafi said state institutions should now boost the unity of the state by avoiding plunging it into any dangers, adding that there will be accountability for any unnecessary measures taken by executive authorities after the current state of emergency is over.
He called for ending escalation and accusations' exchange between al-Sarraj and al-Kabir, urging them to work as a team to end the crisis. He added that the rhetoric and statements of sovereign state institutions should be heedful and diligent as well as consider official ranks and the seriousness of the situation.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, Bart was wondering if fisticuffs would be appropriate at this point... over the last few weeks, al-Sarraj and al-Kabir have been tit-for-tatting in accusations of mishandling government funds and miscalculations, especially after state employees' salaries have gotten delayed for three months and foreign currency transactions have been put on hold, thus creating a hike in black market rates and prices of commodities as imports have also been stopped.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[18 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Real Clear Investigations] The last time the United States faced a worldwide pandemic — the "Spanish flu" of 1918 and 1919 -- cities rolled up the sidewalks, closed theaters, and shuttered saloons. Firemen, policemen, nurses and panicked citizens covered their faces with gauze masks.
The virulent influenza emerged in the last year of World War I, incubated in American army camps and spread overseas on troop ships. By the time the influenza finally burned itself out, over 45,000 Americans in uniform and some 600,000 American civilians were dead of the disease. It’s estimated that the Spanish flu killed 50 million worldwide.
When the crisis hit, the country was led by a president viewed by many as among the most capable of American leaders, Woodrow Wilson. A favorite of progressives, Wilson has been hailed for expanding the federal government and celebrated for his commitment to international institutions. He has regularly been in historians’ polls of the top 10 presidents, an assessment that has only slipped in recent years as Wilson's unreconstructed racism has been publicized. Still, one would expect a skilled advocate of federal authority to have used every power of his office to confront a scourge that was killing Americans by the hundreds of thousands. Surely his response would be a model of presidential leadership.
Not quite.
"Frankly, I don’t think Wilson gave much attention to the flu," John M. Cooper, emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells RealClearInvestigations. "From going through his papers, there just isn’t much there," says Cooper, the dean of Wilson scholars.
"President Woodrow Wilson had been extraordinarily close-mouthed about the epidemic from the first," writes Sandra Opdycke in "The Flu Epidemic of 1918: America’s Experience in the Global Health Crisis." Historians "have been unable to find a single occasion on which he mentioned it in public."
From April 1. Long, with lots of graphs and discussion of their content. A key point:
[Medium] Republican-controlled states have had a huge advantage: They have seen what has happened to their Democratic-controlled brethren, but because they are on average more rural, the coronavirus took time to reach them. But it will reach them. Some rural states, like Alaska or Idaho, have taken advantage of this delay. Others, like Oklahoma, Mississippi or Missouri, are not taking enough measures to contain the virus: It will continue spreading invisibly, infecting the people of these states.
The older you are, the more likely you are to both vote Republican and die from the coronavirus. Voters aged 80+ are 80 times more likely to die from the coronavirus than those under 40 (16% fatality rate vs. ~0.2%).
This effect is strong enough that people who voted for Trump in the 2016 election are around 30% more likely to die from the coronavirus than Democrats. In some swing states from the 2016 election, such as Pennsylvania, if the coronavirus were to run wild, this effect alone could have wiped out up to 30% of the gap between Republicans and Democrats in the 2016 election.
The Afghan forces killed the shadow governor of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... group and his 4 accomplices during a clash in central Maidan Wardak province.
The 203rd Thunder Corps in a statement said the Afghan forces responded to a Taliban attack while acting in self-defense, killing Wali Jan alias Hamza, the shadow governor of Taliban for Wardak.
The statement further added that the security forces also 4 other Talibs and maimed 8 more during the clash.
The security forces destroyed some weapons and munitions belonging to Talibs during the clash, the 203rd Thunder Corps added in its statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[35 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Just when I thought the #drone(s) buzzing over #Beirut tonight had stopped... some people are saying they are Israeli; what is certain is that it would be great if they stopped now. Ta. #بيروت#لبنانpic.twitter.com/EiBDdxtHII
[NYPOST] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ... Australian journalist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks made the Big Time in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by then Bradley, since Chelsea Manning. After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance. U.S. officials are seeking to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, blaming him for directingpublication of a huge trove of secret documents that disclosed the names of people who provided confidential information to American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.... secretly fathered two children with one of his lawyers while he was holed up at the Ecuadorean embassy in London and fighting extradition to the US, according to a report.
Stella Morris, a South African-born lawyer, began a relationship with Assange, 48, in 2015, she told the Daily Mail Saturday of the couple’s secret romance.
The couple’s first son, Gabriel, was born in 2017 said Morris, 37.
Their second child, Max, was born last year. Both births were filmed with a GoPro camera and the footage sent to Assange, the Mail reported.
The couple managed to keep their relationship and the birth of the children secret from the Ecuadorean staff and diplomats who had given Assange refuge at the embassy for seven years, the newspaper reported.
"I love Julian deeply, and I am looking forward to marrying him," Morris told the Mail.
In an even odder twist, British rapper M.I.A. is a godmother to the children, who are both British citizens, the Mail reported.
*Sara Gonzalez Devant* is a (Swedish Speaking) freelance writer and worked in Timor-Leste between 2005-2006 with a Timorese NGO and for the National Disasters Management Office. Her dissertation 'Displacement in the 2006 Dili Conflict: Dynamics of an Ongoing Conflict' won the Prize for best dissertation 2006-2007 at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. The paper is published as a Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper (January 2008 WP45). email:
If 'NGO' gives you pause, you are probably correct. She's very likely an intelligence operative.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Republican members of the United States Senate from the oil producing states said they had held a two-hour phone call with three Saudi officials, and demanded that they take concrete action to reduce oil production, the Reuters News Agency reported.
There were 11 Republican Senators on the call for nearly two hours, including Bill Cassidy, who introduced legislation last week to withdraw US forces in 30 days, faster than the previous call.
There were 11 Republican Senators on the call for nearly two hours, including Bill Cassidy, who introduced legislation last week to withdraw US forces in 30 days, faster than the previous call.
The call, which was led by senators Dan Sullivan and Kevin Kramer of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, introduced legislation in March to withdraw U.S. forces, Patriot missiles, and Thad defense systems from Saudi Arabia unless production was cut.
These same senators recently introduced legislation to remove U.S. forces from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and their allies – who together make up the OPEC Plus group – reached an agreement to cut oil production by 10% of the total global supplies, in lengthy talks on Thursday, and they said they want other producers to cut another 5%.
Oil prices fell to their lowest level in 18 years in light of the coronavirus epidemic, which caused the cessation of economic activities around the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
As someone who lived through the 1970s, I cannot for the life of me see the downside of lower oil prices (except for the Saudis, the Iranians, the Russians, and the oil companies.)
I do sympathize with and admire the frackers and would welcome some way to tide them through this period of low oil prices (something like the CARES act, maybe, just for them)
Posted by: Tom ||
04/13/2020 11:24
Comments ||
Top||
#2
^Wouldn't be simpler to drop a few nukes on Saudia?
Samba: Search operation launched by security forces in Ramgarh sector after suspicious movement - Excelsior/ Abhishek Badyal pic.twitter.com/e6oaYDX1vH
[Business Insider] In St. Louis, Missouri, all but three people who have died after being infected with the coronavirus were African American.
In St. Louis, at least 14 of the city's 17 residents who died from the novel virus were also African American. 17 person sample? Obviously reparations are in order
All of the St. Louis' reported COVID-19 deaths were African American until April 10, when the City of St. Louis Department of Health reported the first deaths outside the racial minority group. The deaths of a Hispanic female in her 50s, a white male in 90s, and a woman in her 80s whose race was not identified in reports to the public health officials were announced on Friday in a press release.
Broadly, the novel virus has ravaged St. Louis' black community. Of the confirmed coronavirus cases whose race was reported in St. Louis County, 55% positive cases were black while 36.6% were white, according to data obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis County. (40% of St. Louis County's positive cases were unknown.)
Although African Americans make up more than half of St. Louis' coronavirus cases, only 24.9% of its population is African American only, while 68.2% of its population are white only, according to the US Census Bureau.
However, the unfortunate reality is that St. Louis is not the only US city to be grappling with the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19.
"If you look at the health disparities in the city of St. Louis, they're not unique," St. Louis' health director Dr. Fredrick Echols said during a briefing Wednesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"Inequities exist across the U.S. and across the world, and it's posed a challenge for public health agencies, (which) have to address those issues and ensure all individuals, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, income, or educational attainment have access to quality health-related resources," he added.
The novel coronavirus has swept across the country infecting more than 542,000 and killing over 21,000 in the US alone, according to data collected by John Hopkins. As the number of people stricken by the coronavirus continues to soar, emerging data on the novel virus in the country shows that black communities have been hardest hit by the novel virus.
In Chicago, African Americans make up 30% of the population — but 72% of the people who've died from COVID-19 were black. The racial disparity is also evident in emerging data on coronavirus deaths in Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, and Michigan, according to CNN.
Buried lede:
Although data has laid bare the glaring racial disparities in the impact of the novel virus in St. Louis and beyond, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the impacts on black communities across American have more to do with social issues than race.
There have been some absolutely amazing intelligence community computer tools developed over the past 12-15 years that have taken the art of terrorism social networking and analysis to an entirely new level.
While for obvious reasons not frequently discussed, I am relatively certain these analytic tools are being employed in the CV fight.
#10
If you die in a car crash and test positive for CV, it wasn't the crash that killed you.
Below's a quick data grab. Makes me wonder if they were Medicaid participants (poorly run facilities), and if the spike of deaths in inner cities is a factor of state run/city run health care programs.
Female, 50-59, with underlying medical conditions
Female, 80-89, with underlying medical conditions
Female, 60-69, with underlying medical conditions
Male, 80-89, with underlying medical conditions
If you are keeping count: CV African deaths from the continent are less than 800.
#12
The Black communities largely ignored the requests to stay at home. They held conferences in Sun Valley, and infected the city, as one of many examples. Its not a racial issues, they decided to ignore it and Darwin took over.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/13/2020 10:54
Comments ||
Top||
#13
If I were black, I'd want someone to look into exactly why this is happening. But under current political circumstances this can't happen. Catch 22.
[PUNCHNG] The Rivers State Police Command on Saturday raided suspected kidnappers’ den in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of the state, killing one fleeing suspect in the process. "Stop or I'll [BANG!] shoot!"
The police also recovered a cache of arms and ammunition reportedly used by the gang to terrorise motorists and passengers along the Ogoni-Uyo axis of East-West Road. "Stand and deliver, motorist! [ZOOM!] [BANG!]"
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt. "Greetings, journalists!"
"Greetings, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni!"
Arms and ammunition recovered from the hoodlums are one GPMG, one SMG and two G-3 rifles, one rocket launcher, five pump action guns and 933 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition. Others are: 1,111 rounds of 5.56mm, 222 rounds of 9mm, 909 rounds of 7.62mm, 74 rounds of 9mm of live ammunition, 728 live cartridges, four AK-47 magazines, two G-3 magazines and one SMG magazine. But no shutter guns.
Omoni said, ‘’The hoodlums who took flight on sighting the police, are alleged to be responsible for the kidnappings and robberies along the Ogoni-Uyo area of the East-West Road. "Arrr! Gimme yer dough!"
"I ain't got no dough!"
"You know anybody with dough?"
"My Uncle Bob, I think."
"Okay, into the trunk!"
‘’One of the kidnappers, Samuel Napoo, who had earlier been arrested and whose confession led police to the forest, however, attempted to escape but was immediately demobilised with a shot in his leg. [BANG!] "Ow! My leg!"
He was rushed to UPTH, where he was confirmed dead.’’ "Rosebud!"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
‘’One of the kidnappers, Samuel Napoo, who had earlier been arrested and whose confession led police to the forest, however, attempted to escape but was immediately demobilised with a shot in his leg. He was rushed to UPTH, where he was confirmed dead.’’
[Sudan Tribune] Traditional leadership of the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya failed to strike a deal on peaceful coexistence but reiterated their commitment to peace and security in Abyei.
The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... ’ Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) facilitated two meetings between the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya traditional leaders at Diffra on 16 March and 9 April to discuss ways to end intercommunal tensions and enable save corridors for their cattle to graze south to Bahr al-Arab or Kiir River basin.
"While no written agreement was reached during the 9 April meeting, both sides reiterated their commitment to peace and agreed to meet again, in a wider format, once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted," said UNISFA in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday.
The Misseriya pastoralists who spend most of the year around Muglad in northern South Kordofan, graze their cattle during the dry season south to Bahr al-Arab or Kiir River basin.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... since the attacks of 19-22 January, the southward transhumance of the Misseriya cattle has been stopped, pending an agreement by leaders of both communities.
According to the UNISFA, the Misseriya nomads and their cattle suffered three fresh attacks to prevent their the southward movement towards the grazing areas.
"In one incident, on 2 April in Leu, 4 Misseriya-owned cows died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack and in another, at Hadid near Marial Achak on 9 April, reportedly 2 Misseriya herders were killed and 5 kidnapped, and over 100 cows were rustled," said the statement.
The UN peacekeeping force expressed hope that the leaders of both communities following through on their verbal commitment to peace by translating their words into appropriate action on the ground.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[27 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
YES
[DailyMail] Shocking footage shows Chinese police beating back residents trying to flee epicentre of coronavirus outbreak.
China has been accused of covering up a horrific coronavirus death toll of tens of thousands of people and unleashing a potential wave of new infections by taking the city at the epicentre of the outbreak out of quarantine to help jump-start its national economy.
Communist Party officials are suspected of manipulating statistics to hide a cataclysmic body count in Wuhan in Hubei province in a cynical ploy to allow it to sprint ahead of other major economies by getting back to business as vast swathes of the world remain paralysed by the pandemic.
Continued on Page 49
#1
CIA officials told the White House in a leaked report that China is vastly understating both Covid-19 deaths and cases in the same way financiers worldwide accept it has for decades routinely manipulated its GDP data to maintain a consistently positive narrative.
Nevertheless, there are over 1.428 billion of them and they love air travel.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi has been trying to set up a new cabinet amid public calls for social welfare and the withdrawal of US occupation forces from the Arab country.
Kadhimi, director of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service, met with top members of the outgoing government on Saturday in a bid to put together his cabinet and bring an end to a long-lasting power vacuum.
On Thursday, President Barham Salih named Kadhimi, who enjoys support from the country’s political establishment, as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a new government in a month.
He was the third person tapped for the job in just 10 weeks after the former nominee Adnan al-Zurfi withdrew his bid.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... welcomed Kadhimi’s nomination for the Iraqi premiership, calling the move a step in the right direction.
The new Iraqi prime minister-designate is facing several challenges, among them calls for economic reforms along with a meaningful fight against corruption in state institutions and the nation’s frustration with the US military presence in Iraq.
Earlier this week, US officials told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that Patriot missile launchers and two other short-range systems were in place at Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s Anbar Province and at the military facility in Kurdistan’s regional capital, Erbil, without elaborating on where those systems had been taken from.
They further noted that a short-range rocket system had been installed at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad.
The US military build-up not only violates Iraq’s illusory sovereignty, but also poses a threat to the country’s armed forces and defies an Iraqi parliament vote on January 5 that called for an end to the presence of all foreign troops.
[DAILYWIRE] Texas Sen. Ted Cruz unloaded on his fellow wardheelers on Friday in response to Sen. Dianne Feinstein ...Dem Senator-for-Life from Caliphornica. She has been a politician since about the time she was weaned. Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and tried it a second time in 2012. Feinstein has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. At age 80, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator.... sending a letter to President Trump declaring that she is "disappointed" in his administration’s plan to block funding to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. The Democrats’ demand of Trump to help Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... get $5 billion in aid, Cruz noted, comes "at the exact same time" that they are "blocking desperately need relief to small businesses in America."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[22 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
What ever happened to the investigation of her Chinese handler driver?
A court in Pakistain has sought report on purchases of properties by former Taliban ...Arabic for students... supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor which he reportedly purchased in 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... , Quetta and Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... Mullah Mansoor reportedly purchased the properties using his fake identities before a dronezap killed him the tribal regions of Pakistain.
Dawn News also added that the court also directed the agency to submit a report on the proclamation of the slain Taliban leader’s two alleged accomplices, who are absconding in an alleged terror financing and money laundering case filed in July, 2019.
Mullah Mansoor was reportedly killed in a US dronezap in the vicinity of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province on 21st May of 2016 as he was reportedly on his way from Iran.
The Pak officials later confirmed that DNA collection report confirmed that the man killed in the US dronezap was the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Mansoor.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[22 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[WND] Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order closing public school buildings also bans homeschooling, which is unconstitutional, contends a legal non-profit in the state.
"The Great Lakes Justice Center calls upon Gov. Whitmer to correct this unconstitutional action and assure parents in Michigan that they may continue to safely home school their own children while the EO is in effect," the organization said in a statement Thursday.
The April 2 order states "in-person instruction for pupils in kindergarten through grade 12 ... is suspended for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year."
#5
Exactly how did she plan to enforce this?
Parents will no longer be allowed to talk directly to their children
In Michigan, we seem to be oscillating between Democrat and Republican governors, whether by accident or arrangement, I don't know.
Last guy, Snyder, a Repub, did OK but was term-limited. The media worked hard to shift blame for the Flint water mess to the state instead of the City of Flint. The Repub candidate for governor was the state attorney general, a competent guy but powerfully uncharismatic. tl;dr: Whitmer, a Dem career pol got elected governor.
Her main campaign theme was #FIXTHEDAMNROADS, a perennial problem what with Michigan winters and the gas tax money having a tendency to wander off. Many are grumpy that her solution to fixing the roads turns out to be a gas tax increase. A recall petition has already been started.
She was one of the governors banning doctors from prescribing hydroxychloroquine, so she apparently has the bossy do-gooder gene. Look for this home-schooling order to be walked back, just like the HCQ ban was. On the plus side, she hasn't banned alcohol and weed stores are considered an essential business.
#6
Too bad Whitmer does not have to stand for reelection until Nov 2022. Can't imagine she would be reelected with so many big recent screw ups so close to November 2020.
#10
Another dagger aimed at the educrats us distance learning. We're going to see that, while most teachers absolutely suck at it -- and while distance learning is an absolute disaster for instruction in the performing arts for young adults/older kids -- those who have been offering homeschoolers online instruction since well before the crisis are doing just fine, thank you.
In other words, we will see very soon that, when you compare apples to apples, homeschooling vastly outperforms public schooling. Dagger, indeed.
#12
what are the recall options in MI...asking for a friend...
Posted by: Harry Darling of the Trolls5525 ||
04/13/2020 10:28
Comments ||
Top||
#13
does not have to stand for reelection until Nov 2022
Though she could stand for election this November as Bidens (or his substitutes) VP - would be a perfect fit...
#14
There is a Supreme Court ruling that gives every American a fundamental right to home school. Came up in CA back in the 90's. Gets reversed in 3, 2, .....
#15
Kafka smiles... The students can't attend school, by decree, and can't homeschool, also by decree, but must be educated by the parents until they become adults. Contradictory, no?
[SABA.YE] Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... 's army front man Yahya Sarie said on Monday The forces of aggression launched more than a dozen advances in the past 72 hours.
The official front man of Saba said that aggression warplane also carried out more than 100 raids on a number of provinces, mostly on Marib and al-Jawf provinces.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[23 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[RADIOSHABELLE] New U.S. Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s targeted and killed 11 members of al-Shabaab ...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , an al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia.
One airstrike against al-Shabaab came as a defensive measure after the terror group’s fighters engaged U.S. and Somali government forces near Kobon, Somalia on Thursday, according to a press statement U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) provided to American Military News.
AFRICOM supported partner forces with an airstrike that killed 10 al-Shabaab terrorists.
Another airstrike on Friday also targeted members of the group near the town of Jilib, and resulted in the death of one more al-Shabaab fighter.
U.S. forces were working alongside partner forces of the Somali National Army Danab and Jubaland Security.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[35 views]
Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)
[Just give the statue back to the Russians and be done with it. Geeeesh.]
MOSCOW/PRAGUE (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it had opened a criminal investigation after Czech authorities dismantled the statue of a Soviet military commander last week despite Moscow’s protests, escalating a rancorous diplomatic row over the issue.
The statue to Marshal Ivan Konev, who led Red Army forces during World War Two that drove Nazi troops from Czechoslovakia, is reviled by some in Prague as a symbol of the decades of Communist rule that followed the war.
But in Moscow Konev is lionised by authorities as a war hero, and the removal of his statue was cast as a diplomatic insult and part of what Russia sees as a dangerous attempt to rewrite history.
The statue to Konev, who also played a leading role in crushing the 1956 Hungarian uprising and building the Berlin Wall in 1961, was taken down on April 3 by municipal Prague authorities who said they planned to put it in a museum.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has appealed to Czech Defence Minister Lubomír Metnar to intercede, asking that the statue be sent back to Moscow.
Russia would be prepared to pay for transport or any other costs, the ministry said.
"We expect information from you about the place and time of its handing over," Shoigu said in a defence ministry statement late on Thursday.
The Czech Foreign Ministry said it was up to the Prague district municipality where the statue had been located to decide whether to give it to Russia.
On Friday, Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles probes into major crimes, said it had opened a criminal case into the suspected public desecration of symbols of Russia's military glory.
The Czech foreign ministry said it considered the move to be meddling in its internal affairs and that the statue would be treated in a dignified manner after its removal.
"If Russian bodies continue with confrontational statements and actions in this spirit, it will be a sign they have lost interest in developing mutually beneficial relations between our countries," it said.
Russia has no legal jurisdiction in the Czech Republic.
The statue has for years been the centre of controversy in Prague. It has been repeatedly vandalised and moves by municipal authorities to cover it up with tarpaulin sparked anger among local pro-Russian residents. Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the Soviet military campaign has become a highly sensitive subject for Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin has accused Russia's detractors of diminishing the Soviet war effort and its huge loss of life, and said Moscow must defend itself from what he has called the rewriting of history.
#2
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has been a controversial player in British politics for decades. Back in the 1980s, when the anti-nuclear cause was at its peak, his strong left-wing views placed him in the anti-NATO movement, while his long-term contacts with Irish Republican Army terrorists made Corbyn a subject of interest to the Security Service, popularly known as MI5.
However, a disturbing new report in The Sun reveals that Corbyn was much more than just a left-wing activist in the 1980s—he was spying on his own country for the Warsaw Pact. Although The Sun is a tabloid and not always meticulous with details, this report is based on the files of Communist Czechoslovakia’s State Security, known as the StB. To its credit, after the Soviet empire fell, the Czech Republic made StB files accessible to researchers. The Corbyn report is one of many bombshells to emerge from the musty files of Prague’s former version of the KGB.
[GreatGameIndia] Gilead Sciences is an American biotechnology company holding the patent for drug Remdesivir for treating various Coronavirus in over 70 countries. The company has secured orphan drug status for Remdesivir, allowing it to exclusively obtain marketing revenues for up to 7 years. However, behind the benign image of a vaccine manufacturer, Gilead Science has a dark history of allegations of bioterrorism, including having Pentagon to bomb a competitors factory under the false pretext of association with Al-Qaeda.
SECRET BIOWEAPONS PROGRAM IN GEORGIA
After studying files released online by a former Georgian minister, Russian Defense Ministry declared that an illegal bioweapons research program may have been conducted under the guise of clinical trials by a U.S. funded biomedical laboratory in Georgia, killing 73 subjects.
#1
"The interesting part is, Gilead was part of the vaccine lobby at whose behest the WHO faked the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, and kept it a secret from people until committees were setup which exposed the entire racket."
I guess WHO works for the highest bidder. One day it's Gilead, another day it's China.
#7
GreatGameIndia's a fake news site run by a mercenary media studio, owned by three well known summbitches in Bangalore. They have begun to support the pro-islamist lobbies lately, after trying to win favour with the Right wing and failing. There are a number of news channels, sites and youtube groups that aim to damage Indian diplomatic efforts and sabotage our relations with allies. Those, however put up a different kind of fight.
The stories at GGI are all couched in superficial jargon to make them suspenseful to the clueless Indian public; if scrutinized carefully one can spot the fictive stuff outright. The lack of transparency in foreign policy and dearth of informative news about foreign developments in India allow such merc bastards to make quick bucks by formulating stories for the highest bidder.
The journalistic equivalent of those 'IRS' calls some Americans get from India, hoping to make you part with your money.
#9
The journalistic equivalent of those 'IRS' calls some Americans get from India, hoping to make you part with your money.
Wait. What? You mean the Police aren't coming to arrest me?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/13/2020 5:47
Comments ||
Top||
#10
^☺
#8 You're welcome, Clem.
Almost no news outlet is beyond adding some garnish these days, leaning this way and that. OpIndia is a good source for Right Wing news, sort of like the Breitbart of India. Times of India and HT are like the NYT and WaPo. The better new outlets in India are all paywalled.
But GGI are just a mischievous bunch of misfits with a creative bent.
#16
Where did I read it takes $500 million to get a drug through the FDA? Then you can't collect a dime until you've made that investment. A high-cure rate drug (Harvoni) for Hep C can cost over $100,000.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/13/2020 11:56
Comments ||
Top||
#17
Not without trying while their buddies demonize HCQ.
#18
Where did I read it takes $500 million to get a drug through the FDA?
That must hsve been some time ago, Bobby. Before the current excitement it was over $1 billion on average.
GreatGameIndia's a fake news site run by a mercenary media studio, owned by three well known summbitches in Bangalore.
Thank you, Dron66046. I couldn’t remember whether or not they were trustworthy, so I let it through. My memory is a bit like a waterlogged sponge, with facts pouring through instead of being retained.
#20
^ The studio apartment they work from is on the 15th floor of a commercial complex. I would also like to know if any of them can fly.
Interestingly, the main writer and originator of 'news' is someone educated in California, and supports Bernie. The relevant ministry is building a case against them, for the China-Canada Labs story.
[NYPOST] Pope Francis ...Argentine liberation theologist, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was elected pope in 2013. Rather than setting up shop in Avignon, where he belongs, the first Jesuit Pope chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments. He is big on climate change, against consumerism, and in favor of throwing a blanket over homosexual activity within the clergy. He's not real sure about the Resurrection, about Christ's divinity, and a few other things that would have gotten him burned at the stake a few hundred years ago, but he's hot for a certain South American Earth Mother Goddess... called for unity from around the world to confront 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 as he celebrated Easter Mass in solitude Sunday inside an empty St. Peter’s Square.
The 83-year-old pontiff made his traditional Easter address, urging the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... to step up to the "epochal challenge" caused by the pandemic.
"This is not a time for self-centeredness, because the challenge we are facing is shared by all, without distinguishing between persons," he said.
#2
I think he should fire his PR/outreach advisors. Good managers can make even the ridiculous look passable. He just appears more and more pathetic. Even the marxists have better shtick to sell.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly... , announced that it scored a new advance in the southwestern part of the country in its struggle against the Ottoman Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.
The front man for the General Command of the LNA, Major General Ahmed al-Mismari, confirmed on his Facebook page on Sunday that their forces have tightened their control over the western Bograin Gate.
He stated that the LNA forces found large quantities of weapons, ammunition and military equipment in the area "after the enemy fled."
The Bograin Gate is located near the strategic port city of Misrata in the northern part of Libya.
Misrata is one of the main strongholds for the GNA and an important logistical supply port for the latter’s forces.
The GNA have not yet commented on the news of these gains by the LNA.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
The virus is not PC
[ZDNet] "The chronic condition with the strongest association with critical illness was obesity, with a substantially higher odds ratio than any cardiovascular or pulmonary disease," write lead author Christopher M. Petrilli of the NYU Grossman School and colleagues
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/13/2020
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And imagine they already have problems breathing because they are obese. I also wonder how many of these are also smokers.
#3
^Gromgoru rises a hand. And I also have hypertension, and other things. On the other hand, in Israel, the virus mostly seems to get religious people - so, I figure, I'm reasonably safe.
#10
I thought I was short of breath with exertion, got a pulmonary function test. Everything was just fine, but the technician patted his tummy, whist looking at mine, and said, "Sometimes this restricts the free movement of the diaphragm."
So, being tubby means your deep breaths can't be so deep, because the fat gets in the way.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/13/2020 9:50
Comments ||
Top||
#13
I think there are also alot of ppl in New Yprok , New Jersey who have breathing problems from breathing in the smoke after 9/11. Anyone else think that may be a contributing factor of so many deaths there?
Posted by: Chris ||
04/13/2020 10:38
Comments ||
Top||
[LATimes] A powerful California union that claimed to have discovered 39 million masks for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam uncovered by FBI investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday.
U.S. Atty. Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania said FBI agents and prosecutors stumbled onto the arrangement while looking into whether they could intercept the masks for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Defense Production Act.
The federal government has been quietly seizing supplies across the country, taking the orders placed by hospitals and clinics and not publicly reporting where the products are being routed.
But in this case, there was no warehouse, and there were no masks to seize.
Brady said investigators tracked the tip back to a Pittsburgh businessman, who said he had been working with the union to secure millions of masks, some of which were purported to be sitting in a Georgia warehouse. Brady said the businessman had been using WhatsApp to connect with a broker in Australia and a supplier in Kuwait, who are both now the target of a federal investigation.
Brady, the federal prosecutor, said the Pittsburgh businessman told investigators he was buying the masks at $3.50 each and turning a "slight profit" in the SEIU-led deal. The union said the masks were being purchased for $5 and that SEIU was not making any money. How about anyone affiliated with SEIU?
It’s unclear whether the Pittsburgh middleman intended to pocket the entire $9 million profit. Well, my goodness. Why am I thinking "60/40"?
#1
When the story first broke that the Service Employees International Union had a huge stockpile of masks, there was something sketchy about it.
/Paul Harvey voice
Now we know the rest of the story.
#8
Lori Loughlin was saying that a lot of these stockpiles were fake. Now it seems we may know why. Trump was right again. Find out who is doing the whining and start sniffing around.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/13/2020 5:31
Comments ||
Top||
#10
I saw a news report on TV about it. Yes, it was Lori. Probably trying to make amends to society. She has been trying to coordinate getting stashes of PPE into medical hands. She said one thing that has been frustrating is that often these stockpiles she unearths turns out to not exist. I figured after reading this article that there is all kinds of prearranged, ongoing fraud.
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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[reuters] ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has appealed to international stakeholders for urgent debt relief for developing countries so they can deal more effectively with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the government said on Sunday.
[The Federalist] The New York City/New Jersey metro area is the epicenter of the United States' Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. For the last month, all eyes have been on the Big Apple as they have dealt with the pandemic. Thankfully, the curve is starting to flatten and it looks like the NYC area is finally getting a handle on the virus.
[Conservative Tree House via Lucianne] Pompeo's remarks were made to the National Governors Association (NGA) Feb 8, 2020; and there's an interesting segment where Pompeo reveals his awareness of a list of U.S. governors compiled by China's communist party; and their alignment with China's interests.
Discrete, individual warnings and selective enforcement. No additional warnings for Jim Acosta however. 
[Bearing Arms] A Tacoma man who was shot as he put his Sig Sauer pistol in a holster has sued the company for millions, alleging the firearms have a history of going off without the trigger being pulled.
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...Arabic for 
...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...
...
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that it scored a new advance in the southwestern part of the country in its struggle against the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.
...Governor of Virginia, another Dem Great White Hope. He has a fondness for wearing blackface. He won election by calling his Publican opponent Ed Gillespie a racist, but then, don't they all?...
...
[SABA.YE] The army and popular committees on Sunday repelled three of the mercenaries infiltrations in al-Bayda and Marib provinces, Armed forces 
[Libya Observer] The Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, Justice Mohammed al-Hafi, told the Presidential Council's Head Fayez al-Sarraj and the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya al-Siddiq al-Kabir in a letter on Sunday that declaring a state of emergency gives exceptional legitimacy to the executive authorities that allow them to issue extraordinary orders and make exceptional decisions.
[Medium] Republican-controlled states have had a huge advantage: They have seen what has happened to their Democratic-controlled brethren, but because they are on average more rural, the coronavirus took time to reach them. But it will reach them. Some rural states, like Alaska or Idaho, have taken advantage of this delay. Others, like Oklahoma, Mississippi or Missouri, are not taking enough measures to contain the virus: It will continue spreading invisibly, infecting the people of these states.
...Arabic for 
... Australian journalist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks made the Big Time in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by then Bradley, since Chelsea Manning. After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance. U.S. officials are seeking to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, blaming him for directingpublication of a huge trove of secret documents that disclosed the names of people who provided confidential information to American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan....
[ALMASDARNEWS] Republican members of the United States Senate from the oil producing states said they had held a two-hour phone call with three Saudi officials, and demanded that they take concrete action to reduce oil production, the Reuters News Agency reported.
[PUNCHNG] The Rivers State Police Command on Saturday raided suspected kidnappers’ den in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of the state, killing one fleeing suspect in the process.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
[DAILYWIRE] Texas Sen. Ted Cruz unloaded on his 
...Arabic for 
[WND] Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order closing public school buildings also bans homeschooling, which is unconstitutional, contends a legal non-profit in the state.
[SABA.YE] 
...
Gilead Sciences is an American biotechnology company holding the patent for drug Remdesivir for treating various Coronavirus in over 70 countries. The company has secured orphan drug status for Remdesivir, allowing it to exclusively obtain marketing revenues for up to 7 years. However, behind the benign image of a vaccine manufacturer, Gilead Science has a dark history of allegations of bioterrorism, including having Pentagon to bomb a competitors factory under the false pretext of association with Al-Qaeda.
...Argentine liberation theologist, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was elected pope in 2013. Rather than setting up shop in Avignon, where he belongs, the first Jesuit Pope chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments. He is big on climate change, against consumerism, and in favor of throwing a blanket over homosexual activity within the clergy. He's not real sure about the Resurrection, about Christ's divinity, and a few other things that would have gotten him burned at the stake a few hundred years ago, but he's hot for a certain South American Earth Mother Goddess...
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
