Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.
This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.
So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.
This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.
James Lindsay: Deep Dive Into “Critical Social Justice” & How It Took Over the Humanities
(Most – brilliant, worth the time)
https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/24/turkeys-coronavirus-crisis-risks-rivalling-italy-experts-warn/
The wave approaches Turkey.
Eeyore, Vlad, all:
https://youtu.be/1JLBXfKDbbI
Invisible. Maniacs.
https://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html
https://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html
Periods of great change see the gold to silver ratio increase. WW2 and the fall of communism saw it in the 1 oz gold = 100 oz silver range. Peace time sees around 1:40.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1441/gold-to-silver-ratio
Today we flirt with 1:100.
Current forces have distorted the ratio. Since gold price discovery has not been permitted the investing strategy described in this article would be a fool’s move.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080316/historical-guide-goldsilver-ratio.asp
Right. And I’ve got Florida swamp land for sale. Cheap.
https://ottawasun.com/news/national/defence-watch/army-says-public-shouldnt-be-concerned-as-more-than-100-military-vehicles-set-to-arrive-in-prescott/wcm/19bf9fec-f550-46ee-a74b-a742524c357a
Coronavirus: Thugs Mugging Nurses for Their IDs to Get Free Food and Drink (breitbart, Mar 26, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/26/thugs-stealing-nurse-ids-get-free-coronavirus-food-drink/
“Thugs have been mugging doctors and nurses to steal their identity badges in order to access priority shopping and freebies from supermarkets during the coronavirus pandemic.
With shops facing supply chain delays and National Health Service (NHS) staff working long hours, supermarkets have opted to support their healthcare professionals by offering them priority shopping and freebies like snacks and hot drinks. Britons on social media reported earlier in the week major shops like Lidl and Waitrose giving nurses bouquets of flowers in appreciation. Dominos, Greggs, Pret a Manger, Burger King, and Pizza Hut are also offering free food and coffee to those who work for the National Health Service.
However, amidst these acts of appreciation and kindness has arisen a new type of crime, where thugs are mugging medical professionals of their lanyards and IDs to obtain freebies meant for those on the frontline of the coronavirus battle.
So concerned is NHS England by the reported incidents, it is preparing to tell staff across the country to hide their IDs and NHS-branded lanyards when out in public, according to The Guardian.
The left-wing newspaper reported that reprobates had tried to grab lanyards off of two doctors as they were leaving Lewisham hospital in south London.
One doctor said: “Something like this is appalling. It’s beyond the pale and so shocking. Someone tried to grab my colleagues’ ID badges as they were leaving but didn’t get them.”
Staff at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS trust’s two hospitals were told on Monday: “Following reports of an attempt to take the ID badges of two members of staff as they were leaving work, please make sure your ID badge is out of sight.”
Staff at University College Hospital London have also been warned to be vigilant when leaving facilities after similar incidents.
A National Health Service official told The Guardian: “This is absolutely grim. ID badges are being stolen in a few places as staff come out of their trust. As soon as staff are coming off-site they are waiting for them and stealing them, to get the free food and also so they can go shopping during the protected early morning shopping hour that some supermarkets have put in place for NHS staff.
“It’s mainly nurses who have been targeted. They’re the ones who often walk out of the main entrance of a hospital with their lanyards on.”
These are not the only abominable acts of criminality to have been committed against the medical service as it is gearing up for the worst pandemic the United Kingdom has seen in a century.
Earlier in the week, thugs drilled holes into the tires of six ambulances in Kent, south-east England. The vehicles had been damaged whilst parked in an ambulance centre in Ramsgate. Kent’s ambulance service is under “significant pressure” following the coronavirus outbreak, according to KentOnline.
Supermarkets have also moved onto the frontline, continuing to ensure the supply chain for food reaches vulnerable citizens, and have likewise faced their own assaults. “Youths” were reported to have burnt out two Iceland delivery trucks in Bristol earlier this week after police officers had told them to disperse.
In response, the CEO of the budget supermarket wrote: “Two of our vans in Southmead were burnt out last night during disturbances in the town. At a time when home delivery is literally a lifeline for some vulnerable people, this is sickening.””
Greece Celebrates Independence Day as Tensions with Turkey Rise (breitbart, Mar 26, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/03/26/greece-celebrates-independence-day-as-tensions-with-turkey-rise/
“Greece celebrated its independence day Wednesday as Turkish fighter planes violated Greek airspace and hundreds of Syrian refugees spent a 27th day waiting to enter at the border.
While the occasion was marked with parades and flag-hoistings, including a prominent military ceremony at the town of Kastanies on the Greece-Turkey border, Greek and Turkish officials exchanged accusations of escalating tensions that have been rising for weeks.
Turkish F-16 planes violated Greek airspace at least 10 times on Wednesday, defense officials in Athens said, flying over the eastern Aegean Islands and Greece’s mainland.
Syrian refugees, who fled fighting in their homeland and crossed Turkey to reach the Greek border, have been stopped from entering by security forces firing tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades. Although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the asylum seekers’ transfer to Greece on March 1, none have been permitted to enter.
Greece is a EU member and Turkey is not, but Ankara has been providing humanitarian aid to the bloc. The governor’s office of Edirne province listed 977,000 items on Wednesday, distributed to asylum seekers on the border, including diapers, hygiene materials, blankets, clothing and food.
Ali Cengiz Kalkan, the provincial health director, accused Greek forces of brutality to keep refugees from entering Greece, saying more than 230 people were recently hospitalized after an attack by Greek forces.
“Immigrants cannot find their children after the Greek security forces attack them with gas,” Kalkan said. “Health staff who find those children intervene and provide them with oxygen. It is a very touching scene when these children get to reunite with their parents.”
At least three people have been killed by Greek security operations, the Edirne Health Directorate reported.
Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Syria, were repelled at the border Wednesday. The number of those awaiting transfer has varied, but Turkey currently houses about 3.7 million refugees. Erdogan initially prevented Syrian refugees from crossing Turkey to reach Greece, but ceased those efforts following disputes with the EU.”
Asylum Seekers and Migrants Not Respecting Lockdown (breitbart, Mar 26, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/26/asylum-seekers-migrants-not-respecting-lockdown-measures/
“Asylum seekers and migrants in Germany and Italy are not respecting measures to help prevent the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, with some becoming violent when confronted.
The mayors of the German towns of Schneeberg and Zschorlau in the Saxony region have both complained to the regional government that asylum seekers at a local asylum home have not been respecting the measures in place to halt the spread of the virus.
According to the mayors, the asylum seekers have been under the impression that the measures announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week do not apply to them, tabloid Bild reports.
The German leader announced nine measures, including encouraging citizens to keep a safe distance from each other and reducing contact to those outside of their household to an absolute minimum.
Groups of people gathering in public places, apartments, and private facilities have also been banned and violators could see police action. The measures will be upheld until April 5th.
In Italy, a migrant from North Africa attacked a man in a supermarket after being asked to keep to a distance of at least a metre (a little over one yard) in the city of Novara.
The 60-year-old victim was lining up to pay for his items and kept a one-metre distance from the migrant man in front of him, which angered the man and his wife, who started screaming at the man and purposely breathing on him.
When shop employees became involved, the victim said the migrant became even angrier, saying: “He started to rail against the Italians calling them ‘bastards and racists’.”
After leaving the shop, the migrant grabbed the man and kneed him.
The incidents come as some in heavily migrant-populated areas like the Seine-Saint-Denis areas of Paris in France have also largely ignored lockdown rules, with overwhelmed local police saying it would be impossible to enforce the lockdown properly without fear of a violent backlash.”
But you do not mind savagely beating your own people.
Iraqi military says 2 rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone (abcnews, Mar 26, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqi-military-rockets-hit-baghdads-green-zone-69806570
“Iraq’s military on Thursday said at least two rockets hit inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government and home to the American Embassy, in the first attack following a brief lull in violence from earlier this month.
The attack came as the U.S.-led coalition pulled out of a second base elsewhere in Iraq, in line with a planned drawdown.
Iraqi officials also said the U.S. renewed a sanctions waiver enabling Iraq to import crucial gas and electricity from Iran, but with a shorter deadline.
The two projectiles struck near the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraq’s police and military forces, the military statement said. The command center is a few hundred meters (yards) away from the U.S. Embassy, which is a regular target of rocket attacks.
There were no casualties, according to an Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations…”
Greece: Man arrested for transporting 12 teenage migrants (abcnews, Mar 26, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/greece-man-arrested-transporting-12-teenage-migrants-69808805
“Greek authorities arrested a Syrian man after finding 12 Egyptian teenagers hidden in his van following a car chase through the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki early Thursday, police said.
Police said they arrested the 22-year-old who had allegedly picked up the teenagers, all boys aged between 15 and 17, from the Greek-Albanian border and had been driving them south towards Thessaloniki when he failed to stop for a police check.
The boys told authorities they had arrived in Albania by ship from Egypt, and had then made their way to the Greek border, where they were picked up by the Syrian.
Greek police said the Syrian was charged with illegally transporting migrants, dangerous driving, theft and failing to stop for a police check. He was also fined 150 euros (about $160) for violating Greece’s new lockdown orders as part of measures imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.”
Bomb disrupts funeral for 25 Sikhs killed in Afghan capital (abcnews, Mar 26, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bomb-disrupts-funeral-25-sikhs-killed-afghan-capital-69809507
“An explosive device disrupted Thursday’s funeral service for 25 members of Afghanistan’s Sikh minority community who had been killed by the Islamic State group. No one was hurt in the blast, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.
The explosion went off Thursday near the gate of a crematorium in Kabul, as the frightened mourners struggled to continue with the funeral prayers and cremation.
A 6-year-old child was among the victims of Wednesday’s attack by a lone IS gunman, who rampaged through a Sikh house of worship in the heart of Kabul’s old city. After holding some 80 worshippers hostage for several hours and wounding eight people, the gunman was killed by Afghan Special Forces aided by international troops.
The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack on the group’s Amaq media arm, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks militant postings and groups. The gunmen was identified as Indian national Abu Khalid al-Hindi…”
Police kill suspected militant, arrest 2 in Indonesia raid (abcnews, Mar 26, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/police-kill-suspected-militant-arrest-indonesia-raid-69805411
“Indonesia’s police anti-terrorism squad shot and killed one suspect and arrested two others in a raid on the main island of Java, seizing weapons and chemicals allegedly used for bomb making, officials said Thursday.
The man fatally shot by police resisted arrest by wielding a long sword, said National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono.
The suspects were linked to a banned militant organization responsible for recent attacks on police, a local affiliate of the Islamic State group known as the Jama’ah Anshorut Daulah, Yuwono said.
The raid took place in Subah village of Batang district in Central Java province late Wednesday.
Yuwono said police seized two machetes, a sword, a bayonet blade and materials often used by militants to make bombs, and were interrogating the two suspects…”
Norway extradites convicted Kurdish cleric to Italy (abcnews, Mar 26, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/norway-extradites-convicted-kurdish-cleric-italy-69810241
“A Muslim cleric was extradited Thursday from Norway to Italy, where he has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for planning terror.
Norwegian Justice Minister Monica Maeland told a news conference that Iraqi-born Mullah Krekar had been sent to Italy.
“We have been waiting for Italy to say it was justifiable to do so, and they thought it was today,” Maeland said.
In July, Krekar, who was born Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad, was found guilty by a court in northern of attempting to overthrow the Kurdish government in northern Iraq and create an Islamic caliphate.
Earlier this year, Norway has long wanted to get him out of the country, decided he could be extradited on an Italian extradition request. He opposed that, fearing he would be extradited to Iraq. Most recently, he also expressed fears that Italy had become the epicenter of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
His Norwegian lawyer Brynjar Meiling said authorities in Norway didn’t “have the decency to let him say goodbye to his family.”
“This is a day of shame for all those who have not stood up against the extradition of an obviously innocent man,” Meiling told the VG newspaper. His criticism was directed at Norwegian courts that have ruled in favor of his extradition, the government and the opposition.
Italian prosecutors had alleged Krekar is behind Rawti Shax, a European network aimed at violently overthrowing the government in Kurdistan.
In 2015, European authorities arrested 15 Iraqi-Kurdish nationals on terrorism-related charges. Rawti Shax recruited foreign terrorist fighters to be sent to Iraq and Syria and provided logistical and financial support, according to the Italian prosecutors who spearheaded the probe. They alleged that Krekar was the leader.
A refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan who came to Norway in 1991, the 63-year-old cleric has several convictions in Norway, including for threatening Prime Minister Erna Solberg. He also praised the 2015 extremist attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Krekar founded the now-defunct Ansar al-Islam insurgent group of Sunni Kurds, which aimed to install an Islamic caliphate in Iraqi Kurdistan. It reportedly merged with the Islamic State group in 2014.”
Another bit of good news retrieved from fresh mounds of excrement.
The United Nations just announced the creation of a New International Law Enforcement Agency with supreme Powers over every Human on this Planet.
The new Agency will be called TEA
“Toilet-paper Enforcement Agency”
Czech newspaper Irozhlas reports that China sent 150,000 testing kits to Prague which have returned false results up to 80% of the time. In other words, they simply don’t work. PJ Media provided a translation to the article:
“We checked them on Saturday at the University Hospital Ostrava, but unfortunately the error rate was quite high, so now we are waiting for the results of further testing across the country, they have never been tested positively because it works with antibodies,” said Svr?inová.
“We tested those who searched for a sampling site. Fortunately, we were so far-sighted that samples were immediately taken for the classic examination and that just proved the error rate of the tests,” Svr?inová continued.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-just-sent-150000-test-kits-prague-and-80-them-didnt-work
The Trump administration filed criminal charges Thursday in the Southern District of New York against senior officials of the government of Venezuela, including president Nicolás Maduro, accusing them of taking a leading role in the country’s illegal drug trafficking.
The charges marked a new low in U.S. relations with Venezuela, which have been deteriorating since 1999, when Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s predecessor, became president. He villainized the U.S. and other countries he accused of taking advantage of Venezuela.
The U.S. and Maduro have long been at odds over the country’s extensive corruption. The Trump administration backed a leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, instead of Maduro.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-file-criminal-charges-against-venezuelan-president-n1169421
Brave Young Woman in Wuhan Demands Her Rights Be Respected
A man under federal investigation in a potential domestic terrorism case was shot and killed Tuesday during an FBI operation to arrest him, people familiar with the investigation said.
The suspect, who hasn’t been identified by authorities, was the subject of a months-long investigation into alleged white supremacist activity, and recently had made threats the FBI took seriously, the sources said.
Among the threats was one to carry out an attack on a hospital in the Kansas City, Missouri, area, where he lived, in part because of the belief that patients may be treated there for the COVID-19 virus.
It’s not clear why the FBI agents opened fire during the attempted arrest of the suspect during what was supposed to be a controlled operation in Belton, Missouri. Typically in sting operations such as the one Tuesday, investigators use undercover agents or informants to gather direct evidence to prove that a suspect was actively planning to carry out an attack.
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/fbi-agents-kill-man-suspected-of-plotting-attack-on-missouri-hospital-he-believed-was-treating-covid-19-patients/
Are We Overreacting? (With RockingMrE)
Clearview app lets strangers find your name, info with snap of a photo, report says
It may not be long before you’ll have to forget about walking down the street anonymously, says a New York Times report.
https://www.cnet.com/news/clearview-app-lets-strangers-find-your-name-info-with-snap-of-a-photo-report-says/?PostType=link&ServiceType=facebook_page&ftag=COS-05-10aaa0a&UniqueID=90AED286-3A32-11EA-B08F-D0FF39982C1E&TheTime=2020-01-18T20%3A39%3A03&utm_source=reddit.com
Coronavirus Lockdown: India’s Major Landmarks, Monuments Wear Deserted Look
A man who killed an armed robber after he turned up at his house demanding money has been jailed for five years.
Patrick Phinn, 49, stabbed Ronald Pattison 17 times at his home in Easterhouse, Glasgow, in September 2018.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Pattison, who had a knife, had threatened to kill Phinn and his partner.
A fight broke out and Phinn grabbed a knife which he used to stab Pattison.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-52018558
A man who killed an armed robber after he turned up at his house demanding money has been jailed for five years.
Patrick Phinn, 49, stabbed Ronald Pattison 17 times at his home in Easterhouse, Glasgow, in September 2018.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Pattison, who had a knife, had threatened to kill Phinn and his partner.
A fight broke out and Phinn grabbed a knife which he used to stab Pattison.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-52018558
China Suppresses News On CCP Virus; Second Wave Outbreak Possible | Crossroads epoch times
Doctor recalls witnessing patient killed inside ICU; G7 discuss combating CCP virus | China in Focus
Hear the full interview Katie-halper – Tara-to-post
Read Ryan Grim’s article theintercept.com/2020/03/24/joe-b…-metoo-times-up/
Support the show http://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow
Tara Reade has been trying to tell her story since it happened in 1993, when she was working as a staff assistant for Joe Biden. She told part of her story– about how Biden would put his hands on her shoulders and run his fingers up and down her neck– in the spring of 2019 after Lucy Flores accused Biden of kissing the top of her head and smelling her hair inappropriately. But Reade didn’t tell her full story. As Ryan Grim reveals at The Intercept, Reade asked for help from Time’s Up, but the organization said it could not support her because a case taking on Biden would jeopardize their non-profit status. Tara is finally telling the story she’s been trying to tell for decades. While there were no witnesses to Biden’s alleged sexual assault of Tara Reade, her brother and close friend, both of whom I’ve spoken to, recall Reade telling them about it at the time. The rest of the interview will be released shortly.
https://soundcloud.com/katie-halper/joe-bidens-accuser-finally-tells-her-full-story
CNN, NBC, NPR, Others Refuse to Show Trump Pressers and the Reason Is Obvious
https://www.redstate.com/bonchie/2020/03/25/npr-others-refuse-to-show-trump-pressers-and-the-reason-is-obvious/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=npr-others-refuse-to-show-trump-pressers-and-the-reason-is-obvious&utm_content=1&utm_campaign=PostPromoterPro
President Trump: ‘Certain people’ want economy to tank
https://www.oann.com/president-trump-certain-people-want-economy-to-tank/
President Trump has rejected criticisms of his plan to re-open the economy sooner than originally anticipated in an effort to prevent a financial crisis.
While speaking at the White House Wednesday, he said the media and some officials would welcome an economic collapse to take down his administration. He claimed they are hoping for a poor economy to keep him from being re-elected.
“The media would like to see me do poorly in the election, they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls and I don’t know if that’s so, but I do think there are people in your profession (mainstream media) that would like that to happen,” President Trump told reporters. “I think it’s very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news.”
https://www.oann.com/president-trump-certain-people-want-economy-to-tank/
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/bahrain-hydroxychloroquine-success-response-covid-19
PT may have been right.
Macron launches ‘Resilience’ military op to battle COVID-19
Coronavirus: Macron in videoconference with G20 counterparts
Emmanuel Macron exchanges with his G20 counterparts during a videoconference chaired by King Salman of Saudi Arabia.
A virtual summit to try to provide a coordinated response to the coronavirus epidemic crisis.
HHS inspector general investigating Trump administration response to coronavirus outbreak
The Health and Human Services Department’s watchdog will investigate the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
A spokesperson for the HHS inspector general told the Washington Examiner that investigators will carry out at least five reviews “related to HHS’s planning and response of the COVID-19 outbreak.” The inquiries will scrutinize issues such as nationwide hospital responses, quarantine procedures, the training and protective gear provided to front-line health workers, nursing home standards amid a disease with an exponentially more deadly effect on the elderly and the already ill, and the ability to care for illegal border crossers and refugees during a public health crisis.
The HHS watchdog will also draw up recommendations for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The investigative effort will be spearheaded by Christi Grimm, the principal deputy inspector general who leads HHS’s watchdog office. The office compromises 1,600 auditors, investigators, lawyers overseeing dozens of programs run by agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration for Children and Families, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health — all of which have played a role in the government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak that has rattled the U.S. health system.
There were more than 454,000 confirmed coronavirus cases around the world as of Wednesday afternoon and at least 20,500 deaths tied to the infection, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, there have been over 61,000 cases, which have resulted in at least 849 deaths.
The CDC has been criticized for weekslong COVID-19 testing delays, including a botched initial effort at producing a coronavirus test kit on a large scale, with the flaws only being discovered after the tests had been sent out to hundreds of labs across the country. The replacement took weeks, although the U.S. has ramped up its testing by orders of magnitude in the past week.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, addressed the botched test fiasco last week.
“You know, it was a complicated series of multiple things that conflated that just, you know, went the wrong way,” Fauci said. “One of them was a technical glitch that slowed things down in the beginning. Nobody’s fault. There wasn’t any bad guys there. It just happened … We’ve got it right, now, because we’re handing much of it over to the private sector to heavy hitter companies that do this for a living. And I think what you’re going to be seeing looking forward is a major, major improvement in the availability of testing.”
Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, said on Tuesday, “We are continuing to accelerate testing at a record rate,” and, “We now have 370,000 tests that have been done.”
Birx touted how “the majority of those — over 220,000 in the last eight days, which, those of you who have been tracking the South Korea numbers, put us equivalent to what they did in eight weeks that we did in eight days … We’re very proud of those numbers, but we know that we have to do more.”
An HHS whistleblower claimed last month that more than a dozen healthcare workers who evaluated the first Americans arriving back in the U.S. from Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, did not have the appropriate training or personal protective equipment to treat possible COVID-19 patients safely. The Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee sent letters to HHS and the HHS watchdog seeking an investigation.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a state hit hard early by the coronavirus including deadly nursing home outbreaks, sent a letter to the HHS inspector general last week asking for an immediate investigation “into all parts of the processes undertaken by the Department of Health and Human Services to develop, deploy, and analyze diagnostic tests.”
Murray said, “We must understand where HHS has erred in this process and implement lessons learned as soon as possible to mitigate the spread of this infectious disease and future diseases moving forward.”
The HHS inspector general’s office said its five inquiries would include: a 400-hospital study about the COVID-19 fight to help “provide HHS operating and staff divisions with timely feedback on how they can support hospitals in responding to COVID-19”; a look at whether long-term care facilities that received Medicare or Medicaid funds “complied with new federal requirements for life safety and emergency and infectious disease control preparedness”; an evaluation of how HHS staff “were deployed, trained, and protected when assigned tasks that could entail potential exposure to COVID-19”; an investigation into the “emergency preparedness and response plans and procedures” at unaccompanied immigrant children facilities; and a review of the HHS watchdog’s preparedness plans “to inform and assist HHS in its ongoing response efforts.”
Last Friday, HHS Secretary Alex Azar defended the department’s work in fighting against the coronavirus.
“In January, within two weeks of China’s notifying WHO about the virus and with only 45 cases in China, we began screening travelers from Wuhan. Then, over time, as the outbreak evolved, the president restricted travel from China, Iran, and Europe. Our health experts say that these measures have been truly effective at slowing the virus’s spread to our shores,” Azar said, adding, “We have had precious time to continue our work around vaccines, therapeutics, and other preparations, while Italy has tragically been overwhelmed with critical patients for several weeks now.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hhs-inspector-general-investigating-trump-administration-response-to-coronavirus-outbreak
‘Relying on the mercy of Allah’: Rohingya refugees and coronavirus
PreOccupiedTerritory: Lockdown Violators: Torah Study Will Protect From Coronavirus As It Protected Yeshivas Of Europe From Holocaust (satire)
Students disregarding official warnings to avoid leaving the home if at all possible and not to congregate or spend time in proximity with others told reporters today they do not need to heed those directives because they enjoy the divine protection that accrues to those who devote themselves to the study of sacred texts, just as the devoted students of those texts only suffered mass murder and dehumanization under the Nazis and their local collaborators.…
People who study Torah have special divine protection from misfortune, they argued, citing famous Talmudic teachings that they understand as categorical, as well as the more recent precedent of the great yeshivas of Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Hungary, Romania, and elsewhere getting all but wiped out in the Holocaust.…
“Please do not disturb our learning, which protects everyone,” added his partner, as the two crowded into a packed study hall with dozens of others, several of whom have close relatives hospitalized with the illness.
http://www.preoccupiedterritory.com/lockdown-violators-torah-study-will-protect-from-coronavirus-as-it-protected-yeshivas-of-europe-from-holocaust/
Ilhan Omar called out for ‘communist’ plan to take over hospitals during coronavirus crisis
By Rusty Weiss March 26, 2020
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was criticized on social media after offering up a self-described “radical idea” for the federal government to seize control of private hospitals during the coronavirus crisis.
Omar (D-Minn.) assured it would be a temporary situation and would “relieve pressures” on the healthcare system due to the outbreak.
“Here is maybe a radical idea to deal with some of the pressures our healthcare system is facing,” she wrote. “All private hospitals should be made public for the duration of the virus.”
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/03/26/ilhan-omar-called-out-for-communist-plan-to-take-over-hospitals-during-coronavirus-crisis/
For too long, the media downplayed the danger of coronavirus
Coronavirus is a huge, costly problem. About 20,000 people have died so far this month from coronavirus, including at least 900 in the United States. At least 133 Americans died of it today, March 25. Congress is now passing a $2 trillion spending bill in response to it that will triple the budget deficit and make the national debt skyrocket.
But I didn’t start writing about coronavirus until a couple weeks ago, when I repeatedly called for the closure of the schools to reduce the spread of the disease and give the healthcare system time to cope.
Why did I wait so long to sound the alarm about coronavirus? Because the media downplayed the problem, and I trusted them, given my lack of expertise in medicine and epidemiology.
The media systematically understated the threat to our country and the world posed by coronavirus. For example, a Washington Post article in February said, “Get a grippe, America. The flu is a much bigger threat than coronavirus, for now.” On March 4, CNN’s Anderson Cooper said, “if you’re freaked out about the Coronavirus you should be more concerned about the flu.” CNN wrote, “Why are some fears misguided? While the novel coronavirus has infected more than 75,000 people” worldwide, “it’s caused far fewer deaths than the flu … since the novel coronavirus was first detected in the United States in January, 15 people have been diagnosed with the illness as of Wednesday. None of them has died.” The Daily Beast wrote that “coronavirus, with zero American fatalities, is dominating headlines, while the flu is the real threat.”
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/03/25/for-too-long-the-media-promoted-complacency-about-coronavirus/
The media has collaborated with China from Day 1.
Just as the WHO puppet and institutions like Johns Hopkins.
Seems the most vocal epidemiologists have a lot in common with climate change academics. Doctorates in How to Lie with Statistics.
[er..... nothing to do with China !!!!....]======================================
NATURE(dot)com – The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2
To the Editor — Since the first reports of novel pneumonia (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China1,2, there has been considerable discussion on the origin of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-23 (also referred to as HCoV-19)4. Infections with SARS-CoV-2 are now widespread, and as of 11 March 2020, 121,564 cases have been confirmed in more than 110 countries, with 4,373 deaths5.
SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans; SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can cause severe disease, whereas HKU1, NL63, OC43 and 229E are associated with mild symptoms6. Here we review what can be deduced about the origin of SARS-CoV-2 from comparative analysis of genomic data. We offer a perspective on the notable features of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and discuss scenarios by which they could have arisen.
Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.
Notable features of the SARS-CoV-2 genome
Our comparison of alpha- and betacoronaviruses identifies two notable genomic features of SARS-CoV-2: (i) on the basis of structural studies7,8,9 and biochemical experiments1,9,10, SARS-CoV-2 appears to be optimized for binding to the human receptor ACE2; and (ii) the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 has a functional polybasic (furin) cleavage site at the S1–S2 boundary through the insertion of 12 nucleotides8, which additionally led to the predicted acquisition of three O-linked glycans around the site.
1. Mutations in the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2
The receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the spike protein is the most variable part of the coronavirus genome1,2. Six RBD amino acids have been shown to be critical for binding to ACE2 receptors and for determining the host range of SARS-CoV-like viruses7. With coordinates based on SARS-CoV, they are Y442, L472, N479, D480, T487 and Y4911, which correspond to L455, F486, Q493, S494, N501 and Y505 in SARS-CoV-27. Five of these six residues differ between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV (Fig. 1a). On the basis of structural studies7,8,9 and biochemical experiments1,9,10, SARS-CoV-2 seems to have an RBD that binds with high affinity to ACE2 from humans, ferrets, cats and other species with high receptor homology7.
While the analyses above suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may bind human ACE2 with high affinity, computational analyses predict that the interaction is not ideal7 and that the RBD sequence is different from those shown in SARS-CoV to be optimal for receptor binding7,11. Thus, the high-affinity binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to human ACE2 is most likely the result of natural selection on a human or human-like ACE2 that permits another optimal binding solution to arise. This is strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is not the product of purposeful manipulation.
2. Polybasic furin cleavage site and O-linked glycans
The second notable feature of SARS-CoV-2 is a polybasic cleavage site (RRAR) at the junction of S1 and S2, the two subunits of the spike8 (Fig. 1b). This allows effective cleavage by furin and other proteases and has a role in determining viral infectivity and host range12. In addition, a leading proline is also inserted at this site in SARS-CoV-2; thus, the inserted sequence is PRRA (Fig. 1b). The turn created by the proline is predicted to result in the addition of O-linked glycans to S673, T678 and S686, which flank the cleavage site and are unique to SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. 1b). Polybasic cleavage sites have not been observed in related ‘lineage B’ betacoronaviruses, although other human betacoronaviruses, including HKU1 (lineage A), have those sites and predicted O-linked glycans13. Given the level of genetic variation in the spike, it is likely thatSARS-CoV-2-like viruses with partial or full polybasic cleavage sites will be discovered in other species.
The functional consequence of the polybasic cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 is unknown, and it will be important to determine its impact on transmissibility and pathogenesis in animal models. Experiments with SARS-CoV have shown that insertion of a furin cleavage site at the S1–S2 junction enhances cell–cell fusion without affecting viral entry14. In addition, efficient cleavage of the MERS-CoV spike enables MERS-like coronaviruses from bats to infect human cells15. In avian influenza viruses, rapid replication and transmission in highly dense chicken populations selects for the acquisition of polybasic cleavage sites in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein16, which serves a function similar to that of the coronavirus spike protein. Acquisition of polybasic cleavage sites in HA, by insertion or recombination, converts low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses into highly pathogenic forms16. The acquisition of polybasic cleavage sites by HA has also been observed after repeated passage in cell culture or through animals17.
The function of the predicted O-linked glycans is unclear, but they could create a ‘mucin-like domain’ that shields epitopes or key residues on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein18. Several viruses utilize mucin-like domains as glycan shields involved immunoevasion18. Although prediction of O-linked glycosylation is robust, experimental studies are needed to determine if these sites are used in SARS-CoV-2.
Theories of SARS-CoV-2 origins
It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like coronavirus. As noted above, the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 is optimized for binding to human ACE2 with an efficient solution different from those previously predicted7,11. Furthermore, if genetic manipulation had been performed, one of the several reverse-genetic systems available for betacoronaviruses would probably have been used19. However, the genetic data irrefutably show that SARS-CoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone20. Instead, we propose two scenarios that can plausibly explain the origin of SARS-CoV-2: (i) natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer; and (ii) natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. We also discuss whether selection during passage could have given rise to SARS-CoV-2.
1. Natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer
As many early cases of COVID-19 were linked to the Huanan market in Wuhan1,2, it is possible that an animal source was present at this location. Given the similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses2, it is likely that bats serve as reservoir hosts for its progenitor. Although RaTG13, sampled from a Rhinolophus affinis bat1, is ~96% identical overall to SARS-CoV-2, its spike diverges in the RBD, which suggests that it may not bind efficiently to human ACE27 (Fig. 1a).
Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) illegally imported into Guangdong province contain coronaviruses similar to SARS-CoV-221. Although the RaTG13 bat virus remains the closest to SARS-CoV-2 across the genome1, some pangolin coronaviruses exhibit strong similarity to SARS-CoV-2 in the RBD, including all six key RBD residues21 (Fig. 1). This clearly shows that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein optimized for binding to human-like ACE2 is the result of natural selection.
Neither the bat betacoronaviruses nor the pangolin betacoronaviruses sampled thus far have polybasic cleavage sites. Although no animal coronavirus has been identified that is sufficiently similar to have served as the direct progenitor of SARS-CoV-2, the diversity of coronaviruses in bats and other species is massively undersampled. Mutations, insertions and deletions can occur near the S1–S2 junction of coronaviruses22, which shows that the polybasic cleavage site can arise by a natural evolutionary process. For a precursor virus to acquire both the polybasic cleavage site and mutations in the spike protein suitable for binding to human ACE2, an animal host would probably have to have a high population density (to allow natural selection to proceed efficiently) and an ACE2-encoding gene that is similar to the human ortholog.
2. Natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer
It is possible that a progenitor of SARS-CoV-2 jumped into humans, acquiring the genomic features described above through adaptation during undetected human-to-human transmission. Once acquired, these adaptations would enable the pandemic to take off and produce a sufficiently large cluster of cases to trigger the surveillance system that detected it1,2.
All SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced so far have the genomic features described above and are thus derived from a common ancestor that had them too. The presence in pangolins of an RBD very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2 means that we can infer this was also probably in the virus that jumped to humans. This leaves the insertion of polybasic cleavage site to occur during human-to-human transmission.
Estimates of the timing of the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 made with current sequence data point to emergence of the virus in late November 2019 to early December 201923, compatible with the earliest retrospectively confirmed cases24. Hence, this scenario presumes a period of unrecognized transmission in humans between the initial zoonotic event and the acquisition of the polybasic cleavage site. Sufficient opportunity could have arisen if there had been many prior zoonotic events that produced short chains of human-to-human transmission over an extended period. This is essentially the situation for MERS-CoV, for which all human cases are the result of repeated jumps of the virus from dromedary camels, producing single infections or short transmission chains that eventually resolve, with no adaptation to sustained transmission25.
Studies of banked human samplescould provide information on whether such cryptic spread has occurred. Retrospective serological studies could also be informative, and a few such studies have been conducted showing low-level exposures to SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses in certain areas of China26. Critically, however, these studies could not have distinguished whether exposures were due to prior infections with SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 or other SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses. Further serological studies should be conducted to determine the extent of prior human exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
3. Selection during passage
Basic research involving passage of bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses in cell culture and/or animal models has been ongoing for many years in biosafety level 2 laboratories across the world27, and there are documented instances of laboratory escapes of SARS-CoV28. We must therefore examine the possibility of an inadvertent laboratory release of SARS-CoV-2.
In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired RBD mutations (Fig. 1a) during adaptation to passage in cell culture, as has been observed in studies of SARS-CoV11. The finding of SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses from pangolins with nearly identical RBDs, however, provides a much stronger and more parsimonious explanation of how SARS-CoV-2 acquired these via recombination or mutation19.
The acquisition of both the polybasic cleavage site and predicted O-linked glycans also argues against culture-based scenarios. New polybasic cleavage sites have been observed only after prolonged passage of low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus in vitro or in vivo17. Furthermore, a hypothetical generation of SARS-CoV-2 by cell culture or animal passage would have required prior isolation of a progenitor virus with very high genetic similarity, which has not been described. Subsequent generation of a polybasic cleavage site would have then required repeated passage in cell culture or animals with ACE2 receptors similar to those of humans, but such work has also not previously been described. Finally, the generation of the predicted O-linked glycans is also unlikely to have occurred due to cell-culture passage, as such features suggest the involvement of an immune system18.
Conclusions
In the midst of the global COVID-19 public-health emergency, it is reasonable to wonder why the origins of the pandemic matter. Detailed understanding of how an animal virus jumped species boundaries to infect humans so productively will help in the prevention of future zoonotic events. For example, if SARS-CoV-2 pre-adapted in another animal species, then there is the risk of future re-emergence events. In contrast, if the adaptive process occurred in humans, then even if repeated zoonotic transfers occur, they are unlikely to take off without the same series of mutations. In addition, identifying the closest viral relatives of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in animals will greatly assist studies of viral function. Indeed, the availability of the RaTG13 bat sequence helped reveal key RBD mutations and the polybasic cleavage site.
The genomic features described here may explain in part the infectiousness and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. Although the evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 is not a purposefully manipulated virus , it is currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of its origin described here. However, since we observed all notable SARS-CoV-2 features, including the optimized RBD and polybasic cleavage site, in related coronaviruses in nature, we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.
More scientific data could swing the balance of evidence to favor one hypothesis over another. Obtaining related viral sequences from animal sources would be the most definitive way of revealing viral origins. For example, a future observation of an intermediate or fully formed polybasic cleavage site in a SARS-CoV-2-like virus from animals would lend even further support to the natural-selection hypotheses. It would also be helpful to obtain more genetic and functional data about SARS-CoV-2, including animal studies. The identification of a potential intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, as well as sequencing of the virus from very early cases, would similarly be highly informative. Irrespective of the exact mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 originated via natural selection, the ongoing surveillance of pneumonia in humans and other animals is clearly of utmost importance.
References :
1. Zhou, P. et al.
2. Wu, F. et al. 3. Gorbalenya, A. E. et al
3. Gorbalenya, A. E. et al.
4. Jiang, S. et al.
5. Dong, E., Du, H. & Gardner, L.
6. Corman, V. M., Muth, D., Niemeyer, D. & Drosten, C.
7. Wan, Y., Shang, J., Graham, R., Baric, R. S. & Li, F. J
8. Walls, A. C. et al.
9. Wrapp, D. et al.
10. Letko, M., Marzi, A. & Munster, V
11. Sheahan, T. et al.
12. Nao, N. et al.
13. Chan, C.-M.
14. Follis, K. E., York, J.
15. Menachery, V. D. et al.
16. Alexander, D. J. & Brown, I. H.
17. Ito, T. et al.
18. Bagdonaite, I. & Wandall, H. H.
19. Cui, J., Li, F. & Shi, Z.-L.
20. Almazán, F. et al.
21. Zhang, T., Wu, Q. & Zhang, Z.
22. Yamada, Y. & Liu, D. X. J.
23. Rambaut, A.
24. Huang, C. et al.
25. Dudas, G., Carvalho, L. M., Rambaut, A. & Bedford, T.
26. Wang, N. et al.
27. Ge, X.-Y. et al.
28. Lim, P. L. et al.
29. Wong, M. C., Javornik Cregeen, S. J., Ajami, N. J. & Petrosino, J. F.
30. Liu, P., Chen, W. & Chen, J.-P.
BREITBART – China Is Innocent: Says U.N. and World Health Organization Reject Claim it Launched Coronavirus Pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic did not start in China, a spokesman for the Chinese Communist Party declared Tuesday, claiming support from both the United Nations (U.N.) and World Health Organization (WHO) in rejecting “hurtful” U.S. allegations to the contrary as “bald-faced racism and xenophobia.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing not only does China have the full backing of the globalist organizations in denying it started the viral outbreak, the U.S. must cease and desist forthwith from challenging their assertions. He said:
The Chinese side has repeated many times that some people in the U.S. have been seeking by every means to link the virus with China and stigmatize China. This was met with strong indignation and firm objection from the Chinese people. WHO and the international community explicitly oppose linking the virus with any specific country or region and reject stigmatization.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said ‘it is shameful to see increasing acts of racial discrimination and prejudice as we fight the COVID19 pandemic’ and ‘we must always fight racism and prejudice’. E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the virus knows no border and we need cooperation and multilateralism, instead of competition and recrimination, in face of the common challenge for mankind. It is not the time for countries to blame one another with terms like ‘Chinese virus’.
WHO believes that we should avoid calling it ‘Chinese virus’. Now is the moment for solidarity, for respecting facts and for fighting together.
Shuang went on to accuse the U.S. of “bald-faced racism and xenophobia” by its pointing to the evidence that the COVID19 virus was first discovered last year in the southern China city of Wuhan and local party members tried for six weeks to conceal the true nature of the outbreak.
He said the U.S. started the argument and an entirely innocent Chinese Communist Party has been forced to reply even as it battled to defeat the virus.
I want to point out that it was the U.S. side that started this argument. It was also the US that first claimed that the virus originated in China and used such terms as ‘Chinese virus’ and ‘Wuhan virus’. According to media reports, as early as March 6, Pompeo started to use ‘Wuhan virus’ in public remarks.
Since then, some U.S. politicians and senior officials have been using this term to stigmatize China, causing great anger and strong opposition from the Chinese people. What I just cited are public records. There is no way for the U.S. to deny this.
This is not the first time China has sought to distance itself from the deadly global pandemic, as Britbart News reported.
Earlier this month the world was told it must look to China, pay attention and follow its principles in order to halt the global epidemic, the official Communist China Daily said in an editorial.
Over the past few weeks, Chinese officials and state-managed social media accounts began floating theories that the coronavirus began in the United States and was brought to Wuhan by U.S. Army soldiers visiting for the Military World Games in October.
Last week a major Chinese Communist Party paper, the Global Times, stated again – without evidence – the virus might have been developed in the U.S. Army laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland, before being secretly released to harm an innocent and entirely helpless mainland Chinese populace.
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/03/25/china-is-innocent-says-u-n-and-world-health-organization-reject-claim-it-launched-coronavirus-pandemic/
test 01
test 02
ty, Martin.Donizetti, poor Bergamo…gently goes.
I'm spinning in Rimsky-Korsakov rage.
From the Wuhan research lab:
The main research directions of the research group:
Taking bats as the research object, I will answer the molecular mechanism that can coexist with Ebola and SARS- associated coronavirus for a long time without causing disease, and its relationship with flight and longevity. Virology, immunology, cell biology, and multiple omics are used to compare the differences between humans and other mammals.
https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=2&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129130217/http://www.whiov.cas.cn/105341/201911/t20191118_5438006.html
CBC – Detained migrants in Quebec launch hunger strike
Migrants detained at the Canada Border Services Agency’s immigration monitoring centre in Laval, Que., have launched a hunger strike, claiming they are at high risk of contracting COVID-19
Well you can’t always get what you want. The majority of Canadians did not want them here in the first place, but Justine, the globalist forgot who elected him a long time ago. Put them on a plane and sent them back, Justine should go with them to guide them.
I’m not going to make any comment about that plane.
TBLU
Coronavirus: Muslims hope pandemic will end before the start of Ramadan
With Ramadan one month away, people are taking to social media to share their thoughts and concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic will affect Islam’s holiest month.
The traditions of Ramadan, estimated to begin on April 23 this year are centered on group gatherings: communal taraweeh prayers, the evening meal of iftar in which Muslims break their fast together, shared food and shisha in Ramadan tents and other religious and social events with family and friends.
But as countries around the world have moved to ban social gatherings to try and slow the spread of the new coronavirus, many Muslims have voiced their concerns about how they will practice Ramadan this year.
“During Ramadan I go to the masjid [mosque] every single day I try not to miss out,” Twitter user Luis DiNiro said. “This Ramadan unfortunately it seems like we will still be on lockdown and it’s depressing to even think about. May Allah allow us to have a normal Ramadan this year and end this pandemic.”
When Muslims pray in groups, also known as jamaa’a prayer, they line up, side-by-side, shoulders touching. But many Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have currently suspended group prayers until further notice in line with coronavirus preventative measures. If these measures last through the next month, taraweeh prayers in groups would also be banned, threatening a key practice of Ramadan.
Some are calling for people to comply with the new regulations now to slow the spread of coronavirus so that the quarantine requirements can be lifted before the beginning of the holy month.
“What is Ramadan without tarawih [taraweeh]?” Twitter user nhfyzahs asked. “Rethink the consequences if the quarantine is extended for two months, how about Ramadan? Decision is in your hand, use your common sense and maturity.”
It is unknown how long countries will impose restrictions and measures. Many countries have been shut down until further notice.
Saudi Arabia on Monday implemented a curfew for 21 days. The United Arab Emirates suspended flights to and from the country for at least two weeks as of Tuesday. Jordan has turned to the army to enforce its curfew law.
In all of these countries, it is unclear whether measures limiting public gatherings will still be in place by the beginning of Ramadan.
The new coronavirus has infected over 330,000 people globally and resulted in over 14,500 deaths as of Tuesday.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2020/03/24/Coronavirus-Muslims-hope-pandemic-will-end-before-the-start-of-Ramadan-
JUSTIN TRUDEAU doesn’t want Trump to deploy US troops along its Norther Border.
– Canada in talks with the U.S. to avoid troops at the border, says Trudeau –
WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is in talks with the United States in hopes of avoiding the deployment of American soldiers along their shared border.
Trudeau says it is in the best interests of both countries that the world’s longest unmilitarized border remain that way.
The comments follow a Global News report that the Trump administration is considering whether to deploy troops to intercept anyone trying to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada.
The prime minister says Canada and the U.S. have been in discussions about the issue, but won’t elaborate.
Canada and the U.S. have in place a mutual ban on non-essential travel between the two countries, but trade shipments and cross-border workers are still being allowed to cross in both directions.
Canada has also now imposed a mandatory quarantine on anyone entering the country, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms of COVID-19; violators face the prospects of steep fines or even jail time if caught.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2020.
https://www.cp24.com/news/canada-in-talks-with-the-u-s-to-avoid-troops-at-the-border-says-trudeau-1.4869381
Teens coughing at a saleswoman. Looks like Australia:
https://www.dumpert.nl/item/7876425_f4c2672c
A Chinese government-backed property giant has secretly raided in bulk Australia’s supplies of masks, hand sanitiser, antibacterial wipes and essential medical supplies and shipped them back to China.
The Greenland Group, which manages high-end real estate projects in Sydney and Melbourne, proactively drained Australian supplies of anti-coronavirus equipment, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Three million surgical masks, 500,000 pairs of gloves and bulk supplies of sanitiser and wipes were bought up in Australia and other countries where Greenland operates.
While the bulk purchases and shipping were perfectly legitimate, the goods shipped in bulk to China include the very items that have been in short supply for Australian citizens as well as health professionals.
They were accumulated at Greenland’s Sydney headquarters and sent to China over weeks in January and February.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/chinese-company-shipped-out-millions-of-australias-masks-hand-sanitiser-glove-supplies/news-story/d5324e3676d38af509d5ac25c56e7cec
Mali opposition leader taken hostage with six others: party (reuters, Mar 26, 2020)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-security/mali-opposition-leader-taken-hostage-with-six-others-party-idUSKBN21D1DA
“Mali’s main opposition leader Soumaila Cisse is being held hostage with six members of his delegation, his party said on Thursday, after they were attacked on the campaign trail in a region where jihadists often strike.
Cisse’s bodyguard was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen ambushed the group on Wednesday afternoon between villages in the northern region of Timbuktu, the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) said.
“Cisse and the six others are in their hands,” party spokesman Demba Traore said at a briefing, citing four witnesses to the incident who were released by the assailants.
“We have not received any request for ransom.”
Militants with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State launch frequent attacks on civilian and military targets in the area, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The incident came before long-delayed legislative elections, which authorities say will take place on Sunday despite the coronavirus epidemic. Mali was one of the last countries in West Africa to confirm a case, with four reported by Thursday.
The parliamentary vote was originally scheduled for 2018 but has been pushed back several times because of insecurity.
Cisse is Mali’s leading opposition figure. He lost 2013 and 2018 elections to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Mali’s government said it was working with the military to find the hostages. Security sources said at least one helicopter of United Nations peacekeepers was helping the search.”
Detained migrants in Quebec launch hunger strike
Has Syria Reactivated Its Chemical Weapons Program?
By Yaakov Lappin
March 26, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Syrian media reports of Israeli airstrikes, allegedly launched early on March 5 in central and southern Syria, may be a sign that Damascus has renewed its chemical weapons program.
According to Yediot Ahronot, one of the targets hit by Israeli airstrikes in central Syria in early March is believed to have been a chemical weapons production facility. Tel Aviv University Professor Eyal Zisser states that if this report is true, it is a sign that the Syrian regime is still developing chemical weapons despite efforts by the international community to dismantle Damascus’s program.
There have been concerns among international observers that Syria has restarted its chemical program. The regime led by Syrian President Bashar Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons against its own Sunni citizens to conduct mass slaughter throughout the civil war.
Other targets hit in the alleged Israeli strikes appeared to include terror cell positions in southern Syria that Iran and Hezbollah were setting up as part of their long-term effort to create strike capabilities against Israel.
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/has-syria-reactivated-its-chemical-weapons-program/
LA Mayor Warns of Mass Deaths, Condemns Trump’s “False Hope” and Says His City Will be on Lockdown For 2 MONTHS – Maybe Even Longer
LA Mayor Warns of Mass Deaths, Condemns Trump’s “False Hope” and Says His City Will be on Lockdown For 2 MONTHS – Maybe Even Longer
Cristina Laila by Cristina Laila March 26, 2020 405 Comments
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti already announced that the city will be shutting off water and power to any non-essential businesses that defied orders and stayed open during the Coronavirus crisis.
During his Tuesday press briefing Garcetti announced that the Department of Water and Power will be shutting off services for the businesses that don’t comply with the “safer at home” ordinance.
The Los Angeles Mayor also warned of mass deaths, condemned Trump’s “false hope” of the country reopening soon and said his city will be on lockdown until at least May, maybe even longer.
Garcetti made these remarks to Business Insider after 12 deaths were confirmed in Los Angeles due to Coronavirus. TWELVE.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/la-mayor-warns-of-mass-deaths-condemns-trumps-false-hope-and-says-his-city-will-be-on-lockdown-for-2-months-maybe-even-longer/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
College Republicans Release Emergency Resolution Calling for ‘Immediate and Indefinite Immigration Moratorium’ Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
A coalition of College Republican groups from across the nation have released a joint emergency resolution calling for an immediate and indefinite immigration moratorium and the implementation of a “Buy American, Hire American” platform.
The resolution lists a set of policies that they would like to see President Donald Trump use his emergency powers to enact and help protect the safety of American citizens during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/college-republicans-release-emergency-resolution-calling-for-immediate-and-indefinite-immigration-moratorium-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
US Hospitals Consider Do-Not-Resuscitate Laws for All COVID-19 Patients
US hospitals are considering “do-not-resuscitate” laws for all COVID-19 patients.
The hospital officials are citing that their staff is at high risk of getting exposed to the deadly virus as there is low supply of protective equipment.
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The US has confirmed 68,594 coronavirus cases this year and 1,036 deaths.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/us-hospitals-consider-do-not-resuscitate-laws-for-covid-19-all-patients/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Muslims don’t repect the lockdown in europe. They don’t even respect it in Saudi Arabia: