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.
Using COVID-19 to Kill Vote Security
The coronavirus is giving new life to a large number of asinine proposals, but the push to allow online voting could undermine election integrity.
Sacramento
Probably the worst part of the coronavirus lockdown is the realization that Americans will put up with virtually any edict, no matter how draconian, and any subsidy, no matter how ridiculous, if they are scared about their health and worried about the economy. Our system will eventually return to normal, but we now know that it doesn’t take much to jettison the country’s various checks and balances and constitutional protections, at least temporarily.
We’ve got to be particularly careful, though, about activists and politicians who are using the coronavirus situation to push for far-reaching and permanent changes to our system. One of the worst ideas now getting a serious hearing involves internet and app-based voting. Because of fears of spreading the virus, 15 states have postponed their scheduled primary elections. That’s understandable, even if it is frustrating for voters, but it has led to a search for “solutions.”
In response, some election reformers have called for a stepped-up mail-in voting effort, which actually is a fine idea. “Vote by mail” is less cumbersome than waiting in line at a voting station and has sufficient security measures. But others go much further — and are calling for expanding internet and app-based voting. Yes, some reformers want Americans to vote using laptops and cellphones. If such ideas get traction, however, it could mean the end of the integrity of our elections.
https://spectator.org/using-covid-19-to-kill-vote-security/?utm_source=American%20Spectator%20Emails&utm_campaign=616378a5da-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_02_02_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_797a38d487-616378a5da-104523669
Greence: 20 Migrants Tested Positive For COVID-19, Camp Quarantined
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212636/greence-20-migrants-tested-positive-covid-19-camp-quarantined
“Greece said it has decided to isolate a migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the migration ministry said on Thursday.
A 19-year-old female migrant who gave birth in hospital in Athens was found infected, becoming the first recorded case among thousands of asylum seekers kept in overcrowded migrant camps across the country.
Following the incident, tests on 63 people were conducted.
The camp has an isolation area for coronavirus patients should the need arise, ministry sources had revealed.
None of the confirmed cases had any symptoms, the ministry said, noting that it was continuing its tests.
Greece, which recorded its first coronavirus case at the end of February, has reported 1,415 cases so far. Fifty people have died.
Any movement in and out of the Ritsona camp, which is 75 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of Athens and hosts up to 2,500 people, will be restricted for 14 days the ministry said, adding that police would monitor the implementation of the measures.
Earlier this week, authorities were trying to trace where the woman had become infected and looking at the possibility it may have been at the hospital, the Associated Press reported.
The country is a gateway for migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, with more than 1 million having passed through the country in 2015-2016.”
Coronavirus: EU must do everything to avoid an outbreak in refugee camps, warns Commissioner Ylva Johansson
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-eu-must-do-everything-to-avoid-an-outbreak-in-refugee-camps-warns-commissioner-ylva-johansson/a-52998262
“Ylva Johansson EU’s commissioner for home affairs has rung the alarm bell over a possible coronavirus outbreak in one of the overcrowded Greek migrant camps. She told DW this must be avoided at all cost…”
2,100 Turkish Military Vehicles Enter Northwestern Syria
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212376/2100-turkish-military-vehicles-enter-northwestern-syria
“A Turkish column consisting of 25 armored vehicles entered Syria on Wednesday from the Kafrsolin crossing in the countryside of the northwestern Idlib province.
Since the start of the new ceasefire in line with last month’s Moscow deal, 2,100 military vehicles, in addition to thousands of Turkish soldiers have entered Syrian territories.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that from February 2 to date, the number of Turkish vehicles that arrived in the “de-escalation zone” rose to more than 5,515, carrying tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles and mobile bulletproof guard booths and military radars.
The SOHR also revealed that some 10,250 Turkish soldiers have deployed in Idlib and Aleppo during that period.
On Wednesday, there was intermittent shelling between Syrian regime forces and opposition factions loyal to Turkey.
The factions, positioned near Turkish checkpoints, targeted regime sites in Saraqeb, though no casualties were reported. The shelling continued despite the ceasefire agreement signed by Russia and Turkey in Moscow.
Syrian Observatory sources say that regime forces renewed rocket fire, targeting locations in Kansafra, Kafr Oweid and other areas in the southern countryside of Idlib. No casualties have been reported.
Regime forces also targeted areas in Al-Bara, Al-Ftera, Sfuhen and Afes in the southern and eastern countrysides of Idlib.
Turkish troops patrolled single-handedly along the Aleppo-Latakia international highway (M4) on Wednesday, starting from Saraqeb city to Musaybin village.
This is the 11th patrol of its kind on the highway since March 5, when the Russian-Turkish agreement on carrying out joint military patrols became effective.”
Iran, US Heat Up War of Words
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2213286/iran-us-heat-war-words
“Iran said Thursday it “only acts in self-defense” after President Donald Trump warned it against attacks on US troops in Iraq, as a new war of words heated up despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Tensions between the arch-foes flared in Iraq where the United States deployed Patriot air defense missiles prompting Iran to warn of consequences and demand a US withdrawal, Agence France Presse reported.
Both countries have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unlike the US — which surreptitiously lies, cheats & assassinates — Iran only acts in self-defense,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
“Don’t be misled by usual warmongers, AGAIN,” he said, addressing US President Donald Trump.
“Iran starts no wars but teaches lessons to those who do,” he added.
Trump warned Iran on Wednesday that it would pay a “heavy price” in the event of further attacks on US troops.
He tweeted that “upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq.”
In response, Zarif wrote on Twitter that “Iran has FRIENDS: No one can have MILLIONS of ‘proxies.'”
Iran responded angrily to the US Patriot deployment warning that Washington risked leading the Middle East to disaster in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bases in Iraq housing US troops and foreign embassies, particularly the American mission, have been targeted in more than two dozen rocket attacks since October that Washington has blamed on Iran-backed armed groups.
Tensions escalated in January when the US killed Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad airport.
Iran retaliated by firing at bases in Iraq housing US troops.”
Houthis Impose New Obstacles on WFP Aid in Hajjah, Yemen
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212796/houthis-impose-new-obstacles-wfp-aid-hajjah-yemen
“Yemeni relief sources in northwestern governorate of Hajjah reported that Houthi militias have seized large amounts of aid provided by the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) and prevented its distribution to needy groups.
Sources, who requested anonymity, reported that members of the Houthi group threatened WFP officers with destroying 175 tons of UN-sent wheat. Houthis said that the wheat was allegedly not safe for human consumption.
The Iran-backed militia deployed gunmen to guard large WFP warehouses in the Abs district, where the largest population concentration is present in Hajjah Governorate. The district hosts thousands of uprooted and needy families.
Houthis also claimed to have seized six WFP convoys transferring 3,300 flour stacks. The group argued that the flour was inedible for humans.
Yemeni sources believe that fierce Houthi attacks against UN agencies and international relief organizations recently escalated following the Houthi leader’s speeches against these organizations.
The Houthi-appointed director of the Supreme Council for Administration and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation in Hajjah governorate, Allan Fadael, said that the council received a notification, on March 11th, from the joint operations room in the governorate, that there is a locomotive and 21 trucks carrying food aid belonging to the WFP in front of At-taj store in Abs district.
Relief sources accused Houthis of attempting to plunder the aid shipment.
Fadael said that the convoy will not be destroyed and will remain in its place.
In Taiz governorate, Houthis recently seized 160 tons of internationally-sent wheat and burned it down under the pretext that it was not fit for human consumption, an act condemned by the internationally recognized government.
“The Ministry of Local Administration has denounced Houthis for burning 160 tons of wheat in Taiz provided by the WFP, describing it as an additional grave violation in the militia’s notorious record of violations against the relief and humanitarian actions,” Saba News Agency reported.
In a statement, the Minister of Local Administration Abduraqeeb Fatah called on the the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, to report about Houthis’ criminal acts to the international community to pressure the militia into stopping its violations.
The Minister also called on the WFP to report about the Houthi militia’s crimes.”
Algeria to Sue ‘France 24’ over Hate Speech Against Its Army
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212701/algeria-sue-france-24-over-hate-speech-against-its-army
“Diplomatic sources said that the Algerian embassy in France, on Wednesday, filed to sue the French state-owned international news television, France 24, after hosting a political analyst who attacked the Algerian army and authorities.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that the Algerian army has been under attack for months. Consequentially, conspiracy theories of foreign scheming against the African country returned to public discourse.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Algeria summoned the French ambassador, Xavier Driencourt, in protest against statements given on France 24, describing them as “false” and “against the Algerian authorities” on combating the coronavirus.
“The French ambassador to Algeria has been summoned Tuesday by the Foreign Affairs minister who informed him of Algeria’s strong protests following the false, hate and defamatory statements against Algeria, made recently on a channel of the French public television,” said a communiqué of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Algeria’s Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum asked the French ambassador “to transfer this protest to the highest authorities in his country (…) because this channel insists on tarnishing Algeria’s image at a time when all efforts should be focused on fighting the Corona pandemic,” the document said.
On Monday, France24 hosted a French researcher named Francis Ghilès, who claimed that the Algerian authorities had transferred aid from China to counter the coronavirus in Algeria to a military hospital in the capital, and alleged that the government of Algeria does not care about its citizens.
Ghilès accused Algerian authorities of poor management of the COVIDd-19 health crisis and of having reserved health privileges for soldiers and members of government at the expense of the population.
He said it was not China that sent aid to Algeria, but the public construction company CSCEC, which carried out important projects in the country, and pointed out that this aid was diverted to the benefit of the military hospital of Aïn Naâdja in Algiers “to treat the senior officers of the army”.”
Saudi Letter to UNSC Urges Deterring Houthi Threats
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212836/saudi-letter-unsc-urges-deterring-houthi-threats
“Saudi Arabia filed a complaint at the United Nations Security Council against Houthis. The Kingdom asked the UNSC to “carry out its responsibility” in preventing Iran-backed Houthi militias from increasing regional and international tension.
Saudi Arabia also stressed that it reserves the right to take “all necessary measures” to protect its territory and citizens in the wake of the recent Houthi terrorist attack that targeted civilians and civilian facilities in the Kingdom.
Houthi militia had recently fired two ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh and Jazan.
In a letter sent to UN Chief António Guterres, the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, reported the Houthi ballistic missile attack which took place on March 28, 2020.
This terrorist attack constitutes a serious threat to current efforts exerted by the United Nations in order to reduce tensions in Yemen, particularly in light of difficult circumstances in which the world is united in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Al-Mouallimi said…”
Turkey Arrests 6 Journalists, Threatens to Strip MPs of their Immunity
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2212911/turkey-arrests-6-journalists-threatens-strip-mps-their-immunity
“Turkish authorities have arrested six journalists for publishing reports or posting information on social media on Turkish nationals killed in Libya and Syria.
Baris Pehlivan, the editor-in-chief of the OdaTV website, was arrested for disclosing the identity of an intelligence officer killed in Libya.
The arrest order came after the court jailed two other OdaTV journalists, Baris Terkoglu and Hulya Kilinc.
On March 3, the website released a story about the officer’s funeral in the western city of Manisa and showed footage, saying the ceremony was held discreetly and without the participation of high-ranking officials.
Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority banned access to OdaTV’s website.
According to media reports, Yenicag journalist Murat Agirel, as well as Yeni Yasam Managing Editor Aydin Keser and Editor-in-Chief Ferhat Celik, were re-arrested after a prosecutor overturned their earlier release. They were also detained on the same charges.
Agirel released the identities and photos of some of the Turkish citizens killed in Libya.
It was later revealed that the dead were officers from the Turkish intelligence service. They had travelled to Libya as part of a security and military cooperation deal to send experts and military personnel to the country.
The deal was signed last year by Turkey and Libya’s Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
Turkey’s opposition nationalist Good Party MP Umit Ozdag said those killed were not buried like soldiers who had died in gunbattles, and no official funerals were organized for them.
Media outlets that are close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the reports have violated a law that prohibits disclosing the identity of intelligence agents.
In February, Erdogan acknowledged two Turkish troops were killed in Libya. “We have two martyrs of ours there (Libya),” he told a news conference in Ankara.
The public prosecution has also demanded stripping opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Engin Ozkoc of his immunity on charges of insulting the president.
CHP MP Atilla Sertel said the government is trying to spread fear and silence everyone ahead of early elections.
“Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party followed the same method in the elections held in November 2015,” he stressed.”
Trump announces he tested negative on new coronavirus test
US President Donald Trump announces he tested negative on his second coronavirus test, during a daily coronavirus briefing at the White House.
“I think I took it really out of curiosity to see how quickly it worked,” he says.
Trump calls House-led coronavirus investigation ‘ridiculous’
Trump says now is not the time for partisan investigations, says it is a waste of money during a pandemic at White House press briefing.
Collins blasts Schiff for undermining Trump’s handling of coronavirus
Unhinged: Pelosi Claims She Knew About Coronavirus Threat, Defends Prioritizing Impeachment
Coronavirus: Fourteen women murdered in Turkish homes since lockdown
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-women-murder-turkey-increase-domestic
“Women’s rights groups in Turkey have called for better protection for women facing violence during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, as new figures revealed that over 20 women had been murdered in a three-week period in March.
The We Will Stop Women’s Murder Platform reported on Wednesday that 21 women had been killed in the space of 20 days since 11 March, when the government advised the country to stay at home to avoid spreading the virus
“Fourteen of them have been killed at home,” the group, which takes its figures from media reports, said in a statement. It added that many women who had contacted the group were scared to report violence by husbands or partners, which had grown under the domestic lockdown conditions.
“Some of them have given up,” the group reported. “Some have realised that the violence against women had increased, upon returning home following the closure of the universities. Women also had a hard time to file for injunction orders because the offenders are elderly or sick.”
While Turkey has focused on the coronavirus pandemic, with 63 deaths from the virus reported on Thursday, the near-daily murder of women has still made headlines.
During March as a whole, 29 women were killed, with a further nine whose deaths were recorded as suspicious, according to local media.
Last week, Hatice Kurt, 46, was shot and killed in the street in the Black Sea resort of Rize by her ex-husband Ali Riza Havuz, 61, for allegedly posting a picture of herself online.
That same week, Dilek Kaya was shot and killed by her military officer boyfriend at home in the eastern city of Diyarbakir after a heated argument.
Tulin Oygur, the chair of the Republican Women’s Association, told local media outlets that there should be TV campaigns against domestic violence during the pandemic.
“We are worried that the lockdown would cause domestic violence not only against women but also children, and abuse,” she said…”
Twitter deletes thousands of accounts used to spread Saudi and Egyptian propaganda
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/twitter-deletes-thousands-accounts-connected-egypt-saudi-arabia
“Twitter has deleted thousands of accounts on Thursday that were used to spread propaganda on behalf of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The social media giant said in a post on its platform that it deleted 5,350 accounts from Saudi Arabia for “amplifying content praising Saudi leadership, and critical of Qatar and Turkish activity in Yemen”.
It said the Saudi-linked accounts were run out of the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, where Twitter’s Middle East headquarters is based, as well as Egypt.
The company also said it took down 2,541 accounts linked to the Egypt-based El Fagr media group after having found it had created “inauthentic accounts to amplify messaging critical of Iran, Qatar and Turkey”.
Twitter said it took the actions because the accounts violated its policies and represented a targeted attempt to undermine public conversation.
The action by the social media giant comes more than four months after it found Riyadh was manipulating the platform to further its global political interests.
On 20 December last year, Twitter responded by taking down almost 6,000 accounts it deemed to be tied to a state-backed information operation in Saudi Arabia.
The latest announcement comes after prominent Saudi social media activists have complained of government-backed Twitter bots targeting their accounts….”
Sky News –Special report: Into The Red Zone
( 44 min )
Sky News’ Special Correspondent Stuart Ramsay charts the days when coronavrius spread from China to ravage the city of Bergamo in the alpine region of Lombardy in Northern Italy.
Ilhan Omar Calls for Sharia Flogging of Critics with ’80 Stripes’
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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called for a sharia punishment of flogging for her critics who have accused her of adultery for her affair with Tim Mynett.
The issue here isn’t whether Ilhan Omar committed adultery. The issue is a sitting congresswoman invoked threat of brutal sharia violence against her critics. It’s an unprecedented move and was met with backlash from the public, including a collective of leadership.
https://clarionproject.org/sharia-punishment-ilhan-omar-calls-for-flogging-critics-with-80-stripes/?utm_source=Clarion+Project+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e55ea431dd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_02_01_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_60abb35148-e55ea431dd-5908801&mc_cid=e55ea431dd&mc_eid=65230079c6
Iraq launches military operation against Daesh remnants
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-iraq-launches-military-operation-against-daesh-remnants/
“Iraqi forces yesterday announced targeting Daesh-dwelled areas in the country’s northern governate of the Saladin.
“Iraqi F-16 fighter jets managed to destroy Daesh targets in the Saladin governorate, leaving a number dead,” the army’s Joint Operations Command disclosed in statement.
The statement added that the army had also killed three Daesh fighters in the Therthar Lake area, near Al-Anbar province.
The Iraqi army’s fifth division announced that it had found five Daesh hideouts in the country’s northwestern governate of Diyala, pointing out that the troops were able to destroy them.
The Iraqi operation comes as part of a military operation launched by the army three weeks ago, in an effort to chase the remaining remnants of Daesh. Local media recently reported that the Iraqi forces had targeted several Daesh reservoirs near the Qaraqosh mountain area, located in the Nineveh governorate.
Although nearly three years have passed since Iraq announced its defeat over Daesh, restoring most of the lands it seized in 2014, the terrorist organisation still maintains a number of hidden cells scattered throughout Iraq. It was reported to have resorted to its old tactic of launching lightning attacks targeting military areas, which prompted the Iraqi authorities to retaliate.”
Lebanon to investigate the death of Ghanaian migrant worker
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-lebanon-to-investigate-the-death-of-ghanaian-migrant-worker/
“Lebanon’s labour ministry announced yesterday that it will investigate the death of a Ghanaian migrant domestic worker after an Al Jazeera report revealed how she feared for her life because of alleged abuse at the hands of her employers.
Faustina Tay’s body was found under her employer’s fourth-storey home in Beirut’s southern suburbs between 3-4am on 14 March.
The cause of death was determined to be a fall from a high place, according to a forensic report, and a police report concluded that the death was a suicide.
However, media coverage by Al Jazeera and subsequently other international outlets, as well as a mention by super model Naomi Campbell on Twitter has garnered widespread public attention and sparked a new high-level investigation…”
Sudan asks US to remove it from terrorism list
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-sudan-asks-us-to-remove-it-from-terrorism-list/
“Acting Sudanese Ambassador to Washington Amira Agaraib asked the US to remove Khartoum from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, Anadolu reported.
This came during a meeting between Sudanese official and the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Tibor Nagy and the US Special Envoy to Sudan Donald Booth in Washington.
Reporting the official Sudanese news agency SUNA, Anadolu said that the officials discussed mutual relations and ways to strengthen them.
They also discussed the importance of quickly de-listing Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism in order to facilitate its dealings with international finance bodies.
On 8 March, the US Treasury said de-listing Sudan was just a matter of time.
The US added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993 as a result of its allegations that then-President Omar Al-Bashir’s government was supporting “terrorist” groups, Al Jazeera reported.
Washington began a formal process to de-list Sudan in January 2017, but this was put on hold when Sudan’s mass protests erupted a year ago.
Sudan hopes to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in order to be eligible to access debt and finance dealings with the IMF and World Bank.”
Former Somali Prime Minister dies of Covid-19 in London
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-former-somali-prime-minister-dies-of-covid-19-in-london/
“A former Prime Minister of Somalia has died after contracting coronavirus Covid-19 in London, his family said on Wednesday. The son of Nour Hassan Hussein Nour Adde said that his father died in King’s College Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment in recent weeks.
A Senator in the Somali parliament, Ilyas Ali Hassan, confirmed Adde’s death, Anadolu has reported. Nour Adde was Prime Minister of the Horn of Africa country from November 2007 to February 2009. His family said that he will be laid to rest in Britain in a traditional Islamic burial.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, sent condolences to President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of Somalia, saying that he prays that the Almighty has mercy on Nour Adde’s soul and grants him paradise. Farmajo declared three days of mourning in the country.”
Yemen court starts trial of Houthi leaders in absentia
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-yemen-court-starts-trial-of-houthi-leaders-in-absentia/
“A criminal court in Yemen’s interim capital Aden on Thursday held the first sessions of a trial in absentia involving 32 top Houthi members, who mounted a coup against the UN-recognized government, according to governmental sources, Anadolu reports.
On trial is the Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi and 31 other militants alongside him, including the head of the coup government Abdul Aziz bin Habtoor and Mahdi Al-Mashat, who was appointed as Defense Minister of that government…”
Iraq has confirmed thousands more COVID-19 cases than reported
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200402-iraq-has-confirmed-thousands-more-covid-19-cases-than-reported/
“Iraq has thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases, many times more than the 772 it is has publicly reported, according to three doctors closely involved in the testing process, a health ministry official and a senior political official, Reuters reports.
The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity. Iraqi authorities have instructed medical staff not to speak to the media.
Iraq’s health ministry, the only official outlet for information on the coronavirus, dismissed the sources’ reading of the spread of the disease.
“It’s incorrect information,” said Saif al-Badr, the health ministry spokesman, in a text message sent to Reuters without elaborating.
The ministry said in its latest daily statement on Thursday that the total recorded confirmed cases for Iraq were 772, with 54 deaths…”
Coronavirus Poses a Greater Threat to the Ayatollahs than US Sanctions Do
by Con Coughlin
April 2, 2020 at 5:00 am
The Iranian regime’s disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic could ultimately pose a greater threat to the survival of the ayatollahs than the impact of Washington’s uncompromising sanctions regime.
Up until the coronavirus outbreak, the main challenge facing the clerical regime was the devastating impact the Trump administration’s hard-hitting sanctions were having on the Iranian economy.
With the economy shrinking at the rate of 10 percent a year, and unemployment hovering around the 20 percent mark, the regime was under increasing pressure from anti-government protesters angry at the regime’s mishandling of the economy.
Opposition groups claimed that more than 600 protesters were killed as regime hardliners tried to crush opposition to the regime.
Now the anger of ordinary Iranians at the regime’s economic mismanagement has been replaced by outrage at the clerics’ attempts to conceal the true extent of Iran’s coronavirus outbreak, which has spread to all of the country’s 31 provinces.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15836/coronavirus-iran-sanctions
Austria: The Coronavirus Chronicles
by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff
April 2, 2020 at 4:00 am
Week 1 in a country in complete shutdown. Austria has been at the forefront of forcing its citizens to “shelter in place” by enacting measures so severe that even the country’s elderly cannot remember anything similar.
To snuff out a virus that originated in China in November and has since made its way around the world, roughly a month ago, the Austrian government, led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, thankfully heeded a dire warning by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, took hard a look at Austria’s neighboring country, Italy, and immediately enacted a first set of measures, followed by the drastic rules mentioned above, that were first extended until April 13 and stepped up on March 30.
The new measures include wearing compulsory masks when grocery shopping, which, in due course, will be extended to the wearing masks when outdoors at any time. In addition, vulnerable men and women, that is, those whose immune systems are compromised, are required to stay home, with their salaries covered by the government. The chancellor warned the population that “what we are witnessing right now is the quiet before the storm” and added that if measures are loosened, they will start with the opening of shops and some restaurants; universities and schools will follow at the very end of this process. Schools in Austria are therefore unlikely to reopen before the fall, although there are already extensive courses online.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15835/austria-coronavirus-chronicles
The EU and the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Dr. Tsilla Hershco
April 1, 2020
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Coronavirus in Italy image via Pixabay
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,515, April 1, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The coronavirus pandemic has exposed many of the EU’s inherent weaknesses, from its total unpreparedness for the crisis, to the open borders that expedited the spread of the disease, to the lack of solidarity reflected in member states’ refusal to help Italy in the initial critical phase of the pandemic. The union cooperates well in non-crisis situations, but its complacency, lumbering bureaucracy, and sluggish decision-making processes hamper its ability to respond to urgent developments.
The coronavirus epidemic has exposed the EU’s gravest flaws. It failed to make plans for state cooperation to combat an epidemic, should one arise. The Union’s open border policy in accordance with the Schengen Agreement, which it considers its cardinal achievement, has turned out to be a major hindrance to the effort to contain the virus. The Union refused to suspend the Schengen Agreement even as the virus rapidly picked up momentum and minimized the dangers of the pandemic to the general public, missteps with grave human costs.
Europeans, often rightly critical of China’s human rights abuses and fearful of Beijing’s burgeoning economic strength, strongly criticized the fierce and undemocratic steps the People’s Republic took in the fight against coronavirus. But they failed to internalize the lessons learned from the human toll of the virus among Chinese citizens and its rapid spread to other Asian countries. Instead the EU pointed to China as an example that would not be followed by enlightened and progressive Europe.
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/the-eu-and-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
Migrants: relocation of minors from Greece by Easter, EU
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2020/04/02/migrants-relocation-of-minors-from-greece-by-easter-eu_1e6f842c-1999-4e73-a875-c3549e0297e4.html
“”Eight member States of the EU have pledged to host 1,600 unaccompanied minors” from the Greek islands and ”the first reallocation will be this week or the next, at the latest, before Easter”, said the commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, speaking in video conference with the committee on civil liberties (Libe) of the European Parliament. ”We are working in a positive climate with these eight countries that show concrete signs of solidarity when they are most needed”. Johansson said the first reallocation will be to Luxembourg.”
Unaccompanied minors in Moria – Lesbos – March 30 2020
Germany sells arms to members of Saudi-led Yemen coalition
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-sells-arms-to-members-of-saudi-led-yemen-coalition/a-53000044
“Since 2019, Germany’s government has approved arms exports worth over €1 billion to members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen. Critics says this exacerbates the fighting…”
Biden urges Iran sanctions relief over virus
https://www.france24.com/en/20200402-biden-urges-iran-sanctions-relief-over-virus
“Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden called Thursday for the United States to ease sanctions on Iran to reduce suffering as the Islamic republic reels from the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said the United States should set up a dedicated channel for banks and other companies to operate in Iran and issue licenses for the sale of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The former vice president also called for guarantees to aid groups that they will not be penalized for operating in Iran — and said Tehran should reciprocate by freeing detained Americans.
Biden said that President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which includes sweeping sanctions, had “badly backfired” by encouraging aggression from the clerical regime.
“It makes no sense, in a global health crisis, to compound that failure with cruelty by inhibiting access to needed humanitarian assistance,” Biden said in a statement.
“Artificially limiting the flow of international humanitarian assistance to pursue a political point will not only allow the Iranian government to deflect responsibility for its own botched response, it will increase the threat this virus poses to the American people, now and in the future,” he said.
His appeal came a day after his rival for the nomination, Bernie Sanders, led left-leaning lawmakers in calling for a lifting of US sanctions on Iran, where more than 3,100 people have died from COVID-19.
Biden had faced criticism from Sanders supporters by hesitating in a television interview on Sunday from saying if he favored easing sanctions on Iran.
The Trump administration has proposed US aid to Iran but offered few details and has kept expanding sanctions.
The administration insists it has never targeted humanitarian goods, but few banks or exporters outside of China are willing to risk US sanctions by doing business in Iran.
Trump withdrew from an accord sealed by former president Barack Obama’s administration, in which Biden was vice president, that promised sanctions relief to Iran in return for denuclearization.”
Smuggled Viruses Coming From China Raise Questions Of BIOTERROR, Why Is This Not A BOMBSHELL??
JohnnyU Tim and the people on the video with him are asking how is this not an act of war?
Indonesian COVID-19 deaths surpass, within weeks, 17 years of bird flu fatalities
The number of COVID-19 fatalities in Indonesia in the month since its first confirmed case has officially surpassed the country’s total avian influenza death toll over nearly two decades.…
The numbers seem to support the conclusion that the global pandemic is spreading at a faster rate than the previous major outbreak in the archipelago.
Indonesia’s current COVID-19 mortality rate, 9.4 percent, is among the highest in the world.…
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/02/indonesian-covid-19-deaths-surpass-within-weeks-17-years-of-bird-flu-fatalities.html
Tucker: The New York Times’ coronavirus coverage can be explained in 4 steps
Hasher Jallal Taheb Pleads Guilty for Planning Attack on White House (breitbart, Apr 2, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/04/02/hasher-jallal-taheb-pleads-guilty-for-planning-attack-on-white-house/
“Hasher Jallal Taheb of Cummings, Georgia, pleaded guilty Wednesday for planning a series of attacks on the White House and other monuments in the United States, federal prosecutors announced.
Taheb, 23, was arrested in January 2019 after a year of being under investigation. He was taken into custody as he attempted to pick up explosives, an anti-tank weapon, and semi-automatic rifles in a parking lot in Buford, Georgia. Authorities received a tip last March that he had become “radicalized” and had planned a trip to the Middle East.
A criminal complaint states Taheb put his vehicle up for sale on August 25, 2018, and an FBI informant showed interest in purchasing it.
Taheb allegedly revealed to the informant “he wished to conduct an attack in the United States against targets such as the White House and the Statue of Liberty,” the complaint reads.
He also told the informant that “jihad was the best deed in Islam and the peak of Islam.”
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said he pleaded guilty to attempting to destroy, by fire or an explosive, a property owned by or leased to the U.S.
Court documents show that prosecutors recommended a 15-year prison sentence as part of his plea agreement. He is slated to be sentenced on June 23.”
VIDEO: There is ‘no doubt’ Communist China has a biological weapons program
https://youtu.be/E9EjkZ1oUXw