Reader’s Links for April 13, 2020

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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.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

106 Replies to “Reader’s Links for April 13, 2020”

  1. From Anon to Anon:

    It seems that under these conditions it must be wonderful to be a govt employee–you get to keep your job no matter what, and in many cases, hang out at home and get paid for that luxury. Aside from the outrageousness of this scenario on the surface of it, given that the taxpayer (if there will be any left in the private sector after the dust settles) will be on the hook for tax and interest rate increases and the effects of the inevitable inflation that will follow, the govt really should be reducing non home working public sector employees’ wages by at least 25% just for starters. If I was a young person entering the workforce today, after witnessing this debacle I would just sit at home and apply for welfare and government jobs. It doesnt make sense for the average person now to pursue an education or take the risk of running a private sector business if every time a virus trucks on through, the government sends its public workforce on indefinite paid leave and effectively shuts down the productive component of the economy–the private sector, compromising investments and mortgages and jobs. This is the future.
    Personally I am managing a business that was in a very competitive market before the virus came along and margins were thin by the nature of the enterprise. After all this is done we may also be done–permanently. Personally I think our society’s approach will prove to be more infectious than the virus but no matter what, the prospects for prosperity in the majority of true private enterprises just took a hit of severe magnitude, and in many respects a permanent one. No rational, observant adult will have much faith in any bricks and mortar business going forward. Everybody should be looking to bail out, cut their losses and let the state look after them. This phenomenon of course will be catastrophic. We know from history how statist systems ‘work’. Sadky though, per force, it is actually time for most private sector owners to seriously consider retiring, regardless of their age. There will be fewer and fewer private businsses around to shoulder a larger and larger tax burden, and businesses are already taxed to death on every level. This idiotic suffocation strategy of the real business world will have knock-on effects that will eclipse all of our lives forever. We just dont have the money to do this bogus hide and seek game with a microbe. I hope your organization actually grasps the deadly parameters of the lethal game that our poseur politicians who were bad mansgers of our economy at the best of times, are playing. We have to go after the fundamentals of the role and size of government and pare it down to a much smaller and more efficiently run and more intelligently directed organism. Gone are the days that goverment can saunter blithely down the road, fattened like the proverbial sacred cow, growing larger and more in debt with every passing year. If a broadly variegated capitalist system is to be salvaged from the ashes of this conflagration, the beaast of government as we know it must be sacrificed and a new animal raised in its place. Rather than chip around at the edges, your outfit– or one like it–must adopt a more ambitious mandate or all we are doing is rearrannging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Lets start with a proposal to shrink the burden of the public sector payroll.

    • Judging by the performance of teachers right now I would include them in the pay cut, also.

      • I should qualify this by specifying the very lackluster teachers that are in charge of my childrens’ education.

        • We need laws requiring the children of teachers go to school in the schools where their parents teach. This will bring about a lot of changes to what is happening in the schools.

    • I agree with all you said. Down here in the States we have been fighting to get a new Constitutional Convention (Convention of the States, Article 5 Convention) with a little luck the Wuhan Flu and the resulting catastrophe (caused mainly by the failure of the previous administrations to prepare for emergencies) will push enough state legislatures into voting for the Convention.

      If we can get a new Convention I think we can get the Constitution modified to force the government back into the limited role the Original Constitution called for. President Trump is already doing all he can to achieve this goal by appointing Judges that believe in ruling according to the original intent of the Constitution and the Laws. Mark Levin wrote a very good book Titled the Liberty Amendments with a list of 13 Amendments he wants adopted. One of them forbids Government Unions and removes the Department of Education transferring the responsiblity of education back to the local school boards. This will go a long way to improving the education the kids receive,

  2. This is very interesting, and more so considering the source. If even a fraction of it is true his nickname should be Billy Mengele. Also, MSM, Dystopia’s Dear Leader, and many others have had a profound bias against hydroxychloroquine because, we’ve thought, they so hate PT. While this may be true, it may also be true that the hydroxy-c is a competitor that must be suppressed:

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/government-corruption/gates-globalist-vaccine-agenda-a-win-win-for-pharma-and-mandatory-vaccination/

  3. This piece on forgiving the debts of poor countries is also interesting. Moreso about half-way down where it says most of the countries concerned are around the CCP new Silk Road scheme.

    Well, it isn’t clear to me exactly what they’re saying, but it seems like they’re proposing debt forgiveness to those countries that the CCP put on their debt hook. Yet, it says that it is unfair to expect private lenders to do the “forgiving”, because this will distort the markets.

    In other words, and I hope someone here sees it differently and says so, the primarily U.S.-financed iMF will bail out communist Chinese loan sharks who have been re-designated as “private” lenders so that they can receive American tax payer money. After all, we know the CCP has been in the “We-build-poor-country-mega-project-in-return-for-loan-terms-that-borrower-will-fail-and-forfeit-big-fat-asset,” game.

    I can understand the want to mitigate the misery of third-world peoples’ falling into default and debt slavery. But what of the reckoning headed our way? Our bankruptcy may be far more brutal in that we will fall from a higher standard of living.

    Can it be that Keynesian economics was nothing more than a clever Fabian ponzi scheme? That rehypothicated debt, fractional-reserve banking and compound interest were socialist strategies meant to end in the ultimate death of capitalism and collectivization of all assets?

    No. I don’t think so. But it’s not a ridiculous question from the current vantage point.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/action-plan-g20-debt-relief-program-worlds-poorest-countries-being-finalized

    • You are right, this is a scheme (probably designed by China) to get the US Tax Payer to foot the bill for the Chinese Belt and Road program. The article talks about the debtor nations but doesn’t designate which nations are debtor nations, does this include the Western Nations that have been running onf borrowed money for decades? Does this include Japan and South Korea, I think they have some national debt?

    • Social security is a Ponzi scheme. And a key to Keynesian economics is consumerism. If for any reason, the society can’t “consume”, its economy will falter.

      Keynesian economics has brought us to our knees many times, and now, thanks to our enemies, it’s poised to sweep us off our feet. It has also brought us grocery store aisles with close to a hundred choices of breakfast foods. Now that’s a real accomplishment for an enlightened society.

      • When Social Security was started the average life expediency was 62, they set the retirement age as 65 so the vast majority of people would pay money in and never live to collect any. of the money they had paid the Government. This ponzi scheme was just another way for the Dems to tax the poor and spend it on buying votes.

  6. Here in South Africa, Soldiers of the SANDF has already murder Charges laid against them during the Nationwide Lockdown.
    I heard of 9 murders perpetrated through Soldiers throughout the Country so far.

    Drunk on power: Alexandra man ‘beaten to death’ by SANDF over single beer
    https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/alexandra-man-beaten-death-sandf-beer-lockdown/

    Alleged SANDF brutality during lockdown leads to the death of an Alex man
    https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/alleged-sandf-brutality-during-lockdown-leads-to-the-death-of-an-alex-man/

    so far;
    Coronavirus 25 Death
    SANDF 9 Death
    I wouldn’t be surprised when the Government Sponsored Death-Squads eventually will outperform the Virus.

    • He lost any credibility he had when he said the economy will never recover. This is what the Obama administration kept saying and the Trump took office, cut taxes and regulations and the economy took off.

    • He starts being credible when he talks about China and what is happening ther and when he talks about the propaganda media.

      He is right about how China may go to war because of their collapsing economy, this has happened many times in the past and will probably happen many times in the future.

    • He is regaining his credibility when he talks about the corruption of the Deep State and how high the rot extended during the Obama Administration.

  10. Watch Riot Erupt in Brussels Amid Coronavirus Lockdown (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004131078934024-watch-riot-erupt-in-brussels-amid-coronavirus-lockdown-/

    “Amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus infection, countries have introduced a variety of measures to hold back the pandemic, including lockdowns and even travel passes. As of Monday, Belgium has reported a total of 28,018 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,346 deaths.

    Belgian broadcaster RTBF on Sunday reported that at least 43 people had been arrested for taking part in a riot that erupted in the Brussels neighbourhood of Anderlecht.

    The riot started following the death of a 19-year-old man identified as Adil, who crashed a scooter into a police car on Friday after evading a law enforcement check.

    Following the incident, people gathered for a rally despite the current lockdown.

    According to Patrick Evenepoel, the head of police for Anderlecht, police didn’t intervene until some of the protesters started arming themselves with stones from a nearby construction site.

    Adil’s family said that they were in no way responsible for the start of the protest and called on people to calm down.

    The death of the young man is being investigated by police.”

    • Belgium: 43 Arrests After Rioters Stone Police, Fire Shots from Stolen Service Weapon (breitbart, Apr 13, 2020)
      https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/13/belgium-43-arrests-after-rioters-stone-police-fire-shots-stolen-service-weapon/

      “Dozens of people have been arrested in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht after migration-background youths staged a riot and fired shots from a stolen police service weapon.

      The trigger for the riot in the European Union capital — which is under strict lockdown as Belgium experiences one of the worst per capita coronavirus death tolls in the world — seems to have been the death of a 19-year-old identified as “Adil”.

      The young suffered fatal injuries after running a police checkpoint on a scooter and subsequently colliding with a police van which was sent as back-up, according to POLITICO.

      Calls for a “protest” soon followed, despite bans on public gatherings, and video footage shows youths who appear to be from a migration background trashing police vehicles with slabs of stone in the middle of the street.

      Reports indicate that the “protest” escalated to the point of an individual disguised by a balaclava firing shots from a handgun which was stolen from the police, ending in at least 43 arrests.

      “Toward 8 p.m. [on Saturday], the situation was under control in the entire area,” claims the local mayor Fabien Cumps.

      “There was a new spike in violence, a more limited one, around 10 p.m., with stones thrown at a police station (windows were broken), but this was rapidly repressed by police,” he added.

      Mayor Cumps suggested that the rioters “clearly” were not gathering “in memory of young Adil”, but in order “to be violent”.

      Patrick Evenepoel, who leads the police in Anderlecht, admitted that the police “didn’t intervene right away” when the youths began gathering, in defiance of the lockdown, but said they had to take action “when we saw that groups of young people were arming themselves with rocks taken from construction sites in the area.””

  11. Two Officers Reportedly Killed as Suspected Militants Open Fire at Police Unit in Kashmir (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004131078934957-two-officers-reportedly-killed-as-suspected-militants-open-fire-at-police-unit-in-kashmir/

    “The reports come as Indian and Pakistani forces continue clashing near the Line of Control (LoC), exchanging heavy artillery fire. Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, while the death toll in the recent incidents continues to grow.

    Militants opened fire on two Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Dachhan district in Kishtwar municipality, Jammu and Kashmir, killing both. Law enforcement officials stated that the militants managed to flee the scene, also taking weapons from the dead officers.

    “What I have learnt is that militants attacked a police party resulting in the death of two cops. They have also snatched their service rifles”, Ajaz Ahmed Wani, a police official in the area, said.

    Police forces have been dispatched to catch the assailants.

    This is the second attack on police in the region in the last 48 hours, as tensions in Kashmir are still high amid another round of confrontation between Islamabad and New Delhi.

    Hostilities along the Line of Control resumed last week following the killing of five Indian soldiers. Sunday saw three civilians killed amid an exchange of fire, and on Monday one Pakistani serviceman was killed, and four others injured.”

  12. Sweden Seeing Incidents of Criminals Shouting ‘Corona’ and Coughing on Police ‘to Avoid Arrest’ (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004131078933460-sweden-seeing-incidents-of-suspected-criminals-shout-corona-and-cough-on-police-to-avoid-arrest/

    “So far, over 130 coronavirus-related incidents have been reported by police personnel, and, according to a police spokesman, there is a general concern within the entire police force.

    Sweden’s national broadcaster SVT has reported a spate of incidents involving people purportedly sick with the coronavirus intentionallly cough and spit on police. According to SVT, employees in healthcare, the national liquor-store monopoly Systembolaget, and postal workers have also been affected.

    “There have been a few examples of that. They pretend to be infected, run against the police and cough or spit”, Patrik Danielsson of the National Police Association told SVT.

    So far, more than 130 coronavirus-related incidents have been reported by police personnel, and, according to Danielsson, there is a general concern within the entire police force.

    Danielsson explained that the tactic is employed by people who try escape arrest or avoid dealing with the police altogether. Similar tactics were used before, but have gained momentum as the coronavirus spreads, he said.

    “We must always assume that the people are infected, all police officers must reckon with it in everyday life. We can’t stop doing our job, but we have to manage the situation based on it”, Danielsson explained.

    So far, the Swedish Work Environment Authority has received over 60 accident reports linked to the coronavirus. Most refer to medical care and elderly care, but examples of incidents are also found within the police, at Systembolaget, and postal operations, SVT reported.

    In neighbouring Norway, a man was given a prison sentence for spitting on police officers and threatening the coronavirus.

    In Sweden, a prankster duo who coughed at people while pretending to have the coronavirus landed in the limelight at the end of March. The prank video published by the YouTube account Alpha & Ali sparked negative reactions and was even condemned by local police.

    “If you are acting stupid to be funny at someone else’s expense, we want to ask these people to stop immediately”, police spokeswoman Åsa Willsund told the newspaper Eskilstunakuriren.

    The clip was later taken down, and the authors, a migrant duo, claimed to have been threatened and subjected to racism.

    Sweden, which has taken a standalone approach to combating the coronavirus epidemic and consistently avoided lockdowns, instead relying on voluntary self-isolation and social distancing measures, has seen at least 10,483 confirmed cases and 899 fatalities.

    Migrants from blighted suburbs and the elderly were earlier highlighed as the most vulnerable and hardest-hit groups.”

  13. One Killed, Four Injured as Artillery Firefight Continues Between India, Pakistan (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004131078933408-one-killed-four-injured-as-artillery-firefight-continues-between-india-pakistan/

    “The two South Asian foes have been engaged in firefights and shelling for the past several days following the killing of five Indian troops near the Line of Control (LoC).

    Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Indian Charges d’Affairs amid ceasefire violations, hours after one Pakistani soldier was killed and four injured as a result of an artillery firefight.

    The day before, three civilians were killed when Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy artillery fire.

    Hostilities along the Line of Control (LoC) resumed last week following the killing of five Indian troops.

    The Pakistani Army has accused Indian troops of disregarding a ceasefire agreement and international conventions by initiating “unprovoked ceasefire violations” along the Line of Control (LoC) and “deliberately targeting” the civilian population in the Baroh, Dhudnial, Rakhchikri, and Chirikot sectors.

    India, for its part, issued a statement to say that its army was responding to a ceasefire violation by Pakistan.

    While tensions between India and Pakistan spike from time to time, a recent major escalation occurred in August 2019 after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, a move considered by Islamabad as a violation of an existing bilateral agreement.”

  14. Afghan Government Releases 361 Taliban Prisoners – National Security Council (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004131078933002-afghan-government-releases-361-taliban-prisoners—national-security-council/

    “The Afghan government has released 361 members of the Taliban movement, National Security Council Spokesperson Javid Faisal said on Monday.

    “The government released 361 Taliban prisoners from Bagram prison according to a presidential decree from 11 March. As per the decree, releases will continue across other prisons to free a total of 1,500 as part of our efforts to advance peace and fight #COVID19”, Faisal wrote on Twitter.

    It was previously reported that the government had released 300 Taliban prisoners, and the Taliban had handed over 20 Afghan prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern province of Kandahar.

    US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad welcomed the prisoner release by the warring parties, calling on them to boost their efforts.

    “The release of prisoners is an important step in the peace process and the reduction of violence. Both sides should accelerate efforts to meet targets specified in the US-Taliban agreement as soon as possible. The potential for COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons poses a real threat and all the more reason to move urgently”, Khalilzad wrote on Twitter.

    In late February, the United States and the Taliban signed a long-awaited peace deal in Qatar. The agreement envisions the complete withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan within 14 months and the start of direct intra-Afghan negotiations following the mutual release of prisoners. However, clashes continue in the country amid disagreements over the prisoner release process.

    Afghanistan has confirmed 607 COVID-19 cases so far, with the death toll currently at 18.”

  15. Church of Sweden Demands ‘Corona Money’ for Illegal Immigrants (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004131078932935-church-of-sweden-demands-corona-money-for-illegal-immigrants/

    “As the coronavirus continues to spread in Sweden amid a lack of lockdowns and only voluntary social distancing, migrants from blighted areas have been called one of the most vulnerable categories.

    The Church of Sweden has demanded a package of measures for asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, whom it claims have suffered a lot from the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

    In an opinion piece published in the newspaper Expressen, Archbishop Antje Jackelén and other members of Sweden’s Christian Council stressed that all people “are created by God”, which is why politicians put measures in place to save “paperless” immigrants, who were claimed to be particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Jackelén also mentioned asylum seekers, temporary labour immigrants, migrants slated for deportation, and homeless people.

    “Risk groups have been urged to stay home to avoid becoming infected. At the same time, we know that around 33,000 people in Sweden are homeless. Many paperless people have gone underground and are living in difficult conditions. Some have a roof over their heads but live in cramped areas and thus become extra prone to the spread of infection. Others have no home to go to during this ‘isolation period’ and some shelters are now closed”, Jackelén and fellow members of the Church Council wrote.

    The archbishop also urged that immigration laws be reviewed.

    “The borders are closed, which means that many cannot return home. Others live in an extended wait for their asylum learning to be settled, a process that is now at risk of being delayed further”, the Christian Council wrote.

    The opinion piece sparked a reaction of social media, with people calling on Jackelén to instead protect the elderly, who are the hardest-hit category. Some even went so far as to call her “Antjechrist”, a pun on her name. Others, such as the news outlet Fria Tider, described the appeal as “demanding corona money”.

    Shortly thereafter, Dagens Nyheter, one of Sweden’s largest dailies published an appeal, demanding that so-called “unaccompanied refugee children” who have been allowed to stay in Sweden under the so-called high school law despite controversies surrounding their age and validity of asylum grounds, should receive amnesty due to the coronavirus pandemic. Similar demands were previously put forth by activist groups such as the Union of the Unaccompanied and Vistårinteut (“We can’t take it”).

    In recent decades, the Church of Sweden has changed its centuries-old stance on a number of issues, including those seen as controversial, such as LGBT activism and mass immigration, alienating many worshippers in a record exodus. This process has sped up under Jackelén.

    Sweden, which has taken a maverick approach to tackling the coronavirus epidemic and refrained from total lockdowns, has seen at least 10,483 confirmed cases and 899 fatalities. Migrants from blighted areas and the elderly were earlier reported as the most vulnerable and hardest-hit groups.

    Despite the Public Health Authority’s advice to refrain from unnecessary travel, Sweden’s Migration Board still moves asylum seekers between their accommodations, national broadcaster SVT reported.”

  16. MI6 urges government to rethink China relationship after coronavirus pandemic (express, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1268284/MI6-coronavirus-news-china-latest-intelligence-service-COVID-19-death-toll

    “SPY AGENCIES in the UK believe there’s a need for the government to reassess its relationship with China after the world’s coronavirus crisis subsides.

    MI6, the foreign intelligence service, and MI5, its domestic counterpart, have raised concerns about Beijing’s response to the virus and the UK’s relationship with the country. They have also begun calling for tighter controls on high-tech and other strategic industries to protect the UK’s intelligence and industry.

    he intelligence bodies have asked whether the UK wants to restrict takeovers of key companies in high-tech areas to prevent information leaking.

    They also suggested whether the UK should reduce Chinese students’ access to research at universities and elsewhere for the same reason.

    A Whitehall source said the UK needs to ensure diversity of supply “in 6G and 7G” and to protect highly important “crown jewel” industries of technology, research and innovation.

    Both MI5 and MI6 have however said they believe it was right to allow Chinese company Huawei access to Britain’s 5G network, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to allow them to have user data from the network in January.

    Intelligence agencies have been wanting a more serious focus on Chinese activity since before the outbreak.

    MI6 is understood to have warned ministers that China was under-reporting the number of coronavirus cases and deaths at the start of the year.

    These echo the CIA’s briefings to the White House after President Donald Trump said the countries recovery seems suspicious.

    In a press briefing on the 21 March, he said: ”China was very secretive and that’s unfortunate.

    “With that said I have great respect for that country and great respect for the leadership of that country.

    “I wish they could have given us an advance warning. If we had a two or three month difference in time.”

    Michael Gove last month accused China of downplaying the threat of the virus.

    He said: “It was also the case that some of the reporting from China was not clear about the scale, the nature, the infectiousness of this.”

    Other Conservative MP’s like Damien Green have expressed scepticism over China’s statistics.

    Writing on the Conservative Home website, he said: “The irritation of the British government with its Chinese counterpart, both for the delay in informing international bodies of the arrival of coronavirus and for its slightly dubious attitude to statistics, has been obvious in recent days.”

    The Chinese government have recently imposed restrictions on the publication of research on coronavirus, in a move that shrouds the countries handling of the crisis in mystery.

    Under new policy, all academic papers on Covid-19 will be subject to extra vetting before being submitted for publication.

    Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials, according to now-deleted posts from Chinese universities.

    An anonymous Chinese researcher said to CNN: “I think it is a coordinated effort from (the) Chinese government to control (the) narrative, and paint it as if the outbreak did not originate in China, and I don’t think they will really tolerate any objective study to investigate the origination of this disease.”

    Worldwide coronavirus cases have risen to over 1.8 million since it’s outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019.

    The UK has seen 84,279 confirmed cases of the virus, with 10,612 deaths.

    On Sunday, it saw 5,288 new cases and 737 new deaths.

    The country is set to be on lockdown for the foreseeable future, after the measure was introduced in March.”

  19. Somali Gang Rapist Whose Deportation Was Blocked by Air Passengers to Be Freed (breitbart, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/13/somali-gang-rapist-whose-deportation-was-blocked-by-air-passengers-to-be-freed/

    “A convicted Somali gang rapist is to be released on bail after his deportation was blocked by airline passengers, who staged a revolt to block him from being sent back to his country.

    Yaqub Ahmed, one of four men who gang-raped a 16-year-old girl in 2007, should be released from detention after being granted “bail in principle” despite the authorities acknowledging he poses a “real risk” to the public.

    In announcing his release, Judge Margaret O’Keeffe acknowledged that there is a “real risk that he would commit offences if released on bail.”

    “I am also satisfied that the applicant poses a risk of absconding. He failed to comply with bail conditions in the past and was caught attempting to leave the jurisdiction,” the judge admitted.

    But she said that she was bound by guidance for immigration judges which limits the government’s ability to detain someone for more than six months before they are deported.

    “I have to take into account that there is currently no realistic prospect of his removal to Somalia and it cannot be said that his removal is imminent. There is simply no way to know when the position will change in relation to international air travel,” the judge concluded, referring to the effects of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

    In August 2007, Ahmed was a part of a group of four men who lured a 16-year-old girl back to their flat by telling her that her friends were waiting for her there. Once the men had brought her back to their flat, the men took turns raping the teenage girl.

    She was eventually saved by neighbours who phoned the police after hearing her cries for help.

    Ahmed received just nine years for his part in the attack, and released on licence after serving four years behind bars.

    In March of 2019, the Somali rapist was detained again after he removed his electronic tag and attempted to flee to Spain to avoid deportation.

    The victim of the gang rape called his release “disgraceful”.

    “I am so sick of it. I just want it to be over but it’s never-ending. I think it’s disgraceful,” she said.

    The judge in the case said that his upcoming release will be dependent on the Home Office providing him accommodation and that if housing isn’t provided within 14 days he will remain in detention. Ahmed’s release may also be reversed if the rapist loses his appeal against deportation — a decision that is expected to be announced in the coming days.

    The authorities are not known to have taken any action against the air passengers who prevented his deportation from going ahead.”

  20. Indonesia imposes stricter social restrictions to stop spread of COVID-19 ahead of Ramadan

  21. COVID-19: Repeat offenders who flout safe distancing rules could be fined S$300 or charged in court

  22. Pakistan: Sexual Abuse by Clerics ‘Pervasive’ In Islamic Schools (breitbart, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/13/pakistan-sexual-abuse-clerics-pervasive-islamic-schools/

    “Muhimman proudly writes his name slowly, carefully, one letter at a time, grinning broadly as he finishes. He’s just 11 years old and was a good student who had dreams of being a doctor.

    School frightens him now. Earlier this year, a cleric at the religious school he faithfully attended in the southern Punjab town of Pakpattan took him into a washroom and tried to rape him. Muhimman’s aunt, Shazia, who wanted only her first name used, said she believes the abuse of young children is endemic in Pakistan’s religious schools. She said she has known the cleric, Moeed Shah, since she was a little girl and describes him as an habitual abuser who used to ask little girls to pull up their shirts.

    “He has done wrong with boys and also with two or three girls,” Shazia said, recalling one girl the cleric brutalized so badly he broke her back.

    An investigation by The Associated Press found dozens of police reports, known here as First Information Reports, alleging sexual harassment, rape and physical abuse by Islamic clerics teaching in madrassas or religious schools throughout Pakistan, where many of the country’s poorest study. The AP also documented cases of abuse through interviews with law enforcement officials, abuse victims and their parents. The alleged victims who spoke for this story did so with the understanding only their first names would be used.

    There are more than 22,000 registered madrassas in Pakistan, teaching more than 2 million children. But there are many more religious schools that are unregistered. They are typically started by a local cleric in a poor neighborhood, attracting students with a promise of a meal and free lodging. There is no central body of clerics that governs madrassas. Nor is there a central authority that can investigate or respond to allegations of abuse by clerics, unlike the Catholic Church, which has a clear hierarchy topped by the Vatican.

    The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised to modernize the curriculum and make the madrassas more accountable, but there is little oversight.

    Police say the problem of sexual abuse of children by clerics is pervasive and the scores of police reports they have received are just the tip of the iceberg. Yet despite the dozens of reports, none have resulted in the conviction of a cleric. Religious clerics are a powerful group in Pakistan and they close ranks when allegations of abuse are brought against one of them. They have been able to hide the widespread abuse by accusing victims of blasphemy or defamation of Islam.

    Families in Pakistan are often coerced into “forgiving” clerics, said Deputy Police Superintendent Sadiq Baloch, speaking in his office in the country’s northwest, toward the border with Afghanistan.

    Overcome by shame and fear that the stigma of being sexually abused will follow a child into adulthood, families choose instead to drop the charges, he said. Most often, when a family forgives the cleric the investigation ends because the charges are dropped.

    “It is the hypocrisy of some of these mullahs, who wear the long beard and take on the cloak of piety only to do these horrible acts behind closed doors, while openly they criticize those who are clean-shaven, who are liberal and open-minded,” Baloch said. “In our society so many of these men, who say they are religious, are involved in these immoral activities.”

    ‘I WANT THIS MULLAH HANGED’

    Police officials say they have no idea how many children are abused by religious clerics in Pakistan. The officials said clerics often target young boys who have not yet reached puberty in part because of the restrictive nature of Pakistan’s still mostly conservative society, where male interaction with girls and women is unacceptable. The clerics for the most part had access to and trust with boys, who are less likely to report a sexual assault.

    Eight-year-old Yaous from Pakistan´s remote northern Kohistan region is one of those boys.

    Yaous´ father was a poor labourer who had no education and spoke only the local language of his area, yet he wanted to educate his son. He had heard of a religious school in Mansehra, several hundred kilometers (miles) south of his village, where other boys from the area had gone. Too poor to even own a phone, his father went for months without speaking to his son.

    Yaous is small for his eight years. His features are slight. In an interview with the AP, with his uncle interpreting, Yaous’ tiny body shivered as he told of his ordeal.

    It was near the end of December last year — a holiday at the madrassa. Most of the students had left. Only Yaous and a handful of students had stayed behind. His village was hours away, and the cost of transportation home was too much for his parents.

    The other students had gone to wash their clothes and Yaous said he was alone inside the mosque with Qari Shamsuddin, the cleric. The sexual assault was unexpected and brutal. The boy said Shamsuddin grabbed his hand, dragged him into a room and locked the door.

    “It was so cold. I didn’t understand why he was taking my warm clothes off,” Yaous said, his voice was barely a whisper.

    As Yaous remembered what happened, he buried his head deeper into his jacket. The cleric grabbed a stick, he said. It was small, maybe about 12 inches. The first few sharp slaps stung.

    “The pain made me scream and cry, but he wouldn’t stop,” Yaous said. The boy was held prisoner for two days, raped repeatedly until he was so sick the cleric feared he would die and took him to the hospital.

    At the hospital, Dr Faisal Manan Salarzai said Yaous screamed each time he tried to approach him. Yaous was so small and frail looking, Salarzai called him the “baby.”

    “The baby was having a lot of bruises on his body — on his head, on his chest, on his legs, so many bruises on other parts of his body,” Salarzai said.

    Suspicious, Salarzai ordered Yaous moved to the isolation ward where he examined him, suspecting he had been sexually assaulted. The examination revealed brutal and repetitive assaults.

    But Solarzai said Yaous’ uncle refused to believe his nephew was sexually assaulted, instead he said the boy had fallen down. “He said the uncle finally said: `If news spreads in our area that he has been sexually assaulted it will be very difficult for him to survive in our area.’”

    “He was not willing to talk about it or even think that he was sexually assaulted,” said Solarzai. But the evidence was overwhelming and the doctor contacted the police.

    The cleric was arrested and is now in jail. Police have matched his DNA samples to those found on Yaous. But despite the arrest, fellow clerics and worshippers at the Madrassah-e-Taleem-ul-Quran mosque located in a remote region of northwest Pakistan dispute the charges. They say Shamsuddin is innocent, the victim of anti-Islamic elements in the country. The clerics and worshippers also say the accusation is part of a conspiracy to discredit Pakistan´s religious leaders and challenge the supremacy of Islam, a rallying cry often used by right-wing religious clerics seeking to enrage mobs to assert their power.

    Yaous’s father, Abdul Qayyum, said he was ashamed he had not spoken to his son in more than three months before the attack happened.

    “I want this mullah hanged. Nothing else will do,” Qayyum said.

    ‘FORGIVE ME’

    Young boys are not the only victims of sexual abuse by religious clerics. Many young girls like Misbah, who is from a deeply conservative south Punjab village of Basti Qasi, have also been targeted by religious leaders.

    Her father, Mohammad Iqbal, isn´t exactly sure how old Misbah is. He thinks she is 11 because in rural Pakistan many births are not registered or are registered much later, and it is just a guess when children are born. They share their small cinderblock structures with several goats and an extended family made up it seems of mostly children who play tag and run around the dirt compound. Misbah, who struggled for words, said she was raped in the mosque next door, where she had been studying the Quran for three years.

    The assault happened one morning after she stayed behind to sweep the mosque. The other children had been sent home and the cleric, someone she trusted, asked Misbah to help.

    “I had just began to clean when he slammed shut the mosque door,” she said in her native Saraiki language. “I didn´t know why and then he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into a nearby room. I was screaming and shouting and crying. She couldn’t say how long the assault went on. All she could remember was screaming for her father to help her but he wouldn’t stop, he wouldn’t stop, she repeated.

    It was her uncle, Mohammed Tanvir, who rescued her. He had been on his way to college but stopped at the mosque to use the washroom. He noticed a pair of child´s shoes outside the door.

    “Then I heard screaming from inside, she was screaming for her father,” Tanvir said. He smashed the door down saw his niece sprawled and naked on the floor. “It looked as if she had fainted,” he said. Her blood-stained pants were in a corner. The cleric knelt at his feet.

    “‘Forgive me’ he kept saying to me,” Tanvir recalled. The cleric was arrested but freed on bail.

    ‘SUCH A BEAST SHOULD NOT NE SPARED’

    In the wake of the attempted rape of Muhimman, the young boy who had proudly showed his writing skills, his aunt said there has been a concerted attempt to silence the family.

    “The village people say these are our spiritual leaders and the imams of our religious places, and refuse to kick him out,” Shazia said

    After the attack on her nephew, she said, the villagers came to their home and pleaded with them to forgive the cleric, Moeed Shah, who had fled the area.

    “They all came to our home and they know we are poor and he is an imam and they said we should forgive him but we won’t,” Shazia said. She said her father, Muhimma’s grandfather, refused.

    Shah has yet to be arrested, even though the assault was filmed by several village boys who broke down the door to the washroom and frightened Shah away as he tried to rape Muhimman.

    Police say they are investigating and a charge has been filed, but Shah is a fugitive. Some of the neighbours near the mosque said police are not searching vigorously for him. They seemed angry but also resigned to the fact that he would not be jailed.

    Muhimman’s aunt was inconsolable.

    “Such a beast should not be spared at all,” Shazia said.”

  23. Can someone help me, please?

    About two weeks ago, I started receiving emails from ”IJR”.
    I don’t know who they are and I haven’t clicked on any of the emails. I delete all of them.

    Looking at their profile, this is their email address.
    ij******************@*************d2.com

    Any thoughts here?

    • (Here is what I can find)

      Independent Journal Review
      ijr.com
      The Independent Journal Review is a conservative American news and opinion website based in Alexandria, Virginia. The publication was founded in 2012 by Alex Skatell. Skatell serves as its CEO, with Camden Stuebe as President and Shushanna Walshe, former political director at ABC News as the Editor-At-Large. The site covers general interest topics including politics, culture, entertainment, and viral news content.Wikipedia
      Type of business:Private
      Type of site:News aggregation, blogging, journalism
      Available in:English

  25. Greece airs concern over asylum-seekers seen on Turkey coast (abcnews, Apr 13, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/greece-airs-concern-asylum-seekers-turkey-coast-70116881

    “Authorities in Greece expressed concern Monday that migrants and refugees are gathering on Turkey’s coast with plans to cross the Aegean Sea to Greek islands despite movement restrictions in both countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    Daily clashes between border police and asylum-seekers broke out at the land border between Turkey and Greece in March after the Turkish government said it would no longer stop people from trying to enter Europe.

    Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said authorities now “have seen signs of activity” on the shores of Turkey.

    “We will … continue to do whatever it takes to defend our sovereign rights and guard the borders of Greece and Europe,” he said.

    The Greek islands last year were the European Union’s busiest entry point for illegal migration, according to European border agency Frontex.

    Turkish authorities previously inhibited migration to Europe in return for Syrian refugee aid as part of a deal with the EU.

    Greek Defense Ministry officials said military personnel have been guarding the country’s land and sea borders since Turkey accused the EU of not abiding by its commitments and said it would no longer deter people headed to Europe.”

    • Greece Ready to Protect Border if Turkey Lets Migrants With COVID-19 Reach Islands (sputniknews, Apr 13, 2020)
      https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004131078937489-greece-ready-to-protect-border-if-turkey-lets-migrants-with-covid-19-reach-islands/

      “Athens is ready to protect its sovereignty and borders if Turkey decides to send migrants infected with the virus to Greece’s islands, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday.

      “First of all, I must say that Turkey’s constant threats and blackmailing of Greece and Europe with the use of migrants already failed in Evros. We are always on high alert due to the fact that it could take such attempts on the islands this time”, Petsas said at a briefing.

      The spokesman stated that Athens was monitoring the situation on the border and was ready to protect Greece and Europe’s borders in case of a threat by Ankara.

      “We are monitoring the movement on the coast. On the one hand, no one can know what condition people are in there. We see an increase in coronavirus cases in Turkey. On the other hand, we are ready and will do everything to protect our sovereign rights and protect the borders of Greece and Europe”, he concluded.

      Turkey has so far registered 56,956 COVID-19 cases and 1,198 fatalities across the country. A total of 3,446 people have recovered.

      Last week, media reported that Turkey was allegedly amassing migrants, many of whom were diagnosed with COVID-19, along its coast to send them to Greece’s islands.

      Ankara announced in late February that it would not be able to stem the flow of migrants and refugees following renewed violence in Syria’s Idlib province, and therefore would open its borders with the EU to those wishing to cross. Soon after, Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria were flooded with thousands of migrants. In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would not close its borders with the EU for migrants until the bloc fulfils its promises.”

    • ITALY today:

      The invasion continues in full emergency #Covid19 : 77 in Portopalo (SR) landed this morning #risorseINPS illegal immigrants, all 20 year old men! We Italians locked up in the house while the #risorseINPS they are free to invade and move! Social confrontation?

      https://twitter.com/i/status/1249693060348379138

  28. S. Korea adds 25 new COVID-19 cases on Monday; all U.S. arrivals should get tested within 3 days

  33. Coronavirus: Delhi Crosses 1000 Cases, 43 Hotspots Sealed; Govt To Launch Sanitization Drive

  34. Coronavirus Top Developments: COVID-19 Cases Zoom Past 8400 Mark ; Death Toll At 273

  35. Wuhan Residents Warned of Higher Risk of Infection after Lift of Closure | CCP Virus | COVID -19

  37. New COVID-19 ‘Projections’ Raise More Questions Than Answers – and Yes, We’re Allowed to Ask Them

  38. South Korea reports more recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again

    A man and children wearing masks to protect against contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) take a walk at a Han River Park in Seoul

    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea reported on Monday that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again, although officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks.

    South Korea reported only 25 new cases overall on Monday, but the rise in “reactivated” patients has raised concerns as the country seeks to stamp out infections.

    https://www.oann.com/south-korea-reports-more-recovered-coronavirus-patients-testing-positive-again/

  39. Chinese dams held back Mekong waters during drought, study finds

    BANGKOK (Reuters) – China’s Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a U.S. research company said in a study.

    China’s government disputed the findings, saying there was low rainfall during last year’s monsoon season on its portion of the 4,350-km (2,700-mile) river.

    The findings by Eyes on Earth Inc., a research and consulting company specialising in water, published in a U.S.-government funded study, could complicate tricky discussions between China and other Mekong countries on how to manage the river that supports 60 million people as it flows past Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and through Cambodia and Vietnam.

    Last year’s drought, which saw the Lower Mekong at its lowest levels in more than 50 years, devastated farmers and fishermen and saw the massive river recede to expose sandbanks along some stretches and at others turned from its usual murky brown to bright blue https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mekong-river/green-algae-blue-water-add-to-fears-over-health-of-southeast-asias-mekong-idUSKBN1Z919K because waters were so shallow and lacking in sediment.

    https://www.oann.com/chinese-dams-held-back-mekong-waters-during-drought-study-finds/

  40. Russia: Putin says coronavirus situation getting worse

    Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the COVID-19 situation was getting worse in Russia, speaking in Moscow via videoconference on Monday.

    “We see that the situation is changing almost daily. And unfortunately, not for the better. The number of infected people is increasing, and there are more and more severe cases. I already noted that the coming weeks will be largely decisive for us,” Putin stated.

    Putin also said that Russian Defence Ministry’s resources could be used in the fight against the coronavirus if needed.

    “They have already gained considerable experience in quite difficult conditions. Of course, we need to use this experience and keep in mind that all the possibilities, including the capabilities of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, if necessary, of course, can and should be used in Russia.”

    On Monday, Russia recorded 2,558 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total count in the country to 18,328. There have been 148 coronavirus-related deaths in Russia so far.

  41. I do share with this man that our current situation MUST be viewed through the financial lense in order to grasp it. Dollar, debt, and reset. This has been my lense since coming to VTB. Money supersedes the Tard and the commie, both.

    The only item that I find myself questioning him on is whether corporate power will trump Trump. Indeed, this may represent the ultimate test for PT. Is his heart pure? Does he truly believe in America? We must believe that he does. We must believe that this time in history has come, and that this man has come, fatefully, to help us fight the powers of darkness. Melodramatic? Perhaps. Ponder my melodrama while in your isolation. We must pray that President Donald Trump is Jonathan:

    https://youtu.be/aVUxK1mNups

    • This comment is supposed to be up under the video “Controlled Financial Collapse” with Ernst Wolff. Not sure why is ended up down here.

  42. CBC – Palliative care doctor uses technology to bring patient’s loved ones to them

    Dr. Humaira Saeed from the William Osler Health System

  43. Sky News – Special report: Inside a Naples ICU treating coronavirus

    Stuart Ramsay visits a hospital in Naples that is employing advanced technology to protect healthcare workers from the Chinese virus.

  44. CBC – Refugee shelter in Toronto reports outbreak of COVID-19

    A refugee shelter in Toronto is reporting four cases of COVID-19, and the organization that manages the facility says multiple other cases of the virus have appeared at other shelters in the city.

    • Associated Press WHO: Trump supportive; don’t lift lockdowns yet

      The head of the World Health Organization says he believes President Donald Trump is “supportive” of the agency.

      This comes as the agency warns now is the time for “vigilance” with countries look for exit strategies from lockdown measures.

  46. MEMRI –Former Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa: Coronavirus Is the Result of 5G Technology

    Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt, said in an April 10, 2020 address that aired on ON TV (Egypt) that the 1918 Spanish Flu was a result of changes in Earth’s electromagnetic field that were caused by the widespread use of electricity and that the current coronavirus pandemic was similarly caused by the introduction of 5G technology and the electromagnetic disruptions that resulted, which he said have made the Earth’s atmosphere hospitable for the virus.

  47. MEMRI –ISIS Women at Al-Hawl Refugee Camp: Coronavirus Does Not Infect Muslims; Only Infidels Die of Virus

    On April 9, 2020, Rudaw TV (Iraqi Kurdistan) aired a report in which the reporter interviewed ISIS women at the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria.

    One of the women, who was closely surrounded by other women and by young boys, said that coronavirus has not infected them because they fast, pray, are pious, fear Allah, and follow Islam in the path of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

    She emphatically stated that coronavirus does not infect true Muslims, that it infects only infidels and oppressors, and that any Muslims who have died from coronavirus had been infected because they weren’t true Muslims.

  48. MEMRI –Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Criticizes the West’s Response to COVID-19

    Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an April 9, 2020 address that was broadcast on Channel 1 (Iran) that the coronavirus pandemic has been a test for the governments and peoples of the world.

    He commended the Iranian people for having “shone brightly” under the circumstances, and he criticized the way the West has reacted to the pandemic.

    Giving the examples of Western governments “confiscating” masks and gloves from other governments, shelves in grocery stores being emptied, people getting in altercations over toilet paper, people standing in line to buy weapons, and people committing suicide out of fear of the coronavirus, Ayatollah Khamenei said that this is the natural and logical outcome of the individualistic, materialistic, and atheistic philosophy that rules Western civilization.

    He added that even Western officials are saying that the “spirit of savagery” in the West is being manifested.

  50. Macron addresses the French nation on coronavirus pandemic

    «….the only way to get out this epidemic is the “vaccines”…it is the most secure solution…»

    we are going to live a few more months with this virus

    we have to help our neighbours , the African countries.. cancel their debts

    lockdown extended to May 11th