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.
IMF Approves $1.4 Billion Disbursement to Pakistan for COVID-19 Crisis (sputniknews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202004171078990200-imf-approves-14-billion-disbursement-to-pakistan-for-covid-19-crisis/
“Pakistan won the approval of $1.3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease the economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and help cover rapid increases in health spending needed to fight the disease, the IMF announced in a press release.
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a purchase of Pakistan under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) equivalent to SDR 1,015.5 million (US$ 1.386 billion, 50 percent of quota) to meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic”, the release said on Thursday.
The IMF explained that the near-term economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be significant, giving rise to large fiscal and external financing needs.
“The IMF support will help to provide a backstop against the decline in international reserves and provide financing to the budget for targeted and temporary spending increases aimed at containing the pandemic and mitigating its economic impact”, the release said.
As the impact of the COVID-19 shock subsides, the IMF and Pakistan will resume discussions as part of the current Extended Fund Facility, which provides long term aid to support structural reforms needed to address the long-term balance of payments difficulties, the release added.
The release also credited the State Bank of Pakistan with enacting a related set of measures, including lowering interest rates and establishing refinancing facilities to safeguard the nation’s financial stability – measures that the IMF said should be temporary.
As of today, Pakistan has near 7,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 128 disease-related fatalities, the local government reports.”
Former Iranian TV Presenter Arrested After Accusing Iran of Concealing Coronavirus Cases (sputniknews, Apr 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202004161078990108-former-iranian-tv-presenter-arrested-after-accusing-iran-of-concealing-coronavirus-cases/
“Security forces in Iran arrested former TV presenter Mahmoud Shahriari on Wednesday for allegedly spreading fake news regarding the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.
Citing the Iranian state media outlet Young Journalists Club (YJC), the Jerusalem Post reported that Shahriari was arrested for “disseminating false news about the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran.”
Shahriari was arrested for reportedly accusing the Iranian government of initially hiding the spread of the virus from the public so as not to dissuade them from attending events celebrating the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s founding on February 11.
According to Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the US government-funded outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which also reported on the news, Shahriari also “made fun of the clerics who dominate Iran on social media for their inactivity and lethargy.”
“We have been in quarantine for a month, only eating and sleeping … Poor clergy! What a hardship they have endured in the past forty years,” Shahriari is quoted as saying, referring to the religious authorities within the Iranian government.
This is not the first time that Shahriari, who was recently banned from appearing on state radio and TV shows, has criticized the Iranian government.
Radio Farda reported that he had criticized the authorities for allowing an Iraqi Shiite militia to enter Iran to “supposedly to assist flood-stricken people in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, southwest Iran.” In addition, the former TV presenter previously shaved his beard in protest of the country’s supposed billion-dollar embezzlements under the guise of religious purposes.
A video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute also showed Shahriari warning Iranians in January that the coming Persian year would be economically “hellish” for the public.
“The money you have in the bank is not safe in any way, shape, or form … Handle your finances!” Shahriari said in the video, accusing the banks in the country of stealing money from citizens.
“The public will be subjected to increased pressure, taxes will increase, and your livelihood will be in danger. The money you have in the banks is not safe in any way, shape, or form. My dear friends, the banks are bankrupt,” he said.
“The central bank wants to lend them money in order to raise them to their feet. It is not me saying this – later, I will broadcast a statement by Mr. Hatami Yazd, the former executive director of Saderat Bank. He said that all the banks are bankrupt and the government does not dare say this. Handle your finances,” he added.
Iran has repeatedly been accused of hiding the real number of coronavirus cases it has experienced. According to the latest data by Worldometer, there are almost 78,000 cases of the virus in the country, and more than 5,000 deaths have resulted. However, according to an April 7 report by Arab News, Hamid Souri, a member of Iran’s National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce, estimated that the real number of infected people in Iran is around 500,000.
According to a report by the Associated Press, which cites a document from the Iranian parliament, the country’s coronavirus death toll may be twice as high as officially reported. Although officials within the administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani have not publicly commented on the document, Deputy Health Minister Ali Reza Raisi said in a statement to the AP that “the real figures are more than the official statistics but it is not correct to multiply official figures by two or three.””
Arab Coalition Strikes Houthi Ballistic Targets in Yemen (aawsat, Apr 17, 2020)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2238371/arab-coalition-strikes-houthi-ballistic-targets-yemen
“The Saudi-led Arab coalition carried out on Wednesday sophisticated and deterrent strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ capabilities to fire ballistic missiles.
The attacks targeted Houthi positions in Hamdan, a Sanaa suburb, and a rocket launchpad in Harf Sufyan, in the Amran province north of Sanaa.
The Houthis have not ceased their violations throughout the frontlines in Yemen, including the use of ballistic missiles to target civilian areas.
The violations took place despite a nationwide ceasefire announced a week ago by the Arab coalition that is aimed at helping Yemen cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
The coalition documented 547 violations since the ceasefire was declared.
The Yemeni government urged United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to clarify to the world that the militias have rejected and continue to reject the ceasefire, stressing that they have never even committed to the truce, completely ignoring the interests of the Yemeni people.
Military spokesman Abdo Majaly told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis carried out attacks against civilians and army positions in Marib, al-Bayda, al-Jawf, Hajjah and Taiz.
Throughout five years of war, the Houthis have never committed to any agreement, whether those reached in Geneva, Kuwait or Sweden, he added.
The latest ceasefire has been met with complete rejection by the Houthis, who are continuing their ballistic missile and mortar attacks, he charged. Even now, they are boosting their manpower, weapons and ammunition.
The ceasefire has dealt the Houthis a damning blow, exposing them before the Yemeni public and world for what they are – a militia that will not yield to peace and that does not believe in dialogue, he stressed.”
Swedes Send Condoms, Abortion Kits to Africa Amid COVID-19 Pandemic (sputniknews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/africa/202004171078991784-swedes-send-condoms-abortion-kits-to-africa-amid-covid-19-pandemic/
“The director general of Sweden’s international relief agency, Carin Jämtin, warned of a “sharp increase in HIV, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and increased maternal mortality” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the global coronavirus crisis, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has announced plans to invest SEK 20 million ($2 million) to improve access to contraception and abortion products in Africa.
Sida Director General Carin Jämtin, former Social Democrat party secretary and former Development and Cooperation Minister, warned of a “sharp increase in HIV, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and increased maternal mortality” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Sida, closed borders and the focus on battling Covid have meant that other health issues have been neglected, which means that the availability of contraceptives and abortion products is decreasing.
The extra support will be thus provided to the organisation DKT International and will be spent on replenishing the stock of condoms and other contraceptives, as well as abortion kits.
A total of six countries will receive assistance: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. This step has been described as “filling the market that already exists and is likely to grow in the near future”.
Congo, Uganda and Mozambique have a total fertility rate of 5.77, 5.54 and 4.97 children per woman. In Sweden, the corresponding figure is 1.87.
Before his death, Swedish development statistics guru Hans Rosling called Africa’s population explosion “the biggest change of our time”. Africa is expected to account for over 80 percent of all population growth by 2100, despite continuing problems with extreme poverty.
“Our programme is particularly important for vulnerable women and girls in the region. We need to address the effects of COVID-19 quickly to have their human rights safeguarded, so they able to decide for themselves, when and with whom they will have children”, Carin Jämtin said in the press release.
Sida, a government agency under the Swedish Foreign Ministry, is responsible for managing the bulk of Sweden’s official assistance and relief to developing countries to relieve poverty and promote human rights. Sida’s 2020 budget totals SEK 43.8 billion ($4.38 billion). By its own admission, Sida has helped prevent 1.2 million unwanted pregnancies and 1.6 million unsafe abortions in Africa in 2019 alone.
So far, Africa appears to have been spared from the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with A sia and Europe, having only seen 17,000 confirmed cases and about 900 deaths so far, which is about the same as entire Texas. The continent’s exposure to potential death from the disease is limited, as the percent of the population over 65 years of age is comparatively low.
However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), coronavirus cases in Africa could shoot up from thousands now to 10 million within three to six months.
Internationally, the novel coronavirus originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei, has infected over 2.1 million and killed over 140,000. At the same time over 500,000 have successfully recovered from the virus.”
German authorities paid 18, 000 Euro-Corona aid to Islamic hate preacher
The Berlin hate preacher Ahmad Armih (46 years old), who has been monitored for years by the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as a dangerous person, has received 18,000 euros in Corona emergency aid, reports bild.de. He received the money even though the professed Salafist and IS supporter is a recipient of social benefits, according to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. For himself and his wife, he would have applied to the Berlin State Investment Bank under false pretences. The money had been transferred to his account quickly and unbureaucratically. The Salafist is said to have declared to the bank that he was engaged in a honey shop, but this is apparently not true. The money had been seized on Thursday during a search of an apartment in the street Sprengelstraße.
https://medforth.blog/2020/04/17/german-authorities-paid-18-000-euro-corona-aid-to-islamic-hate-preacher/
The Kuhner Report – 6 AM – 10 AM
WRKO AM680 – i Heart Radio
https://www.iheart.com/live/wrko-7750/
Look at this Eye-opener, it’s worthwhile watching
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai and Stefan Molyneux
Whether or not Bill Gates has self-serving designs on humanity, it is difficult to deny his ranking position as a genius who went furthest to digitize every person on the planet. His software architectural inventions changed the way our world functions.
Lately, much has been said about this man and his connections to the WHO, and his questionable efforts to test his vaccines in third-world countries on vulnerable populations. One of these efforts is now being examined by the Supreme Court of India.
It was he who was one of the first to suggest that a digital passport may be required in the future as proof of having been vaccinated against the CCP WMD. Also, it was Bill Gates who most perceptively warned us of the approaching pandemic long before it was on most people’s serious radar screen. So, while he may not be a medical doctor or scientist expert in vaccines, it is his remarkable genius that has once again made its mark on history by seeing our future. This future may require that every person be able to present a proof of immunization before entering, or re-entering, the stream of productive life. This brings to the fore the salient question of whether Bill Gates sees the future, or does he create the future he sees? It is human nature to conduct similar but minor manipulations in their personal lives. Masters of the Universe use such reflexivity, however, on a massive scale for personal profit. As we know, he is not alone in this regard. Therefore, it is safe to say that such people deserve to be regarded with a high level of scrutiny. In fact, my intuition tells me that the intensity of this scrutiny should be directly proportionate to the level of altruism that any Master of the Universe presents to the public, whether it be via the Gates Foundation, the Open Society Foundation, or any other holy NGO.
Digitizing humanity is a logical progression of our technological advancement. I get it. Genome mapping, nanotechnology, and every other scientific advancement that allows understanding of how the human body works is nothing but amazing.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/02/17/the-power-of-digitizing-human-beings/#1840ca99fc18
The distinction I feel is important is on the digitization of our exteriors. Tracking, mapping and controlling our movements and behavior is a complete other matter that I think should be recognized.
Something along the lines of “interior” digitization (medical) vs “exterior” digitization (tracking) is where our severely-lagging legal system should begin revising itself for the sake of humanity, predator protection, and personal freedom. At very least such a modest parameter will allow us to take a walk in the park without arrest, without arresting the advancement of science.
https://stevenguinness2.wordpress.com/2020/04/16/covid-19-what-it-could-mean-for-the-future-of-cash/
An acquaintance working in a local hospital just told me that yesterday staff was told that all seniors admitted to hospital who came from old age homes and long term care facilities, regardless of the reason for their admittance, would not be allowed to return to their homes. Staff were stunned by this announcement because they immediately understood the impact. Hospitals will instantly begin filling with old people who may have no Corona virus infection, and there was no word that these people would be tested for the virus so that they can be released from hospital. Therefore, while heaven, earth and the economy have been moved to “flatten the curve” in order to save the health care system, the health care system has been instantly flattened by hospital policy brought down by, presumably, the CEOs.
My acquaintance wondered if this move is just sheer stupidity. Why, I ask, do our politicians pat us on the head for saving the health care system, then turn around and blow it up by incarcerating healthy seniors, without good reason, in valuable hospital beds?
Brussels wants to transfer money from northern to southern Europe to fight the looming economic crisis caused by COVID-19. It’s a hard sell, so Verhofstad pushes “EU Consols”. Looks like financial obfuscation, a smokescreen for.. transferring money from north to south. This is the greek financial crisis all over again. Check out how these guys speak with forked tongue:
Toward a European Reconstruction Fund
Apr 15, 2020 Guy Verhofstadt , Luis Garicano
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/european-union-covid-reconstruction-fund-by-guy-verhofstadt-and-luis-garicano-2020-04
Last week, the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, having acknowledged that nobody is to blame for the COVID-19 crisis, agreed to a deal to mitigate its economic fallout. The agreement includes €25 billion ($27.2 billion) in fresh funding for the European Investment Bank, €250 billion ($272 billion) for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and €100 billion ($109 billion) for the creation of a new instrument through which the European Commission can help member states manage their looming unemployment crises. All told, the package amounts to a substantial sum: around €500 billion in loans (when accounting for the leverage of the EIB’s programs).
[..]
The time has come for genuine European spending financed through European borrowing. The European Commission should issue consolidated annuities (or “EU Consols”) to finance a €1 trillion economic reconstruction package. These instruments would constitute a safe investment in the future of the EU as a whole, which is exactly the message Europe needs to be sending right now.
[..]
In political terms, an EU annuity could play a critical role in a post-pandemic grand bargain. Because it would not entail the mutualization of existing debt, it would operate wholly at the EU level, and thus would not affect any one country’s debt or spending levels. Northern Europeans would not be assuming responsibility for southern Europeans’ debt. Financing from the annuity would go toward a strictly European plan that is designed to serve all Europeans’ interests.
British Police During Quarantine
29,999 views
•Apr 17, 2020
Finnish Research Dispels Myth That Underprivileged Are Most Xenophobic (sputniknews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004171078992823-finnish-reasearch-dispels-myth-that-underprivileged-are-most-xenophobic/
“The research also suggested that political ideologies can no longer be compared on a one-dimensional scale, as socio-cultural values play an increasingly larger role, often outweighing economic considerations, disproving the traditional left-right dichotomy and increasing polarisation.
The assumption that the poor and the disadvantaged tend to be the strongest opponents to immigration is not correct, new Finnish research maintains.
According to the study conducted by postdoctoral researcher Rasmus Mannerström of Helsinki University, quite contrary to the common belief, it is the most privileged strata of society that has the most to lose in social upheavals and is most xenophobic and hostile toward other people.
The research identified a social elite consisting of well-educated, mentally well-off people with high incomes. The so-called elite are focused on maintaining the prevailing hierarchies and their own strong position in society, the research suggested.
According to Manneström, social and cultural values have become increasingly important in politics. Issues such as immigration define the political ideology and polarise people to a much greater extent than economic issues.
“Traditionally it has been assumed that the left is liberal and the right is conservative, and there may have been good reasons for it, as social values didn’t bear this much weight in politics. Today, it is clear that you cannot draw conclusions about people’s values based on their economic preferences, and vice versa”, Mannerström explained to the Hufvudstadsbladet daily.
The research also revealed increasing polarisation regarding issues such as immigration.
“Few supported any kind of middle ground or golden mean. Instead, the majority of respondents were either strongly in favour or strongly against immigration,” Mannerström reported.
In the research, participants’ attitudes were measured and grouped in terms of income differences, social benefits, immigration, the environment and military investments. By analysing the answers, four profiles could be distinguished: left and right liberals, as well as left and right conservatives.
The largest ideological group was the right-wing liberals (44 percent). They were positive about immigration and income differences, but were negative about social benefits. In terms of environment and defence, they were neutral.
Right-wing conservatives (23 percent) constituted the second-largest group; they were positive about income differences and a strong defence, while attitudes to immigration, environmental protection and social benefits were strongly negative.
The third-largest group was formed by the left-wing conservatives (18 percent) who shared the right-wing conservatives’ negative attitude towards immigration. But unlike the right-wing conservatives, they were in favour of social benefits and against income inequality, and fairly neutral on the issues of the environment and military spending.
“Where the left-wing conservatives feel solidarity with underprivileged Finns and believe that we should rather take care of Finns rather than immigrants, this way of thinking was not shared among the right-wing conservatives. They are very hierarchical and do not feel sympathy for social groups in weaker position regardless of whether they are Finnish or not,” Mannerström said.
The smallest group consisted of left-wing liberals (15 percent) who were very positive about immigration, environmental protection and social benefits. They opposed income disparities and major defence spending.
Interestingly, one-third of the men surveyed placed themselves into the right-wing conservative bracket, whereas the largest part of women self-identified as left-wing liberal.”
French Police Search for Man Who Threw 11 Molotov Cocktails at Officer’s Vehicles (breitbart, Apr 17, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/17/french-police-search-man-threw-11-molotov-cocktails-vehicles/
“French police in the commune of Colombes are on the hunt for a man who threw 11 Molotov cocktails at their vehicles over Easter weekend, allegedly over the national coronavirus lockdown measures.
The attacks took place at around 4:30 am on Sunday along the rue de la Liberté where both the town hall and the police station are located, and where cars belonging police and municipal employees are usually parked.
The man, who was caught on CCTV cameras, was dressed in all black and wore a mask, similar to the familiar black bloc outfits used by far-left Antifa extremists.
While hiding behind a car, he threw five Molotov cocktails at police vehicles before moving to another position where he continued to lob incendiary devices at more vehicles.
One police vehicle was destroyed and another three damaged, but a source close to the investigation said the damage could have been far worse.
“He swung without aiming,” the source told Le Parisien and added: “He spent more time hiding and taking care not to get burned than adjusting his shots.”
The municipality told the newspaper that they believe local drug traffickers committed the attacks in response to the coronavirus lockdown curfew measures which have been in place for the last three weeks.
Some criminals have looked to adapt to the Wuhan coronavirus lockdown measures, with the European Union police agency Europol warning of increases in fraud and counterfeit medical goods. Others, however, have ignored or even attacked French police.
In the early days of the lockdown, which was initiated in mid-March, police in the no-go Paris suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis said they felt overwhelmed trying to enforce the lockdown guidelines.
Earlier this month, bands of youths in so-called vulnerable neighbourhoods attacked or intimidated officials in several cities.”
Austrian Mosques to Remain Closed Despite Start of Ramadan (breitbart, Apr 17, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/17/austrian-mosques-remain-closed-despite-start-ramadan/
“Mosques across Austria will remain closed until April 30th, despite the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starting a week before the lockdown is due to be lifted.
The Austrian Islamic Community (IGGÖ) said it would continue to respect the government’s lockdown measures, with the association’s president Ümit Vural urging Austria’s Muslims to celebrate the start of Ramadan at home by turning their homes into mosques.
“Islam has lived in the community. In the current situation, however, it is important to illuminate our houses with prayers and recitations and to turn them into mosques,” Vural said this week, tabloid Kronen Zeitung reports.
As Muslims have been absent from local mosques, so too have their donations. The IGGÖ acknowledged the financial losses of mosques in Austria and called for a donation campaign to aid those which have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Founded in 1979, the IGGÖ is one of the largest Muslim organisations in the country and represents many Muslims in Austria. It has been criticised in the past for having links to the Turkish regime and the radical Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.
In recent years, Austria has also seen several radical mosques arise whose leadership may be less likely to abide by the lockdown measures.
Graz was labelled a radical Islamist “stronghold” in 2017 with a report claiming that up to half of the mosques in the city were preaching some form of radical Islam…”
Joe Biden Claims Trump Supporters Believe ‘Mexicans Are Rapists,’ ‘All Muslims Are Bad’ (breitbart, Apr 16, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/16/joe-biden-claims-trump-supporters-believe-mexicans-are-rapists-all-muslims-are-bad/
“Former Vice President Joe Biden is claiming that some supporters of President Donald Trump back the notion that “all Mexicans are rapists” and that “all Muslims are bad.”
Biden, the presumptive Democrat nominee, made the comment while addressing donors at a virtual fundraiser on Wednesday. In particular, the former vice president was asked if he was planning to reach out to Trump’s “base” during the general election campaign.
Biden, who has claimed to be the only Democrat capable of winning back white working-class voters, purportedly laughed at the idea of conducting such outreach.
“There are people who support the president because they like the fact that he is engaged in political division,” Biden told the donors. “They really support the notion that, you know, all Mexicans are rapists and all Muslims are bad and … dividing this nation based on ethnicity, race.”
The former vice president, though, did admit that he was hoping to entice some of the people that backed Trump in 2016 to vote for him this time around.
“The people who voted Republican last time … who don’t want to vote for Trump, whether they want to vote for me or not is a different story, but they don’t want to vote for Trump,” he said during the fundraiser. “They’re looking for an alternative, and I think, I hope to God, I can provide that alternative.”
When Biden’s remarks were first reported on social media, they drew immediate comparison to the infamous “basket of deplorables” comment former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made during the 2016 campaign.”
Malaysia turns away boat with 200 Rohingya refugees (abcnews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/malaysia-turns-boat-200-rohingya-refugees-70202489
“Malaysian authorities said they have turned back a boat carrying about 200 Muslim Rohingya refugees, including children, that was attempting to enter the country illegally.
The air force said in a statement late Thursday that one of its surveillance aircraft had spotted the boat about 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers) off the northern resort island of Langkawi earlier in the day.
It said two navy vessels intercepted the boat amid concerns that the refugees might bring the coronavirus into the country.
The air force said the navy distributed food to the Rohingya on humanitarian grounds before escorting the boat out of the country’s waters. It didn’t say where the boat was heading or describe the condition of the refugees.
The air force said aerial maritime surveillance will be intensified as part of the country’s partial lockdown until April 28 to curb the virus.
Malaysia has recorded 5,182 coronavirus infections with 84 deaths. New cases have begun to decline this week. Authorities have said they will tighten border patrols to prevent undocumented immigrants from possibly spreading the disease.
Nearly two weeks ago, 202 Rohingya refugees were arrested after their boat drifted close to shore in Langkawi. There were no details about where they came from, but many Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh have been lured by traffickers to leave to seek a better life elsewhere.
Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingya refugees who fled ethnic and religious violence in Myanmar. There are no reported coronavirus infections in the crowded camps, which have been locked down. Bangladeshi officials in recent months have picked up about 1,000 Rohingya in boats or at locations where they planned to board boats.
On Wednesday, Bangladesh’s coast guard rescued 382 starving Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, who had been drifting at sea for weeks after failing to reach Malaysia. Officials said the boat attempted to land on Malaysia’s coast several times but failed.”
11 Philippine troops killed in clash with Muslim militants (abcnews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/11-philippine-troops-killed-clash-muslim-militants-70205975
“hilippine troops clashed with dozens of Abu Sayyaf militants allied with the Islamic State group in the country’s south Friday, leaving 11 soldiers dead and 14 others wounded, military officials said.
Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the army scout rangers were maneuvering for an assault when they engaged about 40 Abu Sayyaf fighters in the forested mountains off Danag village in Patikul town in Sulu province. The gunbattle raged for an hour before the militants withdrew.
A military report said the militants were believed to be led by Abu Sayyaf commanders Radulan Sahiron and Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who have been blamed for kidnappings for ransom and beheadings.
Bloodstains at the scene indicated an undetermined number of militants were either wounded or killed, the report said.
Troops fired mortar rounds toward the retreating militants, and other army troops moved to block the gunmen, the military said.
“We will sustain our security efforts in order to put an end to the menace of terrorism,” Sobejana said by telephone.
The clash highlights the diverse problems the Philippines has in addition to the coronavirus.
The military has been staging on-and-off offensives against the Abu Sayyaf, which is listed by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization, for years. The small but violent group is an offshoot of the decades-long separatist unrest in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation.
The violence has eased since the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a peace deal with the government that replaced a Muslim autonomous area with a more powerful and better-funded region.”
VICE News Kamala Harris: Trump Has ‘Abandoned’ His Role as President
Sen. Kamala Harris thinks that President Trump’s failure to respond quickly to the coronavirus has made the crisis worse, causing economic destruction and costing American lives.
“There is no question that that had we a president in charge who actually took their responsibility seriously, that we would probably be looking at a lot less damage than we have incurred,” she said in an interview with VICE News. “We watch every day of the number of people infected and the number of people who are dead. We are every day hearing and watching stories about body bags. So, look, the buck stops with the president.”
[…]“The fact is that he has abandoned his role of leadership and meaning the role of the president of the United States,” she said. “He’s abandoned the role of the president of the United States.”
[…]“His failure to take this seriously, from the time of calling it a hoax, to getting rid of the Obama administration’s focus through the White House on pandemics, to him trivializing the issue including the importance of social distancing” has made the crisis in the United States worse than it needed to be, she said.
Harris spoke to VICE News through a video conference on Thursday to discuss legislation she has introduced to prioritize funding and tracking of racial health disparities from the pandemic. An Associated Press analysis of communities with racial impact data show that while African Americans made up 21% of the population studied, they accounted for 42% of the deaths to the coronavirus.
Harris, who dropped her own run for the White House earlier this year, is thought to be a potential vice presidential pick for presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
In the interview, she accused the current White House of taking an ideological approach to fighting the virus, rather than using the best science and fact-based analysis..
“The thing about this moment and it also is a source, therefore, of frustration about who this president is and how he has been approaching this issue: this is science. These things just don’t lie. Science is based on empirical data. Science is based on peer review. Science is based on analysis, objective analysis.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Iran: Medical gear outranks missiles in Army Day parade amid coronavirus crisis
Iran flaunted disinfection vehicles, medical equipment and mobile hospitals during the Army Day parade which usually features missiles and armoured vehicles, in Tehran on Friday.
The “Defenders of the Homeland, Helpers of Health” parade aimed to applaud the work of the military and healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit Iran especially hard.
Unlike a typical Iranian Army Day parade, known for their parading of missiles, submarines, armoured vehicles and large crowds, Friday’s parade featured soldiers in hazmat suits and tributes to doctors and nurses fighting on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus.
The event was attended by only a select few. Senior military officials and the armed forces were seen, while the public was not in attendance.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces are like an iron shield against enemies and they will be a compassionate brother for people,” announced Iranian army Commander-in-Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi during a speech at the parade.
National Army Day was added to the Iranian calendar after a letter from the founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini back in 1979. In the letter he ordered the army to hold huge parades nationwide on this week every year to showcase their strength to the rest of the world.
zero hedge COVID-19 Is A Man-Made Virus: HIV-Discoverer Says “Could Only Have Been Created In A Lab”
As the mainstream media and politicians begin to raise/admit the possibilities that the source of COVID-19 was likely a lab in Wuhan (accidentally leaked or otherwise) – something we first brought to the world’s attention in January before being mocked, censored, and chastised – it appears more actual ‘scientists’ (at least those not paid by or working for a lab in Wuhan) are willing to admit what we noted all along – this virus is man-made.
GilmoreHealth.com’s Robert Miller writes that contrary to the narrative that is being pushed by the mainstream that the COVID 19 virus was the result of a natural mutation and that it was transmitted to humans from bats via pangolins, Dr Luc Montagnier the man who discovered the HIV virus back in 1983 disagrees and is saying that the virus was man made.
Professor Luc Montagnier, 2008 Nobel Prize winner for Medicine, claims that SARS-CoV-2 is a manipulated virus that was accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Chinese researchers are said to have used coronaviruses in their work to develop an AIDS vaccine. HIV DNA fragments are believed to have been found in the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
We knew that the Chinese version of how the coronavirus emerged was increasingly under attack, but here’s a thesis that tells a completely different story about the Covid-19 pandemic, which is already responsible for more than 110,000 deaths worldwide.
According to Professor Luc Montagnier, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008 for “discovering” HIV as the cause of the AIDS epidemic together with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, the SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that was manipulated and accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, in the last quarter of 2019.
According to Professor Montagnier, this laboratory, known for its work on coronaviruses, tried to use one of these viruses as a vector for HIV in the search for an AIDS vaccine!
“With my colleague, bio-mathematician Jean-Claude Perez, we carefully analyzed the description of the genome of this RNA virus,” explains Luc Montagnier, interviewed by Dr Jean-François Lemoine for the daily podcast at Pourquoi Docteur, adding that others have already explored this avenue:
Indian researchers have already tried to publish the results of the analyses that showed that this coronavirus genome contained sequences of another virus, … the HIV virus (AIDS virus), but they were forced to withdraw their findings as the pressure from the mainstream was too great.
In a challenging question Dr Jean-François Lemoine inferred that the coronavirus under investigation may have come from a patient who is otherwise infected with HIV.
“No,” says Luc Montagnier, “in order to insert an HIV sequence into this genome, molecular tools are needed, and that can only be done in a laboratory.”
According to the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine, a plausible explanation would be an accident in the Wuhan laboratory. He also added that the purpose of this work was the search for an AIDS vaccine.
The truth will eventually come out
In any case, this thesis, defended by Professor Luc Montagnier, has a positive turn. According to him, the altered elements of this virus are eliminated as it spreads:
“Nature does not accept any molecular tinkering, it will eliminate these unnatural changes and even if nothing is done, things will get better, but unfortunately after many deaths.”
Luc Montagnier added that with the help of interfering waves, we could eliminate these sequences and as a result stop the pandemic.
This is enough to feed some heated debates! So much so that Professor Montagnier’s statements could also place him in the category of “conspiracy theorists”:
“Conspirators are the opposite camp, hiding the truth,” he replies, without wanting to accuse anyone, but hoping that the Chinese will admit to what he believes happened in their laboratory.
To entice a confession from the Chinese he used the example of Iran which after taking full responsibility for accidentally hitting a Ukrainian plane was able to earn the respect of the global community. Hopefully the Chinese will do the right thing he adds.
“In any case, the truth always comes out, it is up to the Chinese government to take responsibility.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/covid-19-man-made-virus-hiv-discoverer-says-could-only-have-been-created-lab
BBC – Coronavirus: Is there any evidence for lab release theory? –
US State Department cables show that embassy officials were worried about biosecurity at a virus lab in Wuhan, China. The lab is in the same city where the coronavirus outbreak first came to the world’s attention.
And President Donald Trump has said the US government is looking into unverified reports that the virus escaped from a laboratory.
CNN – US investigates possibility Covid-19 originated in Chinese lab
PBS – Debate resurfaces over origins of novel coronavirus
From the moment the novel coronavirus was identified, there were questions about its origin.
This week, reports suggest U.S. diplomats are concerned about a lab in Wuhan, China — the city where the outbreak began.
Nick Schifrin reports and talks to Dr. Luciana Borio, who served on the National Security Council under President Trump, about what scientists do and don’t know about this deadly virus.
CNN – How Facebook is combating spread of Covid-19 misinformation
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shares what the social media platform is doing to provide accurate knowledge about coronavirus and combat the spread of misinformation.
+ comments on the YT page
MEMRI – On China’s Official Arabic-Language TV: COVID-19 Does Not Appear to Have Originated in China
Chinese vlogger “Ms. V” said in an episode of “China View” that was published by CGTN Arabic TV (China) on March 17, 2020 that the presence of multiple coronavirus strains in the United States, the coincidence between the initial coronavirus outbreak and the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan in which the U.S. participated, the possibility that the U.S. may have had many coronavirus deaths that have been documented as influenza deaths, and the CDC’s shut down of former U.S. biological weapons research lab Fort Detrick suggest that COVID-19 originated in the United States, and not in China.
MEMRI – Egyptian Islamic Preacher: May Allah Use This Virus to Annihilate the Infidels and Shiites
Egyptian preacher Mohammed Al-Hefnawi Al-Ansari said in a video that he uploaded to his YouTube page on April 8, 2020 that the coronavirus pandemic is actually a good thing because it “enjoins good and forbids evil” by causing Muslims and infidels alike to stop using cigarettes and hookahs and to shut down pubs, coffee shops, cinemas, and whorehouses.
He prayed for Allah to remove the coronavirus from upon the Muslims and to use it to annihilate the infidels, tyrants, atheists, and Shiites.
MEMRI – IRGC Commander-in-Chief Presents New Technology, Claims It Uses Magnetic Fields to Detect COVID-19
On April 15, 2020, IRINN TV (Iran) aired a report about a new technology for the detection of COVID-19 that Iran claims to have developed.
IRGC Commander-in-Chief General Hossein Salami presented a device with an antenna and said that the technology creates a magnetic field and, by means of a “bipolar virus” that is “installed” in the machine, can detect any area that is infected by coronavirus from as far as 100 meters away within five seconds.
He claimed that this technology can also be used to diagnose patients and that it has an accuracy rate of 80%.
In May 2017, the Iranian news agency, IRNA, aired a report about an identical-looking device that was purported to be able to detect between 1 liter and 1000 liters of fuel, also using magnetic fields and “bi-polar” technology.
The device was meant to help Iranian authorities to combat fuel smuggling.
CBC – CHinese virus forces Muslims to adapt burial rituals
Regulations in place because of the Chinese virus pandemic have forced Muslims to adapt traditional burial rituals.
Turkish Radio & Television Sri Lankan journalist explains cremation of Muslim Covid-19 victims
A Sri Lankan journalist explains the mandatory cremation of coronavirus victims in her country despite WHO guidelines allowing burials.
CBC – What’s the risk of contracting COVID-19 in a public bathroom?
Doctors answer your questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and if you can become infected in a public bathroom.
Sky News – China’s first economic decline in decades as coronavirus death toll revised
Deutsche Pravda – Wuhan adjusts its coronavirus death toll up by 50%
China is reeling as the full impact of the coronavirus lockdowns becomes clearer.
First, the economy has taken a hit, with figures for the first three months of this year showing the first drop in output for almost thirty years.
The second blow is new figures revealing that the death toll in the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected, is 50 percent higher than previously reported.
Deutsche Pravda – Muslims in India accused of ‘corona jihad’
India’s 1.3 billion people are halfway through a six-week national coronavirus lockdown.
The government insists that the restrictions are the key to breaking the chain of COVID-19 transmission.
But the battle against the virus also has a religious dimension.
DW spoke with acclaimed novelist and political activist Arundhati Roy about a situation she says is ‘approaching genocide.’
China: Officials revise Wuhan”s COVID-19 death toll up by 50%
Official revised the Wuhan total COVID-19 death toll up by 50 percent. During a press conference held in Beijing on Friday, a spokesperson for China’s National Health Commission updated the death toll to 50,333 infected cases and 3,869 fatalities.
“In Hubei Province, there were no new confirmed, suspended and dead cases yesterday. The cured cases have raised to 17. There are still 129 confirmed cases, including 32 severe cases in Wuhan. 63,487 cases have been cured in total, including 46,335 cases in Wuhan. There are 4,512 deaths in total, including 3,869 deaths, while 68,128 confirmed cases in total, including 50,333 cases in Wuhan,” said the spokesperson for China’s National Health Commission, Mi Feng.
“We should always tight? the chord of virus prevention and control. It is not time to relax yet. We should maintain vigilance to avoid bouncing [back],” he warned.
Officials reportedly attributed the revised death toll to updated reports, new data and deaths outside hospitals.
Netherlands: Funeral home offers drive-thru services amid COVID-19 restrictions
Due to social distancing guidelines and lockdown, a funeral home in the small Dutch town of Hoofddorp has come up with an alternative way for families to pay their respects to their deceased.
The funeral house Dunweg Uitvaartzorg now offers a drive-thru service which allows friends and relatives to attend a farewell service from their own vehicles. For those who cannot drive to the funeral house, services are also streamed online.
Footage filmed on Friday shows relatives driving past a coffin, paying condolences from their vehicles and driving away.
The idea of drive-thru services came up after the lockdown measures were introduced, according to the director of the funeral home Alexander van der Pijl who added that his company still wanted to offer “a personal funeral.”
More than 30,000 people have been infected with the virus and more than 3,000 have died in the Netherlands.
UK daily star – Coronavirus began months earlier and not in Wuhan, bombshell UK report claims
Almost everything we thought we knew about the first outbreak of Covid-19 could be wrong, if a team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge turns out to be correct
Everything we thought we knew about the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic could be wrong.
A bombshell report by scientists from the University of Cambridge has cast doubt on previous beliefs about when and where Covid-19 first broke out.
While coronavirus was previously believed to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan at the end of last year, new research suggests it may have actually came from further south – and began spreading among humans as early as September 2019.
The team of researchers has published its extraordinary findings – which have yet to be peer-reviewed – in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, outlining a “network” of infections that has thrown existing knowledge into doubt.
“The virus may have mutated into its final ‘human-efficient’ form months ago, but stayed inside a bat or other animal or even human for several months without infecting other individuals,” University of Cambridge geneticist Peter Forster said on Thursday.
“Then, it started infecting and spreading among humans between September 13 and December 7, generating the network we present in [the journal] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [PNAS].”
Researchers analysed strains of the virus using a phylogenetic network – an algorithm that can map the global movement of organisms through the mutation of their genes.
While trying to pinpoint the exact location of patient zero – the first human case of coronavirus – early signs prompted them to look further south than the city of Wuhan, where infections were first reported in December.
“What we reconstruct in the network is the first significant spread among humans,” Mr Forster said.
He and colleagues from several institutes analysed more than 1,000 full genome sequences of the virus.
By counting the various mutations of the virus, they were able to get closer to figuring out when the first human was infected by a strain closest to a virus spread among bats.
They found hundreds of mutations, indicating that the virus may have been spreading quietly in host animals for years before finally infecting humans.
A coronavirus typically acquires one mutation a month.
There have been unverified reports that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab where researchers were doing work into diseases in bats, but the new study doesn’t support that.
“If I am pressed for an answer, I would say the original spread started more likely in southern China than in Wuhan,” Mr Forster said.
“But proof can only come from analysing more bats, possibly other potential host animals, and preserved tissue samples in Chinese hospitals stored between September and December.
“This kind of research project would help us understand how the transmission happened, and help us prevent similar instances in the future.”
Phylogenetic networks are generally considered reliable means of tracking genetic mutations, but the method is limited by its sample size and having to assume a mutation speed that may not be accurate.
A virus can undergo transformations in unpredictable patterns during an unprecedented outbreak such as this one.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/coronavirus-began-months-earlier-not-21882132
twitter
Asked why his gov’t is reluctant to acknowledge China’s possible faults in the pandemic JustinTrudeau said:
“My job right now is to make sure that Canadians get the best support…that means ensuring that the cooperation & the collaboration on the int’l stage is done properly”
https://twitter.com/PnPCBC/status/1251185385654411264
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Canada remains committed to W.H.O’s corornavirus containment efforts: Trudeau
TORONTO SUN Canada’s COVID-19 research tied to Wuhan virus lab
It is true Canada is developing a test for COVID-19 in the very lab in Wuhan that’s being investigated as possible Ground Zero of the origin of the coronavirus.
But, saying it needs to be all hands on deck, the research doctor is defending it.
“It will take a global community of clinicians and researchers collaborating across borders to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to eventually develop vaccinations,” Dr. Xiaochun (Chris) Le, of Edmonton’s University of Alberta, told the Toronto Sun in an email interview.
“We are part of this global effort to combat COVID-19.”
Le tells me his “research centres around the creation of a point-of-care diagnostic tool that will provide accurate, fast and inexpensive COVID-19 screening tests” that would simplify it to become “similar to a pregnancy test in which changes on a paper strip indicate the presence of the virus” in under 15 minutes.
It’s exciting, important work.
However, as Sheila Gunn Reid of Rebel News revealed, the Government of Canada’s $828,046 grant involves working with the same Wuhan Institute of Virology lab the United States is investigating over assertions it is where the COVID-19 virus was born.
But, Le, who himself studied at Wuhan University, insists “the collaboration with the researcher in Wuhan is limited to knowledge sharing only.”
The U of A research was one of 47 projects to be funded from $26.8 million in taxpayer money allocated to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
“All research projects that receive funding from CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research) undergo rigorous peer review, in which the applications for funding are reviewed by expert scientists in an impartial, objective, and fair manner,” said Cole Davidson, press secretary for Health Minister Patty Hajdu, in responding to questions to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He added that “approvals are conducted independently from the government.”
The government also said “this research project by the University of Alberta addresses the urgent need of rapid testing. The collaborative research is conducted by a multidisciplinary team of virologists, chemists, infectious disease specialists, front-line practitioners, and public health researchers from the University of Alberta and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”
It’s the Wuhan part that has raised eyebrows.
Concerns about China’s transparency were raised when Toronto Sun Editor-in-Chief Adrienne Batra interviewed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the late reporting of the spread of coronavirus in Wuhan.
“There will come a time when we need to understand what transpired here, how this got away from us and did they do everything they needed to tell the world and protect us,” said Pompeo.
With that probe underway, the bigger question for Canada is can honesty and openness happen when the very lab at the centre of this investigation is involved?
The federal Health Ministry funding announcement does say “our team members in Wuhan, who currently perform the standard diagnostic tests, will lead this effort.”
Any questions asked are appropriate in this global crisis — especially since there has been intrigue about labs before. As Postmedia reported in 2019, the RCMP investigated a Chinese researcher being removed from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg in what the government insists is not related to COVID-19.
But it shows how seriously authorities take protection of these labs. Le assures that his researcher in Wuhan will not compromise Canada’s research.
“This project first began back in February, when the majority of global cases were diagnosed in Wuhan,” said Le. “The collaborator in Wuhan has first-hand experience and extensive expertise in performing the standard RT-PCR tests currently used to identify infected individuals.
“This expertise is helpful to us as we develop and validate our new tests.”
As Davidson told the Sun, ”Canada continues to explore every avenue towards combating COVID-19.”
This includes working with the Wuhan lab where the coronavirus may have come from.
https://torontosun.com/news/national/warmington-canadas-covid-19-research-tied-to-wuhan-virus-lab
LILLEY UNLEASHED: Wet market or Bio-lab? We need answers
Sky News – Coronavirus: UK probes Wuhan lab link theory
Sky News understands that the UK has not rejected the theory that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab.
China denies any cover-up took place concerning the source of the virus.
CNN – Trump criticizes China for their coronavirus response. Here’s what we know
DAILY MAIL – THREE MILLION people could die from coronavirus in Africa unless the spread is contained, UN report warns – as WHO officials say the continent could be the next COVID-19 epicentre
UN predicts pandemic could kill between 300,000 and 3.3. million Africans
Separate study claims up to 98.4million Africans could be infected by June
Death rate will depend on social distancing implementation and healthcare
More urbanised countries are most likely to see rapid spread of coronavirus
However, countries with poorer health systems are likely to be overwhelmed
First confirmed COVID-19 case in Africa was reported in Egypt on February 14
Africa now has almost 1,000 COVID-19 deaths and almost 18,000 cases
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8229311/UN-report-warns-THREE-MILLION-people-die-coronavirus-Africa.html
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reuters – At least 300,000 Africans expected to die in pandemic: U.N. agency
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely kill at least 300,000 Africans and risks pushing 29 million into extreme poverty, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Friday, calling for a $100 billion safety net for the continent.
Africa’s 54 countries have so far reported fewer than 20,000 confirmed cases of the disease, just a fraction of the more than two million cases reported globally. But the World Health Organization warned on Thursday that Africa could see as many as 10 million cases in three to six months.
“To protect and build towards our shared prosperity at least $100 billion is needed to immediately resource a health and social safety net response,” the UNECA report stated.
UNECA is also backing a call by African finance ministers for an additional $100 billion in stimulus, which would include a halt to all external debt service.
The agency modelled four scenarios based on the level of preventive measures introduced by African governments.
In the total absence of such interventions, the study calculated over 1.2 billion Africans would be infected and 3.3 million would die this year. Africa has a total population of around 1.3 billion.
Most of Africa, however, has already mandated social distancing measures, ranging from curfews and travel guidelines in some countries to full lockdowns in others.
Yet even its best-case scenario, where governments introduce intense social distancing once a threshold of 0.2 deaths per 100,000 people per week is reached, Africa would see 122.8 million infections, 2.3 million hospitalisations and 300,000 deaths.
Combating the disease will be complicated by the fact that 36% of Africans have no access to household washing facilities, and the continent counts just 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people. France, in comparison, has 5.98 beds per 1,000 people.
Africa’s young demographic – nearly 60% of the population is below the age of 25 – should help stave off the disease. On the other hand, 56 per cent of the urban population is concentrated in overcrowded slums andmany people are also vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malnutrition.
Africa imports 94% of its pharmaceuticals, the report said, noting that at least 71 countries have banned or limited exports of certain supplies deemed essential to fight the disease.
“In a best-case scenario … $44 billion would be required for testing, personal protective equipment, and to treat all those requiring hospitalisation,” it stated.
However, that is money Africa does not have as the crisis could also shrink the continent’s economy by up to 2.6%.
“We estimate that between 5 million and 29 million people will be pushed below the extreme poverty line of $1.90 per day owing to the impact of COVID-19,” the report said.
Nigeria alone will lose between $14 billion and $19.2 billion in revenues from oil exports this year. And the prices of other African commodities exports have plummeted as well.
Lockdowns in Europe and the United States also imperil Africa’s $15 billion in annual textile and apparel exports as well as tourism, which accounts for 8.5% of Africa’s GDP.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-africa-un/at-least-300000-africans-expected-to-die-in-pandemic-u-n-agency-idUSKBN21Z1LW
npr – U.N. Agency Fears ‘Vulnerable’ Africa May Suffer At Least 300,000 COVID-19 Deaths
So far, countries on the African continent have largely managed to dodge the brunt of the coronavirus. Even as the global pandemic has besieged medical centers in the U.S. and Western Europe, with a total death toll north of 100,000 in those regions, all of Africa’s confirmed cases number in the thousands — most of which remain concentrated in just a handful of North African nations.
But global health authorities fear this won’t continue forever.
“Anywhere between 300,000 and 3.3 million African people could lose their lives as a direct result of COVID-19, depending on the intervention measures taken to stop the spread,” the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said in a report released Friday.
The problem, explained the U.N. agency, rests partly with the layout and infrastructure of some of the biggest cities on the continent, where the majority of the urban population lives in overcrowded neighborhoods without reliable access to hand-washing facilities. Couple that with relatively low supplies of hospital beds and the fact that 71% of the continent’s workforce is “informally employed,” according to the UNECA, without alternatives to work from home in the case of an outbreak, and it becomes clear that “the continent is vulnerable.”
To calculate the impact of the virus, the commission referred to a computer model composed by researchers at Imperial College London, whose grim outlooks on the possible effects in other parts of the world have already proven widely influential. In a worst-case scenario, in which governments do not intervene with preventative measures such as large-scale social distancing, Africa may see more than 22 million people require hospitalization and some 3.3 million die of COVID-19.
But even the best-case scenario — in which early and decisive measures save the lives of roughly 3 million people, according to the model — presents risks of its own. That’s because the commission estimates that such sweeping rules would necessarily halt large sectors of the economy and push as many as 29 million people into extreme poverty — in other words, earning less than $1.90 a day to live on.
Vera Songwe, the UNECA executive secretary, says $100 billion is needed to “urgently and immediately provide fiscal space to all countries to help address the immediate safety net needs of the populations.” Already, Songwe said in a statement Thursday that countries in Africa have been suffering under the virus’ fiscal effects, even if the physical ones have not yet made their full impact felt.
“The economic costs of the Pandemic have been harsher than the direct impact of the COVID-19,” Songwe said. “Across the continent, all economies are suffering from the sudden shock to the economies. The physical distancing needed to manage the pandemic is suffocating and drowning economic activity.”
Much of this economic devastation will be an “unavoidable” part of supporting the continent’s medical response and preserving as many lives as possible — but at least some of it may be mitigated, the agency said, by “fighting the urge to impose export bans,” temporarily halting debt collection and freeing up access to emergency funding and intellectual property on lifesaving supplies.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/17/836896562/u-n-agency-fears-vulnerable-africa-may-suffer-at-least-300-000-covid-19-deaths
CANADA – Union wants government to curtail grocery trips to slow COVID-19 spread
Union wants grocery trips curtailed amid outbreak
CALGARY – Western Canada’s largest private-sector union is proposing that people be limited to one trip to the grocery store each week to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among customers and workers.
Tom Hesse, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers 401, which represents 32,000 workers, says governments should also bring in regulations that allow only one person per family in a store at a time.
The union suggests loyalty programs and membership cards could be used to track visits and peace officers may be needed to enforce the regulations.
While people can be fined for violating social distancing rules inside grocery stores, Hesse says it’s still a free-for-all.
He says the union will be sending an official proposal to the Alberta government and grocery store chains next week.
An Alberta Health spokesman says there are already plenty of distancing safeguards in place, but the department will monitor the situation and take further action if necessary.
https://www.chroniclejournal.com/life/health/union-wants-government-to-curtail-grocery-trips-to-slow-covid-19-spread/article_4bd2463f-44a0-5cc1-a76b-b4b622fefa08.html
All passengers must wear masks on planes: Transport Canada
Transport Canada says that starting Monday, people flying to or from Canadian airports will have to have masks to contain their germs.
Minister Marc Garneau says that starting at noon on April 20, passengers won’t be allowed to board planes unless they have non-medical face coverings, to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.
They’ll only have to wear the masks when they have to be close to others, such as at screening points or if the planes are crowded.
Masks are being encouraged for passengers on boats, ferries, trains and buses but aren’t being made mandatory.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/04/17/passengers-masks-planes/
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CANADA – New measures introduced for non-medical masks or face coverings in the Canadian transportation system
COVID-19 is a global public health challenge that has changed the daily lives of people around the world, and ensuring the safety and security of Canadians remains the Government of Canada’s top priority.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, announced new measures requiring all air passengers to have a non-medical mask or face covering to cover their mouth and nose during travel. These measures come into effect at noon EDT on April 20, 2020.
When travelling by air, travellers will be asked to cover their mouth and nose:
at Canadian airport screening checkpoints, where the screeners cannot always keep two metres of separation between themselves and the traveller;
when they cannot physically distance from others, or as directed by the airline employees; and when directed to do so by a public health order or public health official.
Aviation passengers on all flights departing or arriving at Canadian airports will also be required to demonstrate they have the necessary non-medical mask or face covering during the boarding process otherwise they will not be allowed to continue on their journey. Passengers should follow the current Public Health Agency of Canada’s guidance on face coverings.
When travelling by marine modes of transportation, travellers are encouraged to wear non-medical masks or face coverings whenever possible. In addition, operators of ferries and essential passenger vessels will, when feasible:
provide public messaging to travellers about the need to have a non-medical mask or face covering to cover their mouth and nose during their journey when they cannot maintain physical distance from others, and that passengers could be subject to denial of boarding should they fail to comply.
Passengers travelling by rail or motor carrier/bus modes of transportation are also strongly encouraged to wear non-medical masks or face coverings as much as possible. Passengers may be asked by the transportation operator to cover their noses and mouths when physical distancing is not possible.
Quotes
“Canadians should continue to follow public health advice and stay at home if possible. However, if you need to travel, wearing a face covering is an additional measure you can take to protect others around you, especially in situations where physical distancing guidelines cannot be maintained. Transport Canada will continue to ensure various transportation systems adapt to the most effective, preventive measures to protect Canadians.”
Minister of Transport
The Honourable Marc Garneau
Quick facts
Wearing a non-medical mask or face covering over the mouth and nose is another way to prevent your respiratory droplets from contaminating others or landing on surfaces.
Existing public health and good hygiene practices including physical distancing and frequent hand washing, are still the most effective methods to limit the spread of the virus.
https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2020/04/new-measures-introduced-for-non-medical-masks-or-face-coverings-in-the-canadian-transportation-system.html
Pakistan: Islamabad’s Red Mosque holds prayer service despite coronavirus ban
Hundreds of worshippers gathered at Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad, on Friday, for a prayer service held despite restrictions banning large gatherings including prayer congregations to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Pakistan.
“They are asking the US, the UK and China for the solution but if they are not asking about the Qur’an and the life of Prophet Muhammad”, said Maulana Abdul Aziz, the imam of the mosque in his sermon.
“It is a struggle, a trial from God,” said Numan Khattack, a student who attended the service. “We must return to mosques, this is the only and best solution for us.”
Abdul Aziz was arrested earlier in April for violating the government ban on prayer congregations, and released with a warning.
The Red mosque in Islamabad, named after the red bricks used for its construction, is one of the few mosques in the capital that is violating the imposed lockdown. It is notorious for a 2007 stand-off between worshippers and the Pakistani army in which over 20 people were killed. It has also been criticised over the years for naming a library after former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Islamabad Mosques Defy Pakistan Coronavirus Lockdown
People gathered for Friday prayers at mosques in Pakistan’s capital, defying an official ban on gatherings to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Several mosques across Islamabad were open on April 17 and clerics delivered sermons after religious leaders and authorities failed to reach a consensus on exemptions for the government’s COVID-19 measures.
‘Believers Can Catch It Too’: Taliban Militants Also Fight COVID-19 In Afghanistan
Idaho residents protest stay-at-home order
Argentina Opens Field Hospital for Coronavirus Patients
the gateway pundit WOW! Lead NIH Vaccine Scientist Kizzy Corbett Is a Crackpot Who Calls COVID-19 “Genocide” on Blacks, Expert in Virology and “Vagina-ology”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/wow-lead-nih-vaccine-scientist-kizzy-corbett-crackpot-calls-covid-19-genocide-blacks-expert-virology-vagina-ology/
CNN – Lead coronavirus vaccine scientist
Kizzmekia Corbett, the National Institute of Health’s lead scientist for coronavirus vaccine research tells CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta that a vaccine for coronavirus could possibly be available to the general public by next spring.
Bret Baier shares updates on explosive report about coronavirus origins
Sweden: Authorities investigating high COVID-19 infection rates in migrant-heavy suburbs
Sweden’s public health authority held a press conference this Friday to discuss their actions on the high case rate in Stockholm’s suburbs, where high concentrations of immigrants live.
One such area is Rinkeby-Kista, a borough with a per-capita infection rate of 48 in 10,000, the highest in all of Sweden.
“We do not fully understand the reasons why, but we are analysing to understand. One reason could be that they are more people living more crowded in those areas, and it is important to protect the elderly, and if you live more crowded, then it is more difficult to have them in separate rooms or live more separate,” said Karin Tegmark Wissel, Chief Physician of the country’s public health authority.
Sweden has just around 13,000 cases of coronavirus, according to John’s Hopkins University data, and in contrast to the majority of its European neighbours, the country has still not ordered a lockdown in response to the outbreak.
Moscow has more coronavirus cases than state testing shows, private lab data suggest
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The novel coronavirus has penetrated more deeply into Moscow’s population than official data show, private testing results among people without symptoms suggest.
Moscow, a city of 12.7 million people, is at the epicentre of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, having officially recorded 18,105 cases as of April 17, equivalent to just over 0.1% of its population.
Early results from the first commercial Russian tests suggest that a much higher proportion of people in Moscow are infected, and that the disease has spread among residents without symptoms.
Four commercial laboratories in Moscow began offering tests at a cost of between 1,050 roubles and 3,395 roubles ($14-45) each in late March and early April exclusively to people whom state tests do not cover.
That means people with no symptoms, no history of recent travel or no known contact with coronavirus patients.
Employees from three Moscow-based private laboratories told Reuters that positive results were coming back in between 1% and 5% of cases – a wide range but a significantly greater share than the official tally.
Like many countries, Russia is not carrying out mass testing, focusing solely on people with symptoms, those who have returned from abroad or people who have had known contact with infected individuals.
The authorities do not dispute that there are many asymptomatic cases and that their own testing cannot reflect the full scale of infection in the capital due to its limited scope.
https://www.oann.com/exclusive-moscow-has-more-coronavirus-cases-than-state-testing-shows-private-lab-data-suggest/
New COVID-19 hospital in Moscow is ready!
The new infectious diseases hospital in Moscow is ready to receive the first #COVID19 patients on Monday.
‘All major construction work was completed within a month!’ – Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Friday
NYC – ‘He supported everybody’: Beloved Muslim bodega owner settling into retirement dismembered and disemboweled by son, cops charge
A beloved bodega owner was just settling into retirement when he was dismembered and disemboweled by his emotionally disturbed son inside their Brooklyn home, police and friends of the victim said Thursday.
Imad “Eddie” Ahmad, 57, recently sold Hammel Stop 1 in Rockaway Beach, Queens, the bodega he had run for decades.
“He supported everybody,” said longtime customer Darnell Jones, 35. “He would come to our funerals, proms, and even mixtape parties. He used to hang up pictures of all of us in his store — you’d see us dressed up for prom.”
Dozens of neighbors, mostly from the Hammel Houses across the street from the bodega, came to pay their respects Thursday, leaving candles and flowers outside the bodega.
“No one expected this to happen,” Jones said. “I just talked to him last week.”
Father and son had been cooped up inside the home during the coronavirus shutdown when the violence erupted.
Ahmad’s son,Khaled Ahmad, ran up to cops from Brooklyn’s 68th Precinct as they were on meal break in a bagel shop about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and said he had killed his dad.
Cops were shocked by the blood-soaked scene inside the family’s home on 84th St. near 14th Ave. in Dyker Heights. The father was dead on the kitchen floor, his body stabbed multiple times and mutilated.
“He gutted him,” said one high ranking NYPD officer. “It had to take him a long time for him to do what he did.”
The victim’s innards were removed and his hands were cut off, sources said.
The body was so decimated investigators initially suspected 26-year-old Khaled may have cannibalized his father — but eventually all of the dad’s body parts were recovered, sources said.
Cops took the son to the 68th Precinct stationhouse for questioning, then charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for psychological evaluation.
One neighbor in Dyker Heights recalled seeing Khaled acting erratically outside around 1 a.m. Wednesday — just hours before the bloodshed was discovered.
“He was outside in the driveway chanting and pounding his chest,” the neighbors said.
“It wasn’t in English. I didn’t think anything except that it was weird. I didn’t connect it until the morning.”
In Rockaway Beach, Eddie’s former customers couldn’t fathom him meeting such a violent end.
“He was such a wonderful man, a community man. Always here for everybody,” said Reina Oriol, 33, who has been coming to the store since she was a young girl. “If I didn’t have money for food he’d just say, ‘No, go get your groceries, Reina.’ Nobody can say anything bad about him.”
“I’m still in shock because the relationship they had was father and son,” she added. “They said (Khaled) had a mental problem but I didn’t see that. I used to pull up a chair and talk with them, you know, gossip all day . . . It was just a loving family all around.”
“His is the best store out of any of them,” said neighbor Cliff Saunders, 60. “In all the years he has been here no one has tried to rob him, and that alone will tell you something. The fact that he would come to America, spend his whole life working for his family, retires and for what? To get killed by his own son?”
“I worked 16 years for Eddie,” said the cook at the bodega, who declined to give his name. “I cried all day and all night when I heard the news. He cared for me, would call me every day.”
“He said one time he was a little afraid of his son, that he had been lifting weights and was big now,” the cook added. “He would wait for his son to come home every night. If (Khaled) was out playing basketball, he would wait on the couch for him to come home.”
In a bizarre GoFundMe posted by Khaled in November, he asked for a million dollars to start a new life in Palestine, where his family is from.
“The reason I’m asking for this much money (is) because I would like to go back there and enjoy family time like the good old school way,” Khaled wrote. “If you’re rich and would like to donate It would be appreciated.”
He received zero donations.
The suspected killer was born in Brooklyn but his family moved to Palestine when he was 2 and he stayed there 13 years, according to the GoFundMe.
“As you guys know this country (Palestine) is under occupation, so yes it was hard growing up there but I am a guy who always looks in the positives before I worry about the negatives, so overall it didn’t effect me,” he wrote.
“As a kid I was always happy moving around and playing major sports. Speaking about sports it was my only escape from stressful situation I deal with and was a platform to meet new people.”
But when his family moved back to Brooklyn when he was a teenager his life became miserable, he said, prompting him to later launch his fundraiser.
“Stress level is very high,” he wrote of city life. “Cockroaches everywhere (my bed sometimes). Smells like dog piss everywhere I go. Don’t make enough money. Processed food. Everything is expensive.”
Palestine on the other hand has great food, his family, nice weather and restful sleep, Khaled wrote. He also stated he wanted to be rich.
A friend of the family who lives nearby was shocked that Khaled could allegedly commit such a heinous crime.
“It’s very strange. They are such nice people. His father was my friend,” said the man, who gave his name as Mansour. “Khalid was quiet and a good kid. He was in college. I never saw any problems between them. I’m in shock. Mental illness. I never imagined anything like this.”
Khaled attended the College of Staten Island, according to his Facebook page.
Police continued to remove evidence from the taped-off house Thursday.
Cops had previous dealings the son but the earlier interactions had nothing to do with his father, sources said. The son had a history of mental illness, the source said.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-brooklyn-father-son-stabbing-cannibalism-suspected-20200416-bjq3xmp2vfgh3f7wax3aglkkiq-story.html
Google Subpoenaed Over Hillary Clinton’s Emails
Signs suggest 2nd virus outbreak; Internal document reveals CCP knew about virus long before public
Indian Military Camp in Kashmir’s Pulwama District Attacked by Terrorists (sputniknews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004171079001425-indian-military-camp-in-kashmirs-pulwama-district-attacked-by-terrorists/
“Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.
A Central Reserve Police Force camp in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district was attacked by terrorists, a military official said.
One CRPF trooper suffered a bullet injury in his ankle and was hospitalised, it added.
The area of the attack has been cordoned off while a search for the suspected attackers is underway.
The attack has been claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed organisation. This Pakistan-based organisation killed at least 40 Indian soldiers in Pulwama last year after fresh tensions erupted between India and Pakistan following New Delhi’s move to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a separate development, two terrorists have been killed during a joint operation with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army said.”
Daesh Militants Plotting to Distribute Contaminated Masks in Iraq Amid Epidemic – Reports (sputniknews, Apr 17, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202004171079003204-daesh-militants-plotting-to-distribute-contaminated-masks-in-iraq-amid-epidemic—reports/
“Daesh* are plotting to hand out contaminated masks in Iraq through pseudomedics as the country struggles to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen channel reported on Friday, citing Iraqi sources.
The militants are planning to do this in a number of villages that are out of firm control of the government forces.
The security forces aim to thwart this plot and urge Iraqis to stay away from strangers.
As of Thursday, Iraq confirmed 1,434 COVID-19 cases, including 80 fatalities. The country declared a victory over Daesh on its soil back in December 2017, but still continues fighting terror sleeper cells.
*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.”
Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage brushes back Democrats, throws support to Trump
Hall of Fame closer Goose Gossage attacked Democrats Tuesday and defended President Trump, who he said could be the only one to replace the Steinbrenner family as New York Yankees owner.
Gossage, who has gotten political over the last few years and has been an outspoken supporter of Trump, told NJ.com he wants to see some of the top Democrats go to jail.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/hall-of-fame-pitcher-goose-gossage-democrats-trump
Kennedy repeatedly slammed Fauci on the Thomas Paine Podcast on Wednesday, revealing disturbing information about Fauci’s problematic career steering key medical policy for the United States. Kennedy described Fauci as a workplace tyrant who has ruined careers of upstanding physicians and researchers in order to cover up scandals and costly medical research disasters at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases where Fauci has served as director since 1984 as part of the National Institute of Health.
“Tony Fauci didn’t want the American public to know that he has poisoned an entire generation of Americans,” Kennedy said, alleging Fauci targeted a whistleblower who was trying to uncover the blood supply in the country was tainted with deadly strains.
Kennedy said Fauci ruined the physician’s career and covered up the crucial research. And that was just one of Kennedy’s attacks against Fauci. There were more. Kennedy also targeted Bill Gates, Big Pharma, the media, and more in this exclusive interview. Listen at top of page.
https://truepundit.com/exclusive-robert-f-kennedy-jr-drops-bombshells-on-dr-fauci-for-medical-cover-ups-and-fraud-fauci-poisoned-an-entire-generation-of-americans/
Professor Yitzhak Ben Israel of Tel Aviv University, who also serves on the research and development advisory board for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, plotted the rates of new coronavirus infections of the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Italy, Israel, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Spain. The numbers told a shocking story: irrespective of whether the country quarantined like Israel, or went about business as usual like Sweden, coronavirus peaked and subsided in the exact same way. In the exact, same, way. His graphs show that all countries experienced seemingly identical coronavirus infection patterns, with the number of infected peaking in the sixth week and rapidly subsiding by the eighth week.
CARTOONS | Henry Payne
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The Wuhan Virus follows its own pattern, he told Mako, an Israeli news agency. It is a fixed pattern that is not dependent on freedom or quarantine. “There is a decline in the number of infections even [in countries] without closures, and it is similar to the countries with closures,” he wrote in his paper.
https://townhall.com/columnists/marinamedvin/2020/04/15/israeli-professor-shows-virus-follows-fixed-pattern-n2566915
9 Key Points From Newly Declassified Report Details On FISA Abuse
Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified a slew of footnotes from Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse.
Margot Cleveland
By Margot Cleveland
April 16, 2020
Yesterday, Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified a slew of footnotes from Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse. In a cover letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson, the Republican senators who had pushed for the declassification, Grenell noted that “transparency is now needed more than ever.” Grenell added that Attorney General William Barr concurred in the declassification decision as it relates to DOJ interests.
Wednesday’s declassification follows the release last week of newly declassified information in three footnotes: 302, 334, 350. Those footnotes revealed that the FBI had received information that the Steele dossier included Russian disinformation and that Steele’s primary sub-source did not have a “network of sources.” The additional information released this week builds on those revelations and adds some new ones. Here are nine key points.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/16/9-key-points-from-newly-declassified-report-details-on-fisa-abuse/
EXCLUSIVE: Canadian Armed Forces requires all personnel to stop using gendered pronouns
https://thepostmillennial.com/canadian-armed-forces-requires-all-personnel-to-stop-using-gendered-pronouns
New York Times admits using different standards on Biden, Kavanaugh sexual misconduct allegations
Executive editor Dean Baquet acknowledges paper allowed Biden camp final edits on past inappropriate behavior
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/nyt-editor-explains-why-they-waited-nearly-three-weeks-publish-metoo#.XpW_fu6bBhE.twitter
(Note: In terms of timelines, Sweden reported its first Covid-cases eight days before the UK (15 on 3rd March, compared with 77 on 11th March in the UK), whilst the UK recorded its first deaths two days before Sweden (10 on 14th March, compared with 4 for Sweden on 16th March)).
Looking at these charts, particularly charts 2 and 4 which are a like-for-like comparison, as at 11th April, I think we can say the following:
In terms of reported cases, the data shows no evidence that the UK lockdown approach has been any more successful than the Swedish approach. In fact, per million people, Sweden has had fewer cases than the UK.
In terms of recorded deaths, again there is no evidence so far that the UK lockdown approach has been any more successful than the Swedish approach. In fact, per million people, Sweden has had fewer deaths than the UK.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/comparison-lockdown-uk-non-lockdown-sweden
Why the Coronavirus Poses a Unique Threat to Islamic Terrorists
The pandemic could turn terror networks into ‘super-spreaders.’
April 17, 2020
Daniel Greenfield
The shadowy alliance between Iran and the Taliban has killed countless American soldiers over the years. But Iran exported more than just IEDs and training to Afghanistan. The social problems of the Islamic dictatorship traveled along the same highways as the IEDs. But they didn’t kill Americans.
Iran has a huge meth problem. Now, so does Afghanistan.
Under President Trump, the United States has begun bombing Taliban meth labs as the junior Islamic terror regime in Afghanistan began imitating the meth export business of its big brother in Iran. But when Islamic republics get into the drug business, it’s their own people who get addicted to the stuff.
Iran’s coronavirus outbreak, like its meth crisis, has also been exported to its good friends, the Taliban.
The virus crosses Shiite-Sunni barriers as seamlessly as it does international time zones. And the estimated 500,000 infected in Iran are translating into rising infections in Afghanistan.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/why-coronavirus-poses-unique-threat-islamic-daniel-greenfield
A professor at the University of North Texas claims in a lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom that he was fired for saying that “microaggressions” are “garbage.” A “microaggression,” in the language of left-wing academia, is a small and often unintentional slight that allegedly contains prejudicial judgments.
According to a report by The College Fix, Professor Nathaniel Hiers of the University of North Texas claims in a lawsuit that he was fired from his position as a full-time math professor over his criticism of the concept of “microaggressions.”
Breitbart News reported in 2019 that Columbia University professor Derald Sue, who helped to popularize the concept of “microaggressions,” is now arguing that the concept was being abused by leftist academics. “Not everything is a microaggression,” Sue said.
When Hiers encountered a stack of materials in the faculty lounge that explained the importance of ridding society of “microaggressions,” he placed them on a nearby chalkboard. On top of the stack, Hiers wrote, “Don’t leave this garbage laying around.”
Shortly thereafter, Hiers was fired by the University of North Texas. After Hiers was informed of the decision, he asked a university official to explain why they decided to terminate him. Hiers claims the official gave him a list of reasons, with each reason relating to Hiers’ criticism of “microaggressions.”
https://www.breitbart.com/education/2020/04/17/lawsuit-u-of-north-texas-prof-fired-for-saying-microaggressions-are-garbage/
THE END OF NEW YORK: Mayor deBlasio Says New York City Will Not Reopen Until July or August AT THE EARLIEST!
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Bill Hemmer today on FOX News Channel.
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The mayor told Hemmer he does not expect New York City to open until July or August.
March-April-May-June
There will be nothing left in the city in July.
This is a good time for New Yorkers to look for an exit.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/end-new-york-mayor-deblasio-says-new-york-city-will-not-reopen-july-augus-earliest/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Dr. Shi Zhengli Who Ran Coronavirus Research in Wuhan Had US Project Shut Down by DHS in 2014 for Being Too Risky – PRIOR LEAK KILLED RESEARCHER
China’s Dr. Shi Zhengli’s name is finally breaking into the mainstream media reports.
On Thursday night Steven Mosher author of “Bully of Asia” joined Tucker Carlson to discuss the latest developments that the coronavirus was spread from a Wuhan lab to the general public.
Mosher was one of the first to suggest that COVID-19 was developed in a lab in Wuhan back in February.
Steven Mosher brought up Professor Shi Zhengli during his appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.
TRENDING: Antibody Testing Reveals Coronavirus 50-85 Times More Widespread Than Previously Known and Thus Far Less Dangerous Than Expected
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/update-dr-shi-zhengli-ran-coronavirus-research-wuhan-us-project-shut-dhs-2014-risky-prior-leak-killed-researcher/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
HUGE! 20,000 Small Business Survival Loans Go Unprocessed on Thursday After Pelosi and Democrats BLOCK FUNDING to American Workers
By Jim Hoft
Published April 17, 2020 at 7:15am
218 Comments
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Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at home in her San Francisco mansion during the California lockdown doing appearances on late night television while American workers and business owners go broke.
As of Thursday Speaker Pelosi would not approve more funding for small business.
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Last week, Democrats blocked the $250 billion replenishment of the Paycheck Protection Program prompting Pelosi to partake in a parade praising partisan Democrats for blocking the program.
And today the Small Business Association announced they officially ran out of money for their loan program to America’s small businesses.
On Thursday at least 20,000 small business loans went unprocessed because Democrats Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer would not approve more funding.
TRENDING: Antibody Testing Reveals Coronavirus 50-85 Times More Widespread Than Previously Known and Thus Far Less Dangerous Than Expected
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/huge-20000-small-business-survival-loans-go-unprocessed-thursday-pelosi-democrats-block-funding-american-workers/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Dress Rehearsal for a Police State
The telltale signs of something truly sinister happening to America were seemingly subtle when they began. At first, they were so overshadowed by the scary prospect of the Wuhan Flu pandemic that many people willingly ignored them. But as disturbing incidents continued and escalated, their ominous pattern could not be ignored.
A father in a near empty Denver park was arrested and handcuffed in front of his six year old daughter, for ostensibly violating “social distancing” guidelines. In Tennessee, a Christian youth group event was interrupted and disbanded by local police on the grounds that those present, numbering sixteen, exceeded the “social distancing standard” of ten. The police had been alerted by “elders” from the Church that rented the space to the youth group, who then went on to accuse the group leader of “trespassing,” claiming the meeting was prohibited in the first place.
Though these initial incidents occurred only a few weeks ago, they are quickly being eclipsed by a rash of unconstitutional abuses that have occurred since. And with each passing day, it becomes ever more inescapable that a truly menacing social movement is spreading faster than any biological virus, with its potential to inflict suffering and even death across modern civilization on an unimaginable scale. All of human history is replete with examples of such plagues and the unspeakable harm they portend.
https://www.gopusa.com/?p=87710?omhide=true
Sheriffs Say No To Democrat Governor’s Lockdown Orders: We Will Protect ‘Civil Liberties’
As thousands of Michigan residents gathered in protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s draconian and bizarrely inconsistent lockdown measures, four sheriffs from northern Michigan counties released a statement saying they will not be enforcing some of the Democrat’s orders, calling it an “overstepping” of executive authority.
Sheriffs Mike Borkovich, Ted Schendel, Ken Falk, and Kim Cole announced their decision Wednesday, telling the public that they take their oath to the U.S. Constitution seriously and consider themselves the “last line of defense in protecting your civil liberties.”
“We write today to inform the public for our respective counties of our opposition to some of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders,” the press release reads, as reported by Michigan Live.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/sheriffs-say-no-to-democrat-governors-draconian-lockdown-orders-we-will-protect-civil-liberties?utm_content=non_insiders&utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=housefile&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9EZuGSW6JQBIGB9LnQAng72gr3hiAAnF3mJGIEiuEdVw-8yfFmL4V0VtOVE5wOgFdSyTDFMbBEDr8_Ev__yQWZVzk1mw&_hsmi=86449241
Coronavirus: Saudi grand mufti says Ramadan night, Eid prayers to be done at home
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/coronavirus-saudi-grand-mufti-says-ramadan-night-eid-prayers-to-be-done-at-home
“Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, the highest religious authority in the country, said that Muslim prayers during the fasting month of Ramadan and for the subsequent Eid al-Fitr feast should be performed at home if the coronavirus outbreak continues, Saudi’s Okaz newspaper reported on Friday (April 17)…”
Iran’s Army to Get Homegrown T-90 Tanks
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/04/17/2245187/iran-s-army-to-get-homegrown-t-90-tanks
“The Iranian Army is going to equip the armored divisions with a domestically-manufactured version of T-90 tanks which is more advanced than the previous homegrown tanks, a top general said…”
US’ Illegal Presence Upsetting Persian Gulf Security: Iran’s DM
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/04/17/2245337/us-illegal-presence-upsetting-persian-gulf-security-iran-s-dm
“Defense Minister of Iran Brigadier General Amir Hatami denounced the “illegal and aggressive” presence of American military forces in the Persian Gulf as the root cause of insecurity in the region…”
Army Chief: Iranian Armed Forces An Iron Dam in Face of Enemies
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/04/17/2245375/army-chief-iranian-armed-forces-an-iron-dam-in-face-of-enemies
“Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi praised the country’s military forces for acting like an iron dam protecting people against the enemies…”
2nd Wave of Virus Outbreak Erupts in Northern Chinese City of Harbin
By Nicole Hao
April 16, 2020 Updated: April 17, 2020
Print
Harbin city in northern China is facing a second wave of the CCP virus outbreak.
Locals have reported long queues in front of hospitals, while traffic police have blocked vehicles from entering local highways, and hospitals announced new rules to prevent the CCP virus from spreading.
The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, first broke out in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, in December 2019. From January, the virus quickly spread to other Chinese cities.
Harbin is the capital of northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. The city enacted partial lockdown measures last week.
And on April 15, the city government abruptly announced that it would replace the director of its local health commission, without providing a reason.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/second-wave-of-virus-outbreak-erupts-in-northern-chinese-city-of-harbin_3313853.html?utm_source=Epoch+Times+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8979e5408c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_16_03_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4fba358ecf-8979e5408c-242193805
Rights group accuses Saudi Arabia of abuses in mass trials of suspected Hamas members
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hrw-accuses-saudi-arabia-serious-abuses-suspected-hamas-members
“Human Rights Watch (HRW) voiced concern for dozens of Palestinians and Jordanians on trial in Saudi Arabia, calling on the kingdom to “immediately make clear the specific accusations and underlying evidence against defendants”.
In a report released on Friday, the rights group cited relatives as saying that the detainees, who were arrested over the past two years, had been abused in Saudi prisons.
Saudi Arabia began the trials of 68 Palestinians and Jordanians last month, accusing them of links to an unidentified “terrorist organisation” that is believed to be Hamas.
Sources told Middle East Eye at the time that the charges against the accused ranged from the bizarre to the indefensible…”
Beijing Facing a ‘Chernobyl Moment’ for its Pandemic Handling, Experts Say
By Eva Fu
April 16, 2020 Updated: April 16, 2020
Print
The Chinese regime’s attempt to cover up the CCP virus outbreak marks the country’s “Chernobyl moment,” according to an open letter signed by over 150 politicians and experts on China.
The April 14 letter pinpointed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian rule as the root cause of the global pandemic and urged for a review of what its draconian policies may have cost the world.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/beijing-facing-a-chernobyl-moment-for-its-pandemic-handling-experts-say_3315220.html?utm_source=Epoch+Times+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8979e5408c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_16_03_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4fba358ecf-8979e5408c-242193805
Tunisia arrests two over coronavirus ‘cough plot’ against police
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-arrests-two-over-coronavirus-cough-plot-against-police
“Authorities in Tunisia arrested two men, including a suspected member of an armed group, in an alleged plot to infect security forces with the coronavirus.
The Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the terrorist suspect instructed the other man, who was displaying symptoms of the virus, to deliberately cough, sneeze and spit when he visited a police station on a court order.
Tests were being carried out to determine if the man was infected with the coronavirus, the ministry said…”
Coronavirus: Middle East states crack down on media freedom
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-middle-east-states-crack-down-media-freedom
“After a report by Reuters suggesting that Iraq was hiding the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Iraqi authorities this month suspended the news agency’s licence and imposed a fine of 25 million Iraqi dinars ($21,000). The Iraqi government called the report “deliberate misinformation”.
In Iran, one of the countries hit hardest by the virus, authorities last month opted to suspend all newspaper printing and distribution, citing the need to stem the spread of Covid-19 – and drawing concern from media rights groups. Yemen, Oman, Jordan and Morocco have reportedly implemented similar bans.
In Egypt, authorities revoked the press credentials of a Guardian journalist for reporting on an epidemiological study that estimated there could have been more than 19,000 coronavirus cases in the country by early March – thousands of times higher than the official tally at the time…”
Leading migrant rescue alliance falls apart over coronavirus handling disagreement
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/leading-migrant-rescue-alliance-calls-quit-over-coronavirus-handling-disagreement
“Europe’s leading migrant rescue alliance has fallen apart because of a lack of assistance from regional governments amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee, two French charities that have rescued thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean Sea over the past four years, said they could no longer continue their joint sea-based mission, citing a disagreement related to the handling of coronavirus.
In a statement released on Friday, MSF said it had “taken the very difficult decision to end our partnership with SOS Mediterranee” after a disagreeing over how to deal with pressure from European governments.
The two NGOs had worked together since 2016, rescuing more than 30,000 migrants and refugees from the central Mediterranean, most recently with the Ocean Viking ship.
MSF operations manager Annemarie Loof accused European countries of using the pandemic as an excuse to “shirk search and rescue obligations” to those trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, EU states have created “hostility” towards NGO search-and-rescue operations by “shutting their ports, leaving few assurances of a place of safety for disembarking rescued people”, Loof said.
“Although both MSF and SOS Mediterranee agree on the vital need for our lifesaving work at sea, SOS Mediterranee felt further assurance from states regarding a place of safety was necessary before sailing,” she added.
“For MSF, the humanitarian imperative to act was immediate, with or without such assurances: we could not stand by with a fully equipped search and rescue ship in port as people continue to flee Libya and risk drowning.”
SOS Mediterranee’s Sophie Beau told AFP she could not guarantee the safety of either the crews or the people being rescued.
“We could not take responsibility for going back to sea when all the indicators are in the red,” she said.
More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year, with at least 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Many disembarked from ports in war-torn Libya and headed for Italy, whose government caused outrage among NGOs last week by closing its ports to restrict the spread of coronavirus.”