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.
“Kim Jung Un In Critical Condition After Surgery…”
by Kane – April 20, 2020
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/breaking-kim-jung-un-in-grave-condition-after-surgery-developing/
“North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in grave danger after surgery, report say”
by Tamar Lapin – April 20, 2020
Excerpt: Kim underwent the surgery April 12 at a hospital in the Mount Kumgang resort county of Hyangsan and was recovering at a villa there, reported Daily NK, a website run mostly by North Korean defectors, citing unidentified sources inside the hermit kingdom.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/20/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-in-grave-danger-after-surgery-report/
“N.K. leader Kim Jong-un appears, still without mask on despite COVID-19 pandemic”
Korea Now – April 13, 2020
On April 11, N.K. leader attended a political bureau meeting of the ruling Worker’s Party and discussed anti-coronavirus measures.
“Kim Jong Un’s sister ‘may be in line’ to become the next ‘dear leader'”
Sky News Australia – April 21, 2020
From what I know about NK Dynasty the futures not looking bright for Rocket Man’s surgeon either.
“Kim Yo-Jong, rises in North Korea hierarchy as No. 2 leader in North Korea”
Korea Now – April 14, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG_NG6GuTxo
“How much do you know about Kim Yo-jong & Hyon Song-wol of North Korea” North Korea Now – June 29, 2019
THIS IS BIG!!!
Get ready for a huge media onslaught today…
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-suspend-immigration-executive-order-coronavirus
Trump to ‘suspend immigration into the United States’ by executive order amid coronavirus
Gregg Re By Gregg Re | Fox News
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After attacking Trump’s coronavirus-related China travel ban as xenophobic, Dems and media have changed tune
Democrats are now blaming President Trump for his reaction time, despite targeting the President for his early coronavirus-related China travel ban in January. Check out how these predominate figures have changed their tune.
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President Trump announced late Monday he will soon sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” in what appeared to be a drastic escalation of his efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic and boost the economy.
The declaration came hours after U.S. equity markets plunged, with oil prices turning negative for the first time in history. Also on Monday, three states — Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina — revealed plans to begin reopening some businesses.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” the president tweeted.
Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!
230K
10:06 PM – Apr 20, 2020
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105K people are talking about this
The precise contours of the president’s planned executive order were not immediately clear. The White House did not immediately elaborate on Trump’s tweeted announcement.
Politico reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was still working out the details of the executive order, and that an exemption for temporary guest workers, including farm workers, was under consideration.
A top DHS official told the outlet that “22 million unemployed Americans and counting due to COVID-19″ had prompted Trump to act.
Due to the pandemic, almost all visa processing by the State Department, including immigrant visas, has been suspended for weeks.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, applauded the planned executive order, and suggested a total immigration suspension should continue indefinitely. “Thank you, @realDonaldTrump!” he wrote. “All immigration to the United States should halt until every American who wants a job has one!”
“Given tens of millions of Americans are out of work right now and we’re battling a virus that spreads through human-to-human transmission I am dying to hear one coherent argument against this,” wrote Spectator USA’s Washington editor Amber Athey.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., meanwhile, said Trump was looking for “someone to blame for his own failure.”
CORONAVIRUS TIMELINE SHOWS MULTIPLE FLIP-FLOPS BY JOURNOS, DEMS, GOP
“Immigration has nearly stopped and the US has far more cases than any other country,” Beyer wrote, without adjusting his statistic to consider the larger population in the United States. “This is just xenophobic scapegoating.”
Added Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.: “Trump failed to take this crisis seriously from day 1. His abandonment of his role as president has cost lives. And now, he’s shamelessly politicizing this pandemic to double down on his anti-immigrant agenda. Enough, Mr. President. The American people are fed up.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS
?
@RepGosar
Thank you, @realDonaldTrump! All immigration to the United States should halt until every American who wants a job has one! https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1252418369170501639 …
Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!
376
10:13 PM – Apr 20, 2020
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Aside from the pending immigration ban, the U.S. has already enacted a slew of entry restrictions. The U.S. recently agreed with both Canada and Mexico to extend border restrictions on nonessential travel for another 30 days, through May 16 and May 19, respectively. And, the president already has blocked most travel from other hotspots, including most of Europe, Iran, South Korea, and China.
AOC CELEBRATES OIL CRASH IN NOW-DELETED TWEET
However, people with temporary work visas, students and business travelers were exempted, along with emergency personnel.
More than 750,000 Americans have come down with COVID-19 and more than 42,000 have died. On Monday, the U.S. government said it will continue to quickly expel migrants it encounters along the border with Mexico for at least another month in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jeanette Vizguerra wears a face mask during a car protest calling for the release of detainees at the GEO Immigration Detention Center because of the dangers posed by the new coronavirus Friday, April 17, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Jeanette Vizguerra wears a face mask during a car protest calling for the release of detainees at the GEO Immigration Detention Center because of the dangers posed by the new coronavirus Friday, April 17, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Under the U.S. policy change spurred by the virus, the U.S. government has sent some 10,000 Mexicans and Central Americans back to Mexico, according to data from the U.S.Border Patrol.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that more than 100 migrants at 25 detention centers have tested positive for COVID-19. Guatemala claims that 44 migrants deported from the U.S. tested positive.
Monday’s immigration suspension was likely to draw legal challenges, and reignite an already heated debate over travel restrictions. On Jan. 31, Trump issued the “Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus,” blocking most travel from China — and at the time, Democrats harshly criticized the move.
Within hours, Joe Biden campaigned in Iowa and told the crowd that Americans “need to have a president who they can trust what he says about it, that he is going to act rationally about it. … This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia – hysterical xenophobia – and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science.”
Months later, Biden said he supported the China travel ban.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/breaking-youve-never-heard-a-president-announce-what-trump-just-did-never/
BREAKING: Trump Announces He’ll Suspend Immigration Into the U.S.
BY VICTORIA TAFT APRIL 20, 2020CHAT COMMENTS
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 13, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
We’re in an era of firsts, a runaway virus from China comes to mind, but this announcement by President Trump is the very first time anyone has heard an American president make this pronouncement.
President Trump has announced that he’s “temporarily suspending immigration into the United States.”
In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!
Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!
232K
10:06 PM – Apr 20, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
106K people are talking about this
The president made the announcement to stop bringing in new people because the U.S. and world economies are cratering. And a historic number of people are now without jobs because of the virus. Trump is going all-in with the American people on this announcement.
Well, this is one way that President Trump will get Nancy Pelosi back to Washington, D.C.
We’ll bet that somehow the Left will label this as racist.
Let them try.
When Trump says ”The Invisible Enemy”, he is subtly referring to more than the Wuhan Flu.
I wonder what made the oil stocks suddenly collapse to nothingness yesterday? I think his decision to stop immigration is partly related to the invisible forces at work to bring down U.S. economy and his presidency.
Norwegian Psychiatrist Suggests Dem Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Suffering From Dementia (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/us/202004211079038325-norwegian-psychiatrist-suggests-dem-presidential-candidate-joe-biden-suffering-from-dementia/
“In the worst-case scenario, there is a risk that 77-year-old Joe Biden won’t be able to construct whole or meaningful sentences or even maintain the activities of daily living, Norwegian psychiatrist Fred Heggen has mused.
Having analysed the public appearances of US President hopeful Joe Biden, Norwegian psychiatrist Fred Heggen has noted an obvious congitive failure in his mental health, which may be a sign of worsening dementia.
What began as minor episodes when Biden started his election campaign to become the Democratic presidential candidate – “forgetfulness, mischief, confusions, gaffes, and aggression” – has worsened “at galloping speed”, Heggen noted in an opinion piece published by Nettavisen.
In the piece called “Why Democrats are rallying behind a possibly demented candidate?” Heggen pointed out that Biden is now largely screened from contact with the media and the public. When he appears, the speech lasts a maximum of 10 minutes. Biden is either instructed via an earpiece or reads the text on a teleprompter. No questions from the press are allowed.
The few times Biden took part in an actual debate, he struggled with impaired concentration, memory loss, and sudden blocks of thought, he said.
“Of course I may still judge him wrongly, but in my eyes he appears as a person who is already very affected by dementia. And the presidential election is still far ahead. What if his condition worsens further over the next two-three months?” Heggen asked rhetorically.
In the worst-case scenario, Heggen mused, there is a risk that Biden won’t be able to construct whole or meaningful sentences or even maintain the activities of daily living (ADL).
“This is not scare propaganda on my part. Everyone who has had experience with people with dementia knows that a deterioration can come quickly and have a particularly dramatic course”, Heggen wrote, warning of the potential dangers associated with a potential dementia sufferer as a president hopeful.
“This man is who the Democrats and the other globalists of the world trust. This is the man who will sit in the White House with his finger on the nuclear button. We are no longer talking about rational politics. We are talking about the madness put into the system”, Heggen concluded.
Fred Heggen is a medical director at the Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital’s psychiatric clinic in Oslo and a columnist at the online newspaper Nettavisen.
Previously, numerous news outlets, such as Consortium News, CounterPunch and Politico, have speculated about Joe Biden having dementia. Several politicians and pundits, including Trump’s lawyer and former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani and conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter, also suggested that 77-year-old Biden has senile dementia.
While the speculations are yet to be dispelled or confirmed, videos of Biden’s gaffes hashtagged #Bidendementia and #dementiajoe among others, abound on social media…”
Goldwater rule
The Goldwater rule is Section 7 in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Principles of Medical Ethics,[1] which states that it is unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures whom they have not examined in person, and from whom they have not obtained consent to discuss their mental health in public statements.[2] It is named after former US Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.[3][4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater_rule
…..
If you can imagine, Wiki is less left-contaminated than the poisonous Lawfare Blog or the shrinks’ professional org.
Beijing Warns Any Attempt to Deny China’s Sovereignty in S China Sea Will be Doomed to Fail (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004211079038703-beijing-warns-any-attempt-to-deny-chinas-sovereignty-in-s-china-sea-will-be-doomed-to-fail/
“Apart from Beijing, disputed territories in the South China Sea are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has warned that any attempt to reject Beijing’s sovereignty in the South China Sea will be doomed to fail.
He also referred to stern representations, lodged by Beijing in retaliation against what it described as Vietnam’s illegal claims in the South China Sea.
The statement comes after Vietnam lodged a claim with the UN, protesting Beijing’s efforts to boost its presence in the disputed area.
This was preceded by data from the ship tracking website Marine Traffic indicating last week that a Chinese survey ship, which was involved in last year’s standoff with Vietnamese vessels, had returned to waters in the South China Sea near Vietnam.
According to the data, the ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 appeared last Tuesday about 158 kilometres (98 miles) off the Vietnamese coast flanked by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and shadowed by at least three Vietnamese vessels.
While Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Hanoi was closely monitoring activity in the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stressed that the Haiyang Dizhi 8 “was conducting normal activities in waters administered by China”.
The developments followed Hanoi lodging a diplomatic protest over the alleged ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea earlier this month.
Beijing responded by blaming the Vietnamese boat for illegally entering Chinese waters, claiming that the vessel had collided with the Chinese ship Haijing 4301 after taking “dangerous actions”.
The US State Department, for its part, expressed “serious” concern about the incident, urging Beijing “to remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic, and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea”.
A majority of islands in the area is controlled by Beijing although many of those territories are claimed by other countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Although the US has no claims to the territories, it continues to send its military vessels to the South China Sea to implement what Washington calls “freedom of navigation” missions, slammed by Beijing as “provocations”.”
US Politicians Dream of Turkey Without Erdogan Since He Does Not Bow Down – Turkish Scholar (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202004211079037687-us-politicians-dream-of-turkey-without-erdogan-since-he-does-not-bow-down–turkish-scholar/
“US think tanks have published two major reports since the beginning of this year discussing the Turkish political landscape and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ability to stay in power. Turkish political scientist Onur Erim has explained why US scholars are increasingly targeting the Turkish president.
In March, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an American think tank based in Washington, DC, published a policy note titled “The Outlook for Turkish Democracy: 2023 and Beyond”. The study weighs Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chances of winning the 2023 elections and names his potential political rivals who are allegedly mulling how to defeat the Turkish president.
According to the think tank, should Erdogan cope with the economic crisis multiplied by the coronavirus pandemic and come out on top in 2023 that “would likely seal [Turkey’s] trajectory away from liberalism and the West for a generation”.
Turkish political scientist Onur Erim deems the Washington Institute’s report, as well as previous ones, as pushing ahead with an attempt to throw Erdogan’s political survivability into question.
“The institute that prepared the report and similar think tanks set a specific goal: to instill into the public the idea that President Erdogan could lose in the upcoming elections, that there are candidates who have the potential to defeat Erdogan, and that if he wins the 2023 vote this will lead Turkey to even bigger problems”, the political scientist elaborates.
Erim presumes that in its recent study The Washington Institute for Near East Policy promotes the views of the American-Israeli lobby and that therefore it is hardly surprising why it is targeting Erdogan.
“The US authorities, with the exception of Trump, dream of Turkey without Erdogan because they have ultimately realised that the Turkish leader will not bow down to their blackmail and threats, and will not dance to their tune”, he opines.
“In general, although the reason for publishing this report is completely obvious, its assessments and conclusions are extremely superficial and unprofessional”, the political scientist says. “In particular, the section about Erdogan’s inner circle and its characteristics does not stand up to criticism, and much more resembles a compilation of several newspaper articles than a serious analytical study”.
The recent study has added fuel to the fire ignited by the RAND Corporation research paper titled “Turkey’s Nationalist Course” which suggested that “mid-level officers are reported to be extremely frustrated with the military leadership and concerned about being removed in the continuing post-coup purges”.
The paper further presumed that this discontent within the military could lead to the repetition of a 2016 scenario at some point. The report was harshly criticised by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), according to the daily Hurriyet.
Turkey and the US have had a series of diplomatic rows over Washington’s assistance to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, which are seen by Ankara as affiliates of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as the US resistance to Ankara’s decision to deploy Russian-made S-400 air defence systems in the country.
Nevertheless, Washington signalled support for Ankara amid the Turkish-Syrian clashes over the province of Idlib, insisting that the US and Turkey have common geopolitical goals in Syria and Libya. A the beginning of April, United States Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison voiced the idea of providing Turkey with an unspecified assistance “package” for Idlib in exchange for the country’s giving up S-400 systems. Still, last week Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made it clear that Ankara’s position on using Russian S-400 air defence systems had not changed.
The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.”
Pakistan Charity Group Head Tests Positive for COVID-19 Days After Meeting PM Imran Khan (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004211079039733-pakistan-charity-group-head-tests-positive-for-covid-19-days-after-meeting-pm-imran-khan/
“Pakistan has been under a partial lockdown amid the COVID-19 outbreak across the country. With a daily rise in positive cases, the total number of those infected has reached 9,505, while the death toll stands at 197.
Faisal Edhi, the head of Pakistan’s largest charity group the Edhi Foundation, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Currently in isolation in Islamabad, Edhi was asymptomatic but insisted on getting tested as he was working with patients on the ground.
Edhi was earlier in Lahore and then travelled to Islamabad, where he met Prime Minister Imran Khan and donated a $61,090 (PKR 10 million) cheque on behalf of his organisation for the COVID-19 relief fund.
His son, Saad Edhi, has said that the whole family and all his contacts will be undergoing tests for the virus.
Pakistan has recorded 9,505 positive cases of COVID-19 and 197 deaths due to the disease amid a partial lockdown. The country’s Punjab province is the worst hit, with 4,195 cases.”
‘Irresponsible, Completely Ill-Founded’: Pakistan Slams India’s Remark on PM Khan’s Post on Muslims (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004211079039266-irresponsible-completely-ill-founded-pakistan-slams-indias-remark-on-pm-khans-post-on-muslims/
“Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday launched a scathing attack on India’s leadership by comparing the Modi-led government to the Nazis against the backdrop of alleged discrimination against Muslims in the country. In response, India’s External Affairs Ministry slammed Khan’s comments as a “baseless allegation”.
In the middle of a pandemic that has affected the whole world, India and Pakistan are caught up in a war of words: a day after New Delhi slammed Pakistan for Imran Khan’s statement on alleged mistreatment of minorities in India, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry dismissed remarks by an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, terming them “irresponsible and completely ill-founded”.
Rejecting the remarks as “reflective of India’s perennial state of denial with regards to the rights of minorities, particularly Muslims, in India”, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The treatment of minorities is a matter of serious concern not only for the Indian minorities and the neighbouring countries but also for the international community”.
On Sunday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan compared the Modi government with the Nazis.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry reiterated a similar sentiment in its statement. “It is deeply disconcerting that the discriminatory and anti-Muslim policies and practices of the RSS-inspired BJP Government persist even as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds”, the statement reads.
It further accused India of carrying out a campaign “to demonise Muslims, who face further exclusion as well as increasing threat of mob violence”.
India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Monday that instead of concentrating on fighting COVID-19, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is making a “baseless allegation” against India “to shift focus from the abysmal handling of their internal affairs”.
Pakistan’s allegations of mistreatment of Muslims come against the backdrop of reports that more than 2,000 people attended a religious congregation in Delhi and many of them were found positive for COVID-19. The large numbers of positive cases emerging from one incident has created hysteria among the public, resulting in a boycott of the Muslim community in many places.”
4 Overground Workers of Pakistan-Based Terror Groups Jaish and Lashkar Arrested in Kashmir (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/india/202004211079038883-4-overground-workers-of-pakistan-based-terror-groups-jaish-and-lashkar-arrested-in-kashmir/
“Indian security forces made several arrests of overground workers from Pakistan-based terror groups in April, while the country’s government earlier announced a decrease in the number of terrorist activities in Kashmir.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have arrested four overground workers (OGWs) with the Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Shopian and Budgam district of Kashmir. Two of the accused were associated with Jaish, while the other two belonged to Lashkar, the sources said.
Personnel of 55 Rashtriya Rifle and 178 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were inspecting the vehicles at a checkpoint when they found a pistol and hand grenade from the two accused, identified as Ahmad Koka and Ahmad Dar.
The initial probe revealed that the accused had plans to target the security personnel.
The other two OGWs of Lashkar, identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Dar and Gulam Mohammad, were arrested by Rashtriya Rifle personnel and Budgam Police. The police said that questionable material was recovered from them.
Earlier in the month, Jammu and Kashmir police busted an active terror module of Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) inside Kot Bhalwal Central Jail. Police recovered SIM cards, mobile phones, and other incriminating material from one of the barracks.
Another OGW of Jaish-e-Mohammad was arrested from a village bordering Pakistan in Jammu. Mohammad Muzaffar Beigh, 24, a resident of the Handwara area of northern Kashmir’s Kupwara, district was arrested with incriminating documents in a late-night raid.
The Indian government had reported that terrorist activities in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir had reduced following the abrogation of Article 370, which stripped the former state of its special status under the country’s constitution. India’s parliament was informed in March that only 79 terror-related incidents had occurred in Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019.”
India, Pakistan Open Another Round of Shelling, Firefights (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/india/202004211079038737-india-pakistan-open-another-round-of-shelling-firefights/
“As per Indian Army officials, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak began, ceasefire violations by Pakistan across the border have decreased. But over the last three weeks, there have been several instances of cross border clashes.
The Indian Army on Tuesday stated that an unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shells with mortars had been initiated from Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the statement issued by the Indian Army, the ceasefire violation was initiated by the Pakistani side at around 11:20 a.m. and the army is retaliating.
As of now, cross-border shelling between the two sides is underway, but there are no reports of any casualties.
According to the officials, shelling and firefights have been taking place on a daily basis over the last 15 days along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Several military personnel and militants have lost their lives in these firing. While fear has stuck the minds of people living near the border area since three civilians were killed last week in shelling by Pakistan”, an Indian Army official said.
According to the Defence Ministry, there were a total of 646 incidents of ceasefire violations along the International border and LoC between 1 January and 23 February this year.
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between the two nuclear-armed nations since independence from British rule in 1947.
The two countries have fought three wars since then over the territory, which is currently divided by the line of control (de-facto border). Bilateral relations between the two neighbours dipped to a fresh low when India revoked Kashmir’s special status in August 2019. “
The death of pensioner Detlef in Offenburg, Germany: A homicide committed out of Islamic motives
As so often, a homicide from Offenburg with Islamic motives is pushed back into the psychiatric corner. Muslim Ali. M, a “refugee” from Somalia, had shouted the traditional Islamic battle cry “Allahu Akbar”, while on May 16, 2019, he stepped on the 76-year-old pensioner Detlef J., who was lying defenceless on the ground, and hit him dozens of times. Shortly before this attack, the federal police arrested him at the train station in Offenburg, after he had “loudly expressed his opinion about Islam” and hammered on the window pane of a train station bar. While driving in a cab, he became aggressive, grabbed the driver’s steering wheel and punched him in the face. Ali M. was then arrested by the police and began to “pray aloud” on the way to the police station.
Four weeks earlier, the 25-year-old Muslim had complained massively in a shisha bar about not observing Ramadan, the month of fasting. On the train, he harassed and pestered “infidels” travelling with him. All this is the behaviour of a deeply believing Muslim who has internalised the strict rules of Islam and the radical orders of the Koran to hate and fight against infidels, even to the point of killing them. Pensioner Detlef died on Monday after months of suffering in hospital. He had suffered several broken bones in his face due to the kicks and blows of the Muslim, went blind on his left eye and was in need of permanent care ever since. His condition had continued to worsen until the death. He had to be fed with a stomach tube and in the end he could no longer swallow at all. The pensioner’s twin sons not only had to witness the slow death of their father, who did not recognize them due to the severe brain injuries, but also had to pay for the high costs of treatment. Despite nursing care insurance and a pension, they were lacking about 1600 Euros per month.
Muslim Ali M. was, as so often, certified by an “expert witness” as having “paranoid schizophrenia” and referred to a psychiatric hospital. Because the Muslim suffers from a “persistent illness”, there is a danger of further crimes such as bodily injury or homicide if the accused remains “untreated”. Now the Muslim can pretend to have an ominous “mental illness”, is hospitalized, is considered lack of culpability and evades just punishment. Ali M. had come to Germany as a “refugee” from Somalia in 2015, his asylum application was rejected in 2017. Since then, he has been allowed to stay in our country as a tolerated refugee, like hundreds of thousands of other unauthorized asylum seekers. In addition, he praises Islam and commits crimes in the process. Despite having committed bodily injury before the fatal attack on the pensioner, he had been released. The victim, however, was suspected. His two sons were questioned by the police whether their father was “peace-loving”, “xenophobic” and “how much alcohol” he drank. But Detlef J. did not even have a beer in his fridge. He was not xenophobic either. He just came from playing games with his friends and wanted to go home when he ran into Muslim Ali. Now Detlef is dead. And his killer isn’t even on trial. Allahu Akbar.
https://medforthblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/21/the-death-of-pensioner-detlef-in-offenburg-germany-a-homicide-with-islamic-motives/
CNA is back, I still want to know why no videos for 2 days?
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un not critically ill: South Korea refutes reports he is in “grave danger”
Tackling Covid-19 Among Singapore’s Foreign Workers | Talking Point | Full Episode
I think the lack of CNA videos is you tube playing their games.
the gateway pundit –TECH TYRANNY: YouTube CEO Says ANYTHING That Goes Against Corrupt WHO Recommendations Is a Violation of Policy and Will Be Removed (VIDEO)
YouTube CEO Susan Wojkicki joined CNN’s Brian Stelter this past weekend and said the company removes anything that is against the World Health Organization, the same group that lied for weeks for the Chinese Communists while the coronavirus spread around the globe.
This is unreal.
Susan Wojkicki: “We talk about removing information that is problematic. Of course, anything that is medically unsubstantiated, people saying like “take vitamin C” um, um “take turmeric, it will cure you.” Those are the examples of things that would be a violation of our policy. Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy. And so remove is another important part of our policy.
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https://twitter.com/QAnonNotables/status/1252385906486468610
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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/tech-tyranny-youtube-ceo-says-anything-goes-corrupt-recommendations-violation-policy-will-removed-video/
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YouTube Removes Any Content That Is Against WHO
We are working to open up the States and restart our economy, Singapore is extending the immigration ban for 4 more weeks. While the 200+ new infectins doesn’t seem like much in a nation the sice of the US remember Singapore is a small city state where 200 new infections is a lot.
LIVE HD] COVID-19: PM Lee announces 4-week extension of Singapore circuit breaker to Jun 1
Hot and humid Singapore gets no relief from this virus.
They talk to their citizens like grown-ups.
Diversity complicates everything: Managing wet markets {ugh} and Ramadan, while the lady wears a beautiful diamond Cross.
If the Wuhan Flu virus is so active in Singapore what makes anyone think it will go dormant in the Summer months of North America?
Some say it isn’t so much climate, but the fact that kids are out of school. Kids are wicked little infectious disease vectors.
Italian Doctor Claims Coronavirus Was Already in Italy in Early January (breitbart, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/21/italian-doctor-claims-coronavirus-was-italy-early-january/
“A doctor in northern Italy has claimed he saw patients with Wuhan coronavirus symptoms a month before Italy’s “patient one” was diagnosed as the first confirmed case.
Dr Pietro Poidomani practices medicine in the town of Cividate al Piano, which lies around 16 miles from the city of Bergamo, one of the areas of Italy hardest hit by the Chinese virus outbreak that has claimed tens of thousands of lives across the country.
On the 7th of January, Dr Poidomani said that he reopened his small practice after the Christmas break and met with 12 patients who all described having breathing troubles, an unusual cough, and a fever.
After giving all five patients an x-ray, he noticed the same interstitial thickening in their lungs that has become common in cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, Corriere Della Sera reports.
The cases, if confirmed to be coronavirus, would have occurred a month before the first official case, or “patient one” was diagnosed on the 20th of February.
Poidomani claimed that in the following days, he saw many other patients exhibiting the same symptoms and requested chest x-ray records dating from the 25th of December onwards from the local government in Bergamo, but heard nothing back.
“By checking the data, we could have saved some lives,” he told the newspaper and added: “But nobody asked the right questions. And so we arrived at the crucial moment with bare hands, without equipment, without oxygen canisters.”
Dr Poidomani would later become ill with coronavirus and was put into intensive care on the 2nd of March, but emerged from the ICU less than two weeks later, testing negative for the virus.
The Pope Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo has been one of the worst-hit by the virus. Earlier this week, Angelo Pedone, a nurse in the Red Cross military corps, said the early days of the outbreak were like “hell” saying: “There were deaths everywhere.”
“The patients knew what awaited them. They knew all the steps,” he said and added: “There was fear in their eyes. There was no time even to ask who they were.”
Earlier this month, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte defended his government’s response to the pandemic but admitted: “Our response has not been perfect, maybe, but we have been acting to the best of our knowledge.””
Global press freedom suffers under coronavirus pandemic, report warns (abcnews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/global-press-freedom-suffers-coronavirus-pandemic-report-warns/story?id=70259938
“The coronavirus pandemic is having a serious impact on press freedom worldwide as authoritarian leaders have taken advantage of the public health crisis, a new report has said.
The 2020 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), warned that the next 10 years would be pivotal for the future of journalism across the globe.
“The public health crisis provides authoritarian governments with an opportunity to implement the notorious “shock doctrine” – to take advantage of the fact that politics are on hold, the public is stunned and protests are out of the question, in order to impose measures that would be impossible in normal times,” Chrisophe Deloire, the secretary-general of RSF, said in a statement. “For this decisive decade to not be a disastrous one, people of goodwill, whoever they are, must campaign for journalists to be able to fulfil their role as society’s trusted third parties, which means they must have the capacity to do so.”
The Index is compiled by assessing the levels of independence and censorship, legal systems in which media outlets work in individual regions and countries.
RSF said that there was a “clear correlation” between the suppression of independent media in the pandemic and a country’s ranking in the Index.
Norway ranked as the freest country in the world for the fourth year running.
North Korea fell one place to 180th, the lowest ranking on the Index, taking that position form Turkmenistan despite the country going as far as to ban the word “coronavirus” from the Turkmen vocabulary.
China, the origin of the coronavirus outbreak, ranked at 177th, have censored the extent of their public health crisis, the report said, as the country continued to maintain a system of “hyper-control” on information and press freedom.
The United States, meanwhile, climbed three places up the ranking, but RSF said that press freedom “continued to suffer” during the third year of President Trump’s tenure in office, pointing out the fact that the last televised White House press briefing led by a press secretary came in March 2019.
The unprecedented global lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus has seen some leaders sense an opportunity to strengthen their powers, such as in Hungary, where last month lawmakers gave Prime Minister Victor Orban the power to rule by decree as long as he sees fit.
The “global indicator” of press freedom improved slightly from last year’s index, but RSF said that overall, media freedom has deteriorated by 12% since the first Index of its kind was compiled in 2013.”
Syria refugees to face their torturers in German court (abcnews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-refugees-face-torturers-german-court-70258496
“Six years ago Wassim Mukdad fled Syria, demoralized and fearing for his life as the country spiraled ever deeper into all-out war.
This week, the 34-year-old will come face-to-face with the man accused of running a government detention center where Mukdad and thousands of others were tortured during the early months of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Together with more than a dozen other witnesses, Mukdad will testify before a German court in the trial of Anwar R., a former member of Syria’s secret police suspected of overseeing the abuse of detainees at a notorious jail near Damascus known as Al Khatib, or Branch 251.
German prosecutors last fall charged the 57-year-old R., whose full surname wasn’t released for privacy reasons, with crimes against humanity, murder and rape in a case that human rights activists say marks the first time worldwide that a former Syrian officials is being held responsible for such serious crimes during the long-running conflict.
As a senior member of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, R. is accused of overseeing the “systematic and brutal torture” of more than 4,000 prisoners between April 2011 and September 2012, resulting in the deaths of at least 58 people, federal prosecutors said.
A second suspect, identified as Eyad A., will also go on trial accused of contributing to crimes against humanity by enabling the torture and imprisonment of at least 30 protesters in late 2011. The 43-year-old was allegedly part of a unit that arrested people following a demonstration in the city of Douma and took them to Branch 251, where they were severely mistreated.
“I was taking part in demonstrations, demanding freedom and civil society, liberties and democracy. Exactly the same as the whole demonstration movement in that time,” Mukdad recalled in an interview with The Associated Press.
“The second time I was detained, it was in the same branch where (R.) allegedly used to work,” he said. “I faced torture there, during the interrogations.”
For legal reasons, Mukdad can’t talk about the details of his case before the trial opens. But he said what happened to him wasn’t unique.
“We were three friends and we all suffered the same procedures from the beginning till the end,” he said. “And other people in the cells I met also suffered the same. So I knew that it wasn’t only me.”
None of the inmates knew why they were being detained or whether they would make it out alive.
“We were not allowed to contact any lawyers, family members or friends,” Mukdad said. “Nobody tells you anything. It’s not only a physical torture, it’s also psychological torture.”
The defendants’ lawyers could not be reached for comment.
After being released, Mukdad volunteered as a medic in a refugee camp in southern Damascus, only to get detained by al-Nusra, an Islamist armed group linked to al-Qaida, and then again by government forces.
“Starting from 2013, the situation was going very clearly into a full-scale civil war,” Mukdad said.
The government had begun to use chemical weapons. “You think: What could I do anymore? There is no place for any reasonable voice in in this time of total mania.”
He decided to flee Syria a year later, first to Turkey and then, in 2016, to Germany.
Like hundreds of thousands of Syrians who found refuge in Germany, Mukdad tried to create a new life for himself, learning the language and concentrating on music, unaware that human rights groups in Europe were building a case against Syrian officials. It wasn’t until last year that he happened to cross paths with a lawyer in Berlin who asked him to testify against Anwar R.
“This trial is of considerable importance worldwide. The trial will provide an overall picture of the crimes committed by the Syrian government. This knowledge can then be used by others and in other trials,” said Wolfgang Kaleck, head of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights that supports 16 Syrians in the case, eight of whom will be present as co-plaintiffs.
The group said the case is the result of a series of criminal complaints submitted over the past four years by almost 50 Syrian torture survivors, relatives, activists, and lawyers in Germany, Austria, Norway and Sweden.
With efforts to bring war crimes cases to the International Criminal Court in The Hague blocked by Russia and China, victims have increasingly looked to courts in Europe to apply the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’ that allows them to try crimes committed elsewhere. Both France and Germany have issued international arrest warrants for Jamil Hassan, the former head of Syria’s Air Force Intelligence Service implicated in widespread torture.
To Mukdad, the trial that opens Thursday in Germany’s western city of Koblenz is a way to “raise the voice of the victims, the living and the dead.”
“If there is any process to restore part of this dignity for the victims, to acknowledge the suffering, to just say clearly and loudly, this is not acceptable, it’s a gain for the whole of humanity,” he said.
Mukdad said he hopes the defendants receive the fair trial he was denied in Syria. The men, who themselves left Syria for Germany before their arrest in February 2019, remain in jail.
“If they are innocent, I want them to be free. If they are guilty, I want them to face just punishment,” said Mukdad. “All that I can hope is that the system works properly.””
3 policemen die in attacks on Afghan police chief, governor (abcnews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/policemen-die-attacks-afghan-police-chief-governor-70260430
“Two separate bombings in Afghanistan targeted a senior police chief and a provincial governor on Tuesday, killing three policemen and wounding several people, including the police chief, local officials said.
In the first attack, police chief Ghulam Sakhi Ghafoori was on his way to inspect the security situation in the volatile district of Paato in the central Day Kundi province when his car struck a roadside bomb. Three policemen in his convoy were killed and the police chief was wounded, along with two others, according to police spokesman Gul Aqa Sujadi.
In the second attack, a suicide car bombing struck by Gov. Mohammad Halim Fidai’s car in eastern Khost province, wounding two of his bodyguards and 12 civilians, said the governor’s spokesman, Talib Mangal.
Shortly after the attack, Fidai, who was unharmed in the explosion, appealed on the Taliban in a Facebook live video asking them to stop such attacks and join the peace process.
There was no claim of responsibility for either of the attacks and the Taliban did not immediately respond to the governor’s appeal.
Since the signing of a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban in February, the insurgents have stopped attacking U.S. and NATO troops but have struck Afghan forces in outlying areas.
The violence has continued even as the country faces the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that threatens to overwhelm Afghanistan’s war-ravaged health system.”
Oil Price Insanity Flash Update | The Corona Correction | Refinitiv
Prominent IS extremist among 3 suspects arrested in Spain (abcnews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/arrests-reported-spanish-police-crack-extremism-70260904
“A suspected Egyptian-born Islamic State fighter described by police investigators as a “dangerous extremist” and two other people who are being investigated for possible links to religious extremist groups have been arrested in southern Spain, the country’s National Police announced Tuesday.
Police described the Islamic State fighter as a man who had gone from Europe to fight in Syria and Iraq and said he is “one of the most sought terrorists in Europe, both because of his criminal trajectory in the ranks of Daesh (Islamic State) and because of the high danger that he represented.”
The three were arrested in the early hours of Monday at a rented apartment in a central area of Almería, a southeastern Spanish port city, The Associated Press has learned from police contacts and interviews with local residents.
They were being interrogated on Tuesday and were due be sent before a National Court judge in Madrid on Wednesday, said a spokesman from the court that usually handles terror-related cases and who was not authorized to be named in media reports.
In a press release that didn’t identify those arrested, police said the operation was the result of “international cooperation” between agents specialized in fighting terrorism who suspected that the foreign fighter could be traveling through Spain as he tried to return to Europe.
Police said that the main suspect had arrived by sea to Almería from northern Africa. In Spain, the three confined themselves in an apartment amid strict lock-down measures imposed to combat the new coronavirus pandemic.
“They made few outings, separately and always with masks to avoid being detected,” the press release said.
The main suspect had allegedly been in conflict-struck areas of Syria and Iraq for years and was described by police as having an“extremely violent” criminal profile.
The arrests took place in Cerro de San Cristóbal, a historic neighborhood in Almería, the capital of a province also called Almería, known for its narrow streets dotted with nightclubs and a mix of old and new buildings leading to the city’s Alcazaba, a 10th-century fortress of Arabic origin.
Antonio García, who owns several apartments for tourists in the vicinity, told AP that several police vans and heavily armed agents had cordoned off streets in the area for most of Monday.
Taxi driver Ángel Vílchez and Miriam Cortés, who lives nearby, separately confirmed that six police vehicles and about 30 officers, including many in plainclothes, had blocked access to several streets since early Monday.
“Everything was blocked off,” Vílchez said. “The place is inundated with marijuana plantations inside houses, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they found something else.”
Another neighbor, who asked not to be named in media reports, said police had showed up at 3 a.m. Monday and took away at least one person handcuffed from an apartment used for short stays by tourists.
Spain’s Interior Ministry says police have arrested nearly 400 people connected to extremist religious groups since 2012. Many of the arrests have not led to judicial convictions.”
President Trump Plans to Suspend Immigration Into US
COVID-19: Foreign workers living in dorms have to stop working, says Josephine Teo
Could Singapore have done more to prevent the COVID-19 spike among foreign workers in dormitories?
Hong Kong has ‘clarified’ Beijing’s status in the city, says Chief Exec. Carrie Lam
Breaking News: Person Tests Positive For Coronavirus In Rashtrapati Bhavan
Bengal CM Upset Over Inter-Ministerial Teams’ Visit To Assess COVID Situation In Bengal
Lockdowns Return to China in Second Wave; China’s Supplies to Drug Cartels Cut off by Virus.
In this video they show a Gordon Chang twitter post where he says that a contact of his in Hong Kong says he thinks China is about to go full Tibet on Hong Kong. If they do this the Western World will pull it remaining money out of Hong Kong and Shanghai, this will do massive damage to the Chinese Economy. The CCP has to be getting very nervous and desperate for them to accept this further damage to their economy. Things are going to real nasty in China over the Summer.
Watch them get more aggressive in the So. China Sea to change the subject.
There are already hints that this is going to happen, when we go into the South China Sea we should do it in force with the manned and loaded and the Commanding officer given freedom to shoot on his or her discretion. I don’t think China is read for a full scale war but they aren’t above an incident or two.
Yoram Hazony, J.E. Dyer, and Seth Frantzman are all pondering an impending U.S.-China war. A go-for-broke hot war.
Beijing district declared ‘high risk’ for CCP virus; Document reveals regime’s coverup of outbreak
twitter
The Next Doc Who Tells The Truth About The Pandemic.
Mostly The Numbers Are FAKED And Manipulated
Whistleblower Doctor Admits The “Virus” Is A Lie – Explains How The Phony Numbers Are Being Produced!
https://twitter.com/EM_KA_17/status/1252512735537094656
The Vatican joins the WHO in ‘kowtowing’ to China
Sri Lanka – Cardinal Ranjith: “We forgave the terrorists who tried to destroy us”
This is WHO is lying to you on Facebook
‘Saving Lives’? One Reporter Says COVID-19 Should ‘Work Nicely To Thin the Ranks’ of Trump Voters
Germany: Oktoberfest 2020 cancelled over coronavirus fears
Bavaria’s famed Oktoberfest was called off this year by Bavarian Minister-President Markus Soeder and Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter due to the coronavirus outbreak and a lack of a vaccine for it, during a joint press conference in Munich on Tuesday.
“A beer tent lives from closeness, a beer tent lives from not keeping distance. A beer tent also lives on something being drunk, if I may say so and a beer tent also lives from there being singing. Well, these are all three factors, which make a bigger spread, until there is no vaccine, almost inevitable,” said Soeder on their motivations to call the famous festival off.
Cancelling Oktoberfest has a significant economic impact as it creates thousands of jobs and attracts tourists from all over the world, which on the other hand make the risk of a new outbreak “simply too high,” said Soeder.
“The Wiesen [Oktoberfest] is either [done] properly or not at all. Properly or not at all. So that in the following year we could start much better, when the world hopefully provided with a vaccine and we could invite with much joy to Bavaria,” added Soeder.
The beer fair usually draws a large crowd of over 6 millions visitors from more than 50 countries.
A sad Ramadan for Egyptians amid virus lockdown
“We do not feel the joy of Ramadan” says a customer at a Cairo market
Canada Shooting Exposes The Goal of Gun Control is To Ban Guns
This is one of his better videos.
Two planes from China forced to arrive in Canada empty of supplies: PM
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says two planes from China were forced return empty to Canada on Monday, without the protective medical equipment that they were sent there to pick up.
One of the planes was a federal charter and the other was destined for a particular province, Trudeau said Tuesday.
Trudeau said there are limits to how long an aircraft is allowed to wait on the ground in China.
“Supply lines and truck shipments to the airports are difficult and interrupted by checkpoints and quarantine measures. For the most part, we’ve been able to navigate through those and ensure that Canada has received the equipment that it needs,” the prime minister said Tuesday during his daily briefing outside his Ottawa residence.
“But these two airplanes were forced to take off empty.”
He said millions of pieces of personal protective equipment, or PPE, have entered Canada in recent days, and more is expected.
He said Canadian factories continue to “tool up” so they can manufacture what is needed at home.
“It’s always a challenge to get the PPE into Canada at a time where the global market is very, very competitive,” he said
Trudeau also unveiled more financial support for vulnerable Canadians struggling to weather the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal government plans to provide $350 million to Canada’s charities sector, he said.
Charities have seen a severe drop in donations since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, with donors hurting financially themselves and the charities unable to hold fundraising events.
Seniors and people who are poor, homeless or living with disabilities are among those who’ve been particularly hard hit by the health, social and economic ravages of the deadly virus as Canadians abide by orders to distance from one another and non-essential businesses are shut down.
The new measures announced Tuesday were in addition to previous measures to provide financial support to the homeless, women’s shelters, children’s counselling and local organizations that provide practical support to seniors, such as delivering groceries or medication.
Trudeau also provided more details about the timing and rollout of the massive $73-billion wage subsidy program.
The Canada Revenue Agency is setting up a calculator so employers can see how much they can expect to receive from the wage subsidy program, which will provide up to $847 per employee per week, he said.
Among other things, the government is expected to provide details to businesses on how to apply for the subsidy.
Officials told the Commons finance committee last week that online applications are to open April 27. They expect to have processed 90 per cent of claims by May 4, with payments starting to roll out later that week.
The subsidy is retroactive to March 15 and available to companies that lost 15 per cent of their revenue in March or 30 per cent in April or May. The federal government will pay eligible companies 75 per cent of the first $58,700 earned by each employee, up to $847 per week for up to 12 weeks.
The government is hoping the wage subsidy will prompt companies to rehire vast swaths of the millions of Canadian workers who have asked for emergency federal aid since the pandemic brought the global economy to a virtual standstill.
https://www.stalberttoday.ca/national-news/two-planes-from-china-forced-to-arrive-in-canada-empty-of-supplies-pm-2269780
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video – Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau explains why two planes intended to transport PPE left China empty
https://globalnews.ca/video/6847434/coronavirus-outbreak-trudeau-explains-why-two-planes-intended-to-transport-ppe-left-china-empty
Paris Suburbs on Fire: New Wave of Violence Spreads Across Communities – Videos (sputniknews, Apr 21, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004211079041015-paris-suburbs-on-fire-new-wave-of-violence-spreads-across-communities—videos/
“Despite being falsely reported by some media outlets as “anti-lockdown riots”, in fact, the clashes started in the wake of an incident between French police and a 30-year-old motorcyclist. The latter was seriously injured under circumstances that are still being investigated.
Clashes between protesters and the police in the Paris suburb of Villeneuve-la-Garenne continued on 21 April with videos of protests showing people launching fireworks at law enforcement. The police, in turn, deployed reinforcements to deal with the disturbances.
The protests spilled over to the neighbouring communities of Asnieres, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Saint-Denis, Villepinte, and Neuilly-sur-Marne as well in some parts of the Hauts-de-Seine department – in the western suburbs of Paris. Authorities in Saint-Denis told AFP the protests that have been raging since 20 April started to calm down around 11:00 p.m. local time, adding that no actual clashes between the rioters and the police took place.
Videos purportedly from the scene suggest that the rioters set garbage bins on fire and launched fireworks in the direction of not only law enforcement, but also at firefighters, who came to put out the fires allegedly started by the protesters.
Injured Biker
The riots, which had previously been reported as “anti-lockdown” by the British tabloid the Daily Mail, started in the wake of an incident that left a 30-year-old motorcyclist with a broken leg after colliding with an open door of a police car. The circumstances of the incident, including on why the door was open in the first place, so far remain unclear.
The authorities say that the police opened the door because they were about to stop the biker, who was travelling at a high rate of speed. At the same time, some witnesses and videos allegedly depicting the incidents on social media suggested that the door could have been opened deliberately in a bid to stop the biker.”
europravda – Coronavirus: climate change hasn’t disappeared with the pandemic
Brussels insists the Green Deal must remain a pivotal policy, as EU leaders barter over how the finance the economic recovery
Sadiq Khan Blames ‘Structural Racism’ For Disproportionate Coronavirus Deaths Amongst Minority Groups (breitbart, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/21/skhan-blames-structural-racism-disproportionate-coronavirus-deaths-minority-groups/
“London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the government to start collecting and publishing the ethnicities of those infected with the Chinese coronavirus, claiming that “structural racism” in Britain has led to more racial minorities dying from the illness.
The mayor said that the idea that the COVID-19 virus is “great leveller” is “a complete myth”. He claimed that racial inequality was the reason why people of black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have been overrepresented in the pandemic.
“Even though it can be uncomfortable for some to acknowledge, we cannot ignore the barriers of discrimination and structural racism that exist in our society, which contribute to ethnic minorities being more likely to suffer from poverty, have underlying health conditions and work in insecure, low-paid jobs,” Khan wrote in British left-wing newspaper The Guardian.
Khan said that because “people from ethnic minority backgrounds are overrepresented in poor, overcrowded accommodation, or households with multiple generations under one roof”, they are more likely to become infected with the virus.
“Many simply don’t have the luxury of being able to work safely from home during the lockdown. All of this contributes to a BAME population with worse health than average, lower life expectancy and a greater prevalence of serious underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, asthma and diabetes,” he added.
Khan demanded that the government start publishing the ethnicities of those who have been infected with the coronavirus immediately. The government has committed to releasing the demographic figures, but Khan said that “promises to provide this data in the future is not good enough – we need it to be collected and published right now. There simply is no good reason to wait.”
The London mayor also called for a “new social contract” after the coronavirus pandemic has passed, in order to reduce “racial and economic equality, and prioritises the welfare and wellbeing of every single community in this country”.
Khan’s attempt to link coronavirus cases with alleged structural racism echoes similar left narratives in the United States.
Progressive members of the U.S. Congress including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) made a similar demand of the government to release data about the racial background of coronavirus patients.
“Any attempt to contain COVID-19 in the United States will have to address its potential spread in low-income communities of color, first and foremost to protect the lives of people in those communities, but also to slow the spread of the virus in the country as a whole,” the lawmakers wrote.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the far-left congresswoman from New York, suggested that coronavirus relief money should be “drafted with a lens of reparations” in order to make up for “environmental racism” and other “underlying health conditions” that have caused minorities to be “disproportionately” affected by the virus.
To date, the coronavirus is known to hav infected some nearly two and a half million people of widely disparate racial backgrounds across the globe.”
‘It’s Not True’: South Korea Trashes Sensationalist CNN Report on Kim Jong-un (breitbart, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/04/21/its-not-true-south-korea-trashes-sensationalist-cnn-report-on-kim-jong-un/
“South Korean officials told the nation’s Yonhap news agency on Tuesday a CNN report claiming North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was “in grave danger” were “not true” and that “nothing unusual” appeared to be happening in the communist country.
Yonhap also found no evidence of Kim enduring any medical hardships ongoing at North Korea’s embassy in Beijing and Chinese government sources told Reuters they, too, had no evidence of a medical emergency in Pyongyang.
Late Monday night, CNN – an American left-wing news network with a long history of publishing poorly-sourced or false news reports – published a story titled “U.S. Monitoring Intelligence that North Korean Leader Is in Grave Danger After Surgery.” The story cited anonymous officials “familiar” with news about Kim’s health who stated only that the U.S. government was concerned about Kim’s health.
“A second source familiar with the intelligence told CNN that the US has been closely monitoring reports on Kim’s health,” the outlet declared.
The Chinese coronavirus – a newly discovered pathogen that is particularly life-threatening to individuals with preexisting medical conditions – is currently fueling a pandemic that has killed at least 171,000 people. North Korea claims it has not identified any coronavirus cases within its borders despite being sandwiched between China, where the pandemic originated, and one of the most affected countries by it, South Korea.
Kim, believed to be in his mid-30s, is widely considered to be suffering from obesity. Some estimates put his body mass index (BMI) at 45. The high end of a healthy BMI ends at 25; anyone over 30 is considered “obese,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Kim is also believed to be a heavy smoker, a risk factor for coronavirus complications.
Kim would be a patient of particular concern if exposed to the Chinese coronavirus regardless of the veracity of CNN’s claim and, given his status as totalitarian ruler of a nuclear-armed country, the U.S. has an interest in monitoring his health at all times.
In addition to the CNN report, NBC News’ Katy Tur claimed that Kim was “brain dead,” according to unnamed sources. She apologized for the claim and deleted the claim on Twitter shortly after writing it.
Prior to these rumors, Daily NK, a website that reports citing anonymous sources within North Korea, had claimed that Kim had undergone heart surgery on April 12. An anonymous source claimed that Kim’s multiple visits to Mount Paektu, a volcano in the country the Kim regime touts as having holy significance, have caused health complications given Kim’s obesity. The website initially claimed it had multiple sources for this claim, but has since corrected itself to state, “a previous version of this article incorrectly referred to multiple sources for this story; this article is based on a single Daily NK source in North Korea.”
“There is nothing unusual going on in North Korea. It’s not true,” a Seoul government official told Yonhap on Tuesday. Yonhap also got a spokesman for President Moon Jae-in, Kang Min-seok, on the record to deny the report.
“No unusual signs have been identified inside North Korea,” Kang reportedly said. “There is nothing we can confirm with regard to Chairman Kim’s alleged health problem.”
Another official told Yonhap on background that Seoul has no evidence of “the alleged health problem.”
“North Korea’s Workers’ Party, the military, the cabinet are not showing any special moves, such as an emergency alert,” the source reportedly said.
Reuters similarly reported a lack of confirmation from both officials in South Korea and China. China’s Foreign Ministry went on the record as stating that Beijing was “aware” of the reports “but said it does not know their source.”
NK News, an outlet that monitors the repressive country, also published a report on Tuesday citing sources in the country who say they have no indication of any stress on the regime, but with the caveat that civilians in North Korea are often kept uninformed about news regarding their government, so any changes within North Korea following the reports are not to be expected.
Some in South Korea’s government did indicate that concern over Kim’s health was legitimate, however, though not specifically lending credence to claims he is recovering from surgery or “brain dead.” South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo cited Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean refugee who recently became a member of Seoul’s National Assembly, told the newspaper that he had intelligence that Kim’s health was “particularly not good,” without adding more detail.
JoongAng Ilbo noted similar rumors surfaced about Kim in 2014, resulting in no significant health event affecting North Korean politics:
This is also not the first time rumors have circulated about Kim, 36, being in ill health. In the fall of 2014, Kim was not seen in a public setting for almost 40 days, leading to gossip about his health. Kim later surfaced in a public setting supported by a cane, which South Korean intelligence later confirmed was owed to the removal of a cyst from his ankle.
Rumors that Kim has not been in Pyongyang since March began circulating that month, placing the dictator in the beachside resort town of Wonsan. Adding to concerns about his health is the fact he has not made any public appearances since April 11 and this weekend failed to appear at a ceremony honoring his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, North Korea’s most important holiday.”
UK: Scientific Evidence for Coronavirus Response Will Be Kept Secret Until Pandemic Is Over (breitbart, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/21/uk-scientific-evidence-coronavirus-response-secret-pandemic-over/
“The government has decided to keep the scientific evidence upon which it is basing its response to the Chinese coronavirus secret until the pandemic subsides…”
Coronavirus: WHO warns people will need to get used to ‘a new way of living’
Takeshi Kasai, the WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific, has warned that relaxing lockdown measures too quickly will lead to fresh waves of infections
The World Health Organization has warned that a “new way of living” will be needed until a coronavirus vaccine is ready.
Takeshi Kasai, the WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific, has said that lifting lockdown measures too quickly will leave countries vulnerable to new surges of infections.
The body has urged governments to lift social distancing measures gradually, to keep the deadly bug in check.
Speaking at an online press conference, Dr Kasai added that no country is safe from a potentially overwhelming outbreak if Covid-19 is still circulating.
As a result, ordinary people’s lives and health systems will both need to adapt because of the global pandemic.
“At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal,” he said.
“Individuals and society need to be ready for a new way of living.”
Governments considering lifting lockdown measures should do so carefully and in stages, and continue to monitor infection levels, he continued.
Most experts estimate it will take 12 to 18 months to develop and mass produce a coronavirus vaccine.
However scientists worldwide are racing to develop a jab which can offer protection against the flu-like virus.
The first human trials of a jab which is being developed at the University of Oxford are set to begin next week, and researchers are hopeful that a million doses could be available by September.
Although it is too early to say if it will be safe or effective, Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the research, has previously said she is “80% confident” it will be successful.
The number of daily coronavirus deaths in the UK dropped to its lowest level in two weeks as 463 new fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.
It is less than half of Britain’s record single-day high of 953 and it brings Britain’s death toll to 16,535 amid fresh signs the curve could be flattening and the UK could be reaching its peak.
Daily totals have dropped two days in a row but the decreases should be met with caution as many deaths won’t be counted until later due to a lag in reporting weekend deaths.
The lag results in a spike in weekday figures.
England reported an additional 429 deaths on Monday, Scotland recorded 12, Wales had another nine and Northern Ireland has announced 13 new fatalities.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/coronavirus-who-warns-people-need-21899534
Police in French Department Attacked Almost Daily for Last Two Weeks (breitbart, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/21/police-french-department-attacked-almost-daily-last-two-weeks/
“For around two weeks, locals in the troubled no-go neighbourhoods in the department of Yvelines have attacked police officers nearly every single evening.
The Yvelines department, which lies just outside of the French capital, saw multiple attacks against police over the weekend, including several incidents from Friday night to Saturday morning.
The first incident took place at approximately 6:50 pm on Friday when a gang of 15 locals threw projectiles at a police patrol in the Mureaux commune. Residents threw a paving stone that struck a police vehicle, and officers were forced to respond with four crowd control smoke grenades, Le Parisien reports.
At 10 pm in Mantes-la-Jolie, 30 young people attacked officers with stones, with police again deploying grenades to escape their assault. A short time later, police were ambushed along the rue du Docteur-Broussay and chased down with motorcycles. A group of 80 people then rioted.
Sunday night saw even more attacks in Les Mureaux, Mantes-la-Jolie, and Sartrouville that saw officers once again targetted by youths armed with stones and other projectiles.
The last incident of the night, which occurred at 1:45 am on Monday, saw officers lured into an area in Sartrouville when local youths set fire to several garbage bins.
Ten people attacked officers upon their arrival with fireworks and police responded by firing two stun grenades at the group. A fire brigade was also called in to stop the spread of the garbage fires which threatened to set alight nearby buildings.
Since French President Emmanuel Macron enacted strict lockdown measures to stop the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus in mid-March, there have been multiple reports of attacks on police officers across France in troubled no-go areas.
Early into the lockdown, police in the notorious Seine-Saint-Denis department said they were overwhelmed trying to enforce the lockdown measures. At the same time, officers in northern Paris claim to give out at least 200 fines daily in the city’s heavily migrant-populated 18th arrondissement.
Violence may increase in the near future, according to a police investigator from the Ile-de-France region, which contains both Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Yvelines. According to the investigator, a shortage of street drugs could fuel a surge in violence.”
“‘Ellen’ Crew Furious Over Poor Communication Regarding Pay, Non-Union Workers During Coronavirus Shutdown (EXCLUSIVE)” by Matt Donnelly – April 16, 2020
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/ellen-crew-furious-over-poor-communication-regarding-pay-non-union-workers-during-coronavirus-shutdown-exclusive-1234582735/
“Give to Leonardo DiCaprio’s America’s Food Fund”
TheEllenShow – April 16, 2020
Another great Interview with Dr Shiva Ayyadurai.
“This will go down in history as the biggest hoax” – Shiva Ayyadurai MIT-Engineer”
ThemTube
Turkey fury: ‘Erdogan MUST act before disaster’ as coronavirus panic erupts (express, Apr 21, 2020)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1271984/turkey-news-erdogan-eu-prison-release-coronavirus-pandemic-outbreak-spt
“TURKEY “must act in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster” as fears for journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and lawyers who remain imprisoned despite a new law releasing other inmates being held was passed amid the coronavirus crisis.
Last week, Turkey – led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – voted to pass legislation that will allow around 45,000 prisoners to be temporarily released in a bid to halt cases of the deadly infection killing those behind bars. But human rights groups are gravely concerned that the new measures exclude those who were “arbitrarily detained pending trial or serving sentences following unfair trials under Turkey’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws which facilitate incarceration for exercise of free speech”. The plan was to stop the spread of the virus sweeping through Turkey’s prison system by lessening the overcrowding within facilities.
However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) say that tens of thousands of people, who were imprisoned for the “peaceful exercise of their rights” will continue to remain behind bars.
The group is now demanding Erdogan and Turkey reverse their decision and allow those remaining to be released and stop the threat of COVID-19.
Reports say the new law was originally part of reforms in Turkey back in 2019, with a view to stopping overcrowding in prisons.
But as a result of the outbreak, the legislation was swiftly passed through the country’s parliament.
The law was originally passed on April 14, a day after Turkey confirmed three prisoners had died as a result of coronavirus.
HRW, however, says this law does not affect any “ individuals in pre-trial detention,” while it also excludes “anyone convicted of terrorism-related crimes, espionage or crimes against the intelligence services”.
Included in the legislation is the fact that anyone who has violated Turkey’s intelligence law would not be eligible for early release.
Opponents say this was aimed at excluding journalists who reported on the death of Turkish intelligence members in Libya’s conflict.
The group claims that those whose “only crime is the exercise of their right to freedom of expression are effectively excluded from release and are at increased risk of contracting the disease in prison”.
In a statement, HRW added: “To protect the human rights of prisoners, including their right to life and health, and to protect the health of the public at large, the Turkish authorities should now enact immediate measures to release all those arbitrarily detained, whether in pre-trial detention or after conviction, particularly given many are vulnerable to COVID-19 due to their age or underlying health conditions.
“We urge the authorities to move now to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
“Failure to release those detained and imprisoned in unfair trials and on spurious charges, which would help reduce the spread of a deadly disease in detention, would show further alarming disregard for human rights by the Turkish government.”
Erdogan’s AK Party and nationalist MHP allies backed the legislation, with 279 votes for and 51 vote against it.
According to a Reuters report, those released will be under judicial control until May 31.
However, the return date can be extended a further three times by two months.
Those opposed to the law intend to challenge the law in Turkey’s highest court.
Critics say the release of such a high number of criminals – particularly those sentenced to acts such as thieving and racketeering – could see levels of crime in the country erupt.
And Amnesty International said, although welcoming the steps to halt overcrowding, the law did not cover others who should be considered for release.
Amnesty campaigner Milena Buyum said: “Those convicted in unfair trials under Turkey’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws are also now condemned to face the prospect of infection from this deadly disease.
“Turkey’s government must do the right thing and immediately release those who are imprisoned solely for expressing their peaceful views.””
Report: At least 75 publicly traded companies received loans meant for small businesses
According to a new report, dozens of publicly traded companies received loans meant for small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, the Associated Press said at least 75 publicly traded companies got a combined $300 million in taxpayer-funded loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
A quarter of those firms are said to have warned investors about their finances months ago while the economy was performing well. Eight of the 75 publicly traded firms received a loan of $10 million, which is the maximum allowed under the program. Lenders green-lighted a total of 1.6 million loans before the program ran out of funds last week.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said large chain restaurants should have never received money from the PPP. The GOP lawmaker made the remarks during in an interview Tuesday when asked about the Shake Shack fast food chain giving the stimulus money back.
https://www.oann.com/report-at-least-75-publicly-traded-companies-received-loans-meant-for-small-businesses/
Calif. Gov. Newsom signs billion dollar deal to buy faulty Chinese masks
California’s Governor inked a billion dollar deal to buy medical masks from a Chinese manufacturer with a history of selling faulty products. One America’s Pearson Sharp has more.
https://www.oann.com/calif-gov-newsom-signs-billion-dollar-deal-to-buy-faulty-chinese-masks/