Reader’s Links for May 1, 2020

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Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

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

101 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 1, 2020”

  5. From the bit I’ve watched so far this is excellent. We are all Hong Kong, now. Whether it be to fight for the legitimate suffrage we see slipping away in the west at the hands of corrupt MSM and leftism, or fighting what seems to be incredible infiltration on many levels by the CCP. Also, it is clear that the Left is infinitely more materialistic than conservatives, despite their BS ideology. The CCP has only one belief, and this is money.

    https://youtu.be/WOfPpr_Zstk

  6. The CCP has only one belief, and this is money.

    The CCP has only one belief, and this is power. There fixed that.

    The money is to gain more power, the CCP like all left wing politicians live to gain more power so they can order people around on their whims.

    • Yes, you’re right, but I was also paraphrasing an excerpt from the documentary with a man saying how they base their power on greed.

      • That they aren’t indifferent to the creature comforts money can buy but they are more interest in power, Nacy Pelosi proved this with her taunting video of her house, her very expensive freezer and her designer ice cream. She was showing how she is richer and thus more powerful then the proles, her other actions of delaying the stimulus/relief bill so she could try and advance her socialist agenda. She thinks she is the all powerful feudal lord and the serfs don’t matter as long as the Lord is happy.

  7. Corona Scare: No Ramadan Congregational Prayers In Srinagar’s Jama Masjid Amid Covid-19 Lockdown

  9. Centre Steps Up Measures To Rescue Stranded Indians In Gulf Countries; Indian Navy Ships On Standby

  11. COVID-19: Singapore authorities focusing on “getting recovery right” for foreign workers

  12. Circuit breaker is working but public must persevere | May 1 | Task force press conference

  13. COVID-19: Singapore authorities focusing on “getting recovery right” for foreign workers

  14. Muslim spits on a critic of Islam, German police accuses the victim of “Islamophobia relevant to state security”

    That’ s far out: After Michael Stürzenberger was spat on and punched in the face by a Muslim, the @PolizeiMuenchen is working hard on a justification for the Islamist warrior of God and is handcuffing the victim as a precaution.But no, @PolizeiMuenchen. There was no “verbal altercation”. It was a one-sided attack by the Muslim himself by spitting and punching. Just because a critic of Islam was sitting on a bench in silence.And then the police handcuffed this victim.
    https://medforth.blog/2020/05/01/muslim-spits-on-a-critic-of-islam-german-police-accuses-the-victim-of-islamophobia-relevant-to-state-security/

  15. Meet the headmistresses in Merkel’s Germany – Are T-shirts with Hidaya logo now compulsory as school uniform ?

    Translation of the above tweet:

    The headmistress of the Leibniz School in Mainz, Annette Jutzi, with religious statement on her shirt in the TV magazine Moma
    Hidaya means as much as Allah’s guidance.
    Was the shirt on special offer ?
    https://medforth.blog/2020/04/30/meet-the-headmistresses-in-merkels-germany-are-t-shirts-with-hidaya-logo-now-compulsory-as-school-uniform/

  17. Stabbing Attack in Australia Leaves Several People Injured, Attacker Shot Dead (sputniknews, May 1, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202005011079157882-stabbing-attack-in-australia-leaves-several-people-injured-attacker-shot-dead/

    “An unnamed man was killed by police in Western Australia after attacking several people with a knife in a shopping mall in the city of South Hedland, the regional police department said on Friday.

    According to a witness, as cited by local media, the attacker first stabbed one person in the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s, then another one in the parking lot of the South Hedland mall, and then several people inside the mall, including a woman with a baby carriage.

    Another witness was quoted by North West Telegraph as saying that law enforcement first attempted to stop the attacker by a stun gun, but “shot him when the taser didn’t work.”

    Police said the circumstances surrounding the shooting would be investigated “as per normal protocols.””

  18. NATO’s US-Led Mission in Afghanistan Reportedly Stops Providing Key Info on Taliban Attacks (sputniknews, May 1, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202005011079153597-natos-us-led-mission-in-afghanistan-reportedly-stops-providing-key-info-on-taliban-attacks/

    “Weeks after a long-awaited deal between the US and the Taliban* was signed to end nearly two decades of violence in Afghanistan, the country continues to face repeated attacks by Taliban militants.

    The office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) claimed that NATO’s US-led mission in Afghanistan has stopped providing key information on numbers of attacks conducted by the Taliban in the country.

    In its quarterly report released on Friday, the US watchdog said that “between March 1 and 31, the Taliban refrained from attacks against coalition forces; however they increased attacks against (Afghan forces) to levels above seasonal norms”.

    The watchdog underscored that data on enemy attacks “was one of the last remaining metrics SIGAR was able to use to report publicly on the security situation in Afghanistan”.

    SIGAR also quoted Pentagon officials as saying that the US Department of Defence might restart releasing the information in the future.

    While in previous months the Resolute Support (RS) mission had disclosed data on “enemy-initiated attacks” as well as the strength of the Taliban and other rebel groups, in March RS gave only a short statement on the Taliban stepping up attacks.

    RS explained its decision to withhold data by telling SIGAR that the enemy attacks were now a “critical part” of discussions “regarding ongoing political negotiations between the US and the Taliban”.

    Taliban Attacks Show No Sign of Ceasing in Afghanistan
    The remarks by RS came after at least four Afghan policemen were killed and five others injured as Taliban militants carried out an attack on a security checkpoint in the Nachin area of the country’s central province of Oruzgan late last week.

    The attack was the latest in a series of such assaults that have been conducted by the Taliban since a peace agreement between the militant group and the US was signed in Doha, Qatar on 29 February.

    The accord, in particular, envisages the timetable of the US withdrawing some of its 13,000 troops, while the Taliban, in turn, is expected to sever ties with all extremist groups and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for militants.

    The deal also stipulated that intra-Afghan negotiations were to begin on 10 March. Nonetheless, the power crisis between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who refused to concede defeat in the presidential election, as well as Kabul’s reluctance to exchange prisoners with the Taliban, has resulted in a standstill in the peace process.

    *Taliban, a terrorist group banned in Russia”

  19. Thugs who left a man fighting for his life after a wild car park brawl escape jail time – despite one attacker telling police it was ‘entertaining’ and the victim needing emergency brain surgery (dailymail, May 1, 2020)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8277349/Thugs-attacked-man-Craigieburn-Central-shopping-centre-Melbourne-avoid-jail.html

    “A group of thugs who bashed a man in the head for 90 seconds in a sickening car park attack have avoided jail time.

    The victim and his younger brother were walking through Craigieburn Central shopping centre’s car park in Melbourne when they were set upon by seven boys.

    CCTV shows the shocking moment the brothers were jumped on and thrown to the ground in a vicious attack just after 8pm on November 9, 2018.

    The older victim was brutally kicked and punched in the head for 90 seconds before the group left.

    The sickening assault occurred in front of horrified shoppers and motorists as the fight spilled onto the streets.

    About 90 minutes after the attack, the brothers went to report the incident and police noticed the older victim was ‘unsteady on his feet’, Herald Sun reported.

    He was taken to Northern Hospital where it was found that he was bleeding from his brain.

    The victim was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital and underwent emergency brain surgery to stop the bleeding.

    A doctor said the man is ‘lucky to come through this ordeal and survive’.

    Abdul Kassem, 20, Adam Saad, 21, and Mouhammed Aboueid, 21, and three others involved in the sickening brawl were arrested following a police investigation.

    Kassem, Saad and Aboueid appeared in County Court on April 29 where they were sentenced for their involvement in the act.

    Aboueid told police that he found the attack ‘entertaining’ and the victim ‘just got outclassed in the fight’.

    The court heard the fight was triggered three weeks before from a Snapchat that sent one of the attackers into a jealous rage.

    Judge Michael O’Connell described the incident as ‘organised’ and that someone ‘might’ve been killed’.

    ‘The violence quickly escalated … (You all) brazenly engaged in sickening violence directed at the victims,’ he said.

    Kassem pleaded guilty to charged including intentionally cause injury and was handed a three-year community correction order.

    Saad and Aboueid both have a criminal record and pleaded guilty to affray and were each handed 18-month community correction orders.”

  20. Vatican Wishes Muslims ‘a Fruitful Month of Ramadan’ (breitbart, May 1, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2020/05/01/vatican-wishes-muslims-a-fruitful-month-of-ramadan/

    “The Vatican’s office for interreligious dialogue released a message to the world’s Muslims Friday, extending fervent best wishes for a “fruitful month of Ramadan.”

    The month of Ramadan is “a time for spiritual healing and growth, of sharing with the poor, of strengthening bonds with relatives and friends,” the message states, and also a good moment for Christians “to further strengthen our relationships with you” and to “foster fraternity between Christians and Muslims.”

    “It is in this spirit that the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue offers its prayerful best wishes and hearty congratulations to you all,” reads the message, which the Vatican published in Arabic, Italian, French, and English.

    The theme of the message is the protection of places of worship.

    “For both Christians and Muslims, churches and mosques are spaces reserved for prayer, personal and communitarian alike,” it states. “They are constructed and furnished in a way that favours silence, reflection and meditation.”

    Places of worship are “spaces for spiritual hospitality, where believers of other religions also join for some special ceremonies like weddings, funerals, feasts of the community etc.” the message notes. “Such practice is a privileged witness to what unites believers, without diminishing or denying what distinguishes them.”

    The Vatican said that its message comes in the context of “recent attacks on churches, mosques and synagogues by wicked persons who seem to perceive the places of worship as a privileged target for their blind and senseless violence.”

    Citing a joint document on “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the message says that the protection of places of worship is “a duty guaranteed by religions, human values, laws and international agreements.”

    “Every attempt to attack places of worship or threaten them by violent assaults, bombings or destruction, is a deviation from the teachings of religions as well as a clear violation of international law,” it reads.

    “With renewed esteem and fraternal greetings, in the name of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we convey friendly wishes for a fruitful month of Ramadan and a joyous ‘Id al-Fitr,” concludes the message, signed by the president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.”

  22. Khan’s London: Health Worker Stabbed to Death by Gang Members In Medical Masks (breitbart, May 1, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/01/khans-london-health-worker-stabbed-to-death-gang-members-medical-masks/

    “A National Health Service (NHS) worker was stabbed to death in a “ferocious assault” by a gang wearing medical masks just days before the funeral of his father, who succumbed the Chinese coronavirus, was due to take place.

    24-year-old David Gomoh was set upon in Newham, east London, by a group of men near the NHS Nightingale emergency hospital, according to an appeal for information from the Metropolitan Police.

    “David’s family are going through unimaginable torment. Within days his mother has seen the death of her husband and son; his sister has lost her brother and father, both are now heartbroken,” commented Detective Inspector Tony Kirk, of the London police force’s Specialist Crime Command.

    “David was a young man who had worked hard to put himself through university and, like his mother, worked hard for the community in the NHS. At this time we believe the only thing David did to be murdered was walk down a street. He was apparently approached by a group of men wearing masks and stabbed multiple times in a ferocious assault,” he added.

    “I have no doubt this was a planned attack that singled out David because he happened to be in that area. David and his mother, who have done so much to help the community, now need the public to come forward and tell us what they know,” the Detective Inspector concluded, urging people who might have information to contact the police quoting CAD 8371/26APR or the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline.

    Officers believe the suspects left the scene in a Silver Dodge Caliber sporting fake number plates, which was stolen in nearby Dagenham on April 16th.

    Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, which appears to have cut crime overall by confining large swathes of the public to their homes for much of the day, knife crime in England in Wales had hit an all-time high, according to the latest statistics.

    So-called “high-harm” crimes involved bladed articles have risen by 49 per cent over a ten-year period, with death tolls likely rising more modestly only because of the establishment and expansion of charitable operations like the London Air Ambulance, the establishment of a Major Trauma Network, and the introduction of new methods to treat trauma patients, many developed by medics with experience dealing with wounded soldiers on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

  25. Report gives Pakistan failing grade on human rights (abcnews, May 1, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-pakistan-failing-grade-human-rights-70448697

    “An annual human rights report released this week gives Pakistan a failing grade, charging that too little is being done to protect the country’s most vulnerable, including women and children.

    The 264-page report by the Independent Pakistan Human Rights Commission laid out a litany of human rights failings. They include unabated honor killings, forced conversions of minority Hindu under-age girls and continued use of a blasphemy law that carries the death penalty to intimidate and settle scores.

    In December, Pakistan was ranked 151st out of 153 by the World Economic Forum on the Global Gender Gap Index.

    “Despite the legislation enacted to protect and promote women’s rights in recent years, violence against women has escalated,” the report released Thursday said.

    It also criticizes increased restrictions on media freedom and criticism of state institutions and a growing number of cases of sexual and physical abuse of children.

    There was no immediate comment from the government.

    Pakistan has been slow to enact laws to protect the country’s most vulnerable and even where laws are in place they are often not enforced by police. Law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are often corrupt or refuse to take the word of a woman over a man in Pakistan’s deeply male-dominated society. In April, a powerful cleric who has the ear of the prime minister blamed the global coronavirus pandemic on women who dress immodestly.

    Social media outrage greeted cleric Tariq Jameel after he blamed women, particularly young women who “choose the path of indecency and … vulgarity,” for the coronavirus pandemic. His charges were made during a live TV fundraising drive to feed Pakistan’s poorest hurt by a weeks-long lock-down to stem the virus’s spread. Jameel also shamed girls for dancing and wearing “skimpy clothing.”

    Jameel, who did not rescind his remarks, later said he was addressing the failings of the “collective” society.

    Pakistan on Friday recorded 16,817 positive cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, with 385 deaths. Pakistan also recorded its largest single day hike in positive cases with 990 new infections. However, Pakistan has also increased its testing to around 8,000 per day, considerably less than the 20,000 daily target the government has promised.

    “The weakest segments of society remained invisible, unheard, neglected, and undermined when it came to the real priorities of the state — be it children who were malnourished, subjected to hazardous labor, sexually abused, physically tortured and murdered; or women who continued to face violence and discrimination at home, at the workplace and in public spaces,” the report said.

    “Pakistan continued to bear a dismal human rights record in terms of complying with the constitutional guarantees to its own citizens and the international obligations to which it is a state party,” it said.

    The government’s own National Commission on Human Rights has been without a chairperson and six of its seven members for nearly a year.

    Requests for country visits by U.N. special investigators on a number of issues are still pending. Those include extrajudicial killings and freedom of religion and the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.”

  28. Associated Press – Virus-era Ramadan brings obstacles, opportunities

    For Muslims in the US, there is no other time more centered around community than the holy month of Ramadan. But this year, Muslims are being forced to mark the month amid a pandemic in less communal and sometimes more challenging ways.

  29. AFP –May Day rally in Athens despite virus lockdown

    Greece’s communist-led PAME union pushed ahead with plans to demonstrate in Athens with masks, gloves and “strict” adherence to spacing regulations.

  32. Fmr. Rep. Istook: Repealing Jones Act offers cheaper rates, gives China control of domestic trade

  33. Gen. Flynn never violated Logan Act, but John Kerry did … often
    By Jeff Dunetz May 1, 2020

    Happily, the phony case against General Michael Flynn is falling apart. It was bogus from the beginning — a combination of the Russian collusion hoax and the Obama administration’s hatred of a general who told the truth.

    Flynn was head of the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) under Obama but was forced out. According to W. Patrick Lang, a former DIA official, “Flynn incurred the wrath of the White House by insisting on telling the truth about Syria. … [T]hey shoved him out. He wouldn’t shut up.”

    When General Flynn was named to be part of the incoming Trump administration, the framing began.

    On Wednesday, Fox News wrote:

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/05/01/gen-flynn-never-violated-logan-act-but-john-kerry-did-often/

  34. NEWSWEEK – DR. FAUCI BACKED CONTROVERSIAL WUHAN LAB WITH MILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS FOR RISKY CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH

    Dr. Anthony Fauci is an adviser to President Donald Trump and something of an American folk hero for his steady, calm leadership during the pandemic crisis. At least one poll shows that Americans trust Fauci more than Trump on the coronavirus pandemic—and few scientists are portrayed on TV by Brad Pitt.

    But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.

    In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.

    Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.

    SARS-CoV-2 , the virus now causing a global pandemic, is believed to have originated in bats. U.S. intelligence, after originally asserting that the coronavirus had occurred naturally, conceded last month that the pandemic may have originated in a leak from the Wuhan lab.

    (At this point most scientists say it’s possible—but not likely—that the pandemic virus was engineered or manipulated.)

    Dr. Fauci did not respond to Newsweek’s requests for comment. NIH responded with a statement that said in part: “Most emerging human viruses come from wildlife, and these represent a significant threat to public health and biosecurity in the US and globally, as demonstrated by the SARS epidemic of 2002-03, and the current COVID-19 pandemic…. scientific research indicates that there is no evidence that suggests the virus was created in a laboratory.”

    The NIH research consisted of two parts. The first part began in 2014 and involved surveillance of bat coronaviruses, and had a budget of $3.7 million. The program funded Shi Zheng-Li, a virologist at the Wuhan lab, and other researchers to investigate and catalogue bat coronaviruses in the wild. This part of the project was completed in 2019.

    A second phase of the project, beginning that year, included additional surveillance work but also gain-of-function research for the purpose of understanding how bat coronaviruses could mutate to attack humans. The project was run by EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit research group, under the direction of President Peter Daszak, an expert on disease ecology. NIH canceled the project just this past Friday, April 24th, Politico reported. Daszak did not immediately respond to Newsweek requests for comment.

    ================================================

    wikipedia : Peter Daszak

    In April 2020, during the public controversy about the origins of the coronavirus which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, Daszak appeared on an internet news program, Democracy Now!, to refute the idea that the virus was the result of a laboratory accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology:

    I’ve been working with that lab for 15 years. And the samples collected were collected by me and others in collaboration with our Chinese colleagues. They’re some of the best scientists in the world. There was no viral isolate in the lab. There was no cultured virus that’s anything related to SARS-coronavirus-2. So it’s just not possible.

    With reference to the hypothesis that the coronavirus was spread through a market in Wuhan, he said that “We know for sure that the Wuhan market was part of this outbreak, but we think that the first few cases weren’t in the market.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Daszak

    =====================================================

    The project proposal states: “We will use S protein sequence data, infectious clone technology, in vitro and in vivo infection experiments and analysis of receptor binding to test the hypothesis that % divergence thresholds in S protein sequences predict spillover potential.”

    In layman’s terms, “spillover potential” refers to the ability of a virus to jump from animals to humans, which requires that the virus be able to attach to receptors in the cells of humans. SARS-CoV-2, for instance, is adept at binding to the ACE2 receptor in human lungs and other organs.

    According to Richard Ebright, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers University, the project description refers to experiments that would enhance the ability of bat coronavirus to infect human cells and laboratory animals using techniques of genetic engineering. In the wake of the pandemic, that is a noteworthy detail.

    Ebright, along with many other scientists, has been a vocal opponent of gain-of-function research because of the risk it presents of creating a pandemic through accidental release from a lab.

    Dr. Fauci is renowned for his work on the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1990s. Born in Brooklyn, he graduated first in his class from Cornell University Medical College in 1966. As head of NIAID since 1984, he has served as an adviser to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.

    A decade ago, during a controversy over gain-of-function research on bird-flu viruses, Dr. Fauci played an important role in promoting the work. He argued that the research was worth the risk it entailed because it enables scientists to make preparations, such as investigating possible anti-viral medications, that could be useful if and when a pandemic occurred.

    The work in question was a type of gain-of-function research that involved taking wild viruses and passing them through live animals until they mutate into a form that could pose a pandemic threat. Scientists used it to take a virus that was poorly transmitted among humans and make it into one that was highly transmissible—a hallmark of a pandemic virus. This work was done by infecting a series of ferrets, allowing the virus to mutate until a ferret that hadn’t been deliberately infected contracted the disease.

    The work entailed risks that worried even seasoned researchers. More than 200 scientists called for the work to be halted. The problem, they said, is that it increased the likelihood that a pandemic would occur through a laboratory accident.

    Dr. Fauci defended the work. “[D]etermining the molecular Achilles’ heel of these viruses can allow scientists to identify novel antiviral drug targets that could be used to prevent infection in those at risk or to better treat those who become infected,” wrote Fauci and two co-authors in the Washington Post on December 30, 2011. “Decades of experience tells us that disseminating information gained through biomedical research to legitimate scientists and health officials provides a critical foundation for generating appropriate countermeasures and, ultimately, protecting the public health.”

    Nevertheless, in 2014, under pressure from the Obama administration, the National of Institutes of Health instituted a moratorium on the work, suspending 21 studies.

    Three years later, though—in December 2017—the NIH ended the moratorium and the second phase of the NIAID project, which included the gain-of-function research, began. The NIH established a framework for determining how the research would go forward: scientists have to get approval from a panel of experts, who would decide whether the risks were justified.

    The reviews were indeed conducted—but in secret, for which the NIH has drawn criticism. In early 2019, after a reporter for Science magazine discovered that the NIH had approved two influenza research projects that used gain of function methods, scientists who oppose this kind of research excoriated the NIH in an editorial in the Washington Post.

    “We have serious doubts about whether these experiments should be conducted at all,” wrote Tom Inglesby of Johns Hopkins University and Marc Lipsitch of Harvard. “[W]ith deliberations kept behind closed doors, none of us will have the opportunity to understand how the government arrived at these decisions or to judge the rigor and integrity of that process.”

    https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741

  35. Flynn docs: FBI reversed course on closing Flynn probe – showing when a major decision was made about the whole anti-Trump op

    Over the last two days, Michael Flynn’s defense team has released redacted versions of some of the case documents provided by the Justice Department prosecutors in response to a request for “Brady” material.

    These are the documents that show how faithless the “investigation” of Flynn was. The handwritten notes released on Wednesday, for example, are a straight-up discussion of whether the FBI’s purpose in its 24 January 2017 interview of Flynn was to “catch him in a lie” or get him to admit to the specious charge of violating the (probably unconstitutional) Logan Act.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/05/01/flynn-docs-fbi-reversed-course-on-closing-flynn-probe-showing-when-a-major-decision-was-made-about-the-whole-anti-trump-op/

  36. IMF calls on world to make green recovery from Covid-19

    “If this recovery is to be sustainable – if our world is to become more resilient – we must do everything in our power to promote a green recovery,” Kristalina Georgieva said.
    Georgieva said taking measures now to fight the climate crisis is not just a “nice-to-have” but a “must-have […]

    http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2020/04/30/imf-calls-on-world-to-make-green-recovery-from-covid-19/
    =====================================================
    In the COVID-19 War, the IMF Arsenal Must Fully Benefit Low-Income Countries

    The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a huge economic toll in low-income countries. The IMF has provided prompt support to help mitigate it, but it could and should do much more. The political commitment of the international community will be essential for the institution to fulfill its potential.

    “A global crisis like no other needs a global response like no other.” This is how IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva underscored the unprecedented ramifications of COVID-19 for the world economy.[…]

    https://www.cgdev.org/blog/covid-19-war-imf-arsenal-must-fully-benefit-low-income-countries

    ====================================================
    COVID-19 Series: IMF Priorities for the Global Economy

    • CNN – Bill Gates says US system produces ‘bogus’ testing numbers

    • CNN – Bill Gates puts price tag on how US could have stopped this pandemic

  38. VOA – Bangladesh’s Marginalized Transgender Community Suffers From Lockdown

    It was only last year, after a hard-fought battle, that Bangladesh’s transgender community was given the right to vote while using transgender as their gender identity. This year, amidst the coronavirus lockdown, the community is facing another battle.

  39. AFP – Virus-hit Iran holds drive-in religious ceremonies

    With mosques in Iran closed as it battles the coronavirus, worshippers have adopted the novel solution of getting behind the wheel at drive-ins to gather during the fasting month of Ramadan.

  40. the video speaks for itself. Here in Italy if you go out, they take you down! This is called “DEMOCRACY “here. Spread this video all around the web cause the people all around the globe have to know what is really happening in our “free” country.

    • Turin Sunday April 26 – Anarchists and antifas attack Italian police to prevent the arrest of 2 illegal migrants from Morocco

      ==========================================================

      Torino, la polizia arresta due rapinatori e gli anarchici scatenano l’inferno

      In ottanta sono scesi da una casa occupata nel quartiere Aurora. Scontri furibondi, sette agenti feriti e nove arresti

      Violenza e tensione a Torino nel quartiere Aurora, zona Barriera di Milano. Due rapinatori scippano la collanina a un’anziana e vengono fermati dalla polizia. Ma dalla casa occupata di corso Giulio Cesare 45 scendono ottanta anarchici per liberare i due rapinatori e la situazione si infiamma. In questo video i duri scontro tra polizia e antagonisti con alcune persone portate via dagli agenti, mentre alcuni poliziotti restano contusi a terra. Gli anarchici hanno poi occupato il corso, incitando i residenti alla rivolta.

      I due rapinatori sono stati portati in commissariato e la loro posizione è al vaglio degli investigatori. La zona è ora presidiata dalle forze dell’ordine che hanno arrestato in tutto nove persone persone. A quanto si apprende, sette agenti di polizia hanno riportato ferite ad opera di antagonisti, extracomunitari e persone di etnia rom, che tentavano di bloccare l’arresto di due presunti autori di una rapina ai danno di un anziano . Intanto, ai sei arrestati, due per rapina e quattro per resistenza e lesioni a pubblico ufficiale, si aggiungono altre tre persone denunciate dalla Digos per resistenza e violenza

      “Torino è una bomba che sta scoppiando nelle mani inerti di Sindaco e Ministro”, afferma Augusta Montaruli, parlamentare Fdi, in merito alle tensioni avvenute oggi nel capoluogo piemontese. “Qualcuno – dice – sta provando a controllare illegittimamente il territorio per permettere traffici illegali. Per questo i poliziotti vengono aggrediti in strada mentre cercano di far rispettare le norme sul coronavirus nel quartiere Aurora, dove da giorni denunciamo assembramenti di immigrati ingiustificati. È inaccettabile il linciaggio anarchico a cui abbiamo assistito oggi”.

      https://tv.iltempo.it/cronache/2020/04/19/video/torino-anarchici-scontri-polizia-quartiere-aurora-casa-occupata-rom-antagonisti-rapinatori-video-scontri-1317350/

      ==========================================================

      Torino, caos dopo una rapina: decine di persone in strada contro la polizia, 6 arresti

      Domenica di tensione a Torino, in corso Giulio Cesare. Decine di persone sono scese in strada per contestare e tentare di fermare gli agenti di polizia intervenuti per arrestare i presunti autori di una rapina ai danni di un anziano. Quattro persone sono state fermate per resistenza a pubblico ufficiale.

      […] Quanto ai presunti rapinatori – anche loro arrestati dagli agenti – si tratta di due marocchini di ventotto e trentasei anni già noti alle forze dell’ordine. Secondo quanto ricostruito dalla Questura, uno di loro aveva strappato la catenina dal collo di un pensionato, che era caduto procurandosi delle lesioni e poi si era allontanato montando sulla bicicletta condotta dal complice. La vittima della rapina ha chiamato il 112 e gli agenti hanno individuato i due presunti rapinatori in corso Giulio Cesare, a pochi passi da una casa occupata.

      https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/torino-caos-dopo-una-rapina-decine-di-persone-in-strada-contro-la-polizia-6-arresti/
      https://www.fanpage.it/
      =============================================

  42. Egyptian Military Kills 2 ‘Dangerous Extremists’ in Sinai Peninsula (sputniknews, May 1, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/202005011079163248-egyptian-military-kills-2-dangerous-extremists-in-sinai-peninsula/

    “Egyptian Armed Forces conducted a special operation in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula and killed two militants, Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said on Friday.

    “The armed forces conducted a special operation based on intelligence about the terrorist shelter … in Sinai’s north, two dangerous extremists were killed during a shootout”, al-Rifai said in a statement.

    The operation came one day after 10 Egyptian soldiers were killed or wounded during a blast targeting an armoured vehicle in the same area.

    The military also seized weapons, ammunition and explosive devices.

    The north of the Sinai Peninsula has long been Egypt’s most tense region due to the presence of violent extremists there. Militants frequently conduct attacks against police and army on the peninsula.”

  43. Albanian Criminals Now Largest Group of Foreigners in British Prisons (breitbart, May 1, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/01/albanian-criminals-now-largest-group-foreigners-british-prisons/

    “The number of Albanian criminals in British prisons has increased fourfold since 2013, to the point where they now account for the largest group of foreigners in the estate.

    Criminals from the Balkan country — Europe’s only Muslim majority state, besides the only partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo — make up a full tenth of all foreign national offenders behind bars in England and Wales, despite measures which are supposed to see them transferred to Albanian prisons.

    This arrangement was advertised as having the potential to save Britsh taxpayers tens of millions of pounds, but The Times has revealed that only 24 of 77 Albanians recommended for transfer were actually removed from the country in 2019.

    The Ministry of Justice said in a statement that “Any foreign national who comes to our country and abuses our hospitality by breaking the law should be in no doubt of our determination to punish and deport them” — but, as with illegal aliens who cross the English Channel in boats, the rhetoric does not match the reality in the vast majority of cases.

    “The importation of Albanian criminals into the UK over the last ten years has been one of the scandals of the decade,” said Conservative MP Philip Hollobone in remarkably frank comments quoted by The Times.

    “In spite of having a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement only a pitifully small number of Albanian criminals have been returned home. The government needs to address this problem urgently,” he added.

    The overrepresentation of Albanian nationals among the prison population in Britain — and among criminals in Europe more generally — is made more remarkable by the fact that the tiny country has a total population of under three million.

    Albanians are said to have “established a high-profile influence within UK organised crime” by the National Crime Agency (NCA) — roughly equivalent to the FBI in the United States — and to have established “direct relationships with cocaine suppliers in Latin America”, with their primary base of operations being the multicultural capital city of London, led by Labour’s Sadiq Khan.”

  44. East Libyan forces bomb Tripoli despite cease-fire; 2 killed (abcnews, May 1, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/east-libyan-forces-bomb-tripoli-cease-fire-killed-70458190

    “Libya’s eastern-based forces trying to capture the country’s capital bombed civilian homes on Friday, killing at least two people, health authorities in the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli said.

    The intensified bombardment of the city by forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter came just days after their unilateral cease-fire declared for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The Tripoli-based government rejected the overture, blaming their rivals for sabotaging past peace efforts.

    The health ministry in Tripoli also said that three civilians, including a woman, were wounded when rockets crashed through their roofs in the Zinata neihborhood, burying them under the rubble.

    Hifter’s so-called Libyan Arab Armed Forces launched their assault on Tripoli last year, backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. For months his forces, bolstered by shipments of powerful missiles, jets and drones, held an advantage over the coalition of fractious militias defending the beleaguered Tripoli government. But Turkey’s escalating military support for the U.N.-supported administration has recently shifted momentum of the conflict.

    Western forces have thwarted Hifter’s advances, recaptured coastal cities near the Tunisian border, attacked Hifter’s key western airbase and tightened their siege on his stronghold of Tarhuna. On Friday, their Facebook page reported launching at least three airstrikes on fuel tankers supplying Hifter’s forces and a bus full of militiamen. It warned humanitarian convoys carrying food and COVID-19 supplies to steer clear of areas of fighting or seek permission for the deliveries.

    On both sides, fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians. While Hifter’s forces fire into densely populated neighborhoods and even target medical facilities — at least eight times last month, the World Health Organization reported — the forces defending Tripoli have displaced at least 3,100 civilians from Tarhuna and killed over a dozen in Turkish drone attacks last month.

    The idea of a meaningful compromise between east and west Libya has become even more far-fetched following Hifter’s dismissal this week of the 2015 U.N.-brokered unity deal.

    U.S. Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said he spoke on Friday to Aguila Saleh, speaker of the east-based parliament, and stressed “the importance of respect for democratic processes” and the U.N.-brokered political process, undermined by Hifter’s action.

    Meanwhile, as the intractable conflict and the coronavirus pandemic loom over Libya, the migrants who pass through the war-torn coastal country hoping to get to Europe are uniquely vulnerable.

    On Friday, the U.N. migration agency said 51 migrants, including three women and two children, were intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to the western city of Zawiya. Some 30 people, among them a pregnant woman, were taken to a detention center, while the rest managed to escape, according to IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli.

    Libya, a major conduit for migrants fleeing war and poverty across Africa and the Middle East, is notorious for its crowded detention centers run by militias and rife with abuse. Over 1,500 migrants are currently detained, according to the IOM.

    With temperatures rising and the war worsening, the U.N. refugee agency has reported an increase in migrant departures from Libya despite a lack of rescue missions along the precarious central Mediterranean route. All charity rescue vessels have halted operations because of COVID-19 restrictions, while Malta has announced its resources are too strained by the pandemic to conduct rescues.”

  45. Danish court detains Islamic militant plot suspect (abcnews, May 1, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/danish-court-detains-islamic-militant-plot-suspect-70452919

    “A 23-year-old man appeared in a Danish court on Friday, a day after being arrested on suspicion of plotting an extremist attack. He was ordered jailed until May 28 as investigations continue.

    The man, who cannot be named under a court order, is suspected of attempting to acquire one or more firearms for what police have called “a terror attack with a militant Islamic motive.”

    He denied the accusations when he appeared at a behind-closed-doors court hearing in the capital, Copenhagen, along with his defense lawyer, Steffen Thorborg.

    It was not known when or where the alleged attack was to have been staged.

    The suspect, who was arrested Thursday in the Danish capital, likely acted alone, according to police.

    Danish authorities have reported foiling several extremist attacks in recent years, including ones linked to the 2005 publication in a newspaper of 12 cartoons by various artists depicting the Prophet Muhammad.”

  47. BBC – Coronavirus: David Icke kicked off Facebook

    Facebook has taken down the official page of conspiracy theorist David Icke for publishing “health misinformation that could cause physical harm”.

    Mr Icke has made several false claims about coronavirus, such as suggesting 5G mobile phone networks are linked to the spread of the virus.

    In one video, he suggested a Jewish group was behind the virus.

    Following the ban, his Twitter account posted: “Fascist Facebook deletes David Icke – the elite are TERRIFIED.”

    Facebook said in a statement: “We have removed this Page for repeatedly violating our policies on harmful misinformation”.

    Campaign
    On Friday, campaign group the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published an open letter calling on tech companies to ban Mr Icke’s accounts.

    The letter said Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had amplified “Icke’s racism and misinformation about Covid-19 to millions of people”.

    It was co-signed by MP Damian Collins, as well as celebrity medics Dr Christian Jessen, Dr Dawn Harper and Dr Pixie McKenna.

    The CCDH said videos of Mr Icke making “untrue and conspiracist claims about Covid-19” had been watched more than 30 million times online.

    As examples, it cited:

    a YouTube interview in which Mr Icke falsely claimed that a Jewish group was behind coronavirus
    an Instagram post in which he falsely claimed 5G mobile networks left people unable to absorb oxygen
    a YouTube video in which he falsely claimed it was not possible to catch a virus from shaking hands
    a Twitter post in which he falsely claimed Germany was moving to “legalise rape” for Muslim men
    The letter was published after Facebook had removed Mr Icke’s page.

    In April, YouTube removed an interview with Mr Icke in which he said there “is a link between 5G and this health crisis”.

    When asked for his reaction to reports of 5G masts being set on fire in England and Northern Ireland, he responded: “If 5G continues and reaches where they want to take it, human life as we know it is over… so people have to make a decision.”

    Facebook later removed the same video saying it broke its rules on misinformation.

    Later, the telecoms regulator Ofcom found local TV channel London Live in breach of standards for an interview it aired with Mr Icke about coronavirus.

    Analysis
    By Marianna Spring, Specialist disinformation and social media reporter

    David Icke has promoted several conspiracy theories on social media throughout the pandemic – and has consequently found himself in hot water with social media sites and broadcasting regulators.

    The health misinformation that he’s been spreading, including linking 5G to coronavirus, has played a role in platforms like YouTube tightening their policies about conspiracy theories.

    This is a difficult area for social media sites to tackle.

    Medical myths and speculation that could cause harm are easier to act on, while conspiracy theories occupy a grey area where companies risk accusations of censorship if they take action.

    But the setting alight of mobile phone towers and abuse of telecommunications workers linked to this 5G coronavirus conspiracy has pushed sites like Twitter and TikTok to tighten their rules.

    Facebook has also recognised that the conspiracy theories repeatedly promoted by Icke fall into their bracket of harmful misinformation. This isn’t the first time it has removed content from him – but the platform has gone one step further in taking down his page.

    Governments and social media sites alike grapple with the fine balance between stemming harmful narratives and allowing freedom of expression. But experts point out that they can do both with effective moderation and collaboration.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52501453

  48. Kim Jong-un makes ‘first appearance’ in 20 days after death rumours

    The North Korean dictator is reported to have he attended a completion ceremony at a factory in Sunchon days after rumours began to circulate he had died

    Kim Jong-un has made his first public appearance for 20 days following rumours of his death, South Korean media reports.

    The North Korean dictator, 36, is reported to have he attended a completion ceremony at a fertiliser factory in Sunchon, a city in South Pyongan Province, according to Yonhap.

    The reports originated in North Korean state media and have not been independently verified.

    Sister Kim Yo Jong also attended and no pictures of the visit – thought to be a ribbon-cutting ceremony- have been released.

    His health has been the source of much speculation in recent days.

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-kim-jong-un-makes-21961055

  50. FDA allows emergency use of drug for coronavirus

    US regulators are allowing emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.

    It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19.

    President Donald Trump announced the FDA action at the White House.