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.
ITALY – TURIN – MAY 03 2020 – Moroccans vs Ghaneses
europravda – Race for a vaccine: Challenges of producing enough doses for BILLIONS of people
europravda – Global pledging conference: EU commission pledges one billion euros to kick off donor conference
AFP – Billions raised for virus vaccine ‘powerful’ show of solidarity: WHO
Corona vaccine telethon raises 7.4 bn euros: EU chief
Just hours after being announced, a teleconference of world leaders and philanthropists has raised 7.4 billion euros ($8.1 billion) to boost the search for a coronavirus vaccine, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announces.
europravda – World leaders pledge billions for research into coronavirus vaccine
More than €7 billion have been pledged to speed up the development of tests, treatments and vaccines against COVID-19
Associated PressWHO on ‘powerful’ vaccine unity, US virus claims
The World Health Organization talks about vaccine to battle COVID-19 and US claims that the virus began in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Bergoglio asks guaranteed access for all for coronavirus vaccine
Judicial Watch files lawsuit seeking Dr. Fauci, WHO records
WHO says got no proof from US on ‘speculative’ Wuhan lab virus claims
The World Health Organization says that Washington has provided no evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US president that the new coronavirus originated in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
europravda – Coronavirus origins row: China dismisses white house claims that virus came from Wuhan lab
SECRECY AT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Why won’t they let a Canadian expert testify?
CNN – CDC projects 3,000 Americans will die daily from coronavirus in June
…3,000 Americans will die from the coronavirus every day by June 1, according to CDC documents obtained by the New York Times.
The increased estimates come as states have eased restrictions and after a weekend many Americans spent outside at protests or enjoying spring days in the park.
Florida, Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia, among others, moved to loosen restrictions in an attempt to revive a sputtering economy and calm restless residents.
But the projections make clear that these reopenings come with fatal risks.
More explosives found in the Netherlands.
Suspects of German ATM bombing arrested in Weert; explosive in car
https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/04/suspects-german-atm-bombing-arrested-weert-explosive-car
Two persons suspected of an attempted ATM bombing in Germany were arrested in Weert in Limburg during the early hours of Monday morning. An explosive was found in the car the suspects used, the police said in a statement. The explosive was safely disposed of by the police’s explosive removal department.
The attempted ATM bombing happened in Schwelm in Germany. The German authorities notified their Dutch counterparts, because the suspects’ car was seen heading towards the border. The Dutch police spotted the car and gave chase. A warning shot was fired during the chase, the police said.
The car was brought to a halt on Roermondseweg when it crashed into a gate of a house, the police said. The suspects got out and fled. Two were arrested, a third is still at large.
Roermondseweg was closed down for police investigation.
(Richard: Here is another data point that Obama and company have torn down another custom of the US. The Police like the Military are suppose to be politically neutral while in uniform. The following action shows that the social pressure is building and the police are chosing the side they are supporting and want the people to know where they stand.)
SF police officers respond to protest wearing ‘controversial’ face masks
San Francisco’s police union is once again stirring up controversy, this time for giving officers face masks depicting a flag that has been taken to symbolize the Blue Lives Matter movement.
Numerous officers were seen wearing the masks while responding to a housing protest in the Castro on Friday afternoon, prompting outrage among city leaders and on social media.
The masks, distributed by the San Francisco Police Officers Association to protect against the spread of coronavirus, feature a black and white American flag with a blue line across the middle.
The Thin Blue Line flag became a symbol for counter protesters during the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged against police shootings in late 2014. The pro-police Blue Lives Matter movement faced criticism for missing the point of the initial cause.
https://www.gopusa.com/?p=88393?omhide=true
Locusts destroying food supplies in the Horn of Africa (BBC, May 4, 2020)
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-52531983/locusts-destroying-food-supplies-in-the-horn-of-africa
paul j watson COVID-1984
IS militants ‘dumped bodies in Syria gorge’, HRW says (BBC, May 4, 2020)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52535838
“The jihadist group Islamic State used a gorge in north-eastern Syria to dump the bodies of people it had abducted or detained, Human Rights Watch says…”
Dr. Deborah Birx: Protesters not socially distancing is ‘devastatingly worrisome’
WASHINGTON — White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx is calling it “devastatingly worrisome” to see protesters in Michigan and elsewhere not wear masks or practice social distancing as they demonstrate against stay-at-home orders.
Birx was responding to the hundreds of protesters who crowded the Michigan statehouse last week to push for a reopening of businesses.
She tells “Fox News Sunday” that people “will feel guilty for the rest of our lives” if they pick up the virus because they didn’t take precautions and then unwittingly spread it to family members who are especially vulnerable to severe illness due to preexisting conditions or older age.
Protests took place in several states over the weekend amid growing frustration over the economic impact from stay at home orders during the coronavirus outbreak.
Birx says: “We need to protect each other at the same time we’re voicing our discontent.”
https://www.gopusa.com/?p=88406?omhide=true
Turkey and the Libyan and Syrian Civil Wars
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is constantly looking for opportunities to enhance its status as a regional superpower and promote its Islamist ideology in the Arab Middle East. Libya is the newest arena in which Erdo?an is trying to capitalize on inter-Arab rivalries, this time in service to his desire to lay claim to gas under the seabed of the Mediterranean.
The so-called “Arab Spring,” which erupted in late 2010, brought several Arab countries to a state of near or in some cases total collapse. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo?an saw this as an opportunity to further his perpetual quest for broad regional power. Earlier in 2010, prior to the uprisings, he had sent the Mavi Marmara cruise ship to “save” Hamas in Gaza from the “Zionist blockade.” In February 2011, following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, he threw Turkish support behind the Muslim Brotherhood and provided support to Qatar, the Brotherhood’s main financier.
Recently, a representative of the Khalifa Haftar government in Libya was named ambassador to Syria. He reopened the Libyan embassy in Damascus with the full consent of Assad’s government. The embassy had shut its doors in 2013, as did all Arab League diplomatic missions in Damascus following the suspension of Syria’s membership in that organization. That occurred in response to the Assad regime’s refusal to comply with a 2011 League resolution mandating a ceasefire in the Syrian civil war.
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/turkey-libya-syria-civil-wars/
oooo- Prof. Mordechai Kedar -oooo
Writing for BESA!
‘What is this, a military state now?’: NYC residents annoyed at ‘Orwellian’ cops monitoring their every move on sunny day at public parks
‘It’s like something out of “1984”‘
Dave Urbanski
New York City, hardest hit by COVID-19 in the United States, hasn’t caught many breaks lately.
But it finally got one over the weekend: warm weather.
In fact, Saturday the mercury climbed into the 70s — the warmest day in the city since March 20, the New York Post reported.
Which meant that a lot of New Yorkers headed outside, went for walks, played sports, and gathered at parks. And more than 1,000 New York City police officers were right there with them, too, making sure they abided by social distancing rules, the paper said.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/cops-monitor-new-yorkers-at-parks?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200504Trending-NYCMilitaryRule&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News
The Senate Dem Rape Culture That Made Biden
Biden’s groping made him a normal Senate Democrat.
May 4, 2020
Daniel Greenfield
When Joe Biden allegedly sexually assaulted Tara Reade in the hallway of the Russell Senate Office Building, the storied building was home to an entire culture of Senate Democrat sexual predators.
The Russell Building is the home of the Kennedy Caucus Room. After Senator Ted Kennedy’s death, the ‘Kennedy’ part was added to the Caucus Room to honor the notorious sexual predator whose actions had led to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Mary Jo was one of the many young women drawn to public service by the idealistic speeches of the Kennedy clan’s political scions only to suffer at their hands.
The renaming of the Caucus Room to honor one of the Senate’s worst predators was spearheaded by Senator Chris Dodd, his longtime friend and the other man in the infamous story of the ‘Waitress Sandwich’. The ungentlemanly tale detailed in GQ began with Kennedy and Dodd getting their dates, “two very young blondes”, drunk. Blonde and young, sometimes underage, was how Ted liked them.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/senate-dem-rape-culture-made-biden-daniel-greenfield
The Real Resistance Rises
As California’s reactionary Governor cracks down.
May 4, 2020
Lloyd Billingsley
Last Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters he was “weeks not months” from any “modification” of his lockdown order, and the California Highway Patrol was barring any protest at the state Capitol. On Thursday, Newsom shut down state beaches and parks, and on Friday May 1, Californians hit the streets by the thousands, blocking a mile of Pacific Coast Highway down in Orange County, and as Fox News reported, staging protests in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In the state capital of Sacramento, as Katy Grimes of the California Globe noted, “Thousands of flag-waving Californians descended upon the State Capitol Friday for a protest of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home lockdown order, which has caused millions of residents to lose their jobs and businesses.”
The protesters, organized by “Re-Open California,” were not pleading for handouts from the government. For the most part, they were working people who wanted to get their jobs and lives back.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/real-resistance-rises-lloyd-billingsley
McDonald’s Changes Policy Amid Meat Shortage Concerns
By Jack Phillips
May 3, 2020 Updated: May 3, 2020
Print
McDonald’s confirmed it is changing a policy on how its restaurants get their supply of pork and beef amid meat shortages caused by the CCP virus
Burger patties, bacon, and sausage have been placed under the firm’s controlled allocation policy, meaning that the McDonald’s supply chain will send restaurants meat based on calculated demand, the firm told Business Insider. Normally, management orders the amount believed will be needed at a specific location.
McDonald’s distribution centers went on managed supply, while restaurants are under its controlled allocation policy as a precaution, the firm said.
The changes in policy have come as producers warned that there might be a U.S.-wide shortage of meat as workers get infected by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged in China last year. Some plants have been forced to shut down.
“As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” Tyson Foods chairman John Tyson warned in an open letter last week. “As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/mcdonalds-changes-policy-amid-meat-shortage-concerns_3336706.html?__sta=vhg.hhksexIJ_fmb%7CJBI&__stm_medium=email&__stm_source=smartech
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New York Funeral Director Tells Project Veritas Independent Autopsy Revealed Hospital Falsely Attributed Death of Alzheimer’s Patient to COVID-19 (VIDEO)
Funeral directors have been contacting Project Veritas and asserting that deaths are being falsely attributed to coronavirus in order to inflate the number of deaths.
Project Veritas released phone calls with multiple funeral directors making the claim on April 30.
“Basically, every death certificate that comes across our desk now has COVID on it,” a funeral director in Williston Park, N.Y. told the organization.
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe had put out a call seeking whistleblowers to come forward with any inconsistencies they were seeing.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/new-york-funeral-director-tells-project-veritas-independent-autopsy-revealed-hospital-falsely-attributed-death-alzheimers-patient-covid-19-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
North Korean elite preparing for ‘purges’ in the wake of Kim Jong-Un’s reappearance
Less than 1% of New York City Coronavirus Fatalities (0.61%) had NO Underlying Health Conditions
New York City is posting data on their Department of Health website on the coronavirus cases in the state.
Via the New York City website–
You can find this link: COVID-19 Daily Data Summary: Deaths (PDF, updated May 3)
And you can download this pdf of the daily death report: covid-19-daily-data-summary-deaths-05032020-1
Here is what you pull up on the confirmed New York City cases of Coronavirus.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/less-1-new-york-city-coronavirus-fatalities-0-61-no-underlying-health-conditions/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-19-deaths-confirmed-probable-daily-05032020.pdf
Two Arizona County Sheriffs Vow to Not Enforce Governor’s Stay-At-Home Order, Say It Would Be a Violation of Their Oath
Two Arizona county sheriffs are refusing to enforce Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order, asserting that it would be a violation of their oath and the Constitution.
Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb have both said that they will not make arrests or fine people who do not comply with the order.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/two-arizona-county-sheriffs-vow-not-enforce-governors-stay-home-order-say-violation-oath/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
DOJ Sides with Church Suing Virginia Governor Northam After Pastor Threatened with Fine, Jail Time For Holding 16-Person Service
The Justice Department sided with a church suing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) after the pastor was threatened with a fine and jail time for holding a 16-person service on Palm Sunday.
Northam is famous for a posing in KKK-blackface in his college yearbook.
Kevin Wilson, the pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island, was threatened with jail time or a $2,000 fine by police for violating Northam’s unconstitutional Coronavirus lockdown order.
A total of 16 people attended the Palm Sunday church service on April 5 and were all spaced far apart from each other in a church that can seat 293 people.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/doj-sides-church-suing-virginia-governor-northam-pastor-threatened-fine-jail-time-holding-16-person-service/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
From February this year: immigrants stab swedes in Burger King in Uppsala, Sweden. Video
https://twitter.com/SamnyttSimon/status/1226575161111011331
Full story:
https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/02/video-swedes-stabbed-at-burger-king-for-asking-migrants-not-to-abuse-the-staff/
Oops: Whitmer’s extension of Michigan lockdown is a power she doesn’t actually have
Kaylee McGhee, Wash. Examiner
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/05/02/oops-whitmers-extension-of-michigan-lockdown-is-a-power-she-doesnt-actually-have/
Gretchen Whitmer is reaching for power that doesn’t exist
by Kaylee McGhee
| May 01, 2020 12:55 PM
After Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature denied Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request to extend her declared state of emergency, Whitmer decided to extend it anyway, unilaterally forcing businesses and venues to stay closed through the end of May.
This was an extraordinary power grab, the likes of which “the state of Michigan has never seen,” state House Speaker Lee Chatfield told the Washington Examiner.
The state legislature had proposed a compromise to Whitmer, offering to extend her emergency powers as long as Whitmer agreed to give lawmakers greater oversight regarding how those powers were used.
Whitmer, who was famously unable to get along with the legislative branch even before this, didn’t just privately reject this compromise. She released her staff’s email exchanges with GOP lawmakers without obtaining permission to do so. She then declared that she would continue to use her emergency powers regardless of what the state legislature decided.
“We extended our hand to her yesterday, and she rejected it,” Chatfield told me.
Whitmer’s unwillingness to work with the other branches of government is “disappointing,” Chatfield added. But it’s also problematic because the power Whitmer claimed for herself, the ability to extend Michigan’s state of emergency without legislative approval, does not exist.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/gretchen-whitmer-is-reaching-for-power-that-doesnt-exist
From February this year: immigrant gang stomp girl on the head while photographer yells “kill her wallah” in Swedistan. Video:
https://twitter.com/SamnyttSimon/status/1230140079949123589
Full story:
https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/02/new-swedish-video-gang-stomp-girl-on-the-head-while-photographer-yells-kill-her-wallah/
Tout restera exactement pareil — “Un monde un peu pire”
Michel Houellebecq est écrivain. C’est la première fois qu’il s’exprime depuis le début de la pandémie. Dans cette lettre, il récuse l’idée de l’avènement d’un monde nouveau après la crise du coronavirus. Son texte et la lecture proposée par Augustin Trapenard, sont reproduits dans leur version intégrale.
EN UN PEU PIRE
réponses à quelques amis
Il faut bien l’avouer : la plupart des mails échangés ces dernières semaines avaient pour premier objectif de vérifier que l’interlocuteur n’était pas mort, ni en passe de l’être. Mais, cette vérification faite, on essayait quand même de dire des choses intéressantes, ce qui n’était pas facile, parce que cette épidémie réussissait la prouesse d’être à la fois angoissante et ennuyeuse. Un virus banal, apparenté de manière peu prestigieuse à d’obscurs virus grippaux, aux conditions de survie mal connues, aux caractéristiques floues, tantôt bénin tantôt mortel, même pas sexuellement transmissible : en somme, un virus sans qualités. Cette épidémie avait beau faire quelques milliers de morts tous les jours dans le monde, elle n’en produisait pas moins la curieuse impression d’être un non-événement. D’ailleurs, mes estimables confrères (certains, quand même, sont estimables) n’en parlaient pas tellement, ils préféraient aborder la question du confinement ; et j’aimerais ici ajouter ma contribution à certaines de leurs observations.
Frédéric Beigbeder (de Guéthary, Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Un écrivain de toute façon ça ne voit pas grand monde, ça vit en ermite avec ses livres, le confinement ne change pas grand-chose. Tout à fait d’accord, Frédéric, question vie sociale ça ne change à peu près rien. Seulement, il y a un point que tu oublies de considérer (sans doute parce que, vivant à la campagne, tu es moins victime de l’interdit) : un écrivain, ça a besoin de marcher.
Ce confinement me paraît l’occasion idéale de trancher une vieille querelle Flaubert-Nietzsche. Quelque part (j’ai oublié où), Flaubert affirme qu’on ne pense et n’écrit bien qu’assis. Protestations et moqueries de Nietzsche (j’ai également oublié où), qui va jusqu’à le traiter de nihiliste (ça se passe donc à l’époque où il avait déjà commencé à employer le mot à tort et à travers) : lui-même a conçu tous ses ouvrages en marchant, tout ce qui n’est pas conçu dans la marche est nul, d’ailleurs il a toujours été un danseur dionysiaque, etc. Peu suspect de sympathie exagérée pour Nietzsche, je dois cependant reconnaître qu’en l’occurrence, c’est plutôt lui qui a raison. Essayer d’écrire si l’on n’a pas la possibilité, dans la journée, de se livrer à plusieurs heures de marche à un rythme soutenu, est fortement à déconseiller : la tension nerveuse accumulée ne parvient pas à se dissoudre, les pensées et les images continuent de tourner douloureusement dans la pauvre tête de l’auteur, qui devient rapidement irritable, voire fou.
La seule chose qui compte vraiment est le rythme mécanique, machinal de la marche, qui n’a pas pour première raison d’être de faire apparaître des idées neuves (encore que cela puisse, dans un second temps, se produire), mais de calmer les conflits induits par le choc des idées nées à la table de travail (et c’est là que Flaubert n’a pas absolument tort) ; quand il nous parle de ses conceptions élaborées sur les pentes rocheuses de l’arrière-pays niçois, dans les prairies de l’Engadine etc., Nietzsche divague un peu : sauf lorsqu’on écrit un guide touristique, les paysages traversés ont moins d’importance que le paysage intérieur.
Catherine Millet (normalement plutôt parisienne, mais se trouvant par chance à Estagel, Pyrénées-Orientales, au moment où l’ordre d’immobilisation est tombé). La situation présente lui fait fâcheusement penser à la partie « anticipation » d’un de mes livres, La possibilité d’une île.
Alors là je me suis dit que c’était bien, quand même, d’avoir des lecteurs. Parce que je n’avais pas pensé à faire le rapprochement, alors que c’est tout à fait limpide. D’ailleurs, si j’y repense, c’est exactement ce que j’avais en tête à l’époque, concernant l’extinction de l’humanité. Rien d’un film à grand spectacle. Quelque chose d’assez morne. Des individus vivant isolés dans leurs cellules, sans contact physique avec leurs semblables, juste quelques échanges par ordinateur, allant décroissant.
Emmanuel Carrère (Paris-Royan ; il semble avoir trouvé un motif valable pour se déplacer). Des livres intéressants naîtront-ils, inspirés par cette période ? Il se le demande.
Je me le demande aussi. Je me suis vraiment posé la question, mais au fond je ne crois pas. Sur la peste on a eu beaucoup de choses, au fil des siècles, la peste a beaucoup intéressé les écrivains. Là, j’ai des doutes. Déjà, je ne crois pas une demi-seconde aux déclarations du genre « rien ne sera plus jamais comme avant ». Au contraire, tout restera exactement pareil. Le déroulement de cette épidémie est même remarquablement normal. L’Occident n’est pas pour l’éternité, de droit divin, la zone la plus riche et la plus développée du monde ; c’est fini, tout ça, depuis quelque temps déjà, ça n’a rien d’un scoop. Si on examine, même, dans le détail, la France s’en sort un peu mieux que l’Espagne et que l’Italie, mais moins bien que l’Allemagne ; là non plus, ça n’a rien d’une grosse surprise.
Le coronavirus, au contraire, devrait avoir pour principal résultat d’accélérer certaines mutations en cours. Depuis pas mal d’années, l’ensemble des évolutions technologiques, qu’elles soient mineures (la vidéo à la demande, le paiement sans contact) ou majeures (le télétravail, les achats par Internet, les réseaux sociaux) ont eu pour principale conséquence (pour principal objectif ?) de diminuer les contacts matériels, et surtout humains. L’épidémie de coronavirus offre une magnifique raison d’être à cette tendance lourde : une certaine obsolescence qui semble frapper les relations humaines. Ce qui me fait penser à une comparaison lumineuse que j’ai relevée dans un texte anti-PMA rédigé par un groupe d’activistes appelés « Les chimpanzés du futur » (j’ai découvert ces gens sur Internet ; je n’ai jamais dit qu’Internet n’avait que des inconvénients). Donc, je les cite : « D’ici peu, faire des enfants soi-même, gratuitement et au hasard, semblera aussi incongru que de faire de l’auto-stop sans plateforme web. » Le covoiturage, la colocation, on a les utopies qu’on mérite, enfin passons.
Il serait tout aussi faux d’affirmer que nous avons redécouvert le tragique, la mort, la finitude, etc. La tendance depuis plus d’un demi-siècle maintenant, bien décrite par Philippe Ariès, aura été de dissimuler la mort, autant que possible ; eh bien, jamais la mort n’aura été aussi discrète qu’en ces dernières semaines. Les gens meurent seuls dans leurs chambres d’hôpital ou d’EHPAD, on les enterre aussitôt (ou on les incinère ? l’incinération est davantage dans l’esprit du temps), sans convier personne, en secret. Morts sans qu’on en ait le moindre témoignage, les victimes se résument à une unité dans la statistique des morts quotidiennes, et l’angoisse qui se répand dans la population à mesure que le total augmente a quelque chose d’étrangement abstrait.
Un autre chiffre aura pris beaucoup d’importance en ces semaines, celui de l’âge des malades. Jusqu’à quand convient-il de les réanimer et de les soigner ? 70, 75, 80 ans ? Cela dépend, apparemment, de la région du monde où l’on vit ; mais jamais en tout cas on n’avait exprimé avec une aussi tranquille impudeur le fait que la vie de tous n’a pas la même valeur ; qu’à partir d’un certain âge (70, 75, 80 ans ?), c’est un peu comme si l’on était déjà mort.
Toutes ces tendances, je l’ai dit, existaient déjà avant le coronavirus ; elles n’ont fait que se manifester avec une évidence nouvelle. Nous ne nous réveillerons pas, après le confinement, dans un nouveau monde ; ce sera le même, en un peu pire.
Michel HOUELLEBECQ
https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/lettres-d-interieur/lettres-d-interieur-04-mai-2020
‘First 96 Hours is Crucial’: US Fails to Find Missing American After Raiding Afghan Village – Report
https://sputniknews.com/us/202004301079151917-first-96-hours-is-crucial-us-fails-to-find-missing-american-after-raiding-afghan-village—report/
New details emerging on the American government contractor believed to be a captive of Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan suggest that efforts to locate him have let up after leads went cold over the past several weeks.
Sputnik reported back in February that 57-year-old government contractor and US Navy veteran Mark R. Frerichs, a resident of Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped by members of the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, according to US intelligence.
While it was suspected that Taliban-linked militants captured Frerichs, no group has taken responsibility for his disappearance or demanded a ransom. At the time of the initial report, US government sources claimed that a joint rescue effort had been launched by the US Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that, for the past month, US officials have been in contact with the news agency and revealed details of the rescue mission in question. The outlet granted the sources anonymity, as they are not permitted to discuss such matters publicly.
“The first 96 hours is crucial,” a senior US government official briefed on the case told AP. “If they’re not recovered in the first few days, it becomes harder every minute after.”
Both a senior US government official and another official with the Department of Defense told the outlet that the government’s original search effort for Frerichs stretched from Afghanistan’s Khost Province to areas south of Kandahar Province.
US Navy SEALs were tasked with conducting a night operation in a known Taliban location on February 3, but ultimately had to delay their gathering intelligence due to poor visibility, according to the senior US official. The location and other details of the site referenced could not be disclosed due to operational security reasons.
According to the two aforementioned sources, the SEAL platoon waited for hours before returning to the area and were not met with resistance when they raided the compound and detained several individuals alleged to be Haqqani militants. A weapons cache was also uncovered on the grounds.
The senior government official claimed those detained by the platoon were questioned about the 57-year-old’s disappearance and later turned over to the Afghan government.
US intelligence officials were notified on February 4 that Frerichs could possibly be in Quetta, Pakistan, which the two officials described as a historical safe haven for the Taliban. However, the intelligence gathered by the platoon did not prove to be credible enough to warrant another special operations mission, the senior government official said.
“Operationally, the reason why time is critical in a kidnapping is because you can close the distance quicker, ideally immediately or by utilizing sources,” the senior government official said. “This is not the case right now. He could be two houses down from where he was taken and we would not know.”
Details gathered by the SEALs also conflicted with information gathered electronically from signals broadcast from radios and cellphones. The two officials said that Frerichs’ suspected cellphone and other related devices stopped pinging on February 5.
It’s unclear whether further efforts have been pursued since then.
Art Frerichs, the 57-year-old’s father, issued a statement to AP and said that while he has faith in US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “I just need them to tell their people negotiating with the Taliban that America won’t lift a finger until my son comes home. He’s a veteran. This is America. We don’t leave people behind.”
Though little has been said about Frerichs over the past two months, the FBI-led Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell told the LA Times in a recent statement that it was working with partners to see “that Mark Frerichs and all Americans held hostage abroad are returned home.”
Germany: Pair of Syrians arrested after several passers-by stabbed
https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/germany-pair-of-syrians-arrested-after-several-passers-by-stabbed/
Police in Hanau, Germany have arrested two Syrian nationals who’re suspected of having stabbed several passers-by on the street on Tuesday evening.
Following the attack, the victims – four immigrants from Syria, Iraq, and Albania – were rushed to the hospital where they were treated for their injuries. Dominik Mies, spokesman for the Hanau public prosecutor’s office, said police believe there to be between five and seven attackers.
According to a report from the German tabloid Bild, the two Syrians who’ve been arrested were among the group of attackers who’ve been described as “young men with full beards”.
A spokesperson for police headquarters in Southeast Hesse said on Wednesday that the two Syrian men who are in police custody were largely responsible for the violent acts. Although a specific motive for the attack has yet to be officially determined, reports suggest that the violence may have stemmed from a fight that occurred near a Turkish snack bar earlier.
“At the moment we have no evidence that the attacks have a political or xenophobic background,” said Mies
Mies, when asked whether the act of violence had any connection to the Hanau shooting on February 19th which left nine dead and five wounded, said: “So far, there is no evidence of this.”
It remains unclear as to whether the attackers and the victims knew each other or not.
3 May 2020 Sweden: Migrants harass police and Sweden Democrats by phone (VIDEO)
https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/sweden-migrants-harass-police-and-sweden-democrats-by-phone-video/
A migrant in Sweden has been entertaining audiences by recording threatening and insulting phone calls to police and politicians from the Right-wing Sweden Democrats which they then circulate on social media. In the colorful recordings, officers are told that they and their family members should be raped, among other things.
The recordings are posted on multiple social media platforms under the name of “Roast Live.” The main individual behind the account is known only as Nabbe, a 34-year-old migrant from Lebanon who lives in the vicinity of Malmö, in southern Sweden.
In addition to harassing phone calls, Roast Live has arranged real-life “martial arts” events — which typically devolve into gang fights — that are also broadcast on social media, as reported by Samhällsnytt. Details of the events are published in advance and tickets for them are even sold online, despite the fact of the fights being illegal. One such event was even reported on by Swedish state television last year by journalists who didn’t realise that it was unauthorised. The cameraman who filmed the event for television was himself assaulted.
On Thursday, Roast Live posted a number of new phone recordings to Instagram, according to another report by Samhällsnytt. The calls had been placed to police officers on duty. In the recordings, Nabbe and another man can be heard speaking to officers.
Among the things they said to officers include:
“Are you fucking retarded?”
“I’ll fuck your mom’s pussy.”
“You should take my cock and suck me. In your face, you little whore. I’ll fuck your mom.”
They also referred to female officers as lesbians.
In the comments, many viewers have posted about how hilarious they think the recordings are.
In the past, Roast Live has also targeted politicians from the Sweden Democrats with phone calls. One such recoding is below.
Nabbe presents himself as only a prankster. On Roast Live’s YouTube channel, the following disclaimer is posted: “Roast Live is an entertainment TV which aims to deliver raw entertainment in the form of dance, music, sport events, roasting etc. The artists may have strong articulations and excessive reactions, although, every person shown in the videos have full responsibility and have themselves agreed to be part of the live entertainment.”
Taiwan’s intelligence chief says North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is ‘sick’
By Lee Brown
2 minutes
April 30, 2020 | 2:08pm | Updated April 30, 2020 | 3:15pm
Taiwan’s intelligence chief said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “sick” — and his country has emergency plans for a potential power struggle if he dies, according to reports.
Chiu Kuo-cheng, the director of the National Security Bureau (NSB), gave a vague health description when pressed at a government hearing about rumors of Kim’s possible death, according to Taiwan News.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/30/taiwans-intel-chief-says-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-is-sick/
Another intel service is heard from and we still don’t know if Kim is alive or dead, the video could have been filmed at any time. I don’t know if he is dead or alive, if dead as Brad Johnson says as long as his sister is being seen in public she is in charge.
We’re not going to know anything till they ready to tell us. (PT should have that leak-proof chain of command!)
NYC City Council Speaker Demands ‘Bigoted’ Christian Relief Organization Samaritan’s Purse Leave City
By Emily ZanottiDailyWire.com
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson attacked Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief organization operating an “overflow” hospital for coronavirus patients who do not need intensive care, calling the group “bigoted” because it believes in the traditional definition of marriage, and demanding that the group be booted from New York City now that the coronavirus pandemic seems to be slowing.
Samaritan’s Purse set up a field hospital in Central Park last month, pledging to assist New York hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. The 60-bed assistance center, The Daily Wire reported at the time, was designed to provide care to those individuals who did not need ventilators or to spend time in respiratory ICUs.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-city-council-speaker-demands-bigoted-christian-relief-organization-samaritans-purse-leave-city?utm_content=non_insiders&utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=housefile&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8sSzRXLcFgehbLyfc5cwvjqzx13gXvYmR473xIPLpjDnUIaT25uYDmjbw5N4Xe1qzMBmlfOd27vUliFRTSB7tc3Wy0eQ&_hsmi=87351818
The problems of a face mask: Excellent argument.
BTW, 230,000 views since release 9 hours ago.
Iraq’s PMU Forces Launch Massive Op. against Daesh in Anbar
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/05/04/2257002/iraq-s-pmu-forces-launch-massive-op-against-daesh-in-anbar
“Fighters from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, began a major operation against Daesh in Anbar on Monday, managing to kill and injure dozens of terrorists in the western province…”
Saudi Arabia May Borrow $60bn to Cover Its Budget Deficit: Minister
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/05/04/2256967/saudi-arabia-may-borrow-60bn-to-cover-its-budget-deficit-minister
“Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the kingdom may have to borrow $60 billion to cover the huge budget deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic…”
(Richard: It looks like the haters have won another victory in their attacks on Christianity)
Samaritan’s Purse gets booted from Central Park day after NYC councilman’s vile message
‘Hate has no place in our beautiful city’
Samaritan’s Purse, which had been operating a field hospital in Central Park, has been effectively booted from the city.
The Christian-based humanitarian relief organization, run by Franklin Graham, established a field hospital in Central Park as New York City quickly became the global epicenter for COVID-19. The move was immediately decried by the left due to Samaritan Purse’s biblical views on sexuality despite the organization’s commitment to serve every patient without discrimination.
But on Saturday, Mount Sinai Health System announced it was shutting down the field hospital. Sources told local media the decision was due in part to Samaritan Purse’s Christian beliefs.
“Source tells me a decision was made to sever ties after controversy over the group’s religious views on the LGBTQ community caused concerns in NY,” local NYC reporter Melissa Russo said.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/nyc-councilman-lashes-out-at-samaritans-purse-in-vile-message-demands-they-immediately-leave-nyc?utm_source=theblaze-dailyAM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__AM%202020-05-04&utm_term=TheBlaze%20Daily%20AM%20-%20last%20270%20days
US Approves Sudan Ambassador, First in 23 Years
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2267271/us-approves-sudan-ambassador-first-23-years
“Sudan announced Monday that the United States had approved Khartoum’s pick of a veteran diplomat as ambassador to Washington, the first such envoy in over two decades.
Ties between Khartoum and Washington had been strained during the three-decade rule of Omar al-Bashir, but eased after he was ousted by the army last year following mass protests.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok visited Washington in December and the two countries agreed to exchange envoys.
In a statement, Sudan’s foreign ministry said Monday “the US government approved the nomination of Nour Eddin Satti as an ambassador and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Sudan.”
A veteran diplomat, Satti served as Sudan’s ambassador to France in the 1990s and later worked with United Nations peacekeeping missions in Congo and Rwanda.
Monday’s step of recognizing Satti as Sudan’s first to Washington since 1998 comes as part of “normalizing relations” between Khartoum and Washington, the ministry said.
Sudan is currently ruled by a transitional administration that took power in August last year after Bashir’s fall.
During Bashir’s rule, Washington slapped sanctions on Sudan and designated the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Hamdok’s government has sought to bolster its international standing and mend ties with the US.
In February, Khartoum agreed to compensate the families of American victims of a suicide bombing targeting navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen’s Aden harbor in 2000.
The attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda.
The US had for years accused Sudan, which once hosted the global network’s leader Osama bin Laden, of training and supporting the attackers.
Sudan always denied the charges but agreed to the settlement to fulfil a key US condition to remove it from Washington’s terrorism blacklist.
The 1993 designation by Washington has decimated Sudan’s economy.”
Saudi central bank reiterates commitment to riyal’s dollar peg
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/592680/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-central-bank-reiterates-commitment-to-riyals-dollar-peg
“Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) on Monday affirmed its commitment to its exchange rate policy of pegging the Saudi riyal to the US dollar as a strategic choice that has supported economic growth in Saudi Arabia for over three decades, Saudi Press Agency reported.
In a press statement, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said: “Furthermore, SAMA remains committed to maintaining the exchange rate at the official rate of SR3.75 to the dollar as an anchor of monetary and financial stability.”
The statement added: “SAMA’s foreign exchange reserves remain sufficient to meet all demands of the national economy for foreign exchange, with foreign exchange reserves covering 43 months of imports and 88 percent of broad money (M3). As such, SAMA affirms that the current exchange rate arrangement is a primary driver for monetary stability and sustainable economic growth.””
GNA uncovers Arab countries’ role in burning Libya
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200504-gna-uncovers-arab-countries-role-in-burning-libya/
“The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have played a “diabolical” role in supporting renegade Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar in his mission to take over the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has said.
In a documentary film broadcast on Friday, the GNA revealed how Haftar has received military and logistical help from Arab states while it has only resorted to asking Turkey for help by following legal avenues. However, it was following this move that international players called for the end to foreign interference in the country, while the operations of those supporting Haftar illegal continued to be ignored.
The footage claimed the UAE occupied Al Khadim Air Base, south of Al-Marj, through which it has been managing its military operations to support Haftar’s militia in Libya since 2014. The Emirates sent 37 planes of cargo in 12 days after the announcement of the ceasefire in January 2020.
The airbase can accommodate General Dynamics F16 jets and Dassault Mirage 2000 and Dassault Rafale fighters.
The Gulf state has sought to enable Haftar to sell oil away from Libya’s country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), funnelling funds away from the government.
In addition to launching television and other media outlets to support its drive, the documentary revealed, the UAE also infiltrated the UN mission in Libya paying the envoy $1,000 a day and benefits while a peace deal was being brokered.
The Emirates Diplomatic Academy claimed that the UN envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salamé, is also one of its employees.
For its part, Egypt agreed to allow its airspace to be used to strike Libya in September 2014, in addition to sending soldiers tofight battles on the ground. Article 9 of the agreement stated that Libya has no right to prosecute any Egyptian soldier who commits a crime or offense on its territory. In such cases, the soldier shall be returned to his country for trial.
This allowed the Egyptian air force to violate Libyan airspace on the pretext of “targeting terrorists”.
Haftar’s backers regularly sent him arms in violation of the UN weapons embargo imposed on the country.
The report also revealed the role of Russianmercenaries in backing Haftar’s forces on the ground. In early 2019, international newspapers quoted foreign intelligence services saying that 300 mercenaries arrived in the ports of Tobruk and Derna in Libya.”
Iraq: Ferrari belonging to Saddam Hussein’s son found
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200504-iraq-ferrari-belonging-to-saddam-husseins-son-found/
“The long-abandoned Ferrari F40 that belonged to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s infamous son Uday has been discovered in northern Iraq following a week-long search.
Just over a week ago, YouTuber named Ratarossa put a bounty on the Italian supercar and established a mission to hunt for the former property of Uday Hussein, famously known for his extravagant lifestyle and his love for his fleet of exotic cars before his death in the US invasion of 2003. Ratarossa’s hope was to find the deserted car – previously pictured by others in Iraq with no known location – and to transport it to the UK in order to repair it.
Though the task seemed like an impossible one, there emerged a number of leads – along with the help of Chris “Big Chris” Smith from the car-refurbishment company Gas Monkey Garage which has its own YouTube channel – who managed to identify the location’s surroundings and tracked it down to the city of Erbil, the northern capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Big Chris had already reportedly found the car back in 2016 in a previous trip to Iraq, but told Ratarossa that it was covered in dust and sand and was missing essential components that render it unable to start. This recent search found that the car remains in that state, and the initial deal to transport it to the UK and repair it has also been abandoned due to the current owner’s selling price of $1,150,000 and the fact that the logistics in transporting it and carrying out the task would be too complex and costly in comparison to the benefits of doing so.
The supercar, which has only recorded 2,300 miles, was however moved to a more secure garage.
Uday’s sister, Raghad, who lives in Jordan, took to Twitter threatening to sue anyone who owns her family’s personal property…”
Egypt ‘summarily executes’ 18 arbitrarily detained civilians in Sinai, in ‘IS campaign’
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/5/4/egypt-summarily-executes-18-arbitrarily-detained-prisoners-in-sinai
“Locals in Egypt’s restive Sinai province are calling on authorities to immediately release the names and photographs of suspected Islamic State militants killed on Sunday, amid reports that the operation is a cover-up for the summary execution of prisoners held under arbitrary arrest.
In a statement, the Egyptian interior ministry claimed that a hideout housing “terrorist elements” who planned to “launch hostile operations” in the Sinai city of Bir al-Abed was targeted on Sunday. A firefight ensued which led to the death of 18 suspected militants, the statement added
Earlier on Friday, two other suspected militants were also killed, according to an army spokesman. Both events came after local IS-affiliate Wilayat Al-Sina claimed responsibility the bombing of an Egyptian army vehicle near Bir al-Abed on Thursday, which killed ten Egyptian soldiers.
Sources who spoke to The New Arab’s Arabic-language service have cast grave doubts on the official account of Monday’s alleged anti-terror operation.
According to an unnamed resident, a large convoy of prisoners from Bir al-Abed police station arrived at an area west of the city – bought under lockdown by police – in the late hours of Saturday, where the group were led to a housing development.
Sounds of gunfire pierced the air, followed by echoes of ambulance sirens as emergency services scrambled to the site and carried the bodies of the detainees to an unknown location, the source added.
According to residents from the area, police were seen surveying the site of the housing development and its surroundings a day earlier.
Tribal leaders in the region are now calling on security forces and local politicians to release the names of those killed and demanded their bodies be returned to their families…”
U.S. should keep Congress informed about nuclear talks with Saudis: GAO
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-nuclearpower/u-s-should-keep-congress-informed-about-nuclear-talks-with-saudis-gao-idUSKBN22G2XV
“The U.S. Departments of State and Energy should commit to regular briefings to relevant committees in Congress on talks about nuclear power cooperation with Saudi Arabia, a congressional watchdog said in a report on Monday.
The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, report said Congress should consider amending the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, or AEA, to require the briefings for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about negotiations on nuclear power sharing.
Lawmakers concerned about nonproliferation issues associated with nuclear power development had complained they were being kept in the dark about Trump administration talks with Saudi Arabia, many of which were led by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Concern grew after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told CBS in 2018 that the kingdom did not want to acquire a nuclear bomb, but would do so if its rival Iran did so.
Riyadh could announce a tender this year for two nuclear power reactors, its first commercial ones. Russia, China, South Korea and France have also been in talks about building reactors there.
The State Department is required by the AEA to keep Congress “fully and currently informed” about the talks. But the GAO found it was “unclear” whether the department did so. “Congressional staff provided us with examples of having to find information on the negotiations from other sources, such as press articles,” the GAO said.
Some U.S. lawmakers want the United States to insist that Saudi Arabia agree to a so-called gold standard that restricts enrichment and reprocessing, potential pathways to making fissile material for nuclear weapons. The United States struck such an agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2009. If Saudi Arabia develops nuclear power without the gold standard, the UAE would likely seek to be released from its agreement.
The GAO said Congress should consider whether to amend the AEA to require briefings, perhaps on a quarterly basis, and to specify expectations for the content of the briefings.
Senators Robert Menendez, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican, had asked the GAO last year to review U.S. agency negotiations with Saudi Arabia on nuclear power, partially because they were concerned the Energy Department, not the State Department took the lead.
The senators said they would explore legislative changes recommended by the GAO. “Congress must reassert its critical role in reviewing nuclear cooperation agreements to ensure these agreements do not pose an unnecessary risk to the United States” they said.”
Gotta do it, even though other countries will provide the technology if the U.S. doesn’t. It would be better if our eyes were planted inside the proposed facility, but we need checks and balances.
Beyond 2024.
Look ahead a few years. The Saudi monarchy is not stable. (For that matter, neither is the Crown Prince.)
NYPD Cop Brandishes Taser in Brutal Takedown … During Quarantine Bust
Things got out of hand in NYC this weekend, where a bunch of cops broke up a crowd — which ended up with a man being threatened with a taser and then beaten up.
Check out this video that was captured Saturday down in the East Village, where you see at least 4 plain-clothes officers yank a guy out of a building and throw him to the ground while people around them scream, and one woman insists the dude did nothing wrong.
While they’re dealing with him, another man approaches the ruckus from the street, only to be met by a lone cop who gets up and tells him to back up — brandishing his taser and even zapping it in what seems to be an effort to scare him. The guy didn’t back down.
That led to the officer taking him down, putting him in a bear hug … then slapping and punching him when he was on the ground. Another officer came over to help put cuffs on the bystander. Even more chaos ensues as the crowd grows and backup arrives.
https://www.tmz.com/2020/05/03/nypd-cop-brandish-taser-stun-gun-social-distance-quarantine-bust/
“SEE IT: NYPD cop making arrest for social distancing violation punches and takes down bystander”
by Catherina Gioino – May 3, 2020
Excerpt:
Garcia has since been placed on modified desk duty and stripped of his gun and badge, according to police sources.
The mayhem began when cops approached a group not following social distancing mandates aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. Some of the group dispersed but others refused to, cops said, and responding officers found a large amount of marijuana in open view, according to police.
The owner of the marijuana immediately became aggressive, according to cops and a woman with him tried to intervene in the arrest.
That’s when Wright, watching the chaotic arrests unfold, was told to scram but refused to, according to cops.
But Daquan Owens, who filmed the video with his cellphone, told the Daily News the attack on Wright was totally uncalled for.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-cop-punches-bystander-east-village-video-20200503-6jvqcbpz4repznfkwj6gnltbvq-story.html
“Psa 4 – Anti-Crime Assaulting Civilians On Avenue D Manhattan”
Copwatch Patrol Unit – May 3, 2020
‘Sindh police at risk of attacks from banned outfits’
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2213741/1-sindh-police-risk-attacks-banned-outfits/
“In light of reports of police officials posted on lockdown duties being at risk of targeted attacks, Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar directed all police officers in the province on Monday to take precautionary measures.
According to reports, banned outfits, and other splinter groups associated with them, are planning attacks on law enforcement agencies, particularly the police.
The evidence suggests that the attacks would likely be carried out during Iftar or Sehri.
In this regard, the IGP issued a letter to the Additional Inspector Generals (AIGs), Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSPs), and Superintendent of Police (SPs) across the province.
He directed them to ensure that all police officers on field take precautionary measures.
According to the letter, the ban on pillion riding is to be enforced in full effect as such attacks have previously been carried out by perpetrators riding motorcycles.
The directives further call for police personnel deputed at checkposts to not be off-guard during Iftari and Sehri. At least two cops are to stand vigilant over a group during this time.
All police officers have been directed to wear bullet proof jackets, while SSPs, SPs, DSPs and SHOs have been instructed to have Sehri and Iftari with the staff deputed at security checkpoints.
The letter further states that police vehicles should be parked as such that a hasty exit can be made in case of emergency. A cop must be present in the vehicle at all times.
The relevant SSP is to ensure that these directives are adhered to, states the letter.
The IGP’s directives stress that there have been several attacks in the past, during Sehri and Iftar, which resulted in the deaths of many cops.
Three years ago, four policemen, who were on duty in SITE, were martyred in an attack at Iftar time. Militant group Ansar al-Sharia had claimed the responsibility for the attack.”
Turkey intensifies Eastern Mediterranean drilling despite COVID-19
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-intensifies-eastern-mediterranean-drilling-despite-covid-19-154453
“Turkey has intensified hydrocarbon exploration and drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which along with low oil prices has caused the temporary suspension of activities of foreign oil companies in the region.
Despite the negative consequences of the pandemic on drilling plans in the region, Turkey is expanding its operations.
Turkey is conducting exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean with two drilling vessels Fatih and Yavuz, along with Oruç Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pa?a seismic vessels.
Fatih drilling vessel is set to continue its operations in the Black Sea and make its first drilling in the region in July.
Turkey’s third drillship, Kanuni, also arrived in Ta?ucu, Mersin, a coastal city in the Mediterranean region of the country on March 15.
The novel virus led to a sudden global economic downturn and a corresponding fall in global oil prices. The collapse in prices has been further supported by the oil price war between the world’s two biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia, following OPEC and non-OPEC countries’ failure to reach an agreement in March to curb oil production.
The impact of COVID-19, coupled with low oil prices, has affected exploration and drilling activities of global oil companies and resulted in revisions or temporary suspensions to these programs, including those in the Eastern Mediterranean.
ExxonMobil has put its drilling plans in offshore Cyprus on hold from April 13, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and with the unpredictability in international markets.
Likewise, international media outlets reported the drilling programs of French-Italian consortium; Total and ENI, are also postponed for the planned three wells in 2020 and six wells in the following two years.
On March 25, an Italian company, ENI announced the revision of its 2020-2021 plans. The revised projects include mainly upstream activities, particularly production optimization and new project developments scheduled to start in the short term.
‘Collapse in oil prices has resulted in appetite loss’
Mehmet Efe Biresselio?lu, head of the Sustainable Energy Division at the Izmir University of Economics, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview that exploration and naval vessels are leaving the Eastern Mediterranean after
the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The collapse in oil prices has resulted in an appetite loss for international actors in the region,” he said.
“We can say that countries that adopted an inward-looking policy due to COVID-19 have given pause to their plans in the Eastern Mediterranean.
However, this does not eliminate the possibility of a situation change as the virus diminishes,” he noted.
Before the pandemic, many countries were developing revisionist policies towards key regions in the world including the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to Biresselio?lu.
Biresselio?lu stressed the impact of Turkey’s active policy and increased presence in the region.
“Turkey has followed a similar path and developed appropriate policies through bilateral cooperation and has achieved important gains in this region. If Turkey can get through this crisis with the least possible shortfalls, its advantageous position could be strengthened even more,” he said.
Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts on Nov. 27 last year; one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The maritime pact asserted Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also has rights to the resources in the area. The pact came into effect on Dec. 8.
“This pact has been a game-changer and we will continue to see further positive results of this agreement. I believe this pact will contribute to a possible diplomatic solution and adoption of a win-win principle,” Biresselio?lu said.
He added that the third drillship, Kanuni, has entered Turkish waters in mid-March, and will be ready to start its operations following a relaxation on measures against the novel virus.
‘International companies can work with Turkey’
O?uzhan Akyener, president of Turkey Energy Strategies & Politics Research Center (TESPAM), added that COVID-19 affected all exploration, drilling and service companies in the region.
Many oil companies currently do not have the budget for “risky business,” Akyener said and added that the situation for Turkey is different.
“Turkey continues its exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean with the support of public finance in its maritime zone.”
He suggested that international companies could work with Turkey, describing it as a “most advantageous country in the region both financially and logistically.””
White House reportedly plans to punish China for coronavirus pandemic
The Trump administration is planning to punish the Chinese Communist Party for its perceived role in the coronavirus pandemic — including possible sanctions and cancellation of US debt, according to a new report.
Other potential measures to be taken against Beijing by the Trump administration include the creation of new trade policies, several sources close to the matter told CNN.
“We have to get the economy going again, we have to be careful about how we do this,” one unidentified administration official said. “But we will find ways to show the Chinese that their actions are completely reprehensible.”
The US intelligence community is facing “enormous pressure” from the White House to determine whether the virus emanated from a lab in the city of Wuhan, two sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.
Trump, meanwhile, told reporters Thursday that he’s seen evidence linking the coronavirus to the Wuhan lab, but failed to elaborate, saying: “I can’t tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that.”
French Foreign Legion soldier dies in combat in Mali
https://www.france24.com/en/20200504-french-foreign-legion-soldier-dies-in-combat-in-mali
“A French Foreign Legion soldier was killed in combat in Mali, the Élysée presidential palace announced in a press release on Monday.
First Class Legionnaire Kévin Clement was killed in action on Monday during an operation against armed terrorist groups in Mali, the French presidential office said…”
Massachusetts: Video of protesters in Boston push for reopening of state
Gov. Baker says data doesn’t support reopening economy yet
Gov. Baker said Monday it is too soon to restart the Massachusetts economy, but said plans for reopening could be released “in the coming weeks.”
Fauci Lied, The Economy Died: 370 Workers at Missouri Pork Plant Test Positive for Coronavirus – All Are Asymptomatic
By Jim Hoft
More than 370 workers tested positive at the Triumph Foods Pork Plant near St. Joseph, Missouri this past week.
All of them were asymtomatic with the disease.
This proves once again that the virus is much less dangerous that what the “experts” were saying.
17% of the employees tested positive with no symptoms.
St. Joseph is an hour north of Kansas City in a rural farming area.
WISHTV reported:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/fauci-lied-economy-died-370-workers-missouri-pork-plant-test-positive-coronavirus-asymptomatic/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
STUNNING: Pelosi Blocks Investigation of China and Origins of Wuhan Virus — Puts All Resources into Another Hoax Investigation of Donald Trump
Nancy Pelosi is not interested with finding the origins of the Wuhan virus that is decimating the US economy and has killed 60,000 elderly and sickly Americans.
Instead, Pelosi wants to spend her resources on another hoax investigation of President Donald Trump.
The woman is pure evil.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/stunning-pelosi-blocks-investigation-china-origins-wuhan-virus-puts-resources-another-hoax-investigation-donald-trump/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
CNN – Amanpour calls Bolsonaro’s remark to reporter ‘shocking’
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour discusses the concerns that surround Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
al jazeera – Brazil’s Bolsonaro rallies the right amid coronavirus criticism
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro attacked Congress and the courts as he urged his right-wing supporters to rally against coronavirus curbs as he fights for his political survival.
BRASILIA – MAY 03 2020
“Immigration Newsmaker Video: Book Talk with Former ICE Acting Director Tom Homan”
By Mark Krikorian, Tom Homan, and Bryan Griffith on May 4, 2020
https://cis.org/Immigration-Newsmaker/Video-Book-Talk-Former-ICE-Acting-Director-Tom-Homan
“Bush Center Slams Trump: We Want More Migration”
+ comments by Neil Munro – May 3, 2020
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/03/bush-center-slams-trump-we-want-more-migration/
“You can read more about the violent protest in this report. Antifa were throwing incendiary devices and one nearly hit a child. That moment was caught on camera.” Andy Neo – May 4, 2020 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1257351473987497984
“Antifa in Chicago Try to Jailbreak Migrant Facility During Pandemic”
Andy Neo – May 4, 2020
I haven’t seen much awareness of this given the national media interest on protests amid coronavirus pandemic. On May Day 2020, antifa in Chicago rioted outside the Heartland Alliance. The facility houses migrants, who antifa demand to be released. One rioter scaled the building and tried to shove the police ladder off when the officers were climbing it.
China says faulty masks a ‘contractual’ matter that has been fixed
OTTAWA — The Chinese embassy in Ottawa claimed Monday that the one million faulty N95 masks that arrived in Canada from China last month were the result of a “contractual” issue that has now been fixed.
Canada however is thus far saying nothing about the matter.
Both Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Health Minister Patty Hajdu looked perplexed Monday when asked at their daily briefing about a statement posted to the Chinese embassy’s Twitter account Monday morning.
“It’s reported that (one) million face masks exported to Canada from China failed to meet proper standards for health-care professionals,” the tweet said.
“The latest thing we’ve found out from communication with Global Affairs Canada is that the problem was a contractual matter and has been resolved.”
Freeland looked puzzled and turned to Hajdu beside her shaking her head.
“We’ll have to get details back to you,” Hajdu said. “I’m sorry we don’t have that technical information right now.”
It was inspectors in Hajdu’s department who rejected the shipment of N95 masks, which arrived in Canada in the third week of April.
Neither her office, nor Global Affairs Canada had provided any explanation as of Monday evening.
China and Canada disagreed recently on why two Canadian planes returned from China without the medical supplies they were sent to pick up. Trudeau said it was due to congestion at the Shanghai airport and strict limits on time crews spend on the ground. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry then said that was “inaccurate.”
Canada is heavily reliant on China for securing enough personal protective equipment for health-care workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. It has set up a special supply chain system in Shanghai to secure the products in what Freeland has referred to as the “Wild West” of medical supplies.
Millions of N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, swabs for COVID-19 tests, and other equipment have arrived in Canada from China already, and many have passed muster.
But on more than one occasion, in both Canada and elsewhere, including Finland, the Netherlands and Spain, Chinese-made products were returned when they failed to meet national standards. In addition to the N95 masks, Canada rejected a shipment of swabs for use in COVID-19 tests from China because they were mouldy.
N95 masks are so-named because they are supposed to protect against 95 per cent of small particles. Bill Matthews, the deputy minister for Public Services and Procurement told a House of Commons committee on April 24 the problem was mainly with the elastics that are used to secure the masks, not the filtration. He said it was possible they might be able to be used by workers not directly in contact with COVID-19 patients.
Matthews said the two companies involved in both the masks and the swabs were standing by their product and intended to make things right, but it is not clear whether those masks were replaced or if they were sent to other health-care workers.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/china-says-faulty-masks-a-contractual-matter-that-has-been-fixed-1.4924148