Reader’s Links for May 5, 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

133 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 5, 2020”

  1. New York — Two muslim candidates running for office in Queens were removed from the ballot by the Board of Elections last Thursday because the names they’re running under do not match those under which they’re registered to vote.

    The two candidates are Mary Jobaida, who seeks to unseat state Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Long Island City), and Moumita Ahmed, who is running for Democratic district leader in Assembly District 31 in Southeast Queens and Rockaway. Both are Muslims of Bengali descent.

    “Mary” Jobaida’s real name is Meherunnisa Jobaida and Moumita Ahmed’s real name is Atqiya Ahmed.

    https://pcmdnews.com/muslim-candidate-says-its-racist-to-be-removed-from-ballot-for-using-fake-name/

    • Good now let everyone apply the same rules to the Muslims regarding their rules for running for office.

      Syed Abdul Ala Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party said” Non-Muslims have absolutely no right to seize the reins of power in any part of God’s earth no to direct the collective affairs of human beings according to their own misconceived doctrines. If they do, the believers would be under an obligation to do their Utmost to DISLODGE them from political power and make them live in subservience to the Islamic way of life”.

      Sayyid Qutb said “No political system or material power should put hindrances in the way of preaching Islam. It should leave every individual free to accept or reject it, and if someone wants to accept it, it should not prevent him or fight against him. If someone does this, then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission.

      On a level playing field, and God know the Islamists love to play games, no Muslim should be allowed to run for any political position in the West, we should ALL be under an obligation to dislodge all Muslims from political power and make sure we do NOT live in subservience to the Islamic way of life.

  3. The Naive Swedes – Is it True?
    Note: a naive but popular Swedish rapper, aged 18, idealizes gang violence, goes to a no go zone, gets kidnapped and…

  4. House Republicans Announce Investigation Into Chinese Propaganda On American Campuses
    May 4, 2020 By Tristan Justice

    Seven top House Republicans announced a probe into Chinese influence at American universities Monday as China’s propaganda campaign to thwart global efforts combatting the novel Wuhan coronavirus has raised further scrutiny into China’s information warfare.

    The smaller microscope placed on China’s covert operations have now prompted lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pivot their attention to China’s infiltration of U.S. academia, where the east Asian adversary has established Confucious Institutes acting as propaganda centers at American colleges.

    https://thefederalist.com/2020/05/04/house-republicans-announce-investigation-into-chinese-propaganda-on-american-campuses/

  5. Scientists say they’ve identified mutated COVID-19 strain — and issue a dire warning about new contagion

    cientists say they have discovered what they believe is a mutated strain of COVID-19 — and are now warning that this new strain could be way more contagious than plain old coronavirus.

    What are the details?

    According to a Tuesday report in the Los Angeles Times, researchers say that a new “mutant” strain of coronavirus has emerged.

    The study, led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, reveals that the new strain is more contagious than versions that spread in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to being more contagious, the new strain could reportedly make people more vulnerable to a second infection after a “first bout with the disease.”

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/scientists-say-theyve-identified-mutated-covid-19-strain-and-issue-a-dire-warning-about-new-contagion?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200505Trending-covidmutation&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

    • The old 2nd-bomb-goes-off-during-the-rescue-operation-trick —
      as you and I had predicted.

  6. From CodeSlinger:

    They tell us to reduce sodium intake to decrease your risk of stroke, heart
    failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, and kidney disease.

    However, a new paper in the European Journal of Internal Medicine tells us
    that sodium also decreases your risk of Chinese flu becoming severe if you
    catch it.

    Is low sodium intake a risk factor for severe and fatal COVID-19 infection?
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7141546/

    “Human pathogenic coronaviruses bind to their target cells through
    angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor (ACE2), which is expressed in
    epithelial cells of the lung, intestine, kidney, and blood vessels.
    Importantly, animal-based studies have demonstrated that the tissue
    expression of the ACE2 receptor is down-regulated in response to a high
    dietary sodium intake.”

    “Besides habitual dietary salt intake, more acute changes in sodium balance
    might also influence ACE2 receptor expression. Intermittent sodium loss, due
    to either diarrhea, vomiting or perspiration could put patients that acquire
    COVID-19 infection at higher risk for development of a more severe or fatal
    course of disease.”

    What is not well known is that it’s not the absolute sodium intake that
    matters. It’s the balance of sodium and potassium. Since most Western
    diets are rather low in potassium, reducing sodium to match is beneficial.
    An equally valid approach is to the other way: instead of decreasing sodium,
    you increase your potassium intake.

    Clearly, the latter is the preferred approach. Personally, I mix my iodized
    table salt with pharmaceutical grade potassium chloride: 40% table salt to
    60% potassium chloride. That way, I can eat as much salt as I like, without
    any detrimental health effects. Plus, I’ve been protecting myself against
    the Chinese flu without even knowing it.

    Another long-standing habit of mine that turns out to be protective against
    the Chinese flu is taking zinc supplements. I take 50 mg zinc citrate
    together with 50 mg vitamin B6 and 450 mg magnesium citrate before bed each
    night. To balance the zinc, I take 2 mg extra copper bisglycinate in the
    morning with my multivitamins, which contain 1 mg copper sulphate.

    • Personally, I eat like a pig and smoke like a chimney, and it’s all for Corona!

    • A banana a day keeps the flu away — they are loaded with potassium, and if you are in an area with deer, the deer will eat the skins.

  7. Nancy Pelosi’s Jesus Complex

    Why leftists think and behave like sociopaths.
    May 5, 2020
    David Horowitz

    Nancy Pelosi is the leader of a party that has accused the president and the 63 million Americans who voted for him of betraying their country, destroying its Constitution, colluding with its enemies, causing the deaths of thousands of coronavirus victims, and hating immigrants, Muslims, people of color, gays, and women. According to Pelosi and the Democrats, Trump is so dangerous a threat to the republic that he must be removed before the next election, although it is only months away.

    How does Pelosi see herself and the party that has faithfully supported her vendetta and smeared millions of Republicans as xenophobes and white supremacists? Pelosi answered this question during a recent interview with MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid. When Reid asked her whether releasing convicted criminals from jail would be a part of her COVID-19 relief legislation, Pelosi’s response was: “In our caucus, we are very devoted to the Gospel of Matthew.”

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/nancy-pelosis-jesus-complex-david-horowitz

  8. Sidney Powell Drops Bomb: Comey and Company Prosecuted Flynn So He and Trump Would Not Expose Their Crimes – Flynn Was “First Key Part of Insurance Policy”

    On Sunday General Michael Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell joined Joel Pollak on Breitbart News Sunday to discuss the latest revelations in the Flynn case.Sidney Powell told Breitbart News that former FBI Director James Comey and other senior officials in the Obama administration likely committed federal crimes in their use of “lawfare” against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and President Donald Trump

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/boom-sidney-powell-drops-bomb-comey-company-prosecuted-flynn-trump-not-expose-crimes-flynn-first-key-part-insurance-policy/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

    https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2020/05/03/sidney-powell-obama-officials-targeted-flynn/

  9. Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose “expert” advice to President Trump has resulted in the complete shutdown of the greatest economic engine in world history, has known since 2005 that chloroquine is an effective inhibitor of coronaviruses.

    How did he know this? Because of research done by the National Institutes of Health, of which he is the director. In connection with the SARS outbreak – caused by a coronavirus dubbed SARS- CoV – the NIH researched chloroquine and concluded that it was effective at stopping the SARS coronavirus in its tracks. The COVID-19 bug is likewise a coronavirus, labeled SARS-CoV-2. While not exactly the same virus as SARS-CoV-1, it is genetically related to it, and shares 79% of its genome, as the name SARS-CoV-2 implies. They both use the same host cell receptor, which is what viruses use to gain entry to the cell and infect the victim.

    The Virology Journal – the official publication of Dr. Fauci’s National Institutes of Health – published what is now a blockbuster article on August 22, 2005, under the heading – get ready for this – “Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread.” (Emphasis mine throughout.) Write the researchers, “We report…that chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS-CoV infection of primate cells. These inhibitory effects are observed when the cells are treated with the drug either before or after exposure to the virus, suggesting both prophylactic and therapeutic advantage.”

    https://onenewsnow.com/perspectives/bryan-fischer/2020/04/27/fauci-knew-about-hcq-in-2005-nobody-needed-to-die

    • A comment:

      Some cops are just as much cowardly, opportunistic predators as the criminals they’re supposed to be dealing with. They knew this girl was not a threat in any way, and that’s why they went after her instead of someone who could actually hurt them.

      White girl, no hijab.
      Easy, peasy.
      – – cowards and bullies, two sides of the same coin

  11. A Nevada nurse who travelled to New York to help treat COVID-19 patients has posted a tearful Facebook Live video claiming that patients are not dying from the virus, but are being “murdered” by “gross negligence and complete medical mismanagement.”

    Nicole Sirotek, a nurse from Elko, Nevada, was assigned to two different hospitals in New York City.
    “I am literally telling you that they are murdering these people,” Sirotek says in the terrifying video.
    The video begins with Sirotek explaining that every time she attempts to advocate on behalf of one of her patients, management takes them away and reassigns her to another unit. She said that this happened at both of the hospitals she has worked at in the city. “I legitimately don’t even know what to do anymore. Even advocacy groups don’t give a sh-t about these people,” she said. “Black lives don’t matter here.”

    “I know not everybody is going to live. I’m not that f-cking green, or ignorant, or bright eyed and bushy tailed to think that, okay? I know we’re going to have a sh-t ton of people die — but these people aren’t dying from COVID.”

    https://thespectator.info/2020/05/05/watch-another-nyc-nurse-whistleblower-patients-not-dying-from-coronavirus/

  13. TOULOUSE _FRANCE SUNDAY MAY 03 – Knife attack – Allahu akbar
    =======================================
    – Sudanese – illegal immigrant –

    “When he was transferred to the central police station, he said Kill me “

    https://world-today-news.com/knife-attack-in-toulouse-what-we-know-about-the-origin-of-the-attack-which-left-five-injured/

    ====================================================
    France stabbing: Three in critical condition after Toulouse attack

    Authorities haven’t confirmed the motive behind the attack

    https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/france-stabbing-three-in-critical-condition-after-toulouse-attack-1.1014387
    ====================================================

    https://twitter.com/AlexLeroy90/status/1257757285155291136

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

  17. People Can’t Believe Kim Jong Un Is REALLY Back, They Think He’s Using A Body Double??

  18. Facebook Says it Dismantles Disinformation Network Tied to Iran’s State Media
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2269046/facebook-says-it-dismantles-disinformation-network-tied-irans-state-media

    “Iran’s state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said on Tuesday.

    In a monthly report of accounts suspended for so-called “coordinated inauthentic behavior”, Facebook said it had removed eight networks in recent weeks, including one with links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB).

    Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said the IRIB network had “substantial connections” to previously identified Iranian disinformation campaigns, but it was too early say whether it was directly responsible for those operations.

    The state-owned IRIB, which has its head appointed by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Iranian officials have previously dismissed allegations of running coordinated disinformation campaigns as “ridiculous”.

    Iran has emerged as one of the most persistent players in online influence operations, as Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet’s Google have had to grapple with state-backed groups using social media to further their geopolitical agendas and spread disinformation.

    A Reuters investigation in 2018 found that one Tehran-based operation had used more than 70 websites masquerading as local news outlets to covertly disseminate Iranian state propaganda in more than 15 countries, at one point tricking the then Pakistani defense minister into issuing a nuclear threat against Israel.

    Iranian officials in Tehran and London did not reply to questions about the operation at the time.

    Gleicher said the newly identified network had used similar tactics, including posing as independent media websites and charitable organizations, to target countries from Algeria and Bangladesh to the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

    The network used more than 500 accounts on Facebook and its photo-sharing site, Instagram, to spread messages that often focused on local conflicts or criticism of US actions in the region, he said. “In general, these were narratives that are aligned with Iranian geopolitical interests.”

    Researchers at social media analytics firm Graphika, who reviewed the IRIB-linked accounts before they were suspended by Facebook, said some of the earliest-identified activity dated back to 2012 and targeted the US Republican party primaries.

    Two years later, other accounts in the network used a handful of fake personas, memes and cartoons to support Scotland’s referendum bid to break away from the United Kingdom, they said.

    Graphika’s head of investigations, Ben Nimmo, said those attempts were short-lived but show that Iran was experimenting with online election meddling years before alleged Russian attempts to sway the 2016 US presidential vote. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations.

    “The Iranian experiment was relatively tiny and didn’t last long or have any noticeable impact. What’s interesting is how early they started,” he said. “This whole takedown underlines how persistent the Iranian state is when it comes to covert influence operations.””

  19. Iran: Gunmen Kill 3 Revolutionary Guard Members
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2269036/iran-gunmen-kill-3-revolutionary-guard-members

    “Unknown gunmen on Tuesday killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in a shootout in a Kurdish area, Iranian media reported.

    The report by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Guard, identified the killed as Col. Shakiba Salimi and two others, Jafar Nezampour and Mohammad Shokri, whose ranks were not given.

    It said the three Guard members also killed “several counterrevolutionaries” in the fighting near the Kurdish town of Divandarreh about 63 kilometers east of the border with neighboring Iraq and 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital Tehran.

    There were no details on the affiliation of the gunmen.

    The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist ISIS group.

    In July, Kurdish militants killed three members of the guard in the country’s northwest.

    Iran’s eastern borders have also been the scene of occasional clashes with Baluch militants, too.”

  20. Arab Coalition: 2 Houthi Ballistic Missiles Crash in Yemen’s Amran, Saada
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2269056/arab-coalition-2-houthi-ballistic-missiles-crash-yemen%E2%80%99s-amran-saada

    “The Saudi-led Arab coalition announced that the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias fired on Tuesday morning two ballistic missiles from Yemen’s Sanaa province.

    Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said Tuesday the Houthis launched the missiles from residential areas.

    One rocket crashed 121 kilometers away, in the Amran province, and the second, 148 kilometers away, in the Saada province.

    Malki accused the Houthis of continuing to violate international humanitarian law by firing ballistic missiles that arbitrarily crash in civilian and residential areas, threatening the lives of hundreds of people.

    These hostile acts are a violation of the ceasefire declared by the coalition on April 9, he declared, revealing that the militias have breached the truce more than 2,400 times using all forms of light and heavy weapons and ballistic missiles.

    The coalition will continue to take firm deterrent measures to destroy the Houthis’ ballistic capabilities to protect the Yemeni people and regional and international security, he vowed.”

  21. Libya: GNA forces extend control south of Tripoli
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200505-libya-gna-forces-extend-control-south-of-tripoli/

    “Forces loyal to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Sunday that they have extended their control south of Tripoli, including several military sites held by the militias of renegade Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

    According to the official media office of the operation, the GNA forces targeted several areas to the south of the capital, using tanks and artillery…”

  22. Niger army repels jihadist attack on major city
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/5/5/niger-army-repels-jihadist-attack-on-major-city

    “The Niger army on Sunday thwarted an attack by Boko Haram jihadists on Diffa, the largest city in the southwest of the country, local residents and a security source told AFP.

    The area around Diffa, a city of around 200,000 located near the Nigerian border, has been repeatedly attacked by the jihadist group, which emerged in Nigeria in 2009.

    “We heard gunfire, especially heavy weapons, between 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm on the southern side of the city,” Lawan Boukar, a local resident, said on Tuesday.

    “It was an audacious infiltratrion attempt by Boko Haram, who were then forced back to the bridge at Doutchi,” he said, referring to a cross-border bridge about 30 kilometres (18 miles) away.

    Another resident said the attackers “came over from the Nigerian side in late afternoon, when the Ramadan fast was about to break — they were obviously hoping to catch our soldiers unawares.”

    A security source confirmed the attack but did not give details. The defence ministry, contacted by AFP, said it would release a statement later.

    The region abutting Nigeria and Chad has repeatedly suffered Boko Haram attacks since 2015.

    The Nigerian jihadists have bases hidden in the vast marshlands of Lake Chad, where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria converge.

    Sunday’s attack came after an air-and-ground offensive against the group by Chad following a brazen attack in which nearly 100 soldiers were killed.

    Chad claims it killed a thousand jihadists and lost 52 of its men, and drove the jihadists out of its territory.

    In late March, Niger’s defence ministry claimed that a “leading figure” in Boko Haram, Ibrahim Fakoura, had been killed in an operation in the Lake Chad region.

    In 2015, heavy fighting broke out between Niger soldiers and Boko Haram fighters around the strategic bridge at Doutchi and near Damasak, a village which the jihadists seized in October 2014.

    Damasak was retaken later by the Niger army, backed by Chadian soldiers.”

  23. Factbox: Six Balkan hopefuls aspire to join the EU
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-balkans-factbox/factbox-six-balkan-hopefuls-aspire-to-join-the-eu-idUSKBN22I00T

    “European Union leaders host a summit with six Balkan counterparts on Wednesday. Here are some facts about the six Balkan aspirants:

    ALBANIA
    The European Union agreed in March that Albania, already a member of NATO, can formally start membership negotiations. Once underway, possibly later in 2020, they could still take many years.

    BOSNIA
    Torn by war from 1992 to 1995, Bosnia is still overseen by EU-led peacekeepers. It submitted an EU membership application in 2016, which is pending approval. That means it is not yet a candidate country although it is seen as a potential one.

    KOSOVO
    Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, wants to join the EU but is far from being able to do so. It must mend relations with Serbia through EU-mediated talks that are being revived by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Five EU countries do not recognise Kosovo’s independence: Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Romania.

    MONTENEGRO
    Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, is already in negotiations to join the EU and is seen by the European Commission as likely to join the bloc later this decade, along with Serbia.

    NORTH MACEDONIA
    North Macedonia, like Albania, is an official candidate for EU membership and it too in March won EU governments’ approval to start negotiations. It overcame a decades-long dispute with neighbouring Greece over its name, agreeing to be called the Republic of North Macedonia. It also joined NATO in 2020.

    SERBIA
    The largest non-EU Balkan country with 7 million people, Serbia is also in the midst of negotiations for membership. It is seen as the lynchpin in the region and the EU hopes Belgrade’s influence in the Balkans could help others reform. In February 2018, the Commission said Serbia could join the EU by 2025, albeit cautioning that was a very ambitious goal.”

  24. Taliban not living up to commitments, U.S. Defense Secretary says
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-military/taliban-not-living-up-to-commitments-u-s-defense-secretary-says-idUSKBN22H2XH

    “U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday that the Taliban were not living up to their commitments under an agreement signed this year, amid signs the fragile deal is under strain by a political deadlock and increasing Taliban violence.

    After lengthy talks behind closed doors, the Taliban and Washington signed an agreement in February for reduced violence and a move toward talks with the Afghan government, but attacks by the group have increased since then.

    “I don’t think they are,” Esper told reporters when asked if the Taliban were living up to their commitment.

    He added that he believed the Afghan government was also not living up to its commitment. The Afghan government was not part of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban.

    Esper said the Afghan government and the Taliban “both need to come together and make progress on the terms that (are) laid out.”

    Progress on moving to negotiations between the militant group and the Afghan government has been delayed, in part by the political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who both claimed to be Afghanistan’s rightful leader following September’s disputed election.

    The political deadlock comes as the Taliban has increased the pace of violence.

    The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan in the 45 days since signing a deal with the United States that paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown, according to data seen by Reuters.

    The United States is continuing it’s drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, which are expected to reach about 8,600 troops in this summer.

    Senior Western, Afghan and independent officials tracking the ground situation say that the increase in attacks shows the insurgent group’s wilful disregard of a pledge to reduce violence made as part of the accord signed in late February.

    The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus infection.”

  26. Egyptian navy’s new Type 209/1400 submarine arrives in Alexandria
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/368737/Egypt/Politics-/VIDEO-Egyptian-navys-new-Type–submarine-arrives-i.aspx

    “The Egyptian navy’s new S43 Type 209/1400 submarine arrived in Alexandria on Tuesday from Germany, the armed forces said.

    The navy officially received the submarine in Kiel, Germany, in April.

    It is the third submarine Type 209/1400 submarine Egypt has received so far in a deal that was signed with Berlin in 2011, originally to buy two submarines, then updated to add two more in 2014.

    According to the armed forces, the new submarine held exercises with several “friendly countries” on the way to Egypt.

    Speaking at the reception of the new submarine in Alexandria, the commander of the Egyptian naval forces, Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled, said that the submarine had been acquired to protect Egypt’s territorial waters and its economic interests.

    Type 209/1400 submarines have a range of 11,000 nautical miles and a top speed of 21.5 knots. They are equipped with missiles and torpedoes.

    The submarines are manufactured by the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.”

  27. French Tourist Sustains Neck Wounds During Knife Attack in Taroudant
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/05/301646/french-tourist-sustains-neck-wounds-during-knife-attack-in-taroudant/

    “The judicial police of Taroudant, southern Morocco, opened a judicial investigation into a knife attack against a 66-year-old French tourist early in the morning on Monday, May 4.

    The attacker reportedly showed signs of mental illness, according to an official statement from Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN). The suspect was admitted to a psychiatric hospital twice in the past, the source added.

    The initial investigation found that the suspect physically attacked the tourist with a kitchen knife for no apparent reason while uttering incomprehensible words, the statement continued. The attack took place while the victim was walking early Monday morning near a caravan parking lot.

    The suspect stabbed the French woman in the neck and hand, and she was rushed to the hospital to receive the necessary medical treatment. The doctor noted that her condition was stable and not worrying.

    Investigations are underway under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office.

    The horrific attack deviates from the general decline in crime in Morocco since the country entered a state of emergency on March 20. Given the significant restrictions on individuals’ movement under the nationwide lockdown, crime has seen a significant drop.

    The DGSN announced on April 15 that the country’s crime rate fell by 20%, or roughly 10,867 fewer criminal cases, in March 2020 compared to March of the previous year.

    Crimes related to theft under the threat of a weapon decreased by 52%, reported sexual assault and rape cases decreased by 41%, premeditated homicide cases went down 67%, and reported economic and financial crimes fell by 23%.

    Assault and battery resulting in death, as well as homicide attempts, demonstrated unprecedented declines.”

  28. Blasphemy case gets a new twist
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2214930/1-blasphemy-case-gets-new-twist/

    “The blasphemy case wherein a Christian couple is languishing in Punjab jails for the last six years took an interesting turn when the Gojra police submitted the missing receipt regarding the purchase of the SIM, through which the “offence” was committed.

    “The receipt regarding the purchase of SIM in question as well as 94 receipts of the mobile operator company’s franchise in Gojra were in fact kept in Maal Khana, Gojra being case property of this case,” says a report submitted by the Toba Tek Singh sessions judge in the Lahore High Court.

    Shafqat Maseeh, watchman of Gojra’s Saint Cathedral School, and his wife, Shagufta Maseeh, were arrested on the charges of sending blasphemous text messages to the complainants – shopkeeper Malik Mohammad Hussain and former Gojra Tehsil Bar president Anwar Mansoor Goraya.

    On April 4, 2014, Toba Tek Singh additional district and sessions judge had awarded them capital punishment. They were convicted under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 34 of the PPC. They were also directed to pay a fine of Rs100,000 each.

    The Christian couple is on death row.

    A Lahore High Court division bench, headed by Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, took up the appeals filed by the convicts on February 20. Advocate Saiful Malook, who had pleaded the case of Aasia Bibi, is representing the couple.

    The high court had ordered the Toba Tek Singh sessions judge to hold an inquiry and furnish the document before it within a month. The court also asked the judge to fix responsibility on delinquent officials if the documents had been misplaced.

    In reply to the LHC order, Toba Tek Singh sessions judge had deputed additional sessions judge Asif Ali Rana to conduct an inquiry.

    According to the inquiry report, SHO and Muharar of Gojra city were summoned along with the relevant record. The police informed that receipt of the SIM in question was deposited in the maal khana.

    The SHO was directed to produce the receipt regarding purchase of SIM. A police official, Muhammad Azeem, submitted a sealed parcel which contained the receipt.

    However, talking to The Express Tribune, Malook wonders that why the SIM was found in police custody. “It should have been available in the judicial record,” he added.

    Malook said, “There are several judgments wherein it is held that if the record is not obtained through safe/proper custody, the evidence would lose its worth.”

    In the blasphemy case, the complaint was filed by Muhammad Hussain — a resident of Gojra. According to Hussain, he had received a text message containing “blasphemous remarks” on July 18, 2013, when he was offering prayers in a mosque. He showed the SMS to his friends — Muhammad Shabbir and Khalid Maqsood.

    Later, he approached his counsel for legal proceedings on the basis of the said text message. While he was at the office of his counsel, he received five more text messages.

    When the counsel tried to contact the said number, he (the lawyer) also received three to four SMS on his mobile phone. Meanwhile, the police also claimed that both the convicts had confessed to committing blasphemy.

    After carrying out the investigation, the police submitted a report under Section 173 of CrPC, stating that the couple had been involved in the commission of an offence and would face trial.

    On April 4, 2014, Shagufta and Shafqat were convicted and awarded death sentence. Five years ago, the couple had challenged the trial court’s order on several grounds. They contended in their appeal that the witnesses produced by the prosecution during the trial were related to the complainant and were “inimical” towards them.

    “So their statements required independent corroboration, which is lacking in this case,” the appeal stated.

    The hearing of the case will resume as soon as the LHC starts functioning properly.”

  29. Afghan government releases 102 Taliban prisoners, vows to release more upon start of talks
    https://www.khaama.com/afghan-government-releases-102-taliban-prisoners-vows-to-release-more-upon-start-of-talks-07780/

    “The Afghan government 102 Taliban prisoners, a day after releasing a group of 98 prisoners, vowing that more Taliban prisoners would be released upon the launch of talks.

    “Pursuant to Pres. @ashrafghani decree, the gov’t released 102 Taliban yesterday. Over 850 has been released, getting us more than halfway to 1,500. More can be released upon the start of talks. Taliban should resume release of ANDSF personnel off the list the gov’t has shared,” Javid Faisal, a spokesperson for the Office of National Security Council said in a Twitter post.

    This comes as Taliban had earlier welcomed the release of at least 300 prisoners of the group but added that the current pace of prisoners release is inadequate to help the launch of intra-Afghan talks.

    “In the last 3 days, our 300 prisoners were released from the Kbl Adm. prisons which we welcome,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the political office of Taliban said in a Twitter post.

    The Office of the National Security Council on Monday announced that the government released the 98 Taliban prisoners from Pul-e Charkhi prison on Sunday evening.

    The government took into consideration the health condition, age and remaining prison term of the inmates as well as the ongoing efforts aimed at supporting the peace process and countering the spread of coronavirus, according to a statement released by Office of National Security Council.”

  30. Turkey ‘neutralizes’ 3 YPG/PKK terrorists in N. Syria
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-neutralizes-3-ypg-pkk-terrorists-in-n-syria/1829480

    “Turkish security forces “neutralized” at least three YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, near Turkey’s southern border, the National Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

    “Three PKK/YPG terrorists, who attempted to infiltrate the Operation Peace Spring zone, were neutralized by our heroic commandos,” the ministry said on Twitter.

    Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured…”

  31. 2 terrorists neutralized in eastern Turkey
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/2-terrorists-neutralized-in-eastern-turkey/1830267

    “Turkey neutralized two terrorists in eastern Agri province, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

    The terrorists were neutralized during commando units’ operations carried out in rural areas of Agri’s Dogubayazit district, as part of domestic security operations, the ministry said on Twitter.

    Two rocket launchers and ammunitions were seized in the operation.

    Authorities often use the term “neutralized” in statements to imply terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured…”

  33. Syria: new arrests among members Makhlouf’s circle
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2020/05/05/syria-media-new-arrests-among-members-makhloufs-circle_f2d7a096-fe1a-4361-9c0e-434168722100.html

    “The Syrian regime is putting pressure on Rami Makhlouf, considered for years as one of the most influential Syrian businessmen, who is a cousin of President Bashar al Assad. According to multiple local sources quoted by Syrian and foreign media, a wave of arrests has been ongoing over the past 24 hours by members of the security forces against high officials of Syriatel, one of two Syrian cell phone companies owned by Makhlouf.

    The Syrian Observatory for Syrian Rights said that over the past 24 hours a total of seven people have been arrested, including the directors of departments and technicians of Syriatel in Aleppo and Tartus. Another 28 company members were arrested over the past few days in Damascus, Latakia, Homs, Aleppo and Tartus. The observatory said that Russian military police, deployed in various Syrian government areas in the framework of Moscow’s military intervention to support Damascus since 2015, participated in the arrests. This circumstance, which was confirmed by local sources, was neither denied nor confirmed by Syrian or Russian government sources.

    For Robert Ford, a former US ambassador to Syria who has met with Makhlouf, Assad’s power does not seem to be at risk and the initiative appears to be a power struggle between cousins. In a comment published on Tuesday morning by pan Arab Saudi daily Ash Sharq al Awsat, Ford said he doesn’t expect divisions within the Syrian elite in power to lead to a political transition soon.

    Ford served as ambassador to Syria until 2011 when, due to a government crackdown on protests, the US decided to close its embassy and end diplomatic relations. Before being recalled to the US, Ford met Makhlouf in Damascus, formally required by the Syrian government to pay a fiscal debt of over 300 million euros.”

  34. Coronavirus may have arrived in Sweden in November: Public Health Agency
    https://www.thelocal.se/20200505/the-coronavirus-may-have-arrived-in-sweden-in-november

    “t’s likely that there were individual cases of coronavirus in Sweden as early as November 2019, according to the Public Health Agency, but the country is not currently working to trace the earliest cases.

    The news follows a report from France that a man was infected with the coronavirus on December 27th, several days before the first cases were reported in China. The patient was diagnosed with pneumonia but a sample taken at the time has now tested positive for the coronavirus. That man has fully recovered since his illness, but reportedly has no idea how he caught the virus.

    Now state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has said there were likely infected individuals in Sweden at this time too.

    “There wasn’t any spread [of infection] outside Wuhan until we saw it in Europe later. But I think that you could find individual cases among Wuhan travellers who were there in November to December last year….”

  35. Top German court says ECB bond buying scheme partially contravenes the law
    https://www.dw.com/en/top-german-court-says-ecb-bond-buying-scheme-partially-contravenes-the-law/a-53333374

    “Germany’s constitutional court has ruled that the European Central Bank’s stimulus program partly contravenes German law, because neither the German government nor parliament signs off on the spending.

    Germany’s Constitutional Court largely upheld several complaints against the European Central Bank’s purchase of government bonds under a program started in 2015 and meant to boost the economy and stoke inflation toward the central bank’s own target of just below 2%.

    Tuesday’s ruling by Germany’s surpreme court was the result of years of debate over the role of the eurozone’s central bank. It did not cover current ECB aid issued in response to the coronavirus crisis, with the ECB having launched a special Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program.

    The judges in Karlsruhe raised concerns back in 2017 that one specific part of the bond-buying program, the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP), could engage in economic policy and direct government financing, both of which the ECB is prohibited from doing.

    The overall asset purchasing scheme was used between 2015 and 2018 to buy government bonds and other securities worth approximately €2.6 trillion ($2.9 trillion) with the aim of boosting the economy. Over €2.1 trillion in purchases were made as part of the PSPP.

    The program also knows as quantitative easing was reactivated in November of last year against the backdrop of trade conflicts, the specter of Brexit and other headwinds impacting the eurozone economy.

    Government and lawmakers need to scrutinize ECB decisions

    Germany’s supreme court stated it could not find any proof of direct government financing by the ECB. But it found that both the German government and lawmakers had failed to scrutinize the objectives and mechanisms involved in the ECB’s bond buying program. The judges said there had never been a thorough analysis of whether the ECB’s PSPP scheme was really an adequate measure to boost the economies of the 19-member eurozone.

    The court thus sided with several groups of plaintiffs including economist and former far-right AfD leader Bernd Lucke as well as Peter Gauweiler, a former senior member of Bavaria’s conservative CSU party. They had argued that the central bank’s bond buying program was not within its sole mandate of ensuring price stability.

    Ping-ponging with EU court

    It were some judges at the Federal Constitutional Court themselves who back in 2017 started the ball rolling by raising concerns that a specific part of the bond buying program, the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP), could directly engage in economic policy which the ECB is not allowed to do.

    The European Court of Justice took up the case and ruled in December 2018 that the ECB’s decision to buy sovereign bonds was valid and within the bank’s mandate, despite the concerns voiced by some in Germany. However, concerns in Karlsruhe had remained all along.

    Uwe Burkert, an economist with LBBW Bank, said after Tuesday’s ruling by Germany’s top court that “the verdict is a very explosive thing.”

    “The Bundesbank [Germany’s central bank] will — after a transitional period of three months — be barred from taking part in the ECB’s PSPP program.”

    Commerzbank Chief Economist Jörg Krämer is certain, though, that the bond buying scheme will continue. “The ECB will have to prove now that the program is really proportionate so as to win approval by the German government and lawmakers — given the large group of experts at the ECB, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.””

  36. paul j watson – Houellebecq: Coronavirus Will Increase Atomisation of Society

  37. Germany: Refugees sue the government for invasion of privacy
    https://www.dw.com/en/germany-refugees-sue-the-government-for-invasion-of-privacy/a-53345609

    “A law that allows Germany’s migration authorities to access refugees’ phones will now be challenged in court. Three refugees — from Syria, Afghanistan and Cameroon — have decried what they see as a violation of rights.

    A group of refugees has sued the German government for accessing personal data on their mobile phones, which they said constituted an unnecessary invasion of privacy, a lawyer for the group confirmed on Tuesday.

    The lawsuit was filed by Berlin-based Society for Civil Rights (GFF), which argued that the German state had violated the refugees’ human rights.

    GFF lawyers said the suits were filed in the cities of Hanover, Berlin and Stuttgart on behalf of three refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Cameroon, according to reports from German Funke media group newspapers.

    Under a 2017 law, which was put in place to prevent asylum fraud, authorities are legally allowed to examine the phones of asylum-seekers who lack valid identity documentation.

    “The BAMF (Germany’s ministry for migration and refugees) is disregarding the strict constitutional rules by which the state must abide when accessing personal data,” said GFF lawyer Lea Beckmann.

    Beckmann said the migration agency had used analysis software to access data, contacts, phone numbers, photos, apps, website addresses and email addresses of the refugees.

    The information from the phones allowed the office to draw “comprehensive conclusions about the refugees’ user behavior,” GFF noted.

    A BAMF spokesman said the ministry conceded that checking mobile data was an intrusion, but said every case was determined by strict rules.

    “A mobile phone is often the only, or a very important, source to establish the identity and nationality of people entering Germany without a passport or identification documents,” the spokesman said.”

  38. CNN – Top US general: ‘Weight of evidence’ says Covid-19 not man-made

    The Pentagon’s top general, Joint Chiefs chairmanGen. Mark Milley, says that the “weight of evidence” indicates that the Covid-19 coronavirus points to natural origins– not a Chinese lab.

  40. MOROCCO – FEZ – RAMADAN 2020 – Two Moroccan families battle with swords in Fes During the lockdown

    A dispute between two families in Morocco’s Fez city on Friday resulted in a street sword fight, authorities confirmed.

    At least two people were injured after a violent sword fight erupted in Morocco’s Fez city on Friday.

    Ten people between the ages of 26 and 50 were arrested after the confrontation broke out in a populated neighbourhood, reports confirmed.

    Videos that emerged online showed the group of men fighting with swords and knives following a dispute between two families, according to security forces.

  41. the hill – French scientists discover nation treated coronavirus patient in December

    French scientists have identified the earliest-known case of COVID-19 in the nation: a patient who was treated in a hospital near Paris in December, an indication that the virus has been spreading across the world for far longer than had previously been known.

    The doctors from the Groupe Hospitalier Paris Seine in Saint-Denis said a sample taken from a 42-year-old fishmonger, admitted to the emergency room on Dec. 27, had tested positive for the coronavirus.

    The man reported coughing up blood, a headache and a fever. He was eventually admitted to the intensive care unit, though he recovered and was discharged on Dec. 29.

    The discovery dramatically alters the timeline of the coronavirus, which has been responsible for more than 3.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, including 169,000 in France, as well as more than a quarter-million deaths. The man’s admission to the hospital came four days before the first reports of a cluster of unusual pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

    The earlier date means it is likely the coronavirus had been spreading around the globe for weeks or months before it was identified by Chinese scientists in the cluster of abnormal pneumonia cases in Wuhan.

    The French victim had not traveled abroad since August 2019, when he visited his native Algeria. One of his children had symptoms of an influenza-like illness before he fell ill, a potential sign that the child had contracted the coronavirus as well.

    Both of those clues indicate that the man contracted the virus from someone else, and that community spread of the virus was taking place long before it had been identified by scientists.

    There are ample signs that the coronavirus has been spreading far more widely than known. Two recent studies have showed that about a fifth of all infected people show no symptoms at all. More than half of those who test positive for the virus cannot identify how they are infected, another sign of asymptomatic spread.

    The French doctors identified the first case by re-testing samples taken from patients between early December and the middle of January, when the country confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. The doctors examined 124 samples taken from patients who had presented influenza-like illnesses, 80 of whom tested negative for viruses like influenza or other more common coronaviruses. Fourteen patients were identified as potentially suffering from the coronavirus, and one tested positive for the virus.

    The doctors said the man showed symptoms consistent with those of patients who tested positive later in China and Italy, thought to be the site of the first significant spread of the virus in Europe.

    “COVID-19 is considered to be responsible for 86,334 cases and 12,210 deaths as of April 10, 2020 in France, but our findings suggest that these numbers could be underestimating the actual burden of COVID-19,” the doctors wrote.

    The United States has found its own earlier cases of the coronavirus than initially thought. The Santa Clara, Calif., medical examiner’s office recently reclassified the death of a woman in early February as being due to the coronavirus, about three weeks before the first known death on American soil.

    https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/496075-french-hospital-discovers-it-treated-coronavirus-patient-in

  42. A great Dr Whistleblower interview: Whistleblower M.D. – Sweden Refusing Oxygen to Older Patients