Reader’s Links for December 23, 2020

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

128 Replies to “Reader’s Links for December 23, 2020”

  1. Turkey’s president slams European court for Demirtas ruling (abcnews, Dec 23, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkeys-president-slams-european-court-demirtas-ruling-74876918

    “Turkey’s president on Wednesday accused the European Court of Human Rights of “defending a terrorist” after it ruled that Turkey must immediately release from prison a prominent Kurdish politician.

    Speaking to his ruling party’s lawmakers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called imprisoned politician Selahattin Demirtas a “terrorist” who was responsible for dozens of deaths during violent protests five years ago.

    Erdogan also accuses Demirtas of links to outlawed Kurdish insurgents. The Kurdish politician faces up to 142 years in prison on terror charges but denies any wrongdoing.

    Demirtas co-led the second-largest opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, before his arrest in November 2016. He ran for president twice against Erdogan — once while incarcerated — and is a vocal critic of the government.

    The 2015 demonstrations in the mostly Kurdish southeast accused Turkey of inaction as the Islamic State group besieged the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, across the border.

    Turkish authorities say the Kurdish fighters in Kobani and along northern Syria are linked to a decades-long insurgency by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

    Dozens of elected HDP lawmakers and mayors, as well as thousands of activists members have been arrested in a crackdown on the party for alleged links to the PKK. Erdogan’s nationalist ally recently called for the party to be closed down.

    On Tuesday, the Grand Chamber of the ECHR in Strasbourg ruled that Demirtas’ four years in prison violated his rights on five fundamental rights categories, including the freedom of expression.

    The court said Demirtas’ long detention, during two important elections, showed Turkey “had pursued the ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate.”

    Erdogan said the European court had ruled in an “uncommon” way, saying domestic legal avenues had not yet been exhausted by Demirtas and his lawyers. He said the court cannot rule in a way that bypasses the Turkish judiciary and the Turkish courts would “only” evaluate ECHR decisions.

    “These steps are politically motivated,” Erdogan said, adding that the court employed “double standards.”

    Meanwhile, the ECHR announced that its website came under a “large-scale” cyberattack after its Demirtas ruling, making the site inaccessible for several hours.

    “The Court strongly deplores this serious incident,” a statement said. It’s unclear who was behind the attack.”

  2. Berlin Police Conduct Huge Operation Against Migrant Teen Allegedly Plotting Terror Attack (breitbart, Dec 23, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/12/23/berlin-police-conduct-huge-operation-against-migrant-teen-allegedly-plotting-terror-attack/

    “At least 190 police officers were involved in an anti-terrorism raid targeting a 15-year-old Syrian migrant boy who had allegedly threatened to carry out a terror attack.

    The massive raid took place on Tuesday at 6 am in the Marzahn area of the German capital and saw the nearly 200 officers moving in on the third floor in an apartment building where the Syrian teen lived with his family.

    A spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor’s office said investigators had evidence of an impending attack, saying, according to Bild: “Based on a credible indication last night, it was suspected that the 15-year-old suspect had expressed in a chat his willingness to commit a bombing attack in Berlin-Marzahn on an Islamist-motivated basis and that such an act was imminent.”

    Officers deployed bomb-sniffing dogs to search both the apartment and the nearby area. However, police found no bomb-making material or any traces of explosives. Investigators also seized electronic devices belonging to the Syrian teen.

    The teen’s father spoke to Bild and claimed his son suffered from mental issues and asked police to put the boy in a mental clinic if needed…”

  3. 100 People-Smuggling Gangs Running Illegal Migrant Routes to the UK, Says French Investigator (breitbart, Dec 23, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/12/23/100-people-smuggling-gangs-running-illegal-migrant-routes-uk-says-french-investigator/

    “A French immigration investigator has claimed that some 100 people-smuggling gangs are running illegal migrant routes across the English Channel to Britain.

    Following the bust of a trafficking network in the UK — which was raking in some £1 million per month by offering a “VIP” service to illegal migrants — officials have uncovered a vast network of people-smuggling gangs operating in France.

    Speaking to The Times, a senior investigator for France’s national immigration policing unit said that he believes there are about 100 gangs providing safe houses for migrants and hiding speedboats to help launch the migrants in the Channel.

    “I’m not talking about the bloke, who knows another bloke who knows a third bloke with a boat. I’m talking about structured networks capable of bringing migrants across borders,” the investigator said, adding: “At a very rough guess, I’d say [there are] about 100.”

    The French investigator claimed that the Vietnamese networks are typically the most advanced in their operation, often employing Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Romanian truck drivers to transport migrants through Eastern Europe to Germany, stashing them in safe houses along the route, before finally sending them off to the UK.

    He noted that the Vietnamese networks are not the only sophisticated operations, however, saying: “I am very struck by the logistical prowess of the Iraqi Kurd networks that have taken control of the crossings in small boats.”

    “They are capable of buying boats in Germany, hiding them in France and transporting them to the coast at precisely the time when the migrants have been told to gather at the shore. That sort of operation requires a lot of organisational capacity,” he added.

    The revelations come as four people have been convicted in relation to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who suffocated to death in a shipping lorry last year.

    On Monday, the ringleader of the operation Gheorghe Nica, 43, of Basildon, Essex, and the lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from Mayobridge in Northern Ireland, were convicted of 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey. Two other members of the network, who were not involved on the day of the tragic deaths, were also convicted of people-smuggling charges.

    Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten said the people smuggling gang, which netted millions during its operation, charging up to £13,000 per head, was “greedy” but “complacent”, adding: “You would not transport animals in that way.”

    The victims — all of whom were Vietnamese nationals aged between 15 and 44 years old — died in the back of the shipping container after trying to puncture holes in the lorry in order to breathe.

    It is understood that police are still searching for a London-based Vietnamese fixer named Phong and three other men in connection to the smuggling ring.

    Last year, the Central Office for the Repression of Illegal Immigration and the Employment of Foreigners Without Documents (OCRIEST) successfully shut down 61 human trafficking networks bringing migrants to the UK. In total, around 300 people were arrested for transporting 4,700 illegal migrants.”

  4. Iowa Democrat Hart Asks House to Overturn Her Election Loss
    By Mark Tapscott
    December 23, 2020 Updated: December 23, 2020
    biggersmaller Print

    Attorneys for Rita Hart, the Democrat who lost Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race by six votes, claimed on Dec. 22 that they found enough uncounted ballots to reverse the election outcome.

    Hart told the House of Representatives in a petition filed under the Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969 that 22 uncounted curbside and absentee ballots included 18 votes for her, three for her Republican opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and one for neither candidate.

    If those 22 ballots are included in the final total, Hart claims she will have defeated Miller-Meeks by nine votes. The Iowa State Board of Elections previously certified Miller-Meeks as the winner.

    Miller-Meeks has 30 days to respond to Hart’s petition to the House, which was prepared by attorney Marc Elias of the Washington-based law firm Perkins Coie, which often represents Democratic campaign committees and candidates.

    Although state governments conduct congressional elections and certify the winners, the Constitution makes the House and Senate the sole arbiters of who will be accepted as duly elected and seated.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/iowa-democrat-hart-asks-house-of-representatives-to-overturn-her-election-loss_3629824.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2020-12-23-3

  5. China, Russia fly joint bomber patrol over East Asian waters
    AP December 22, 2020

    Ed. – They’ve done this before. It’s still not common, but it’s not unprecedented now. The cages it rattles are Japan’s and South Korea’s. Both Moscow and Beijing have reasons to try to drive Tokyo and Seoul apart — which isn’t that hard to do, at least on certain subjects. If the big land powers can load the South Korea-Japan relationship with too much freight, they can shape geopolitical conditions in the regions more to their advantage.]

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/12/22/china-russia-fly-joint-bomber-patrol-over-east-asian-waters/

    Russian and Chinese bombers fly joint patrol over Pacific

    MOSCOW (AP) — Russian and Chinese bombers flew a joint patrol mission over the Western Pacific Tuesday in a show of increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Beijing.

    The Russian military said that a pair of its Tu-95 strategic bombers and four Chinese H-6K bombers flew over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.

    The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the joint mission was intended to “develop and deepen the comprehensive Russia-China partnership, further increase the level of cooperation between the two militaries, expand their ability for joint action and strengthen strategic stability.”

    https://apnews.com/article/beijing-vladimir-putin-moscow-russia-east-china-sea-dfe0b31a067eea6311109922c1c263aa

    (Richard: With Biden poised to take over and once again cut our forces in all theaters all of our enemies are flexing their muscles and telling themselves how strong they are. If we can get a miracle and Trump is sworn in things will settle down.)

    • Tupolev TU-95MS & Xian H-6K | Russian and Chinese strategic bombers conduct joint patrol
      The Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of a joint strategic aerial flight with China over Japan and the East China seas.

      Two strategic bombers ‘Tu-95ms’ of the Russian Aerospace Forces and four strategic bombers ‘Hong-6k’ of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force participated in the drills, according to the ministry.

  6. Al Shabaab Claims Beheading of Local Chief in Kenya
    https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/12/23/al-shabaab-beheads-local-chief-kenya/

    “The Al Shabaab militant group abducted and beheaded the chief of a clutch of villages in northeastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, the Islamists and local police sources said Wednesday.

    Omar Adan Buul, the head of the Gumarey sub-location in Wajir county, was kidnapped on Friday by jihadists who had raided the area and “lectured the locals,” according to Kenyan media reports.

    “It is true the chief who went missing last week on Friday has been found dead. His head was dumped on the road but the rest of the body has not been found,” a local police officer said on condition of anonymity.

    Another police officer said, “we have collected the head and taken it to the mortuary.”

    “This is the work of Al Shabaab… we are looking for the rest of the body or the parts, we hope it wasn’t taken to the other side,” he added, referring to over the Somali border.

    Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the “execution” through their Shahada News Agency, according to the US monitoring group SITE.

    The group said it had taken the chief prisoner during an attack that seized control of a Kenyan police outpost, a claim that has not been confirmed.

    The Al-Qaeda-linked group has been waging a violent insurgency across Somalia seeking to unseat the internationally-backed government in the capital Mogadishu.

    They were driven out of Mogadishu by government forces backed by 20,000 African Union peacekeepers in 2011.

    But the group still controls swathes of territory outside the cities, from where they launch attacks against government targets, as well as occasionally crossing the border to carry out raids in Kenya.

    Al Shabaab has ramped up the intensity of its attacks in Kenya in recent years, including several major assaults as far as the capital Nairobi, which have left nearly 300 dead.”

  7. UAE Islamic body issues fatwa approving COVID-19 vaccine even with pork
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201223-uae-islamic-body-issues-fatwa-approving-covid-19-vaccine-even-with-pork/

    “The highest religious authority in the UAE, the Fatwa Council has issued a ruling permitting coronavirus vaccines for Muslims even if they contain pork gelatine.

    The fatwa comes amid growing concerns among many Muslims for whom consuming pork products is haram (forbidden) that the COVID-19 vaccine contains pork gelatine, a common vaccine ingredient which acts as a stabiliser to ensure the vaccines remain effective during storage and transportation.

    According to the council’s Chairman Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the coronavirus vaccines would not be subject to Islamic rulings on pork consumption due to the higher need to “protect the human body”.

    The council further emphasised that pork gelatine in this context serves a medicinal purpose and is not food…”

  8. Egypt’s Al-Azhar’s fatwa bans membership to the Muslim Brotherhood
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201223-egypts-al-azhars-fatwa-bans-membership-to-the-muslim-brotherhood/

    “Egypt’s Al-Azhar has issued a fatwa banning membership to the Muslim Brotherhood.

    “It has become clear to the public what these groups have done in distorting some texts, cutting them out of their context, and using them to achieve personal goals or interests and corrupting the land,” the university’s fatwa centre said.

    “Membership in these extremist groups is considered forbidden by Shariah.”

    It comes on the heels of similar moves made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose fatwa councils have designated the group as a “terror organisation”.

    In November, the UAE Fatwa Council agreed with a statement issued by the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia considering the Brotherhood a terror organisation, “due to its support for violent extremist groups, disputes with leaderships and disobedience.”

    The Saudi senior scholars said: “Sharia promotes unity and warns against division and rogue groups,” calling on “all Muslims to denounce divisions and avoid supporting, sympathising with, and joining organisations that aim to instigate divisions, trigger conflicts and shed blood.”

    Around this time Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Shawki Allam, said that it is “religiously forbidden” to belong to the Muslim Brotherhood because they incite violence.

    Allam praised the Saudi scholars’ decision.

    Shortly after the 2013 coup in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed and top leaders and members rounded up in a widespread crackdown. The organisation was listed as a terror group.

    In jail, its members are tortured, denied medical care and many are sentenced to death.

    Members of the opposition are accused of being part of the group, including Christians and outspoken Brotherhood critics.

    In June 2019, the country’s first freely elected President, Mohamed Morsi, who hailed from the group, died during a court hearing as a result of medical neglect during detention.”

    • This is a Big. Deal.

      Sisi is warming to Saudi as the coalition to defend against a pro-Iran Potus takes shape. The Abraham Accords serve as mood music. The message is non-sectarian, buries the Sunni-Shia cliches. Push the anti-Islamist buttons for kafir consumption.

      Anti-Turk, anti- Twisted-Raghead. Eurotrash be damned, play “Arab Spring” on your own turf.

      Strengthens MbS’s position in the Saudi succession, as the old King prepares to meet his virgins. MbS is PTrump’s creation. His nearest competitor, Prince Naif, is the MB’s favorite. He’s the one favored by the 0 faction of demonrats, Lindsey Graham types among GOP, and DeepState snakes like John “Abdul” Brennan.

      This is a shot across the bow against the Pretender-in-Chief’s Mideast foreign policy.

      Bigly.

  9. Saudi Arabia sacked imams for not warning against Muslim Brotherhood, minister confirms
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/12/23/saudi-imams-fired-for-not-warning-against-muslim-brotherhood

    “Saudi Arabia’s minister for Islamic affairs confirmed on Tuesday that imams were recently sacked by authorities for ignoring a directive to warn citizens against the Muslim Brotherhood.

    Speaking to state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya, Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz al-Sheikh said the punitive action highlighted the importance of following government directives.

    “The reports of several imams being fired is true. This is due to their failure to implement the ministry’s directives in publishing a statement from the Senior Religious Scholars Council commenting and explaining to people the dangers of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group,” al-Sheikh was quoted as saying.

    “There is no doubt that their termination does not mean that they are from the Brotherhood or supporters of this ideology, but rather it is a regulatory procedure of the ministry to those who do not implement directives or were slow in implementing it would be dispensed with and are replaced by those who are prepared and those who meet the conditions,” he added.

    Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood established itself in the mid-20th century as the country’s main opposition movement in Egypt, eventually spreading throughout Middle East.

    Following the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, the Islamist group enjoyed electoral victory in Egypt, however became the subject of a widespread crackdown after the country’s 2013 military coup.

    Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have spearheaded the region-wide crackdown on the Islamist movement, with Riyadh having designated it a terrorist organisation in 2014.

    Earlier this week, Egypt’s top Sunni religious authority, the Al Azhar university, issued a religious edict forbidding membership of the Brotherhood. The fatwa echoed one issued by the UAE’s top religious council in November which designated it as a terrorist organisation.

    Attacks on the trans-national Islamist group have sparked outcry around the Muslim world.

    In a joint statement in November, religious scholar associations from Sudan, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine and other countries backed the Muslim Brotherhood as “defenders” of Islam.

    “The Muslim Brotherhood is a missionary group … including a large number of scholars, preachers and Mujahideen have joined the effort to defend the doctrine of Islam and its Sharia,” the associations said.”

  10. Soldier martyred, terrorist neutralised in Awaran operation
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2277160/soldier-martyred-terrorist-neutralised-in-awaran-operation

    “Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Awaran district, killing a terrorist while apprehending another, according to the military’s media wing on Wednesday.

    Cache of arms, ammunition and communication equipment recovered from hideout in Awaran’s Silak Kaur area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

    “During intense exchange of fire with terrorists Havaldar Shoaib embraced martyrdom,” the statement said…”

      • well… even if that video was kind of brutal still it was not one of the worst that have been posted on this site during the recent years

        OK then… I think it is very simple… I won’t post any more videos from now on…

        • Don't say that!
          Maybe it was the "transgender" … or the three days…

          Beheadings, "Haidar", tardish voodoo - those are just part of life in the city counter-jihad blog life.

          • If you stop, Martin, the loser is VTB. You are so very good at what you do, and we know your postings come with good and thoughtful intentions, that some of us get grossed-out sometimes ain’t the end of the world.

  11. Pakistani national beaten to death by unknown assailants in Germany
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2277133/pakistani-national-beaten-to-death-by-unknown-assailants-in-germany

    “Ambassador of Pakistan in Germany Dr Mohammad Faisal on Wednesday said that unknown assailants had murdered a Pakistani citizen identified as Shahid Nawaz in Stuttgart.

    Taking to Twitter, he said that the tragic incident took place on Monday and police were investigating the case and search for attackers was under way.

    26-year-old Nawaz, who hails from Punjab’s Gujrat city, was a deputy Imam at a mosque in Stuttgart.

    Express News quoting Stuttgart police reported that Nawaz and his wife were attacked by unknown men with a metal object when they were visiting river Fils.

    According to police, emergency services rushed to the crime scene. However, Nawaz died on the spot while his wife lost consciousness after a severe blow to her head.

    The police immediately launched a manhunt using a helicopter to apprehend the culprits. A special police commission has also been formed but no arrest has been made so far…”

  12. What do German politicians want for Christmas? More migrants
    https://rmx.news/article/article/what-do-german-politicians-want-for-christmas-more-migrants

    “Some 243 members of the German Bundestag have signed a letter demanding the acceleration of the transfer of migrants from Greek camps to Germany and to mainland Europe. In a letter signed by all major parties except the Alternative for Germany (AfD), German MPs demanded that the federal government should answer the call from those states and municipalities that have agreed to accept more migrants and refugees.

    They have also demanded that the German government coalition should press for an EU-wide solution for the situation of those in refugee camps in order to “meet human rights standards”…”

  13. France: 63% of those arrested for sexual assault and 92% for petty theft in public transport were foreigners
    https://rmx.news/article/article/france-63-of-those-arrested-for-sexual-assault-and-92-for-petty-theft-in-public-transport-were-foreigners

    “The perpetrators of petty theft and sexual offenses on public transport in the Paris region are foreign nationals, data from the Ministry of Interior’s statistical service (SSMSI) shows.

    According to the ministry’s data, in 2019, 93 percent of those charged with non-violent theft on the public transport system of Île-de-France, the central French region including Paris with over 12 million inhabitants, were born outside France. Additionally, 63 percent of the perpetrators of sexual assault were foreigners.

    For those perpetrators who were born in France, the Interior Ministry does not break down their ethnic background. As a result, it is unclear how many of these suspects are French or other ethnic groups.

    At the same time, the Interior Ministry does break down the region of the world that foreign suspects are from. This data showed that the biggest single group of those charged with petty theft were born in the Maghreb region, the part of North Africa stretching from the Mediterranean to the Sahara. In contrast, those accused with violent theft (i.e. robbery) were mostly French-born (65 percent) but it is unclear what their ethnicity is.

    On the side of victims, those who were subject to petty theft in the same region were mostly French (64 percent), while 87 percent of those suffering sexual attacks were also French. According to the latest 2013 census, the population of Île-de-France region had 2.2 million immigrants, twice as high a ratio as in the rest of metropolitan France. Most of them were concentrated in Paris itself and the Seine-Saint-Denis department, the latter having almost twice as many robberies, drug offenses and murders than the rest of France.

    In October of this year, a French woman uploaded a video of her being sexually molested by a foreign male on France’s rail system. Facebook responded by censoring the disturbing video. The French National Railway Company (SNCF) responded to the woman’s post on Twitter and apologized for the incident.

    Conservatives have pointed to the high rates of criminality of foreigners, especially young migrants. French philosopher and journalist Eric Zemmour said that even though the country is aware who is committing assaults and violent crimes, the media refuses to report on it. During Zemmour’s television appearance, he referenced a number of high-profile murders and attacks in the last year that have been committed by the country’s foreign population.”

  14. Beijing Mandates Millions Must Get China-Made COVID-19 Vaccine as Testing Continues
    By Nicole Hao
    December 23, 2020 Updated: December 23, 2020
    biggersmaller Print

    The Chinese regime recently mandated that 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines must be administered to people designated as high risk by Feb. 15, 2021—although drug companies have yet to complete testing and the vaccines have yet to be approved by regulators.

    Meanwhile, Fosun Pharmaceutical announced that it had ordered 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by German drug company BioNTech, which will arrive in China in 2021. BioNTech has partnered with Pfizer to supply vaccines for the U.S. and EU markets, which were approved by their respective regulators, but the vaccine developed for the China market is still in Phase II trial.

    China has five different COVID-19 vaccines under development, according to health authorities.

    Currently, all five are still under phase III trial, which is a clinical trial conducted on a large group of people to see whether the drug is efficient or has side effects.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/beijing-mandates-millions-to-get-china-made-covid-19-vaccine-shots-despite-still-undergoing-testing_3630915.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2020-12-23-5

  15. https://alachuachronicle.com/university-of-florida-researchers-find-no-asymptomatic-spread/

    University of Florida researchers find no asymptomatic or presymptomatic spreadDecember 22, 2020

    UF Dept of Biostatistics, 2004 Mowry Rd, Gainesville, FL
    BY LEN CABRERA

    Four researchers from the University of Florida Department of Biostatistics co-authored a study published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association. They performed a meta-analysis of 54 studies looking at the household secondary attack rate of SARS-CoV-2. According to the CDC, the secondary attack rate is the number of new cases among contacts divided by the total number of contacts.

    The researchers confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious than other coronaviruses, with a secondary attack rate of 16.6% (95% CI 14.0%-19.3%) compared to 7.5% (95%CI 4.8%-10.7%) for SARS-CoV and 4.7% (95%CI, 0.9%-10.7%) for MERS-CoV.

    Their findings also confirmed the attack rate is higher to adult contacts compared to child contacts and to spouses compared to other family members.

    The secondary attack rate for symptomatic index cases was 18.0% (95% CI 14.2%-22.1%), and the rate of asymptomatic and presymptomatic index cases was 0.7% (95% CI 0%-4.9%), “although there were few studies in the latter group.” The asymptomatic/presymptomatic secondary attack rate is not statistically different from zero, and the confidence interval is technically 0.7 ± 4.2, resulting in a range of -3.5%-4.9%, but attack rates cannot be negative, so it is truncated at 0.