(((Palaszczuk))) urges Commonwealth to look at regional COVID quarantine hubs as Perth travellers set to be released from hotel isolation

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged the federal government to "plan for the future" when it comes to quarantine facilities for overseas arrivals as flights from India are reduced amid a soaring number of COVID-19 cases.

Queensland COVID-19 snapshot:

Confirmed cases so far: 1,532

Deaths: 7

Tests conducted: 2,437,183

Active cases: 15

Latest information from Queensland Health.

Speaking to ABC's News Breakfast program this morning, the Premier said she had sent a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison asking for the suspension of flights coming in from India.

The populous nation recorded more than 350,000 cases in a single day on Monday — breaking its record for the fifth day in a row — as armed forces moved in and oxygen supplies ran out.

"It's a high risk proposition, other countries have done the suspension," the Premier said.

"This is a mutant strain, unfortunately we are seeing over 300,000 cases a day.

"This is unprecedented — we haven't seen this anywhere in the world before."

Ms Palaszczuk said some direct flights from India were due to arrive in the next couple of weeks.

"Our health authorities are on high alert, we're very worried about the number of people who could be infectious on those flights, so hopefully the Commonwealth will make some further decisions today," she said.

'Our hotels are not hospitals'

The Premier has continued to push for regional quarantine, arguing hotels are not suitable quarantine environments with the virus transmitted through corridors.

It comes after the Wagner family submitted a detailed proposal to the state government for a 1,000-room facility near Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba to house overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-27/queensland-covid19-palaszczuk-quarantine-camps-overseas-arrivals/100097056

Beijing's 'Big Tech' Crackdown Continues With Anti-Trust Probe Into Food-Delivery Giant

Two weeks after China's State Administration for Market Regulation - Beijing's paramount anti-trust regulator - fined Alibaba a record $2.8 billion for abusing its market dominance, capping off the country's first major anti-trust action to rein in one of the tech giants dominating the Chinese domestic economy, the CCP has just launched its next major anti-trust investigation.

The SCMP reported that China's antitrust regulator on Monday officially launched a probe into food-delivery service provider Meituan, citing alleged monopolistic business practices like forcing merchants to "pick one from two" - that is, forcing merchants to either pick its platform as its exclusive distribution channel, or find themselves banned.

The probe reportedly resulted from a public tip. Though it's not yet known how long the investigation will last, it's worth remembering that the Alibaba probe was launched on Christmas Eve of last year, and ended earlier this month. Meituan has pledged to cooperate (though of course it has little choice in the matter).

“The company will actively cooperate with the investigation by the regulatory authorities to further improve the level of business compliance management, protect the legitimate rights and interests of users and all parties, promote the long-term and healthy development of the industry, and earnestly fulfill its social responsibilities," Beijing-based Meituan said in a statement. "At present, the company’s various businesses are operating normally."

According to the SCMP, this tactic of forcing merchants to choose just one platform is widespread in China, suggesting that the crackdown - like other antitrust actions - is more about humbling China's upstart tech giants and keeping them subservient to the will of the CCP. The company's shares declined on the news in Hong Kong markets.

The new probe proves that Beijing's crackdown on Alibaba and Ant Group wasn't isolated, and that there will likely be more investigations into other Chinese tech giants before this is over, the SCMP hinted. "It’s not a surprising decision. After Alibaba’s record fine, no big tech players should be immune from monopoly investigations," said Li Chengdong, the chief executive of e-commerce consultancy Dolphin Think Tank. "The regulators need to also show that the investigation is a fair move for everyone, it’s not only about Alibaba."

Meituan, which was founded by 42-year-old Wang Xing, has been dragged into court over allegations of unfair competition before. A local court in Jiangsu this month ruled that Meituan had to pay 352,000 yuan ($54,180) as compensation to Ele.me. a food-delivery adversary owned by Alibaba (as fate would have it) for asking merchants to shun the competing service. Aterward, Meituan issued a public statement claiming it wouldn't make such demands in the future. Another similar lawsuit played out in February. Then, Meituan and 33 other tech companies were brought in front of SAMR and other regulators earlier this month, and given a deadline of May 13 to rectify anti-competitive behaviors, or be "severely punished". While the company says it doesn't practice "one of two", sources told the FT that Meituan practices a more scaled-down approach whereby it lowers commissions on merchants who exclusively use its platform.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/beijings-big-tech-crackdown-continues-anti-trust-probe-food-delivery-giant

Pompeo Pushes Investigation Into Kerry for Leaking Secrets to Iran

Kerry must immediately resign from the Biden administration, says Rep. Banks

Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Republican foreign policy leaders in Congress are demanding a formal investigation into John Kerry following revelations he informed Iranian leaders about covert Israeli military operations.

A leaked audio recording of Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who worked closely with Kerry when the 2015 nuclear accord was negotiated, catches the Iranian official claiming the former Obama administration secretary of state informed him about at least 200 Israeli strikes on Iranian military positions in Syria. That Kerry shared these intimate details "to his astonishment," according to the New York Times, suggests Kerry may have been disclosing classified information. It would also represent a stunning betrayal of America’s closest Middle East ally. Israel relies on the United States to protect shared intelligence from its top regional enemy.

The revelation is already generating calls for Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, to resign from the Biden administration and face a congressional investigation for possibly spilling highly classified secrets to one of America’s leading enemies.

Former Trump administration secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the audio tape proves "what I’ve said for years: That [Zarif] continued to engage with former secretary of state Kerry on policy matters after Kerry’s public service and, according to Zarif, Kerry informed the Iranians of Israeli operations."

"Before we cut a deal with Iran that reduces Americans’ security," Pompeo said, "it would be good to know what the arrangement, if any, may have been between these two leaders."

"John Kerry must resign immediately," Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Free Beacon. "The investigation should be retrospective."

"These reports are concerning—I’d like the opportunity to ask Secretary Kerry about this in a closed hearing," Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), a member of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence and its Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon.

Rep. Darrel Issa (R., Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed calls for an investigation and promised to hold Kerry accountable for the disclosure of sensitive military information.

"While we can’t simply accept as fact what we hear from Iran’s foreign minister (or read in the New York Times), these reports warrant full and immediate investigation," Issa said. "If John Kerry shared our nation’s intelligence with Iran and endangered Israel in any way, I promise he will be held to account."

Banks, who has been leading Republican efforts to prevent the Biden administration from unwinding tough sanctions on Iran as it negotiates a new nuclear deal, further said that any investigation into Kerry’s conversations with Iran should seek to find out if other officials from the Obama and Biden administrations revealed similar information to Tehran.

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/pompeo-pushes-investigation-into-kerry-for-leaking-secrets-to-iran/

Pandemic crisis, anyone? 2020’s global military spending reached ‘HIGHEST LEVEL’ in decades despite economic woes, report finds

Governments around the world have increased their military spending to a level not seen since 1988 despite their economies suffering during the pandemic, a fresh study has said, adding that the US was ahead of the curve again.

Back in 2020, nations all over the world have been struggling to support their economies through the times of hardships and lockdowns caused by the onslaught of Covid-19. Those efforts apparently did not prevent them from spending more money on the military than ever before in more than three decades, the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has shown.

The world’s military expenditures have risen by 2.6 percent in comparison to the previous year and reached $ 1.981 trillion – “the highest level since 1988” – a SIPRI report published on Monday said. Over the last decade, global military spending increased by almost 10 percent.

The increase came in a year when the world’s “gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 4.4 percent,” the research institute notes, adding that the increase caused “the biggest year-on-year rise in the military burden since the global financial and economic crisis in 2009.”

“We can say with some certainty that the pandemic did not have a significant impact on global military spending in 2020,” said Dr Diego Lopes da Silva, a researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Program. Still, some countries, like South Korea and Chile, preferred to spend some of the planned military funds on pandemic response while others, like Russia and Brazil, spent “considerably less” on defense then planned in 2020.

The US, however, still leads the list of the largest military spenders in the world by a wide margin. America’s military expenditures alone amounted to 39% of the global defense spending, SPIRI said, adding that the US also recorded one of the highest spending growth rates among the top 10 military spenders, surpassed only by Germany and South Korea, which have considerably smaller defense budgets.

“The recent increases in US military spending can be primarily attributed to heavy investment in research and development, and several long-term projects such as modernizing the US nuclear arsenal and large-scale arms procurement,” said Alexandra Marksteiner, a researcher with SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program.

“This reflects growing concerns over perceived threats from strategic competitors such as China and Russia, as well as the Trump administration’s drive to bolster what it saw as a depleted US military,” she added.

The US closest “competitor” – China – spent around three times less money on defense and its military spending in 2020 accounted for some 13 percent of the global tally. Beijing did not have to raise its defense spending at the expense of increasing the military burden, since its economy was one of the few still growing in 2020.

India, Russia and the UK also made it to the list of the top five military spenders, although their defense budgets were considerably smaller than those of China, not to mention the US. Saudi Arabia was the only nation among the top 10 military spenders that had its defense expenditures decreased in 2020.

https://www.rt.com/news/522201-global-military-spending-pandemic-highest/

Australian MP blasts Facebook’s ‘interference’ after his OFFICIAL page was banned for Covid-19 ‘misinformation’

After Facebook deleted the official page of Craig Kelly for spreading “misinformation” about the coronavirus and vaccines, the independent MP said the “book-burning” US social media giant was interfering in Australia’s democracy.

Kelly was informed of Facebook’s ban by text on Monday morning, he told the media, describing the move as “censorship.”

Banning the page with some 86,000 followers represents “interference in Australian democracy,” he said.

“This was the most popular, highly used political Facebook page in the country,” he said, in remarks quoted by ABC. “They have basically burnt and torched and incinerated and obliterated from the record, previous comments and previous things that I'd made.”

Kelly’s personal page and Instagram account remained active, for now. A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement that the Australian MP had “repeatedly” violated their policies.

“We don't allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or [Covid-19] vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts,” the spokesperson said.

“It is not misinformation if you have a difference of opinion,” Kelly shot back. “The idea that they are some purveyors of all truth is just absolutely outrageous.” The ban is not just outrageous but also violates the principles of free speech, he added.

Facebook did not just remove a few posts, but the entire page, he said, describing it as “like setting fire to a book, not just removing the pages they disagree with.”

These people are the heirs to those who used to go around burning books because that is effectively what they have done.

Kelly has represented Hughes, a parliamentary district south of Sydney in New South Wales, since 2010. He resigned from the ruling Liberal Party in February, after Facebook suspended him for “misinformation” about Covid-19 and someone from the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison told him to “shut up” about the virus.

https://www.rt.com/news/522192-facebook-ban-australian-covid/

Epicurious cuts out beef recipes, citing climate change: 'We know that home cooks want to do better'

Condé Nast's culinary magazine Epicurious announced Monday that it will no longer publish beef recipes, saying it no longer wants to give "airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders."

Epicurious tweeted, "Today we announced that Epicurious is cutting out beef. It won't appear in new Epi recipes, articles, newsletters, or on social. This isn't a vendetta against cows or people who eat them. It's a shift about sustainability; not anti-beef but pro-planet."

Today we announced that Epicurious is cutting out beef. It won’t appear in new Epi recipes, articles, newsletters,… https://t.co/t2fxB6SfVM

— epicurious (@epicurious)1619450573.0

The magazine explained in its full statement that its "shift is solely about sustainability, about not giving airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders."

The outlet also acknowledged that "there are problems with chicken, seafood, soy, and almost every other ingredient," adding that "in a food system so broken, almost no choice is perfect."

However, the magazine wrote, "we know that home cooks want to do better."

Epicurious said it made the decision now because while beef consumption in America "is significantly down from where it was 30 years ago, it has been slowly creeping up in the past few years."

The Hill reported that "the brand acknowledged that products made from cow's milk are 'almost as destructive to the environment as beef' but it has not said if it will stop publishing recipes requiring dairy."

While beef recipes and the mention of the meat will be completely scrapped from the Epicurious social media feeds, homepage, articles and newsletters, beef recipes previously published by the magazine will remain available on its website.

Anything else?

For years, cattle production has become a target of environmental activists who argue that methane from cow farts is a leading contributor to climate change.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/we-know-that-home-cooks-want-to-do-better-epicurious-cuts-out-beef-recipes-citing-climate-change

New Judge in Maricopa County Audit Case Was Not Only Appointed by Democrat Janet Napolitano, He Has Ties to the Marc Elias Firm Perkins Coie

We reported earlier today that a new judge was appointed in the Democrats’ case to stop the audit in Maricopa County. Here’s more on the new judge, Judge Daniel (Dan) Martin.

On Sunday there was shocking news out of Arizona that the judge in the Democrats’ case in attempting to end the audit in Maricopa County was recusing himself. We first received information that it was because the Democrats had shopped around to find an attorney that used to work with Maricopa County Superior Court Judge, Christopher Coury. However, we later received evidence that this was not the case, the attorney that caused the conflict was working with the audit firm Cyber Ninjas.

Then today we found out who the new judge is in the case, Judge Daniel (Dan) Martin. Martin, it turns out, was appointed to his current position by former Arizona Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano.

After further research and comments from numerous readers we now also know that Judge Martin also used to work with Brown & Bain (now Perkins Coie). The Judge’s bio explains:

Judge Daniel (Dan) Martin was appointed to the bench in 2007, and is currently assigned to the civil division. Judge Martin received his master’s and law degrees from the University of Arizona, and served as the Managing Editor of the Arizona Law Review. Following his graduation, Judge Martin clerked for Justice James Moeller on the Arizona Supreme Court. In 1992 Judge Martin joined Brown & Bain (now Perkins Coie) as an associate. He left Brown & Bain in 1996 to join the firm of Bonn, Luscher, Padden & Wilkins, where he worked primarily in the area of complex commercial litigation. In 1999, Judge Martin joined the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings, where he served as an Administrative Law Judge for approximately eight years until his appointment to the Superior Court. Judge Martin has served in the Court’s criminal, family and juvenile court divisions.

The concern here is that Perkins Coie is the firm that has represented Hillary Clinton and the Democrat Party for years. Although this was a long time ago, it still is noteworthy that there is also this connection. Perkins Coie is currently working with other firms in Arizona in their attempts to stop this audit in Maricopa County:

We don’t expect Judge Martin to recuse himself, but we do expect to see some of his connections possibly influence his actions.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/new-judge-maricopa-county-audit-case-not-appointed-democrat-janet-napolitano-ties-marc-elias-firm-perkins-coie/

>>13520726

AZ Official Confirms Ultra-Violet Method Is Currently Being Used to Identify Creases and Watermarks on Ballots

The Arizona forensic audit continued Monday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in downtown Phoenix.

Despite the best efforts by Democrats to prevent an audit of the Maricopa County results, the forensic audit is currently underway at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The audit is being live-streamed from 9 different angles from the arena floor at AZAudit.org.

From our reporting on Saturday, the coliseum cameras caught election workers scanning ballots individually in ultra-violet light.

As we reported previously — Inventor and data analyst Jovan Hutton Pulitzer has a process and the patents surrounding the process where he can identify fraudulent ballots based on the paper used, creases in the paper, the ink on the forms, and other characteristics. Pulitzer can identify fraudulent votes, which will ultimately result in the accurate results of the 2020 election when only valid votes are accounted for.

It appears the election workers are running true forensic testing on the ballots.

On Monday former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett confirmed the audit officials are using ultraviolet light to scan the ballots for folds and watermarks!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/big-news-az-official-confirms-ultra-violet-method-currently-used-identify-creases-watermarks-ballots-video/

West Virginia to give $100 savings bonds to young people who get COVID shot

West Virginia is giving $100 savings bonds to residents between the ages of 16 to 35 who get vaccinated for the coronavirus, a report said.

The measure, announced by Gov. Jim Justice on Monday, comes as a large share of the state’s eligible population have not received even one dose of the vaccine.

“We’re going to give a $100 savings bond to every single one that steps up and takes their vaccines,” Justice said at a Monday press briefing, according to WSAZ.

Those who fall within the age range who already received their vaccine will be paid retroactively, the report said.

Last Friday, state officials urged residents to get vaccinated, WOWK reported.

“We have doses available. Plenty of doses available to get to West Virginians,” said retired Adjutant Gen. James Hoyer, who is leading the state’s Joint Inter-Agency Vaccine Task Force.

As of late last week, about 40 percent of the state’s eligible population had still not received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to WOWK.

https://nypost.com/2021/04/26/west-virginia-giving-100-bonds-to-young-people-who-get-vaccine/

New Judge In Maricopa County Audit Worked For Firm That Merged With Perkins Coie

Stunning Judge Switch During Audit

Judge Daniel Martin, who is now presiding over the challenge to the Arizona Senate Republicans’ audit of the Maricopa County 2020 election results, is a Democrat appointee who worked for a firm that merged with Perkins Coie, the pro-Democrat powerhouse firm that is trying to shut down the Maricopa County audit.

Martin took over the case after the previous judge overseeing it, Republican Judge Christopher Coury, recused himself because a lawyer for the Cyber Ninjas auditing team previously working as an extern for Coury’s office. That lawyer was not listed as a representative for Cyber Ninjas until recently, prompting Coury’s recusal. A hearing will reportedly be convened in the case on Tuesday at 11 AM. A local NBC reporter said that the new judge Martin was initially appointed to a judgeship by former Democrat Arizona governor Janet Napolitano.

Judge Daniel Martin worked as an associate attorney for Brown & Bain from 1992 to 1996. In 2004, Brown & Bain merged with Perkins Coie, the massive pro-Democrat law firm. Perkins Coie has been active in the audit process on behalf of the Democrat Party cause. Perkins Coie officials signed a letter to the Arizona Senate president Karen Fann threatening legal consequences if they interpret that the Senate audit ends up breaking federal civil rights laws. The Arizona Democrat Party’s lawsuit against the Republican Senate President Karen Fann, Cyber Ninjas and others was filed by lawyers for Coppelsmith Brockelman and Barton Mendez Soto, two firms that are linked to Perkins Coie by virtue of the fact that their firm officials also signed the threatening letter to the Senate president Fann that Perkins Coie officials signed. Martin’s biography shows the apparent conflict of interest, with one bio mentioning that Brown & Bain is “now Perkins Coie.”

https://nationalfile.com/new-judge-in-maricopa-county-audit-worked-for-firm-that-merged-with-perkins-coie/

UK, in Addition to 14 Russians, Sanctions Citizens of South Africa, Sudan, Latin America

The UK, in addition to 14 Russian citizens, added citizens of South Africa, South Sudan and Latin America to the anti-corruption sanctions list, the UK Foreign Office said.

"The UK has, for the first time, imposed asset freezes and travel bans against 22 individuals under the new Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime which gives the UK unprecedented power to stop corrupt actors profiting from the UK economy and exploiting our citizens," the Office said in a statement.

In addition to 14 Russian nationals involved in the diversion of $230 million of Russian state property through a fraudulent tax refund scheme uncovered by lawyer Sergey Magnitsky, the sanctions list also includes Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta and their associate Salim Essa, for roles in corruption in South Africa, Sudanese businessman Ashraf Seed Ahmed Hussein Ali for his involvement in misappropriation of state assets, and several individuals involved in corruption in Latin America, it said.

"Over 2% of global GDP is lost to corruption every year, and corruption increases the cost of doing business for individual companies by as much as 10%," the Foreign Office said.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab presented a set of rules on international anti-corruption sanctions to the UK parliament. London plans to fight corruption around the world by freezing assets and banning foreigners involved in serious corruption schemes from entering the UK.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202104271082735911-uk-in-addition-to-14-russians-sanctions-citizens-of-south-africa-sudan-latin-america/

New Chinese Decree Forces Religious Leaders To Actively Support Communist Party

China has rolled out with a new policy which requires all religious leaders in the country to show open support to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The new decree goes into effect May 1 and orders all religious heads, including Christian pastors and bishops, to "follow the lead of and support the Communist Party."

While Chinese state interference in religious affairs of citizens is far from anything new, this particular decree appears far reaching and is also aimed at rooting out "foreign" influence, with significant legal repercussions that are threatened.

According to an unofficial translation of Article 3 of the decree: "Religious professionals shall love the motherland, support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, support the socialist system, abide by the Constitution, laws, regulations, and rules; practice the Core Socialist Values, uphold the principle of religious independence and self-management, persist in our nation's direction of the sinification of religion, and preserve national unity, ethnic unity, religious harmony, and social stability."

The full decree entitled "Measures on the Management of Religious Professionals" also purports to define "rights" of "religious professionals" - or rather their extreme limitations under the law.

It also requires religious clerics to resist the infiltration of foreign forces through religion. Violators of the new decree will also be subject to criminal charges and other sanctions, which is a strengthening of older policies. Instead of just state-controlled practices, there's now more legal basis for criminalizing religion that's been "unapproved".

Critics are already pointing out it constitutes a further severe crackdown on freedom of religion and worship. One large 'house church' leader in Beijing commented to US-funded VOA News, "This decree goes against our religious beliefs, and the separation of politics and religion." The representative said additionally, "There will be a further narrowing of religious freedom and more severe crackdowns on believers."

‘They Think The 21st Century Will Be The Chinese Communist Century:’ Report Shows China’s Crackdown On Religious Freedom https://t.co/FGJ20dZKLK

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 22, 2021

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/new-chinese-decree-forces-religious-leaders-actively-support-communist-party

Aussie Defence Minister Warns Conflict Over Taiwan "Cannot Be Discounted"

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton is warning that conflict over Taiwan is a possibility and has vowed to work with allies to maintain peace in the region.

“People need to be realistic about the activity,” Dutton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday.

“There is militarisation of bases across the region. Obviously, there is a significant amount of activity, and there is an animosity between Taiwan and China.”

“If you look at any of the rhetoric that is coming out of China from spokesmen, particularly in recent weeks and months in response to different suggestions that have been made, they have been very clear about that goal,” he added.

“I don’t think it should be discounted. I think China has been very clear about the reunification, and that’s been a long-held objective of theirs,” Dutton said.

The minister added that “nobody wants to see conflict” between China and Taiwan and added that the Australian Defence Force was prepared to meet any threats in the region and that they would work with allies in the region for peace.

Earlier this month, Michael Goldman, charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, revealed that the United States and Australia were working on “contingencies” if conflict were to erupt around Taiwan.

In recent months, Chinese military jets have made near-daily incursions into Taiwanese airspace, with the largest being in late March, when 20 Chinese military planes entered its Air Defence Identification Zone.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/australian-defence-minister-warns-conflict-over-taiwan-cannot-be-discounted_3791058.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge