French ophthalmologists demand Macron ban rubber bullets as eye injuries spread like ‘EPIDEMIC’

France is experiencing an “epidemic” of eye injuries as police repeatedly deploy golf-ball-sized rubber bullets, France’s top ophthalmologists say, urging President Macron to halt use of the projectiles.

As the Yellow Vest protests enter their 17th consecutive week, the debate around the government’s alleged use of excessive force continues to gain momentum. On Saturday, the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche published a letter to President Macron written by the country’s 35 leading ophthalmologists, in which they asserted that the police’s use of rubber bullets has led to an “epidemic of serious eye injuries.”

Many people risk losing their vision, doctors say, hinting that the current dismal developments are no coincidence as rubber balls fly with great force and are often directed inaccurately. The letter, which demands “a moratorium” on using rubber bullets, was actually written in early February but only made public a month later to make sure the recipient gets the message, according the newspaper.

French riot police have become notorious for using hand-held guns, locally known as defence-ball launchers or Flash-Balls, during the protests that been ongoing since November.

The currently deployed model – named LBD 40 – fires 40mm foam projectiles, roughly the size of a golf ball. Rubber bullets have apparently become the police’s primary means of combating unruly crowds, and have been deployed more than 13,000 times, according to local officials.

The controversial weapon has landed the French government in hot water as reports of people losing their eyes in skirmishes with police began to surface. More than 20 protesters have lost eyes, five hands have been partially or entirely torn off, and one person lost their hearing as a result of a TNT-stuffed GLI F4 stun grenade.

The legal status of rubber-ball guns has been repeatedly questioned by human rights associations and politicians in France and abroad. In early February, France’s top administrative court, however, refused to ban the police from using the hand-held launchers.

Meanwhile, the country’s interior security code allows police to use force to dispel violent crowds but only when no other means suffice.

On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for a “full investigation” of France’s excessive use of force towards the Yellow Vests who, according to her words, demand a “respectful dialogue.”

Government figures show that over 2,000 protesters and over 1,000 police officers have been injured since protests broke out in November.

https://www.rt.com/news/453470-france-rubber-bullets-eye-loss/

US-based refiner Citgo seeks $1.2 billion loan amid sanctions push on Venezuela

The subsidiary of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, Citgo, which earlier severed ties with its US sanctions-targeted parent company, is seeking a $1.2 billion loan to secure its daily operations, according to Bloomberg.

The move is aimed at refinancing the company’s debt maturing this year, the report said, citing a presentation for investors given by Citgo’s Vice President of Finance Curtis Rowe. To find lenders, the refiner hired American multinational independent investment bank Houlihan Lokey earlier this week, and a deal will be finalized on March 22.

Representatives of the bank, Citgo and Venezuela’s Finance Ministry have not officially commented on the matter.

https://www.rt.com/business/453464-citgo-loan-us-sanctions/

Still Relevant: Ronald Reagan Explains the American Spirit

"An Informed Patriotism is what we want'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rjLDxr3tnw

>>5610784

gonna need sauce for that anon

>>5610832

link?

ABC NEWS’ TERRY MORAN: MEDIA, DEMOCRATS FACE ‘RECKONING’ IF MUELLER FINDS NO COLLUSION

Democrats and the media will face a “reckoning” if special counsel Robert Mueller finds no evidence of collusion involving the Trump campaign, ABC News’ Terry Moran argued in a panel discussion Sunday.

“How big a deal is it if they don’t find collusion for the president?” ABC “This Week” host Martha Raddatz asked Moran.

“Huge,” said Moran. “He’s cleared. If Robert Mueller comes back, Mueller became a folk hero in the United States.”

“The central and most serious question in this investigation, the reason Robert Mueller started it: Did the current president of the United States assist the Kremlin in an attack on our democracy? And if Mueller, after two years, comes back and says, ‘I don’t have the evidence to support that charge,’ that’s a reckoning,” he said. “That’s a reckoning for progressives and Democrats who hoped that Mueller would essentially erase the 2016 election. It’s a reckoning for the media. It’s a reckoning across the country if in fact after all this time there was no collusion.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLLO0Q5dp7c

https://dailycaller.com/2019/03/10/terry-moran-mueller-collusion-reckoning/

>>5610977

>Day of Reckoning

>noun

>the time when one is called to account for one's actions, to pay one's debts, or to fulfill one's promises or obligations.

^^^^^^^^^^

Indeed anon.

Experts: NYC Could go Bankrupt for First Time in Decades

New York City is headed for financial ruin and could go bankrupt for the first time in 40 years, financial experts say.

Financial experts predict that there are already signs the city is headed for financial disaster, as many individuals and businesses are leaving the city for lower tax areas and city government spending is at an all-time high.

The last time the city came close to filing for bankruptcy was in 1975 when former President Gerald Ford refused to give the city a bailout package to settle its debt.

“The city is running a deficit and could be in a real difficult spot if we had a recession, or a further flight of individuals because of tax reform,” economist Milton Ezrati told the New York Post. “New York is already in a difficult financial spot, but it would be in an impossible situation if we had any kind of setback.”

The city’s budget deficit has reached an all-time high over the past year. New York City’s long-term liabilities— including pensions, bonded debt, and retirement benefits for city government employees— reached a record-high $257.3 billion, according to an October 2018 Citizens Budget Commission report.

Even though the city’s budget deficit has reached record highs, Mayor Bill de Blasio has shown no signs of curbing the city’s spending.

In fact, de Blasio is adding $3 billion in spending to the current $89.2 billion budget, and spending money at a rate that is three times the rate of inflation, according to the Post.

It also appears that de Blasio will not get help from fellow Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is trying to address a $2.3 billion state budget deficit by using auditors to bill wealthy residents fleeing the state for lower-tax regions.

Cuomo’s preliminary budget proposed $600 million in cuts to money allocated to New York City.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2019/03/10/experts-nyc-could-go-bankrupt-first-time-40-years/