Illinois Mayor Calls on Police to Crack Down on "Stay-at-Home" Violators - Then 48 Hours Later They Catch His Wife at a Bar

On Friday Alton, Illinois Mayor Brant Walker ordered police to “more strictly enforce” the state’s stay-at-home order.

On Sunday Mayor Walker’s wife was arrested by police at a local bar.

Mayor Walker released a statement on Monday on the incident at Hiram’s Tavern in Alton.

His wife was picked up by police at 1 AM in the morning on Sunday.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/illinois-mayor-calls-police-crack-stay-home-violators-48-hours-later-catch-wife-bar/

Bernie Sanders suspends 2020 Democratic presidential campaign

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has suspended his 2020 presidential campaign, the Democratic candidate announced on Wednesday, after a lackluster primary showing and the Covid-19 pandemic ruled out any hope of victory.

Sanders announced he was dropping out of the race in an email to supporters, vowing that while “the campaign ends, the struggle continues.” His departure leaves former vice president Joe Biden as the sole Democratic candidate going into a nominating convention that has already been postponed until August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wisconsin’s disastrous primary on Tuesday may have contributed to the senator’s decision to drop out, as voters braved the coronavirus and dozens of shuttered polling places to queue for hours in the hope of making their voices heard. Sanders had called for switching to mail-in ballots, a measure that was blocked at the last minute by the state supreme court.

Lagging behind his centrist rival by 303 delegates as of Wednesday, Sanders faced near-insurmountable odds of reaching the ‘magic number’ of 1,991 necessary to secure the party nomination.

Sanders took to Periscope to address his supporters after announcing his departure from the race, declaring that “our movement has won the ideological struggle” because progressive ideas like Medicare for All had gained wider acceptance.

The decision to drop out “has been very difficult and painful,” Sanders said.

“While we are winning the ideological battle…I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful,” Sanders acknowledged, congratulating Biden — “a very decent man, who I will work with to move our ideas forward” — on gaining the nomination.

However, Sanders revealed he would remain on the ballot in the primary states that have yet to vote, in an effort to exert pressure on the party’s platform for 2020. "Please stay in this fight…the struggle continues," he implored his supporters.

Centrist Democrats had been calling on Sanders to drop out for weeks, insisting Biden’s victory was a foregone conclusion, even as their candidate’s TV appearances became markedly erratic and some questioned his fitness for office.

https://www.rt.com/usa/485306-bernie-sanders-suspends-2020-campaign/

California Sheriff Warns He Has the Power to Fine, Arrest People For Not Wearing Masks in Public

California – Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco warned the public that his department has the power to fine and or arrest people for not wearing masks in public.

25 people have died from the Coronavirus in the entire county of millions and the Sheriff has gone into crisis mode.

“This is a valid order and enforceable by fine, imprisonment or both,” Bianco said on Monday in a video statement.

He added: “Not everybody’s getting the message It started with staying at home, social distance and covering your face. But now we change from saying that you should to saying that you must.”

“Right now, you could be a carrier of this virus, spreading it to your family and friends,” he said.

The Sheriff said that his department will “not be setting up any type of police state and this is not a declaration of martial law in Riverside County.”

“Riverside deputies will not be stopping vehicles or setting checkpoints for motorists. We will not be stopping you while on a walk with your kids or while you’re out running or hiking. You will not be stopped and ticketed simply because you’re not wearing a mask.”

The Sheriff pleaded with the public not to call 9-1-1 to report violations.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/california-sheriff-warns-power-fine-arrest-people-not-wearing-masks-public-video/

Head of EU's top science body quits after Covid-19 response plans get bogged down by Brussels bureaucracy

The head of EU's main science organization has resigned just months after taking the job. He said both the body and EU leadership failed to adopt a robust science-based approach to the Covid-19 outbreak when one was badly needed.

Professor Mauro Ferrari submitted his resignation to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, effective immediately. His four-year term ended abruptly just months after starting on January 1. Ferrari said he was "extremely disappointed by the European response to Covid-19," according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.

Ferrari headed the European Research Council (ERC), a body established in 2007 with a multibillion-euro budget with the goal of supporting scientific discovery in the EU. The ERC's 'bottom-up' approach to distributing grants clashed with Ferrari's suggestion of launching a large-scale effort to fight the pandemic, which he proposed in March after it became apparent that the outbreak would cause a health crisis in Europe.

"I thought that at a time like this, the very best scientists in the world should be provided with resources and opportunities to fight the pandemic, with new drugs, new vaccines, new diagnostic tools, new behavioral dynamic approaches based on science, to replace the oft-improvised intuitions of political leaders," he explained.

The proposal was rejected by ERC's Scientific Council. Ferrari said he tried to get his ideas implemented through von der Leyen, but the very fact of him working directly with the Commission head "created an internal political thunderstorm."

"The proposal was passed on to different layers of European Commission administration, where I believe it disintegrated upon impact," he said. He lamented a lack of coordination of national policies in response to the crisis and said his experience completely changed his view of the EU, of which he used to be "a fervent supporter."

A spokesman for the Commission expressed regret that Ferrari had resigned "at this early stage in his mandate." He said 50 ongoing or completed ERC projects were contributing to fighting the pandemic.

Ferrari is a US-Italian nanomedicine pioneer focusing on developing new cancer treatments.

https://www.rt.com/news/485260-eu-science-chief-resigns/

McDonalds Withdraws Outlook, March Sales Plummet After "Unprecedented" Disruption In Business

While it is hardly a secret that traditional brick and mortar retailers, already in pain after years of Amazon market share theft, were on death's door as a result of the coronavirus economic coma, until now quick serve restaurants were seen as doing relatively well as a result of the surge in delivery and drive-thru sales. Alas, for McDonalds it wasn't enough, and on Wednesday the world's biggest hamburger chain announced that the outbreak of coronavirus has reversed what had been strong sales growth, prompting the world’s largest fast-food chain to withdraw its guidance for the year as a result.

McDonalds comp store sales declined 3.4% in the first quarter, McDonald’s said blaming the "unprecedented situation" as the coronavirus outbreak "has significantly disrupted the McDonald's business", with the entire drop due to a measure plunging a whopping 7.2% in March after rising the prior two months, even though the company said 99% of its U.S. restaurants remain open, mostly via drive-thru, delivery and carryout.

Following our strong performance in 2019 through execution of the Velocity Growth Plan, we began 2020 with positive global momentum. More recently, the global outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly disrupted the McDonald's business. While we are faced with new challenges as a result, we are drawing on the strengths of our global System to manage through the crisis and position us for long-term growth.

This unprecedented situation is changing the world we live in, and we will need to adapt to a new reality in its aftermath. One thing that has not changed, however, is McDonald's focus on protecting the health and safety of our people and our customers. We are implementing measures across markets to keep customers and crew safe, such as contactless Drive-thru and Delivery, social distancing guidelines, protective equipment for crew and enhanced hygiene and cleaning procedures.

The company shelved the outlook it provided on Feb. 26 "due to the uncertainty related to Covid-19 and its impact on the global economic conditions and the company’s business operations." The Company said it would provide an update on its business and financial results on its first quarter earnings call planned for April 30, 2020.

With measures to limit the pandemic severely curtailing restaurant operations, consumer behavior has shifted drastically practically overnight, sparking upheaval in the restaurant industry. McDonald’s said it is working with its franchisees “to support financial liquidity during this time of uncertainty.” It’s deferring payment of some rent and royalty payments and working with suppliers and lenders to extend franchisee payment terms “when possible.”

Despite the unexpected and sharp drop in sales, McDonald's shares fell less than 1% in early trading after the announcement, and have since recovered most losses.

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/mcdonalds-withdraws-outlook-march-sales-plummet-after-unprecedented-disruption-business

Fed Minutes To Reveal The Sheer Chaos As Fed's Entire Worldview Imploded

Starting a week of historic central bank interventions, at the 15th March weekend meeting, the Fed threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the market, taking aggressive measures (slashing rates by 100bps to 0.25%; committed to at least USD 700bln of QE; eased regulatory pressure on banks to free up capital, and announced dollar swap lines with other central banks), reaching decisions that may shape the global economy for decades to come in the space of a few frantic weeks. This was followed with a barrage of other measures which included the boosting of QE and MBS purchases on Mar 23, expanded repo for foreign central banks on Mar 31, and also announced six further facilities, including the commercial paper facility, de facto backstopping the entire market except equities and junk bonds.

The timing of the Fed's announcement and the scope of the measures was a surprise: as NewsSquawk writes, it was the Fed's "whatever it takes" commitment to ensure the smooth functioning of markets amid the virus fallout. Since then, it has flooded the market with liquidity, resulting in the premium for dollars easing.

Since then, its balance sheet has ballooned to by USD 1.5trln to a new record high USD 5.86trln, and it has seen wide take-up of its liquidity facilities from banks and other central banks.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fed-minutes-reveal-sheer-chaos-feds-entire-worldview-imploded

"The Whole Internet Is F**ked" As Google Cloud Suffers "Infrastructure Outage"

Several internet platforms have been hit with reports of outages Wednesday, as users reported difficulty accessing Gmail, Google Cloud, Pinterest and Snapchat according to Downdetector.com.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/whole-internet-fked-google-cloud-suffers-infrastructure-outage

Report says American companies are leaving China en masse — and the coronavirus is speeding up that change

A 'dramatic reversal' of previous trends

The coronavirus pandemic may get American companies to do something the government has wanted for decades: return manufacturing to the United States.

Global manufacturing consulting firm Kearney released a report Tuesday that shows American manufacturing companies are leaving China en masse, spurred first by the trade war and solidified by China's inability to contain COVID-19 after unleashing it on the global community.

Patrick Van den Bossche, a Kearney partner who co-authored the report, wrote:

Three decades ago, U.S. producers began manufacturing and sourcing in China for one reason: costs. The trade war brought a second dimension more fully into the equation―risk―as tariffs and the threat of disrupted China imports prompted companies to weigh surety of supply more fully alongside costs. COVID-19 brings a third dimension more fully into the mix, and arguably to the fore: resilience―the ability to foresee and adapt to unforeseen systemic shocks.

Indeed, the report indicated a "dramatic reversal" of a five-year trend in 2019 showing U.S. export its manufacturing.

Last year, U.S. production "2019 commanded a significantly greater share versus the 14 Asian low-cost countries," the report said. Hardest hit was and continues to be China.

In addition to returning production to the states, U.S. companies are also moving their manufacturing sites to southeast Asian countries and Mexico, the report said.

"The lessons we must learn from COVID-19 are as momentous as they are harsh. While the trade war triggered some notable tinkering, the massive operational disruption wrought by the coronavirus pandemic will compel companies to fundamentally rethink their sourcing strategies," the report said. "At minimum, we expect they will be increasingly inclined to spread their risks rather than put all their eggs in the lowest cost basket, as many long did in China."

Lawmakers are even introducing initiatives to end American reliance on China in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), for example, has introduced legislation that would end American dependence on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/report-says-american-companies-are-leaving-china-en-masse–and-the-coronavirus-is-speeding-up-that-change

Healthcare Worker Says Police Took Her Children Because Her Job ‘Exposes Her to Coronavirus’

Seminole, OK — Over the years, TFTP has reported on numerous incidents of CPS or police officers taking children from caring parents and putting them into utterly horrifying situations where they are beaten or raped. Many times, these parents have simply been treating their illness with marijuana and have lost their children for it because the state is addicted to kidnapping and caging people for a plant. However, as the following case illustrates, one mother had her children taken away by cops because she is a health care worker who may be exposed to COVID-19.

Katie Spencer posted a photo to Facebook of the order police handed her when they took her children away late last month. It clearly cites her “proximity to coronavirus” as the reason for taking the kids.

This matter is before the Court on the Petitioner’s ex parte Emergency Motion to Modify Custody and for Pick-Up Order Due to Respondent Spencer’s Exposure to Coronavirus. The Petitioner alleged, and submitted documents in support, that the Respondent alleged proximity to Coronavirus. The Court takes judicial notice there is at present no vaccination, though children are generally less susceptible to the virus’ effects it is highly contagious and lethal. Combined with the pre-existing health issues of one of the minor children and a proffered history of alleged neglect by the Respondent Spencer (mother), the Court finds that it is in the best interests of the minor children of this above-styled matter for an ex parte order for the Children to be immediately picked-up and placed into the custody of the Petitioner Sellers (father).

Spencer explained what happened in a Facebook post along with the photo of the court order.

The police showed up on my doorstep at 10 PM and took my kids from me because I WORK IN A CLINIC and a judge signed off on this because of my “exposure to the coronavirus.” Just a heads up to nurses, doctors, firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who have children and sneaky exes…watch your backs!

According to Spencer, her angry ex-husband weaponized the police and the courts and used her job in a health clinic as a reason to get the children taken from her. After posting the photo of the order, many folks called Spencer out for the “alleged neglect” cited by the court. Spencer was quick to explain what this meant.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/healthcare-worker-says-kids-taken-by-police-because-her-job-exposes-her-to-coronavirus/

Liberty Activists Plan Mass Disobedience of COVID-19 Orders, Pledge to “Take a Stand”

Most of the nation is now entering at least their third week of government-mandated stay-at-home orders. Many folks are doing just fine during the crisis, but others, especially those who had their businesses shut down or lost their jobs, are not doing fine. As the government continues to tell people to remain calm and wait it out, as the following case illustrates, others are bucking the system.

In Boise, Idaho last Friday, a few dozen people violated Gov. Brad Little’s order to avoid group gatherings, and met inside an old factory building to discuss how to move forward in these uncertain times.

Led by Ammon Bundy, meeting goers were given information on and discussed how to create a network of people ready to come to the aid of those who have been affected by the government’s shutdown of the economy.

“It really doesn’t matter what numbers there are when it comes to the coronavirus. It really doesn’t matter if it’s real or not, if it’s rampant or not, whether it’s a pandemic or not,” Bundy said during the meeting in Idaho. “Because it still does not give government officials the right to infringe upon on our rights. And that’s what matters.”

“I think people are very interested,” Bundy said in response to whether he envisions a national effort pushing back against restrictions on businesses and large gatherings or other efforts intended to protect public health.

“I think we have to think about if we were successful here, spreading it, at least the knowledge and things we learn, way beyond even the state of Idaho,” he added.

Bundy urged attendees that it was not at all time for a violent uprising and told them to remain peaceful. However, he noted that if it gets bad enough, this network, which would essentially be a militia, would take a stand.

“If it gets bad enough and our rights are infringed upon enough that we physically stand in defense in whatever way we need to — but we hope we don’t have to get there,” Bundy said.

During the meeting he made sure to dispel any calls to violence and encouraged fellow Idahoans to use restraint and not “instigate” situations.

“You have to make sure that every effort has been taken to try to resolve it in a peaceful manner, in a prudent manner. That is what we have to do to be right with God and to be right with our fellow man,” Bundy said.

More

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/idaho-liberty-activists-plot-resistance-covid/

Greece: Angry migrants chop down 5,000 olive trees on Lesbos

Days after video footage surfaced showing groups of migrant men ignoring social distancing measures and ridiculing the police officers trying to enforce them, illegal migrants from the Moria camp on the Greek island have struck again, chopping down 5,000 olive trees.

The destruction of these olive trees, which can take 65 to 80 years to reach stable yields, is being viewed as an assault on Greek history, culture, and identity, as well as an attack against the island’s local economy, the Greek City Times reports.

The olive tree is one of the most ubiquitous symbols in Greece and classical Western civilization. Among other things, to the ancient Greeks, the olive branch served as a symbol of Olympic ideals. It’s for this reason that medalists of the Olympic Games were given “kotinos” – wreaths made of olive branches.

For the ancient Greeks, the olive tree was also viewed as a symbol of peace, wisdom, fertility, and victory, and was believed to have been a gift from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

The island’s local economy will suffer for years to come as a result of the destruction of these decades-old olive trees. Each year, olive exports contribute nearly 650 million euros to Greece’s national economy.

The chopping down of the olive trees will inevitably escalate tensions – which have already been boiling over for months now –between local Greeks and the illegal migrants.

The Moria migrant camp, which is home to roughly half of the 50,000 illegal immigrants who are living on Lesbos, has been a tinderbox for some time now.

Last month, Voice of Europe reported on an Orthodox Greek Church that was trashed by angry migrants from the Moria camp.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/greece-angry-moria-migrants-chop-down-5000-olive-trees-on-lesbos/

WHCA Takes Another Swipe At OANN Reporter Chanel Rion For Breaking White House Distancing Guidelines

The White House Correspondents’ Association took a backhanded swipe Wednesday at OANN reporter Chanel Rion for continuing to break White House social distancing guidelines at press briefings.

The WHCA has sought to limit the number of outlets and reporters present at briefings during the coronavirus, establishing a seating rotation for reporters to follow. OANN was taken out of that rotation April 1 after its reporters ignored the rotation and attended briefings from the side aisles, a trend that has continued despite the punitive action.

“If you do not have an assigned seat on a given day, please do not use the press areas of the White House on that day,” the WHCA Board said in a Wednesday email to members, emphasis theirs. “We have asked the designated print pooler to work to the best of their ability to cover gaggles of administration officials. It is imperative that we keep the number of people working from the White House to an absolute minimum.”

“If you do not have an assigned seat, please do not attend briefings during this crisis and do not stand in the aisles, doing so defeats the purpose of the measures we have all taken comply with CDC guidelines and puts your colleagues at risk,” they added.

The WHCA began asking reporters to work from home if at all possible in March, around the time White House staff began issuing temperature checks to nearly everyone on the grounds.

The White House has escalated its efforts to protect President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in recent days, announcing it would begin administering quick-result COVID-19 tests to those meeting with the executives. The press, however, was exempt from the requirement.

Both Trump and Pence have tested negative for coronavirus, with Trump being tested at least twice.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/08/whca-oann-chanel-rion-press-coronavirus/

European Medicines Agency Warns of Looming Drug Shortages

The European Medicine Agency (EMA) has warned that the continent could be facing shortages of medicines to treat symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus.

The EMA warning came Monday in a press release in which the Amsterdam-based agency stated: “The continued availability of medicines, especially those used for patients with COVID-19, is a major concern.”

Shortages of drugs, such as sedatives used in the intubation process for severe cases and antimalarial drugs, are likely in the near future, with the EMA stating that such shortages could happen “very soon”.

To combat potential shortages in supply, the EMA has directed all pharmaceutical companies to report to them directly so that the agency can act as a link between the pharmaceutical industry and the European Union, Le Figaro reports.

Both Spain and France have reported a surge in demand for drugs, with the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Products (AEMPS) stating a particular need for sedatives for intubation procedures.

Alarms have also been raised for drugs such as chloroquine, which has been touted by some as an effective remedy for severe coronavirus cases. The drug is also used to treat malaria, and some fear that demand could affect malaria patients.

Shortages due to the coronavirus have been reported in recent in weeks in countries including the UK where doctors and nurses have claimed to have been threatened by the National Health Service (NHS) for speaking up about the subject.

President of the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), Dr Samantha Batt Rawden, stated: “Doctors across the frontlines are extremely concerned about the lack of personal protective equipment [PPE]. Many have told us they have tried to raise concerns through the proper channels but have been warned against taking these concerns further.”

In Italy, which has been the epicentre of the virus in Europe, 57-year-old doctor Marcello Natali died as a result of coronavirus and was forced to treat patients without gloves due to shortages in medical equipment.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/08/european-medicines-agency-warns-looming-drug-shortages/

Hungary’s Pro-Family Policy Is Working, Births Up 9.4 Per Cent

The pro-family policies pursued by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government as an alternative to mass immigration are reaping dividends, with births up 9.4 per cent year on year.

Eduard von Habsburg, the Central European country’s ambassador to the Holy See — and great-great-grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary — reported that the “much-ridiculed” policies were also accompanied by a near-100 per cent increase in marriages and the number of children per woman rising to an average of 1.6.

“In Hungary, the population has been decreasing since 1981,” said Katalin Novák, Hungary’s State Secretary for Family, Youth, and International Affairs, in exclusive comments to Breitbart London explaining the enormity of the turnaround her government has achieved.

“In 2010, when [Orbán’s Fidesz party] won the elections with a two-thirds majority after eight years of socialist, anti-work, anti-economy, and anti-family governance, our country was at the brink of collapse,” she recalled, citing “austerity packages and the dismantling of the family benefit system”.

“In 2010, we started to build a family-friendly country… Our main goal is to eliminate the burdens that couples face when they would like to have children,” she said, highlighting policies including “lifelong exemption from personal income tax for women with four children”, partial mortgage write-offs for families after the birth of their second child, and grandparental leave.

“The recent demographic figures speak for themselves, the number of marriages is at its 40-year high, the fertility rate at its 20-year high, while the divorces haven’t been as low as last year in the last six decades,” she added proudly.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/08/exclusive-hungarys-pro-family-policy-working-births-up-9-4-per-cent/

CDC tweaks website advice on hydroxychloroquine, drug Trump has promoted for coronavirus

The Centers for Disease Control has tweaked the advice on its website about hydroxychloroquine, the drug that President Trump has enthusiastically promoted as a possible miracle treatment for coronavirus.

The CDC abruptly removed advice about administering the controversial drug that may have led some to incorrectly assume that it has a proven positive effect on coronavirus patients.

The nation’s top health institution added more cautious wording, stating that the drug and others “are under investigation in clinical trials” on coronavirus patients infected.

The website also bluntly notes that “[t]here are no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.”

The change comes amid a persistent dispute over the drug and the odd effort by Trump and his right-wing allies to promote it.

“What have you got to lose?” Trump has repeatedly asked at his daily coronavirus press conferences.

Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top doctors warn that clinical tests are the only way to know if hydroxychloroquine is a safe and effective treatment for coronavirus — or perhaps for some categories of patients.

Usually prescribed as a treatment for lupus or as an anti-malarial, the drug acts to suppress the body’s immune system.

Researchers are suggesting it could have a positive effect on some patients but a negative one for others. That’s why many researchers are wary about Trump’s blanket advice that there is no harm in trying the drug.

http://www.mr-mehra.com/2020/04/cdc-tweaks-website-advice-on.html

Japan to Fund Firms to Shift Production Out of China

Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion of its record economic stimulus package to help its manufacturers shift production out of China as the coronavirus disrupts supply chains between the major trading partners.

The extra budget, compiled to try to offset the devastating effects of the pandemic, includes 220 billion yen ($2 billion) for companies shifting production back to Japan and 23.5 billion yen for those seeking to move production to other countries, according to details of the plan posted online.

The move coincides with what should have been a celebration of friendlier ties between the two countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping was supposed to be on a state visit to Japan early this month. But what would have been the first visit of its sort in a decade was postponed a month ago amid the spread of the virus and no new date has been set.

China is Japan’s biggest trading partner under normal circumstances, but imports from China slumped by almost half in February as the disease shuttered factories, in turn starving Japanese manufacturers of necessary components.

That has renewed talk of Japanese firms reducing their reliance on China as a manufacturing base. The government’s panel on future investment last month discussed the need for manufacturing of high-added value products to be shifted back to Japan, and for production of other goods to be diversified across Southeast Asia.

Japan exports a far larger share of parts and partially finished goods to China than other major industrial nations, according to data compiled for the panel. A February survey by Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. found 37% of the more than 2,600 companies that responded were diversifying procurement to places other than China amid the coronavirus crisis.

Japan Unveils Record $992 Billion Stimulus Amid Virus Emergency

It remains to be seen how the policy will affect Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s years-long effort to restore relations with China.

“We are doing our best to resume economic development,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a briefing Wednesday in Beijing, when asked about the move. “In this process, we hope other countries will act like China and take proper measures to ensure the world economy will be impacted as little as possible and to ensure that supply chains are impacted as little as possible.”

The initial stages of the Covid-19 outbreak in China appeared to warm the often chilly ties between the two countries. Japan provided aid in the form of masks and protective gear – and in one case a shipment was accompanied by a fragment of ancient Chinese poetry. In return, it received praise from Beijing.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/04/japan-to-fund-firms-to-shift-production.html

They’re Claiming John Prine (RIP, Legend) as a COVID Victim Even Though He Had Pneumonia and Was a Lung Cancer Survivor

A microcosm of what's going on.

John Prine, an American folk legend widely considered one of his generation’s most influential songwriters, died following complications of coronavirus Tuesday, April 7 his publicist said on behalf of his family. He was 73 years old.

On Friday, April 3, Prine’s wife Fiona had posted on social media the beloved country and folk star was on his 8th day in the ICU on a ventilator, and had pneumonia in both lungs.

LA Times:

He had been hospitalized on March 26 in Nashville with coronavirus symptoms, on the heels of previous hospitalizations for heart issues, in addition to treatments for throat cancer in 1998 and lung cancer in 2013. Both affected his singing voice, but he continued touring regularly up through last year.

The NYT:

Mr. Prine underwent cancer surgery in 1998 to remove a tumor in his neck identified as squamous cell cancer, which had damaged his vocal cords. In 2013, he had part of one lung removed to treat lung cancer.

So, a throat and lung cancer survivor, with heart problems, who had a chunk of his lung removed in 2013, and who had an active pneumonia* infection. Yeah that’s an ‘open-and-shut’ COVID-19 case right there. COVID-19 really is a killer!

*Now pneumonia, there’s a nasty disease for you, kills about 3,000 Americans each week almost like clockwork for 150,000 per annum.

https://www.anti-empire.com/theyre-claiming-john-prine-rip-legend-as-a-covid-victim-even-though-he-had-pneumonia-and-was-a-lung-cancer-survivor/

Lockdown Message: You Have NO Rights

It's time to call their bluff.

Time to say:

We'd rather be sick than

lose our freedom,

our livelihoods

and our human dignity.

We have regulated everything in their lives as is done by wise parents who desire to train children in the cause of duty and submission. For the peoples of the world in regard to the secrets of our polity are ever … only children under age, precisely as are also their governments. Protocols of Zion 15:20

A man walking his dog in a park is fined $880.

Everyone in Miami Beach must wear masks.

Paris bans outdoor exercise during daylight hours.

Stores cordon off aisles containing items deemed "non essential." These include toys, entertainment, beauty supplies and sports equipment.

A Director of WHO says police may break into your homes and take away anyone they deem

infected.

Cuomo urges the NYPD to be 'more aggressive' in breaking up funerals, large gatherings and people 'playing Frisbee in the park' as he raises fines to $1,000 for people who flout social distancing rules. Drones warn walkers to keep six feet apart.

https://www.henrymakow.com/2020/04/lockdown-message-you-have-no-rights.html

Apr 6 2020 Bill Gates: No More Socializing til "Mass Vaccinations"

Bill Gates calls for nationwide social isolation policy to slow coronavirus spread.

WHO IS BILL GATES TO DICTATE "POLICY"?

Let's Make This Simple: Zoom Is Malware

Submitted by Mark Jeftovic, founder of EasyDNS

We've covered Zoom in these pages before. Back in #AxisOfEasy 104 it turned out that the Zoom installer was installing mini-web servers on your computer, and it wasn't even taking them off when you uninstalled Zoom, leaving your device open to all manner of vulnerability. It took Apple acting on its own to push out an unscheduled update to fix Zoom's problem before they got to it.

Last week we outlined how Zoom was sending telemetry data about you to Facebook, even if you don't have a Facebook account.

In the intervening week, all sorts of data points and news items came out about the (lack of) privacy issues with Zoom:

On April 1st, a (former NSA) hacker released two new Zoom 0-days that enable a hacker with local access to a Zoom session to take over the software to install malware.

The next day Krebs on Security reported on the fast spreading "Zoom Bombing" phenomenon where pranksters and miscreants were war dialing Zoom rooms, looking for ones without password protections and crashing the meetings, hurling insults and profanities at the participants.

It gets worse, turns out Zoom Bombing is a thing now, so the perpetrators are recording videos of their antics and releasing them on Tik Tok and who knows where else.

On the very next day (the cat came back….) it emerged that because of the naming scheme Zoom uses to create the files of video recordings participants make of their sessions, those records were easy to find and access on the web.

Toronto's Citizen Lab reverse engineered the Zoom client and found that they had "rolled their own encryption scheme" and that it's pretty lousy encryption. Their report is here.

Arvind Narayanan, a professor of Computer Science at Princeton distilled it down thusly, "Let's make this simple: Zoom is Malware"

All of which has culminated in at least two US states Attorney Generals (so far) launching investigations into Zoom's privacy protections (or lack thereof).

ead: https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/3/21207134/zoom-recordings-exposed-thousands-identical-naming-search

Here at easyDNS we are working to facilitate video conferencing and remote collaboration tools for you and your teams and families. We're relying on open source tools like Matrix and Jitsi that use peer reviewed, publicly accepted encryption techniques and will seek to put the data under your control and nobody else's. Watch this space.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/lets-make-simple-zoom-malware

Afghan DM: ‘Silent’ War Ongoing Against Taliban

Since peace deal, Taliban and Afghan forces have been fighting

New comments out of Afghanistan’s’ Defense Ministry claim that the nation is engaged in a “silent” and largely unreported war against the Taliban, which began just days after the US and Taliban signed a peace deal.

This largely was the result of the peace deal promising a large prisoner release for the Taliban, which the Afghan government didn’t follow through on. The Taliban subsequently attacked, and Afghan forces counter-attacked.

This has the two sides exchanging fire, the Afghan government trying to get US support, and the US increasingly disinterested in getting involved, with the prisoner releases remaining the real problem.

While there was some indication the two sides might make a deal on prisoner releases, that no longer seems to be the case, and the Taliban are calling such efforts a waste of time.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/04/07/afghan-dm-silent-war-ongoing-against-taliban/

>>8723722

Notable