Facebook’s Fact-Checkers Have Failed To Fact-Check HuffPo’s Anti-Trump Coronavirus Disinformation

It will come as no surprise to Breitbart News readers that Facebook’s vaunted fact-checking system does not stop, or even appropriately label, fake, misleading claims from the left-wing media about President Donald Trump.

A story from Verizon-owned Huffington Post claims that the President has a stake in a drug company that produces hydroxycholoroquine, the drug being promoted by himself and many in the administration as a potential treatment for the Chinese virus. The article is currently on Facebook without any labels alerting users that the information is false or even just misleading.

This is despite the fact that Snopes, a left-leaning fact-checker that until February 2019 was one of Facebook’s fact-checking partners, has rated the claim that Trump benefits financially from promoting hydroxychloroquine as “mostly false.”

Although Snopes eventually caught up, its fact-check trailed Breitbart’s. As economics editor John Carney explained several hours before Snopes:

The report cited by the HuffPost is from a New York Times story that said: “Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine.”

Trump’s personal financial interest, however, does not include a stake in Sanofi–and the New York Times did not claim it did. Instead, Trump’s financial disclosures show that his three family trusts each had investments in a $10.3 billion Dodge & Cox mutual fund that owns shares in Sanofi, the world’s fifth-largest drugmaker by prescription sales. As of its latest disclosures, those holdings amount to just 3.3 percent of the fund’s holdings.

Trump’s most recent financial disclosure forms lists holdings in the Dodge & Cox International Fund valued between $1,001 and $15,000. That means Trump holds a maximum stake in the mutual funds of $45,000, giving him an indirect interest in Sanofi of $1,485 at the most.

His “financial interest” in Sanofi, which has a market capitalization of nearly $58 billion, could be as low as $99.10.

None of the other “third-party fact-checkers” relied on by Facebook to decide on behalf of the platform’s billions of users what’s true and what’s false, have displayed any interest in the fact that left-wing media is spreading provably misinformation about Trump allegedly profiting from hydroxychloroquine. As of writing, the misleading Huffington Post story has gained over 24,000 shares on Facebook.

It’s not the first time the mainstream media has been allowed to get away with spreading falsehoods about the Chinese virus. Yesterday, the Pentagon debunked an ABC news story alleging that military intelligence warned the Trump administration about a “cataclysmic disease” as early as November.

As Breitbart’s Kristina Wong reported, Col. (Dr.) R. Shane Day, director of the National Center for Medical Intelligence said that no such assessment took place in November — a rare departure from the NCMI’s policy of not commenting on specific intelligence matters.

And yet the original ABC report, now debunked, remains in circulation on Facebook — without any “misinformation” or “fact check” warnings.

Another false ABC story, repeating false claims from an Instagram influencer who claimed to be a nurse at Northwestern Medical (she later admitted that she does not work there for over a year) was also allowed to circulate on Facebook without any fact-checks. ABC put up comments clarifying the story four days after it was originally posted.

Given that Facebook is paying its third-party fact-checkers for their services, it seems like they’re not getting value for money. Or perhaps they’re getting exactly what they paid for — biased, liberal-leaning, mainstream media backed fact-checkers that appease Democrats and the establishment.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/04/11/bokhari-why-facebooks-fact-checking-only-applies-to-conservatives/

WHO haunted by old tweet saying China found no human transmission of coronavirus

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/who-haunted-by-old-tweet-saying-china-found-no-human-transmission-of-coronavirus/

Photos: Indonesian Volcano Krakatau Erupts, Spewing 14 Kilometres of Ash Into Air

The eruption was said to be the biggest since December 2018, when an explosion by the volcano triggered a 150-metre-high tsunami that killed four hundred people in Sumatra and devastated a nearby uninhabited island.

The Indonesian volcano Krakatoa, also known as Krakatau, erupted on Friday, forcing an ash cloud 14 kilometres into the air, according to Newshub.

The eruption of the famous volcano, located between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung, reportedly began an 10:35 p.m. local time (3:35 PM Saturday GMT).

“Krakatau is erupting nonstop for 2 hours,” one social media user posted. “I live in bogor and I can hear the noises as clear as everybody else hear. This feels like a nightmare”.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202004111078913567-video-indonesian-volcano-krakatoa-erupts-spewing-14-kilometres-of-ash-into-air/

Dr. Fauci Lied – Hydroxychloroquine rated ‘most effective therapy’ by doctors for coronavirus in global survey of 6k doctors in 30 countries

FRN presents Dr. Fauci’s own statements as part of the evidence that he has lied to the public in this ABC news clip below.

By Valerie Richardson – The Washington Times – An international poll of more than 6,000 doctors released Thursday found that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine was the most highly rated treatment for the novel coronavirus.

The survey conducted by Sermo, a global health care polling company, of 6,227 physicians in 30 countries found that 37% of those treating COVID-19 patients rated hydroxychloroquine as the “most effective therapy” from a list of 15 options.

Of the physicians surveyed, 3,308 said they had either ordered a COVID-19 test or been involved in caring for a coronavirus patient, and 2,171 of those responded to the question asking which medications were most effective.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave chloroquine and its next-generation derivative, hydroxychloroquine, emergency-use authorization Monday for treating the novel coronavirus, although the drug was already being used off-label by some doctors and hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

The survey also found that the most commonly prescribed treatments are analgesics (56%), azithromycin (41%) and hydroxychloroquine (33%).

Azithromycin, known by the brand name Zithromax or Z-Pak, was rated the second-most effective therapy at 32%, followed by “nothing,” analgesics (including acetaminophen), anti-HIV drugs and cough medicine.

Hydroxychloroquine, which is sold under the brand name Plaquenil, was prescribed mainly in the United States for the most severe cases, but not so in other countries.

“Outside the U.S., hydroxychloroquine was equally used for diagnosed patients with mild to severe symptoms whereas in the U.S. it was most commonly used for high risk diagnosed patients,” the survey found.

The 30 nations surveyed included those in Europe, Asia, North America and South America, as well as Australia. No incentives were provided to participate in the poll, conducted March 25-27, according to Sermo.

Hydroxychloroquine usage was most widespread in Spain, where 72% of physicians surveyed said they had prescribed it, followed by Italy at 49%, and least popular in Japan, where 7% had used it to treat COVID-19.

The poll found 23% of U.S. medical professionals had prescribed the drug, which has been FDA-approved for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Debate about hydroxychloroquine has raged in the United States since President Trump touted it two weeks ago as a potential “game-changer” in the fight against the deadly pandemic, prompting critics to accuse him of peddling unproven remedies, or “snake oil,” as USA Today put it.

https://www.fort-russ.com/2020/04/dr-fauci-lied-hydroxychloroquine-rated-most-effective-therapy-by-doctors-for-coronavirus-in-global-survey-of-6k-doctors-in-30-countries/

Food banks buckle under demand and warn they will run out as millions of Americans go hungry and huge lines form across country(45 Pics)

Food banks across America are warning that they cannot cope with the huge surge in demand caused by mass unemployment during the coronavirus.

With tens of millions of Americans unemployed, cities across the nation are struggling to meet the demand for food as long lines are seen outside nonprofits who are feeding those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Food banks from Maine to Washington have warned that donations have plummeted while demand has surged by many multiples etc

Motorists lined up for over a mile for emergency groceries offered Friday at a drive-up site run by a Pittsburgh food bank.

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank planned to distribute two boxes of food to each vehicle, enough to make 40 meals.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/04/food-banks-buckle-under-demand-and-warn.html

Crime falls sharply in even the most violent US cities - Police in Latin America also see drops, as criminals stay home and policing patterns change

The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled major retailers and small shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too.

In Chicago, one of the most violent places in the US, drug arrests in the weeks since the city shut down are down by 42% compared with the same period last year.

Some criminal lawyers say part of the reason for that decrease is that dealers have no choice but to wait out the economic slump.

“The feedback I’m getting is that they aren’t able to move, to sell anything anywhere,” said Joseph Lopez, a lawyer in Chicago who represents reputed drug dealers.

Overall, Chicago’s crime declined by 10% after the pandemic struck, a trend that is playing out globally. Fewer people are being killed and fewer robberies are taking place.

Still, law enforcement officials worry about a surge of unreported domestic violence, and what happens when restrictions are lifted or go on too long.

It’s rare for a city to see a double-digit drop in crime, even over a much longer period. During New York’s 1990s crime decline, one of the biggest turnarounds in US history, crime dropped by about 40% over three years.

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Across Latin America, crime is down to levels unseen in decades. El Salvador, for example, reported an average of two killings a day last month, down from a peak of 600 a day a few years ago.

Eduardo Perdomo, a 47-year-old construction worker, said while getting off a bus in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. “I think they [gang members] are afraid of catching the virus, and they aren’t going out.”

Much of the decrease is down to tougher security policies and gang truces. But the imposition of near-total limits on movement is likely to be driving it down further, according to analysts and national statistics.

In Peru, crime levels fell 84% last month. Raúl González, a mortician in Lima, usually has as many as 15 bodies a day, many of which are homicide victims. This week he napped on a bench after six hours without a client. “There are almost no killings or car accidents these days,” González said.

In South Africa, police reported a big decline during their first week of lockdown measures. The country’s police minister, Bheki Cele, said reported rapes fell to 101, from 700 over the same period last year. Serious assault cases fell from 2,673 to 456, and murders from 326 to 94.

In New York, which has the most cases of coronavirus in the US, major crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, burglary, assault, grand larceny and car theft decreased by 12% from February to March. In Los Angeles, statistics for key crimes were consistent with last year’s figures until the week of 15 March, when they dropped by 30%.

“There’s a lot fewer opportunities for criminals to take advantage of,” said Joe Giacalone, a former New York police department sergeant who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Most burglars, they wait for you to leave the house.”

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/04/crime-falls-sharply-in-even-most.html

Mayor de Blasio orders city schools closed for rest of the year: ‘It is painful, but it will save lives’

Mayor de Blasio on Saturday ordered all city schools closed for the remainder of the school year as the coronavirus pandemic continues its stranglehold on the five boroughs.

“We will not be able to bring our schools back before the end of the school year,” de Blasio said in a video press conference. “There was nothing easy about this decision.”

Last month, De Blasio ordered city schools closed until April 20 after spring break, but the mayor said over the last few weeks that goal became more and more unattainable.

“It is painful, but it will save lives and guarantee that the strategies that we have put in place are working,” de Blasio said about the social distancing rules to tamp down the spread of the virus. “They need time to continue to be effective.”

City schools should be able to reopen in September, he said.

Online classes will continue, with more educators, support for parents, and expanded hours added to the remote learning system, de Blasio said

More creative at-home programming will also be coming out in the next few weeks, he said.

http://www.webnewsys.com/2020/04/mayor-de-blasio-orders-city-schools.html

Michigan’s Crazed Governor Gretchen Whitmer Bans “Travel Between Residences”

This power-hungry idiot is in the running to be Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick!

This puts her inches away from the presidency.

In late March Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer limited access of doctors from prescribing the lifesaving drugs hydroxychloroquine and Z-Paks to save senior citizens in the state from coronavirus.

Hydroxychloroquine and Z-Paks have are widely used by doctors the world over to treat the coronavirus.

Democrat lawmaker Karen Whitsett said she had to beg for hydroxychloroquine that saved her life because her tyrannical governor limiting access to the drug with an executive order!

Now the far left governor is banning travel between homes for Michigan residents!

So kids can no longer play at their friends’ house.

Families cannot travel for Easter.

This governor is insane!

Via The Detroit Free Press.

After Friday, Michigan residents will no longer be able to jump in the car — or cross the street — to visit friends and relatives inside the state, or to go to the cottage Up North, with limited exceptions.

That is one of the major changes in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay home” order, issued Thursday, which also extends the expiration of the order to May 1.

Until now, travel between two Michigan residences has been permitted.

Beginning Saturday morning, that will end, except for purposes such as caring for a relative or pet or complying with a court order related to child custody.

“All public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited,” Whitmer said at a news conference. “People can still leave the house for outdoor activities, Recreational activities are still permitted as long as they’re taking place outside of six feet from anyone else.”

http://www.womensystems.com/2020/04/michigans-crazed-governor-gretchen.html

The State of NY just made it a Class E Felony for Law Enforcement to report illegals to ICE.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/the-state-of-ny-just-made-it-a-class-e-felony-for-law-enforcement-to-report-illegals-to-ice/

16 million people just got laid off but U.S. stocks had their best week in 45 years

This was the best of weeks, and it was the worst of weeks.

To start with the “worst:” we learned that 6.6 million more people filed for unemployment for the first time, for a three-week tally of more than 16 million and taking the jobless rate up to 10% or more, even as it likely underestimates the number of people who haven’t been able to get through to overburdened state unemployment systems.

The “best” part may have been just as unsettling. Stocks had their best week in over four decades, with the Dow DJIA, +1.22% up 12.67%, the S&P 500 SPX, +1.44% gaining 12.1%, and the Nasdaq COMP, +0.77% up 10.59%.

In fact, two sectors of the S&P 500 charted their strongest week ever. The chart above shows the sector performances, with data from Dow Jones Market Data. The real estate sector was only launched in 2016; historical data before that is back-tested. All the other sector data dates back to 1989.

What gives?

First, it’s important to note that many strategists think markets haven’t fully grasped the scope of the devastation the coronavirus will wreak on the economy, let alone the human toll. And for now, the unprecedented actions by the Federal Reserve and other central banks are helping keep investors numb.

“Stocks are up because the damage to the economy — evident in claims — is beyond comprehension, while the response of the Fed is easier to understand,” wrote Chris Low, chief economist for FHN Financial, in a note out Thursday after the jobless claims data.

And most strategists think stocks are likely to take a leg lower from here. Investors haven’t yet had a true “capitulation,” Kim Forrest, founder and CIO of Bokeh Capital Management, told MarketWatch. Analysts at Goldman Sachs agree.

Still, there may be some historical context for understanding what’s going on.

In an analysis published Thursday, investor Ned Davis notes that the stock market does better than average when unemployment spikes. Davis’ research shows that a jobless rate over 6% correlates with the stock market rising 13.7% per annum.

“How can this be?” Davis wrote. “It defies logic. My explanation would be that this news is widely followed, and the market tends to look ahead. So it is probably priced in.”

It’s also probably in large part because of the central bank’s punchbowl, Davis added. Very high unemployment “can send the Fed into overdrive in terms of making money cheaper and more easily available… When the Fed helps investment grade bond yields plunge, it has been a good buy signal for stocks.”

The Fed on Thursday pledged more support for investment grade bonds, and some limited support for sub-investment grade debt.

Nicholas Colas, co-founder of investment research shop DataTrek Research, also had some thoughts on the link between the real economy and markets, in an analysis released Friday. “The issuance of money sits at the intersection of public trust and government responsibility,” Colas wrote.

“It is tempting to think that the Fed’s actions today means US stock prices will only trend higher from here: When you remove near term bankruptcy risk from every publicly held company regardless of credit rating or near-term financial condition, asset prices should rise,” Colas added. “Markets know that no matter how bad cash flow might be there is a Fed loan backstop waiting in the wings if needed.”

What’s more, he said, “The Fed knows it must keep equity markets stable to rising in order to keep the 40% of Americans who own stocks sufficiently liquid and confident to spark a recovery in consumer spending. This is the classic wealth effect, something the Federal Reserve understands well.”

It’s worth pointing out that if 40% of Americans own stocks, 60% do not. And not only are those people not sparking a trickle-down recovery, they may be just trying to keep food on the table.

http://www.tathasta.com/2020/04/16-million-people-just-got-laid-off-but.html

Coronavirus vaccine could be ready by September with an 80% likelihood it will work, says Oxford University expert leading research team

A coronavirus vaccine could be ready by September, it was reported last night.

Sarah Gilbert, an Oxford University professor currently leading Britain's most advanced search for a vaccine, said she was '80 per cent confident' her team's development would work by autumn.

Last month she was hopeful it could be developed by the end of 2020, but has now confirmed the most optimistic scenario after human trials look set to begin in the next fortnight.

The government has previously indicated it would fund the manufacture of millions of vaccine doses that looked promising in advance, allowing immediate availability to the public once developed.

Despite previous warnings a vaccine could take 18 months to produce, Professor Gilbert said the most bullish scenario for a working product was September 'if everything goes perfectly'.

She told the Times: 'I think there's a high chance that it will work based on other things that we have done with this type of vaccine.

'It's not just a hunch and as every week goes by we have more data to look at. I would go for 80 percent, that's my personal view.'

More

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/04/coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-by_11.html

Pelosi says there is “no evidence” that americans need financial assistance right now.

OK, so businesses laying people off and the weaker ones that are now permanently closing “don’t need assistance”. F*ck RIGHT off

Record Bankruptcies Predicted as Unemployment Soars…

Why relief to small businesses has lagged…

Crisis Legacy: Mountains of Debt…

Sign of the times: Mile-long line outside California grocery giveaway…

World faces new ‘Great Depression’ as virus toll mounts…

Pelosi warns Trump not to reopen country too soon

Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled Thursday that the House is unlikely to return to session later this month, her clearest indication yet that Congress — like the rest of the country — could remain shuttered for weeks or even longer as the coronavirus crisis continues.

In a half-hour interview, Pelosi issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump, urging him not to prematurely rush to reopen major segments of the country before the coronavirus is under control, which she said could further send the U.S. economy into a tailspin.

We must always do the opposite of what she says.

https://youtu.be/VfHu3LXvP1s

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/pelosi-says-there-is-no-evidence-that-americans-need-financial-assistance-right-now/

Lebanon foils largest smuggling operation: 25 tonnes of hashish

Lebanon’s General Directorate of Internal Security Forces announced on Friday that it had intercepted the largest drug smuggling operation in the history of Lebanon, after thwarting the smuggling of 25 tonnes of hashish through the port of Beirut to an African country.

According to the directorate’s statement, after a three-month follow-up, the Central Anti-Narcotics Office of the Judicial Police Unit: “Seized a convoy of eight trucks that were heading to the Beirut harbour campus, containing thousands of nylon bags filled with agricultural soil.”

After the inspection of the containers at the port on 24 March, large quantities of hashish were seized, weighing approximately 25 tonnes, which were professionally packed inside bags, according to the statement.

The directorate explained that the seized quantity, which was on its way to an African country that the security forces did not name, is considered the: “Largest in the history of Lebanon, and it was ready and prepared to be traded, promoted, sold and smuggled abroad. An investigation is being carried out under the supervision of the concerned judiciary, and work is ongoing to arrest those involved.”

According to the United Nations, Lebanon is the third largest producer of hashish in the world, after Afghanistan and Morocco.

Known for its “good quality”, hashish was a flourishing industry during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). It generated millions of dollars before the state launched campaigns to eliminate it, promising alternative cultivations, which were not achieved.

The Lebanese security forces are working to destroy crops grown in the Bekaa region in the east, and are equally targeting farmers. Confrontations often occurred between these forces and the families working in this field, in addition to political interventions to stop the campaigns.

In recent years, security forces have seized large quantities of hashish and captagon pills, intended for export, and many international trade networks have been arrested. Quantities of cocaine and industrial drugs imported to Lebanon have similarly been seized.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200411-lebanon-foils-largest-smuggling-operation-25-tonnes-of-hashish/

WFP Slashes Aid in North Yemen as Covid-19 Arrives

Humanitarian crisis worsens as pandemic looms large

A lot of nations devastated and lacking humanitarian infrastructure have been dreading the arrival of coronavirus. After all, if developed nations with large health care systems are buckling under the pandemic, what hope do places like Yemen have.

Yemen is a big concern, as the nation is five years into a Saudi invasion, dependent on foreign aid for food, and healthcare system is so lacking that they’ve been hit with unprecedented cholera outbreaks. The first coronavirus case was confirmed Friday, in Ash Shihr.

Yemen is already not ready for that, and the particularly vulnerable north is about to get worse, with the World Food Programme (WFP) saying they need a halve the amount of aid sent to the north because of funding problems.

The WFP and other bodies are responsible for 80% of the food in the Houthi-controlled north of Yemen, and weakened by malnutrition and lacking medicine, the region is about to get hammered with more shortages, and as the virus starts to spread, they could be among the hardest hit regions for simple lack of readiness.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/04/10/wfp-slashes-aid-in-north-yemen-as-covid-19-arrives/

Ohio Protesters Claim Coronavirus Shutdowns Violate Their Constitutional Rights

These Ohio protesters obviously aren’t the only Americans concerned about how the pandemic has already affected their livelihoods and their liberties. They aren’t the only ones concerned that it may get worse – much worse.

As noted by Governor Mike DeWine – they still have the right to protest. At least for now they do.

From WOSU:

Around 75 protesters gathered outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Thursday to criticize the government’s restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak.

Many wore Guy Fawkes masks over their faces, and at least one held a gun. Their signs criticized the governor’s stay-at-home order, closure of schools and shutdown of the economy: “My constitutional rights are essential,” “Ohio dies when government lies,” “Quarantine the sick not the Constitution,” “A free people in a pandemic are still a free people.”

Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton acknowledged the chanting that often could be heard during Thursday’s press conference. “There are people protesting right now outside the Statehouse. And people are worried. They’re afraid. They’re afraid about things like their jobs,” she said.

Earlier in the day, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services reported that 695,519 residents had submitted jobless claims over the past three weeks.

DeWine said the protesters had every right to be there, although he urged them to “try not to shout on each other.” The state’s ban on mass gatherings includes allowances for expressing First Amendment rights.

https://youtu.be/es4Him59U0c

https://youtu.be/bJZyikCVmsM

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/04/ohio-protesters-claim-coronavirus-shutdowns-violate-their-constitutional-rights.html

Why the White House is highlighting virus 'positivity rates'

A key metric is cropping up more and more at the coronavirus task force briefings.

White House response coordinator Deborah Birx on Wednesday and Thursday highlighted what she called the positive rate of coronavirus tests, a figure that helps measure the severity of the outbreak in different parts of the country.

Why is this measure important? While much attention has been placed on the number of tests being conducted, the proportion of tests that come back positive can offer both a broader and more detailed view of the pandemic.

“Epidemiology is a bit like baseball,” two public health experts, Farzad Mostashari and Ezekiel Emanuel, recently wrote in the news publication Stat. “Knowing that a ball player has gotten 134 hits isn’t that informative. What is informative is knowing that those 134 hits were made during 335 at-bats, which translates into a batting average of .400.”

Knowing how that percentage of positive tests is changing can help determine the course of the outbreak, they wrote.

Birx used the measure Wednesday, along with the number of new cases per day, to contrast the severity of the outbreak in two of the biggest U.S. cities.

New York had a positivity rate of more than 40 percent, with 11,000 new cases per day. In contrast, Los Angeles, which along with much of the West Coast is seen as a relative success story, had a positivity rate of just 9 percent and 800 new cases.

“And so this really gives us some idea of what it takes,” Birx said, pointing to Los Angeles. “They have been continuously mitigating.”

Areas at risk of becoming the next epicenter had positivity rates between those of New York and Los Angeles, effectively serving as a warning sign. New Orleans had a positivity rate of 28 percent, followed by Detroit at 26 percent and Chicago at 18 percent.

The metric can also be read as an indicator that the country is not doing enough testing.

Nationally, the positivity rate of coronavirus tests is about 20 percent. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said that is “absolutely” a sign of insufficient testing.

He also noted that the positivity rate has increased in the past two weeks, an indication that the U.S. is not ramping up its total number of tests fast enough to keep pace with the spreading virus.

“A very high percent positive rate means you're probably missing a lot of people who have the disease,” he said, suggesting New York may have even more unconfirmed cases.

But in places such as Los Angeles, where the rate is much lower, that is a sign “there probably aren’t a lot of cases that I’m not seeing.”

Los Angeles County on Friday extended its stay-at-home order to May 15. It was previously scheduled to end on April 19.

The positivity rate certainly has its limits as a metric, though, mainly because it depends in large part on who is getting tested.

The bulk of testing is not being carried out in a systematic or randomized way that would best answer questions such as how far the virus has spread in a community.

“It can be so strongly influenced by just exactly what are the criteria for testing,” said Jeffrey Martin, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco.

He said better metrics for the severity of an outbreak are deaths and intensive care unit admissions.

https://thehill.com/homenews/coronavirus-report/492311-white-house-highlighting-virus-positivity-rates

Democrats Must Join Republicans In Calling For A Hearing On Coronavirus ‘Models’

As Americans struggle to conform to a new way of life imposed by government restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic, government officials are struggling just the same to understand the ever conflicting models and data regarding the severity of the outbreak.

There are more questions than answers. And with possibly more than eight weeks of lockdown still ahead for the nation, concerns are mounting that keeping the country locked down for weeks or months to come could lead to an economic depression that will threaten growth, shudder small businesses and leave people jobless for months or years to come.

More importantly, what are we to believe with regard to various coronavirus models? These models – which vary in number – were and are the basis for the shut-downs implemented by State and local governments across the country. In a little more than four weeks, our way of life has been upended and many of the civil liberties we take for granted are now on hold until the wave of the virus subsides, a treatment is found or a cure.

It’s not to say that the deaths from the virus aren’t priority and it’s also difficult to ascertain the tragedy that many Americans have faced or will face as loved ones are lost to this global pandemic.

But understanding what has happened to our nation, comes with first understanding and ascertaining the facts and reality of the virus.

First, the coronavirus model from Imperial College in London, which was used by U.S. epidemiologists to guesstimate that 2.2 million lives in the U.S. would be lost if we failed to implement rules of social distancing, school closures and lockdowns is now found to be unreliable. Later we were told that other models revealed significantly less numbers of deaths, estimating that roughly 100,000 to 200,000 would succumb to the virus in the United States. Most recently, a new coronavirus model suggests that roughly 60,000 would lose their lives to the virus, which is tragic enough but far less than the original model.

Some have attributed the decrease in deaths to social distancing measures that are in place but unfortunately the data is just not there to substantiate the claims.

Lisa Boothe, a Fox News Contributor, wrote recently in an OpEd for The Hill, that the models are only as good as the data obtained. She’s right. She quoted Stanford epidemiologist John Ioannidis, a scholar famous for debunking bad research.

“The data collected so far on how many people are infected and how the epidemic is evolving are utterly unreliable,” he said with regard to the coronavirus models. “Given the limited testing to date, some deaths and probably the vast majority of infections due to SARS-CoV-2 are being missed.”

Every life is important and it’s also just as important to understand what the models represent and why the numbers vary so much. Only time and substantial facts based on testing, random sampling and understanding the origins of the virus will deliver the information we need.

This is a bipartisan issue. Hopefully the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee can get us some of those answers, along with their Democratic colleagues. On Thursday, the Republicans called for a hearing to review the “modeling platforms” used by the top health experts that led to the nationwide shut down. Those modeling platforms of the coronavirus were used to project the extent and impact of the pandemic, as well as the deaths expected from the outbreak. As I’ve stated, those numbers have changed numerous times.

The Republicans, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, claim that the coronavirus models exhibit “conflicting data” and that the policies are “placing extraordinary burdens” on Americans.

https://saraacarter.com/democrats-must-join-republicans-in-calling-for-a-hearing-on-coronavirus-models/

Biden Sexual Assault Accuser Files Complaint with D.C. Police

On Thursday, Tara Reade, the former staffer for then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) who has publicly accused the Democratic presumptive nominee of sexual assault, filed a complaint with the Washington, D.C. police about the incident.

In the report, Reade alleges that Biden assaulted her in a Senate corridor, shoving his hand under her skirt and penetrating her with his fingers, BusinessInsider, which obtained a public incident regarding the filing, reported.

The statute of limitations for the alleged assault has long passed, so it seems Reade is merely attempting to draw attention to her claims. She first made the full allegations last month in a podcast interview, claiming Biden touched her without her consent while the two were alone after she delivered a gym bag to him.

Reade's allegations gained new traction when The Intercept reported that the Time's Up Legal Foundation had refused to represent the Biden accuser. The legal foundation, which launched in the wake of the #MeToo movement, claimed that representing Reade might jeopardize its tax-exempt status. Tax lawyers disputed this claim, and The Intercept unearthed another potential explanation: the public relations firm that works on behalf of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund is SKDKnickerbocker. That firm's managing director, Anita Dunn, is the top adviser to Biden's campaign.

Alyssa Milano, a celebrity who rushed to endorse sexual assault claims leveled against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the name of believing all women, has stood by her support for Joe Biden, suddenly insisting on due process.

It seems unlikely this police report will lead to any direct action, but it does draw renewed attention to Reade's claims — and liberals' double standard when it comes to sexual assault allegations against Democrats.

https://pjmedia.com/election/biden-sexual-assault-accuser-files-complaint-with-d-c-police/

Man Who Featured in 5 Person Polyamorous Relationship Charged With Child Abuse

Infant suffered broken leg, arm and skull fractures during vicious attack.

A man who featured as one of the four male partners in a polyamorous relationship with a pregnant woman that received media attention in December has been charged with aggravated child abuse after the 5-week-old baby suffered multiple severe injuries.

22-year-old Ethan Baucom was one of the individuals shown in a Barcroft TV production which told the story of 20-year-old Tory Ojeda sharing her Jacksonville, Fla. with three of her four partners, including Baucom.

Ojeda revealed that she was marrying one of the men in the house, Travis, but that the father of her baby was another partner called Christopher.

"We're all raising the baby together — so everyone's Dad," Ojeda said. "We're all very, very excited to be raising a baby together."

Christopher said he was looking forward to sharing father responsibilities with the other men in the house, commenting, "There is a lot of support between all of us dads and it's something we can tag team."

It has now been revealed that one of those men, Ethan Baucom, admitted to physically abusing the 5-week-old baby while babysitting the infant.

According to reports, the baby suffered a "broken leg, arm, ribs and skull fractures."

The police report also reveals that Baucom, who told officers he needed to tell the truth," heard a "pop" during the incident, which occurred on March 12th.

He told police he was "frustrated" at his inability to get any sleep during the babysitting and that this was the reason for carrying out the assault, further details of which are redacted in the official police report.

Authorities got involved when officers were called to a hospital on March 15 and told about the baby's severe injuries as well as the the fact the infant had suffered "multiple brain bleeds." Experts concluded the baby had been attacked at least three separate times.

The baby's mother called the Florida Department of Children and Families five days after the incident took place. Baucom told her he had merely "squeezed" the child.

"I am so distraught that words cannot describe," said the baby's grandmother in response to the incident. "Oh the horror of all this! I'm so overwhelmed with pain, heartache and sorrow over this."

The baby is expected to make a full recovery with no permanent damage. Baucom is now in jail.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61370

France, Canada Deny Quid Pro Quo Over China’s Coronavirus Aid and Huawei 5G Role

Generous donations of crucial medical equipment from China to Western countries have prompted speculation that it was either a PR stunt or an attempt to leverage market access for Huawei, which has long been accused by the US of spying on behalf of Beijing.

Canada and France, the only two major countries that are yet to decide on Huawei’s role in their national 5G networks, have said that Chinese donations of masks will not affect their stance on the company.

“We are not expecting these donations to have any impact on our decisions. In fact, they will not affect our decisions on any issues,” Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau told reporters this week.

“Receiving goods from a particular company won’t necessarily imply at all that we regard different situations with that company any differently in the future,” he added.

Huawei, as well as other Chinese corporations such as Alibaba and Tencent, has been providing protective medical equipment to several coronavirus-hit countries that are facing shortages of supplies, including European nations and the United States.

The Shenzhen-based telecom giant has not publicly disclosed the scale of its largesse, but Canadian media reported this week that it plans to ship 6 million masks and has already sent in more than a million masks, 30,000 goggles and 50,000 pairs of gloves.

The United States has been pressing Canada to block Huawei from installing its 5G equipment on the fledgling fifth-generation mobile phone networks as part of its global effort to choke off the company.

The Trump administration, which accuses the company of spying for Beijing through backdoors in its gear but has provided scant evidence to prove its claims, is said to have told Canada that it would lose access to top secret intelligence unless it blocked Huawei’s 5G technology – a threat it has issued to several allies, with varying success.

Another contentious point in Canada-Huawei relations is the ongoing extradition case of the company’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who has been arrested in Canada on allegations of bypassing US sanctions.

Last week, Republican lawmaker Mark Green alleged that China is trying to leverage the donation of a billion protective masks to France to get Huawei into the French 5G infrastructure.

However, France’s US embassy debunked that claim, saying: “This point has not been raised, either during the latest discussion between President Macron and President Xi or in the course of any other exchanges.”

https://sputniknews.com/science/202004111078917550-france-canada-deny-quid-pro-quo-over-chinas-coronavirus-aid-and-huawei-5g-role/

https://twitter.com/Tori_Sachs/status/1248767913269645319

Don't Be So F**king Naive

The coronavirus pandemic is a media creation, fake news, the biggest psychological warfare stunt in history. They're lying.

Their modus operandi is

to destroy you while saying

it's for your own good.

There is a scene in the Jewish self-celebratory movie, "Chicago" where a wife catches her husband in bed with two naked women. She draws her gun.

"Don't shoot," he says. "I'm alone."

"Bullshit," she says.

"Believe what I tell you, not what you see," he replies.

She shoots him.

In contrast, Americans, the most heavily armed civilian population in the history of the world are holstering their guns.

This is the Cabalist MO.

Destroy while convincing you that it's for your own good.

Convince women to squander their most fertile years pursuing career and free sex because it's "empowering."

Convince western nations to destroy their racial and cultural heritage because "Diversity is our Strength."

Destroy gender identity and promote homosexual dysfunction to children in the name of tolerance. "Love is Love." It's "progressive."

Cabalists are reality creators. That's why they own the mass media. It's their Black Magick.

The scamdemic is part of a larger pattern. We are under occult assault.

https://www.henrymakow.com/2020/04/dont-be-so-fking-naive.html

Family Sets Up A “Give And Take” Outdoor Pantry, Doesn’t Expect It To Grow So Big(20 Photos)

Despite simple human pleasures like socializing or going shopping being dimmed by governments all over the world by putting their countries under lockdown due to coronavirus, people are still finding ways not only to reassure others and give strangers the feeling of security but also to uplift their own spirits as well as others’ by having as wholesome of a social experience as possible under such circumstances.

Furthermore, people are finding ways to help out their communities by sharing the goods they have – books, recordings, and even food. This family got inspired by people putting up front yard library exchange boxes and thought they would create a little free pantry for their community. Little did they know then, others would jump in and help it grow.

Terry Uribe Gall’s parents recently turned their front yard into a little free pantry

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/04/family-sets-up-give-and-take-outdoor.html

2.4 million doses of experimental coronavirus drug land in Israel

Netanyahu thanked Modi for making an exception in his country’s no-export rule.

Israel received essential supplies for fighting coronavirus from three different countries on Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Among the deliveries included 2.4 million doses of chloroquine, a drug usually used to treat malaria, which some have found to be helpful for coronavirus patients. The PMO did not say where the pills came from.

The PMO credited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal intervention, contacting the leaders of various countries, with bringing about the supplies’ arrival, together with the Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who is leading the “acquisitions war room” for the coronavirus fight.

In addition, following Netanyahu’s phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a delivery arrived from India last week including tons of raw material that can be used to manufacture choroquine.

Netanyahu thanked Modi for making an exception in his country’s no-export rule.

Israel also received 2.5 tons of anesthetics from Italy and millions of pieces of protective gear from China, including masks and coveralls.

Last week, Israel became one of the first countries to receive Avigan, a Japanese drug used to treat influenza, which is thought to be helpful in treating COVID-19 in its early stages, shortening the time the patient is sick and preventing the illness from becoming more severe. The drug is to be tested on 80 patients at four hospitals across Israel.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/24-million-doses-of-experimental-coronavirus-drug-land-in-Israel-624356

>>8760269

yep

Welcome To Your New Freedoms: GPS Trackers, Mandatory Selfies, & 'Obey Or Die'

In the words of Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff to Barack Obama, “never let a good crisis go to waste.”

Emanuel first said this during the 2008/2009 financial crisis… meaning that politicians can use a crisis as an opportunity to push through radical ideas that would otherwise never be accepted.

Late last month, Emanuel uttered the same words on ABC News This Week, admonishing politicians to not let this crisis go to waste either… and use it as a springboard to pass sweeping policy changes while people are too terrified to care.

And at this point in the pandemic it’s pretty clear that plenty of governments are absolutely not letting this crisis go to waste.

Here’s a roundup of what’s happening around the world:

Philippines: “Shoot them dead”

In 2016 the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, was elected on a “tough on crime” platform.

He wanted to bring back hangings for criminals convicted of murder and rape.

After being elected, Duterte said that drug traffickers, drug dealers, and even drug users should be shot dead in the street.

Other government officials insisted Duterte was exaggerating, just using theatrics to get his point across.

But sure enough, thousands of alleged drug dealers and users have been killed since 2016. Some were killed by police, and others by vigilantes.

Now the Philippines, like most of the world, is on lockdown to try to prevent the spread of CoronaVirus.

And in Duterte’s own words, “if there is any trouble” enforcing the lockdown, or people who ignore the rules, police should “shoot them dead.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/welcome-your-new-freedoms-gps-trackers-mandatory-selfies-obey-or-die

Surrendered Without A Shot

The Global War on Germs will put the Global War on Terror to shame.

Their “cure” for the coronavirus will be far deadlier than the disease. The quarantines and lockdowns will bring the world to a standstill—that’s the point….

“The Last Gasp,” Straight Line Logic, March 24, 2020

Here is a predictive strategy that will, guaranteed, improve your prognostication batting average. Whenever you make a prediction about a government, predict the worst outcome you can think of. The only surprise will be that you’re probably not pessimistic enough.

Back in 1913, if you had predicted the brand new Federal Reserve would steadily debase the currency and exacerbate rather than dampen the business cycle, you were dead right. You would have gotten more points if you predicted its creation was the first step towards abandoning the gold standard and that it would eventually finance government deficits.

Similarly, back in that unlucky year if you predicted the new Constitutional amendment allowing the government to levy an income tax would lead to massive confiscation of incomes and fund gargantuan welfare and warfare states—the blob—you hit it on the screws.

Later, if you predicted that the New Deal wouldn’t reverse the economic contraction that the government had already transformed from a garden variety financial crash and recession into a Great Depression, you were right again. More points for those who foresaw both the abandonment of any effective Constitutional constraints on the federal government, and the fiscal consequence of welfare state collectivism—a spiraling and uncontrollable national debt.

Most of the time politicians’ predictions are wrong, but Eisenhower’s warning about the military-industrial-complex, now expandable to the military-industrial-intelligence-academic-media-complex, was spot on. Those who said that Vietnam would set the precedent for endless wars that only enriched and empowered the complex while plunging the US further into debt—they were right, too. If, when Nixon terminated dollar-gold convertibility in 1971, you predicted inflation the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Civil War and put your money where your mouth was by purchasing gold or its derivatives, you did just fine.

Fast forward to the aftermath of September 11, 2001: if you said that when the US went into the Middle East it would never get out, that “emergency” measures like TSA screening and the Patriot Act would never be rescinded and clearly advanced a police state agenda, and that the George W. Bush administration’s new standard of fiscal and monetary recklessness would soon be surpassed, you were right again.

MORE

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2020/04/06/surrendered-without-a-shot/