CBO projects 39.6 percent quarterly GDP drop, $3.7T deficit

The economy will shrink at an annualized rate of 39.6 percent in the second quarter, according to the latest projections from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, its first to take into account the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The economy will experience a sharp contraction in the second quarter of 2020 stemming from factors related to the pandemic, including the social distancing measures put in place to contain it," CBO director Phillip Swagel wrote.

The CBO projects that things will rebound somewhat in the third quarter, with 23.5 percent annualized growth, followed by a projection of 10.5 percent growth in the final quarter or the year.

All in all, the economy will shrink by 5.6 percent for the year, and return to growth of about 2.8 percent in 2021.

But, Swagel added, "challenges in the economy and the labor market are expected to persist for some time."

Unemployment will reach nearly 14 percent in the second quarter and rise to a peak of 16 percent in the third quarter before dropping again.

The projections see unemployment remaining at 10.1 percent through 2021, higher than its peak during the great recession.

The government emergency rescue and stimulus efforts will nearly quadruple a deficit that was already expected to top $1 trillion. Now, CBO projects, the deficit will land at $3.7 trillion, by far the largest in the country's history.

The borrowing will inflate the country's debt to 101 percent of GDP, the first time since World War II that the debt held by the public will be larger than the nation's economic output in a year.

Economists tend to argue in favor of increasing deficit spending to boost the economy in a downturn, but also warn that steps will be needed to bring deficits and debt down when the economy gets back on even footing.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/494528-cbo-projects-396-percent-quarterly-gdp-drop-37t-deficit

Yemen Ceasefire Expires as Fears of Coronavirus Grow

Fighting continued to rage throughout Saudi-declared ceasefire

Saudi Arabia’s two week unilateral ceasefire has come to an end, expiring in the middle of more substantial fighting which marks the effort as a failure, and amid complaints it was never really a proper ceasefire in the first place.

Concern in Yemen was squarely on coronavirus when the truce was declared, and is even more so at this point, as fighting continues and there is little sign that there is any serious deal to get more humanitarian aid into the war-torn country.

The aid trouble was a big problem with the ceasefire in the first place, as while the Saudis stopped fighting on the ground, they did not end the naval blockade which has for years kept aid out of Yemen. This led the Houthis to argue that it was no ceasefire at all, as Saudi warships were still actively blocking aid.

Covid-19 is still only a small presence in Yemen, but if it starts to spread, this is one of the nations least able to handle the pandemic. Short supply in the healthcare system has killed many Yemenis, and led to unprecedented cholera outbreaks.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/04/23/yemen-ceasefire-expires-as-fears-of-coronavirus-grow/

And if anyone doubted their evil

TV series follows Israeli transgender high schoolers as they approach IDF draft

Award-winning director Hilla Medalia films families for 4 years, exposing joy and pain of surgery and hormone therapy treating gender dysphoria during crucial adolescent period

This month, 19-year-old Noam Kaniel will be drafted to the Israel Defense Forces. Like all new recruits, he is both excited and nervous. Kaniel, however, has the additional challenge of being among the very few transgender individuals serving in the IDF.

Kaniel is one of four transgender teenagers featured in “Transkids,” a five-part documentary television series that first aired on Israel’s yesDocu channel in March 2019, and is now available via VOD streaming. A film version has also screened at international film festivals.

Nominated for four 2020 Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards, “Transkids” is a fascinating and sensitive window into the lives of these young people with gender dysphoria and their families. The teens are from different cities, and different religious and socio-economic backgrounds, but they all must deal with the common realities of Israeli life — including mandatory military service.

Most notably, the teens’ families are supportive of their children through their transitions — something that cannot be taken for granted.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/tv-series-follows-israeli-transgender-high-schoolers-as-they-approach-idf-draft/

A Handful Of Cops Are Standing Up to Tyranny WITH The People

Some police officers have awoken to the world they are leaving for their children and are standing with the people against tyranny. While these instances are still few and far between, it’s a good sign that at least a few may be realizing what kind of world they are enforcing at this point in human history.

For a long time, police officers and the military have done nothing more than blindly obey the commands of politicians and enforce even the most immoral of laws on the public. That seems to be changing, and we can always hope it will change more rapidly in the coming days.

According to a report from the Federalist, police chiefs from Texas to Washington are standing up against the draconian orders from local power-hunger tyrants demanding strict adherence to extreme social distancing measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Even with manipulated statistics designed to strike fear into the masses being blasted all over the news, there is no excuse for the tyranny we are seeing spread all over the planet at a much more rapid rate than this virus could ever hope to achieve. People, by and large, have started looking beyond the falsified “facts” provided by those who don’t care about your health, only about controlling you.

The Houston Police Officers’ Union declared Wednesday that its members would refrain from enforcing local County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s ruling deeming it mandatory for any individual over the age of 10 to wear a mask in public. –The Federalist

In Washington, Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney announced Tuesday that his officers would also abstain from enforcement of lockdown orders, joining Franklin County Sheriff J.D. Raymond who said he would not stop churches and business from opening with reasonable distancing measures in place. – The Federalist

Further east in Michigan, four sheriffs in the northwest part of the mitten also announced last week that they would refuse to enforce Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown orders which have been the most extreme in the country.-The Federalist

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/04/a-handful-of-cops-are-standing-up-to-tyranny-with-the-people.html

RUTH CHRIS STEAK HOUSE TO RETURN $20 MILLION

Ruth’s Chris Steak House will return the $20 million coronavirus small-business loan it procured from the government’s $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program, the company announced Thursday.

The PPP was designed to throw a financial lifeline to the millions of small businesses who have seen revenues plunge due to social distancing lockdowns, but the hastily conceived program left thousands of applicants high and dry, after funds were snapped up in less than two weeks.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, which owns the Ruth’s Chris Steak House brand, operates more than 100 steakhouses across the United States, Canada and Mexico. It managed to secure two $10 million loans, one for each of its subsidiaries.

With fewer than 500 employees at each location, the company argued that it does meet the eligibility requirements for the loan and has had to furlough some employees.

However, the chain has been under fire for accepting stimulus loans earmarked for struggling small businesses, not multimillion-dollar corporations.

Cheryl Henry, CEO of Ruth’s Hospitality Group said in a statement that the company was eligible for the funds it had applied for in order to protect employees and their families.

“We intended to repay this loan in adherence with government guidelines, but as we learned more about the funding limitations of the program and the unintended impact, we have decided to accelerate that repayment,” said Henry. “It is our hope that these funds are loaned to another company to protect their employees.

https://thedcpatriot.com/%e2%80%8bruth-chris-steak-house-to-return-20-million/

Leaked Amazon Whole Foods Docs: Workforce Diversity Helps Prevent Unions

Leaked internal documents from Amazon-owned Whole Foods reveal the company rates their stores using a "diversity index" and determined the threat of unionization is "higher" at stores with "lower diversity."

From Business Insider, "Amazon-owned Whole Foods is quietly tracking its employees with a heat map tool that ranks which stores are most at risk of unionizing":

Whole Foods is keeping an eye on stores at risk of unionizing through an interactive heat map, according to five people with knowledge of the matter and internal documents viewed by Business Insider.

The heat map is powered by an elaborate scoring system, which assigns a rating to each of Whole Foods' 510 stores based on the likelihood that their employees might form or join a union.

The stores' individual risk scores are calculated from more than two dozen metrics, including employee "loyalty," turnover, and racial diversity […]

Store-risk metrics include average store compensation, average total store sales, and a "diversity index" that represents the racial and ethnic diversity of every store. Stores at higher risk of unionizing have lower diversity and lower employee compensation, as well as higher total store sales and higher rates of workers' compensation claims, according to the documents.

This should give you a clue as to why our Woke Capitalist rulers are so eager to preach the mantra of "diversity."

It appears it's nothing more than a union busting tactic to divide and conquer their own workforce so they'll be easier to control and accept lower wages.

https://youtu.be/uPDZELtMWEY

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61403

FDA Urges Caution In Chloroquine Use, Citing Dangers

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been around for decades and are used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis

In addition to heart problems, it can cause kidney disease and trigger seizures, among other side effects

A Chinese study indicated it was of little help to COVID-19 patients

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday cautioned against the use of the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 following reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients treated with them.

As of midday Friday, the U.S. had confirmed more than 872,100 coronavirus infections and more than 50,000 deaths.

The FDA said though its investigation is continuing, doctors should use caution in prescribing the drugs, which, until recently, were promoted as a cure for the coronavirus by President Trump.

A study released earlier this month found patients treated with chloroquine were no more likely to recover than those who weren’t. Clinical trials are still underway.

“The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with azithromycin and other QT prolonging medicines. We are also aware of increased use of these medicines through outpatient prescriptions,” the FDA said.

The agency added: “Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19.”

The drugs can cause tachycardia, which can raise the heart rate above 100 beats a minute, as well as other heart rhythm problems. They also can cause heart and kidney disease, and exacerbate such conditions as diabetes and psoriasis, as well as trigger seizures. Additionally, the drugs are toxic to fetuses.

The FDA last month authorized the emergency use of the drugs, which have been used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis for decades. Though they worked in the lab against coronavirus, their value in handling the pandemic still was unclear.

“Because chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine may possibly help very sick patients, FDA is allowing these drugs to be provided to certain hospitalized patients under an EUA [emergency use authorization] issued March 28, 2020,” the FDA said, also noting optimal dosage was unknown. They were not approved for prophylactic use.

https://www.ibtimes.com/coronavirus-treatment-fda-urges-caution-chloroquine-use-citing-dangers-2964510

Culture of Corruption: Did Dem Operative David Brock Use His Nonprofit for Personal Profit?

A nonprofit founded by left-wing smear-job artist David Brock invested nearly three million dollars in a for-profit company founded by… David Brock, according to a complaint just filed by the right-leaning Patriots Foundation.

Brock's American Bridge 21st Century Foundation PAC nonprofit arm directed $2.6 million of donors' money into Brock's media firm, True Blue Media LLC. Patriots Foundation co-founder Craig Robinson told The Daily Beast in a story filed early this morning, "These complaints we filed provide damning indictment of serious allegations about how his organizations have circumvented rules and exploited the tax-exempt status of the organizations for personal benefit and partisan political purposes, and potentially siphoning millions for improper purposes."

Brock's setup is as complicated as it seems shady:

Brock’s network also includes a for-profit news venture called the American Independent. That outlet is owned by a company he formed in late 2015 called True Blue Media LLC. When Brock convened donors at a retreat in early 2017 to brief them on his anti-Trump efforts going forward, he billed True Blue Media’s news operation explicitly as a revenue-generating enterprise that would sell advertising and subscriptions.

Over the next two years, American Bridge’s nonprofit arm invested more than $2.6 million in True Blue Media, according to tax filings. Those filings list Brock’s ownership stake in the LLC as greater than 35 percent. The structure appears to have resembled a convertible note; in exchange for that cash infusion, American Bridge was promised future equity in the media company. It’s not clear if that equity was ever provided.

If the equity end of the deal didn't go through, then it looks like a straight transfer payment where Brock personally profited on both sides.

From there things get really murky:

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/culture-of-corruption-did-dem-operative-david-brock-use-his-nonprofit-for-personal-profit/

U.S.-Affiliated Activist Confirms Al-Tanaf Militants Steal Aid To Al-Rukban Refugees

The U.S.-backed Revolutionary Commando Army (MaT) are stealing the UN aid to the refugees in the al-Rukban Camp, Mzahem Alsaloum, the former spokesman for the defunct U.S.-backed New Syrian Army (SNA), revealed on April 24.

In a series of tweets, Alsaloum said MaT commanders plotted to steal a new batch of aid by establishing a committee loyal to them and presenting it to the UN as the “elderly” of the al-Rukban Camp.

The fake elderly committee submitted a list filled with fake names of refugees, demanding the UN to double the aid set to be sent to the camp.

Alsaloum confirmed that the MaT plot was uncovered by the Russian side, which temporary blocked the delivery of aid to the refugee camp. The coordination headquarters of Russia and Syria first revealed the plot in a statement released earlier this week.

“The humanitarian crisis of Rukban Camp has been exacerbated by the corrupted leaders of the U.S.-backed MaT,” the activist acknowledged in one of his tweet.

According to Alsaloum, MaT commander Uqbah al-Batah, who is also the head of the supplying department in the U.S.-occupied 55 km zone, is responsible for selling UN aid and selling it to ISIS cells in the nearby Homs desert.

Alsaloum also accused the commander of smuggling two thirds of the aid sent to the 55 km zone to ISIS as well as of being involved in the sale of U.S.-supplied weapons and drugs to the terrorist group and Iranian forces.

Al-Batah was reportedly a commander in ISIS. Prior to that, he worked with an al-Qaeda-affiliated faction. The U.S.-led coalition expelled the commander a few years ago after discovering that he previously planned an attack on American troops and was involved in war crimes. However, the coalition appointed a new command for al-Tanaf, which allowed al-Batah to return.

The information revealed by Alsaloum, who worked with U.S.-led coalition forces in al-Tanf, are not a surprise. Russia and Damascus have been warning from U.S.-backed militants in the region for years now.

As for now, the al-Rukban Camp, which hosts around 40,000 civilians, remain under the control of these militants who are protected and supported by the U.S. military.

https://southfront.org/u-s-affiliated-activist-confirms-al-tanaf-militants-steal-aid-to-al-rukban-refugees/

U.S.-Affiliated Activist Confirms Al-Tanaf Militants Steal Aid To Al-Rukban Refugees

The U.S.-backed Revolutionary Commando Army (MaT) are stealing the UN aid to the refugees in the al-Rukban Camp, Mzahem Alsaloum, the former spokesman for the defunct U.S.-backed New Syrian Army (SNA), revealed on April 24.

In a series of tweets, Alsaloum said MaT commanders plotted to steal a new batch of aid by establishing a committee loyal to them and presenting it to the UN as the “elderly” of the al-Rukban Camp.

The fake elderly committee submitted a list filled with fake names of refugees, demanding the UN to double the aid set to be sent to the camp.

Alsaloum confirmed that the MaT plot was uncovered by the Russian side, which temporary blocked the delivery of aid to the refugee camp. The coordination headquarters of Russia and Syria first revealed the plot in a statement released earlier this week.

“The humanitarian crisis of Rukban Camp has been exacerbated by the corrupted leaders of the U.S.-backed MaT,” the activist acknowledged in one of his tweet.

According to Alsaloum, MaT commander Uqbah al-Batah, who is also the head of the supplying department in the U.S.-occupied 55 km zone, is responsible for selling UN aid and selling it to ISIS cells in the nearby Homs desert.

Alsaloum also accused the commander of smuggling two thirds of the aid sent to the 55 km zone to ISIS as well as of being involved in the sale of U.S.-supplied weapons and drugs to the terrorist group and Iranian forces.

Al-Batah was reportedly a commander in ISIS. Prior to that, he worked with an al-Qaeda-affiliated faction. The U.S.-led coalition expelled the commander a few years ago after discovering that he previously planned an attack on American troops and was involved in war crimes. However, the coalition appointed a new command for al-Tanaf, which allowed al-Batah to return.

The information revealed by Alsaloum, who worked with U.S.-led coalition forces in al-Tanf, are not a surprise. Russia and Damascus have been warning from U.S.-backed militants in the region for years now.

As for now, the al-Rukban Camp, which hosts around 40,000 civilians, remain under the control of these militants who are protected and supported by the U.S. military.

https://southfront.org/u-s-affiliated-activist-confirms-al-tanaf-militants-steal-aid-to-al-rukban-refugees/>>8909645

Union Reps Warn DHS Failure On Mexico Border Ports Of Entry Is A Nat Sec Nightmare That Could Lead To Rise In COVID19 Infections.

As most Americans are grappling with life under COVID19 lockdown, many having to cancel flights overseas and rarely leaving home, some U.S. residents along the southern border are not heeding warnings and being allowed by the Department of Homeland Security to travel freely into areas of Mexico where the novel coronavirus is on the rise. Those same residents then return to the United States without receiving any medical checks or being required to quarantine, according to numerous CBP Union and Customs agents that spoke with this reporter.

The majority of non-essential travel, they say is people visiting family, going to nail salons, taking their pets to veterinarians, buying groceries and accessing other services not readily available to them in the United States but the risk is too great say officers who contend that failure to not stop the ‘non-essential traffic’ from the United States going south rests solely with their senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

Patricia Cramer, who is President of the Arizona chapter of the National Treasury Employee Union [NTEU] representing U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers and Agriculture Specialists at the Arizona Port of Entries, told The Sara Carter Show this week that the Department of Homeland Security isn’t doing its job and warned that failure to stop the flow of non-essential travel into Mexico is threatening not only CBP officers at the ports of entry but the nation’s security as well. Currently, 288 CBP officers across the nation are infected with the novel coronavirus that has led to the deaths of nearly 50,000 Americans.

Cramer said, “there’s no way President Trump knows this is going on because I’d believe he’d stop it immediately.”

“If anyone was to come down to the U.S. Mexico border they would never think there was a pandemic going on,” said Cramer, who was born in Mexico, became a citizen of the United States and has worked for decades with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “You would think life is just normal. And unfortunately, it’s a lot of U.S. citizens and green card holders that are going back and forth into Mexico you know to get tacos, to get haircuts, to go to nail salons, to go to vet appointments – I mean nonessential stuff.”

She added, “no matter what your political views are you know every customs officer will tell you that the system is very broken and it has been broken because of politics and because of the people that have been in place that are heads of DHS you know and no matter your political view everybody should be concerned about the security of your country because there are some scary people and some scary things trying to come through. And if it wasn’t for the frontline of America, our country would be in grave danger.”

https://saraacarter.com/union-reps-warn-dhs-failure-on-mexico-border-ports-of-entry-is-a-nat-sec-nightmare-that-could-lead-to-rise-in-covid19-infections/

Capitalism on Life Support… Time for a Cure

The Covid-19 pandemic is unleashing obscene bailouts of Western industries and companies, as well as lifelines for billionaire business magnates.

It is grotesque that millions of workers are being laid off by corporations which are in turn receiving taxpayer funds. Many of these corporations have stashed trillions of dollars away in tax havens and have contributed zero to the public treasury. Yet they are being bailed out due to shutdowns in the economy over the Covid-19 crisis.

Why aren’t the banks and corporations being forced by governments to pay for their workers on sick leave or in lockdown? It’s because the governments are bought and paid-for servants of the top one per cent. Some political leaders are the embodiment of the one per cent, like Donald Trump and senior members of the U.S. Congress.

The biggest orgy of funny money is seen in the U.S. where the Trump administration and Congress have approved the printing of trillions of dollars to prop up corporations and banks. Meanwhile crumbs are being thrown at millions of workers and their families.

In just five weeks, unemployment has hit a staggering 26.4 million people in the U.S. – and that’s the official figure. The real level is doubtless much higher. It is reported that the job losses have wiped out all the employment gains made over the past decade since the last financial crisis in 2008. As with the present crisis, the U.S. government arranged trillion-dollar bailouts for banks and industries back in 2008-2009. It didn’t last long until the next binge.

In truth is this is a familiar pattern over the past century where the economy is continually salvaged from ruin by the government at the expense of ordinary workers, small businesses and taxpayers. The recurring rescue is proof that the system of private capital and supposed free markets is a myth.

The system typically privatizes profit for an elite while socializing the losses for the mass of people. It has always been a version of “socialism for the rich”.

In the distant past the salvaging of broken-down capitalism was at least conducted with a certain degree of democratization and social progress. In the New Deal era of Roosevelt in the 1930s at least government intervention went a long way to restoring workers and their rights, despite bitter opposition from capitalists. Over recent decades, however, the rescuing of capitalism has seen an ever-increasing emphasis on plying money and loans to corporations and investors while ordinary workers are neglected. This process of embezzlement reached new heights in the 2008 crash. Now under Trump the larceny has become legendary. It should be underscored though that the corruption has bipartisan endorsement from Republicans and Democrats. They are really one party beholden to big business.

As Eric Zuesse commented in an-depth analysis published in our journal this week, the Covid-19 “top-down bailout” in the U.S. will result in even more social inequality and ultimately more dysfunction in the American economy going forward. “The outcome will therefore be economic collapse, and perhaps even revolution,” notes Zuesse.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/24/capitalism-on-life-support-time-for-a-cure/

Turkey Suspends Support To One its Syrian Proxy Groups For Refusing To Send Fighters To Libya

Turkey has suspended support to Faylaq al-Rahman, one of its proxy groups in Syria, for refusing to send militants to Libya, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on April 24.

According to the UK-based monitoring group, the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA), an umbrella group for Turkish proxies, ordered Faylaq al-Rahman to prepare lists of militants willing to go fight for the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya more than two months ago.

However, Faylaq al-Rahman’s commanders didn’t fulfill the order. The SNA quickly responded by halting all support for the group.

“The SNA’s response was to halt salaries for Faylaq al-Raman [fighters] two months ago, food and ammunition shares were also reduced,” the SOHR’s report reads.

The SOHR noted that few militants of Faylaq al-Rahman went to fight for the GNA in Libya, despite the rejection of their commanders.

Faylaq al-Rahman was one of the largest groups operating around the capital, Damascus. The group, which received support from the U.S, is infamous for its radical views. Up until its defeat by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in 2018, the group was allied with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Turkey began deploying Syrian militants in Libya last year to support GNA forces, which are facing a large-scale attack by the Libyan National Army (LNA). So far, a total of 199 Syrian militants have been killed in Libya.

https://southfront.org/turkey-suspends-support-to-one-its-syrian-proxy-groups-for-refusing-to-send-fighters-to-libya/

COVID-19 Provides Media and Politicians Ground Cover for Destroying Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

With every tragedy that befalls mankind few political leaders can resist the temptation to enhance the powers of the security state while attacking civil liberties. The response to the coronavirus pandemic has proven to be no exception.

Many people are asking, as the Covid lockdown keeps many businesses shuttered: will the economy ever be the same again? No small consideration considering the arbitrary nature of the lockdown, which seems to focus its wrath on small businesses while allowing the major corporations to survive. But there are other serious considerations, like how the media and politicians will hide behind political correctness and virtue signaling to conceal their ulterior motives.

One story that nicely encapsulates that agenda is by the BBC, which carried the totally objective headline: ‘Coronavirus: Arrests over ‘disgusting’ racist Covid-19 stickers.’ It is a very simple story that speaks volumes about where we are heading as a civilization. Plot spoiler: to hell in a handbag.

The brief article tells the story of two young men, identities unknown, who were arrested for applying stickers in public places. But not just any old stickers. These ones carried the phrases, ‘Open border, virus disorder,’ and ‘Pubs closed, borders open.’ The accused, however, said to be connected to a “far-right” group, were not charged with the relatively minor offense of defacing public property, but rather on “suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences,” whatever those may happen to be.

The message is clear: any suggestion that open borders may not be the best idea, even at the peak of a global pandemic, is the wild ranting of a foaming-at-the-mouth xenophobe, as opposed to maybe just a germophobe, and should be immediately vilified and rejected out of hand. In other words, yet more identity politics, enshrined in Cultural Marxist ideology, sets the agenda.

Indeed, the severe brevity of the article made it look more like a cheap communist propaganda poster than any work of journalism. The reader is treated to a quote from one Alex Gwynne, who seems to be resident, but that is never disclosed: “Using this pandemic to spread racism and hatred is unacceptable.” Thank you, Alex.

Next up is Ben Miskell, a local councilor, who is quoted as saying: “These sorts of things are meant to just divide us … and capitalise on something awful that is happening in Britain for some really sinister aim.”

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/24/covid-19-provides-media-and-politicians-ground-cover-for-destroying-life-liberty-and-pursuit-happiness/

New US Health Spokesman Says Rothschild Family ‘Craves Control’, Blames Soros Over Virus

Last week, Michael Caputo, who worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, was appointed by POTUS as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The newly nominated spokesman for US the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Michael Caputo, has blamed George Soros and the Rothschild family for trying to exploit the coronavirus pandemic in order to promote their own agendas, according to CNN which managed to uncover more than 1,000 Caputo tweets he deleted before entering office.

In a now-scrapped tweet on 15 March, Caputo, who is infamous for his remarks on social media, responded to self-proclaimed China analyst Jack Prosobiec, who speculated on Twitter why billionaire investor and philanthropist Soros allegedly adheres to his favourite political causes rather anti-COVID-19 efforts.

“Are you kidding? Soros’s political agenda REQUIRES a pandemic”, Caputo claimed, in what was followed by another tweet, in which he posted a Soros photo captioned “The real virus behind everything”, also adding skulls and crossbones.

In a separate tweet last month, Сaputo slammed economist David Rothschild as “an inbred elitist sphincter whose family craves control”, adding, “that’s one reason why he constantly lies about President Trump”.

The economist, thought to be not related to the Rothschild gamily, is known for his fierce criticism of Trump who David Rothschild claims is seeking “to murder” people in a bid to stay in power.

Trump nominated Caputo as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the HHS on 12 April, a decision that was reportedly in part due to POTUS’ frustration over the way department secretary, Alex Azar was dealing with communications during the COVID-19 crisis.

CNN, in turn, reported that ahead of entering office, Caputo had deleted more than 1,300 tweets and retweets on his Twitter page from late February to early April, including those pertaining to the coronavirus. CNN managed to unearth the tweet by using the Internet Archive's "The Wayback Machine".

https://sputniknews.com/us/202004241079082126-new-us-health-spokesman-says-rothschild-family-craves-control-blames-soros-over-virus-report/

Leaked Document Reveals UK Government Warned in 2019 of Pandemic Risks

Marked “official, sensitive”, the 2019 National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) was signed off by government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, as well as a senior national security adviser to Boris Johnson.

A leaked secret UK Cabinet Office briefing paper reveals Whitehall ministers were warned in 2019 the UK needed a robust plan to deal with a pandemic virus and its consequences, with many of its cautions and recommendations directly echoing the issues currently

The 600-page document warned even a mild virus outbreak in the country would result in tens of thousands of deaths, and set out a number of vital “capability requirements” that should be implemented in order to insulate against future risks, as well as the likely impact of not doing so.

Recommendations include stockpiling personal protective equipment, inking advanced purchase agreements for other essential items, establishing procedures for disease surveillance and contact tracing, dealing with a surge in excess deaths, and repatriating British nationals caught abroad during an outbreak.

Key Predictions

The file forecast up to 50 percent of the UK population would become afflicted, damaging business continuity, adversely impacting critical national infrastructure and leading to massive surges in demand for health and social care services.

Procedures related to disease surveillance and early detection, plus any associated infrastructure, were said to be vital to institute, along with local and national plans for management of excess deaths resulting from a mass casualty event of some kind. This in turn would require both local and national strategies for dealing with a surge in demand for health and social care services, and stockpiles of countermeasures and advanced purchase arrangements. Plans to encourage social distancing and optimal personal hygiene would also need to be drawn up long in advance, primed for activation.

https://sputniknews.com/uk/202004241079084906-nsra-impact-statement-leaked/

Full 600 page UK NSRA document

https://www.scribd.com/document/457900683/Uknsra-Selected-Pages-Redacted

Raniere Requests Another Delay In Sentencing – Reasons for Request Are Unclear

Keith Alan Raniere – the man who once controlled every aspect of the NXIVM cult/criminal enterprise, the man who once issued orders to have other people’s lives destroyed without even a second thought, the man who insisted that everything he said be recorded so that future historians would have access to every one of his brilliant musings – may have a bad case of stage fright.

How else to explain his recent request to have his sentencing postponed yet again?

Raniere, who is currently scheduled to be sentenced on May 21st, has asked U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, to postpone his sentencing “to a date convenient for the Court”.

As part of the same motion, Raniere’s attorneys, Marc A. Agnifilo and Teny R. Geragos, have also asked that several interim steps be postponed.

As of right now, Raniere’s “Sentencing Memorandum” is due on April 27th. Agnifilo and Geragos would like to postpone that until June 1st.

Similarly, they’ve asked the judge to postpone the due date for the government’s “Sentencing Memorandum” from May 4th to June 8th.

They also asked that Judge Garaufis re-schedule the date for a Fatico hearing – should one be necessary – from May 18th to “a date convenient for the court” (A Fatico hearing is a sentencing hearing at which the government and the defense each have an opportunity to present evidence about what the defendant’s sentence should be).

And, lastly, they’ve asked the judge to postpone the actual sentencing until some future, unspecified date.

https://frankreport.com/2020/04/24/raniere-requests-another-delay-in-sentencing-reasons-for-request-are-unclear/

Federal Judge Rules California Ammo Law Unconstitutional

State law mandated background checks on every ammunition sale

A federal judge blocked a California law requiring background checks for every ammunition purchase on Thursday.

District Court judge Roger Benitez blocked the state from enforcing the law, which was passed in a 2016 ballot initiative and went into effect in July 2019. Benitez called the restrictions "onerous and convoluted" with a high rate of false-positives that violated the Second Amendment rights of Californians, as well as running afoul of the commerce clause.

"The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted," Benitez wrote. "California’s new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured."

The ruling dealt a blow to one of the strictest gun-control measures in the country and could provide new clarity on the extent to which voters and state governments can curtail gun rights.

The case was filed by NRA affiliate the California Rifle and Pistol Association and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kim Rhode. They claimed the state's ban on carrying ammunition across state lines, coupled with the requirement that all sales be subject to a background check—unlike most other states which only require checks for gun sales—made it far more difficult to legally purchase ammunition in the state. The system had a 16.4 percent false-positive rate with an appeals process that forced residents to wait months to correct those problems. The National Rifle Association, which helped fund the suit, celebrated the ruling.

"California wasn't just obstructing the people's fundamental right to defend their families and lives—it was encouraging unlawful hostility toward an individual, Constitutional right," Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. "The NRA funded this case for the same reason the court struck down the laws: enough was enough."

The ammunition law was passed via ballot initiative Proposition 63 in 2016. Judge Benitez said he was "mindful" of the will of the majority of voters, but said "the Constitution remains a shield from the tyranny of the majority."

"Law-abiding citizens are imbued with the unalienable right to keep and bear firearms along with the ammunition to make their firearms work," he wrote. "That a majority today may wish it were otherwise, does not change the Constitutional right. It never has."

Benitez drew on the current coronavirus emergency in his ruling.

https://freebeacon.com/courts/federal-judge-rules-california-ammo-law-unconstitutional/

Corona Hoax aka Crown hoax

>>8909941

How Pepsi and Coke make millions bottling tap water, as residents face shutoffs

Coca-Cola churns out a number of beverages here, including Dasani, the company’s well-known bottled water that generated more than $1bn in US sales in the past year, according to the market research firm IRI.

It’s a good time to be in the water business: as the coronavirus outbreak spread in the US throughout March, bottled water sales increased 57% over the same period last year.

…

What’s more, most bottled water sold in the US comes from the same municipal sources that supply tap water – a fact probably unknown to most consumers. Coca-Cola makes Dasani at the company’s Detroit plant by purchasing, treating and bottling municipal water before selling it at a significant mark-up to consumers. Pepsi bottles its Aquafina water brand in Detroit the same way.

The business model is hugely profitable. The cost to buy that municipal water is exceedingly low – and once bottled, the mark-up can be about 133 times greater, a Consumer Reports analysis of company water billing and usage records found.

But among the products, like toilet paper or hand sanitizer, that Americans are panic-buying, bottled water is unusual: there is no shortage of safe drinking water, and health officials have tried to assure people that public water supplies are not contaminated by the coronavirus. Hoarding bottled water simply isn’t necessary for most people.

What’s more, most bottled water sold in the US comes from the same municipal sources that supply tap water – a fact probably unknown to most consumers. Coca-Cola makes Dasani at the company’s Detroit plant by purchasing, treating and bottling municipal water before selling it at a significant mark-up to consumers. Pepsi bottles its Aquafina water brand in Detroit the same way.

The business model is hugely profitable. The cost to buy that municipal water is exceedingly low – and once bottled, the mark-up can be about 133 times greater, a Consumer Reports analysis of company water billing and usage records found.

But what’s good for businesses isn’t necessarily good for consumers, according to CR’s review, which included the examination of hundreds of pages of billing and other records obtained through public records requests, and interviews with environmental law experts, industry consultants, residents of Detroit and consumer advocates.

For starters, bottlers and consumers aren’t always treated as equals by water utilities, CR found. In Detroit, whose policy before the coronavirus crisis called for shutting off water to residents if they fall $150 behind in their water bills, 2,800 homes were estimated to be without running water at the start of the pandemic.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/23/pepsi-coke-bottled-water-consumer-reports