Anger Goes Global: Anti-Lockdown Protests Erupt In Canada, France, And Germany

Although media has been focused on American opposition to coronavirus-related lockdowns, anger over virus control measures has spread worldwide and anti-lockdown protests are cropping up in Canada and across Europe as individuals tire of the economy-killing measures put in place to “flatten the curve.”

Dozens of protesters descended on Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ontario, last week, “to call for an end to the shutdown of many services, businesses, activities and public spaces across the province amid the pandemic,” according to Canada’s state-run broadcast network. The mostly peaceful demonstration drew swift condemnation from local officials, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called the protesters “selfish” and “a bunch of yahoos.”

Demonstrators claims, though, were similar to those raised by American anti-lockdown protesters, who have appeared in a number of state capitals over the past several weeks, pushing back against virus control measures that are killing small businesses and prompting skyrocketing unemployment.

“Health and economics are not mutually exclusive, We are fighting for small business, the working class, the poor, students, victims of domestic abuse, people waiting for elective medical procedures, the right to peaceful assembly, the list is endless. We choose freedom, liberty and the balance of mental and physical health,” the Toronto protest organizers told the CBC in an email.

In Europe, the protests have gotten violent. Riots began taking over Italy months ago, particularly in the economically disadvantaged south, over coronavirus-related lockdowns, but they’ve now spread to France and Germany, where lockdown measures are still in effect.

Paris, France, is in the midst of four days of violent unrest after police attempted to stop and punish a motorcyclist who broke lockdown rules.

http://www.cuzzblue.com/2020/04/anger-goes-global-anti-lockdown.html

ONE WORLD: Together at Home | Extreme Propaganda

Good breakdown of the ritual

Anti-government protesters return to the streets of Hong Kong for the first time since coronavirus lockdown was implemented as 300 flood a shopping mall despite ban on public gatherings of more than four people

Hong Kong riot police armed with shields dispersed a crowd of around 300 pro-democracy activists holding a singing protest in an upmarket shopping mall on Sunday, despite a ban on public gatherings of more than four people.

Chanting popular protest slogans, mostly young activists clad in black swarmed the Cityplaza mall shouting 'Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!' while others called for the release of pro-democracy activists.

The protest was the first of its kind since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb a spike in coronavirus infections.

Fears that Beijing is flexing its muscles over the Asian financial hub risk reviving anti-government protests after months of calm as social distancing rules start to ease.

Political tensions have escalated over the past two weeks after the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest crackdown on the movement.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/04/anti-government-protesters-return-to.html

Did a Military Experimental Vaccine in 1918 Kill 50-100 Million People Blamed as “Spanish Flu”?

The 1918-19 bacterial vaccine experiment may have killed 50-100 million people

The “Spanish Flu” killed an estimated 50-100 million people during a pandemic 1918-19. What if the story we have been told about this pandemic isn’t true?

What if, instead, the killer infection was neither the flu nor Spanish in origin?

Newly analyzed documents reveal that the “Spanish Flu” may have been a military vaccine experiment gone awry.

In looking back on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, we need to delve deeper to solve this mystery.

Summary

The reason modern technology has not been able to pinpoint the killer influenza strain from this pandemic is because influenza was not the killer.

More soldiers died during WWI from disease than from bullets.

The pandemic was not flu. An estimated 95% (or higher) of the deaths were caused by bacterial pneumonia, not influenza/a virus.

The pandemic was not Spanish. The first cases of bacterial pneumonia in 1918 trace back to a military base in Fort Riley, Kansas.

From January 21 – June 4, 1918, an experimental bacterial meningitis vaccine cultured in horses by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York was injected into soldiers at Fort Riley.

During the remainder of 1918 as those soldiers – often living and traveling under poor sanitary conditions – were sent to Europe to fight, they spread bacteria at every stop between Kansas and the frontline trenches in France.

One study describes soldiers “with active infections (who) were aerosolizing the bacteria that colonized their noses and throats, while others—often, in the same “breathing spaces”—were profoundly susceptible to invasion of and rapid spread through their lungs by their own or others’ colonizing bacteria.” (1)

The “Spanish Flu” attacked healthy people in their prime. Bacterial pneumonia attacks people in their prime. Flu attacks the young, old and immunocompromised.

When WW1 ended on November 11, 1918, soldiers returned to their home countries and colonial outposts, spreading the killer bacterial pneumonia worldwide.

During WW1, the Rockefeller Institute also sent the antimeningococcic serum to England, France, Belgium, Italy and other countries, helping spread the epidemic worldwide.

During the pandemic of 1918-19, the so-called “Spanish Flu” killed 50-100 million people, including many soldiers.

Many people do not realize that disease killed far more soldiers on all sides than machine guns or mustard gas or anything else typically associated with WWI.

I have a personal connection to the Spanish Flu. Among those killed by disease in 1918-19 are members of both of my parents’ families.

On my father’s side, his grandmother Sadie Hoyt died from pneumonia in 1918. Sadie was a Chief Yeoman in the Navy. Her death left my grandmother Rosemary and her sister Anita to be raised by their aunt. Sadie’s sister Marian also joined the Navy. She died from “the influenza” in 1919.

On my mother’s side, two of her father’s sisters died in childhood. All of the family members who died lived in New York City.

I suspect many American families, and many families worldwide, were impacted in similar ways by the mysterious Spanish Flu.

In 1918, “influenza” or flu was a catchall term for disease of unknown origin. It didn’t carry the specific meaning it does today.

It meant some mystery disease which dropped out of the sky. In fact, influenza is from the Medieval Latin “influential” in an astrological sense, meaning a visitation under the influence of the stars.

https://vaccineimpact.com/2018/did-military-experimental-vaccine-in-1918-kill-50-100-million-people-blamed-as-spanish-flu/

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>>8938515

HOW DID THE “SPANISH FLU” SPREAD SO WIDELY SO QUICKLY?

There is an element of a perfect storm in how the Gates bacteria spread. WWI ended only 10 months after the first injections. Unfortunately for the 50-100 million who died, those soldiers injected with horse-infused bacteria moved quickly during those 10 months.

An article from 2008 on the CDC’s website describes how sick WWI soldiers could pass along the bacteria to others by becoming “cloud adults.”

“Finally, for brief periods and to varying degrees, affected hosts became “cloud adults” who increased the aerosolization of colonizing strains of bacteria, particularly pneumococci, hemolytic streptococci, H. influenzae, and S. aureus.

For several days during local epidemics—particularly in crowded settings such as hospital wards, military camps, troop ships, and mines (and trenches)—some persons were immunologically susceptible to, infected with, or recovering from infections with influenza virus.

Persons with active infections were aerosolizing the bacteria that colonized their noses and throats, while others—often, in the same “breathing spaces”—were profoundly susceptible to invasion of and rapid spread through their lungs by their own or others’ colonizing bacteria.” (1)

Three times in his report on the Fort Riley vaccine experiment, Dr. Gates states that some soldiers had a “severe reaction” indicating “an unusual individual susceptibility to the vaccine”.

While the vaccine made many sick, it only killed those who were susceptible to it. Those who became sick and survived became “cloud adults” who spread the bacteria to others, which created more cloud adults, spreading to others where it killed the susceptible, repeating the cycle until there were no longer wartime unsanitary conditions, and there were no longer millions of soldiers to experiment on.

The toll on US troops was enormous and it is well documented. Dr. Carol Byerly describes how the “influenza” traveled like wildfire through the US military. (substitute “bacteria” for Dr. Byerly’s “influenza” or “virus”):

“… Fourteen of the largest training camps had reported influenza outbreaks in March, April, or May, and some of the infected troops carried the virus with them aboard ships to France …

As soldiers in the trenches became sick, the military evacuated them from the front lines and replaced them with healthy men.

This process continuously brought the virus into contact with new hosts—young, healthy soldiers in which it could adapt, reproduce, and become extremely virulent without danger of burning out.

… Before any travel ban could be imposed, a contingent of replacement troops departed Camp Devens (outside of Boston) for Camp Upton, Long Island, the Army’s debarkation point for France, and took influenza with them.

Medical officers at Upton said it arrived “abruptly” on September 13, 1918, with 38 hospital admissions, followed by 86 the next day, and 193 the next.

Hospital admissions peaked on October 4 with 483, and within 40 days, Camp Upton sent 6,131 men to the hospital for influenza. Some developed pneumonia so quickly that physicians diagnosed it simply by observing the patient rather than listening to the lungs…” (7)

The United States was not the only country in possession of the Rockefeller Institute’s experimental bacterial vaccine.

A 1919 report from the Institute states: “Reference should be made that before the United States entered the war (in April 1917) the Institute had resumed the preparation of antimeningococcic serum, in order to meet the requests of England, France, Belgium Italy and other countries.”

The same report states: “In order to meet the suddenly increased demand for the curative serums worked out at the Institute, a special stable for horses was quickly erected …” (8)

An experimental antimeningoccic serum made in horses and injected into soldiers who would be entering the cramped and unsanitary living conditions of war … what could possibly go wrong?

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Berlin Police Arrest Over 100 Protesters for Violating COVID-19 Restrictions

More than 100 demonstrators have been arrested in the German capital for violating the coronavirus restrictions, city police said.

"Our assignment at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz has ended. By blocking the surrounding streets, we were able to prevent a larger build-up on the square. However, many people violated the Covid-19 distance requirement. There were more than 100 arrests," Berlin police said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, several hundred people gathered in Germany’s capital to protest against coronavirus restrictions. The demonstration lasted for a little over an hour.

Germany has over 156,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and the country’s COVID-19 death toll stands at over 5,800, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In Berlin, over 5,500 cases, including over 140 deaths, have been registered.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004251079093917-berlin-police-arrest-over-100-protesters-for-violating-covid-19-restrictions/

To Pressure Iran, Pompeo Will Argue US Remains a Party to Nuclear Deal

US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018

For years, one of the big criticisms of the US reneging on the P5+1 nuclear deal and withdrawing as a party was that the US had lost its seat at the table as a party to enforcement of the deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is now trying to find a way to have his cake and eat it too.

Under a new legal argument Pompeo is in the process of putting together, the US will argue that it is still a party to the nuclear deal with Iran, even though the US withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and never provided promised sanction relief. Pompeo would argue that this allows the US to force snapback sanctions on Iran even if everyone else objects.

Pompeo’s plan will argue that President Obama said at the time of the deal that the US wouldn’t need UN support for a snapback, though its almost certain Obama did not envision the US attempting this years after withdrawing from the deal.

This argument almost certainly will fail, and Russia will be assumed to veto any attempt to enforce snapback at the UN. That Pompeo is even trying this reflects just how flimsy the US arguments have gotten, and potentially that even the hawks are seeing that the pullout from the deal has cost the US some flexibility on the nuclear deal.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/04/26/to-pressure-iran-pompeo-will-argue-us-remains-a-party-to-nuclear-deal/

Critics Lash Joint US-Russia Declaration on Elbe River Anniversary

Statements calls on nations to overcome differences amid global threats

In what seems a very innocuous statement, the US and Russia issued a joint commemoration this weekend of the 1945 meeting of US and Russian troops on the Elbe River, saying it showed the nations “overcoming their differences in pursuit of a greater cause.”

The intention is to liken the common enemy, Nazi Germany in 1945, to the current foe of the coronavirus pandemic, and suggest that the US and Russia could once again put aside differences to work together in this new crisis.

But because this is 2020, and the statement involves Russia, it necessarily became a political row almost immediately, with the statement panned both by President Trump’s political rivals as a sign of his being too close to Russia, and by anti-Russia hawks who see this as Vladimir Putin trying to trick the US in some way into being less hostile.

“I am sure this was a Russian initiative,” said former official Angela Stent, while Rep. Eliott Engel (D-NY) chalked it up to Trump’s “bizarre infatuation with Russia’s autocratic leader” and said he was “playing into Putin’s hands.”

Yet the coronavirus really is an opportunity for nations to put differences aside to address mutual threats. Everywhere else in the world such initiatives are being put forward, with the UN even calling for a global ceasefire to address the pandemic. It’s only natural for the US and Russia to also address that possibility.

And typical grousing about that notwithstanding, a rapprochement between the US and Russia to focus on coronavirus would only be a good thing, bringing the world’s two biggest nuclear powers away from tensions and seeing if there are ways to cooperate.

It is also noteworthy that the US and Russia are the two major parties to resist the UN call for a global ceasefire for the pandemic, but may still find some common ground with one another. This may suggest that the entire call for unity may not be lost on them, even if it takes some outside their comfort zone.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/04/26/critics-lash-joint-us-russia-declaration-on-elbe-river-anniversary/

This is a Power Grab We Haven’t Seen Since 9/11

Thousands of years ago in 458 BC, Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus was hard at work behind his plow on the family farm when a group of Roman Senators showed up with urgent news.

A foreign enemy called the Acqui had vanquished one of Rome’s armies and was rapidly approaching the city. The Republic was in deep trouble.

Cincinnatus was a former consul and renowned military leader, so in their panic, the Roman Senate unanimously appointed him as an emergency dictator.

All of Rome’s individual freedoms were immediately suspended. Checks and balances were eliminated. Cincinnatus would have supreme power to do whatever he saw fit during Rome’s time of crisis.

According to ancient Roman historians, Cincinnatus told his wife, “Go and fetch my toga,” and he immediately went to work.

Cincinnatus was legendary: he mobilized a new army, repelled the foreign invaders, and saved the city from certain destruction, all within just 15 days.

But even more importantly, Cincinnatus relinquished all of his power immediately after the victory, and returned to his plow. It was a display of virtue and selflessness that Romans celebrated for centuries.

Most dictators, of course, are not so principled.

The ancient Greeks (despite having invented democracy) routinely appointed dictators during times of national emergency.

Very few relinquished power willingly, and several– like Dionysius of Syracuse, Nabis of Sparta, Peisistratus, etc.– ruled for decades.

They always found a way to extend the emergency and hang on to power. And eventually, the people simply became accustomed to their new reality.

This is still true of human nature today.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, my father used to go on business trips from time to time, and my mother would usually take my sister and I to the airport to pick him up.

Many of you are old enough to remember this– back then, visitors used to be able to go directly to the gate, i.e. we would go through security and sit at the gate waiting for my dad as he walked off the plane.

Obviously you can’t do that anymore.

After a series of terrorist incidents in the late 1990s, followed by 9/11 a few years later, the government put its boot to the throat of airport security.

Today we stand in line for a dose of radiation while being barked at and occasionally fondled by federal employees.

If you think about 9/11 in particular, its remarkable how much power the government grabbed, and how many freedoms they took away. Two decades later, it’s clear those freedoms are never coming back.

I’m not just talking about visitors being able to go directly to the gate at the airport. That’s a tiny example.

The wider impact of 9/11 can be seen everywhere. The government now maintains broad authority to spy on its citizens, with the NSA brazenly intercepting phone calls, emails, and communication metadata through an extraordinary surveillance dragnet.

Financial institutions submit ‘suspicious activity reports’ to the federal government to inform on their own customers, even for the most mundane transactions like withdrawing a few thousand dollars of cash.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/04/this-is-a-power-grab-we-havent-seen-since-9-11.html

Navy Declassifies its Notorious 'UFO Sighting' Videos

The U.S. Navy has officially acknowledged three incidents reported by F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilots of "unidentified aerial phenomena" – what most refer to as UFOs – and released video of the encounters.

The Defense Department on Monday published the videos of the separate incidents, one taken in November 2004 and the other two in January 2015, "which have been circulating in the public domain after unauthorized releases in 2007 and 2017," officials said in a statement.

"After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena," according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough.

The Navy has previously stated the videos did belong to the service, but did not give credence to the idea its pilots have confronted alien spacecraft.

But after Navy pilots in recent months have stated there has been an increase of UFO sightings in recent years, the service issued new guidelines on how to best document sightings or encounters, according to a report from Politico last year. The New York Times also reported pilots had sightings – and, in one instance, a near collision – while flying training missions off the East Coast between 2014 and 2015.

The released videos – labeled "FLIR," "GO FAST," and "GIMBAL" – can be found at the Naval Air Systems Command Freedom of Information Act reading room website here.

https://www.navair.navy.mil/foia/documents

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/04/27/navy-declassifies-its-notorious-ufo-sighting-videos.html

99% of Those Who Died From Virus Had Other Illness, Italy Says

More than 99% of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities were people who suffered from previous medical conditions, according to a study by the country’s national health authority.

The new study could provide insight into why Italy’s death rate, at about 8% of total infected people, is higher than in other countries.

The Rome-based institute has examined medical records of about 18% of the country’s coronavirus fatalities, finding that just three victims, or 0.8% of the total, had no previous pathology. Almost half of the victims suffered from at least three prior illnesses and about a fourth had either one or two previous conditions.

More than 75% had high blood pressure, about 35% had diabetes and a third suffered from heart disease.

The average age of those who’ve died from the virus in Italy is 79.5. As of March 17, 17 people under 50 had died from the disease. All of Italy’s victims under 40 have been males with serious existing medical conditions.

https://thedcpatriot.com/99-of-those-who-died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says/

Lapid says he’d vote with Netanyahu to stop Gantz becoming PM in rotation deal

In dramatic step, Yesh Atid leader says that to prevent his ex-running mate taking over as PM, he’d join forces with Likud leader to reverse law anchoring power-sharing agreement

In a bombshell move that threatens to block his former ally becoming Israel’s prime minister, Yesh Atid-Telem leader Yair Lapid on Monday promised his party would vote with Benjamin Netanyahu if the prime minister seeks to cancel his rotation agreement with Benny Gantz, which is supposed to take effect 18 months into the lifespan of the planned Netanyahu-Gantz coalition. Lapid would thus help ensure the necessary majority to cancel the law anchoring the Netanyahu-Gantz power-sharing deal, and bring down the government.

Lapid’s extraordinary promise drew a furious response from Gantz’s Blue and White party, and an allegation from Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman that, in so doing, Lapid would be saving Netanyahu’s political skin. Lapid responded that it was Gantz who is saving Netanyahu by partnering with him in the new coalition, and that if, down the line, “we have an opportunity to topple the government, of course we will do so.”

Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff, entered politics early last year and formed an alliance with Lapid and former Likud defense minister Moshe Ya’alon. Their Blue and White party fought three elections on a promise never to sit in government with Netanyahu so long as he is facing corruption allegations, branding him divisive, corrupt and dangerous to Israel.

Having narrowly failed to defeat Netanyahu and his right-wing and ultra-Orthodox allies, however, Gantz late last month announced that he was prepared to join a government with the Likud leader after all — to battle the coronavirus pandemic and help protect Israeli democracy. He sought to do so alongside Lapid and Ya’alon, but they bitterly opposed the move, and their alliance collapsed, with Lapid now set to lead the Knesset opposition.

Gantz on April 20 signed a coalition deal with Netanyahu to form a unity government, with the incumbent premier serving for 18 months and then handing Gantz the reins. The Knesset is currently discussing a number of law changes aimed at guaranteeing that the rotation would happen and also that Netanyahu, under criminal indictment, not be legally disqualified from leadership.

Many have speculated that Netanyahu will not honor the rotation agreement that requires him to hand over power to Gantz in October 2021. Gantz, therefore, is working with Likud to pass a bill anchoring the necessary mechanism in the law, which involves changing one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lapid-says-hed-vote-with-netanyahu-to-stop-gantz-becoming-pm-in-rotation-deal/

White House says Trump to give news conference

President Trump will hold a news conference on Monday evening to discuss new guidance on coronavirus testing, according to the White House.

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump plans to brief the nation on the new guidance and “other announcements about safely opening up America again.” The announcement came roughly two and a half hours after the White House canceled a planned 5 p.m. press conference for the president’s coronavirus task force.

“The White House has additional testing guidance and other announcements about safely opening up America again. President @realDonaldTrump will brief the nation during a press conference this evening,” McEnany wrote in a tweet Monday afternoon.

The White House issued updated guidance shortly thereafter noting a 5 p.m. news conference in the Rose Garden. It is unclear whether the president will field questions from reporters at the press conference or whether other individuals will participate in the press conference.

The event was added hours after McEnany told Fox News in an interview Monday morning that there would not be a briefing Monday and that Trump would instead hold a press availability during a meeting with executives on COVID-19. The White House then canceled the coronavirus briefing, which had been scheduled for 5 p.m. in the press briefing room.

“There will be briefings throughout other portions of the week. But these briefings are excellent. They're a way for the president to speak directly to the American people,” McEnany said on Fox.

Trump has for the past two days forgone coronavirus press briefings, which have become a daily occurrence over the past several weeks, save Easter Sunday. Trump signaled over the weekend that he may curtail the briefings, accusing the press of inaccurately reporting his remarks.

The decision to skip briefings came after Trump weathered criticism over remarks he made at Thursday’s briefing suggesting medical experts study the use of disinfectants to treat COVID-19. Trump has since claimed he made the remarks in jest.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/494848-white-house-says-trump-to-give-news-conference

>>8938651

Attacks sauce but not content

LO IQ SHILL

UK teacher found guilty on 13 counts of sexual assault, victims were girls as young as 7

A supply teacher from Carlton, UK has been found guilty of 13 charges of sexual touching involving young girls. He was previously accused of assault but this was not shown on his record prior to him being hired.

Jonathan Philip Clayton, aged 27, committed these crimes between March and May 2019 while working as a supply teacher in a local school in North Yorkshire. His victims were aged between seven and 11. Clayton had only been at the school for 21 days and in that short space of time assaulted six little girls, some of them several times.

Detective Constable Gillian Gowling, the North Yorkshire Police officer who led the investigation, said that “he displayed an extremely worrying pattern of behaviour where he would take advantage of situations that arose at school to put his hands on the victims.” She added that these assaults usually took place when the young girls were distressed and done under the guise of comforting them.

There were also allegations that Clayton helped his victims put on items of clothing – such as tights – even though the victims did not ask for his assistance.

Notably, this was not the first accusation of sexual assault against Clayton. Similar allegations were made against him in a previous school where he was accused of molesting a pupil under the age of 11, although those charges were subsequently dropped.

Students at the primary school he worked in before reportedly referred to Clayton as “weird” and “creepy.”

The spokeswoman for the most recent school Clayton worked in said that he had passed all the statutory checks before joining as a supply teacher and that the previous allegations did not show up on his record.

Detective Gowling added that “due to the young age of the victims involved, it has been a complex and sensitive investigation” but that she also believes that “justice has been served.”

In addition to the eight-and-a-half year prison sentence, he has also been prohibited from any contact with girls under the age of 18 as well as being placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

https://www.rt.com/uk/487055-teacher-guilty-sexual-assault-children/

Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling: Health Insurers Can Sue Government For Billions In Possible 'Bailout'

Insurers say the federal government owes them more than $12 billion

The so-called risk corridors were set up to protect insurers from losses through the state exchanges

The court said lawmakers can't eliminate a debt obligation just by failing to appropriate any funds

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled the federal government owes health insurance companies billions of dollars for reneging on promises to shield companies from losses under the Affordable Care Act. The insurers accused the government of “bait and switch” and claim losses of more than $12 billion.

The decision opens the way for insurers to sue the government in the Court of Federal Claims.

The suit combined complaints filed by four companies: Moda Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Land of Lincoln Mutual Health Insurance Co. and Maine Community Health Options.

Health plans wracked up losses almost immediately after the health insurance marketplaces opened in 2014. A temporary fund – the risk corridor program – was set up to help cover sicker customers and serve as an incentive for insurers to participate in the exchanges and keep premiums at a reasonable level.

Those who crafted the law had hoped those companies that made money on the exchanges would fund the now-expired program to reimburse companies that suffered losses. In a 2015 overhaul, Republican lawmakers barred the Department of Health and Human Services from providing the funds.

The high court, in an 8-1 decision, said the action did not release the government from its obligation.

“Contrary to the government’s contention, neither the appropriations clause nor the Anti-Deficiency Act addresses whether Congress itself can create or incur an obligation directly by statute,” the opinion said. “Nor does [the law’s] obligation-creating language turn on whether Congress expressly provided budget authority before appropriating funds. The government’s arguments also conflict with well-settled principles of statutory interpretation. … Congress did not impliedly repeal the obligation through its appropriations riders.”

In the majority opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said: “The government should honor its obligations,” adding that’s a principle as old as the nation itself. Despite GOP arguments to the contrary, the program was not set up to be budget neutral.

In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the ruling amounted to a bailout for the insurance industry.

"Under the court’s decision, billions of taxpayer dollars will be turned over to insurance companies that bet unsuccessfully on the success of the program in question," Alito wrote.

The ruling is yet another loss for the Trump administration, which has been trying to dismantle Obamacare from the get-go. The ruling itself has no impact on the ACA. The administration, however, is backing another suit filed by Republican-led states that would overturn the entire law.

https://www.ibtimes.com/supreme-court-obamacare-ruling-health-insurers-can-sue-government-billions-possible-2965846

A Plague of 'Credentialed' Experts

Someday 2020 will be behind us, and we’ll tell our kids and grandkids about the year we were smitten by the plague.

By which I don’t mean COVID-19, which is at best a nasty disease with death tolls the equivalent of a bad flu year – if we accept the numbers we’re being fed by an establishment desperate to cash in on the cash bonus for each COVID-19 diagnosis – but the plague that has laid this country low, destroyed our economy and brought us to a place that no external enemy could have brought: this plague of experts. Or perhaps I should say “experts” since most of them have behind them only a long string of failed prognostications, followed by promotion within the “civil servant” echelons.

Yes, I am talking about Doctors Birx and Fauci. I’m already seeing people pointing fingers at the president and complaining that he’s relied too much on these “experts.”

In fact, some months ago I saw people complaining in the comments at one of the conservative sites that the president hires “establishment” people which he then has to fire. Why can’t he hire the people who will be good and not beholden to the – largely left – political establishment?

Which brings us to the real plague of experts.

Sure, what happened in 2020 and taking our economy down to protect us from what will emerge in retrospect as a not particularly lethal illness is a problem.

If we survive – we’ll survive, right – and there is still a Republic at the end of this, we'll need to talk about the plague of experts as a systemic problem.

You see, just like COVID-19 is a virus similar to those that cause the common cold, this overreaction to COVID-19 bears a strong resemblance to “expert-directed” faux pas in everything from aviation to business to healthcare to, yes, politics.

In the early 21st century – largely because of a hyper-litigious society, in which everyone and anyone might sue you for discrimination – we’re faced with the inability to judge merit or competency.

Because you cannot simply test someone and see if they can do the job – if you do that, and you happen to hire more men than women, or you fail to hire the population-representing numbers of some minority – you have to rely on what we’ll call, for lack of a better term, “credential factories.”

The problem is that the credential factories are not very good because they also can’t test anyone, but must rely on externally quantifiable proofs of merit.

It used to be that a high school diploma was worth something, but more and more all it means is that you’ve spent 12 years warming various desks and have failed to do something so heinous as to get expelled.

So, we moved on to a college degree as a credential, which is why you find ads for the most ridiculous things requiring a bachelor’s degree.

As someone who has taught bonehead English 101 to college freshmen, let me disabuse you of the impression that the majority of them enter college capable of writing a simple sentence or expressing the most straightforward of meanings.

But it gets worse. Because instructors are evaluated by their students, you can’t – unless you have tenure – fail everyone that needs failing. So you pass them on ahead, to be someone else’s problem.

https://pjmedia.com/blog/a-plague-of-credentialed-experts/

No Matter Who Is Elected, Foreign Policy Will Continue to be a Zionist Train-Wreck

Now that the Democratic Party has apparently succeeded in getting rid of the only two voices among its presidential candidates that actually deviated from the establishment consensus, it appears that Joe Biden will be running against Donald Trump in November. To be sure, Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard are still hanging on, but the fix was in and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) made sure that Sanders would be given the death blow on Super Tuesday while Gabbard would be blocked from participating in any of the late term debates.

It is widely believed that the abrupt withdrawal of candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg on the eve of Super Tuesday that targeted Sanders was arranged through an intervention by ex-President Barack Obama who made a plea in support of “party unity,” offering the two a significant quid pro quo down the road if they were willing to leave the race and throw their support to Biden, which they dutifully did. Rumor has it that Klobuchar might well wind up as Biden’s vice president. An alternative tale is that it was a much more threatening “offer that couldn’t be refused” coming from the Clintons.

Tulsi meanwhile was marginalized after being smeared by Hillary Clinton’s claim that she was a “Russian asset” being “groomed” by the Kremlin. She was then denied her rightful place in the March 15th debate by a sudden and unexpected rules change in the format which was deliberately designed to exclude her. So much for the internal democracy of the so-called Democratic Party.

Now that the line-up for November seems set, the discussion has moved to specific policy issues. Foreign policy did not play much of a part in the Democratic Party debates, but it is expected to be more visible in the presidential race, particularly in light of some of the more visible blunders committed by Donald Trump and his associates.

The latest mistake by the White House, the January 3rd airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and eight Iraqi associates is still resonating, having just last week produced an attack on a U.S. base that killed two American and one British soldiers, followed by a retaliatory bombing by U.S. forces directed against Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, which is reported to be supported by Iran but has also been integrated into the Iraqi armed forces. The U.S. unilateral action is taking place without Baghdad’s consent and in spite of Iraqi government demands that Washington close its bases and withdraw its remaining troops, numbering approximately 5,000.

Ironically, killing Soleimani and the consequences is unlikely to be a theme picked up on by the genial but muddled Biden as both major parties are firmly in the grip of the Israel Lobby and are unlikely to complain about killing a senior Iranian official. Nor will the next president, whoever he is, reverse the disastrous Trump decision and rejoin the JCPOA agreement of 2015 which was intended to monitor Iran’s civilian use nuclear program.

https://russia-insider.com/en/no-matter-who-elected-foreign-policy-will-continue-be-zionist-train-wreck/ri28436

KENNEDY: Pentagon Study shows Flu Shot Raises Risk of Coronavirus by 36%, and there’s more

By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Children’s Health Defense

On March 12th, 2020, Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta held a global town hall on “Corona Facts and Fears.” During the discussion, Anderson said to the viewing audience, “And, again, if you are concerned about coronavirus, and you haven’t gotten a flu shot…you should get a flu shot.”

Setting safety and efficacy of influenza vaccination aside, is Anderson’s claim that the flu shot will help people fight COVID-19 remotely true? The short answer is no.

In fact, the results of many peer-reviewed, published studies prove that Anderson’s recommendation may have been the worst advice he could have given the public.

In searching the literature, the only study we have been able to find assessing flu shots and coronavirus is a 2020 US Pentagon study that found that the flu shot INCREASES the risks from coronavirus by 36%. “Receiving influenza vaccination may increase the risk of other respiratory viruses, a phenomenon known as “virus interference…’vaccine derived’ virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus…” Here are the findings:

2020 Pentagon study: Flu vaccines increase risk of coronavirus by 36%

Examining non-influenza viruses specifically, the odds of coronavirus in vaccinated individuals were significantly higher when compared to unvaccinated individuals with an odds ratio (association between an exposure and an outcome) of 1.36. In other words, the vaccinated were 36% more likely to get coronavirus.

Many other studies suggest the increased risk of viral respiratory infections from the flu shot:

2018 CDC Study: Flu shots increase risk of non-flu acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) in children.

This CDC supported study concluded an increased risk of acute respiratory illness (ARI) among children <18 years caused by non-influenza respiratory pathogens post-influenza vaccination compared to unvaccinated children during the same period.

More

https://www.fort-russ.com/2020/04/kennedy-pentagon-study-shows-flu-shot-raises-risk-of-coronavirus-by-36-and-theres-more/

Hundreds Charged Worldwide In Takedown Of Largest Child Pornography Website

South Korean national and hundreds of others charged worldwide in the takedown of the largest darknet child pornography website funded by bitcoin

Dozens of minor victims who were being actively abused by site users rescued

WASHINGTON – Jong Woo Son, 23, a South Korean national, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for his operation of Welcome To Video, the largest child sexual exploitation market by volume of content. The nine-count indictment was unsealed today along with a parallel civil forfeiture action.

Son has also been charged and convicted in South Korea and is currently in custody serving his sentence in South Korea. An additional 337 site users residing in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington State and Washington, D.C. as well as the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, Canada, Ireland, Spain, Brazil and Australia have been arrested and charged.

Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Chief Don Fort of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

“Children are our most vulnerable population, and crimes such as these are unthinkable,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa Erichs. “Sadly, advances in technology have enabled child predators to hide behind the dark web and cryptocurrency to further their criminal activity. However, today’s indictment sends a strong message to criminals that no matter how sophisticated the technology or how widespread the network, child exploitation will not be tolerated in the United States. Our entire justice system will stop at nothing to prevent these heinous crimes, safeguard our children, and bring justice to all.”

https://dcdirtylaundry.com/hundreds-charged-worldwide-in-takedown-of-largest-child-pornography-website/

ASSANGE EXTRADITION: Hearing Put Off Until July or November Because of Virus

The judge will decide on May 4 whether to resume Assange’s hearing in July or as late as November, when the first court dates are open.

Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser proposed postponing Julian Assange’s extradition hearing until either three non-consecutive weeks in July and August or three consecutive weeks in November because of the difficulties posed by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Baraitser on Monday adjourned a technical hearing until May 4 at which time a decision will be made on when the full hearing will resume.

Assange’s lawyers had submitted a petition to delay the hearing, originally scheduled to resume on May 18, because of the difficulties of consulting with Assange and of having him appear either in the courtroom, or by video-link because of unsafe conditions in Belmarsh Prison’s video room.

Baraitser said that though witnesses could appear via video, the defendant and lawyers “must be physically present” in the courtroom.

Though she said an adjournment for three weeks beginning either in July or on Nov. 2 would be a “significant delay” and that the interests of justice must be meted out “expeditiously,” Baraitser conceded that the problems presented by the Coronavirus lockdown in London made it “at best uncertain” to resume on May 18, saying that the hearing should be “vacated” to a later date.

It was the first significant concession that Baraitser has granted the defense.

The hearing will resume on May 4, at which time the new court date will be set.

The audio of the hearing, made available by conference call to journalists and lawyers, was marred by technical difficulties, requiring that the lawyers’ statements be repeated into another microphone by a court official.

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/27/assange-extradition-hearing-put-off-until-july-or-november-because-of-virus/

Testing Laboratory Agrees to Pay Up to $43 Million to Resolve Allegations of Medically Unnecessary Tests

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/testing-laboratory-agrees-pay-43-million-resolve-allegations-medically-unnecessary-tests

>>8938890

Only clowns and kikes attack me and call me that