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The next launch try for the Space Force will occur Sunday, May 17, at 9:14 a.m. EDT (1314 GMT). The U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing forecasts an 80% chance of good weather at launch time on Sunday. That's a far cry from the dismal 20% chance the mission had today.
Chinese envoy to Israel found dead in his residence – reports
China’s ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, was found dead at his home on Sunday morning, Israeli media said, citing police.
Du, 58, was found dead at the apartment in the city of Herzliya in central Israel, it was reported.
According to Ynet News, the envoy’s body was discovered in his bed, and the cause of death has not yet been revealed.
When contacted for comment by the Jerusalem Post, the Chinese Embassy said it could not immediately confirm the reports.
Du assumed the role of ambassador to Israel in February. He had previously served as an envoy to UKRAINE.
https://www.rt.com/news/488890-china-envoy-israel-dead-reports
China's going down-
Huawei Loses Millions Of Users As Serious New Threat From China Gets Real
This was not the plan. U.S. President Trump’s blacklisting of Huawei—now entering its second year—was intended to curtail the export of potentially high-risk Chinese technology. But it now looks like there will be a surprising twist. The sanctions were aimed at Huawei’s 5G equipment, but it is the company’s smartphone business that has been hardest hit. The loss of Google has decimated sales outside China.
Prior to the blacklisting, Huawei was on the cusp of generating more revenue from exports than its huge domestic market. That has now all changed. The company relies on smartphone sales at home to replenish its balance sheet, fuelling the vast R&D investments it makes each year. Its share of China’s smartphone market—the world’s largest—has grown post-blacklist. The company is dominant.
Huawei knows full well that to recover any ground in its international consumer sales it needs to either restore Google or deliver on its promise of a home-grown alternative. The U.S. government is not about to allow the former, and the latter will take many years—as the company has openly admitted. So the question had been whether market leaders Samsung and Apple could capitalize on Huawei’s misfortune and take further market share from the Chinese giant.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/05/16/huawei-loses-millions-of-users-as-serious-new-threat-from-china-gets-real/#497ddd804891
Fred Fleitz: Identities of Unmasking Requesters ‘Not Classified,’ Release Them All
Fred Fleitz, president and CEO of the Center for Security Policy, called on the Trump administration to release the names of all Obama administration officials who submitted unmasking requests for the identities of U.S. persons whose communications were surveilled by federal intelligence agencies.
An “astounding” number of Obama administration officials — 39, according to a list compiled by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell — made requests to unmask the identity of Michael Flynn between November 8, 2016 and January 12, 2017, noted Fleitz in a Saturday-published column. Flynn was then-President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser.
Among the 39 Obama officials who submitted unmasking requests for Flynn’s identity are former Vice President Joe Biden, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former U.N., former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, and former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power.
Grenell’s list identified 53 requests made by Obama administration officials to reveal Flynn’s identity on intelligence reports.
https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2020/05/16/fred-fleitz-identities-of-unmasking-requesters-not-classified-release-them-all
Fence rider Graham trying to justify himself in the public eye..
Graham: ‘Reluctant’ to Call Obama to Testify — ‘Will Be Held Accountable’ if Wrongdoing by Prosecution, Not Political System
Saturday on Fox News Channel’s “Justice,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, explained his reluctance to call former President Barack Obama to testify before his committee despite calls from President Donald Trump for it to occur.
Graham said such an event would be unprecedented and unwelcome if his House counterparts Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, respectively, did the same thing with Trump.
“I’m a little reluctant to do that,” Graham replied. “Number one — President Obama, you’re welcome to come to the Judiciary Committee and tell us why you think the General [Michael] Flynn case should go forward, why it’s a violation of the rule of law to drop it. You’re welcome to come talk about everything you did with Crossfire Hurricane and your knowledge. But here’s what I would say: If Nadler and Schiff tried to subpoena President Trump to go to the House, the president would say, ‘No.’ All of us would be all over them.”
“Nobody is above the law, including Barack Obama,” he continued. “If I find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, I’ll turn it over to the prosecutor in this case, Mr. Durham from Connecticut. But I am a separate branch of government. I have oversight over the executive branch. There’s a separation of powers issue here, and in over 200 years, we’ve never had a president called before the Congress — probably for a reason. But Barack Obama will be held accountable if he did anything wrong in the prosecution system, not the political system.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/05/16/graham-reluctant-to-call-obama-to-testify-will-be-held-accountable-if-wrongdoing-by-prosecution-not-political-system/
Richard Grenell RT
The European Union should impose a temporary ban on Chinese takeovers of companies that are currently undervalued or have business problems because of the coronavirus crisis, the leader of the bloc’s largest political alliance said on Sunday.
Europe should temporarily ban Chinese takeovers: Germany's Weber
The European Union should impose a temporary ban on Chinese takeovers of companies that are currently undervalued or have business problems because of the coronavirus crisis, the leader of the bloc’s largest political alliance said on Sunday.
Manfred Weber, a senior German conservative and head of the centre-right EPP grouping in the EU Parliament, told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that he was in favour of declaring a twelve-month ban for Chinese investors who want to buy European firms.
“We have to see that Chinese companies, partly with the support of state funds, are increasingly trying to buy up European companies that are cheap to acquire or that got into economic difficulties due to the coronavirus crisis,” he said.
The European Union therefore should react in a coordinated way and put an end to the “Chinese shopping tour” by imposing a twelve-month moratorium on sales of European companies until the coronavirus crisis is hopefully over, Weber said.
“We have to protect ourselves,” he added.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-china-investment/europe-should-temporarily-ban-chinese-takeovers-germanys-weber-idUSKBN22S0WR
Pharmacy Board Loosens Restrictions on Hydroxychloroquine Prescriptions, Reversing Course
These pharmaceutical companies who have been suppressing information about how this drug works because it's so cheap, should be charged with crimes against humanity.
Pharmacy Board Loosens Restrictions on Hydroxychloroquine Prescriptions, Reversing Course
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy published the rule on its website with the explanation that it was meant to prevent hoarding of the medications during the coronavirus crisis.
“We had pharmacists calling early on saying that people were asking for 400 tablets on some prescriptions. The Board members gave this guidance to pharmacists,” Allison Benz, executive director of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy told The Texan.
The rule was not guidance, but a mandate. It also included a 14-day supply limitation unless the patient was previously established on the medication. Hydroxychloroquine is often used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
On average, Lozano issues a prescription for COVID-19 treatment to last five days, about ten pills each of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and zinc. She said she learned about the treatment from one of President Trump’s press conferences and began investigating it.
Because of her concern for patient privacy that seemed incompatible with the unprecedented rule, Lozano contacted State Senator Bob Hall to ask for help reaching the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Hall was concerned about the rule that seemed to be inhibiting the dispensing of these potentially life-saving prescriptions.
“In a few months, we may discover places where this combination could have saved a significant number of lives, but we had deaths because it was not used,” Hall told The Texan.
Additionally, he is concerned about “collusion between the pharmacy board and pharmaceutical companies who want to prevent the use of an inexpensive drug while they develop a new, expensive drug.”
Hall said he contacted the Board of Pharmacy commissioners, executive director, and attorney about having the restriction removed.
Over six weeks after the original rule was published, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy has recently changed its guidance to pharmacists about dispensing hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.
The website now says, “The rule does not prevent a physician from prescribing one of these drugs for an off-label use. Please note, the intended use for the drug is not required if the practitioner determines the furnishing of this information is not in the best interest of the patient…”
The Texas Medical Association as of April 22 “recommends against using hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin to treat COVID-19” except in clinical trials.
In Galveston, Dr. Robin Armstrong made waves when he reported the successful use of the treatment with many patients in a nursing home center in Galveston.
https://thetexan.news/pharmacy-board-loosens-restrictions-on-hydroxychloroquine-prescriptions-reversing-course/
62 Nations Back Australia’s Demand for Chinese Coronavirus Probe
Australia’s demand for an investigation into the World Health Organization’s bungled response to the deadly Chinese coronavirus pandemic now has the backing of 62 nations, all willing to support a draft resolution addressing the issue Tuesday at a meeting of the World Health Assembly.
Australia’s motion includes more robust language than that contained in an earlier watered down European Union version. It is supported by key nations including India, Japan, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico and Brazil, and all 27 E.U. member states amongst others.
The Australian newspaper reports the motion calls on W.H.O. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to “initiate at the earliest appropriate moment … a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international response to the pandemic, the actions of the W.H.O. and its “timeline” of the pandemic.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s refusal to back away from the matter has infuriated China which regards the W.H.O. and its leader very much as an extension of its own geopolitical ambitions.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/17/62-nations-back-australias-demand-for-chinese-coronavirus-probe/