California to Release 18,000 Prisoners by End of August to ‘Slow the Spread of COVID-19’

According to the California Department of Corrections, the state is set to release up to 18,000 prisoners by the end of August to ‘slow the spread of COVID-19.’

Officials in California say releasing prisoners will help protect the “health and safety of the incarcerated population.”

“These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff,” Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz said in a news release. “We aim to implement these decompression measures in a way that aligns both public health and public safety.”

Via Washington Examiner:

An estimated 8,000 inmates could be eligible for release by the end of August, in addition to the state’s reduction of about 10,000 inmates since Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in March, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said.

The CDCR says its previous “pandemic emergency decompression efforts” have reduced inmate populations system-wide by approximately 10,000 people already, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission within its facilities.

According to the CDCR, of the state’s approximate 115,000 inmates, roughly 2,400 prisoners have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 31 prisoners have died from COVID-19 related illnesses – accounting for roughly 2 percent and 0.026 percent, respectively, of the inmate population.

Violent criminals, pedophiles and sex offenders are being released by the thousands in California as Democrat tyrant Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his second lockdown.

Newsom on Monday announced a complete shut down of indoor dining, theaters, bars, museums and zoos due to an increase in Coronavirus ‘cases.’

Additionally, Newsom closed churches, gyms, hair and nail salons, indoor malls in Los Angeles and 29 other counties including Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego and all other counties in Southern California.

There is no end date to the lockdown and Newsom said Black Lives Matter protests are allowed!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/california-release-18000-prisoners-end-august-slow-spread-covid-19/

POTUS we are not here to be your free campaign team we want JUSTICE NOT POLITICS

Roger Stone unbound, ungagged: Mueller prosecutors 'satanic'

You were expecting the perpetual bad boy of GOP politics would emerge from his long ordeal at the hands of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors chastened, housebroken, mellowed? Fat chance.

Newly delivered by President Trump, with just days to spare, from the 40-month prison sentence that had been looming before him, Roger Stone is wearing a t-shirt blaring the words, "Roger Stone Still Did Nothing Wrong."

You were expecting the perpetual bad boy of GOP politics would emerge from his long ordeal at the hands of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors chastened, housebroken, mellowed?

Fat chance.

"I can guarantee you, I don't intend to become boring" says Stone.

"I really do believe that those who are trying to undo this president, those who are trying to destroy me, trying to destroy Michael Flynn — who's a very good man and great American patriot war hero — I do believe they're satanic," Stone tells Just The News in a podcast interview for The Pod’s Honest Truth. “I don't believe that any of these people involved in my prosecution are really believers in God."

Stone’s recent biblical talk is no surprise, given his decision earlier this year to follow Jesus. After a rough 2019 that saw him convicted of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation into the now-debunked Trump-Russian collusion narrative, Stone drew closer to God. Now, President Trump has commuted his sentence, and it has freed Stone to speak out against a prosecution team he believes was stacked against him from the start.

"The prosecutors in my view were not honest," Stone says. "I think they were politically motivated. They wanted me to lie, to bear false witness against the president in return for some kind of leniency … I know of no illegal or inappropriate actions by the president whatsoever. They went through every email, every text message, and every phone call. There is no evidence to the contrary."

Stone details his long bill of alleged prosecutorial abuses in a recent opinion piece. (Roger Stone: Now That I’m Ungagged, I’d Like to Say a Few Things About My Prosecution

Speaking to Just the News, Stone specifically pointed to a very unusual request by the prosecution. "The prosecutors in the case made a motion before the court that I could not raise the misconduct of the Office of Special Counsel, or the Department of Justice, or the FBI, or any member of Congress in my defense," says Stone. "Now, firstly, that's unconstitutional … but if you think about it for a moment, why would the prosecution even make such a motion, if there was no misconduct for me to raise?"

Just The News reached out to former members of the special counsel's office for a response, but a spokesman declined to comment.

Roger Stone would be the first one to admit that at this point the old Roger would be thirsting to settle scores with his persecutors. But with a nod to his newfound faith, he’s now leaving it in more capable hands.

"In the old days, I would have wanted revenge, I would have wanted to take revenge against every one of them," Stone says. “But now I realize that vengeance is God's; it's not mine … they will get their just due. They will get it from a vengeful God … He knows who the bad guys are. I don't have to worry about it anymore because it's in His hands."

Social media giants Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have their own ideas about who the bad guys are — and all three have kicked Stone off their platforms. Stone says he has business and defamation lawyers looking at legal options to get back on. For now, he seems satisfied with Parler, a social media app that is growing more popular with conservatives who suspect the aforementioned sites of selectively censoring conservative user content.

As for his future, Stone says he’s still mulling whether he’ll appeal his guilty verdict. He admits that it would be a gamble, considering he believes he didn’t get a fair trial the first time around — and anything could happen in a retrial.

For now, Stone is just glad he's not going to prison. At 67 years old and with a history of asthma, walking into a jail in the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic could have been a death sentence. He is grateful to the president who spared him.

"He saved my life, I have no doubt about that," Stone says. "He didn't have to do this. This is costing him money. He's subject to ridicule and abuse every single day."

It's good to have friends in high places, whether in the Oval Office or … higher.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/roger-stone-unbound-ungagged-mueller-prosecutors-satanic

Smithsonian Goes Full Marxist: Nuclear Family, Science, Christianity All Part of Oppressive 'Whiteness'

In June, while Americans were focused on the protests and riots that engulfed U.S. cities in the wake of the horrific police killing of George Floyd, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) released an online “teaching tool” called “Talking About Race.” The page dedicated to “whiteness” includes an infographic attributing various aspects of American culture to “whiteness” or “white dominant culture.” Among other things, this graphic suggests that the nuclear family, science, capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian tradition are forms of oppressive “whiteness” that non-white people should reject as part of an oppressive system.

“Whiteness and the normalization of white racial identity throughout America’s history have created a culture where nonwhite persons are seen as inferior or abnormal,” the Smithsonian “whiteness” page reads. The “teaching tool” suggests that “whiteness” needs to be overthrown in order for non-white people to become liberated from an oppressive “white culture.”

The Smithsonian “teaching tool” takes a radical stance on “white privilege,” arguing that every white person in America has benefited from his or her skin color (“If you are white in America, you have benefited from the color of your skin.”). While it is true that white people do not have the same struggles as various racial minorities, some white people (like some Asian people) have been passed over in some cases due to affirmative action programs. White people have also been unfairly demonized as oppressors.

“Whiteness (and its accepted normality) also exist as everyday microaggressions toward people of color,” the Smithsonian page argues. “Acts of microaggressions include verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs or insults toward nonwhites. Whether intentional or not, these attitudes communicate hostile, derogatory, or harmful messages.”

This concept of “microaggressions” is rightly controversial. As Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff explained in their Atlantic essay that became a book — The Coddling of the American Mind — teaching people to read malice and oppression into unintentional insults involves training them to magnify unimportant episodes and label language and people dangerous. This trains them to adopt harmful psychological pathologies.

While the Smithsonian page is right to condemn white supremacy and white nationalism, it suggests the dismantling of various positive aspects of Western culture in the name of fighting “whiteness.”

The Smithsonian’s “whiteness” infographic

The Smithsonian presents an infographic attributing cultural trends like the nuclear family, individualism, an emphasis on the scientific method, the Protestant work ethic, English common law, some aspects of capitalism, and Christianity to “whiteness” or “white culture.”

“White dominant culture, or whiteness, refers to the ways white people and their traditions, attitudes and ways of life have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States. And since white people still hold most of the institutional power in America, we have all internalized some aspects of white culture — including people of color,” the infographic warns.

https://pjmedia.com/culture/tyler-o-neil/2020/07/15/smithsonian-goes-full-marxist-nuclear-family-science-christianity-all-part-of-oppressive-whiteness-n645176

American Airlines Furlough: 25,000 Face Possible Job Cuts As Coronavirus Continues

American Airlines warns employees 25,000 of them may be furloughed starting October 1

The COVID-19 surge in the U.S. has eliminated any airline recovery for the rest of the year

The WARN Act requires employers notify employees about layoffs or temporary furloughs 60 days in advance

Employees at embattled American Airlines Inc., the world's largest airline in terms of fleet size, were warned Wednesday 25,000 of them could face furloughs as the ongoing COVID-19 surge dashed hopes of a recovery in airline travel for the rest of the year.

The number to be temporarily unemployed equates to 19% of American's total workforce of about 133,700 persons. Employees were told those whose jobs are at risk won’t necessarily be laid off, CNBC noted.

The furloughs were revealed in WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notices sent to employees. WARN notices will be sent to 37% of flight attendants (9,950 people); 2,500 pilots (18% of total); 3,200 maintenance workers; and 4,500 fleet service employees.

The WARN Act requires employers notify employees about possible layoffs or temporary furloughs 60 days in advance.

The catastrophic decline in global airline travel has seen American Airline’s revenue in June plummet more than 80% year-on-year, said CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom in a letter to staff. They said that "with infection rates increasing and several states reestablishing quarantine restrictions, demand for air travel is slowing again."

Both men again encourage American employees to take advantage of new extended leaves that could last for up to two years. Employees can also opt for early retirement. These incentives intend to encourage as many employees to leave the company voluntarily before they start being fired on October 1.

Under the $2 trillion CARES Act, U.S. airlines can't fire employees or reduce their pay until September 30. American took advantage of the $58 billion federal bailout provided by the CARES Act. Half this amount consists of grant aid, which covers airline payrolls and prevents layoffs through September 30.

Earlier this month, American said it has 20,000 more employees than it needs for its reduced fall schedule. In late May, Parker said American planned to shed 30% of its office jobs and slash its fleet size by more than 20%. The 30% number is equivalent to 5,000 employees.

Parker said American is being forced to become small to survive amid heavily degraded passenger numbers due to COVID-19 distancing restrictions.

American later offered management and support staff buyouts and retirement packages to firing thousands of employees. Buyout options include a third of pay and full medical coverage through December 31.

https://www.ibtimes.com/american-airlines-furlough-25000-face-possible-job-cuts-coronavirus-continues-3011975

Study Finds Significant Inaccuracies in COVID-19 Antibody Tests

A new peer-reviewed study by researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures finds significant variability in the accuracy of currently available COVID-19 antibody tests.

The study, “COVID-19 Serological Tests: How Well Do They Actually Perform?”, appears in the latest issue of the journal Diagnostics, an international peer-reviewed open-access journal published monthly by the Multidisciplinary Publishing Institute (MDPI).

In the absence of vaccines and effective therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 and the associated COVID-19 disease, reliable antibody testing can be a key element of public health policy to control further spread of the disease and gradually ease quarantine measures.

The study was coauthored by Robyn Meurant, Executive Director of Health Sciences for NSF International, Abdi Ghaffari, Advisor in Scientific affairs at Novateur Ventures and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University, and Ali Ardakani, Founder & Managing Director at Novateur Ventures.

The urgent need for the development of antibody diagnostic tests in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled regulatory bodies to implement emergency use authorization programs to expedite the commercialization process of these tests. “Granting FDA Emergency Use Authorization to several companies to accelerate the manufacturing of diagnostic tests was a good move,” said Ghaffari. “But it must be accompanied by informed and clear guidelines on preferred and minimally acceptable profiles of the COVID-19 antibody tests designed for a specific indication.”

Published independent performance data of five CLIA (chemiluminescence immunoassay), 15 ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and 42 RDT (rapid diagnostic test) antibody tests that are currently on the market were reviewed for this study to understand their limits and potential.

“No single assay can be used for all diagnostic use cases in the COVID-19 response for a country,” said Meurant. “What works well in one setting may be inappropriate or not accessible for another. As such, access to information on test performance, that is generated independently, greatly assists countries in informed decision-making.”

The findings show significant variability in the accuracy of marketed tests and highlight several lab-based and point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests with high performance levels in detecting SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies. The findings of this review highlight the need for ongoing independent evaluations of commercialized COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2020/07/study-finds-significant-inaccuracies-in-covid-19-antibody-tests.html

>>9974869

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