The number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus in Italy has risen to 229, with six deaths. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has banned trade in wild animals in an effort to contain the disease. Global stock markets dropped sharply in response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the Dow losing 3.5%.
In other news, a driver deliberately drove a car into a Carnival parade in Germany, wounding at least thirty people. No motive has yet been adduced for the attack.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Global Stock Markets Plunge on Coronavirus Fears
Global financial markets saw some of the sharpest falls in years on Monday after a rise in coronavirus cases renewed fears about economic slowdown.
In the US, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 posted their sharpest daily declines since 2018, with the Dow falling 3.5% or more than 1,000 points.
The S&P 500 ended the day 3.3% lower, while the Nasdaq sank 3.7%.
The UK’s FTSE 100 share index closed 3.3% lower, the sharpest drop since January 2016.
In Italy, which has seen Europe’s worst outbreak of the virus, Milan’s stock market plunged nearly 6%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
11 of the Most Outrageous Things Establishment Democrats Are Saying About Bernie Sanders
The Democratic establishment has officially shifted into panic mode. In 2016, they watched a bold political outsider shred a divided field of establishment Republican candidates on his way to winning the White House. Now they have one and only one shot of denying Donald Trump a second term, and the same thing that happened to the Republicans in 2016 is now happening to them. So far, Bernie Sanders is trouncing a divided field of establishment Democratic candidates, and that is a huge problem for party leadership for a number of reasons. For one thing, most top establishment Democrats absolutely detest Sanders. Secondly, most of them don’t believe that he has a prayer of actually beating Trump in November. So they are desperate to find a way to deny Sanders the nomination, but with each Sanders victory that is going to become increasingly difficult to do.
At this point, an all-out civil war has just about erupted on the left. Establishment Democrats are all in a tizzy about potentially nominating a “socialist”, but of course the truth is that America has been drifting toward socialism ever since FDR first entered the White House. Yes, there have been a few times when we have attempted to change course (the Reagan administration for example), but in general the federal government has just gotten bigger and bigger over the decades. Today we have the biggest government in the entire history of the planet, and the Democrats are primarily to blame.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Amber Heard Shuts Off Instagram Comments After 367,666 Petition to Remove Her From Aquaman 2
Amber Heard is cancelled. She has been bombarded by endless hate ever since leaks of the Aquaman actress’s admission of abuse against Johnny Depp were released, prompting her to shut off the comments on her Instagram page.
Despite the hate, the once-popular actress has not recused herself from social media and continues to post on both her Instagram and Twitter—but she has limited her interactions with her wide audience.
Earlier posts dated to January, which were previously filled with pristine replies, are now a mire of angry commentary. In a post on January 15, the actress wrote that she was “missing her Hawaiian tribe.” The replies to her vary from remarks calling her an “abuser” and “you’ll also be missing your career” to more spiteful ones like “we hope you go missing.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bernie Sanders: America is Not Great in Some ‘Very Significant Ways’
Appearing Sunday evening on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Democrat presidential frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) argued that the United States is not a “great” country in several “very significant ways.”
[Comment: You can trust a communist to act like a communist.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton Advisor: Bernie Sanders “Will Get Massacred by Trump”
Lays out scheme to use Sanders to get Hillary the nomination
A former advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton has warned that the Democrats will face the “worst presidential defeat” for decades if Bernie Sanders wins the nomination and goes to head to head with Donald Trump in the election.
Speaking on 970 AM New York City’s “The Cats Roundtable”, Clinton insider Dick Morris warned that Sanders “will get massacred” in 2020 by President Trump, and that it could pave the way for Hillary to enter the race at a late stage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard Professor Says 40-70 Per Cent of People Worldwide Will be Infected With Coronavirus
Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch says that the coronavirus will not be containable and that 40-70 of people worldwide will be infected.
In an article entitled You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus, the Atlantic explains how the coronavirus is particularly dangerous because it may cause cause no symptoms at all in many carriers of the infection.
According to Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch, this contributes to his prediction that coronavirus “will ultimately not be containable.”
“Lipsitch predicts that, within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19,” reports the Atlantic.
The professor clarifies that this doesn’t mean all of those victims will become seriously ill and that “many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic.”
However, given the increasingly stringent measures being taken outside of China to stop the spread of the virus, including in Italy where people are being prevented from leaving towns, one wonders how severe the panic will be if there is a massive global pandemic.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty in Landmark #MeToo moment
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of rape and sexual assault against two women and was immediately handcuffed and led off to jail, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.
The 67-year-old Weinstein had a look of resignation on his face as he heard the verdict that could send him to prison for up to 29 years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harvey Weinstein Taken to Bellevue Hospital With Chest Pains
Harvey Weinstein was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Monday after complaining of chest pains, according to his representative.
Weinstein was supposed to be transferred to the jail on Rikers Island, but was diverted to Bellevue. Weinstein was remanded into custody on Monday morning after a jury convicted him on charges of sexual assault and third-degree rape.
Bellevue is known for its psychiatric facility, but it also serves as a hospital for jail inmates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Journalists Attacked by Violent Bernie Bros in Austin, Texas
Journalists and security guards were attacked by violent Bernie Bros in Austin, Texas yesterday, with one having to visit hospital to receive stitches after having his head gashed.
One of the security guards revealed what happened to him and his colleagues when Owen Shroyer began bullhorning during the event.
“As soon as Bernie went on stage and Owen tried to give some counter-points with the bullhorn, we were immediately rushed by a number of very aggressive individuals,” said the security guard.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Amy Berman Jackson Fires Back at Roger Stone, Denying Request for Her Recusal
Judge Army Berman Jackson, who presided over the case of former Trump adviser Roger Stone, denied Stone’s request that she be removed from deciding whether he can have a new trial, writing Sunday that his motion seemed to be “nothing more than an attempt to use the court’s docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words ‘judge’ and ‘biased’ in it.”
Stone was sentenced to over three years in prison last Thursday following his conviction in November on charges of lying to Congress and intimidating a witness in connection with the Trump-Russia probe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Socialists Dem Debate: A Look Into the Total Destruction of America
Bolshevik Bernie is crowing over his ‘landslide’ victory in Nevada. That angry 78-year old Marxist who doesn’t know any other way to communicate except shout at everyone, believes he can win in November.
It appears looking at photos and video clips, Red Bernie is supported by brainwashed young adults and seniors who all expect Bolshevik Bernie to give them free everything. Several times over the years I have reproduced a page or two from one of the most magnificent writers of my time, Taylor Caldwell. That small portion is posted at the bottom of this column. READ IT because what Ms. Caldwell describes about Rome is exactly what we’re seeing in this country promoted by Bernie and the Democrat/Communist Party USA.
But, then again, Comrade Sanders has been angry and hateful for a very long time: The Bernie Sanders Rape Essay That Lets His Female Supporters Know That He Thinks They Are Sluts: “Not only did presidential candidate and all-around Socialist Bernie Sanders write a rape essay in which he claimed men fantasize about beating women up and women fantasize about being raped, but he defended it, along with writing about children being gang-raped.”
Someone sent me email asking how is it possible for a known socialist to serve in Congress? I sent him a link to a column I wrote for WorldNetDaily back in 2005: Insanity: Socialists, communists serving in Congress — No one listened. In my 1996 booklet, Blind Loyalty devoted to vote fraud, I listed the 57 members of Congress at that time who belonged to the Democratic Socialists of America. No one listened.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dr. Tariq Ramadan is a known Islamic scholar and the grandson of Hassan al-Banna who in 1928 founded the “Muslim Brotherhood” Organization. On July 27, 2011, I covertly attended an Islamic fund raising at the Hyatt Regency Hotel , in Richardson, Texas, that was arranged by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), and their key speaker was Tariq Ramadan.
Never mind how I managed to enter this highly guarded Islamic venue, but I witnessed their fund-raising methods and their goal to make America an Islamic land and eventually make Sharia Law accepted by elected officials without a single bullet to be fired. Yes, Tariq Ramadan encouraged Muslim attendees not to assimilate to American culture, but stealthily engage in political institutions, universities and run for political office. Then they will be in a position of power to drastically alter our way of life through what we know as “Cultural or Stealth Jihad.”
Tariq Ramadan was banned from coming to the US, but the Obama Administration and the Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton had signed an order to lift the ban which allowed Ramadan to enter the country and in order to preach to his fellow Muslim followers.
Just because violent jihad has diminished recently, especially after the demise of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and founder of the Islamic caliphate, we should not be complacent. There is a more serious scheme in progress called stealth jihad. It is in full motion in every corner of the United States with the help of their invaluable allies, the Democrat Party. The formula is working. America the land of the free, is under assault by the deadly ideology of Islamic subversion.
Muslim organizations have been busy and working “stealthily” changing America in what is called “Soft Jihad,” or “Cultural Jihad,” or Stealth Jihad” in the United States. Soft Jihad is practiced where the sword of jihad is not advisable, where Muslims are not strong enough to unsheathe their sword, where the true nature of Islam is exposed and when the public would likely stamp them out.
A critical tool of soft jihad, involves penetration of the American educational system, by use of means such as Da’wa-a religious duty of each Muslim to convert non-Muslims in order to strengthen the Islamic Ummah.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
South Bend Residents Have a Message for America: Don’t Elect Pete Buttigieg
When residents of this city’s impoverished West Side reflect on Pete Buttigieg’s two terms as mayor, a few things come to mind:
A spike in violent crime, development that largely ignored the African American community and how their only well-lit street is the one that leads to Notre Dame University.
So how, they wonder, can Buttigieg possibly be trusted to run the country?
“If he’s the next president, I fear for our country. He couldn’t run our city. How can he run the United States?,” said Michelle Burger, 42, a stay-at-home mom who lives in South Bend’s impoverished and predominantly black West Side.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor projected when she accused her Republican-appointed peers of acquiescence to the Trump administration, said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in an interview on Breitbart News Sunday with special guest host Joel Pollak.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Dems Vote to End Mandatory Reporting at Schools for Sexual Battery, Marijuana and More
Democrats continue to advance their agenda in Virginia.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
As Anti-Pipeline Blockades Continue, Grocery Stores Are Starting to Run Out of Goods
Some grocery stores are beginning to feel the burden of Canada’s rail blockades, which have brought the country to nearly a full stoppage for weeks.
A supermarket in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for example, has started to see their shelves go empty, as dry goods, in particular, have seemingly gone missing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Preparing Pandemic Response Plan for Coronavirus
As the number of coronavirus cases rises in Canada the country is preparing for a possible pandemic according to CBC News.
Theresa Tam, the Chief Public Health Officer said that the virus is quickly becoming more threatening. The virus—now referred to as COVID-19—has mostly been contained in Hubei, China where it began but Tam noted that it is now spreading person-to-person in many countries.
“These signs are concerning, and they mean that the window of opportunity for containment … for stopping the global spread of the virus, is closing,” said Tam
“It also tells countries like Canada, that have been able to manage and detect cases so far, that we have to prepare across governments, across communities, and as families and individuals, in the event of more widespread transmission in our community.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eco-Radicals Celebrate the Cancellation of Alberta Teck Mine
Canadians are tweeting about Teck Resources oil’s withdrawal of their application for their Alberta sand mines project—a cancellation that has Canadians polarized.
The withdrawal came as political and civil tensions grew higher and higher, with the company saying in a statement that “the growing debate around this issue has placed Frontier and our company squarely at the nexus of much broader issues that need to be resolved … It is now evident that there is no constructive path forward for the project.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Species of Ancient Hairy Cicada Identified
A new genus and species of hairy cicada that lived around 100 million years ago (Cretaceous period) has been identified from a fossilized wing found in Canada.
The newly-discovered species belongs to Tettigarctidae, a family of hairy cicadas that includes only two extant species: Tettigarcta crinita and Tettigarcta tomentosa.
The single fossilized forewing of the prehistoric incest was collected from the Redmond no. 1 mine near Schefferville — the so-called Redmond Formation — in Labrador, Canada.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Seventh Case of Coronavirus Recorded in British Columbia
British Columbia has recorded its seventh case of coronavirus, according to CTV News. This brings the total number of cases to 11 in Canada.
The patient is reportedly under isolation at their home in the Fraser Health region of BC. The patient is around 40-years-old and had close contact with the patient who was the sixth case of coronavirus in the province.
The sixth case in British Columbia was revealed on Thursday. The patient, who is in their 30s, also lives in the Fraser Health region. They recently arrived in Canada from Iran.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: OPP Arrest Protestors at Anti-Pipeline Rail Blockades in Ontario
Ontario Provincial Police have moved in on blockaders on Mohawk territory after a deadline calling for them to clear the Belleville, Ontario railway expired.
Blockaders have stopped trains from running for three weeks in support of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and the construction of a natural gas pipeline.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘White Lives Don’t Matter’ Signs Appear in Canadian City, Media Ignores
Racist signs that say “white lives don’t matter” and other racial slurs were posted in the Canadian city of Kitchener but received no media coverage whatsoever.
One of the posters features an image of Jesus Christ being crucified along with the words ‘WHITE LIVES DON’T MATTER’ in capital letters.
Another sign says ‘It’s okay to hate white people’ and ‘racism against whites doesn’t exist’. That sign also features a logo for ‘Kitchener/Waterloo against fascism’.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
30+ Injured After Car ‘Deliberately’ Driven Into Germany Carnival Parade
At least 30 people were injured when a car crashed into a lenten parade in a German town on Monday, with the driver arrested at the scene.
A silver BMW estate car mounted the kerb and crashed into a Rose Monday parade in the town of Volkmarsen on Monday afternoon, with dozens — including children — injured. While there is no official indication yet of why the driver may have done this, a police spokesman reported by local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau states the act was deliberate, but stopping short of calling it an attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Says it Will Stop Suspected Coronavirus Cases at Its Borders
VIENNA (Reuters) — Austria said on Monday it would stop suspected coronavirus cases from crossing its border, a day after it held up a train from Italy for four hours to wait for test results on two passengers.
Austria has yet to have a confirmed case of coronavirus, and is extremely wary because of Europe’s largest outbreak next door in northern Italy. More than half of freight crossing the Alps passes through Austria.
On Sunday Austrian authorities stopped a Venice-to-Munich train carrying 300 passengers, to wait for test results on two suspected of carrying the disease. The two tested negative and the train was allowed to continue.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AN Italian doctor who was holidaying in Tenerife has tested positive for coronavirus, health chiefs have confirmed.
The tourist is the second case detected on the Canary Island following a German holidaymaker who was admitted to La Gomera hospital earlier this month.
Health Minister Salvador Illa called for calm tonight, adding that he wants to convey ‘a message of confidence in the national health system and in our professionals.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus Live: EU’s Schengen Zone on the Brink as Deadly Virus Spreads Across Europe
FREEDOM of movement across the European Union’s borderless Schengen Zone could be suspended amid growing fears of a coronavirus pandemic.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus Spikes in Italy, With 229 Confirmed Cases and 6 Deaths
Updated at 8:20 p.m. ET
Italy reported a total of 229 novel coronavirus cases on Monday, leaping ahead of Japan (156 cases) on the list of worst-hit countries. Six people have died from the respiratory disease COVID-19 in Italy, and 27 more are in intensive care.
Italy’s biggest cluster of cases is in the Lombardy region, which has 172 cases, the country’s Health Ministry said Monday afternoon. The Veneto region, which includes Venice, has 33 cases, and Emilia-Romagna has 18.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus: Store Shelves Empty as Panic Buying Hits Italy
People in several regions of Italy have reacted to coronavirus spreading throughout the country by panic buying, leaving some store shelves empty.
With 165 people infected, Italy has the most coronavirus victims out of any country in Europe. Five people have died.
Footage out of Milan shot yesterday shows some products almost or entirely out of stock.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Delingpole: Eco-Loon Boris’s £3 Trillion Net-Zero Scheme Will Bankrupt Britain, Reports Warn
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s net zero policy will cost taxpayers the equivalent of a £100 billion HS2 project every year till 2050. The final bill will surpass £3 trillion — the equivalent of £100,000 per household.
These are the shock findings of a series of reports into the true cost of Boris’s scheme to decarbonise the UK economy by 2050.
The summary, by Andrew Montford of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, finds that no credible attempt has been made by the government to cost its ‘Net Zero by 2050’ scheme, which was bequeathed to it by Theresa May in the dog days of her failing premiership.
But the costs are in fact astronomical — far, far greater than the government’s green advisory body the Committee on Climate Change has been prepared to admit.
There are two main factors — the cost of decarbonising the electricity supply (mainly through the use of expensive, intermittent offshore wind power) and the cost of decarbonising domestic heat through retrofitting of insulation. Each of these issues is covered in a separate report, the first by former grid engineers Colin Gibson and Capell Aris; the second by Professor Michael Kelly.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France Bans Foreign Imams and Islamic Teachers
Written by Remix News
President Macron announced that he would restrict other countries from sending imams and Islamic teachers to France in what he said is an attempt to prevent separatism from growing.
At a press conference in Mulhouse in the east of France, Macron said he plans to end the system in which Algeria or Morocco send imams to France to preach in local French mosques, which has seen 300 imams come to the country every year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Berlin Implements Controversial Rent Control on 1.5 Million Homes
BERLIN (AP) — Berlin is freezing the rents of 1.5 million apartments for the next five years starting this Sunday in a controversial move to control the exploding costs that have forced many to move outside Germany’s capital city.
Berlin is the first German city to influence the rental prices so directly and the law has been both celebrated as a step toward more fairness by its supporters and ripped apart as a socialist method by critics.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Merkel’s Party Suffers Worst Ever Result in Hamburg
With only 11.2 percent, German chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats suffered their worst ever result in local elections in Hamburg on Sunday. They seem to have been punished for flirting with the far right in an eastern state as well as their messy leadership battle. The Social Democrats and Greens celebrated taking first and second place, respectively, meaning that they will probably maintain their ruling coalition.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Heavily Hit Canary Islands Reopen Airports After Sand and Wind Storms
MADRID (AP) — All airports on Spain’s Canary Islands had reopened Monday after authorities said the worst is over from strong winds that have thickened the air with sand and dust from the Sahara desert.
The sandstorm was accompanied over the weekend by wind gusts up to 120 kph (around 75 mph) that also fanned at least three wildfires on different islands of the archipelago some 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the African coast.
Primary schools were closed on all eight islands Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Intesa Bid ‘Hostile: Unacceptable’ Says Ubi ‘Pact’
UBI healthy says CAR
(ANSA) — Milan, February 20 — The bid by Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo to take over its fifth-biggest lender UBI Banca is “hostile and unacceptable”, the CAR ‘pact’ representing 17.8% of UBI’s capital said Thursday.
CAR added that UBI was a “healthy” bank.
Intesa CEO Carlo Messina said there was a “zero chance” that it would up its offer for UBI.
The bid has been described as not hostile by Intesa, even though it was not agreed. Intesa Sanpaolo’s bid is not a done deal, UBI CEO Victor Massiah wrote in a letter to employees Wednesday. “Before it becomes a project, it will have to pass through a complex process in which nothing can be taken for granted, authorized by the regulatory authorities and approved by the (banks’) assemblies,” the letter read.
“It’s very early to draw consequences but it is important to stress that this operation is only a proposal at the moment.
“According to what Intesa Sanpaolo have said, the offer will be deposited with (stock-market regulator) CONBOB by March 7.
“Before the start of the subscription period, scheduled to take place by the end of June, UBI’s board will have to express an opinion after proper examination of it”. UBI said in a statement that Massiah would examine the terms of the proposed takeover with advisors. “The Board of Directors which met today examined the communication relating to Intesa Sanpaolo’s offer and conferred powers on the Chief Executive Officer to appoint, in agreement with the Chairwoman and having heard the Vice Chairman, financial and legal advisors to assist the Group in carrying out the activities designed to assess information so far disclosed, and the tender document once available, with possible alternatives,” the statement said. Italy’s biggest bank Intesa launched the takeover of the country’s fifth-biggest lender Tuesday in a surprise move.
Intesa said it would offer UBI shareholders 17 newly issued Intesa shares for every 10 UBI shares tendered to create a European-sized player focused on wealth management and insurance, managing more than 1.1 trillion euros in customers’ financial assets.
It said the exchange offer valued UBI shares at 4.254 euros each.
If the offer is successful Intesa will delist UBI as quickly as possible and merge with it, targeting a combined profit of more than 6 billion euros in 2022.
“The offer came at the end of an important day in which we presented our industrial plan, which was well received and appreciated by the market and the stakeholders,” said Massiah in the letter, adding that his management team learned about it from a press release.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Reports Show EU Police Are Planning a Pan-European Network of Facial Recognition Databases
A POLICE INVESTIGATOR in Spain is trying to solve a crime, but she only has an image of a suspect’s face, caught by a nearby security camera. European police have long had access to fingerprint and DNA databases throughout the 27 countries of the European Union and, in certain cases, the United States. But soon, that investigator may be able to also search a network of police face databases spanning the whole of Europe and the U.S.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Poles Positive About EU Membership
The majority of Poles have assessed Poland’s membership in the European Union as positive, while the idea of a common European currency is still perceived negatively, the Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission (EC) has said.
Over half of those surveyed believe that Poland’s interests are well considered within the EU. The vast majority of Poles, 81 percent feel like an EU citizen and 71 percent feel connected with the community.
The poll also shows that 42 percent of respondents admitted Poles would be able to manage outside of the EU, if such a scenario were to arise in the future.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Julian Assange Extradition Hearing Begins in London
The extradition hearing for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange began Monday in London — the latest turn in the legal saga of perhaps the world’s most famous secret-spiller.
American officials want Assange, 48, brought to the U.S. to face charges. The U.S. government lawyer, James Lewis, argued that the case is not about journalism or First Amendment rights, but about computer hacking and publishing unredacted classified documents. “Reporting or journalism is not an excuse for criminal activities or a license to break ordinary criminal laws,” Lewis told the Woolwich Crown Court, according to The New York Times.
Assange has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 counts related to illegally obtaining, receiving and disclosing classified information in 2010. He is accused of conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in a coordinated effort to compromise U.S. government computer networks, and obtain and publish classified documents related to national security.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Top Tory: Huawei Deal Worst Govt Decision Since MI6 Hired Soviet Spy
Former Brexit Secretary and Tory leadership candidate David Davis has branded Boris Johnson’s decision to involve China in Britain’s 5G network the government’s “worst intelligence decision since MI6’s recruitment of Kim Philby.”
Philby [pictured, above] was one of Britain’s most notorious modern traitors, thought to be the most useful of the so-called “Cambridge Five” group of British academics turned communist assets who acted as Soviet double agents during the Second World War and the Cold War.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Says 12 Dead From New Virus, Rejects Higher Death Toll
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s government said Monday that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country.
The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian government’s transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak.
Five neighboring countries reported their first cases of the virus, with those infected all having links to Iran, including direct travel from a city where authorities have not even reported a confirmed case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump Addresses Roaring Crowd of Over 100,000 People in India at ‘Namaste Trump’ Rally
President Donald Trump addressed an enormous cheering crowd with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India on Monday, praising his host country’s progress and economic success.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Seikh Saddam Killed and Burned Hindu Mother & Daughter to End a Parallel Relation in Love Jihad
2 charred bodies of Hindu female were found at Haldia, police ultimately arrested Seikh Saddam who wanted to end a twin love jihad case with mother and daughter with a plan of rape and burn!!!
Dolon Hazra | HENB | Haldia | February 24, 2020:: Tension was cropped up at Jhikurkhali area of Hoogly-Runarayan river Bank close to Haldia in East Midnapore on Monday last (February 18), after few locals, when in their morning walk saw two bodies were burning on the bank of river Hooghly.
According to locals, early in the morning walkers were passing by from the area and noticed that something was burning and a foul smell was coming from there. When they went close to see what was burning, they saw two dead bodies. Immediately Durgachak police station was informed.
Meanwhile, locals doused the fire. Later police recovered the bodies and sent them for autopsy. Sources informed that one of the bodies was suspected to be of a woman. The other was burnt so badly that there is no chance to identify if it is of a man or woman. Ultimately police cracked their identities as Rama Dey (Mother) and Riya Dey (daughter) of New Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas.
After being informed, the local Councillor went to the spot. During preliminary probe, police found traces of digging close to the spot where the bodies were burnt. It was primarily suspected that the deceased persons were murdered somewhere else and their bodies were brought in by car to burry on the lonely Jhikurkhali bank of Hooghly. But apprehending some locals nearby and for approaching dawn, the accused might have poured petrol on them and ignited them to hide the deceased persons’ identities.
Haldia Police initiated a case on charges of murder and causing disappearance of evidence against unknown persons and formed a Special Investigating Team comprising 13 experienced cops.
On Saturday (February 22), Police arrested one Seikh Saddam, a known face of Haldia locality and a labour contractor who had affairs with Riya Dey (29) for a long time. Riya and Saddam went a live together in a rented house in Haldia for last one year.
As per available report, Saddam developed a tussle with Riya for a reason as he was keeping a relation with Riya’s mother Rama Dey (40) at New Barrackpore. When Riya reveled this parallel relationship of Saddam with mother and daughter both, Riya proposed a settlement by calling her mother Rama at Haldia.
Taking this opportunity, Saddam planned to kill daughter and mother both at a time and to burn them afterwards to vanish all clues. For this Saddam took help of four of his friends, one of them Manjur Alam was also arrested by police…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Trump, Melania Visit Famed Taj Mahal After Joining Modi for Massive India Rally
President Trump and first lady Melania visited the Taj Mahal Monday, hours after the U.S. leader gave a rousing speech to more than 110,000 at a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
The president and first lady strolled around the grounds of India’s most famous attraction, taking in the sights. It was a rare occasion of the president visiting a cultural site on an international visit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, China Bans Consumption, Trade of Wild Animals, Reports Say
China has banned the consumption and trade of wild animals in an effort to halt the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, which is believed to have originated at an animal and seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, according to a Monday report.
China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a resolution Monday banning the “illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protect the lives and health of the people,” AFP reported, citing state media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Government Identifies Dissenting Citizens Through Phone Numbers Linked to Twitter
Censorship in China is nothing new, particularly when relating to political content and opinions. Recently though, their censorship has also been extended to cover medical facts.
Ever since the onset of the coronavirus, China has been heavily criticized for the negligence and irresponsibility that caused the project’s outbreak.
The Chinese government seems to have taken these criticisms personally and began silencing coverage of the epidemic.
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Coronavirus UK: Virus Did Not Originate in Wuhan Seafood Market, Claims Study
CORONAVIRUS cases now number more than 79,800, with the virus continuing to spread around the world. Now a shocking study suggests novel coronavirus did not originate in Wuhan seafood market as first thought.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
South Korean government raised the national threat level to “red alert” — it’s highest threat level.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus Live Updates: US CDC Raises Travel Advisory for South Korea as Cases Surge to 893
China’s National Health Commission reported 508 new confirmed cases and 71 new deaths, as of Feb. 24.
South Korea reported a jump of 60 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 893 infected.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 3.97% in early trade as it returned from a holiday, following a selloff in U.S. stocks overnight.
Twelve people died and 61 have been infected with the coronavirus in Iran, Tehran’s health ministry said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Lawmaker: Regime Lying About Uncontrolled China Virus Spread, 50 Dead
Iranian parliament member Ahmad Amirabadi Farhani told reporters on Monday that the Islamic regime has been lying about the severity of the Chinese coronavirus outbreak in the Mideast country and that 50 people have died since it first began spreading there.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
This Coronavirus Outbreak Just Took Some Bizarre New Turns
Many were hoping that this coronavirus outbreak would begin to subside, but instead we witnessed an explosion of newly confirmed cases over the weekend. In fact, the number of confirmed cases outside of China has doubled over the past five days. If that number continues to double very rapidly, authorities will be talking about a full-blown “global pandemic” in no time. When I watched a victim suddenly collapse and start to twitch on a subway in Hong Kong, I thought about the sort of panic that would set off if that happened in New York. When I saw a video of Chinese authorities using butterfly nets to capture sick people, it made me wonder what U.S. authorities might do to round up those that are ill. The level of fear that a full-blown pandemic would cause would transform our society overnight. Even now, Chinese restaurants in Canada are completely empty due to concerns about catching this virus. But once this virus is being spread in virtually every city in North America, many of us won’t want to go anywhere at all, and that would bring economic activity to a complete and utter standstill.
For a while, it seemed like this outbreak was almost entirely a Chinese problem, and most Americans were not too alarmed about it. But over the weekend the rapid spread of the virus in South Korea, Italy and Iran spooked financial markets and mainstream news outlets in the U.S. started publishing stories about this outbreak with very alarming headlines.
And those alarming headlines are justified, because experts are telling us that we could very well be on the verge of a horrifying global pandemic…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Suspends Harry Chen PhD, Known for Reporting About Coronavirus Direct From Wuhan
Twitter has suspended the account of @IsChinar (Harry Chen PhD) — a move apparently linked to content tweeted by the account concerning the coronavirus outbreak in China.
@StephaniaBecker (Stephania Becker) broke the news about this development, saying that the suspension came after the user “spent weeks posting insider video from Wuhan about coronavirus & rampant abuses by CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
When Will We Admit COVID-19 is Unstoppable and Global Depression is Inevitable?
Given the exquisite precariousness of the global financial system and economy, hopes for a brief and mild downturn are wildly unrealistic. If we asked a panel of epidemiologists to imagine a virus optimized for rapid spread globally and high lethality, they’d likely include these characteristics:
1. Highly contagious, with an R0 of 3 or higher.
2. A novel virus, so there’s no immunity via previous exposure.
3. Those carrying the pathogen can infect others while asymptomatic, i.e. having no symptoms, for a prolonged period of time, i.e. 14 to 24 days.
4. Some carriers never become ill and so they have no idea they are infecting others.
5. The virus is extremely lethal to vulnerable subpopulations but not so lethal to the entire populace that it kills its hosts before they can transmit the virus to others.
6. The virus can be spread by multiple pathways, including aerosols (droplets from sneezing/coughing), brief contact (with hotel desk clerks, taxi drivers, etc.) and contact with surfaces (credit cards, faucets, door handles, etc.). Ideally, the virus remains active on surfaces for prolonged periods, i.e. 7+ days.
7. Those infected who recover may catch the virus again, as acquired immunity is not 100%.
8. As a result of this and other features, it’s difficult to manufacture a vaccine that will reliably protect against infection.
9. The tests designed to detect the virus are inherently limited, as the virus may be present in tissue that isn’t being swabbed.
10. The symptoms of the illness are essentially identical with less contagious and lethal flu types, so people who catch the virus may not know they have the novel pathogen.
As you probably know by now, these are all characteristics of Covid-19, and this is why it is unstoppable. As we now know, millions of people left Wuhan while the epidemic was raging in January, spreading the virus throughout China and the world via hundreds of airline flights to other nations.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“Treasure Trove” of New Coral Species Discovered Along the Great Barrier Reef
Scientists discovered dozens of new coral species on a recent voyage along the length of the Great Barrier Reef.
A team of scientists completed a 21-day trip from the Capricorn Bunkers off Gladstone to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait late last year.
“On almost every dive we were finding species that aren’t in the books,” said Professor Andrew Baird from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Australian dollar has hit an 11-year-low as coronavirus fears puncture a currency already made unattractive by a decade-long slide in interest rates.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Jihadi Bride Alo-Bridget Namoa’s Letters to Bassam Hamzy Are Revealed
Alo-Bridget Namoa, 22, from Sydney, had written letters to Brothers 4 Life leader Bassam Hamzy behind bars and also sent threats to NSW prison officials — before being freed earlier in December.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Neil Mitchell Says Australia is ‘Selling National Dignity’ To China
Speaking on his morning radio show, Mitchell said Australia was ‘kowtowing to China’ by allowing Chinese students to get around the travel ban by staying in a third country for 14 days.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of passengers from the worst-affected regions of Italy were told to return home or face a two-week quarantine in Mauritius, Italian media said.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
President Cyril Ramaphosa Speaks on Land Expropriation Plan
A surge of South Africans seeking protection in Australia have been disappointed as no visas have yet been approved.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
45% of Australians Want to Lower the Number of Immigrants
A Ghanian father-of seven who lied to get into Australia before marrying two Australian women and sexually assaulting a child has been booted from the country.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A team of U.S Customs and Border Protection agents and officers from the Laredo Police Department rescued at least 37 migrants from a stash house in Laredo, Texas.
A female migrant called the police last Thursday stating that she and the rest of the group were being held hostage inside a home a street away from Memorial Middle School.
According to CBP, Laredo cops and Border Patrol officers conducted a welfare check of the migrants at the safe house near Springfield Avenue and East Fremont Street.
The Laredo Morning Times reported that CBP had not identified any suspects connected with the kidnapping of the undocumented migrants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Enough is Enough! Greek Islanders Vow to Stop New Invader Camps
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — Protest groups on three eastern Greek islands have begun setting up blockades aimed at stopping the government from building new migrant detention centers.
The groups on Lesbos, Chios, and Samos have received broad support on the islands including from municipal authorities and farming associations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kris Kobach: Bernie Sanders Supports Flying Deported Illegal Alien Criminals Back to USA
Kansas candidate for the United States Senate Kris Kobach says Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is supporting legislation by House Democrats that will fly deported criminal illegal aliens back to the U.S.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Official Figures Reveal That Scandinavia Has a Worrying Migrant Crime Problem
Migrants living in Norway are immensely overrepresented in crime stats, while underage migrants were even more likely to be involved in violent criminal behavior in Oslo, official figures collected by Statistics Norway have revealed.
Jon Helgheim and Sylvi Listhaug of the Progressive Party emphasized that the figures revealed that younger Somali immigrant men carry out violent crimes at a rate of 419 per 1,000 to 34 per 1,000 for native Norwegians, Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang reports.
Thus, younger Somali immigrant men are 12.3 times more likely to commit a violent crime than native Norwegian men are.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: 43 Percent of Italians Oppose Prosecuting Salvini for Defending Italy Against Migrant Invaders
A new poll has revealed that nearly half of Italians believe that Italian lawmakers were wrong to strip Matteo Salvini’s immunity in preparation for a potential trial against the former populist interior minister.
The poll, which was carried out by the polling institute EMG, revealed that less than 41 percent of respondents supported the parliament’s decision to strip Salvini’s immunity, while 16 percent of poll respondents opted not to answer, Italy’s daily newspaper Il Giornale reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
BBC: Having a Family With Children Supports Slavery
Deciding to have children in the First World supports slavery, according to a BBC Three segment pushed on social media.
In a segment for the ‘Blindboy Undestroys the World’ programme on BBC Three, the publicly-funded broadcaster’s youth-oriented channel, the eponymous “Blindboy” tells the viewer: “You think slavery is a thing of the past, but you own slaves”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘I Want to be Brave Like You’: Boy, 9, Asks Pete Buttigieg for Help Coming Out as Gay
WASHINGTON — Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg shared an emotional moment in front of thousands of supporters Saturday when a 9-year-old boy asked for his help coming out as gay.
“Would you help me tell the world I’m gay too? I want to be brave like you,” the boy wrote on a card that was read by the moderator during Buttigieg’s rally in Denver.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Outrage in Croatia After Effigy of Same-Sex Couple Burned
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s president and government joined activists Monday in expressing outrage at the burning during a carnival of an effigy showing a same-sex couple with their child.
The incident occurred Sunday in the southern town of Imotski. A large effigy showing two men embracing each other was torched in front of cheering festival-goers to the sound of the funeral music.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
People Working in Arts Say They May be Ostracized for ‘Controversial Opinions’, New Study Reveals
A new survey found that 80 percent of people in the arts sector fear having ‘controversial opinions’ can lead to professional ostracism. Those views include supporting right-wing politics.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Pete Buttigieg Advises Nine-Year-Old Boy How to Come Out as Gay
Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg advised a nine-year-old boy on how to come out as gay during a campaign town hall in Colorado on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Respondents to CNN Article About ‘Africanized Bee Attack” Complain of Racism
Respondents to a CNN article about a swarm of Africanized bees that attacked a group of firefighters and police complained that using the term ‘Africanized bees’ was racist.
Yes, really.
The Africanized honey bee is also known colloquially as the ‘killer bee’, but the former name is scientifically accurate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: MP Invites Drag Queen Called ‘Flowjob’ To School, Calls Complaining Parents “Homophobic”
A Scottish MP invited a drag queen called ‘Flowjob’ who had previously uploaded sexually explicit content to Twitter to a primary school and then called parents who complained “homophobic.”
MP Mhairi Black invited ‘Flowjob’ to Glencoates Primary School, Paisley where the drag queen read a story to kids as young as four.
The Sun reports, “The drag queen has regularly uploaded graphic pictures to Twitter, including of simulating a sex act with a dildo and simulating oral sex.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Transgender Inmate Accused of Rape in Women’s Prison Facility
Biological male transferred to women’s prison, governor blocks move to return inmate to previous prison.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
No Raw Data, No Science: Another Possible Source of the Reproducibility Crisis
From Molecular Brain, Biomedical Central
Molecular Brain volume 13, Article number: 24 (2020) Cite this article
Abstract
A reproducibility crisis is a situation where many scientific studies cannot be reproduced. Inappropriate practices of science, such as HARKing, p-hacking, and selective reporting of positive results, have been suggested as causes of irreproducibility. In this editorial, I propose that a lack of raw data or data fabrication is another possible cause of irreproducibility.
As an Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Brain, I have handled 180 manuscripts since early 2017 and have made 41 editorial decisions categorized as “Revise before review,” requesting that the authors provide raw data. Surprisingly, among those 41 manuscripts, 21 were withdrawn without providing raw data, indicating that requiring raw data drove away more than half of the manuscripts. I rejected 19 out of the remaining 20 manuscripts because of insufficient raw data. Thus, more than 97% of the 41 manuscripts did not present the raw data supporting their results when requested by an editor, suggesting a possibility that the raw data did not exist from the beginning, at least in some portions of these cases.
Considering that any scientific study should be based on raw data, and that data storage space should no longer be a challenge, journals, in principle, should try to have their authors publicize raw data in a public database or journal site upon the publication of the paper to increase reproducibility of the published results and to increase public trust in science.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Muslim convert debates with whiteknight atheists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7pT_wTConM
The man who drove into the carnival parade was ” a man” ,a german citizen.
Unlike in the Hanau slaughter, no name, no photograph.So let us guess about the origins: a Zen- Buddhist going nuts? A Mormon preacher frustrated about a refusal at an unsolicited house call? A Jesuit monk traumatized by the false monk in Rome?
http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1582629890101.jpg
I was wrong; The photo of the white looking guy who is getting arrested because of the carnival attack is fake news according to the police.
The photo of the white looking guy who is getting arrested because of the carnival attack is fake news according to the police.
http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1582629890101.jpg
oops
sorry for the double post
On the Corona Virus, I have read on Dave Hodge’s post here: https://thecommonsenseshow.com/agenda-21-conspiracy-education/chinas-economy-continues-collapse-domestic-car-sales-plunge-whopping-92-spread-wuhan-coronavirus
and in a couple of other blogs that the Chinese economy is on very shaky ground and the consequences of worker quarantines along with the general unease of the populace may very well be the proverbial straw that will break China’s back, or at least that of its economy.
Before you indulge in schadenfreude, which is forbidden behavior per OT book of Leviticus, you should bear in mind that the Fed owes Chinese bondholders almost as much as the local Chinese businesses that are on the verge of default and bankruptcy.
It would therefore be reasonable to assume the plausibility of the following nightmare scenario: China calls in all of our debt to them to cover the defaulted debt of the small and medium-sized businesses whose bankruptcies would bring down China’s economic house of cards, Xi Jinping’s declarations of self godhood notwithstanding.
As this is my view of the scenery from about 10,000 feet in the air I welcome feedback, analysis, and correction, especially as pertains to the debt numbers involved. Thanks and remember to take your Vitamin C as Ascorbic Acid helps the cells thicken their walls, so instead of knocking on paper or stucco to get into your cells the corona virus will be knocking on concrete that is preferably 12 inches thick.
From SolCal where oranges for your Vitamin C (si’) are grown