Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/26/2020

The number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the United States has now passed the total number of officially acknowledged cases in China. Meanwhile, the British Imperial College scientist who predicted 500,000 deaths from the disease in the UK has revised his estimate down to 20,000 or fewer. Also, two professors of medicine at Stanford University say that the widely disseminated estimated fatality rate for the coronavirus may be too high by an order of magnitude, due to the severe lack of reliable testing data on the number of cases.

In other news, the migrant-rescue NGO Sea Watch has proposed that the EU ferry migrants to Europe using cruise ships.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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.

Financial Crisis
» A Massive Surge of Unemployment Like America Has Never Seen Before
» Cashless Society: US Democrats Propose ‘Digital Dollar’ Run by the Fed
» Decadent Like the Late Roman Empire, The West is Committing Suicide Through Its Irrational Response to COVID-19
» Dow Jumps 1,300 Points to Cap Biggest 3-Day Rally Since 1931
» How a Million Australians Could Lose Their Jobs Within Months Amid Dire Predictions the Coronavirus Will Push Unemployment to Great Depression Levels
» Jobless Claims Last Week Quadrupled Previous Record
» Mnuchin: Coronavirus Stimulus Checks to be Delivered “Within 3 Weeks”
» US Facing TWO EPIDEMICS: COVID-19 & Soaring Joblessness
 
USA
» Antifa Members Promise Violence in Response to Coronavirus Lockdowns
» Bahrain, Belgium Report COVID-19 Treatment Touted by Trump is Working for Patients
» Coronavirus Patients Being Treated With Vitamin C at New York Hospitals
» Coronavirus: US Overtakes China With Most Cases
» COVID Alert! Feds Abolished 2nd Amendment by Proxy in 2007 — Now it’s in Action
» Democrats Try to Use COVID-19 to Push Their Socialist Agenda
» Fear Makes it Easy for Governments to Expand Power
» Federal Bureaucrats Lock Down Health Care
» Gun Stores Close. Prisons Open.
» More Than Half of All US COVID-19 Deaths Occur in Only Four States
» Politicians Have Used This Crisis to Remind Us They’re Mostly Wannabe Dictators
» Rapper M.I.A. — “If I Have to Choose the Vaccine or Chip I’m Gonna Choose Death”
» Stanford Physicians Suggest COVID-19 Could Have Lower Mortality Rate Than Flu
» The Government’s Pandemic Strategy is a Reckless One
» The State Has Seized Many New Powers. It Won’t Let Go of Them Easily.
» The US’s COVID-19 Death Rate is Far Below the Rates in Italy and Spain
» Trump Warns Suicides From Economic Depression Could Surpass Virus Deaths
» Two Hundred and Thirty Years of Rights and Liberties Shredded: Why I Oppose the Lockdown
» Video: Trump Argues With Reporter, Says Media Want Economy to Suffer
» Washington Post Slammed After Contacting Twitter User’s Parents Over Their Son’s Tweet
 
Canada
» Breaking: Trudeau Rips Travellers Who Have Not Self-Isolated, Says Prison Time a Possibility
» Left-Wing Groups Telling People to Not Pay Rent Their Rent April 1
» Niagara Falls Empty: Coronavirus Takes Its Toll on World Famous Attraction
 
Europe and the EU
» Asterix Co-Creator Albert Uderzo Dies Aged 92
» Coronavirus: Pope Puts Off Malta Trip
» Coronavirus: French Govt Urges ‘Return to the Fields’
» Coronavirus: Death Toll Among Italy’s Doctors Climbs to 33
» Coronavirus Reaches Pope Francis’ Residence in Vatican
» COVID-19: No Parade on National Day as Greece Fights Coronavirus
» Eco-Nutters Deny Posting ‘Corona is the Cure, Humans the Disease’ Signs
» Former UK PM Gordon Brown: Time for ‘Global Government’ To Tackle Coronavirus
» Former UK Prime Minister Calls for Global Government to Fight Coronavirus
» Germany: “Hate-Postings Day”
» Here Are the Very Alarming Things That Scientists Have Just Discovered About This Coronavirus…
» Hungary to the European Commission: If You Won’t Help Us, Stop Hurting US
» Imperial College Scientist Who Predicted 500k Coronavirus Deaths in UK Adjusts to 20k or Fewer
» Italian Mayor Threatens to Send “Police With Flamethrowers” To Break Up Graduation Parties
» Italy: Coronavirus: Naples Church Absolves Patients-Victims’ Sins
» Italy: Coronavirus: Deaths Pass 7,000 Mark, But Rise in New Cases Down Again
» Italy: Coronavirus: Spain Finds 10,000 Cases in 24 HR, 4,000 Dead
» Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Dips to 683 in One Day, Rising Above 7,500 in Total
» Le Pen: The EU Was the First Casualty of Coronavirus
» Netherlands: Swiss Pharmaceutical Giant Roche Preventing Widespread Tests for Coronavirus
» Report: Military to Build Ten More Coronavirus Field Hospitals Across UK
» Salvini: Expect Revolt in Italy Without 100 Billion Euro Bailout
» Spain: Police Called on Brothers Playing Soccer in Their Own Back Yard
» Spanish Capital Ditches ‘Unreliable’ Chinese Coronavirus Test Kits
» Spanish Coronavirus Death Toll Now Higher Than China
» Sweden: Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly in Somali Community
» Terror Convict Mullah Krekar Extradited to Italy
» UK Downgrades COVID-19; No Longer a High Consequence Infectious Disease
» UK Police Force Slammed for Spying on Dog Walkers With Drone
» UK Police Force Creates Tool That Lets People Snitch on Others for Not “Social Distancing”
» UK Teen Commits Suicide Over Coronavirus Self-Isolation
» UK: Coronavirus: Thugs Mugging Nurses for Their Ids to Get Free Food and Drink
» UK: Crown Prosecutor: Coronavirus Cough Attacks Punishable With Jail Time
» ‘We Are Collapsing’: Virus Infects Thousands of Front Line Medics in Spain
» Without Being Tested, Greta Says it’s ‘Extremely Likely’ She Had WuFlu
 
North Africa
» Coronavirus: ‘Complete Curfew’ In Eastern Libya
» Coronavirus: Fourth Death in Tunisia, First Case in Libya
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Coronavirus: Israel: 5 Dead and 2,030 Infected
» Israel’s Gantz to be Parliament Speaker Then FM
 
Middle East
» Coronavirus: Lebanon Disinfecting Refugee Camps
» Syria: Bridge Destroyed to Prevent Russian Passage
 
Russia
» No Need for Hard Quarantine in Russia, Which Closed Its Border Back in January
 
South Asia
» Bali is on the Cusp of a Killer Coronavirus Crisis as Indonesia Has the Highest Death Rate in the World — While Experts Fear the Illness Could Infect Millions if the Country Isn’t Placed Into Total Lockdown
» Video: Muslim Women Gather in Groups, Claim Coronavirus Can’t Infect Them
 
Far East
» China Bans All Foreigners From Entering Country
» COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
» Daily Mail Accused of Republishing Chinese Propaganda Without Disclosure
» Experts Know the New Coronavirus is Not a Bioweapon. They Disagree on Whether it Could Have Leaked From a Research Lab
» President Duterte Seeks Special Powers During Coronavirus National Emergency
» Senator Cotton: China Unleashed This Plague on the World
» This Scientist Suggested a Drug to Treat COVID-19. ‘Fact Checkers’ Branded Him Fake News
» Three Billion People Worldwide Confined at Home
 
Australia — Pacific
» Exhausted Woolworths Worker Breaks Down in Tears at the Checkouts After Being Abused by Rude Shoppers and is Comforted by a Customer
» How Bulk Supplies of Australia’s Face Masks, Hand Sanitisers and Other Vital Medical Items Were Shipped to China as the Coronavirus Pandemic Took Hold
» Laid-Off Takeaway Shop Worker Buys 90 Slabs of Beer for $4,200 to Drink by the Pool During a Looming Coronavirus Lockdown — and He’s Not the Only Drinker With a Huge Grog Stockpile
» Pauline Hanson Warns of Mass Chinese Buy Up of Australia Amid Coronavirus Recession Sparked by Soaring Unemployment, Plunging Stocks and Tumbling House Prices
 
Latin America
» Coronavirus: Mexicans Demand Crackdown on Americans Crossing the Border
 
Immigration
» Coronavirus Bill Includes $350 Million for “Migration and Refugee Assistance”
» EU Called to Use Cruise Ships to Move Migrants From Greece to Germany
» Germany: Asylum Seekers and Migrants Not Respecting Lockdown
» Germany: Migrants and Asylum Seekers Aren’t Respecting Lockdown Measures to Combat Virus
» Greece: Man Arrested for Transporting 12 Teenage Migrants
» Italy: North African Migrant Attacks 60-Year-Old Man in Supermarket When Asked to Keep Distance
 
Culture Wars
» Gender Studies Prof Says Doctors Assign Babies’ Sex by ‘Stray Cat Method’
» UK: British Sitcom Hilariously Mocks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Obsession With Racism
 
General
» YouTubers Say Their Ad Revenue is Down by as Much as 50% in March
 

A Massive Surge of Unemployment Like America Has Never Seen Before

What we are now witnessing is completely unprecedented.

[Comment: Orchestrated fear porn by globalist owned media drove this virus panic — goal is to crash the economy and remove Trump. Mass media are enemies of the people.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cashless Society: US Democrats Propose ‘Digital Dollar’ Run by the Fed

Update: The “digital dollar” provision of the Democrats’ version of the coronavirus stimulus bill has been scrubbed. However, the “digital dollar” is now mentioned in a separate bill introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), titled the “Financial Protections and Assistance for America’s Consumers, States, Businesses, and Vulnerable Populations Act.” In the latest step toward a […] [Comment: Another “solution” that centralizes power in the hands of the trillionaires that own the private banks of western countries.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Decadent Like the Late Roman Empire, The West is Committing Suicide Through Its Irrational Response to COVID-19

It’s almost certain that the impact of the shutdowns will be a recession comparable to the Great Depression.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Dow Jumps 1,300 Points to Cap Biggest 3-Day Rally Since 1931

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,351.62 points on Thursday, capping off its biggest three-day surge since 1931.

The Dow closed at 22,552.17 after rising 6.4% on Thursday. It is up more than 20% over the past three days.

The S&P 500 also closed off a three-day winning streak after rising 6.2% to 2,630.07. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 5.6% to 7,797.54.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

How a Million Australians Could Lose Their Jobs Within Months Amid Dire Predictions the Coronavirus Will Push Unemployment to Great Depression Levels

More than one million Australians will lose their jobs from the economic crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre predicts.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Jobless Claims Last Week Quadrupled Previous Record

The first numbers on unemployment related to the coronavirus came in today, and the fallout is massive. Initial jobless claims last week hit 3.283 million across the United States. That’s four times as high as the previous record of 695,000, set in October 1982, and up from 282,000 the previous week.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Mnuchin: Coronavirus Stimulus Checks to be Delivered “Within 3 Weeks”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that Americans will begin receiving stimulus checks from the coronavirus relief package within three weeks.

During an interview with CNBC, Mnuchin said those eligible should receive their checks in mid-April.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

US Facing TWO EPIDEMICS: COVID-19 & Soaring Joblessness

Joblessness is becoming a kind of second epidemic, growing and spreading even more rapidly than Covid-19

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Antifa Members Promise Violence in Response to Coronavirus Lockdowns

Millions of Americans are on edge over the Wuhan Coronavirus, subsequent economic downturn, and political responses to both that include “stay at home” mandates for many areas. Unofficial domestic terrorist group Antifa has some members promising to turn violent as a result.

Andy Ngo, Editor-at-Large for The Post Millennial, has been the tip of the spear in outing Antifa for months. He follows their moves and, perhaps more importantly, their Twitter accounts to discern their plans and expose their radical ideology. The group claims to be against fascism but has demonstrated the use of fascist tactics to promote their agenda.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Bahrain, Belgium Report COVID-19 Treatment Touted by Trump is Working for Patients

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Supreme Council of Health chairman said his country was among the first to use the drug and that its impact has been “profound,” according to the Bahrain News Agency.

Dr. Shaikh Mohamed, who leads the National Taskforce for Combating COVID-19, was also quoted by the news agency as saying hydroxychloroquine was administered according to the same regimens as those used in China and South Korea.

The first COVID-19 case in Bahrain was reported on Feb. 21, and hydroxychloroquine was first administered to patients showing virus symptoms on Feb. 26.

Bahrain has 419 deaths as a result of the virus, behind Croatia with 442 deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.

Hydroxychloroquine is used to prevent and treat malaria and is administered to patients with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

Meanwhile in Europe, another U.S. ally, Brussels, is reporting similar early success with the same drug and is taking steps to ensure its availability for the sickest coronavirus patients.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus Patients Being Treated With Vitamin C at New York Hospitals

Patients receiving vitamin C doing “significantly better” than those who don’t, doctor says

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: US Overtakes China With Most Cases

The US now has more confirmed cases of coronavirus than any other country with more than 83,500 positive tests.

According to the latest figures collated by Johns Hopkins University, the US has overtaken China (81,782 cases) and Italy (80,589).

But with 1,200 Covid-19-related fatalities, the US death toll lags behind China (3,291) and Italy (8,215).

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

COVID Alert! Feds Abolished 2nd Amendment by Proxy in 2007 — Now it’s in Action

DHS memorandum omits gun shops and manufacturers from ‘essential’ businesses amid global crisis.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Democrats Try to Use COVID-19 to Push Their Socialist Agenda

In a bit of not-so-surprising news, democrat politicians have decided that during the coronavirus pandemic, they should push a liberal agenda. In the words of infamous socialist Rahm Emanuel, Democrats will “never allow a crisis to go to waste.”

Democrats used their stimulus bill, which was a response to the GOP’s proposal, to pack it with funding to advance a liberal communist agenda.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Fear Makes it Easy for Governments to Expand Power

With every new wave of fear, governments become bolder.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Federal Bureaucrats Lock Down Health Care

COVID-19 used for massive medical power grab.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Gun Stores Close. Prisons Open.

This is how the left handles a pandemic.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

More Than Half of All US COVID-19 Deaths Occur in Only Four States

The effects of COVID-19 are not evenly distributed in the United States. Only certain regions are facing sizable strains on their resources.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Politicians Have Used This Crisis to Remind Us They’re Mostly Wannabe Dictators

From small towns to Capitol Hill, politicians are using every opportunity to void the Bill of Rights and abolish all limits on their power.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Rapper M.I.A. — “If I Have to Choose the Vaccine or Chip I’m Gonna Choose Death”

Hip-Hop artist stands up to mandated establishment medicine.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Stanford Physicians Suggest COVID-19 Could Have Lower Mortality Rate Than Flu

Two professors of medicine at Stanford University have proposed that current assumptions about the mortality rate of the Chinese coronavirus are deeply flawed due to miscalculations of the infected population.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Tuesday, Eran Bendavid, an infectious diseases physician, and Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine, assert that “projections of the death toll could plausibly be orders of magnitude too high” because they are based on gross underestimations of the actual infection rate of the coronavirus.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Government’s Pandemic Strategy is a Reckless One

It’s time to stop pretending that the policies favored by some biologists—who know nothing about how economies work to lessen the health effects of poverty—come without grave costs to public health.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The State Has Seized Many New Powers. It Won’t Let Go of Them Easily.

The state has used this virus scare to demand that politicians and bureaucrats be given near-total control over every aspect of life, including virtually every business and employer in America. Will this now be a permanent feature of American life?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The US’s COVID-19 Death Rate is Far Below the Rates in Italy and Spain

Contrary to a recent headline, the US is not about to become the “epicenter” of COVID-19. In fact, the death rate of COVID-19 is lower in the US than at the same point in the timeline for many other countries we are told are comparable to the US.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Warns Suicides From Economic Depression Could Surpass Virus Deaths

Economic impact on national health could outweigh virus.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Two Hundred and Thirty Years of Rights and Liberties Shredded: Why I Oppose the Lockdown

My opposition to the potential Lockdown is twofold but principally it is based on the fact that over two hundred and thirty years of rights and liberties should not be shredded on the basis of any threat, real or imagined. Americans either have rights or we don’t. There is no asterisk in the Constitution that states the Bill of Rights is null and void in the event of a terrorist attack or a virus outbreak. If we do not maintain our rights in a time of crisis, then, simply put, we do not truly have rights at all.

If we do not maintain these rights, our country, such as it is, ceases to exist.

As Peter Hitchens, one of the few critics of this Lockdown mentality (happening all over the world and, in his case, Britain) wrote in his recent article for the Mail Online,

All the crudest weapons of despotism, the curfew, the presumption of guilt and the power of arbitrary arrest, are taking shape in the midst of what used to be a free country. And we, who like to boast of how calm we are in a crisis, seem to despise our ancient hard-bought freedom and actually want to rush into the warm, firm arms of Big Brother.

Hitchens’ article is well worth reading, not only for his views but for his critique of the scale of the pandemic, which is highly questionable.

Secondly, we are quickly driving this country to a second Great Depression where unemployment is at levels never before seen and where only the 1% and the major banks have anything resembling wealth. This Depression will be so devastating that it will make the first look weak in comparison, not just because of employment but because of the real human toll after decades of globalism, Free Trade, and urbanization have gutted this country of its workforce, manufacturing, healthcare, education, production capabilities, and general living standards. With more Americans living urban lives and fewer and fewer farms by the day, the Second Great Depression will kill many more people than the virus and leave those left alive scrounging for crumbs at the bottom. Already, since the beginning of this virus emergency, we have witnessed a huge transfer of wealth from the lower classes to the higher and we will no doubt witness more as this insane Lockdown attempt continues.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Video: Trump Argues With Reporter, Says Media Want Economy to Suffer

President Trump engaged in another verbal tussle with a reporter during a coronavirus daily press briefing Wednesday, doubling down on an earlier claim he made that the media would love to see the US economy go under just so it hurts Trump’s reelection chances.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Washington Post Slammed After Contacting Twitter User’s Parents Over Their Son’s Tweet

During times such as the coronavirus outbreak, people start to express all sorts of opinions— some good, some bad, and some distasteful. But legacy media outlets are taking it upon themselves to embark on a journey of moral policing of individuals that express a controversial statement.

What we now observe is one such moral policing act: A Washington Post editor, after reading a controversial tweet by a man, called up his parents and ended up writing an article about it.

Scott McMillan, a 56-year-old lawyer from San Diego, recently tweeted his opinion about the coronavirus.

“The fundamental problem is whether we are going to tank the entire economy to save 2.5% of the population which is (1) generally expensive to maintain, and (2) not productive,” wrote the lawyer.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Trudeau Rips Travellers Who Have Not Self-Isolated, Says Prison Time a Possibility

Prime Minister Trudeau’s daily press meeting hit the usual notes out of the gate on Thursday, recapping the government’s most recent moves in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Trudeau started by discussing the $1.7 billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for Canadians who are without paycheques, for at least the next four months.

Trudeau reminded Canadians to avoid text scams related to the CERB, and referred Canadians to the government of Canada’s website rather than random text messages.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Left-Wing Groups Telling People to Not Pay Rent Their Rent April 1

Groups seeking to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic are organizing a “rent strike” for April 1.

Posters and other materials are being distributed on social media, advising tenants to not pay their landlords their dues.

Several groups including Parkdale Organize and Keep Your Rent Toronto are advocating for the strike after Ontario announced that they will be suspending eviction orders while the threat of the pandemic exists.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Niagara Falls Empty: Coronavirus Takes Its Toll on World Famous Attraction

Where have all the people gone?

On Tuesday, I paid a visit to the number one tourism destination in Canada — Niagara Falls, Ontario. And what I observed was absolutely shocking and surreal — a once bustling town that now seemingly resembles a set piece lifted from The Walking Dead.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Asterix Co-Creator Albert Uderzo Dies Aged 92

Asterix comics co-creator Albert Uderzo has died of a heart attack. He was 92.…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Pope Puts Off Malta Trip

Scheduled for May 31, first foreign trip this year

(ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23 — Pope Francis has been forced to put off his May 31 trip to Malta on account of the coronavirus crisis, Vatican press office head Matteo Bruni said Monday.

“The apostolic journey has been postponed until further notice,” he said.

The visit was to have been the pope’s first international trip this year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: French Govt Urges ‘Return to the Fields’

200,000 direct jobs available, says minister

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, MARCH 24 — France has urged its citizens to return to the fields. Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume has called for those not currently working due to the coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic to take to the fields and “join the large army of French agriculture” seeking manpower.

“There is now the chance to have 200,000 direct jobs in agriculture trades,” the minister told BFM-TV, calling on those willing and able to do so to “take to the fields” in an already difficult context in which France has millions of unemployed citizens as well as hundreds of thousands kept at home due to COVID-19 measures.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Death Toll Among Italy’s Doctors Climbs to 33

Woman headed local prevention unit

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Two dentists died with the coronavirus in Brescia on Wednesday taking the Italian doctors’ death toll with COVID-19 up to 33.

The dentists were named as Mario Calonghi and Gabriele Lombardi.

The deaths were reported by the national federation of doctors guilds, FNOMCEO.

The family of one doctor who died with the coronavirus in Turin said Wednesday they may sue the Italian State for compensation. “The State should give a strong and clear signal: it must compensate the families of doctors and nurses who have died for their activities safeguarding public health,” said their lawyer, Gino Arnone.

“Otherwise we are ready to wage a legal battle”.

Over 5,000 Italian health workers have been infected with the coronavirus, the Anaao Assomed union said in a letter to Higher Health Institute President Silvio Brusaferro Wednesday. The union called for immediate action to provide all workers with individual protection equipment. Piedmont union chief Chiara Rivetti recalled that on Tuesday another two surgeons had been intubated with the virus in Turin.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus Reaches Pope Francis’ Residence in Vatican

ROME — An Italian prelate who lives in the same residence as Pope Francis tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus on Wednesday and has been hospitalized in intensive care, Italian media report.

Monsignor Gianluca Pezzoli, the 58-year-old head of the Italian section of the Vatican’s Secretary of State, lives in the Santa Marta residence where Pope Francis also lives, along with several other priests and prelates who work in the Vatican services.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

COVID-19: No Parade on National Day as Greece Fights Coronavirus

On March 25, Greece and Cyprus mark the start of a 1821 war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. But in 2020, festivities were considerably more muted than in previous years.

Gone was the military march as well as a traditional parade of schoolchildren carrying Greek flags.

Instead, a flyover by F16 military aircraft and a small parade, held in the Turkish border town of Kastanies, was shown on TV.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou also placed a wreath of flowers at the foot of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Syntagma Square in Athens.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Eco-Nutters Deny Posting ‘Corona is the Cure, Humans the Disease’ Signs

The eco-fascists are showing their true face in the Coronavirus pandemic. Activists claiming to be from Extinction Rebellion have put up posters exulting in the loss of human life.

They say:

“Corona is the cure
Humans are the disease.”

The official national leadership of Extinction Rebellion has since sought to distance itself from the posters, claiming that the stickers are ‘not in line with what XR believes or stands for’ and blaming ‘far-right groups.’

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Former UK PM Gordon Brown: Time for ‘Global Government’ To Tackle Coronavirus

Now is the time for global leaders to create one world government to tackle the twin medical and economic crises caused by the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged on Thursday.

The left-wing former Labour leader said there was a need for a taskforce involving world leaders, health experts and the heads of international organisations that would have supreme and unfettered executive powers to coordinate the response.

He gave no indication of who would appoint the “leaders,” how long they would serve for or just what their powers would involve, the Guardian reports.

Brown simply wants a new layer of global supra-government to force a solution to a crisis that began in Wuhan, China.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Former UK Prime Minister Calls for Global Government to Fight Coronavirus

Former Prime Minister of the UK Gordon Brown has called on world leaders to create “a temporary form of global government” to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Brown wants international organizations like the WHO and the UN to be given executive powers that would supersede national sovereignty as part of a new system overseen by world leaders and health experts.

“This is not something that can be dealt with in one country,” he said. “There has to be a coordinated global response.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: “Hate-Postings Day”

In Germany, police recently completed their fifth nationwide “Action Day against Hate Postings”.

German authorities initiated the action day more than three years ago; since then, it has been held once a year. According to the Federal Police, the number of recorded cases of hate crime linked to the internet has actually fallen — from 2,458 cases in 2017 to 1,962 in 2018.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Here Are the Very Alarming Things That Scientists Have Just Discovered About This Coronavirus…

This is no ordinary virus. It moves from person to person with incredible ease, and it is rapidly changing. In fact, it has just been announced that scientists in Iceland “have found 40 mutations of the coronavirus”…

Scientists in Iceland claim they have found 40 mutations of the coronavirus, which has left the world gripped in fear.

The mutations were discovered by analysing swabs of COVID-19 patients in Iceland, where almost 600 cases have been reported so far.

Using genetic sequencing, the researchers identified how many mutations the virus had accumulated.

Those sentences should send a chill up your spine, and this discovery may help to explain why we are seeing far higher death rates in the western world than we have in Asia so far.

Meanwhile, a professor in the United Kingdom is warning that a single person that has the virus can potentially infect “up to 59,000 others”…

And as I have discussed in previous articles, you don’t even have to encounter someone with the virus in order to become infected.

In fact, scientists have now discovered that this virus can linger on surfaces “for up to 17 days”…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary to the European Commission: If You Won’t Help Us, Stop Hurting US

Hungary’s conservative Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, had a very clear response to the European Commission’s criticism of emergency measures that he is trying to enact to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: If you won’t help us, stop hurting us.

Earlier this week, a proposal was sent to the Hungarian Parliament by its ruling party, Fidesz, calling for its indefinite suspension until the crisis has passed, allowing the Prime Minister to rule by decree. Its supporters said that this would allow the government to respond to crisis events more quickly, especially as Parliament may soon be hindered by having a large number of MPs absent due to illness.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Imperial College Scientist Who Predicted 500k Coronavirus Deaths in UK Adjusts to 20k or Fewer

A scientist who warned that the coronavirus would kill 500,000 people in the United Kingdom has presented evidence that if current measures work as expected the death toll would drop to roughly 20,000 people or fewer.

Scientist and Imperial College author Neil Ferguson said Wednesday the coronavirus death toll is unlikely to exceed 20,000 and could be much lower if lockdown measures continue, according to New Scientist. He added that he is “reasonably confident” that Britain’s health system can handle the burden of treating coronavirus patients.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Mayor Threatens to Send “Police With Flamethrowers” To Break Up Graduation Parties

An Italian mayor has threatened to send police armed with flamethrowers to break up graduation parties as some people continue to ignore social distancing rules despite a nationwide lockdown.

“I’m getting news that some [people] would like to throw graduation parties,” said Vincenzo De Luca, mayor of the Italian town of Campania. “We will send police. With flamethrowers.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Coronavirus: Naples Church Absolves Patients-Victims’ Sins

Even without confession says Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe

(ANSA) — Naples, March 23 — The archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, has decided that those hospitalised can be absolved for their sins even without confession. Priests in hospitals and other treatment facilities will thus be able to absolve sins even without confession for the critically ill, as well as for those in wards where confidentiality or adeguate healthcare measures cannot be ensured. Absolution can be bestowed also on those working in the healthcare sector, if requested. Priests are asked to give the absolution in such a manner that everyone present can hear their words while showing respect for any non-believers or members of other religions. Patients are asked to be made aware of the conditions for the absolution: repentance and the intention to confess their most serious sins as soon as they get access to confession.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Coronavirus: Deaths Pass 7,000 Mark, But Rise in New Cases Down Again

Rise in number of new cases of contagion down for fourth day

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — The number of coronavirus sufferers to have died in Italy has passed the 7,000 mark, but the rise in the number of new cases of contagion fell for the fourth day running, the Civil Protection Department said on Wednesday.

It said 57,521 people are currently infected with COVID-19 in Italy, 3,491 more than Tuesday. The daily rise on Tuesday had been 3,612, on Monday 3,780 and on Sunday 3,957. The number of coronavirus deaths rose 683 to 7,503.

The daily rise was lower than 743 on Tuesday but higher than 601 on Monday and 651 on Sunday. Italy registered a record increase of 793 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday.

The department said 9,632 people have recovered from the coronavirus in Italy, 1,036 more than yesterday. The rise in recoveries on Tuesday was 894.

The overall number of people to have been infected in Italy, including the deceased and people who have recovered, is 74,386. Of those, 3,489 patients are in intensive care.

Civil Protection Department head and Coronavirus Emergency Commissioner Angelo Borrelli was unable to attend the daily press conference updating the figures after suffering symptoms of fever. The result of a swab is being awaited.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Coronavirus: Spain Finds 10,000 Cases in 24 HR, 4,000 Dead

State of emergency extended to April 11

ROME — Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, rose by almost 10,000 in Spain over the course of 24 hours, from 47,610 to 56,188. The number of people who tested positive and who have died rose from 3,434 to 4,089, El Pais quoted the health ministry as saying on Thursday. The Spanish Congress has meanwhile authorised an extension to the state of emergency decreed by the government until April 11.

The decision was made with support from most political groups, except for independent parties, EFE reported. Health Minister Salvador Illa said that the country may reach the “peak of the curve” for COVID-19 infections, which would mean that a phase seeing stabilisation of the pandemic would begin soon, EFE reported. Illa said that the data from recent days showed a change in trend, with lower increases than those seen in previous days. The daily average increase in cases reported in the period between February 28 and March 16 was about 40%, while in the period between March 17 and March 24 the average increase was about 20%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Dips to 683 in One Day, Rising Above 7,500 in Total

Good news is finally coming to light.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Le Pen: The EU Was the First Casualty of Coronavirus

French National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen has claimed that the European Union was the first victim of coronavirus, citing a lack of solidarity in combatting the outbreak.

Ms Le Pen said that the political bloc even failed when it gave announcements on the virus — a likely reference to statements made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for member-states’ borders to remain open earlier this month.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Swiss Pharmaceutical Giant Roche Preventing Widespread Tests for Coronavirus

Dutch laboratory’s dependency on the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has prevented the Netherlands from being able to test its citizens en masse for the COVID-19 virus.

Roche, an industry leader in the pharmaceutical world, says that it’s unable to provide enough test material. Aside from that, however, the company refuses to help laboratories by making the formulation of the essential liquid that’s used in the test available, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Report: Military to Build Ten More Coronavirus Field Hospitals Across UK

The government is preparing to turn ten more sites into coronavirus field hospitals, akin to that being constructed in the ExCeL centre in London.

One Whitehall source has told Sky News that military logisticians are already looking at five sites across the country and, whilst not naming their locations, they are likely to include other large cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Newcastle. Birmingham is in the West Midlands, the worst-hit contagion area outside of London.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Salvini: Expect Revolt in Italy Without 100 Billion Euro Bailout

Populist Italian senator Matteo Salvini has warned that without a substantial economic aid package of at least 100 billion euros to counter the economic effects of coronavirus, Italians could revolt.

The leader of the League party and former deputy prime minister warned the leftist coalition government led by Giuseppe Conte that the current patience of Italians lockdown in their homes could quickly turn into anger if the correct measures are not in place.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Spain: Police Called on Brothers Playing Soccer in Their Own Back Yard

Denunciations in the era of coronavirus.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Spanish Capital Ditches ‘Unreliable’ Chinese Coronavirus Test Kits

The Spanish capital has stopped using a rapid Covid-19 test kit made by a Chinese company after research suggested it was not accurate enough.

The doubts over the kits’ reliability emerged as the number of cases in Spain rose sharply on Thursday to 56,188 confirmed cases and 4,089 deaths. Worldwide the disease has now infected more than 468,000 and killed over 21,000.

The Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), one of Spain’s leading research institutes, posted on its website that it had found the nose swabs — developed by Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology — had an accuracy rate of less than 30 per cent.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Spanish Coronavirus Death Toll Now Higher Than China

Spain’s coronavirus death toll has overtaken China’s, climbing to 3,434, while the number of cases reach 47,610, the Guardian writes. After more than a week in lockdown, another 738 people died over 24 hours. However, officials expressed hope that the daily rise in deaths might be stabilising. “If we are not already at the peak, we are very close,” said Fernando Simón, the head of Spain’s health emergency centre.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly in Somali Community

Sweden’s Somali community is being hit particularly hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, with at least 6 of the 15 victims who have died of the disease so far in Sweden being of Somali background.

Somalis in Sweden are complaining that they received information from the authorities too late to act on it, and that the material was inadequate. Most of the warnings were only distributed in Swedish and English. The government is now issuing updated information in 15 other languages besides Swedish. The Swedish national television network, SVT, as well as several Swedish newspapers are beginning to add Arabic translations to their dispatches in an effort to disseminate information to immigrants more effectively.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Terror Convict Mullah Krekar Extradited to Italy

12-year term for international terrorism

(ANSA) — Rome, March 26 — Faraj Ahmad Najmuddin aka Mullah Krekar was extradited to Italy from Norway Thursday to serve time for international terrorism.

He landed at Fiumicino and was taken to Rome’s Rebibbia Prison.

Krekar was sentenced last July 15 to 12 years in jail together with another five defendants, like him of Kurdish-Iraqi origin, for “association with terrorism purposes, also international”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK Downgrades COVID-19; No Longer a High Consequence Infectious Disease

Where is the media roar?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK Police Force Slammed for Spying on Dog Walkers With Drone

A police force in the UK received an overwhelmingly negative backlash after revealing they had used a surveillance drone to spy on dog walkers and hikers in a remote part of the country.

“Despite posts yesterday highlighting issues of people still visiting the #PeakDistrict despite government guidance, the message is still not getting through,” tweeted Derbyshire Police. “@DerPolDroneUnit have been out at beauty spots across the county, and this footage was captured at #CurbarEdge last night.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK Police Force Creates Tool That Lets People Snitch on Others for Not “Social Distancing”

A police force in the UK has created a tool that allows people to snitch on others for not engaging in proper “social distancing.”

Humberside Police have created an online portal that allows people to alert them to violations of lockdown measures introduced by the government this week to fight the spread of coronavirus.

“The force says the portal has been made in response to an increase in the number of calls to its non-emergency 101 number following the government’s announcement earlier this week around new police powers to disperse groups,” reports ITV.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK Teen Commits Suicide Over Coronavirus Self-Isolation

A 19-year-old woman in the UK has committed suicide after being “unable to cope with her world closing in” following the coronavirus lockdown.

Emily Owen, who suffered from high functioning autism, gave an eerily prescient warning to her family days before her death, saying that “more people will die from suicide during this than the virus itself.”

She died in hospital on Sunday after attempting suicide on March 18th. Owen’s family said that the suicide attempt was driven by the teen’s fears over social isolation.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Coronavirus: Thugs Mugging Nurses for Their Ids to Get Free Food and Drink

Thugs have been mugging doctors and nurses to steal their identity badges in order to access priority shopping and freebies from supermarkets during the coronavirus pandemic.

With shops facing supply chain delays and National Health Service (NHS) staff working long hours, supermarkets have opted to support their healthcare professionals by offering them priority shopping and freebies like snacks and hot drinks. Britons on social media reported earlier in the week major shops like Lidl and Waitrose giving nurses bouquets of flowers in appreciation. Dominos, Greggs, Pret a Manger, Burger King, and Pizza Hut are also offering free food and coffee to those who work for the National Health Service.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Crown Prosecutor: Coronavirus Cough Attacks Punishable With Jail Time

People who spit or cough at others as a threat to give them coronavirus can be arrested for common assault in the United Kingdom and face up to two years in prison.

The ruling by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) came after a spate of attacks on medics and police officers. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Max Hill QC said: “Emergency workers are more essential than ever as society comes together to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘We Are Collapsing’: Virus Infects Thousands of Front Line Medics in Spain

MADRID (AP) — By the time Patricia Núñez’s cough started, she was already familiar with the dreaded dry hacking sound tormenting patients who had for weeks been filling the Madrid emergency ward where she works.

“We were fed up of hearing it at the hospital, so it was just a matter of time before I would contract it,” said Núñez, a 32-year-old nurse who tested positive for the new coronavirus about a week ago.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Without Being Tested, Greta Says it’s ‘Extremely Likely’ She Had WuFlu

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said Tuesday it’s “extremely likely” that she contracted the Chinese coronavirus and has “basically recovered” from it.

The 17-year-old said she and father recently exhibited coronavirus-like symptoms and have self-quarantined for two weeks following a trip through western Europe.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: ‘Complete Curfew’ In Eastern Libya

From March 25 to April 3, announcement posted on FB

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 23 — A ‘24-hour complete curfew’ from March 25 until April 3 was announced Monday by the Libyan Provisional Government, which controls part of eastern and central Libya under forces answering to General Khalifa Haftar. The measure is part of a plan drawn up to prevent the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, from reaching Libya and was included in a document posted on Facebook by the Libyan interior ministry.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Fourth Death in Tunisia, First Case in Libya

Victim had returned from Italy. 114 infected in Tunisia

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS/TRIPOLI, MARCH 25 — Tunisia has reported its fourth coronavirus victim, a 65-year-old man who had returned from Italy on February 21, becoming the second infected person in the country, the local Tap news agency reported on Wednesday. The country has reported 114 infections, Tap said.

Libya has also registered its first official case, according to data provided by the national unity government in Tripoli, which did not provide further details on the patient nor the region where the case was registered.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Israel: 5 Dead and 2,030 Infected

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 25 — Five people have been reported dead and 2,030 infected with coronavirus, according to updated data on CODIV-19 in Israel released on Wednesday morning by the Israeli health ministry. According to the official data, 37 patients are in serious condition.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Israel’s Gantz to be Parliament Speaker Then FM

Deal with Likud ‘entails him becoming PM after Netanyahu’

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 26 — On the basis of an agreement with Benyamin Netanyahu’s Likud, Benny Gantz is expected to be speaker of the Israeli parliament for a brief period before being given the position of foreign minister in a national unity government under Netanyahu.

Immediately after he leaves the position as speaker, it will go back to Likud with Yuli Edelstein, who had the role until March 25.

After a year and a half, Gantz is expected to become prime minister in Netanyahu’s place.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Lebanon Disinfecting Refugee Camps

267 cases recorded in the country

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, MARCH 24 — Lebanese authorities announced Tuesday morning that they had begun disinfecting 52 makeshift Syrian refugee camps across the country to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Some 267 cases have been recorded.

The country has a surface area approximately the same as the Italian region of Abruzzo and a population of about four million Lebanese and one million Syrian refugees. Syrian refugees are mostly present in unregulated camps in the north, in Mount Lebanon, in the eastern Bekaa Valley and in the south. UNHCR had in recent days announced that it was starting a prevent campaign in the camps. The General Security Directorate, the main intelligence agency in the country, announced that it had started, in collaboration with the municipalities in which the camps are located, police patrols. The patrols are to ensure that the refugees do not leave the borders of the camps and that the curfew announced on Saturday is complied with.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Syria: Bridge Destroyed to Prevent Russian Passage

Strategic M4 highway crossing Idlib blocked

BEIRUT — One of the bridges of a key highway in northwestern Syria was destroyed over the past few hours to prevent the passage of Russian military patrols, according to local media in the region of Idlib. The media outlets published photos of the destroyed bridge near Jisr ash Shughur, west of the main city of the region partially under Russian and Syrian government control and partially under Turkish influence.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

No Need for Hard Quarantine in Russia, Which Closed Its Border Back in January

A World Health Organization official says there is no need for Russia to implement a hard quarantine to fight coronavirus after Moscow closed most of its border back in January.

The WHO’s representative in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, said the country was “one step ahead” of other countries in its battle against COVID-19.

“The measures that Russia has been implementing from the very first day when the WHO received a notification from China that there is a new virus, are wonderful, because this is not just one measure, but a whole set of measures, which is being expanded,” Vujnovic said at a press conference.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Bali is on the Cusp of a Killer Coronavirus Crisis as Indonesia Has the Highest Death Rate in the World — While Experts Fear the Illness Could Infect Millions if the Country Isn’t Placed Into Total Lockdown

So far, 790 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 throughout Indonesia and 58 have died, meaning the death rate is currently at about 9 per cent.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Video: Muslim Women Gather in Groups, Claim Coronavirus Can’t Infect Them

A video clip out of India shows Muslim women defying social distancing rules by gathering in groups in the street while claiming they are immune to coronavirus.

Yes, really.

The women were gathered to protest against the India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which they claim discriminates against Muslims, and were not about to let a deadly global pandemic stop them.

[Comment: I think Paul Joseph Watson reads Gates of Vienna.]

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

China Bans All Foreigners From Entering Country

In a stunning move on Thursday, China announced from their government website that they would be banning all foreigners from entering the country, starting on Saturday. The ban extends even to those holding long-term and resident visas while only exempting foreign diplomats.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified the broad scope of the ban and criticized some nations’ response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, which originated in the Hubei province capital city of Wuhan in China.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus Cases:

531,864

view by country

Deaths:

24,073

Recovered:

123,942

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Daily Mail Accused of Republishing Chinese Propaganda Without Disclosure

China is known for its authoritarian regime and strict control over freedom of speech and expression. It’s natural that the state-owned Chinese media outlets such as the People’s Daily may very well only post information that the authoritarian government approves of.

With several Chinese citizens as well as global watchdogs knowing that the Chinese government is censoring news related to the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in their country, we now have a not so pleasant revelation about the Daily Mail, a widely read British daily.

Daily Mail is one of the most widely read British publications in the whole of the US. At such a juncture, an investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation revealed unsettling findings about the Daily Mail.

According to the findings of the said investigation, the Daily Mail had published thousands of articles in a content-sharing agreement with the People’s Daily. However, it isn’t clear if the British daily still has an ongoing agreement with the Chinese news outlet as they’re not making it clear — but they are still posting the articles.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Experts Know the New Coronavirus is Not a Bioweapon. They Disagree on Whether it Could Have Leaked From a Research Lab

Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University’s Waksman Institute of Microbiology, a biosecurity expert who has been speaking out on lab safety since the early 2000s, does agree with the Nature Medicine authors’ argument that the new coronavirus wasn’t purposefully manipulated by humans, calling their arguments on this score strong. Ebright helped The Washington Post debunk a claim that the COVID-19 outbreak can somehow be tied to bioweapons activity, a conspiracy theory that’s been promoted or endorsed by the likes of US Sen. Tom Cotton, Iran’s supreme leader, a high-ranking Chinese government official, and others.

But Ebright thinks that it is possible the COVID-19 pandemic started as an accidental release from a laboratory such as one of the two in Wuhan that are known to have been studying bat coronaviruses.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

President Duterte Seeks Special Powers During Coronavirus National Emergency

News outlets are reporting that the situation in the Philippines has greatly devolved at a rapid pace, so much so that not only was a state of emergency declared and lockdowns put into effect, but that Malacañang is now seeking a bill to push through Congress in order to grant President Rodrigo Duterte special powers during these trying times.

CNN Philippines is reporting that the proposals have already been made and Duterte is looking to take control of various social and municipal functions during the epidemic.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Senator Cotton: China Unleashed This Plague on the World

GOP Senator Tom Cotton touted legislation Wednesday that would end US dependency on China for pharmaceuticals, stating that it poses a national security risk, as he asserted that China ‘unleashed’ the coronavirus on the rest of the planet and needs to pay for it.

“Things like antibiotics and ibuprofen and Advil are made in China for the most part. It’s time to bring that manufacturing capacity back to the United States, time to bring a lot more back to the United States from China.” Cotton said during a Fox News interview.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

This Scientist Suggested a Drug to Treat COVID-19. ‘Fact Checkers’ Branded Him Fake News

But we’re supposed to blindly trust apocalyptic models produced by panic-mongering political hacks.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Three Billion People Worldwide Confined at Home

With India now in lockdown, in total three billion people worldwide have to stay at home in order to avoid further spreading of the coronavirus, AFP writes. Governments of countries of all continents have installed some kind of mandatory confinement. Some countries imposed curfews, others compulsory quarantine, while other countries only gave strong recommendations to stay at home. The epicentre of the coronavirus has moved from China to Europe.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Exhausted Woolworths Worker Breaks Down in Tears at the Checkouts After Being Abused by Rude Shoppers and is Comforted by a Customer

A picture of a Woolworths employee breaking down in tears has offered a heartbreaking insight into the impact panic-buying is having on Australian supermarket workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

How Bulk Supplies of Australia’s Face Masks, Hand Sanitisers and Other Vital Medical Items Were Shipped to China as the Coronavirus Pandemic Took Hold

Bulk supplies of vital medical items were shipped from Sydney to China at the request of a Beijing-backed property giant as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Australia.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Laid-Off Takeaway Shop Worker Buys 90 Slabs of Beer for $4,200 to Drink by the Pool During a Looming Coronavirus Lockdown — and He’s Not the Only Drinker With a Huge Grog Stockpile

Caleb Whyte walked into his local bottle shop in Perth and told the shocked cashier he wanted a whole pallet of 90 slabs — 2,700 cans worth $4,230 — enough for a three-month lockdown.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Pauline Hanson Warns of Mass Chinese Buy Up of Australia Amid Coronavirus Recession Sparked by Soaring Unemployment, Plunging Stocks and Tumbling House Prices

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has warned of a ‘mass foreign buy-up’ as Australia’s economy crashes amid the coronavirus crisis.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Mexicans Demand Crackdown on Americans Crossing the Border

Mexican protesters have shut a US southern border crossing amid fears that untested American travellers will spread coronavirus.

Residents in Sonora, south of the US state of Arizona, have promised to block traffic into Mexico for a second day after closing a checkpoint for hours on Wednesday.

They wore face masks and held signs telling Americans to “stay at home”.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus Bill Includes $350 Million for “Migration and Refugee Assistance”

The $2 trillion coronavirus crisis bill that passed the Senate includes a $350 million dollar injection of cash for “Migration and Refugee Assistance,” despite the fact that open borders contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first place.

According to the bill, the money will be used to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

EU Called to Use Cruise Ships to Move Migrants From Greece to Germany

The German pro-migrant organization Sea Watch has an innovative idea for how the European Union can deal with the ongoing migrant crisis in Greece: get some cruise ships and ship migrants to Germany.

The Greek islands in the Aegean are currently holding tens of thousands of migrants in camps. Sea Watch is concerned that with the outbreak of the coronavirus, the migrants are at risk of mass infection due to the poor sanitary conditions in the camps.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Asylum Seekers and Migrants Not Respecting Lockdown

According to the mayors, the asylum seekers have been under the impression that the measures announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week do not apply to them.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Migrants and Asylum Seekers Aren’t Respecting Lockdown Measures to Combat Virus

Migrants and asylum seekers living in Germany seem to think that the lockdown measures that have been put in place to stem the spread of coronavirus simply do not apply to them.

The mayors of Schneeberg and Zschorlau — both small towns in the German federal state of Saxony — have sought help from the state’s Ministry of the Interior for help because asylum seekers living at a local asylum center have not been adhering to the measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus, Bild reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Greece: Man Arrested for Transporting 12 Teenage Migrants

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities arrested a Syrian man after finding 12 Egyptian teenagers hidden in his van following a car chase through the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki early Thursday, police said.

Police said they arrested the 22-year-old who had allegedly picked up the teenagers, all boys aged between 15 and 17, from the Greek-Albanian border and had been driving them south towards Thessaloniki when he failed to stop for a police check.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: North African Migrant Attacks 60-Year-Old Man in Supermarket When Asked to Keep Distance

A 60-year-old man was attacked by a North African migrant in a supermarket after he asked the migrant to maintain a distance of a least one meter at the check-out line.

The elderly man was lining up to check-out with his items at a discount store in Corso Trieste when he asked the couple behind him — a North African man with his wife — to maintain at least a one-meter distance between them. At this point, the migrant became irate, started screaming and threatened the elderly man physically, La Stampa reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Gender Studies Prof Says Doctors Assign Babies’ Sex by ‘Stray Cat Method’

Bucknell University professor of gender studies Erica Delsandro said this week that binary gendered divisions are social constructs with nothing to do with biology.

“This is not biological by any stretch of the imagination. These are social expectations, social scripts that we all as people who often have to choose between two gender options are socialized into,” Delsandro said on a March 21 student podcast, as reported by Ellie Gardey of The College Fix.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: British Sitcom Hilariously Mocks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Obsession With Racism

Channel 4 comedy “The Windsors,” a show that parodies Britain’s royal family, brilliantly poked fun at the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex last night now that the politically correct prince and princess have left for Canada.

Last night’s episode of the TV show portrayed the former actress reading about her husband’s heritage and discovering connections between British monarchs from previous centuries and the slave trade. A rather dim Prince Harry points out it was a rather long time ago.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

YouTubers Say Their Ad Revenue is Down by as Much as 50% in March

Several top YouTubers with millions of collective subscribers are reporting that the coronavirus is having a major impact on their CPMs (earnings per thousand video views), with some saying their earnings have dropped by 50%.

The reduction in CPMs comes as the coronavirus is causing widespread economic slowdown with many businesses forced to shut down or scale back their operations to help stop the spread of the virus.

This has resulted in lots of businesses cutting their ad spend which is a likely cause of the reduced CPMs on YouTube.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

18 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/26/2020

  1. “Bucknell University professor of gender studies Erica Delsandro said this week that binary gendered divisions are social constructs with nothing to do with biology.

    “This is not biological by any stretch of the imagination. These are social expectations, social scripts that we all as people who often have to choose between two gender options are socialized into,” Delsandro said on a March 21 student podcast, as reported by Ellie Gardey of The College Fix.”

    Why wasn’t she immediately asked how she then explains the obvious biological difference between a d and a v between the baby’s legs right after birth?
    If a baby has a birth deffect that makes sex recognition impossible, it’s not assigned a sex until further tests are done.
    Really, this whole notion is based on feminists not using the word “sex”, but instead use the somewhat ambiguous term “gender”, which is inside the brain and arguably harder to determine in case there’s some form of misalignment between the brain and the body (that’s just the scientific fact we know about thus far). That still doesn’t change the fact that there are only two sexes and two genders (arguably three if we count the extremely rare cases of hermaphrodites).

  2. “Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said Tuesday it’s “extremely likely” that she contracted the Chinese coronavirus and has “basically recovered” from it.

    The 17-year-old said she and father recently exhibited coronavirus-like symptoms and have self-quarantined for two weeks following a trip through western Europe.”

    Their symptoms were of the common cold, not coronavirus. I guess little girl felt sad that the media haven’t published anything about her in a while, so her daddy quickly made up another story.

  3. About so call “EU Solidarity” in Coronaviruse time….how it’s works..
    Hear me well..
    In Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany there is a shortage of seasonal workers during the coronavirus epidemic. Some companies are dishonest – it happens that they blackmail Polish workers for fear of their departure – reports RMF FM correspondent Katarzyna Szymańska-Borginon.

    As RMF FM journalist Katarzyna Szymańska-Borginon found out, in the Netherlands the flower sector suffers from a lack of hands to work, in Germany there is no one to pick asparagus, and in Belgium there is a shortage of workers in the horticulture sector to work in fruit packing.

    The three major European agri-food organisations (Copa-Cogeca, FoodDrinkEurope, CELCAA) have called on the European Commission to “assess potential labour shortages (including seasonal workers) and their impact on production and to prepare contingency plans”.

    Polish workers who have stayed in Belgium or the Netherlands must of course comply with the strict measures introduced in connection with the coronavirus. The companies in which they work must provide them with appropriate conditions, e.g. the possibility of keeping a distance between workers or access to disinfectants.

    Some companies are dishonest and exploit Poles in this difficult situation – determined the RMF FM correspondent in Belgium. One of the listeners reported to us on the RMF FM Hotline that a Belgian company in Flanders – dealing with fruit packaging – has started blackmailing Poles by not paying their wages if they return to the country for fear of losing their employees. Go, but we won’t pay you any money”, heard a group of Poles who decided to come back to Poland. I’ve been working there for four months already and I’m afraid I’ll come back without money,’ says one of the workers.

    Even Poles were threatened to take away their car keys. It was only after the RMF FM journalist Katarzyna Szymańska-Borginon called the management of the company that the situation improved. The management assured that “there was a misunderstanding and the money for those who had already left would be paid into accounts”.

    After your call, the situation changed within a few hours”, says the wife of one of the employees, who prefers to remain anonymous..

    • part 2 :
      as RMF FM journalist established, there are also problems with the return of Polish seasonal workers. Several minibuses were turned back by the Belgian police due to the lack of proper distance between passengers. According to the police, a passenger transport vehicle – if it is not a family – must guarantee an appropriate distance between passengers.

      In Belgium, because of the coronavirus, the fruit and vegetable harvest is at risk

      A Belgian newspaper, the Brussels Times, notes that a lack of seasonal workers will first hit the asparagus harvest in Belgium and also in Germany. At the moment we have only ten seasonal workers, while we would need about 60 full-time workers to collect everything,” said one of the producers, quoted by the Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

      In Belgium, the shortage of labour will affect not only asparagus cultivation but also strawberry harvesting; strawberry plantations are located near Hoogstraten near Antwerp.

      The ABS Farmers’ Union alerts that the situation is very difficult and currently only 10 percent of the workers needed are on site.

      Polish caregivers give up their jobs in Germany

      The media reports that due to the coronavirus epidemic Polish women are resigning from taking care of German seniors.

      Ewa, who took care of a senior citizen at home in Cologne, resigned from her previous job. I am afraid of contact with other people during the journey – quoted by “Tagesschau”. My family is afraid for me and absolutely doesn’t want me to go”, she explained.

      Another heroine of the article decided to soon leave Dueren in the west of Germany, where she took care of an older woman. I will come back when the situation improves. But if it’s going to be like this, I prefer to stay at home in Poland,’ she told the journalists.

      “Tagesschau” adds that the elderly woman’s family managed to find a new nanny from Poland through the agency, who is soon to arrive.

      The service says that up to 300,000 nannies from Central and Eastern European countries can work in Germany. Many German families are dependent on foreign domestic care – he comments. Such services are in danger of “collapse”.

      • part 3..some commentaries :
        1) ..”Yeah, that’s something some Americans seem to have trouble understanding. Of course, racism based on appearance, on skin color, on being Asian exist, no doubt. But especially in Europe, we have a lot of deep-seated racism that has nothing to do with appearance, but more towards regions and countries. Some West Europeans look down on Eastern ones.

        I hear a lot about Polish people being lazy and stealing cars, most of it is joking, but at some point it becomes a mindset. And that despite they are some of the hardest workers that do some tedious jobs because we’re too damn good to do the jobs for the money they do.

        And now we can really see how important these workers are.”..

        • 2) This is why EU is a failure. To Germans, and others we slavs are just free legal slaves that they can treat like shit and get away with it.
          Whole western europe was built on slavery, only today it is masked in democracy and solidarity..
          Nothing would change if we weren’t members of the EU. Slavs would still work as seasonal workers and still face the same challenges. Actually without the EU it would be even worse as we would have even less rights and seeking our rights would be even harder. It would be more akin to American working class in the early 20th century, but with less police shooting protesters and more confiscations of passports..”
          3)..”What a coincidence, I am a 2nd generation German, born and raised here, my parents are Vietnamese. We stand at a similar place in that sense.

          But let me ask you this: was the anti-semitism of the German Reich against the Jews not racism? Despite all the claims of the Nazis the Jewish Germans did not really look any different from their “bio-german” peers.

          Was the Nazis viewing the East Europeans as an inferior working race, suitable to serve the Aryan race, but not for much more, not racism?

          Because the arguments of the Nazis weren’t related to the Nationality in these cases. The nationality of the German Jews was German, that of the French was French, that of the Polish ones was Polish. But they were treated differently than Germans, French or Poles, regardless of their nationality.”..

  4. To American readers ..
    What you read is NOT about Coronavirus problem in Europe..
    It is what present Western Europe is about..
    Prejudice .Xenophobia,Ethnic Racism,Bigotry,Ethnical Superiority ,toward “East” Slavic origin people ,Christianity … is present everywhere..What is that remand you ? Germany 1939 and so on..
    Nothing change and nothing will..there is no political,cultural,social will to do so in “west” Europe..after 1000 years looting and raping World ,they are NOT capable to change mentality and frame of mind..They care only about themselves..

  5. “Sweden: Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly in Somali Community”

    Nature’s revenge

    • More like Darwin’s revenge.

      Only problem is that they breed like rats so the virus killing a dozen in one family still leaves several dozen to beget more invaders.

    • I agree. Better to just surround the whole ghetto and shoot anyone who tries to leave; let Allah sort out who will survive. Of course, Macron could just issue his police thugs white flags; after all there is plenty of precedent.

  6. On the subject of Muslim countries, Indonesia – which Allah didn’t exactly bless with its geographic location on the nexus of the Eurasian, Australian, Pacific, Filipino and Indian tectonic plates resulting in a variety of regularly occurring natural disasters on the tightly populated archipelago from Tsunamis to Earthquakes – just witnessed a massive volcanic eruption.

    https://www.rt.com/news/484281-indonesian-volcano-mount-merapi-eruption/

    https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1243626066066853888

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