Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/30/2020

Virginia Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam has ordered residents of the commonwealth to stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to venture out. The order will remain in force until at least June 10. Meanwhile, residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan say that the number of fatalities in the city from the coronavirus is at least 40,000, rather than the officially acknowledged total of 3,200. Also, the Dutch government ordered the recall of 600,000 defective medical masks that it had ordered from China.

In other news, there is no news other than the ChiCom flu.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, 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
» As Millions of Americans Become Unemployed, Trump Admin Expands Importation of Foreign Workers
» Economist Warns: Fed Destroying Dollar
» Stimulus Bill Throws Veil of Secrecy Over Federal Reserve
» The Economic Depression of 2020: Many of the Restaurants, Bars and Retailers That Have Closed Will Never Open Again
 
USA
» ‘Biosecurity Risk’: FBI Report Describes Chinese Scientists Who Smuggled SARS, MERS, H1N1 Viruses in Luggage
» CBS News Uses Footage of “Worst Hit” Hospital in Italy While Describing New York Coronavirus Outbreak
» Comics Were Already on Life Support, But Coronavirus Dealt the Death Blow
» FL Megachurch Pastor Arrested for Hosting Packed Worship Services Amid Pandemic
» Florida Governor Issues Stay-at-Home Order for Southern Part of State
» In Late February, Nancy Pelosi Encouraged Large Groups to Congregate in Chinatown
» ‘Irresponsible’: CBS Slammed for Using Coronavirus Footage From Italian Hospital to Portray NYC
» Lockstep — The 10-Year-Old Rockefeller Plan for Global Governance
» Maddow Claimed it Was “Nonsense” A Naval Hospital Ship Would Dock in New York by Next Week; It’s Arrived
» Maryland Ups the Ante on Coronavirus Quarantine Enforcement With $5,000 Fine or One Year in Prison
» NYC Mayor Threatens to Shut Down Churches “Permanently” if They Hold Services During Pandemic
» Signs Emerging That Seattle Has Flattened the Curve
» The Great Madness
» Trump Unloads on Fake News CNN Reporter for Misquoting Him
» University of Wisconsin: Claiming Coronavirus is From China is “Racist”
» Virginia, Maryland Governors Issue Stay-at-Home Orders
» Zombie Democrats Ratchet Up the Chaos
 
Canada
» Canada Bans Passengers Showing Virus Symptoms From Domestic Flights & Trains
» Canada Has Abolished Civil Liberties in the Name of “Safety”
» Ontario: Freed Prisoner Charged With Attempted Murder After Police Officer Viciously Attacked
 
Europe and the EU
» Britain Faces Six Months of Coronavirus Restrictions
» Coronavirus: Use of Antimalarial Drugs Authorized in Italy
» Coronavirus: How “Progressive” Ideology Led to Catastrophe in Spain
» Coronavirus: Hungary, Czechia, Poland, And Slovakia Rank in Top 10 for Number of Hospital Beds Per Population
» Czech Govt Goes Global With #Masks4All campaign After Nationwide Adoption
» France: Woman Claiming to Have the COVID-19 Virus Sentenced to 7 Months for Spitting on Police and Calling Them ‘Dirty Whites’
» Hungary’s Orban Gets Sweeping New Powers in Virus Fight
» Italy: Coronavirus: Crime Down 64% After Lockdown
» Kurz Slams Germany for Blocking Medical Supplies Bound for Austria
» Netherlands: Priceless Van Gogh Painting Stolen From Museum During Coronavirus Lockdown
» Netherlands Recalls 600,000 Defective Masks Sent From China
» Pope Francis Warns of ‘Viral Genocide’ From Coronavirus
» Report: UK Govt Knew Health System Could Not Handle Pandemic Three Years Ago— But Kept it Secret
» Sweden: Culture of Silence
» UK Gay Pride Parade to Go Ahead Despite Coronavirus Fears
» UK Govt Suggests Police Made Up Rule Against Selling ‘Non-Essential’ Easter Eggs
» UK Government Actively Working With Social Media to Remove Coronavirus “Fake News and Harmful Content”
» UK: Police Scold Labour MP for Visiting Elderly Father on His 78th Birthday
 
Balkans
» EU to Begin Membership Talks With North Macedonia and Majority-Muslim Albania
 
North Africa
» ENI: Gas Pipeline Completed With Sonatrach in Algeria
 
Russia
» Belarus President Believes Vodka and Saunas Will Cure Coronavirus
 
South Asia
» India: PM Modi Says Pandemic Offers Opportunity for a New Concept of Globalization
 
Far East
» China Could Leverage Coronavirus Crisis to Increase Soft Power Across Globe
» COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
» Locals in Wuhan Believe 42,000 People May Have Died in the Coronavirus Outbreak There Not the 3,200 Claimed by Chinese Authorities
» North Korea Risks Coronavirus Eruption by Defying UN and Sending Migrants Abroad
» West ‘Reaping the Whirlwind’ For Policy of Kowtowing to China
» Wuhan Residents Dismiss Official Coronavirus Death Toll: ‘The Incinerators Have Been Working Around the Clock’
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australians Face Fines of Up to $13,000 for ‘Gathering’ With More Than One Other Person From Today as Virus Shutdown Tightens — and Aussies Are Told There Are Now Only Four Excuses for Leaving Home
» Couple Celebrate a Traditional Wedding in Melbourne Surrounded by Friends and Family Despite Strict Social Gathering Rules Banning More Than Five People at Nuptials
» Does This Graph Offer a Glimmer of Hope in Australia’s Fight Against COVID-19? Coronavirus Infection Curve Shows Signs of Flattening Amid an Unprecedented Crackdown on Social Interactions
» How a Traveller, 30, Returning From Jordan Allegedly Ignored Self-Isolation Laws and Made Three Trips to Different Parts of Sydney in One Weekend
» ‘It’s Quarantine, Not a Luxury Holiday’: Lara Bingle Faces a Backlash for Complaining About Her Sick 63-Year-Old Mother’s ‘Unacceptable’ Hotel After Flying Into Sydney
» Millions of Australians Will Have an Extra $750 in Their Bank Account From Tomorrow as Part of the Government’s Coronavirus Cash Splash — Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Get Your Windfall
» More Than 113,000 Businesses Register for the $1,500-a-Fortnight Wage Subsidy Just 16 Hours After it Was Announced
» New Zealand Police Website for Snitching on People Breaking Coronavirus Lockdown Crashes Due to Popularity
 
Latin America
» Brazil: Bolsonaro’s Official Response to the Coronavirus Isn’t Allowed on Twitter
» Venezuela’s Internet is on the Brink of Collapse After Quarantine Data Increase and Fuel Shortages
 
Culture Wars
» Dear Clueless America: You Are Now Living Under the Tyranny You Deserve
» De-Mainstream YouTube Tool Adds Channel Filters So You Can Now Block Specific Channels From Recommendations
» Idaho Governor Signs Bill That Bans Most Abortions if Roe v. Wade is Overturned
» Media Research Center Pens Letter to Jack Dorsey as News Outlet’s Twitter Account is Locked for “Misgendering”
 

As Millions of Americans Become Unemployed, Trump Admin Expands Importation of Foreign Workers

“This is just an unspeakable action.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Economist Warns: Fed Destroying Dollar

Says Americans in for rude awakening.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Stimulus Bill Throws Veil of Secrecy Over Federal Reserve

Massive bill empowers Fed to hand out billions in complete secrecy

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Economic Depression of 2020: Many of the Restaurants, Bars and Retailers That Have Closed Will Never Open Again

It appears that we are heading into the worst economic downturn of the post-World War II era, and that is going to be true no matter how this coronavirus pandemic ultimately plays out. There are some that believe that this virus will only kill thousands, and there are others that are warning that it could kill millions, but everyone can agree that this outbreak is causing an unprecedented amount of fear. And even once this pandemic starts to fade, a certain percentage of the population will continue to be afraid to go to restaurants, bars and other small businesses that are open to the public. Of course many restaurants, bars and small businesses were just barely scraping by during the “good times”, and so many of them will simply not be be able to survive if a substantial portion of the population is literally petrified to step through their doors for the foreseeable future.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘Biosecurity Risk’: FBI Report Describes Chinese Scientists Who Smuggled SARS, MERS, H1N1 Viruses in Luggage

One incident occurred as recently as September 2019.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

CBS News Uses Footage of “Worst Hit” Hospital in Italy While Describing New York Coronavirus Outbreak

CBS News is under fire for using footage of the “worst hit” hospital in Bergamo, Italy to illustrate a report about the coronavirus outbreak in New York.

The comparison clip shows a Sky News report from March 22nd in which the reporter states, “This is the main hospital in Bergamo in Lombardy province,” describing it as “the most hard hit of hospitals.”

Three days later, CBS News aired a report with a chyron that read, “America’s Epicenter — New York now accounts for more than half of U.S. cases.”

However, the footage used is identical to the hospital in Bergamo broadcast by Sky News.

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

Comics Were Already on Life Support, But Coronavirus Dealt the Death Blow

A ticking time bomb went off in an 82-year-old American industry last week. Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, Diamond Comic Book retailers, the primary distributor of almost all physical comics, announced the suspension of deliveries of new comics starting April 1, with no announced date of resuming business. Additionally, they plan to lay off redundant employees.

If you’re a fan of comics, this news is not surprising. Coronavirus exposed the flaws in the economy and turned bad business errors from annoyances into fatalities. Like every other business, comics shops are struggling, especially since they rely on in-person foot traffic. Publishers have delayed release schedulesfor everything. Creators are announcing “pens down” letters and Kickstarters. And all of this is in the face of an already decreasing consumer interest in comics.

The comics industry has been in freefall for years; not a month goes by without a story of a 30+ year-old comics shop closing.

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

FL Megachurch Pastor Arrested for Hosting Packed Worship Services Amid Pandemic

A Florida megachurch pastor has been arrested on charges of unlawful assembly and health violations after he continued to hold packed worship services in defiance of local social distancing laws.

Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of River Church in Tampa, had previously vowedto keep his church open and functioning normally despite local ordinance forbidding large gatherings. Following a recent heavily attended service, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department put out a warrant for his arrest.

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

Florida Governor Issues Stay-at-Home Order for Southern Part of State

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered residents of the state’s southern region to shelter in place starting Monday, an effort to curb the growing number of coronavirus cases in the area.

DeSantis has resisted locking down his entire state as numerous other American governors have done. He said he favored a more regional approach to managing the outbreak in his state. The governor has already shut down in-restaurant dining, gyms, and other normally high-density industries in the state, including the popular Broward and Palm Beach county beaches.

DeSantis said the lockdown would continue through “the middle of May,” after which the state would “see where [it’s] at.”

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

In Late February, Nancy Pelosi Encouraged Large Groups to Congregate in Chinatown

A video clip from late February shows Nancy Pelosi encouraging large groups of people to congregate in San Francisco’s Chinatown before she would later go on to blame President Trump’s early “denial” for the spread of coronavirus.

The footage, which was taken on February 24th, is introduced by a reporter noting how Pelosi wanted residents to understand how it’s “perfectly safe to be here” in Chinatown.

“We do want to say to people, come to Chinatown, here we are…come join us,” said Pelosi.

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

‘Irresponsible’: CBS Slammed for Using Coronavirus Footage From Italian Hospital to Portray NYC

‘Especially in times of a crisis where people are already in a panic, the Media needs to give accurate information.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Lockstep — The 10-Year-Old Rockefeller Plan for Global Governance

Are the elite making their final move before implementing full-scale world government?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Maddow Claimed it Was “Nonsense” A Naval Hospital Ship Would Dock in New York by Next Week; It’s Arrived

Rachel Maddow is facing humiliation after she claimed President Trump’s assertion that a naval hospital ship would dock in New York by this week to help with the coronavirus outbreak was “nonsense.”

The ship, USNS Comfort, arrived this morning.

“There is no sign that the Navy hospital ships that the president made such a big deal of, the Comfort and the Mercy, there’s no sign that they’ll be anywhere on site helping out anywhere in the country for weeks yet,” claimed Maddow on her show last week.

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

Maryland Ups the Ante on Coronavirus Quarantine Enforcement With $5,000 Fine or One Year in Prison

The stay-at-home order includes a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people and the closure of all “non-essential” businesses

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

NYC Mayor Threatens to Shut Down Churches “Permanently” if They Hold Services During Pandemic

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a press conference on Friday that he may force religious organizations to close “permanently” if they do not stop holding services during the coronavirus pandemic.

De Blasio praised the “extraordinary support” he said the city has seen from some houses of worship, including those who have moved their services online or to the radio, but said that a “small number” of churches and synagogues have been ignoring warnings to suspend gatherings.

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

Signs Emerging That Seattle Has Flattened the Curve

I remember a researcher who’s tracking the genomes of strains in the Seattle area saying earlier this month, “January 1 in Wuhan was March 1 in Seattle.” Washington state could experience the same disaster that China did, he said — if nothing was done urgently to mitigate the disease’s spread. But something was done. Seattle was among the first places in the U.S. to encourage stringent social distancing.

Result: Wuhan had to be locked down on January 23 in an urgent attempt to stop the virus’s spread. Whereas Seattle is now 29 days removed from March 1 and the contagion has slowed, based on the available (and incomplete) evidence. Hospitals there aren’t overrun. There’s no Wuhan scenario brewing for the moment. And there might not be one if people there continue to hunker down this month.

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

The Great Madness

Our world is now firmly divided into two camps.

There are those fully invested in the great panic over the virus and there are those who look at the other camp, gobsmacked by what appears to be a general madness.

Those in panic look at the rest of us the same way preppers look at normal people. They just assume the gods will strike us down for doubting the virus.

Of course, the people in the skeptic camp could be the ones suffering from some form of madness that prevents them from seeing the threat. The trouble is, the great plague is not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. America has tested over 600,000 people suspected of having the virus. Over 500,000 tested negative. Of the positives, 12,000 needed hospital care. In a country of over 320 million people with 200,000 empty hospital beds at any one time, that’s not much of a crisis.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Unloads on Fake News CNN Reporter for Misquoting Him

‘That’s why people aren’t watching CNN anymore.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

University of Wisconsin: Claiming Coronavirus is From China is “Racist”

Officials at a US University responded to messages chalked around the campus claiming that the coronavirus is from China, by proclaiming that it constitutes “racist behaviour” to make such insinuations.

Messages reading “It’s from China #ChineseVirus” and “ the Chinese Government” appeared on campus at The University of Wisconsin, Madison, last week.

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

Virginia, Maryland Governors Issue Stay-at-Home Orders

The governors of Maryland and Virginia issued stay-at-home orders to their residents on Monday, codifying into law the order to shelter in place in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus in both states.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s order, which forbids all nonessential departures from the home and reiterates a ban on any gatherings of 10 or more individuals, will last until June 10. The order from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is open-ended.

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

Zombie Democrats Ratchet Up the Chaos

A look into the left’s latest power grab.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Canada Bans Passengers Showing Virus Symptoms From Domestic Flights & Trains

Though nationwide transport systems, including flights and trains, are still active, Canada announced Sunday that starting Monday any passengers showing symptoms related to Covid-19 will be banned from domestic flights and trains.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the new nation-wide rule from his residence in a press briefing, which reads “people showing any signs whatsoever of Covid-19 will be denied boarding on all domestic flights and intercity passenger trains,” according to Politico.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Canada Has Abolished Civil Liberties in the Name of “Safety”

The various levels of government in Canada have responded to the coronavirus pandemic. Their ill-advised solutions are to inflict economic hardship and withdraw civil liberties. The longer these authoritarian policies persist, the greater the risk to the social fabric.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ontario: Freed Prisoner Charged With Attempted Murder After Police Officer Viciously Attacked

Only an hour after he was freed from police custody due to coronavirus-related court closures, a man allegedly went on to viciously attack a police officer in a Richmond Hill parking lot.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon near Hillcrest Mall and was captured on video by a nearby witness.

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

Britain Faces Six Months of Coronavirus Restrictions

Britain faces six months of disruption, as the country moves from a period of lockdown to longer-term social distancing until the coronavirus threat is abated, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England has said.

Dr Jenny Harries warned on Sunday during the Downing Street coronavirus briefing that even after this period of lockdown, some form of strict social distancing would need to be in place for two to three months, followed by a further three months where restrictions will still need to be in place, with clusters of outbreaks across the country still likely to occur.

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

Coronavirus: Use of Antimalarial Drugs Authorized in Italy

Medicines to be paid for by national health service

(ANSA) — Rome, March 27 — Anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been authorized in Italy to treat patients infected with Sars-Cov2, according to a measure published Friday in the Official Gazette.

The drugs will be entirely paid for by the Italian national healthcares.

Also authorized to treat coronavirus were anti-AIDS drugs lopinavir/ritonavir, danuravir/cobicistat, darunavir, ritonavir.

National healthcare will also be paying for anti-AIDS drugs for coronavirus patients under the measure.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: How “Progressive” Ideology Led to Catastrophe in Spain

The Spanish government, comprised of a coalition of Socialists and Communists, is facing legal action for alleged negligence in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The government is accused of putting its narrow ideological interests ahead of the safety and wellbeing of the public, and, in so doing, unnecessarily worsening the humanitarian crisis now gripping Spain, currently the second-worst afflicted country in Europe after Italy.

A class action lawsuit filed on March 19 accuses the Spanish government — highly ideological by any standard, as the Communist coalition partner, Podemos, was founded with seed money from the Venezuelan government — of knowingly endangering public safety by encouraging the public to participate in more than 75 feminist marches, held across Spain on March 8, to mark International Women’s Day. The nationwide rallies were aimed at protesting the government’s perennial bugbear: the alleged patriarchy of Western civilization.

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

Coronavirus: Hungary, Czechia, Poland, And Slovakia Rank in Top 10 for Number of Hospital Beds Per Population

Hungary, Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia rank in the top 10 for the number of hospital beds per population in Europe, a key indicator in how well countries can cope with the coronavirus outbreak, according to data from NimbleFins.

NimbleFins published its statistics based on the OECD, Eurostat, and Worldometer data comparing the number of hospital beds in countries across Europe.

The number of beds is essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed enormous demands on hospitals.

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

Czech Govt Goes Global With #Masks4All campaign After Nationwide Adoption

The Czech government is encouraging countries around the world to slow the spread of the coronavirus through mask-wearing by the general public.

The Central European country’s #Masks4All campaign began online with a viral video by science populariser Petr Ludwig, arguing that masks — whether N95, surgical-grade, or homemade from simple fabric — can play a key role in reducing infection, by blocking the droplets from coughing, breathing, and so on which carry the coronavirus.

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

France: Woman Claiming to Have the COVID-19 Virus Sentenced to 7 Months for Spitting on Police and Calling Them ‘Dirty Whites’

A criminal court in France has handed a 24-year-old woman who claimed to have the COVID-19 virus, ignored quarantine measures, spat on police offers, and called them “dirty whites” a seven-month jail sentence and a 350 euro fine.

The ugly incident occurred last week in the commune of Longjumeau during a routine check by municipal police. Since French President Emmanuel Macron ordered French residents to stay inside to curb the proliferation of the virus, residents are required to have travel papers to move around legally.

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

Hungary’s Orban Gets Sweeping New Powers in Virus Fight

Budapest (AFP) — Hungary’s parliament endorsed a bill on Monday giving nationalist premier Viktor Orban the sweeping new powers he says he needs to fight the new coronavirus pandemic.

Critics at home and abroad have condemned the “anti-coronavirus defence law”, saying it gives Orban unnecessary and unlimited power and is a means of cementing his position rather than battling the virus.

After declaring a state of emergency on March 11, the new law gives Orban the power to indefinitely rule by decree until the government decides the emergency is over.

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

Italy: Coronavirus: Crime Down 64% After Lockdown

52,000 crimes compared to 146,000 in 2019 says int min

(ANSA) — Rome, March 26 — Crime has dropped 64% in Italy since the start of the coronavirus lockdown earlier this month, the interior ministry said Thursday.

It said there had been 52,000 reported crimes between March 1 and March 22, down on 146,000 in the same period last year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Kurz Slams Germany for Blocking Medical Supplies Bound for Austria

Austria’s conservative Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, has criticized Germany’s hampering of his country’s efforts to get needed medical equipment during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He says this is indicative of larger problems within the European Union as well that need to be addressed.

Austria media has been reporting that the German border authorities prevented trucks carrying medical supplies bound for Austria from crossing the border. The reason the shipments were held was because Germany had banned the export of such supplies in cases where they were not part of “coordinated international action” in response to the outbreak. The border authorities were unsure if the supplies were included under this purview or not, given the lack of a definition, and the trucks were held back for two weeks until Kurz and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had decided the issue through negotiations, according to a report by Remix News.

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

Netherlands: Priceless Van Gogh Painting Stolen From Museum During Coronavirus Lockdown

A priceless painting by legendary post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was stolen from an Amsterdam museum on Sunday night, a heist that authorities dubbed “daring,” since it happened during a local coronavirus shutdown.

The painting, “Spring Garden,” may be worth as much as six million euros. Thieves reportedly smashed the front door to gain access to the museum, which was shuttered due to the coronavirus restrictions. By the time police arrived, the thieves had made off with it.

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

Netherlands Recalls 600,000 Defective Masks Sent From China

The Dutch government has recalled 600,000 medical masks imported from China to fight the Chinese virus after the masks were revealed to have defective filters.

The Netherlands ordered 1.3 million masks from the communist nation to protect medical staff and patients from the deadly virus that emerged from China. The masks, which arrived on March 21st, were soon discovered to have faulty membranes, thus rendering them useless in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

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

Pope Francis Warns of ‘Viral Genocide’ From Coronavirus

ROME — Pope Francis has warned of a possible “viral genocide” if governments prioritize the economy over the people, insisting that the state’s first task is to “defend the population.”

“I am edified by the reaction of so many people — doctors, nurses, nurses, volunteers, religious, priests — who risk their lives to care for and defend healthy people from contagion,” the pope said in a handwritten letter sent Saturday to Buenos Aires judge Roberto Andre’s Gallardo and made public in part by the state-run Télam news agency.

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

Report: UK Govt Knew Health System Could Not Handle Pandemic Three Years Ago— But Kept it Secret

The British government was made aware three years ago that the National Health Service (NHS) would be overwhelmed in the event of a severe pandemic, yet it kept the findings secret from the public and failed to implement reforms before the coronavirus outbreak.

In October 2016, a cross-government test under the codenamed Exercise Cygnus was performed to study how the NHS, the British Medical Association, and the military would handle a major influenza outbreak.

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

Sweden: Culture of Silence

A recent report published by Linköping University about the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå), “Can Brå be trusted?” has claimed that Brå’s reports are politically biased.

According to Brå’s own website, “Brå is an agency under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice and a knowledge centre for the criminal justice system. The agency’s mandate is to contribute to the development of knowledge within the criminal justice system and the criminal policy area, as well as to promote crime prevention work. Brå is responsible for the official criminal statistics and other statistics, which includes producing, following, analysing, and reporting on criminality and the criminal justice system’s responses to crime”.

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

UK Gay Pride Parade to Go Ahead Despite Coronavirus Fears

Organizers say a gay pride parade in Brighton, UK is set to go ahead later this year despite social distancing rules that are currently in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“More than 100 major Pride events round the world, including London, Birmingham and EuroPride, have abandoned this year’s events but with just 18 weeks to go, Brighton — worth around £20 million to the city — has not yet said it will cancel,” reports the Mirror.

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

UK Govt Suggests Police Made Up Rule Against Selling ‘Non-Essential’ Easter Eggs

The British government has suggested that police forces have made up rules against convenience stores selling Easter eggs because they are “non-essential”.

Police officers and council bureaucrats have reportedly been interfering with newsagents and other small convenience stores — but not supermarkets, seemingly — for selling Easter eggs during the coronavirus pandemic, on the grounds that they are “non-essential goods”.

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

UK Government Actively Working With Social Media to Remove Coronavirus “Fake News and Harmful Content”

As the coronavirus has gripped the world and become the most talked-about subjects online, internet users have shared widely varying opinions on the virus.

Social media companies have responded by introducing several sweeping rule changes that crack down on any dissenting opinions and push users to what they deem to be “authoritative” or “credible” sources of information.

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

UK: Police Scold Labour MP for Visiting Elderly Father on His 78th Birthday

Labour parliamentarian Stephen Kinnock has been scolded by police on social media for making a socially-distanced visit to his elderly father on his birthday.

“Dad turned 78 today. Incredible, but true,” wrote Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP, husband of former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock.

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

EU to Begin Membership Talks With North Macedonia and Majority-Muslim Albania

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders gave Albania and North Macedonia the greenlight Thursday to begin EU membership talks, ending a long series of setbacks and disappointments for the two Balkans nations’ quest to join.

No date was set for the start of the membership negotiations, which can take several years

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

ENI: Gas Pipeline Completed With Sonatrach in Algeria

In lagoon of Berkine

(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 3 — Eni has announced that it has successfully completed the construction of a gas pipeline connecting the production sites of Bir Rebaa North (BRN) and Menzel Ledjmet East (MLE) in the lagoon of Berkine, in the southeastern part of Algeria.

The gas pipeline has a length of 185 km and a diameter of 16 inches with a capacity of transport of 7 million of standard cubic meters of gas a day.

The project will allow to export gas associated with bloc 403 (BRN e BRSW) and the development of gas camps of north Berkine blocs, where the drilling and connection of the first four wells has been completed, just a year since agreements of farm-in came into effect in the concessions of Sif Fatima II, Zemlet El Arbi and Ourhoud II, in February 2019.

In the same blocs since May 2019 production started from oil camps whose development will continue during the ongoing year.

The gad project of north Berkine will bring to a production of 6.5 million cubic meters and 10,000 barrels of associated liquids which together with the oil development will bring to a production of 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) by 2020.

The project, the group stressed in a note, is an example of “fast track” which has seen the shared work of Eni and Sonatrach, based on a common strategy of an accelerated time to market and the availability and ability of companies of the Sonatrach group that were tasked with completing the work.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Belarus President Believes Vodka and Saunas Will Cure Coronavirus

And we’re the crazy ones?

The president of Belarus is insisting that vodka and saunas will cure the coronavirus — while claiming nations that have gone into lockdown are in the throes of a “psychosis,” according to reports.

President Alexander Lukashenko has insisted the Eastern European nation of nearly 9.5 million remain open for business — and even took part in a packed ice hockey match on Saturday.

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

India: PM Modi Says Pandemic Offers Opportunity for a New Concept of Globalization

India’s Right-wing populist Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is the leader a country that is one of the linchpins of the globalized world. Now, however, he thinks that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic calls for a reevaluation of globalization.

At the G20 summit that was held virtually on Thursday to address the coronavirus crisis, Modi called for “a new concept of globalization,” according to a report at Hindustan Times.

Modi suggested that G20 leaders need to develop a coordinated plan to respond to the pandemic, but his vision went beyond that to redesigning globalization itself.

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

China Could Leverage Coronavirus Crisis to Increase Soft Power Across Globe

by Daniel Davis

China, the centre of the Covid-19 outbreak, could find a silver lining from the crisis. Over the past few years, Beijing has made inroads to developing nations in Africa, Latin America, and even the Middle East. Beijing engendered good will towards China by investing in economic initiatives, infrastructure, and cultural centers abroad. Although the novel coronavirus has given some nations reason to rethink the ethics of China and the Communist Party of President Xi Jinping, cash-strapped states that depend on it for support will have few options in fighting virus outbreaks, as Azeem Ibrahim wrote for Foreign Policy.

Soft Power is the New Military

Beijing has widened its sphere of influence not by military might as nations once did decades ago, but with soft power—money. In exchange, Beijing not only spreads its image across the globe, but it also wields leverage over states that have become indebted to it. Covid-19 has left many nations, developed states included, hurting for supplies. Shortages of gloves, masks, essential items like toilet paper, and life-sustaining ventilators have caught them off-guard.

Moreover, as the world shut down, so did economies in practically every state. Few industries have managed to carry on as normal and governments have been forced to make drastic decisions to keep their states afloat. Do they cut spending? Raise taxes? Print more money? All of the above?

China is a unique position to help states that have lagged behind in resources, money, and power. Xi welcomes them with open arms as an opportunity to help one another. In China, they find a willing creditor that is slowly collecting states like pieces in a board game.

To witness the efficiency of its soft power, look no further than its relationship with Saudi Arabia. The nation with the two holiest mosques in Islam, indeed the birthplace of the world’s third largest religion, licked Beijing’s boots when Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) promoted a partnership between them. Not only did MbS praise China’s promises to invest in his kingdom, but he even defended Xi’s genocide of one million Uighur Muslims.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus Cases:

785,777

view by country

Deaths:

37,815

Recovered:

165,607

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

Locals in Wuhan Believe 42,000 People May Have Died in the Coronavirus Outbreak There Not the 3,200 Claimed by Chinese Authorities

Coronavirus has killed 3,182 people in Hubei Province alone — where coronavirus originated. But residents in Wuhan claim the ashes of 3,500 people are distributed every 24 hours.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

North Korea Risks Coronavirus Eruption by Defying UN and Sending Migrants Abroad

NORTH Korea is ready to send migrant workers across the border to Russia to generate much needed foreign cash, despite the coronavirus pandemic which has paralysed the world’s economy.

And given analysts believe the Hermit state must itself be badly hit by COVID-19, the move risks exporting cases into President Vladimir Putin’s nation. In accordance with sanctionsimposed by the United Nations last year to deprive Pyongyang of cash necessary to fund its nuclear and missile programmes, migrant workers were sent back. However, a citizen of Korean descent in Vladivostok, the Russian city close to the border with North Korea, told Radio Free Asia: “The North Koreans who withdrew last year because of sanctions are preparing to enter Russia again.

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

West ‘Reaping the Whirlwind’ For Policy of Kowtowing to China

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said the West is “reaping the whirlwind” for a policy of kowtowing to China and allowing supply chains to become dependant on the communist country.

“There are a whole range of problems with China that grow and grow the more we feed it,” the MP told Maajid Nawaz on LBC on Sunday.

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

Wuhan Residents Dismiss Official Coronavirus Death Toll: ‘The Incinerators Have Been Working Around the Clock’

Wuhan residents are increasingly skeptical of the Chinese Communist Party’s reported coronavirus death count of approximately 2,500 deaths in the city to date, with most people believing the actual number is at least 40,000.

“Maybe the authorities are gradually releasing the real figures, intentionally or unintentionally, so that people will gradually come to accept the reality,” a Wuhan resident, who gave only his surname Mao, told Radio Free Asia.

A city source added that, based on the aggregation of funeral and cremation numbers, authorities likely know the real number and are keeping it under wraps.

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

Australians Face Fines of Up to $13,000 for ‘Gathering’ With More Than One Other Person From Today as Virus Shutdown Tightens — and Aussies Are Told There Are Now Only Four Excuses for Leaving Home

Australians could be fined $11,000 or even thrown in jail if they are seen outside with more than one other person.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Couple Celebrate a Traditional Wedding in Melbourne Surrounded by Friends and Family Despite Strict Social Gathering Rules Banning More Than Five People at Nuptials

Footage showed the couple dancing with family and friends at the reception in Melbourne on Sunday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Does This Graph Offer a Glimmer of Hope in Australia’s Fight Against COVID-19? Coronavirus Infection Curve Shows Signs of Flattening Amid an Unprecedented Crackdown on Social Interactions

Australia’s increase in coronavirus cases has plummeted in the past few days, falling from a 26.2 per cent jump on March 22 to just 9.4 per cent on Sunday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

How a Traveller, 30, Returning From Jordan Allegedly Ignored Self-Isolation Laws and Made Three Trips to Different Parts of Sydney in One Weekend

Matthew Adam Stephan, 30, was supposed to be self-isolating after flying into Sydney from Jordan, was allegedly caught by police more than 35kms from his home three times in the one weekend.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘It’s Quarantine, Not a Luxury Holiday’: Lara Bingle Faces a Backlash for Complaining About Her Sick 63-Year-Old Mother’s ‘Unacceptable’ Hotel After Flying Into Sydney

Lara Worthington (née Bingle) has complained about her mother Sharon’s hotel accommodation while in quarantine in Sydney.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Millions of Australians Will Have an Extra $750 in Their Bank Account From Tomorrow as Part of the Government’s Coronavirus Cash Splash — Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Get Your Windfall

Around 6.5million Australian are set to get a $750 payment, in a bid to kick start the economy and ward off a looming recession brought on by the corona virus pandemic.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

More Than 113,000 Businesses Register for the $1,500-a-Fortnight Wage Subsidy Just 16 Hours After it Was Announced

Businesses are rushing to sign up to the federal government’s $130billion plan to subsidise wages during the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday morning more than 113,000 businesses had registered their interest in the $1,500 per fortnight package.

‘Our $130billion plan is all about keeping Australians in jobs while we deal with this coronavirus crisis,’ he wrote on Twitter, 16 hours after introducing the scheme.

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

New Zealand Police Website for Snitching on People Breaking Coronavirus Lockdown Crashes Due to Popularity

One constant that’s come with the spread of the coronavirus has been the proliferation of digital tools that are slowly encroaching on people’s civil liberties.

And recent comments from the New Zealand police have revealed the alarming rate that people are willingly adopting these tools to snitch on their fellow citizens.

According to the New Zealand police, a new website that was set up for citizens to snitch on people who violate the country’s coronavirus lockdown rules was so popular that it crashed due to the volume of complaints it was receiving.

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

Brazil: Bolsonaro’s Official Response to the Coronavirus Isn’t Allowed on Twitter

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has had two of his tweets removed by Twitter, making him one of the first heads of state to have his tweets censored.

In the two tweets that were removed by the platform, the Brazilian president was freely roaming around in the crowds in a market, encouraging the country to bid a goodbye to the lockdown and carry on with their day-to-day activities.

According to Bolsonaro, the lockdowns have an adverse effect on the country’s economy, which when compared to the impact of the coronavirus, could end up being more problematic.

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

Venezuela’s Internet is on the Brink of Collapse After Quarantine Data Increase and Fuel Shortages

Coronavirus is leaving people everywhere homebound. This means a lot more people are using the internet, be it to stream video content, to video call loved ones or even for gaming.

YouTube and Netflix has already addressed this by nerfing the default playback resolution of videos on its platform down to 480p. While the number may seem low, most people will probably not notice on portable devices with smaller screens. And the keen-eyed ones that do can always turn it back up if it bothers them so much.

Don’t underestimate the surge in internet usage, though. According to Venezuelan operator Movistar, data usage during Venezuela’s first week of quarantine was equal to the country’s usage during all of 2019 — bearing in mind that the overall number of internet users in Venezuela has gone down by millions, in recent years.

They now fear that Venezuela’s internet is about to collapse.

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

Dear Clueless America: You Are Now Living Under the Tyranny You Deserve

This article is not directed at our regular readers, but rather the oblivious, brainwashed masses who are now living under the tyranny they helped create. By failing to speak out against the coordinated, malicious censorship carried out by the communist-infiltrated tech giants, these people allowed our world to plunge into the very darkness and mass death that will soon destroy their own lives. All in the name of obedience, conformity, and virtue signaling…

Dear clueless America,

You are now living under the tyranny you deserve. For the last four years, as truth-telling websites like Natural News were smeared, de-platformed and silenced, you said nothing. You were more interested in your Starbucks lattes, your inflated stock market shares, and virtue signaling your obedience to pop culture than defending the right of people to tell the truth.

You let the world’s “facts” be determined by the most evil, communist-infiltrated techno-fascists imaginable: Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and many more. You said nothing as they silenced independent publishers who told the truth about natural cures, herbal remedies and the dangers of biological weapons research (which we desperately warned the world about in 2012). As long as YOU weren’t banned, that was the most important priority in your mind, and you rapidly self-censored your own speech to make sure you could continue to earn ad revenue on YouTube by complying with their “community guidelines” that outlawed truth and reason…

Instead of supporting the diversity of thought, you demanded obedient conformity to a tiny set of twisted, fraudulent ideas, claiming the world would be a better place if “non-popular” content was systematically erased from the internet so that all the remaining voices would be in agreement. You called it “consensus” and explained that “fringe” voices were dangerous to society. So you supported Google and the tech giants carrying out a form of online ethnic cleansing, to rid the internet of information you didn’t want to see since it opposed your own twisted worldview that was wholly derived from conformity with popular delusions rather than diverse, independent thinking.

You openly supported the silencing of scientific voices that disagreed with the climate change lunacy pushed by your own twisted, fraudulent front men like Al Gore. You openly endorsed systematic child abuse by indoctrinating children with falsehoods of transgenderism and the “joys” of chemical puberty blockers that cause irreversible, long-term damage to the reproductive systems of children. And you praised the very open borders that have now allowed Europe to be flooded with infected illegal migrants who have overrun Germany, France, and the UK, plunging them all into a scenario of infectious disease and mass death that Europe hasn’t witnessed since World War II.

You did all this while patting yourself on the back, telling yourself that you were morally superior to those you conspired to have silenced. No voices but your own homogeneous, obedient, domineering voice should be allowed to participate in public conversations, you insisted, because “facts” must be controlled by popular consensus, you believe, not observations of reality. No minority views shall be tolerated in your world, which essentially collapses down to “mob rule.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

De-Mainstream YouTube Tool Adds Channel Filters So You Can Now Block Specific Channels From Recommendations

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise, YouTube has ramped up its efforts to funnel users to “authoritative sources” (legacy media outlets that YouTube deems to be trustworthy) for content about the virus.

YouTube has been doing this by increasing the prominence of these authoritative sources in search and recommendations for coronavirus content and placing a coronavirus news shelf on the home page which promotes coronavirus content from legacy media outlets.

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

Idaho Governor Signs Bill That Bans Most Abortions if Roe v. Wade is Overturned

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill last week banning most abortions as long as Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court later this year.

State Bill 1385, which will become law if the Supreme Court allows states to decide how to legally handle its abortions, received strong support, passing 27-7 in the Senate and 49-18 in the House.

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

Media Research Center Pens Letter to Jack Dorsey as News Outlet’s Twitter Account is Locked for “Misgendering”

In December 2019, news outlet LifeSiteNews published an article that referred to a female transgender activist with the personal pronoun “he.” Soon after, Twitter took it upon itself to lock the account of the news outlet as Twitter has a controversially notorious policy against referring to someone by the gender which is other than what they’ve decided to be known as.

The article that got them banned was titled “Trans activist Jonathan ‘Jessica’ Yaniv ‘shocked…confused’ gynaecologist won’t see him.”

The story related to the fact that Yaniv, 32, who had previously tried to sue beauty salons for refusing to wax her male genitals, was now threatening to sue a gynecologist for refusing to see her.

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

10 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/30/2020

  1. Coronavirus: Portugal grants temporary citizenship rights to migrants
    https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/29/coronavirus-portugal-grants-temporary-citizenship-rights-to-migrants

    The move is intended to ensure everybody who needs it has access to social security and health care while the country battles the spread and effects of coronavirus.
    =========
    I looked in google: in Portugal people pay from 14.5 to 48% of taxes on a progressive scale. Can you imagine how they now feel?

  2. I hope the masks for all campaign really takes off – even though Western governments and media have belittled the idea for months. The authorities could have been more forthright and explained that they were husbanding the supply for their medical communities, who have been caught completely flat footed with far too few masks in reserve, and no robust and reliable sources of (re)supply. Perhaps the authorities were right and that appeals to reason and common interest no longer work.

    One thing that is seldom mentioned is that speaking produces fine aerosols that can remain airborne and travel much further than the canonical, 2 meter / 6 foot safe social distance. Having done the odd bit of sound work, I am wary of plosives, such as P, B and T.

  3. June 10th is a very long time to shut down the state of VA.

    Methinks the Governor has lost the Mandate from Heaven.

    He sure does not have the citizens welfare in mind. Only power.

  4. Turkmenistan bans the word “coronavirus”

    Turkmen authorities have banned the use of the word “coronavirus” and excluded it from use in order to hide information about the pandemic. This was reported by the portal of the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

    According to human rights activists, all media in the country were banned from mentioning the word “coronavirus” in publications. It was also excluded from a special brochure that the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan sends to educational institutions, hospitals and workplaces.

    At the same time, citizens who wear masks on the street and talk about the global coronavirus pandemic can be arrested by plainclothes police officers.

    Earlier, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, during a government meeting, advised citizens to defend themselves against viruses with an old folk remedy – garmala smoke. The leader of the country noted that over the millennia, the ancestors of Turkmens have created national methods to combat bad habits and prevent various infectious diseases.

    https://lenta.ru/news/2020/03/31/ih_borba/

  5. This Corona propaganda its a lie , everything was planned ahead to shut you up , and now they doing whatever they want , in Germany this traitors ( Merkel&CO) importing all this illegal immigrants by plane and busses at night, then nobody noticed, now is the distraction CORONA, this is beyond unbelievable, Everything is continue As is planned, RIP Deutschland and Europe, this is it …

    • Authorities in our region have introduced quarantine. We have everything that is not being done in Russia, done in order to impose some huge fines. Although only 12 sick. Some have already been discharged from the hospital.

      It is allowed to go out to:
      seek emergency medical attention;
      get to work and back;
      Go to the nearest grocery store;
      walk your pet at a distance of not more than 100 meters from the house;
      take out household garbage.
      Forbidden:
      to leave home unnecessarily;
      go for a walk with the children;
      do jogging or exercise on the sports ground;
      go to relatives to bring groceries.

      Today I called the Coronavirus Hot Line and asked what I should do: for my very elderly mother-in-law, I need to bring medicine and food to a neighboring town.
      The girl from the Line said she did not know what to advise.
      Can you imagine? And then they say that old people are dying.

    • Yeah right, my American acquaintance who told me ten days ago that her 82-year-old friend in a care home in the US died of it, having been denied a blood test when he showed symptoms, was just making it up.

  6. Re: “UK Gay Pride Parade to go Ahead…”

    (For non-Brits, in this context, Brighton roughly equates with San Francisco). It seems to me that in most “liberal” (sorry!) western-style cultures, and allowing for the generally conservative bent (sorry again!) of many who follow GoV, most of us have got over the fact that some people are gay- why haven’t they?

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