Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/8/2020

The condition of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is afflicted with the ChiCom flu, has improved. Mr. Johnson is reportedly sitting up in bed and engaging with hospital staff. Meanwhile, the IHME model for the disease has revised its projection down to 60,000 coronavirus deaths in the USA by August 4.

In other news, Bernie Sanders has suspended his presidential campaign, making Joe Biden the apparent Democrat nominee.

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

Thanks to AF, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Americans Not Making Their Mortgage Payments Soar by 1064% in One Month
» Dow Rallies 700 Points, Retakes 23,000 as Market Rebound Continues
» Lockdown is Straining EU Families’ Economic Capacity — Bank of Italy
» Spain Asks Illegal Migrants and Jobless to Pick Fruit as Coronavirus Bites
 
USA
» 5G Wars Begin; Trojan Horse Technology to Enslave Humanity
» Another ‘Editing Mistake’? CBS News Again Airs Italy Hospital Footage in U.S. Coronavirus Segment
» Bernie’s Press Secretary: ‘Now I Can Drop ‘Democratic’ From ‘Democratic Socialism’
» Clinton-Lewinsky Whistleblower Linda Tripp Dies at 70
» Fauci Says Americans Should Never Shake Hands Again
» George Soros-Funded Group to Governors: Release as Many Prisoners as Possible Due to Coronavirus
» Glenwood Springs Public Health Order Mandates Citizens Wear Face Masks or Receive Up to a Year in Jail
» IHME Reduces Total Projected Number of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths to 60k
» LA Doc Touts Hydroxychloroquine-Zinc Combo: Patients ‘Basically Symptom Free’ In Hours
» Let’s Make This Simple: Zoom is Malware
» Lindsey Graham Says Congress Will Strip WHO of Funding in Next Appropriations Bill
» More People Died of Suicide Last Week in Tennessee Than COVID-19
» Officers Sent by Illinois Mayor to Break Up Parties Find His Wife at One of the Gatherings
» Pictured: North Carolina Truck Driver, 33, Who Stabbed to Death Three Women and Injured a Fourth at a Tennessee Truck Stop Before Being Shot Dead by Police
» Police Arrest Father for Playing Softball in Park With 6-Year-Old Daughter
» Registered Nurse Threatens to Deny Trump Supporter Coronavirus Treatment
» Sanders Suspends Presidential Campaign, Rendering Biden Presumptive Democratic Nominee
» Sen. Ted Cruz: Media Wants Pandemic ‘To Get Worse and Worse’ To Damage Trump
» Sen. Ted Cruz Rips NBC News for Parroting Chinese Communist Propaganda
» Social Distancing: Man Arrested for Playing T-Ball With Daughter, Wife in Empty Park
» Stores Pull Ivermectin Dewormer After Study Showed it Eliminates COVID-19
» Studies Show Vitamin D’s Role in Preventing Viral Infections, Reducing Severity
» These Very Alarming Numbers Show How People Are “Coping” With the Coronavirus Pandemic
» Tucker: Data Suggests Coronavirus Epidemic Peak ‘Passed Five Days Ago’
» Twitter Locks Diamond and Silk’s Account After Journalists Complain About Them Questioning Quarantine Measures
» While the Masses Panicked Over a Virus: U.S. House Wrote a Bill Will Ban “Assault Weapons”
 
Canada
» People Resort to Home Haircuts or #coronacuts as Pandemic Continues
 
Europe and the EU
» Coronavirus: Possible Cases on De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier
» Coronavirus: New Figures Show Switzerland Flattening the Infection Curve
» COVID-19 and the Swedish Exception
» European Nations Struggle to Agree on Terms of Economic Aid
» European Medicines Agency Warns of Looming Drug Shortages
» Exclusive Comments: Hungary’s Pro-Family Policy is Working, Births Up 9.4 Per Cent
» France to Further Extend Lockdown With Macron to Make New TV Address to French Public
» Head of the EU’s Top Science Body Quits Over the Bloc’s ‘Extremely Disappointing’ Response to the Coronavirus Crisis
» Hungarian FM: National Action Works Best to Combat COVID-19
» Is Sweden’s Lax Approach to the Coronavirus Backfiring?
» Italian Mayor Fines Retiree for Visiting His Daughter During Lockdown
» Italy: Conte Calls for EU to ‘Think Like a Team’
» Latest: Spain’s Daily Coronavirus Death Toll Rises Again
» Pope Francis Says Pastors Should be Self-Sacrificing During Pandemic
» Return of the Land Army: 26,000+ Britons Sign Up to Pick Fruit and Vegetables
» Romania: Adult Live Cam Industry Booming Amidst Coronavirus
» Sweden: Stockholm No-Go Suburb Most Affected by Coronavirus
» Switzerland May Ease Coronavirus Restrictions in April
» UK Confirms Govt Asked U.S. For Ventilators After Friend and Ally Trump Pledged 200
» UK: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson ‘Improving’ As Intensive Care Treatment Continues
» UK: Coronavirus: Doctors Pressuring Senior Citizens to Sign Do Not Resuscitate Forms
» UK: Farage: Coronavirus Emergency ‘Now Very Real’ With Boris in Intensive Care
 
North Africa
» Coronavirus: Moroccan King Fires Govt Spox and Minister
» Coronavirus: Mosques Closed in Egypt Also for Ramadan
 
Middle East
» Coronavirus: Dubai Halts Weddings and Divorces
» Coronavirus in Turkey: Government Targets Doctors
 
South Asia
» China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Case of Sri Lanka
» For Remarks Against Tablighi Jamaat, Hindu Man Shot Dead in Uttar Pradesh. Accused Mohammad Sona Nabbed.
» US State Department Escalates Pressure on Pakistan for Return of Abducted Teen Forced to Marry Captor
 
Far East
» China Announces Top Critic Who Disappeared After Criticizing CCP is Undergoing “Disciplinary Review”
» Chinese Game Developer Bans Taiwanese Players for Using Terms “China Coronavirus” And “Wuhan Coronavirus”
» Coalition of Small U.S. Businesses Sues China for $8 Trillion Alleging Coronavirus Cover-Up
» COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
» Here Comes the Second Wave: Wuhan Lockdown Ends and Tens of Thousands Are About to Flee the City
» The Party Never Sleeps (Part 1) — an Excerpt From Bearing Witness: Coming of Age in Mao’s China
» WHO Suggests Kidnapping Your Children to Fight Coronavirus
 
Australia — Pacific
» Freedom at Last: Hundreds of Aussies Race Out of Their Five-Star Sydney Quarantine Hotel for Their First Breaths of Fresh Air in Two Weeks — But Some Are Still Complaining About the Food
» Mother With a Brain Tumour Who Drove Two Hours to Buy Cheese From Woolworths is Shocked to Find Out She’s Not Able to Purchase it — Before a Stranger’s Kind Act Leaves Her in Tears
» Pell Acquitted of Sex Abuse
 
Immigration
» Brussels Asylum Office Reopens Despite Coronavirus Lockdown
» Coronavirus: Italy Closes Ports to NGO Migrant-Rescue Ships
» Germany Accepts Migrants From Greece
» Greece: Angry Migrants Chop Down 5,000 Olive Trees on Lesbos
» Norway: Foreign National Charged With Murdering Wife
» One in Every 100 Norwegian Somalis Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus
» Sweden: Insurance Company Loses Case Against Migration Agency
» U.K. Truck Driver Pleads Guilty in Deaths of Vietnamese Migrants Found in Container
» UK: Border Force Stops 130 Migrants in a Week at Sea and None Are Being Tested for Coronavirus
 
Culture Wars
» Civil Liberties Matter More Than Ever in a Pandemic
» Soros-Backed News Outlet: Coronavirus Crisis is Perfect Time to ‘Abolish the Family’
 
General
» YouTube Restricts Content About 5G Dangers After Multiple Attacks on Towers
 

Americans Not Making Their Mortgage Payments Soar by 1064% in One Month

Earlier today we reported that the “The Liquidity Crisis Is Quickly Becoming A Solvency Crisis”, and nowhere is this more true than for US homeowners (their servicers, and their lenders).

According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association Forbearance and Call Volume Survey which highlights the “unprecedented, widespread mortgage forbearance already requested by borrowers affected by the spread of the coronavirus”, the total number of loans in forbearance grew to 2.66% as of April 1; just one month ago, on March 2, the rate was 0.25%, or a 1,064% increase in just one month.

For loans backed by Ginnie Mae, which serves low— and moderate-income borrowers, the surge was much greater, with total loans in forbearance soaring to 4.25% from 0.19% one month ago.

Overall, the MBA reports that total forbearance requests grew by 1,270% between the week of March 2 and the week of March 16, and another 1,896% between the week of March 16 and the week of March 30.

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

Dow Rallies 700 Points, Retakes 23,000 as Market Rebound Continues

Stocks surged on Wednesday after Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race, relieving some of Wall Street’s political concerns amid the economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 779.71 points, or 3.4%, to close at 23,433.57. The S&P 500 climbed 3.4% to 2,749.98 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.6% to 8,090.90. Hope the U.S. could start to turn a corner on the coronavirus outbreak in the near future also lifted equities.

Some of Sanders’ policy proposals, including Medicare for All, raised concern among several business owners and investors who feared taxes would go up under his presidency. Wednesday’s news puts former Vice President Joe Biden — who is seen by Wall Street as a more market-friendly candidate — closer to the Democratic nomination.

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

Lockdown is Straining EU Families’ Economic Capacity — Bank of Italy

Impact on jobs and incomes, extension would worsen effects- bank

(ANSA) — Rome, April 8 — Bank of Italy researchers said on the coronavirus emergency Wednesday that “the widespread suspension of economic activity due to the containment measures will significantly impact the capacity of European families to autonomously address their economic needs in the coming weeks.” They cited “deep repercussions on job opportunities and on the income capacity of much of the population” and said “the prolonging (of the lockdown measures) would exacerbate pre-existing situations of economic malaise and would potentially create new ones”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Spain Asks Illegal Migrants and Jobless to Pick Fruit as Coronavirus Bites

BARCELONA, April 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Spain will temporarily allow thousands of illegal migrants to pick fruit to address labour shortages caused by the new coronavirus outbreak, in a move closely watched across Europe.

The European Union’s biggest fruit and vegetable exporter will also allow unemployed Spaniards to continue to receive state benefits while working as fruit pickers in a bid to find 300,000 seasonal workers as it approaches the May harvest.

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

5G Wars Begin; Trojan Horse Technology to Enslave Humanity

Plus historians link Bill Gates to the Nazis’ & eugenics’ cult — MUST SEE

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Another ‘Editing Mistake’? CBS News Again Airs Italy Hospital Footage in U.S. Coronavirus Segment

It’s not just your imagination: left-leaning outlets seem to be exaggerating the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. On Saturday, CBS News appeared to run footage from an Italian hospital in a segment about an outbreak in Pennsylvania. This came exactly two weeks after CBS News ran the same footage in a segment about the outbreak in New York on March 25.

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

Bernie’s Press Secretary: ‘Now I Can Drop ‘Democratic’ From ‘Democratic Socialism’

After he announced he was suspending his presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders’ press secretary expressed relief that she could finally drop the word “democratic” from the term “democratic socialism.”

The mask comes off.

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

Clinton-Lewinsky Whistleblower Linda Tripp Dies at 70

Linda Tripp, the former public servant who was known for her role in exposing details of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, died on Wednesday at age 70, her family confirmed.

Tripp was a former White House and Pentagon staffer who surreptitiously recorded conversations with Monica Lewinsky in which the latter described her extramarital affair with then-President Bill Clinton. She subsequently turned those tapes over to independent counsel Kenneth Starr, leading Starr to pursue a perjury charge against the president.

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

Fauci Says Americans Should Never Shake Hands Again

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday claimed that American citizens should not “shake hands ever again” with each other in order to help stop spreading infectious diseases.

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

George Soros-Funded Group to Governors: Release as Many Prisoners as Possible Due to Coronavirus

The letter cited concern that the U.S. prison population could face greater risk of illness and death than the general public due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Glenwood Springs Public Health Order Mandates Citizens Wear Face Masks or Receive Up to a Year in Jail

A new public health order voted on by council officials in Glenwood Springs, Colorado mandates citizens wear a face mask when they enter a shop, with the punishment being up to a year in jail.

The city’s public health order, which passed by a 6-1 council vote, requires people to wear the masks “when entering and while inside of a place or conveyance open to the public” and “for all essential activities outside of their home.”

The punishment for not wearing a mask is a fine of up to $1,000 or 364 days in jail.

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

IHME Reduces Total Projected Number of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths to 60k

The University of Washington’s model that predicts coronavirus deaths in the United States has again revised its projections downward, to a total of 60,415 expected deaths by August 4, 2020.

The White House relies on the model, designed by the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, to inform its response to the pandemic and in relaying information to the American public.

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

LA Doc Touts Hydroxychloroquine-Zinc Combo: Patients ‘Basically Symptom Free’ In Hours

Dr. Anthony Cardillo said he has seen very promising results when prescribing hydroxychloroquine in combination with zinc for the most severely-ill COVID-19 patients.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Let’s Make This Simple: Zoom is Malware

We’ve covered Zoom in these pages before. Back in #AxisOfEasy 104 it turned out that the Zoom installer was installing mini-web servers on your computer, and it wasn’t even taking them off when you uninstalled Zoom, leaving your device open to all manner of vulnerability. It took Apple acting on its own to push out an unscheduled update to fix Zoom’s problem before they got to it.

Last week we outlined how Zoom was sending telemetry data about you to Facebook, even if you don’t have a Facebook account.

In the intervening week, all sorts of data points and news items came out about the (lack of) privacy issues with Zoom:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Lindsey Graham Says Congress Will Strip WHO of Funding in Next Appropriations Bill

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Tuesday said that the World Health Organization will receive zero funds from Congress’ next appropriations bill, a sign that the global medical consortium may be in the United States’ crosshairs for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

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

More People Died of Suicide Last Week in Tennessee Than COVID-19

As we previously warned, this pandemic will bankrupt and kill more people from suicide than the virus will. When you sacrifice people’s livelihoods, you create a difficult situation of desperation for many who will see no other way out.

We are about to have a mental health crisis during an economic depression that will be tough to live through. The virus is no longer the problem. The government’s reaction has been the problem and even some politicians have figured it out. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs revealed in a weekly update that our solution to this pandemic has not been a good one. “Thus far, our reaction to COVID-19 has been to sacrifice the global economy,” said Jacobs. “The truth is: a sick economy produces sick people.”

Most people don’t want to hear the truth, unfortunately, and the longer state governments insist on businesses being closed and an economy shut down to combat what’s looking like a fairly insignificant virus for most of the population, the aftermath will worsen. Each day that drags on will make the next few years more difficult…

We want to thank Jacobs for standing up against all the other tyrants out there using this virus as an excuse to commit economic suicide and impoverish millions of people. Now let’s face reality: it’s time to reopen the economy and salvage what’s left if we can. The longer this drags on, the direr our situation becomes.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Officers Sent by Illinois Mayor to Break Up Parties Find His Wife at One of the Gatherings

Brant Walker, the mayor of Alton, Illinois, found himself in an awkward situation Sunday after police officers found his wife at a party he had asked law enforcement to break up.

Walker had asked the city’s police force to disperse gatherings of 10 or more people, in a move to enforce Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order for people to stay home through April 30. Alton’s chief of police called the mayor to notify him of his wife’s attendance at a party that officers had investigated and stopped.

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

Pictured: North Carolina Truck Driver, 33, Who Stabbed to Death Three Women and Injured a Fourth at a Tennessee Truck Stop Before Being Shot Dead by Police

A truck driver from North Carolina has been identified as the man who fatally stabbed three women and wounded a fourth at a Tennessee truck stop this morning, before a deputy shot and killed him after he refused to drop his knife.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday afternoon identified the suspect in the stabbings at the Pilot Travel Center on Strawberry Plains Pike off Interstate 40 as 33-year-old Idris Abdus-Salaam, from Durham, North Carolina.

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

Police Arrest Father for Playing Softball in Park With 6-Year-Old Daughter

A Brighton, Colorado, man was arrested in front of his 6-year-old daughter this week after police came across them playing baseball in a city park and claimed they were in violation of social distancing laws.

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

Registered Nurse Threatens to Deny Trump Supporter Coronavirus Treatment

A self-proclaimed registered nurse took to Twitter to suggest that she would not give someone emergency medical treatment for coronavirus if he was a Trump supporter.

The nurse was responding to a man called George S. Martan who posted a photo of himself wearing a face mask with ‘Trump 2020’ embroidered onto it.

“My wife sewed this face mask today to protect me from the Wuhan Virus and show support for President Trump,” commented the man.

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

Sanders Suspends Presidential Campaign, Rendering Biden Presumptive Democratic Nominee

Bernie Sanders suspended his Democratic presidential campaign on Wednesday, effectively ensuring former Vice President Joe Biden will be the party’s nominee even as the liberal Vermont senator vowed to continue to lead his “movement” into the future.

The senator, at one point the front-runner for the nomination, initially announced the decision during an all-staff conference call Wednesday morning, and followed up with an address livestreamed to supporters shortly before noon.

Citing Biden’s lead of more than 300 convention delegates, Sanders declared: “The path toward victory is virtually impossible.”

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

Sen. Ted Cruz: Media Wants Pandemic ‘To Get Worse and Worse’ To Damage Trump

‘Too many partisan Democrats want to just use this catastrophe to attack Trump rather than come together and fight for our country,’ he says.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sen. Ted Cruz Rips NBC News for Parroting Chinese Communist Propaganda

Several prominent political figures, including Ted Cruz have slammed NBC News for consistently repeating Communist Chinese government talking points in their output.

The Texas Senator linked to an NBC News article which read “U.S. reports 1,264 coronavirus deaths in over 24 hours. Meanwhile in China, where the pandemic broke out, not a single new coronavirus death was reported.”

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

Social Distancing: Man Arrested for Playing T-Ball With Daughter, Wife in Empty Park

Another arrest of someone who’s ‘socially distant’ in public until apprehended by police.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Stores Pull Ivermectin Dewormer After Study Showed it Eliminates COVID-19

‘I am excited about the prospect of Ivermectin being used as a potential drug against COVID-19,’ said researcher who participated in study.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Studies Show Vitamin D’s Role in Preventing Viral Infections, Reducing Severity

Vitamin D sufficiency important to reduce mortality in ventilated patients, study claims.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

These Very Alarming Numbers Show How People Are “Coping” With the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is during times of great crisis that we find out who we really are. Now that strict “shelter-in-place” orders have been instituted all over the world, most people have a lot more free time than usual. Of course some are using all of this extra free time for constructive purposes, but many others have decided that “self-medicating” is the best way to “cope” with this coronavirus pandemic. When under great pressure, people tend to gravitate to whatever is most important to them, and that is why what we are witnessing during this pandemic is so alarming. Just check out these new numbers…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tucker: Data Suggests Coronavirus Epidemic Peak ‘Passed Five Days Ago’

Though deaths surged on Tuesday, they’re a lagging indicator. ICU admissions have been falling off.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Twitter Locks Diamond and Silk’s Account After Journalists Complain About Them Questioning Quarantine Measures

Since introducing its controversial ban on “denial of expert guidance” about the coronavirus less than a month ago, Twitter has already removed 1,000 tweets which include tweets from world leaders and public figures.

Now it appears that sharing an opinion on the negative health impacts of following this expert guidance is enough for an account to be sanctioned under these rules.

Twitter recently locked the account of popular pro-Trump political commentators Diamond and Silk for tweeting:

“The only way we can become immune to the environment; we must be out in the environment. Quarantining people inside of their houses for extended periods will make people sick!”

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

While the Masses Panicked Over a Virus: U.S. House Wrote a Bill Will Ban “Assault Weapons”

While the majority of the country has been laser-focused on the coronavirus, stocking up on decades worth of toilet paper, and mass purchasing Clorox wipes, the United States House of Representative wrote a bill that will ban “assault weapons.”

Representative Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, introduced H.R. 5717 on January 30, which would, among other items, ban the purchasing and possession of assault weapons, according to USA Today. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced in February the Senate version of the bill, S.3254. Not long after, the coronavirus hype was all over mainstream media burying the news of this draconian legislation.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

People Resort to Home Haircuts or #coronacuts as Pandemic Continues

People are resorting to home haircuts as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic continues and the posts on social media are quite entertaining.

B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, issued a ban on personal service establishments to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The March 21 announcement means services such as salons, spas, massage parlours and tattoo parlours are closed.

While the public continues to isolate, they’ve taken to some home grooming solutions like the classic bowl cut or just letting their kids go for it. The new do’s are now popping up online with the hashtag #coronacuts.

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

Coronavirus: Possible Cases on De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier

Dozens of crew with ‘symptoms’ on nuclear-powered ship

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, APRIL 8 — About 40 crew members of the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle have been found to have symptoms consistent with those of a COVID-19 infection have bene placed under special medical attention, the armed forces ministry announced Wednesday. A statement noted that a screening team had been “sent aboard the aircraft carrier to investigate the cases that have arisen and to hinder the spread of the virus on board the ship”. The ship, which can transport about 2,000 sailors, had been deployed in the Atlantic as part of a NATO exercise. It was preparing for its return to the Mediterranean.

“It was decided to bring forward its return to Toulon, initially scheduled for 23 April,” said the statement.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: New Figures Show Switzerland Flattening the Infection Curve

For three days in a row, fewer new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Switzerland. Despite welcoming the news, Swiss politicians have however remained cautious.

Wednesday, April 8th, was the third day in a row where the number of new coronavirus cases was below 600.

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

COVID-19 and the Swedish Exception

Like its immigration policies, Sweden’s approach to the coronavirus sets it apart from its neighbors. What’s the endgame?

by Bruce Bawer

Now, if I were the suspicious type, I might suggest that Sweden’s coronavirus policy was, from the very beginning, formulated with this endgame in mind: the weeding out of aged and infirm Swedes in order to free up residences, welfare benefits, and Lebensraum generally (pardon my French) for Muslim immigrants, among whom the average age — chronological or biological — is, for obvious reasons, far lower than among native Swedes. Of course, there couldn’t possibility be a hint of truth in that wild surmise.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

European Nations Struggle to Agree on Terms of Economic Aid

BRUSSELS (AP) — European governments remained at loggerheads Wednesday over measures to help the economy weather the coronavirus outbreak, breaking off a meeting of finance officials who clashed over aid conditions and a proposal to borrow together to pay for the health crisis.

Finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro talked by videoconference and postponed their news conference until Thursday after a meeting that started Tuesday ran late into the night.

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

European Medicines Agency Warns of Looming Drug Shortages

The European Medicine Agency (EMA) has warned that the continent could be facing shortages of medicines to treat symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus.

The EMA warning came Monday in a press release in which the Amsterdam-based agency stated: “The continued availability of medicines, especially those used for patients with COVID-19, is a major concern.”

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

Exclusive Comments: Hungary’s Pro-Family Policy is Working, Births Up 9.4 Per Cent

The pro-family policies pursued by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s government as an alternative to mass immigration are reaping dividends, with births up 9.4 per cent year on year.

Eduard von Habsburg, the Central European country’s ambassador to the Holy See — and great-great-grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary — reported that the “much-ridiculed” policies were also accompanied by a near-100 per cent increase in marriages and the number of children per woman rising to an average of 1.6.

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

France to Further Extend Lockdown With Macron to Make New TV Address to French Public

The French presidency announced on Wednesday that the nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of coronavirus in France will be extended beyond its current end date of April 15th. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation once again to announce the next move.

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

Head of the EU’s Top Science Body Quits Over the Bloc’s ‘Extremely Disappointing’ Response to the Coronavirus Crisis

Mauro Ferrari was only appointed president of the European Research Council on January 1 this year.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Hungarian FM: National Action Works Best to Combat COVID-19

National responses to the novel coronavirus epidemic are the most effective, and coordination by Brussels has been pushed into the background, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

In a speech in parliament, Szijjarto briefed lawmakers about recent NATO and EU foreign ministerial meetings, saying that decisions were being made on a national basis with national specifics and interests in mind.

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

Is Sweden’s Lax Approach to the Coronavirus Backfiring?

by Tino Sanandaji and Paulina Neuding

In the past few weeks, the country has experienced a bizarre nationalistic wave dubbed “public health nationalism” (“folkhälsonationalism”), which celebrates Sweden as an island of common sense in a sea of panic and resistance to science.

According to this narrative promulgated by authorities and media alike, cultural exceptionalism — such as high public trust — makes Sweden particularly well-equipped to manage the pandemic. When asked why Sweden’s strategy deviates from other countries’, Sweden’s influential former state epidemiologist Johan Giesecke quipped, “That is because everyone else is doing it wrong.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Mayor Fines Retiree for Visiting His Daughter During Lockdown

ROME — The mayor of the southern Italian city of Bari scolded an elderly man who was going to visit his daughter in the city, insisting he was slapping a heavy fine on him “for your own good.”

The Italian daily La Repubblica published the scene captured on video in which the mayor, Antonio Decaro, reproaches the retiree for going to have lunch with his daughter during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

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

Italy: Conte Calls for EU to ‘Think Like a Team’

We must preserve our common home, Premier tells Vatican News

(ANSA) — Rome, April 8 — Premier Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday urged the European Union to “think like a team” amid a stalemate on the EU’s economic response to the coronavirus.

The Eurogroup adjourned till Thursday after a 16-hour-long overnight session in which northern deficit hawks continued to reject southern members’ bid to introduce ‘coronabonds’ to fund the response.

Conte told Vatican News and Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano that “the EU must be fit for its role to tackle the challenge facing it and to do that it is called on to make a decided change of pace from the political and social standpoint.

“For those who hold dear the EU, for those who believe in a united, strong and solidarity-based Europe, it is time to take resolute steps, promoting all the means for the reconstruction.

“If we want to preserve our common home, it is time to think like a team”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Latest: Spain’s Daily Coronavirus Death Toll Rises Again

Spain recorded a second successive daily rise in coronavirus-related deaths with 757 fatalities, lifting the total toll to 14,555, the health ministry said Wednesday.

The number of new infections in Spain grew to 146,690, up from 140,510, it added.The number of new infections rose by 4.4 percent to 146,690, the health ministry said, as Spain has ramped up its testing for the disease.

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

Pope Francis Says Pastors Should be Self-Sacrificing During Pandemic

ROME — “The people of God need their pastor to be close to them, not to overprotect himself,” Pope Francis says in an interview published Wednesday.

Cardinal Federigo Borromeo really was “a hero of the Milan plague,” the pope notes, in reference to the Italian literary classic The Betrothed. “Yet in one of the chapters he goes to greet a village but with the window of his carriage closed to protect himself. This did not go down well with the people.”

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

Return of the Land Army: 26,000+ Britons Sign Up to Pick Fruit and Vegetables

Over 26,000 people have responded to a call for agricultural workers, weeks after the industry warned a lack of immigrants caused by the coronavirus epidemic would leave vegetables rotting in the fields.

Britain’s agricultural industry has long been sustained by migrant labour, doing jobs bosses argued that Britons did not want to do. Yet that article of faith among proponents of mass migration appears to have been shattered, as the unwanted arrival of coronavirus has closed the United Kingdom’s borders to large movements of migrant workers — forcing recruiters to look inwards.

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

Romania: Adult Live Cam Industry Booming Amidst Coronavirus

The number of users making use of Romania’s extensive adult live cam industry, as well as those seeking employment in it, has exploded since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Romania is one of the centers of the world adult live-camming industry, and companies which provide adult live cam services are reporting that both the number of viewers as well as the number of applications they receive has shot up in recent weeks, and may go up yet further. Companies report that most of their users are in the United States, and the US is only just now moving towards total lockdown measures, which seems to be the primary driving force behind the phenomenon.

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

Sweden: Stockholm No-Go Suburb Most Affected by Coronavirus

The no-go Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby-Kista has become the area most affected by coronavirus in the Swedish capital, relative to the population.

Figures released by the Stockholm region show that both Rinkeby-Kista and Spånga-Tensta have more cases of coronavirus per capita than any other area of the city with the former having 47 cases per 10,000 residents.

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

Switzerland May Ease Coronavirus Restrictions in April

Emergency Swiss measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended by a week to April 26, but could be eased before May, President Simonetta Sommaruga announced Wednesday.

After ordering the closure of schools, bars, restaurants and shops other than food stores and pharmacies, the Swiss government on March 21 banned gatherings of more than five people.

These measures “are extended until April 26”, and “the first relaxations should be able to occur before the end of April,” Sommaruga told a press conference in Bern.

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

UK Confirms Govt Asked U.S. For Ventilators After Friend and Ally Trump Pledged 200

President Donald J Trump has said the United States would ‘work out’ getting 200 ventilators to hospitals in the United Kingdom because “they need them desperately”.

Addressing reporters on Monday, President Trump said: “The UK called today, and they wanted to know would it be possible to get 200. We’re going to work it out, we’ve got to work it out.”

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

UK: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson ‘Improving’ As Intensive Care Treatment Continues

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “improving” after two nights in intensive care with coronavirus, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.

Mr Johnson was now sitting up in bed and “engaging positively” with the clinical team at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, the chancellor added.

Mr Sunak also said a Cobra meeting on Thursday would discuss “the approach” to take in reviewing lockdown measures.

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

UK: Coronavirus: Doctors Pressuring Senior Citizens to Sign Do Not Resuscitate Forms

Charities have condemned reports that doctors are pressuring senior citizens into signing do not resuscitate (DNR) forms.

Age UK, Independent Age, and other charities and regional organisations have condemned reports of “shocking examples” of older, vulnerable, and critically ill people “who have felt pressurised into signing Do Not Attempt CPR forms”.

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

UK: Farage: Coronavirus Emergency ‘Now Very Real’ With Boris in Intensive Care

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s admission to an intensive care unit with coronavirus has made the pandemic crisis “very real”, making totally clear that anyone of any rank can get the illness.

In late March, the prime minister announced that he had “mild” symptoms of coronavirus and was self-isolating whilst continuing to run the country. After ten days of his symptoms — a persistent cough and fever — remaining, he was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital in London on Sunday as a “precautionary step”.

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

Coronavirus: Moroccan King Fires Govt Spox and Minister

Had accused foreign reporters of spreading fake news on virus

RABAT — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Tuesday sacked the Hassan Abyaba, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture and government spokesman.

The decision came in a single afternoon after Ayaba accused foreign media of spreading false news on COVID-19. Minister of Education Said Amzazi will replace Abyaba as spokesperson of the government, while Othman El Ferdaous will take over the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture.

Tension had been mounting for months, however. Since he was sworn in at the beginning of October 2019 after a government reshuffle, Abyaba had become well known for regularly appearing unprepared at press conferences and failing to answer questions from the press. During his first meeting with the media immediately after he was sworn in, he answered “maybe” to every question — even about the government program — and the video went viral online, becoming as popular as rap songs.

During a parliamentary session and questioning on measures to support Moroccan youth, Abyaba answered by reading his answer to the following question. Royal anger reached a peak on Tuesday shortly after Abyaba raged against foreign journalists accredited to work in Morocco by saying that “they are not very professional and spread inaccurate news and figures about COVID-19 in Morocco”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Mosques Closed in Egypt Also for Ramadan

No collective prayers during the Islamic month of fasting

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, APRIL 7 — Egypt will keep its mosques closed even during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, said the country’s religious ministry, cited in an SMS message from MENA news agency.

“Suspension of collective activities during the month of Ramadan, mosques will not be open due to coronavirus,” said MENA.

Ramadan, the period dedicated to prayer and daytime fasting, begins this year in Egypt around April 23; the official date is determined on the basis of moon sightings.

After a week of minor limitations, collective prayer in Egyptian mosques was banned from March 21.

The country has had an evening and nighttime curfew in place since March 25 and the curfew will be extended for another 14 days.

The goal is to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which thus far in Egypt has caused 1,322 infections and 85 deaths according to figures provided on Monday evening by the Egyptian health ministry.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Dubai Halts Weddings and Divorces

Ban on parties and gatherings in general

(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, APRIL 8 — The emirate of Dubai on Wednesday suspended all weddings and divorces to prevent gatherings that might foster the spread of COVID-19.

Some 2,659 cases have been recorded in the emirate and 12 that tested positive have died.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus in Turkey: Government Targets Doctors

Since the first coronavirus case in Turkey was officially confirmed on March 11, the number of cases has climbed to 30,217 and Turkey’s death toll to 649, Turkey’s health minister announced on April 6.

Many medical experts, however, who have called on people in Turkey to take more precautions or who have criticized the government for mishandling the virus crisis have been silenced by authorities.

Two physicians have been made to apologize after giving information to their colleagues or the public about the threat of coronavirus in the country, and two others have been summoned to appear at police headquarters for statements they made to the media. The doctors, now officially under investigation, are accused of allegedly “creating fear and panic among the people”.

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

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Case of Sri Lanka

by Linda Roland Danil

China’s extensive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has led to greater Chinese outbound investment in Asia, including Sri Lanka. A recently published analysis by the London-based independent policy institute Chatham House provides a closer look at Chinese investment and the BRI in Sri Lanka.

Background of China’s BRI

The BRI, or the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative — also sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road — was announced in the fall of 2013 by the General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chinese leader Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. Xi delineated a vision for enhanced economic integration in two speeches delivered in late 2013: remarks in Kazakhstan announced the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB), while a speech in Indonesia announced the Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The “belt” refers to a belt of overland corridors in the case of SREB, and the “road” refers to the 21st Century shipping lanes in the case of the MSR. Together, these constitute the main components of the BRI.

Central to the BRI is a web of six economic corridors linking China with each of its neighboring sub-regions: the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, the New Eurasian Land Bridge, the China-Central Asia-Western Asia Corridor, the China-Indochina Peninsula Corridor, the China-Pakistan Corridor, and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor. The project involves building a large network of roadways, railways, maritime ports, power grids, oil and gas pipelines and related infrastructure projects in order to realize the vision…

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

For Remarks Against Tablighi Jamaat, Hindu Man Shot Dead in Uttar Pradesh. Accused Mohammad Sona Nabbed.

Hindu man in Prayagraj shot dead by Muslim at tea shop for blaming Tablighi Jamaat for corona virus spread.

Amit Tripathi | HENB | Prayagraj | April 5, 2020:: On Sunday, a 30-year-old Hindu man named Lotan Nishad was shot dead by one Mohammed Sona in the Bakshi Moda area in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh as the deceased accused the Islamic Missionary Movement of Tablighi Jamaat for endangering the lives of other people as the carrier of Covid 19. Nishad was shot while he sitting at a tea shop and reading a newspaper after having a cup of tea. Nishad died on the spot as other witnessed.

The victim was commenting on the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi which has led to several hundreds of coronavirus cases being detected across states. He got into an altercation with another Muslim person sitting at the tea shop.

According to police, the incident took place at 9:30 am on Sunday when the two engaged in an argument and the dispute quickly escalated. The accused opened fire and killed the man after opening fire.

The victim died on the spot. Locals in the area caught hold of the accused and handed him over to the police. The man has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj SSP has appealed to the people to maintain peace and not to cause tension over the incident.

Uttar Pradesh government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased…

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

US State Department Escalates Pressure on Pakistan for Return of Abducted Teen Forced to Marry Captor

Responding to a February letter from International Christian Concern, Sam Brownback — — U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom — — wrote this week to express his alarm over the October 2019 abduction of Huma Younus, a 14-year old girl from Pakistan who was kidnapped, forced to convert from Christianity to Islam…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

China Announces Top Critic Who Disappeared After Criticizing CCP is Undergoing “Disciplinary Review”

A former Chinese property tycoon and a staunch critic of the way the Chinese government has handled the coronavirus pandemic was recently slapped with “serious violations of law and discipline” by the Chinese Communist Party.

Ren Zhigiang, a former top executive of state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group is now being held by the government and is undergoing disciplinary review and supervision by the Beijing discipline inspection commission.

The Chinese Communist Party, however, did not state in detail what Ren Ziqiang’s violation was.

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

Chinese Game Developer Bans Taiwanese Players for Using Terms “China Coronavirus” And “Wuhan Coronavirus”

Taiwanese players of the popular martial arts massively multiplayer online (MMO) game JX Online 3 are praising WANIN, a company that handles Taiwanese player accounts, after it refused to kowtow to pressure to censor the terms “China coronavirus” and “Wuhan coronavirus” in the game’s chatrooms.

The game has over 3.3 million daily active users in East Asia, according to its Chinese developer Seasun Games, and WANIN reportedly handled 1.5 million Taiwanese player accounts.

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

Coalition of Small U.S. Businesses Sues China for $8 Trillion Alleging Coronavirus Cover-Up

A group of U.S.-based small businesses has filed an $8 trillion lawsuit against China, alleging that the nation’s communist government knew as early as mid-November that COVID-19 was a new, deadly virus, but covered it up.

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

COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus Cases:

1,518,719

view by country

Deaths:

88,502

Recovered:

330,589

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

Here Comes the Second Wave: Wuhan Lockdown Ends and Tens of Thousands Are About to Flee the City

Last week we reported that even as the world’s attention had shifted to the new global coronavirus outbreak epicenters of New York, Italy, Spain and other western nations, China — which rushed to restart its economy at any cost — had put a major county on lockdown after a new cluster of coronavirus infection had emerged. To wit, last Wednesday we learned that in post on its social media account, Jia county — which has a population of about 600,000 — said that no one can travel out of Jia county without proper authorization after one person tested positive.

This new cluster emerged just days after China once again revised its virus reporting methodology to also include asymptomatic carriers of the disease, which naturally begged the question why China wasn’t reported his subset of infections previously…

This means that whether asymptomatic or not, imported or domestic, Hubei-based or not, on April 5, China reported the most new Coronavirus cases in a month as slowly the disease appears to be reestablishing itself in the world’s most populous nation.

This is a problem because it suggests that despite the now chronic data obfuscation, China may be about to unleash to a second wave of coronavirus infections — both domestically and internationally — something JPMorgan predicted is virtually inevitable.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Party Never Sleeps (Part 1) — an Excerpt From Bearing Witness: Coming of Age in Mao’s China

[…]

“Why do you want to have a literary publication?” Another interrogator dug deeper.

My answer was simple but true: “Because we all love literature.”

“What was your purpose?”

“There was no purpose . . . “ was all I could say. Then, presently, I recalled something: “Oh, C. Wu said that the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League had advocated the enrichment of after class life. And that was what we wanted to do.” This was true.

“Literature and arts always have a purpose.” J. Lu said in a preaching manner, and he must be right, because the Communist Party had always insisted that literature and arts had a political purpose. But we did not have a political purpose in mind, so I did not know what to say. After a short pause, another interrogator changed the question to a less theoretical one:

“What kind of articles did you want to publish in that magazine?”

“Short stories, poetry, reports, literary criticism, what one gained from reading . . .” I listed what I could come up with at that moment. “What did you want to achieve by publishing these articles?” The interrogation was getting sharper, and ‘purpose’ was the key.

[The Communist interrogations reminds me of, of, … yes, of, the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and the President Trump impeachment inquiry. One easily get the impression that the modern Western Inquisition is crying themselves to sleep over that fact that they cannot use Democratically trained Socialist torturers to extract confessions.

See also:

Manyin Li Meets the Party: A Commentary

https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=190034&sec_id=190034

]

           — Hat tip: AF [Return to headlines]
 

WHO Suggests Kidnapping Your Children to Fight Coronavirus

Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Program encourages tyrannical police state.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Freedom at Last: Hundreds of Aussies Race Out of Their Five-Star Sydney Quarantine Hotel for Their First Breaths of Fresh Air in Two Weeks — But Some Are Still Complaining About the Food

There have been mixed opinions among the first returned travellers who were allowed to leave their Sydney hotel rooms after 14 days in quarantine at the Swissotel five-star hotel in the city’s CBD.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Mother With a Brain Tumour Who Drove Two Hours to Buy Cheese From Woolworths is Shocked to Find Out She’s Not Able to Purchase it — Before a Stranger’s Kind Act Leaves Her in Tears

Christine Grundy drove two hours from her home in Capeen Creek, in northern rural New South Wales, to Woolworths in the small town of Casino on Monday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Pell Acquitted of Sex Abuse

Ex-Vatican treasurer says ‘grave injustice’ reversed

(ANSA) — Rome, April 7 — Former Vatican treasurer George Pell was acquitted of child sex abuse by Australia’s highest court on Tuesday.

Cardinal Pell, 78, was cleared of abusing two 13-year-old boys in the 1990s after the court found the case had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

“A grave injustice which I suffered has been repaired,” said Pell.

Former president of the Italian Bishops Conference Cardinal Cammillo Ruini said “I’m happy about Pell’s acquittal, he paid a very high price. Never doubted his innocence.” Pell, once the Vatican’s number three and a key advisor to Pope Francis, had been convicted in 2018 and his conviction was upheld on a first appeal.

He is now a free man.

The Vatican said in a statement Tuesday that “the Holy See, which has always had confidence in Australian justice, welcomes the unanimous sentence pronounced by the High Court on Cardinal George Pell, which acquits him of the charges of abusing minors, revoking his conviction.

“(The Holy See) reaffirms its commitment to preventing and prosecuting all abuse of minors”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Brussels Asylum Office Reopens Despite Coronavirus Lockdown

Minister of Migration stresses importance of ‘complying with international obligations’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Coronavirus: Italy Closes Ports to NGO Migrant-Rescue Ships

Ministerial decree stops landings

(ANSA) — Rome, April 8 — Italy on Wednesday closed its ports to NGO-run migrant-rescue ships because the coronavirus crisis means they can no longer be classified as places of safety.

The foreign, interior, transport and health ministers signed a decree to this effect which is valid for the entire period of the emergency.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Accepts Migrants From Greece

The German government has agreed to accept 50 unaccompanied “children and youths” from the migrant camps on the Greek islands, according to official sources.

It was said that this is a “first step” toward dealing with the potential for a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak within the migrant camps on the islands, as reported by Reuters. While no cases have been reported there yet, it is believed that the poor sanitary conditions and an environment in which it is difficult to practice the recommended social distancing guidelines make the camps particularly vulnerable.

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

Greece: Angry Migrants Chop Down 5,000 Olive Trees on Lesbos

Days after video footage surfaced showing groups of migrant men ignoring social distancing measures and ridiculing the police officers trying to enforce them, illegal migrants from the Moria camp on the Greek island have struck again, chopping down 5,000 olive trees.

The destruction of these olive trees, which can take 65 to 80 years to reach stable yields, is being viewed as an assault on Greek history, culture, and identity, as well as an attack against the island’s local economy, the Greek City Times reports.

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

Norway: Foreign National Charged With Murdering Wife

Norwegian authorities have arrested and charged a foreign man with murder after his wife, a mother of four, was discovered dead earlier this week in the municipality of Trondheim.

The victim, who is an Eritrean national in her mid-thirties, came to Norway in 2011 as an asylum seeker. Her body was discovered by a fisherman on Tuesday on a steep slope between a road in the village of Trolla and the sea, Documents Norway reports.

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

One in Every 100 Norwegian Somalis Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus

One in every hundred Norwegian Somalis has tested positive for covid-19, while more than one in five of all coronavirus cases in the country were seen in people born outside Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health has revealed in a briefing note submitted to the government.

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

Sweden: Insurance Company Loses Case Against Migration Agency

The Swedish insurance company Trygg-Hansa has lost a case against the Swedish Migration Agency stemming from damages to a flat that was being used to house asylum-seekers.

The Agency had been leasing a flat which suffered water damage after the migrants living there blocked the drainpipe in a sink with a pillow; they then left the water tap running. The resulting flood damaged both that flat as well as the basement below it, which is in a public building. The incident took place between December 9 and 11, 2017, according to a reportby Dagens Juridik.

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

U.K. Truck Driver Pleads Guilty in Deaths of Vietnamese Migrants Found in Container

A truck driver accused in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found inside a refrigerated container that had been hauled to England pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday.

Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon in Northern Ireland, entered the plea at Central London Criminal Court. Robinson appeared in court via video link alongside four co-defendants.

The bodies of the 39 people were found in the container at the back of the truck on Oct. 23. Police investigating the case found the 31 male and eight female victims were all from Vietnam and ranged in age from 15 to 44, including 10 teenagers.

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

UK: Border Force Stops 130 Migrants in a Week at Sea and None Are Being Tested for Coronavirus

Border Force officers have stopped migrants crossing the Channel for a fifth consecutive day as the MailOnline can reveal none of the 130 who have been brought into Dover this week have been tested for coronavirus.

It comes after 63 migrants crammed in four small boats were stopped on Tuesday, bringing the total number this week alone to more than 130 and this year to more than 630.

Latest figures show there have been more than 55,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, while 7,095 people have died.

But the MailOnline can confirm that none of the migrants stopped since the outbreak of coronavirus have been tested.

[Comment: Article dated April 8, 2020.]

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

Civil Liberties Matter More Than Ever in a Pandemic

Our response to the coronavirus represents the biggest challenge to the relationship between individuals and the government in this country since the Civil War, WW1 or WW2. These decisions will likely be debated by scholars and historians the way that the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, the Espionage Act, Japanese internment camps, and other emergency decisions continue to be litigated.

A generation ago, the ACLU might have had something to say about the civil liberties implications of shelter-in-place orders. That was a different ACLU that at least pretended to care about civil liberties as an objective value, defending the civil rights of people it disagreed with. The new ACLU is an identity politics zombie whose only civil liberties concerns for the coronavirus response is that illegal aliens won’t be able to enter the country and that prison inmates should be released as quickly as possible.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Soros-Backed News Outlet: Coronavirus Crisis is Perfect Time to ‘Abolish the Family’

A news outlet backed by financier George Soros in the United Kingdom is using people’s increased sensitivity during the coronavirus pandemic to push an anti-family agenda and call for families to be abolished.

The news outlet openDemocracy published an article entitled “The coronavirus crisis shows it’s time to abolish the family” on its website where the author, Sophie Lewis, argues against the nuclear family’s perceived shortcomings, which supposedly the crisis has only exacerbated.

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

YouTube Restricts Content About 5G Dangers After Multiple Attacks on Towers

Possible correlation between 5G radiation and coronavirus severity cited in scientific white papers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

21 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/8/2020

  1. Putin spoke to the nation yesterday. Now the whole country is laughing. In particular, he said: Polovtsy and Pechenegs defeated, and coronavirus will be defeated.
    This is very funny. If anyone does not know, the Polovtsy and Pechenegs are nomadic tribes with which Russia fought at the beginning of its statehood. Kievan Rus had two centers where the Russian state arose – Kiev and Veliky Novgorod.
    In any case, we were taught this at school.
    The defeated Khazars are not mentioned. This is not politically correct. Recently I read on one Jewish resource that the Khazar Kaganate is the first state in Russia, therefore it is their country.
    The Tatar-Mongol yoke is also not mentioned. Not politically correct. The Tatars (their wreckage) say that the Golden Horde gave the Russians their first statehood.

    Polovtsy are mentioned in the famous opera Knyaz Igor.
    I think that the Hungarians should be offended by this statement by Putin, because part of the Polovtsy disappeared into their people.

    • Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin. Very beautiful songs. I always liked the composition but was not aware of the context until now.

  2. Destruction of decades-old olive trees by orc hordes from Moria should be a hanging offence. To just wantonly chop down thousands of trees that were someone’s livelihood and the legacy of generations of ancestors is not an ordinary crime and cannot be treated the same as a theft or burning of a bunch of vehicles, etc. Rounding up the orcs who participated in the act of desecration, or if they cannot be found then some random number of them like 5000 (one for every destroyed tree) and putting them all to the noose or the sword is the only appropriate punishment for such an evil and despicable act.

  3. Cardinal Pell acquited. Certainly, a 25 year old claim is hard to determine beyond a reasonable doubt. The problem is that our clergy, of all faiths, have stopped being like Caesar’s wife….beyond suspicion.

    Tehy best get back to that high moral standard by cleansing the ranks, top to bottom.

    • ….”The most interesting consequence of this development in the Cardinal’s case will be the release of the 300,000-word manuscript that he wrote while behind bars. It is said to be a history of his experience over the past few years and will no doubt shine a light onto the corruption he witnessed while in Rome. Despite the media rhetoric, it isn’t young children who should be afraid of this good man. Rather it is those luxury-loving, corrupt prelates who are no doubt presently shaking in their cosy red shoes.”..
      https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/fetzen-fliegen/item/4843-cardinal-pell-update-from-australia

  4. “…illegal migrants from the Moria camp on the Greek island have struck again, chopping down 5,000 olive trees…” – they deserve their hands to be chopped off – literally.

  5. The Aussies had themselves a good ol’ Tudor-style priest hunt. Cardinal Pell stood accused of being a Catholic bishop in a nation and an age where the Church is reviled. That’s why I’m amazed he made it out alive.
    Australia’s justice system had no interest in meting out justice. There was no presumption of innocence, no question of reasonable doubts. The courts were out to avenge themselves on the Catholic Church—nothing more, nothing less.

  6. Re : Prosecution Cardinal Pell by Australia Protestant Mob and Anglo-Saxon culture..

    All the Australian Anglophone Protestant cares about is damaging their perceived enemies to the maximum. They have no concern about the truth or justice. No empathy for the pain and suffering they cause through false accusations and convictions.Guilt or innocence is not relevant…. the Struggle against their Perceived Catholic Enemies is what counts!
    It is relevant and in many ways like the state persecution of Tommy Robinson . Arrested on a trumped up breach of the peace charge,imprisoned for a ridiculously long period ,released ,retried and imprisoned. Arrested and charged for making a citizens arrest of a Muslim man who indecently touched his infant daughter,virtually excluded from public discourse ,bank accounts and other financial accounts cancelled and universally vilified, stalked by police and banned from football matches. His heinous crime? Embarrassing the Marxist establishment and exposing their cowardice and hypocrisy . No one has really tried to redress these wrongs by a corrupt establishment.

    • You are seriously in error. Protestants were murdered in Ireland many years ago by Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic church has a history of torturing Christians who refused to convert. The Roman Catholic church genocided the Waldenses and then there is the St. Bartholomews day Massacre. You don’t even know your churches history. And now it is run by pedophiles and homosexuals. SOME “Christian” “Church”.

      • ..”And now it is run by pedophiles and homosexuals.”..
        Just to remand you..I/m writing about wrongful ,prosecution and conviction innocent person..Cardinal Pell by Anglo-saxon ,Australian Mob Commie psychopaths ..In an old and historically known style of Tudor’s
        [ad hominem redacted]

  7. As a practicing Catholic – i am convinced in the existence of Evil.
    The Racist of Catholic Religion Marxists of the world ( an Australian Mob in this case ) ,are Satans disciples and no normal human being can change there minds.
    This being Holy Week I do believe that our Saviour has delivered Cardinal Pell from Satans clutches.
    I give prayers of thanks to God for his deliverance.
    Thank you Baron for your continued fight for justice you are also in my prayers.

  8. Traitors and China agents of influence in USA,UK,Australia according to Wikileaks..:
    These reporters and networks have been named in the WikiLeaks to have
    colluded with the DNC or Hillary campaign during the 2016 election
    cycle:
    ABC – Cecilia Vega
    ABC – David Muir
    ABC – Diane Sawyer
    ABC – George Stephanoplous
    ABC – Jon Karl
    ABC – Liz Kreutz
    AP – Julie Pace
    AP – Ken Thomas
    AP – Lisa Lerer
    AURN – April Ryan
    Bloomberg – Jennifer Epstein
    Bloomberg – John Heillman
    Bloomberg/MSNBC – Jonathan Alter
    Bloomberg – Mark Halperin
    Buzzfeed – Ben Smith
    Buzzfeed – Ruby Cramer
    CBS – Gayle King
    CBS – John Dickerson
    CBS – Norah O’Donnell
    CBS – Steve Chagaris
    CBS – Vicki Gordon
    CNBC – John Harwood
    CNN – Brianna Keilar
    CNN – Dan Merica
    CNN – David Chailan
    CNN – Erin Burnett
    CNN – Gloria Borger
    CNN – Jake Tapper
    CNN – Jeff Zeleny
    CNN – Jeff Zucker
    CNN – John Berman
    CNN – Kate Bouldan
    CNN – Maria Cardona
    CNN – Mark Preston
    CNN – Sam Feist
    Daily Beast – Jackie Kucinich
    GPG – Mike Feldman
    HuffPo – Amanda Terkel
    HuffPo – Arianna Huffington
    HuffPo – Sam Stein
    HuffPo – Whitney Snyder
    LAT – Evan Handler
    LAT – Mike Memoli
    McClatchy – Anita Kumar
    MORE – Betsy Fisher Martin
    MSNBC – Alex Seitz-Wald
    MSNBC – Alex Wagner
    MSNBC – Andrea Mitchell
    MSNBC – Beth Fouhy
    MSNBC – Ed Schultz
    MSNBC – Joe Scarborough
    MSNBC – Mika Brzezinski
    MSNBC – Phil Griffin
    MSNBC – Rachel Maddow
    MSNBC – Rachel Racusen
    MSNBC – Thomas Roberts
    National Journal – Emily Schultheis
    NBC – Chuck Todd
    NBC – Mark Murray
    NBC – Savannah Gutherie
    New Yorker – David Remnick
    New Yorker – Ryan Liza
    NPR – Mike Oreskes
    NPR – Tamara Keith
    NY Post – Geofe Earl
    NYT – Amy Chozik
    NYT – Carolyn Ryan
    NYT – Gail Collins
    NYT – John Harwoodje
    NYT – Jonathan Martin
    NYT – Maggie Haberman
    NYT – Pat Healey
    PBS – Charlie Rose
    People – Sandra Sobieraj Westfall
    Politico – Annie Karni
    Politico – Gabe Debenedetti
    Politico – Glenn Thrush
    Politico – Kenneth Vogel
    Politico – Mike Allen
    Reuters – Amanda Becker
    Tina Brown – Tina Brown
    The Hill – Amie Parnes
    Univision – Maria-Elena Salinas
    Vice – Alyssa Mastramonoco
    Vox – Jon Allen
    WaPo – Anne Gearan
    WaPo – Greg Sargent
    WSJ – Laura Meckler
    WSJ – Peter Nicholas
    WSJ – Colleen McCain Nelson
    Yahoo – Matt Bai

    • Send an email to gatesofvienna [at] chromatism [dot] net. Include the URL, the title, and a brief excerpt from the article. I copy and paste those, and my software puts them into the database for the next news feed. The process is mostly automated.

  9. In Moscow, the head of the department of the Housing and Maintenance Organization threw the Tajik 22-year-old janitor out of a second-floor window (breaking glass with the body and head of a migrant) because he was doing Islamic prayer instead of working.

    Here is what the press writes:
    “According to the Koptev police, the 60-year-old Tretyakov, working at an enterprise where mainly migrants from Central Asia work, adhered to openly nationalistic and migrant-hating views ..”

    https://fergana.ru/news/116920/

      • Let’s hope the western part of Europe is prepared for the inevitable. If not the consequences could be far worse than the fallout from ignoring the backward Chinese jungle butchery of exotic wild life for voodoo magic. Layer upon layer upon layer.

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