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April 2020

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Sean Ono Lennon says media ‘lost their legitimacy’ over coronavirus coverage by Zachary Halaschak

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sean-ono-lennon-says-media-lost-their-legitimacy-over-coronavirus-coverage

Musician Sean Ono Lennon has an issue with the media’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lennon, the 44-year-old son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, vented on Twitter Wednesday about the way that some in the media have covered the virus and its spread from China to the entire world. He implied that the Communist Party of China has lied about the number of those who died there.

“Been listening to ‘respectable’ journalists quoting CCP official numbers for months without doubt or hesitation. Calling it the Wuhan Virus but only days later telling ppl who say it’s from China they’re racist. The official media have lost their legitimacy,” he said. The new virus was first reported in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread throughout the country, particularly ravaging the Hubei province, where Wuhan is located. In recent days, residents in Wuhan have begun to emerge from their homes and have claimed that evidence suggests the actual death toll tallies in the tens of thousands.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Why is Susan Rice using coronavirus as an excuse to shill for China? by Tom Rogan

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/why-is-susan-rice-using-coronavirus-as-an-excuse-to-shill-for-china

Susan Rice just reminded Xi Jinping why he misses her presence in the president’s ear.

President Barack Obama’s former national security adviser did so with two arguments on Tuesday to MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

First, and admittedly at Mitchell’s pushing, Rice stated that the Trump administration’s description of the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus” is unacceptable and undermines global cooperation. Viruses can arise anywhere, Rice said, adding that “Wuhan virus” is “race-baiting” and “shameful.”

This was news to me. I was under the impression that Wuhan is not a race, but rather a Chinese industrial city where the virus first infected humans.

But Rice wasn’t done, adding, “It doesn’t serve us well, it doesn’t serve the objective of squelching the virus globally, to brand in nationalistic, or xenophobic, or racist terms. We all have to work together…”

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HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Feds charge man with intentionally derailing train near USNS Mercy Authorities said the suspect told investigators he wanted to bring attention to the government’s activities regarding COVID-19.By Andrew Blankstein

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-charge-man-who-intentionally-deraile

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors charged a locomotive engineer who worked at the Port of Los Angeles with intentionally derailing a train at full speed near the Navy hospital ship Mercy because of suspicions over its activities surrounding COVID-19, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro, California, was charged with one count under a little-known train-wrecking statute that carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in the incident Tuesday, according to the 10-page criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Moreno, who was held overnight, was turned over to FBI agents Wednesday morning. He was expected to make an initial appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecutors claim Moreno ran the train off the tracks. It crashed through a series of barriers before coming to rest more than 250 yards from the Mercy in an incident that was captured on video.

Although the train leaked fuel oil, which required cleanup by firefighters and other hazardous materials personnel, no one was hurt.

A California Highway Patrol officer who witnessed the crash and took Moreno into custody told authorities that he saw the train, which is used to haul shipping cargo, smash through a barrier at the end of the tracks before it drove through several obstacles, including a steel barrier and a chain-link fence. It slid through one parking lot and another filled with gravel and smashed into a second chain-link fence, according to the affidavit.

The complaint alleges that when the officer approached him, Moreno said: “You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don’t know what’s going on here. Now they will.”

The affidavit said Moreno, who waived his right to speak to an attorney before being interviewed by investigators, admitted in two post-arrest interviews that he intentionally ran the train off the track because he wanted to bring attention to the government’s activities regarding COVID-19 and was suspicious of the Mercy.

In his first interview with Los Angeles port police, Moreno acknowledged that he “did it,” saying he was suspicious of the Mercy and believed it had an alternative purpose related to COVID-19 or a government takeover, the affidavit states.

Moreno also told investigators that he acted alone and had not planned the attempted attack, according to the affidavit. He said he knew that derailing and crashing the train would bring media attention and that “people could see for themselves,” referring to the Mercy, according to the affidavit.

In a second interview with FBI agents, Moreno said “he did it out of the desire to ‘wake people up,'” according to the affidavit. “Moreno stated that he thought that the U.S.N.S. Mercy was suspicious and did not believe ‘the ship is what they say it’s for,'” it said.

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HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Georgia man pleads guilty for plotting to attack White House PHIL HELSEL

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/04/02/georgia-man-pleads-guilty-for-plotting-to-attack-white-house/23968016/

A Georgia man accused of plotting to attack the White House and other landmarks pleaded guilty Wednesday, according to federal prosecutors and court documents.

Hasher Jallal Taheb, 23, had been the subject of an undercover investigation that lasted for more than a year and was arrested in January 2019 as he arrived to pick up what he expected to be semi-automatic rifles, explosives and an anti-tank weapon, authorities said.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to destroy, by fire or an explosive, a building owned by or leased to the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a statement. 

Taheb was arrested after he met with undercover agents at a Buford, Georgia, parking lot where the deal for the weapons was supposed to occur, according to a criminal complaint. The rifles, the explosives and the anti-armor weapon, an AT-4, were all inert.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of 15 years, according to court documents. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23.

Taheb wanted to attack the White House and the Statue of Liberty, but later broadened the targets to include the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, prosecutors said.

Investigators believe Taheb was working on his own, an FBI official said at the time of his arrest.

The investigation began after a community member sent in a tip in March 2018 that Taheb had become “radicalized” and made plans to travel abroad, according to the complaint. When he was unable to travel abroad because of passport issues, he allegedly began planning an attack in the U.S.

An e-mailed request for comment from a federal public defender listed as representing Taheb was not immediately returned early Thursday.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Got Coronavirus Antibodies? Tests that show immunity are crucial to beating Covid-19.

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/got-coronavirus-antibodies-11585782003?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

One of the great uncertainties in the coronavirus pandemic is how many people have been infected without knowing it or showing symptoms. Fortunately, there are now tests for that, and broadly deploying them will be critical to saving lives and getting Americans back to work.

Dozens of commercial and public health labs around the world are rolling out antibody tests that can show if an individual was recently infected with the virus and has developed immunity. When fighting a pathogen, the immune system produces proteins known as antibodies that bind to specific molecules known as antigens on the invader’s surface like a lock and key.

Antibodies circulate in the blood for weeks and even months after infection, providing resistance to another onslaught, though the immune system remembers how to produce them on demand. Vaccines work by instructing the immune system to make antibodies to shoot down pathogens before they proliferate.

Because antibodies linger in the blood, they are especially useful for determining if someone has been infected with the coronavirus. Some experts estimate that more than half of infected individuals show mild or no symptoms, though the true figure could be higher. Around three-quarters of people infected with flu viruses show mild or no symptoms.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The New York Neighborhoods With the Most Coronavirus Cases Working-class and Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn among city’s hardest hit areas, according to new data By Katie Honan

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-york-neighborhoods-with-the-most-coronavirus-cases-11585781164?mod=hp_lead_pos5

The new coronavirus has struck hardest in working-class neighborhoods in New York City’s outer boroughs, city data shows, underlining how the pandemic has ravaged densely packed lower-income areas where social-distancing guidelines have proved difficult to implement.

Two areas of Queens—Corona and Elmhurst—have led the city in reported infections, with 947 and 831 as of March 31, respectively, the data show. Both neighborhoods are heavily populated by immigrants who live in close quarters, often with multiple families sharing a dwelling, said City Councilman Francisco Moya.

Many residents there don’t have the luxury to telecommute because they work in the hospitality industry, at restaurants or supermarkets, he said. “One person gets sick, it spreads around that household,” said Mr. Moya who represents Corona.

New York City has become the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic and the Covid-19 disease that the pathogen causes. As of Wednesday morning, there were 44,915 positive cases in the city and 1,139 deaths. Queens had the most positive cases, with 14,966, and the most deaths in a borough, with 386.

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ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

LIZ SHIELD: TIME TO CANCEL THE W.H.O.

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/01/morning-greatness-time-to-cancel-the-world-health-organization/

The pernicious World Health Organization: It’s time to cancel the clowns over at the WHO. They are in no way a simple outfit, monitoring and coordinating world health situations. They are a China proxy who lied to the world about the deadly China virus, praised China’s handling of the virus (which included forcibly kidnapping people to imprison them with those infected and soldering them inside their houses and of course, lying)  and continue to defend China, who is responsible for releasing a plague on the world.

World Health Organization Spends Twice As Much On Travel As On Medical Supplies
Tucker Carlson blasts WHO leadership as ‘lapdogs’ for the Chinese government
Rick Scott calls for congressional inquiry into WHO’s coronavirus response

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MEDIA Comments turned off

LIZ SHIELD ON THE MEDIA

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/01/morning-greatness-time-to-cancel-the-world-health-organization/

Media, blue check mark mafia want networks to blackout China virus task force briefings Why on earth would the media not want the public to watch the daily China virus briefings with key personnel involved in our fight against the pandemic? If you intend to brainwash the public and don’t want them to see and hear the information themselves, that’s certainly something the media would do. And of course, they don’t want viewers to see Trump appearing to “handle” the crisis because it makes him look competent and like a leader. And the “journalists” who ask questions during the press conference aren’t taking the health crisis seriously. The celebrity journalists don’t ask questions about medical, health or epidemiology, they ask questions designed to “get” Trump. CNN clown Don Lemon is a big advocate for keeping the public in the dark and amenable to CNN gaslighting. When are people going to get it through their heads that the corporate media is trying to indoctrinate their viewers rather than transmitting information to the public.

Fox News reports, “CNN raised eyebrows Tuesday after it chose not to air President Trump’s initial prepared remarks at the daily White House coronavirus briefing.”

Media darling, Dr. Tony Fauci, called Jim Acosta on his schtick in yesterday’s conference. Acosta wanted someone, preferably Trump to admit there would be less death and illness if social distancing had been forced upon us sooner. In other words he wanted an admissions they had delayed saving Americans by not cracking down. Fauci responded, “If there was no virus in the background, there was nothing to mitigate. If there was a virus there that we didn’t know about, then the answer to your question is probably yes,” he said. Fauci added, “The only trouble with that is that whenever you come out and say something like that, it always becomes almost a soundbite that gets taken out of context.” He also said, “In a perfect world, it would have been nice to know what was going on there, and we didn’t,” he said. “But I believe, Jim, that we acted very, very early in that.” BOOM.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

What Would Tom Coburn Do? Adam Andrzejewski

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/03/31/what-would-tom-coburn-do/#53cfcf6b759a

Last Saturday, America lost a true giant and one of the great men in our nation’s history. Dr. Tom Coburn, the legendary former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, passed away after a seven-year battle with prostate cancer. 

The first time I met Dr. Coburn was at his Senate office on Capitol Hill in 2013. Coburn would soon be listed on the Time 100: Most Influential Persons in the World. I didn’t have a national reputation.

In fact, our organization had only a handful of employees and a small budget. Frankly, I was a little intimidated and uncharacteristically nervous. I had spoken before large groups, but I didn’t know how a national figure like Coburn would receive my ideas.

He immediately put me at ease with his no-nonsense demeanor and heartfelt enthusiasm about what our little citizen-led operation was up to.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Some Toronto-Area Mosques Remain Open Despite Coronavirus Restrictions & Warnings The ever-persistent clash of civilizations. Christine Douglass-Williams

By on April 2nd, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/canada-some-toronto-area-mosques-remaining-open-christine-douglass-williams/

According to a CBC report in Canada: “A group of Ontario imams and Islamic scholars is fighting an uphill battle to convince management at a handful of Toronto-area mosques to completely shutter their doors. They say that while a majority of mosques are closed….a few insist on remaining open. The imams believe the refusal to close the mosques exposes an allegiance to certain foreign scholars not heeding the calls.” This issue is beyond the Muslim community and there is no indication that it is being treated as such. 

On a global scale, the battle continues within Islam on whether to heed the orders and warnings about the coronavirus and practice social distancing, or to listen to Islamic clerics who insist on continuing prayers amid the coronavirus outbreak, and die a martyr if that is Allah’s will. Case in point: in a video that went viral, devoted Muslim Jafar Ghafouri was shown licking the metal gating of a shrine, saying  “I am eating the virus to reassure you and keep you coming to the mausoleum”. Another worhipper said: “Stop playing with people’s beliefs, coronavirus is nothing in the Shia shrines,” while yet another declared “I am licking this and I don’t care what happens.”  

The risky behavior does not stop in Iran. Pakistan was reported to be the coronavirus super-spreader to the entire Muslim world, precisely because of the influence of determined Muslim clerics and an increasingly popular Islamic revival group called Tablighi Jamaat, which Pew Research Center describes as one of the largest faith-based movements in the world. According to an article in Haaretz:

The Tableeghi Jamaat’s reluctance to cite an infectious virus as cause for the disbandment is rooted in its regressive ideology, whose exponents have ranged from militant jihadists to radical preachers to Islamic televangelists unleashing a perilous blend of unscientific fantasies and bigoted fallacies. For these ideologues, cancelling congregational prayers owing to an infectious disease is synonymous with repudiating Allah’s command.

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