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Two Dead, Five Wounded in Terrorist Knife Attack in France By Rick Moran

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/trending/two-dead-five-wounded-in-terrorist-knife-attack-in-france/

A Sudanese national in the French town of  Romans-sur-Isere, just south of Lyon, went on a rampage Saturday on a busy street attacking 7 people, killing two and wounding five.

Police arrested him without incident when he was found kneeling on the ground “praying in the Arabic language.”

ABC News:

In a press release, the Counterterrorism Prosecutor’s office revealed that “handwritten documents with religious overtones in which the author of the lines complained in particular of living in a country of disbelievers” were found duringa search carried out at the suspect’s home.

The alleged perpetrator was taken into custody on charges of assassination and attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise and criminal terrorist association. An acquaintance of the suspect’s was also placed in police custody.

Police, deployed for the coronavirus pandemic, probably prevented a larger body count.

The Interior Minister saluted the mobilization of a hundred police officers during an ongoing nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of  COVID-19 which already claimed the lives of more than 6,000 in France.

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Cuomo: New York State close to plateau in new deaths from coronavirusBy Vera Chinese, David Reich-Hale and Scott Eidler

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://www.newsday.com/news/health/coronavirus/gov-andrew-m-cuomo-the-coronavirus-1.43666531

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Sunday that new deaths from the coronavirus are possibly plateauing in New York State and the number of patients leaving hospitals is increasing.

As of Sunday, Cuomo said, there have been 122,031 coronavirus cases and 4,149 deaths related to the disease. 

Cuomo sounded a note of cautious optimism at signs that the state’s level of confirmed cases could be approaching or even be past its peak. The past 24 hours saw 594 deaths, a decrease from the record 630 reported Friday. About 12,000 people in New York have been discharged from hospital care — 74% of all cases — with 1,700 discharged in one day, the governor said.

“We could be very nearly near the apex and we could be beyond the plateau right now,” Cuomo said in his daily update on the pandemic Sunday morning. “The coronavirus is truly a vicious and effective killer at what the virus does … We are all watching a movie and we are waiting to see what the next scene is.”

He said that as the number of cases have surged across Nassau County and the rest of Long Island, fewer new cases are being reported in New York City. He again reiterated Sunday that more assistance in the form of medical personnel and supplies is needed.

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A Good Leader Is More Than a Mouthpiece for Experts . By Richard Porter

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/05/a_good_leader_is_more_than_a_mouthpiece_for_experts_142866.html

“Leaders should listen to experts, but leaders are more than mere mouthpieces for expert advisors. A leader listens, assesses. and then decides; this is what President Trump does every day as challenges unfold. When it comes to lifting the quarantine and restarting the economy,  Trump is more than capable of making the decisions necessary to make America great again. ”

President Trump is often attacked because he relies on his own judgement and doesn’t always do what current or former government experts insist he should do. And he has a hard call coming up, as economic and health experts may provide conflicting advice about when to start lifting the quarantine on at least some of us so that we can go back to work. 

It’s true that a prudent person listens to expert advice because a learned perspective can be informative. But a wise person uses critical reasoning seasoned by generalized knowledge to judge the prudence of expert advice.  Consider the expert advice regarding wearing masks in crowded public spaces.   

I saw only one person wearing a mask when I was at O’Hare International Airport on March 10 — and no one was wearing a mask at the airport upon my departure to return to Chicago on March 13. While I was traveling, the government declared a pandemic, Harvard and other universities sent students home, and local schools started to close. 

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So many to blame for coronavirus crisis, so don’t bother: Goodwin By Michael Goodwin

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://nypost.com/2020/04/04/so-many-to-blame-for-coronavirus-crisis-so-dont-bother-goodwin/

As a deadly virus sweeps across America, it was inevitable that we would also suffer an outbreak of the blame game. With the body count soaring and the economy collapsing, finger pointing is in full bloom.

Never mind that all the blame in the world will not save a single life or create a job. The game must go on because politics is ultimately a zero-sum affair.

President Trump, of course, is the most common target, and his critics are the usual suspects. Democrats and the media are ganging up to create a narrative that people died because Trump failed to act fast enough.

“As the president fiddles, people are dying,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in announcing an investigation that smells like impeachment 2.0.

She and others cite the president’s reluctance in January and early February to fully grasp the threat of the coronavirus and ­delays in providing test kits.

They have a point, especially about the testing fiasco. But they conveniently ignore their own culpability.

First, the president was up to his neck in the flimsy Ukraine impeachment case Pelosi and the media cooked up. The final acquittal vote came on Feb. 6, but recall that the accusers, which included every Dem in Congress and the party’s presidential candidates, demanded additional witnesses. Had they gotten their way, the trial would have run through the end of February and maybe into March.

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GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

http://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Testing coronavirus treatment. As reported in the 22nd Mar newsletter, Israel’s Pluristem is developing a treatment for severe coronavirus patients. Latest news is that Pluristem has begun human testing in Israel.

https://www.jpost.com/health-science/israels-company-uses-placenta-cells-to-treat-critical-covid-19-patients-622960

Treatment for ARDS. The US FDA has approved a Phase 2 compassionate care trial of Aviptadil by the US-Israeli biotech NeuroRx at Rambam Medical Center on coronavirus patients. Aviptadil combats coronavirus- triggered Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in the lungs, which is fatal in 50% of sufferers.

https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israeli-drug-could-treat-condition-that-kills-50-of-corona-patients/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgmpS2N8124

UV light kills the coronavirus. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed a machine that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to kill viruses and bacteria on hospital surfaces. This will allow medical centers to speed up the sterilization of rooms (previously used chemicals) and make them ready for new patients.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/from-swords-to-plows-iai-seeks-to-battle-coronavirus-with-uv-light-tech/

MyHeritage to perform coronavirus testing. Last week, Israeli genealogy company MyHeritage.com announced it is donating 66,000 swabs to boost Israel’s coronavirus testing efforts. Now it is building a COVID-19 testing lab (at its own expense) and will perform at least 10,000 tests a day from 9th April.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Chinese-Israeli-labs-team-up-to-build-emergency-COVID-19-testing-facility-622647 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3804577,00.html

Anti-viral sticker can transform surgical masks. The Galilee Medical Center is testing Maya – a 3D-printed sticker that Technion Professor Eyal Zussman has developed. When stuck on a surgical mask, it adds the extra layer of a biological filter. Its nanometric fibers are coated with disinfectants to effectively neutralize viruses.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3804900,00.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuNYNj6plDo

Israeli-Arab bus driver released from hospital. The bus driver (see 22 Mar) who caught the coronavirus from Greek tourists has now been released from hospital. The 38-year-old Israeli-Arab was the first person who required a ventilator in Israel to recover from the virus. He had been treated with Remdesivir.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/1st-person-in-israel-in-serious-condition-from-covid-19-recovers/

Sleep app offered free to boost immune system. As reported (here) Israel’s Dayzz and its app help diagnose sleep problems. Now Dayzz is offering the app free to organizations and individuals, in the hope it will boost immunity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Lack of sleep also increases anxiety levels (& vice-versa).

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-app-improves-sleep-to-bolster-immune-system/

Special MDA ambulances to protect medics. (TY UWI) MDA has 50 ambulances that are sealed inside, to protect the driver and paramedics from being infected by coronavirus patients they are transporting to hospital. The only need to be in physical contact with the more serious cases, when they wear full protective suits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROWbsMYhia4

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Coronavirus: God’s Army and Pork Consumption in Indonesia by Jacobus E. Lato

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15822/coronavirus-indonesia

Instead of advising congregations in general, and Indonesians in particular, about the pandemic nature of coronavirus, many religious leaders were linking the virus to something supernatural that could be fought with prayers.

Somad was quoted as saying that as the Muslims observe a lifestyle that is in harmony with religious teachings and is different from the majority of the population, they have protection from the deadly virus.

These various claims no longer stand. Soon, sadly, the coronavirus swiftly moved beyond the prayer of millions of devout believers. On March 3, the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, officially announced the first two cases of coronavirus infection…. The government, the president mentioned, should be making all efforts to manage the crisis. What will Indonesian Islamist clerics, such as Somad and his supporters at MUI do: pray or find ways to take the president down?

Coronavirus, now a global pandemic, received a different response in Indonesia than in most of the world. In February, when China was quarantining Hubei province, prominent Indonesian clerics were reducing the disease to a religious matter. As usual, the assertion was marked by religious claim of superiority and that God could easily be involved in daily life.

Instead of advising congregations in particular and Indonesians in general about the pandemic nature of coronavirus, many religious leaders were linking the virus to something supernatural that could be fought with prayers.

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Who Eats the Cake in Tehran? by Amir Taheri

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15841/who-eats-the-cake-in-tehran

The new message from Tehran is that Iran is in need of humanitarian aid to curb the coronavirus and prevent the death of large numbers of Iranians… The first sign that the message may be working came last Monday when Germany announced that it has arranged a $5 million cash line through the European Union for Iran to secure medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic. The German initiative, through a mechanism called Instex and designed to by-pass sanctions, is clearly meant to test the waters.

Nevertheless, the acceptance of the first Instex operation and the renewal of waivers might have two outcomes that may not please Washington…. The result could be a sham show of unity by the regime with a new message to Iranians, as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas believes that change within the regime may be better than regime change.

The trouble with all this is that we have already been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. Europe and the United States have repeatedly tried to bring the Islamic Republic in from the cold by playing the accommodation, not to say appeasement, card, each time ending up as the cuckold in the story.

The tidbits offer an insight into the mindset of the weird clique dominating Iran since 1979 and why those who believe they are dealing with a normal government would need to have their heads examined. The Reagan administration, helped by Israel, smuggled over 1,000 anti-tanks missiles to Iran to help it stop the advance of the Iraqi invasion in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. The mullahs paid half the cost of the missiles as down payment but refused to pay the second half after they had received all consignments. There was no need to pay “The Crusaders” the price.

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What a Year! The Coronavirus Crisis in Retrospect The crisis led to a new appreciation of contingency—an appreciation of the fact that our world is beset not only by the fragility of normality but also the normality of fragility. By Roger Kimball

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/04/what-a-year-the-coronavirus-crisis-in-retrospect/

December 31, 2020. What a roller-coaster of a year it has been.

In January, congressional Democrats were busy trying to impeach the president of the United States. That same month, news of a new, highly contagious virus leaked out of China and began to circulate in the West. The stock market stumbled, then recovered and went on to new heights, flirting with the magic number 30,000. Unemployment was at historic lows.

Then more worrying news about the virus emerged from China. It was difficult to wrest the facts from the secretive Communist Party. At the end of January, President Trump suspended all flights from China, a decision for which he was roundly condemned as “racist” and “xenophobic.”

It was not until March that the narrative shifted. In January, Trump had overreacted. By mid-March, he was accused of under-reacting. For weeks on end, there was only one subject: coronavirus, the “Wuhan virus,” the CCP flu.

It seems long ago now, but the dual onslaught of the new coronavirus and the resulting economic meltdown turned the world upside down.

For a brief period, hysteria reigned. The stock market plunged by thousands of points, erasing trillions of dollars of wealth. Whole states went into virtual lockdown. People started parading about—to the extent that they went out at all—in latex gloves and medical masks. All businesses deemed “non-essential” were shuttered for weeks. Many schools and colleges closed, first for weeks, then for the rest of the semester.

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COVID-19 has seen America develop a dangerous expertocracy By Andrea Widburg

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/04/covid19_has_seen_america_develop_a_dangerous_expertocracy.html

People are beginning to realize that the experts have been wrong about a lot of things when it comes to COVID-19. This is due in part to the ever-changing knowledge we’re acquiring about the disease. It’s a good thing that the experts can adjust their ideas as they acquire new evidence. The problem, though, is that we are allowing medicine and science experts to make vast, unquestioned policy decisions, and that’s a perilous thing to do.

Ever since the early Progressives, back at the turn of the 20th century, Americans, especially Democrats, have had a reverence for expertise. Woodrow Wilson, who was the leader of American Progressivism, was already dreaming of rule by experts when he was still a Bryn Mawr College professor.

In 1887, Wilson wrote a far-reaching paper dismissing the Constitution as defective (too much power for the people) and, instead, called for a bureaucracy of experts to run the country. America’s rising middle-class fell in love with the idea and has been in love with it ever since. Nowadays, we look to experts in everything, including raising our own children — and we do this despite the conflicting information they give and the daily proof that, the more theoretical the subject, the more often they are wrong (and wrong in ways that run profoundly contrary to common sense).

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1,000-Bed New York Hospital Ship Has Only 20 Patients By Rick Moran

Posted By on April 5th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/trending/1000-bed-new-york-hospital-ship-has-only-20-patients/

The hospital ship USNS Comfort that’s been docked in New York since last Monday, has only 20 patients, according to the New York Times. The USNS Mercy docked in Los Angeles has only 15 patients.

The ships were never meant to treat coronavirus patients and were admitting only those who tested negative. But bizarre rules and bureaucratic bungling have made the task of filling those ships with patients a lot harder than it should be.

Washington Examiner:

The Navy is refusing to treat nearly 50 conditions, and ambulances are unable to take patients directly to the vessel. Ambulances must first bring patients to a hospital for an evaluation, including a test for COVID-19, and then deliver them to the ship.