POLITICS Comments turned off

Dems Need a Coronavirus Hero/Victim and It Isn’t Biden Daniel Greenfield

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/03/dems-need-coronavirus-herovictim-and-it-isnt-biden-daniel-greenfield/

While Biden is lurking in the Bidenbunker, emerging occasionally to spot his shadow, spout some forgettable talking points, and then vanish back into the bunker, the Democrats need someone who is an actual elected official to pit against President Trump.

That’s occasionally been Governor Andrew Cuomo, unfortunately he’s a white male, and then there’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who at least isn’t a man. 

As the coronavirus spreads, the Democrats might have a few more options, but they are basically stuck with a governor (and if things get desperate, mayor or two) to use as a counterweight against Trump. 

Cuomo and Whitmer, despite being headline acts in the media circus, are not exactly leading the war effort. Cuomo’s big gimmick thus far was claiming to be making hand sanitizer. The provenance of the hand sanitizer continues to be up for debate. 

Mainly, Cuomo has managed to build up his brand with combative press conference that don’t actually accomplish anything.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Denmark’s Race to the Bottom The prospect of an Islamic takeover of Denmark becomes a real possibility. Lars Hedegaard

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/03/denmarks-race-bottom-lars-hedegaard/

During a discussion in May 2004, Amir Taheri noted that Islam is incompatible with democracy for the simple reason that democracy is based on one fundamental principle, namely equality. This is unacceptable to Islam, according to which a non-believer cannot be the equal of a believer. To be sure, Jews and Christians, labeled “people of the Book”, are accorded human status and some protection by their Muslim masters (at least in principle) provided they agree to submit to a form of apartheid known as dhimmitude, which has been exhaustibly chronicled by writers such as Bat Ye’or and Andrew Bostom.

The very concept of democracy is anathema in Islam, according to which power belongs only to God. The man exercising that authority on Earth is known as the khalif and holds all religious, political and military power.

In Islam the people cannot have any say over legislation because Allah revealed his eternal law to his prophet 1400 years ago, wherefore it would be blasphemous for men to change a single word.

Almost all Muslim states have man-made laws, but the true believers regard these laws as an affront to their religion and the regimes upholding them as illegitimate imposters. Which goes a long way towards explaining the constant instability and occasional bloodshed throughout the Muslim world.

But surely, such medieval ideas cannot long survive a confrontation with the enlightened West? Regrettably they can.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

British Stasi Rising New laws for coronavirus usher in the brave new world. Katie Hopkins

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/03/british-stasi-rising-katie-hopkins/

Neighbors spying on neighbors, people encouraged to report each other, curtains twitching as you walk by. Sound familiar?

The tactics used by the Stasi in East Germany in 1950, creating a secret police organization through a vast network of informants, are now being encouraged by British police in the UK in 2020. And the Chinese Virus was all it took for people to willingly comply.

Humberside Police (in the east midlands of England) has created an online portal where people can report those they suspect of not following social distancing rules, such as exercising only once a day or leaving the house only to buy food or for medical emergencies.

They say:

‘Reports will be assessed based on the information provided and we would ask people to please consider the circumstance before making their report.’

Another force – Derbyshire Police (central midlands) – sent drones to a remote walking spot in the Peak District, an area known for its beautiful views, and captured actual footage of … dog walkers. There is something very disconcerting about police filming innocent people without their permission.

P.C.-CULTURE Comments turned off

Elton John discovers that even coronavirus won’t stop the pronoun wars By Andrea Widburg

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/03/elton_john_discovers_that_even_coronavirus_wont_stop_the_pronoun_wars.html

One of the constants in social media posts from or emails between conservatives is the hope that the coronavirus pandemic will knock the underpinnings from gender madness. The reasoning behind this hope is that the “gender is a social construct” theory was the luxury of a safe, affluent society. With people feeling insecure about both their physical safety and their economic security, “wokeness” will be exposed for the frivolous nonsense it really is and quickly recede.

The problem with this hope is that it doesn’t consider that wokeness is not always frivolous nonsense. Indeed, it seldom is. Instead, there are two primary drivers behind gender madness. The first is a concerted effort to break down traditional Judeo-Christian Western civilization so that it can be rebuilt from the ground up. The second is genuine insanity emanating from those poor souls driven mad by people in that first category (the power-hungry woke activists).

And now, finally, we can explain how Elton John fits into all of this. Sir Elton does not fall into either of the two gender war categories. He’s a nice 73-year-old, middle-class bloke from England who happens to be one of modern music’s premier geniuses. In his early years, he cultivated a flamboyant performance style that meant no one was surprised when he came out of the closet.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinians: Despite Coronavirus, Jihad Against Israel Continues by Khaled Abu Toameh

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15825/gaza-hamas-coronavirus

The rocket attacks against Israel appear aimed at distracting attention from the failure of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to provide their hospitals with medical equipment and medicines to curb the spread of the disease. In the past decade, the two groups have invested millions of dollars in amassing weapons and building tunnels to infiltrate Israel and kill or kidnap Jews.

These leaders [of Hamas and PIJ] would rather see Palestinians die of the disease than join forces with Israel — which has doing its utmost to help the Palestinians by providing them with tests kits, protective gear and training sessions for medical professionals….

The good news is that a majority of Palestinians disagrees with PIJ. A public opinion poll published last week by a Palestinian center found that 68% of respondents support the medical cooperation with Israel.

A statement issued by Hamas on March 30 said that “the only way to liberate the land is through resistance.” The only “resistance” Hamas knows is the one that includes launching rockets and missiles at Israel or carrying out suicide bombings against Israelis.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are again paying the price of failed leaders who care more about fighting Israel than saving the lives of patients and medical teams.

As the world is busy pursuing the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Iranian-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) groups in the Gaza Strip have found the time to remind everyone that they remain committed to pursuing the fight against Israel.

While many international media outlets and human rights organizations, including the United Nations, are warning of a “catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip after the discovery of nine coronavirus cases there, Hamas and PIJ — the two dominant groups that have been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007 — seem to care less about the safety and health of their people.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Amid Coronavirus, Mullahs Speeding Up Nuclear Activities by Majid Rafizadeh

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15815/iran-coronavirus-nuclear-program

The Iranian regime now has enough enriched uranium to refine and build a nuclear bomb if it desires to do so. Approximately 1000 kg of uranium enriched at just 5% can be refined to create one nuclear bomb…. Moreover, “the agency identified a number of questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three locations in Iran,” according to a recently published second report by the IAEA.

It is important to point out that the three undeclared nuclear locations to which the IAEA is referring are in addition to another, fourth, clandestine nuclear site in Iran that was first revealed by Israel.

The Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, admitted , as reported on March 3, 2020, “The fact that we found traces (of uranium) is very important. That means there is the possibility of nuclear activities and material that are not under international supervision and about which we know not the origin or the intent. That worries me.” … Iran is also breaching several UN resolutions by not allowing the IAEA to inspect its nuclear sites.

If the Iranian government is advancing its nuclear program for peaceful purposes, why has Tehran repeatedly failed to report its nuclear facilities, including those at Natanz and Arak, to the IAEA? Also, why does the Iranian government keep refusing to answer the IAEA’s questions regarding its secret nuclear facilities?

The United Nations needs to break its silence and, before it is too late, take seriously Iran’s latest rapid nuclear escalation.

While many governments around the world are focusing on how to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Iranian regime appears to be concentrating on another issue: rapidly advancing its nuclear program.

Amid the coronavirus, Iran has crossed a major threshold concerning its nuclear plans. The United Nations’ atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported that Tehran has increased its enriched uranium stockpile, which now stands at the equivalent of 1,510 kg. Iran is allowed to possess 300 kg of low enriched uranium — a substantial increase in Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile in a short period of time.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

A New Path to Venezuelan Democracy The U.S. State Department proposes Maduro and Guaidó both step aside and make way for free elections. By Elliott Abrams

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-new-path-to-venezuelan-democracy-11585645210?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

As the coronavirus spreads around the world, it’s easy to forget the Venezuelan people’s suffering at the hands of Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The Trump administration hasn’t. Today we are announcing a Democratic Transition Framework to help Venezuelans escape from the national crisis that falling oil prices and the coronavirus have now deepened.

We present this framework as a path for Venezuela to emerge from years of repression and political conflict. It proposes that both Mr. Maduro, the former president who has clung to power, and Juan Guaidó, the interim president, step aside so that the elected members of the National Assembly from both sides can create a Council of State to serve as the transitional government, which would hold free and fair presidential elections. In last year’s negotiations, the team representing Mr. Guaidó and the National Assembly proposed this path forward toward the restoration of democracy.

Democracy isn’t only about elections. A new, balanced and independent National Electoral Council is also critical, and an independent Supreme Court must replace the current one, which is but an arm of the Maduro regime. A vibrant democracy also demands a free and independent media with an end to the regime’s pervasive censorship.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

An FDA Breakthrough on Treatment The agency finally approves anti-malarial drugs for Covid-19.

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-fda-breakthrough-on-treatment-11585609832?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday green-lighted two malaria medicines that have shown some promise treating the novel coronavirus, and the emergency approvals couldn’t come soon enough. Expanding their use could bring quicker relief to patients and hospitals while allowing scientists to better assess their efficacy.

The malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine (HC) and chloroquine have been around for more than five decades, so their safety is well documented. New evidence suggests that they could also help fight the novel coronavirus, as op-eds by Dr. Jeff Colyer on these pages have reported. Both chloroquine and HC in vitro block the replication of RNA viruses like the novel coronavirus.

Hydroxychloroquine nowadays is often prescribed for the autoimmune conditions lupus and rheumatoid arthritis that result from the body’s immune system attacking its own cells. Scientists have also documented an overreactive immune response in severely ill coronavirus patients.

Notably, a study in France of 80 coronavirus patients given HC and azithromycin, an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections, documented “a clinical improvement in all but one 86 year-old patient who died, and one 74 year-old patient still in intensive care unit.” Doctors have also reported anecdotal evidence of the malaria drugs’ efficacy.

HISTORY, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

How Isaac Newton Turned Isolation From the Great Plague Into a “Year of Wonders” Kerry McDonald

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://fee.org/articles/how-isaac-newton-turned-isolation-from-the-great-plague-into-a-year-of-wonders/?utm_source=ntnlrvw&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nationalreview_partnership

In 1665, “social distancing” orders emptied campuses throughout England, as the bubonic plague raged, killing 100,000 people. Isaac Newton, a 24-year-old student from Cambridge, was among those forced to leave campus and return indefinitely to his childhood home.

College students around the world left campus this month, unsure when they would return and what daily life would look like until then. Forced to leave their friends and classmates behind and return to their childhood bedrooms, young people, who on average are less impacted by COVID-19’s dire health effects, may understandably feel angry and resentful. Free and independent, with their futures full of possibility, these students are now home and isolated. It can seem wholly unfair and depressing. But the story of another college student in a similar predicament might provide some hope and inspiration.

Isaac Newton’s Quarantine Experience

In 1665, “social distancing” orders emptied campuses throughout England, as the bubonic plague raged, killing 100,000 people (roughly one-quarter of London’s population), in just 18 months. A 24-year-old student from Trinity College, Cambridge was among those forced to leave campus and return indefinitely to his childhood home.

His name was Isaac Newton and his time at home during the epidemic would be called his “year of wonders.”

Away from university life, and unbounded by curriculum constraints and professor’s whims, Newton dove into discovery. According to The Washington Post: “Without his professors to guide him, Newton apparently thrived.” At home, he built bookshelves and created a small office for himself, filling a blank notebook with his ideas and calculations. Absent the distractions of typical daily life, Newton’s creativity flourished. During this time away he discovered differential and integral calculus, formulated a theory of universal gravitation, and explored optics, experimenting with prisms and investigating light.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

The New Chapel Hill Chancellor’s Moment of Opportunity By George Leef

Posted By on March 31st, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/new-chapel-hill-chancellors-moment-of-opportunity/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=top-bar-latest&utm_term=first

Carol Folt abruptly resigned as UNC-Chapel Hill’s chancellor last year after the turmoil over the statue of a Confederate soldier. She took the side of the students who sought its removal, and left voluntarily.

Folt has been replaced by Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, formerly the dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. He was recently interviewed by the Martin Center’s Shannon Watkins. It sounds like he could do some good.

Most important, he apparently understands that the university has a problem with intolerance for viewpoints that don’t align with leftist ideas. To that end, Chapel Hill has begun the Program for Public Discourse. Guskiewicz says that it is “focused on our students gaining an appreciation of viewpoint diversity, intellectual diversity, [and] bringing speakers in who sit at certain places along the ideological spectrum.” That’s a step in the right direction. But the acid test will come if far-left students decide to prevent a speaker they dislike from speaking. If Chapel Hill has an incident like that at Middlebury College, will the guilty students get off with just a slight reprimand?