newswars--2020-04-20--Watch: Berlin Cops Aggressively Breakup Protest Against Nation’s “Authoritarian” Lockdown

We have suggested that the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be a “ flare-up of social unrest across major Western cities as millions have lost their jobs , ” and the global economy has plunged into depression .
We said that about three weeks ago , and now with warmer weather trends across the West , people are hangry and tired of quarantines , have left their homes to mobilize in the streets to protest the government ’ s stay-at-home orders .
Across America this weekend ( April 18-19 ) , pro-Trump supporters who saw the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their eyes within weeks , were at various state capitol buildings , demanding their respective state governments lift quarantine orders .
Now we ’ re beginning to learn that protests weren ’ t limited to the US but were also seen in Europe , more specifically in central Berlin .
Hundreds of people defied lockdown orders on Saturday , furious that the German government was headed for “ authoritarian rule.
” RT News said the protest was met with “ a strong police response.
” About 300 protestors assembled on the Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday afternoon to rally against the government ’ s lockdown measures .
Many people did not abide by social distancing rules , such as wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from one another , who were countered by dozens of armed police .
RT points out that one protester held a sign that said , “ vaccination is terrorism , ” referring to how Europeans will likely be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine once developed .
Europeans are also furious that immunity cards will likely be required to travel or even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rally also saw several fights break out between protesters and police , with some folks detained and hauled away in police vans .
And now it might make sense why many countries in the West have already called up their militaries , due to the threat of social unrest unfolding with warmer weather trends ahead .

We have suggested that the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be a “flare-up of social unrest across major Western cities as millions have lost their jobs,” and the global economy has plunged into depression.
We said that about three weeks ago, and now with warmer weather trends across the West, people are hangry and tired of quarantines, have left their homes to mobilize in the streets to protest the government’s stay-at-home orders.
Across America this weekend (April 18-19), pro-Trump supporters who saw the “greatest economy ever” crash in front of their eyes within weeks, were at various state capitol buildings, demanding their respective state governments lift quarantine orders.
Now we’re beginning to learn that protests weren’t limited to the US but were also seen in Europe, more specifically in central Berlin.
Hundreds of people defied lockdown orders on Saturday, furious that the German government was headed for “authoritarian rule.” RT News said the protest was met with “a strong police response.”
About 300 protestors assembled on the Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz square in Germany’s capital on Saturday afternoon to rally against the government’s lockdown measures. Many people did not abide by social distancing rules, such as wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from one another, who were countered by dozens of armed police.
RT points out that one protester held a sign that said, “vaccination is terrorism,” referring to how Europeans will likely be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine once developed.
Europeans are also furious that immunity cards will likely be required to travel or even go out of the house.
The rally also saw several fights break out between protesters and police, with some folks detained and hauled away in police vans.
And now it might make sense why many countries in the West have already called up their militaries, due to the threat of social unrest unfolding with warmer weather trends ahead.


newswars--2020-04-20--CNN’s Stelter: ‘I Crawled In Bed And Cried For Our Pre-Pandemic Lives’

CNN host Brian Stelter announced over the weekend on Twitter that he burst out into tears and “ cried ” @ @ @ @ @ the world to know because “ now is not a time for faux-invincibility.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ a wall , ” Stelter tweeted on Saturday .
“ Gutted by the death toll @ @ @ @ @ ’ s shortcomings .
Dismayed by political rhetoric that bears no resemblance to reality .
@ @ @ @ @ losing jobs ; kids who are missing school ; and senior citizens who are living @ @ @ @ @ crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives , ” he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ a month to escape .
I wanted to share because it feels freeing to do @ @ @ @ @ a time for faux-invincibility .
Journos are living this , hating this , like everyone @ @ @

CNN host Brian Stelter announced over the weekend on Twitter that he burst out into tears and “cried” in his bed and wanted the world to know because “now is not a time for faux-invincibility.”
“Last night, I hit a wall,” Stelter tweeted on Saturday. “Gutted by the death toll. Disturbed by the govt’s shortcomings. Dismayed by political rhetoric that bears no resemblance to reality. Worried about friends who are losing jobs; kids who are missing school; and senior citizens who are living in fear.”
“I crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives,” he said. “Tears that had been waiting a month to escape. I wanted to share because it feels freeing to do so. Now is not a time for faux-invincibility. Journos are living this, hating this, like everyone else. ”
I crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives. Tears that had been waiting a month to escape. I wanted to share because it feels freeing to do so. Now is not a time for faux-invincibility. Journos are living this, hating this, like everyone else. https://t.co/dIDujZZvQZ — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 18, 2020
Truly incredible bravery!


newswars--2020-04-20--China Outraged After Largest German Newspaper Accuses Beijing Of “Exporting” Coronavirus Pandemic, D

China Outraged After Largest German Newspaper Accuses Beijing Of “Exporting” Coronavirus Pandemic, Demands €149 Billion In Damages

Let ’ s see how the pro-China “ fact checkers ” blow up on this one .
The editor-in-chief of Germany ’ s largest paper Bild on Thursday launched a full frontal attack on China ’ s communist president Xi Jinping for his regime ’ s failure to lying about the coronavirus outbreak and the massive human rights violations carried out by the Communist Party , and demanding no less that €149 billion in damages as a result of China ’ s actions .
In an article titled “ What China Owes Us ” , Julian Reichelt , the prominent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jinping that “ Your embassy in Berlin has addressed me in an open letter because we asked in our newspaper Bild whether China should pay for the massive economic damage the coronavirus is inflicting worldwide.
” Addressing the Chinese president , the German editor wrote that , “ You , your government and your scientists had to know long ago that coronavirus is highly infectious , but you left the world in the dark about it .
Your top experts didn ’ t respond when Western researchers asked to know what was going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proud and too nationalistic to tell the truth , which you felt was a national disgrace.
” Reichelt said that , “ You rule by surveillance .
You wouldn ’ t be president without surveillance .
You monitor everything , every citizen , but you refuse to monitor the diseased wet markets in your country .
You shut down every newspaper and website that is critical of your rule , but not the stalls where bat soup is sold .
You are not only monitoring your people , you are endangering them – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world.
” He continued with his bill of particulars , noting that “ surveillance is a denial of freedom .
And a nation that is not free , is not creative .
A nation that is not innovative , does not invent anything .
This is why you have made your country the world champion in intellectual property theft .
“ China enriches itself with the inventions of others , instead of inventing on its own , ” Reichelt wrote .
“ The reason China does not innovate and invent is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in your country think freely .
China ’ s greatest export hit ( that nobody wanted to have , but which has nevertheless gone around the world ) is coronavirus.
” We can ’ t wait to read what Reichelt will have to say when it is confirmed that the “ Wu Flu ” escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology , a development we expect will take place any day .
The best-selling paper Bild calculated prior to Reichelt ’ s editorial that China owed Germany €149 billion for coronavirus damages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese embassy in Berlin .
Bild said the compensation amounts to €1,784 per person if Germany ’ s GDP drops by 4.2 percent .
The Bild article was titled : “ What China owes us.
” In response , the spokeswoman for China ’ s embassy , Tao Lil , published an open letter to Bild in German on the embassy ’ s website stating that , “ I followed your reporting on the corona pandemic in general and China ’ s alleged guilt in particular today .
Apart from the fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to blame a country for a pandemic that is affecting the whole world and then to present an explicit account of alleged Chinese debts to Germany , the article ignores some essential facts.
” She added that “ We note that many countries now struggling with COVID-19 have had time to prepare for the cross-border spread of the pathogen after China reported its outbreak under IHR [ World Health Organization ] guidelines.
” And in taking a page out of every liberal textbook , everywhere , having no credible defense , China ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the article “ stirs up xenophobia and nationalism.
” So… accusing a government of a giant cover up – which we already know happened as China itself admitted when it silenced the Wuhan doctor who tried to bring the world ’ s attention to the plague ravaging his town only to be arrested and forecefully silenced before dying from the coronavirus – is now nothing more than an act of racism .
Got it .
Perhaps the next time the IRS comes knocking and demanding a “ fairer share ” of one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are racist ” excuse can be applied as well ?
Oh , and yes , the same line of questioning that got this site banned by the “ ultra liberal ” arbiters of all that is true and just in this world – and direct whose actions may have facilitates the deaths of thousands of people around the globe – was not lost on the Bild editor-in-chief , who cited last week ’ s Washington Post article reporting that , “ your laboratories in Wuhan have been researching coronaviruses in bats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Why are your toxic laboratories not as secure as your prisons for political prisoners ?
Would you like to explain this to the grieving widows , daughters , sons , husbands , parents of corona victims all over the world ?
” We couldn ’ t have said it better ourselves , even if we did say it about 3 months earlier , for which we got the ultimate punishment from that paragon of free speech , Jack Dorsey .
Reichelt concluded that , “ In your country , your people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crumbling .
You have created an inscrutable , non-transparent China .
Before Corona , China was known as a surveillance state .
Now , China is known as a surveillance state that infected the world with a deadly disease.That is your political legacy.
” Bild ’ s full frontal attack on China may have been the trigger for everyone else to pile on , and on Saturday , President Donald Trump warned that China should face consequences if it was “ knowingly responsible ” for unleashing the coronavirus pandemic , especially if it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the deadly virus : the country ’ s only maximum security Level 4 biolab , which as Nature wrote in February 2017 was tasked with “ studying the world ’ s most dangerous pathogens ” in which the highly respected scientific publication also warned about “ worries surround the Chinese lab .
The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times.
” Trump told reporters : “ It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn ’ t , and the whole world is suffering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a mistake , a mistake is a mistake .
But if they were knowingly responsible , then there should be consequences.
” We eagerly look forward to finding out just what those consequences are… not just for China , but for all those – such as Jack Dorsey and Twitter – who enabled this lie to be perpetuated for months .
Trump concluded the Chinese were “ embarrassed ” and the question was whether what happened with the coronavirus was “ a mistake that got out of control , or was it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just hours after this week the city of Wuhan , where the outbreak started , revised its number of fatalities by with a sudden 50 % jump in the figure , confirming yet again that anything that comes out of China is a lie , and that all those who defend China ’ s position – for purely monetary pursuits even if it means the deaths of countless people – should be judged , if not in a just as corrupt legal system , then in a court of the people .

Let’s see how the pro-China “fact checkers” blow up on this one.
The editor-in-chief of Germany’s largest paper Bild on Thursday launched a full frontal attack on China’s communist president Xi Jinping for his regime’s failure to lying about the coronavirus outbreak and the massive human rights violations carried out by the Communist Party, and demanding no less that €149 billion in damages as a result of China’s actions.
In an article titled “What China Owes Us”, Julian Reichelt, the prominent editor-in-chief of the Bild, wrote to Jinping that “Your embassy in Berlin has addressed me in an open letter because we asked in our newspaper Bild whether China should pay for the massive economic damage the coronavirus is inflicting worldwide.”
A final warning to president Trump to save America
Addressing the Chinese president, the German editor wrote that, “You, your government and your scientists had to know long ago that coronavirus is highly infectious, but you left the world in the dark about it. Your top experts didn’t respond when Western researchers asked to know what was going on in Wuhan. You were too proud and too nationalistic to tell the truth, which you felt was a national disgrace.”
Reichelt said that, “You rule by surveillance. You wouldn’t be president without surveillance. You monitor everything, every citizen, but you refuse to monitor the diseased wet markets in your country. You shut down every newspaper and website that is critical of your rule, but not the stalls where bat soup is sold. You are not only monitoring your people, you are endangering them – and with them, the rest of the world.”
He continued with his bill of particulars, noting that “surveillance is a denial of freedom. And a nation that is not free, is not creative. A nation that is not innovative, does not invent anything. This is why you have made your country the world champion in intellectual property theft.
“China enriches itself with the inventions of others, instead of inventing on its own,” Reichelt wrote. “The reason China does not innovate and invent is that you don’t let the young people in your country think freely. China’s greatest export hit (that nobody wanted to have, but which has nevertheless gone around the world) is coronavirus.”
We can’t wait to read what Reichelt will have to say when it is confirmed that the “Wu Flu” escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a development we expect will take place any day.
The best-selling paper Bild calculated prior to Reichelt’s editorial that China owed Germany €149 billion for coronavirus damages, triggering the angry response from the Chinese embassy in Berlin. Bild said the compensation amounts to €1,784 per person if Germany’s GDP drops by 4.2 percent. The Bild article was titled: “What China owes us.”
In response, the spokeswoman for China’s embassy, Tao Lil, published an open letter to Bild in German on the embassy’s website stating that, “I followed your reporting on the corona pandemic in general and China’s alleged guilt in particular today. Apart from the fact that we consider it a pretty bad style to blame a country for a pandemic that is affecting the whole world and then to present an explicit account of alleged Chinese debts to Germany, the article ignores some essential facts.”
She added that “We note that many countries now struggling with COVID-19 have had time to prepare for the cross-border spread of the pathogen after China reported its outbreak under IHR [World Health Organization] guidelines.”
And in taking a page out of every liberal textbook, everywhere, having no credible defense, China’s embassy spokeswoman promptly changed subjects and said the article “stirs up xenophobia and nationalism.”
So… accusing a government of a giant cover up – which we already know happened as China itself admitted when it silenced the Wuhan doctor who tried to bring the world’s attention to the plague ravaging his town only to be arrested and forecefully silenced before dying from the coronavirus – is now nothing more than an act of racism. Got it. Perhaps the next time the IRS comes knocking and demanding a “fairer share” of one’s income, the same “you are racist” excuse can be applied as well?
Oh, and yes, the same line of questioning that got this site banned by the “ultra liberal” arbiters of all that is true and just in this world – and direct whose actions may have facilitates the deaths of thousands of people around the globe – was not lost on the Bild editor-in-chief, who cited last week’s Washington Post article reporting that, “your laboratories in Wuhan have been researching coronaviruses in bats, but without maintaining the highest safety standards. Why are your toxic laboratories not as secure as your prisons for political prisoners? Would you like to explain this to the grieving widows, daughters, sons, husbands, parents of corona victims all over the world?”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, even if we did say it about 3 months earlier, for which we got the ultimate punishment from that paragon of free speech, Jack Dorsey.
Reichelt concluded that, “In your country, your people are whispering about you. Your power is crumbling. You have created an inscrutable, non-transparent China. Before Corona, China was known as a surveillance state. Now, China is known as a surveillance state that infected the world with a deadly disease.That is your political legacy.”

Bild’s full frontal attack on China may have been the trigger for everyone else to pile on, and on Saturday, President Donald Trump warned that China should face consequences if it was “knowingly responsible” for unleashing the coronavirus pandemic, especially if it involved open lies about the origin of the deadly virus: the country’s only maximum security Level 4 biolab, which as Nature wrote in February 2017 was tasked with “studying the world’s most dangerous pathogens” in which the highly respected scientific publication also warned about “worries surround the Chinese lab. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times.”
Trump told reporters: “It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t, and the whole world is suffering because of it. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, then there should be consequences.”
We eagerly look forward to finding out just what those consequences are… not just for China, but for all those – such as Jack Dorsey and Twitter – who enabled this lie to be perpetuated for months.
Trump concluded the Chinese were “embarrassed” and the question was whether what happened with the coronavirus was “a mistake that got out of control, or was it done deliberately?” All this happened just hours after this week the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started, revised its number of fatalities by with a sudden 50% jump in the figure, confirming yet again that anything that comes out of China is a lie, and that all those who defend China’s position – for purely monetary pursuits even if it means the deaths of countless people – should be judged, if not in a just as corrupt legal system, then in a court of the people.


newswars--2020-04-20--Killed By The Coronavirus Lockdowns: 1000s Of U.S. Businesses That Were Shut Down Will Be Closed Per

Killed By The Coronavirus Lockdowns: 1000s Of U.S. Businesses That Were Shut Down Will Be Closed Permanently

This economic downturn is turning out to be far deeper and far more severe than most experts were originally anticipating .
More than 22 million Americans have filed claims for unemployment benefits , and economists are telling us that the U.S. economy is contracting at the fastest rate that we have seen since the Second World War .
We are already starting to see some high profile companies move toward bankruptcy , but the real story is what is happening to thousands upon thousands of small and mid-size businesses because of the lockdowns .
Many of them were barely surviving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these lockdowns have delivered a death blow .
The restaurant industry is a perfect example .
Prior to the pandemic , there were more than a million restaurants in the United States , and about half of them were independent .
Those independent restaurants employed approximately 11 million workers , and now the vast majority of those workers have been laid off .
Once the lockdowns are over , it would be wonderful if all of those independent restaurants would spring back to life , but the results of a recent survey suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In fact , that survey found that 28 percent of all independent restaurants are probably not going to survive if the lockdowns last for another month… A survey released Thursday by the James Beard Association found independent restaurants laid off 91 % of their hourly employees and nearly 70 % of salaried employees as of April 13 – double-digit increases in both categories since March .
The poll of 1,400 small and independent restaurants found 38 % of have closed temporarily or permanently , and 77 % have seen their sales drop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troubling : 28 % of restaurants said they don ’ t believe they can survive another month of closure , and only 1 out of 5 are certain they can sustain their businesses until normal operations can resume .
28 percent of 500,000 is 140,000 , and so if these lockdowns are not lifted soon we could be facing a scenario is which tens of thousands of independent restaurants are lost forever .
Of course a lot of restaurants that do reopen will face a really tough struggle because fear of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the foreseeable future .
So even if all of the lockdowns were lifted tomorrow , the restaurant industry would still not fully recover .
Sadly , the same could be said for the fitness industry .
In fact , we just learned that one of the biggest fitness chains in the nation is getting ready to file for bankruptcy… Yes , a certain segment of the population is quite eager to resume all of their normal pre-pandemic activities , but even a 20 or 30 percent drop off in revenue will be fatal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that a lot of people are simply not going to be in the mood to share exercise equipment with others for a long time to come .
The entertainment , tourism and retail industries have also been hit extremely hard by this pandemic .
The other day I was quite stunned when I learned that Neiman Marcus “ is reportedly ready to file bankruptcy ” … No , things are definitely not going to be returning to “ normal ” in America , and there will be a lot more big corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come .
At this point , even some of the most prominent corporations in the entire country are “ indefinitely ” sidelining their workers… But most Americans are not in any position to handle “ indefinite furloughs ” .
In fact , one survey discovered that a whopping 50 percent of all Americans will run through their savings “ by the end of April ” … Just like during the last recession , countless numbers of Americans will go from living a comfortable middle class lifestyle to being desperately needy in just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been writing a lot about the absolutely massive lines that we have been seeing at food banks all over the nation , and we just witnessed another example in Miami .
In one of the wealthiest areas of the entire city , vehicles were lined up for a mile as people waited patiently to receive handouts from a local food bank… You can see photos from that event right here , and if you look closely you will see that some of those vehicles are quite nice .
As I have warned so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you don ’ t have any sort of a financial cushion you can “ suddenly ” find yourself in a whole lot of trouble when disaster finally strikes .
Unfortunately , we have now entered a time when there will be one crisis after another , and every new crisis will significantly escalate our woes .
For a very long time , there have been very loud warnings that our debt-fueled economic bubble would burst , and now it has happened .
The road ahead is going to be filled with immense pain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be able to handle it .

This economic downturn is turning out to be far deeper and far more severe than most experts were originally anticipating.
More than 22 million Americans have filed claims for unemployment benefits, and economists are telling us that the U.S. economy is contracting at the fastest rate that we have seen since the Second World War.
We are already starting to see some high profile companies move toward bankruptcy, but the real story is what is happening to thousands upon thousands of small and mid-size businesses because of the lockdowns.
Many of them were barely surviving even before this pandemic, and now these lockdowns have delivered a death blow.
The restaurant industry is a perfect example. Prior to the pandemic, there were more than a million restaurants in the United States, and about half of them were independent. Those independent restaurants employed approximately 11 million workers, and now the vast majority of those workers have been laid off.
Once the lockdowns are over, it would be wonderful if all of those independent restaurants would spring back to life, but the results of a recent survey suggest that simply is not going to happen. In fact, that survey found that 28 percent of all independent restaurants are probably not going to survive if the lockdowns last for another month…
A survey released Thursday by the James Beard Association found independent restaurants laid off 91% of their hourly employees and nearly 70% of salaried employees as of April 13 – double-digit increases in both categories since March. The poll of 1,400 small and independent restaurants found 38% of have closed temporarily or permanently, and 77% have seen their sales drop in half or worse. Perhaps most troubling: 28% of restaurants said they don’t believe they can survive another month of closure, and only 1 out of 5 are certain they can sustain their businesses until normal operations can resume.
28 percent of 500,000 is 140,000, and so if these lockdowns are not lifted soon we could be facing a scenario is which tens of thousands of independent restaurants are lost forever.
Of course a lot of restaurants that do reopen will face a really tough struggle because fear of the coronavirus is going to keep customers away for the foreseeable future. So even if all of the lockdowns were lifted tomorrow, the restaurant industry would still not fully recover.
Sadly, the same could be said for the fitness industry. In fact, we just learned that one of the biggest fitness chains in the nation is getting ready to file for bankruptcy…
Gym chain 24 Hour Fitness is working with advisors at investment bank Lazard and law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges to weigh options including a bankruptcy that could come as soon as the next few months, people familiar with the matter tell CNBC. The chain is grappling with a heavy debt load, deteriorating performance and a coronavirus pandemic that forced it to shut its more than 400 clubs.
Yes, a certain segment of the population is quite eager to resume all of their normal pre-pandemic activities, but even a 20 or 30 percent drop off in revenue will be fatal for many gyms.
And the truth is that a lot of people are simply not going to be in the mood to share exercise equipment with others for a long time to come.
The entertainment, tourism and retail industries have also been hit extremely hard by this pandemic. The other day I was quite stunned when I learned that Neiman Marcus “is reportedly ready to file bankruptcy”…
Neiman Marcus Group, one of the largest retailers in the United States, is reportedly ready to file bankruptcy amid the COVD-19 pandemic after defaulting millions in bond payments last week and furloughing 14,000 employees. Neiman Marcus would become the first major US department store to crumble amidst the economic set backs from the coronavirus outbreak.
No, things are definitely not going to be returning to “normal” in America, and there will be a lot more big corporate names among the victims in the days to come.
At this point, even some of the most prominent corporations in the entire country are “indefinitely” sidelining their workers…
Indefinite furloughs began this weekend for more than 100,000 Disney, Best Buy and CarMax workers as businesses make cuts to survive the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent mandatory closures.
But most Americans are not in any position to handle “indefinite furloughs”.
In fact, one survey discovered that a whopping 50 percent of all Americans will run through their savings “by the end of April”…
One of the largest concerns on most homeowners minds right now is how they are going to pay bills — specifically their monthly mortgage payments. 50% of Americans reported their savings will run out by the end of April. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, 30% of homeowners had less than $1,000 in an emergency fund, with 22% reporting they didn’t have enough in savings to cover their mortgage payment for one month.
Just like during the last recession, countless numbers of Americans will go from living a comfortable middle class lifestyle to being desperately needy in just a matter of weeks.
I have been writing a lot about the absolutely massive lines that we have been seeing at food banks all over the nation, and we just witnessed another example in Miami. In one of the wealthiest areas of the entire city, vehicles were lined up for a mile as people waited patiently to receive handouts from a local food bank…
Talk about a Norman Rockwell painting idea come to life — a parade of cars filled with hungry people in Miami … smack dab in the middle of two of the city’s ritziest hotels. Check out this surreal scene down in Miami Beach, where a MILE-long line of cars were arranged in a giant U-curve in between the W Hotel and Setai Hotel — two of MB’s most high-end go-to spots for celebrity out-of-towners … like Kim K, Justin Bieber and more.
You can see photos from that event right here, and if you look closely you will see that some of those vehicles are quite nice.
As I have warned so many times over the years, if you don’t have any sort of a financial cushion you can “suddenly” find yourself in a whole lot of trouble when disaster finally strikes.
Unfortunately, we have now entered a time when there will be one crisis after another, and every new crisis will significantly escalate our woes.
For a very long time, there have been very loud warnings that our debt-fueled economic bubble would burst, and now it has happened.
The road ahead is going to be filled with immense pain, and most Americans are not going to be able to handle it.


newswars--2020-04-20--Video: Trump Vows To End Obama Admin’s Funding To Wuhan Coronavirus Lab

President Trump vowed over the weekend to end US funding to the tune of $ 3.7 million that had been approved to the Wuhan Institute of Virology by the Obama administration .
With questions swirling over the lab being the possible source of the coronavirus outbreak , Trump addressed the issue when asked at the press briefing .
“ The Obama administration gave them a grant of $ 3.7 million .
I ’ ve been hearing about that .
We ’ ve instructed that if any grants are going to that area , we are looking at it literally about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the morning , ” Trump said .
“ We will end the grant very quickly .
It was granted quite a while ago .
They were granted a substantial amount of money .
We are going to look at it and take a look .
But I understand it was a number of years ago.
” Trump further noted .
The President asked the reporter who brought up the issue when the grant when given .
When she replied 2015 , Trump said “ 2015 .
Who was president then ?
I wonder.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who had previously raised the issue in an appearance on Fox News , tweeted his approval for Trump ’ s promise to end the funding : The President ’ s promise came with an acknowledgement that the government is investigating the origins of the virus , including the lab in Wuhan : Fox News reported , meanwhile that the US has launched a ‘ full scale investigation ’ into the matter , with US intelligence operatives gathering information regarding the laboratory and the initial outbreak .

President Trump vowed over the weekend to end US funding to the tune of $3.7 million that had been approved to the Wuhan Institute of Virology by the Obama administration.
With questions swirling over the lab being the possible source of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump addressed the issue when asked at the press briefing.
“The Obama administration gave them a grant of $3.7 million. I’ve been hearing about that. We’ve instructed that if any grants are going to that area, we are looking at it literally about an hour ago and also early in the morning,” Trump said.
“We will end the grant very quickly. It was granted quite a while ago. They were granted a substantial amount of money. We are going to look at it and take a look. But I understand it was a number of years ago.” Trump further noted.
The President asked the reporter who brought up the issue when the grant when given. When she replied 2015, Trump said “2015. Who was president then? I wonder.”
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who had previously raised the issue in an appearance on Fox News, tweeted his approval for Trump’s promise to end the funding:
“The Obama administration gave them a grant of $3.7 million…we will end that grant very quickly.” Thank you President @realDonaldTrump and @SecAzar for committing to end this America Last grant given to labs in Wuhan by the Obama administration! pic.twitter.com/hiubYx0X4K — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 18, 2020
The President’s promise came with an acknowledgement that the government is investigating the origins of the virus, including the lab in Wuhan:
Fox News reported, meanwhile that the US has launched a ‘full scale investigation’ into the matter, with US intelligence operatives gathering information regarding the laboratory and the initial outbreak.


newswars--2020-04-20--Time To Indict China For Coronavirus Global Pandemic — Watch Live

On this Monday broadcast of American Countdown , constitutional attorney Robert Barnes breaks down how China must face a reckoning @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus and its subsequent coverup .
OAN ’ s Jack Posobiec joins the show to @ @ @ @ @ ways the Chinese Communist Party could be held accountable as the world begins to recover @ @ @ @ @ to always tune in from 7-9 PM CST Monday-Thursday for the latest deep-dive analysis from @ @ @ @ @ also watch to the program at infowars.com/show or AmericanCountdown.News

On this Monday broadcast of American Countdown, constitutional attorney Robert Barnes breaks down how China must face a reckoning over its release of the coronavirus and its subsequent coverup. OAN’s Jack Posobiec joins the show to share his unique insights about ways the Chinese Communist Party could be held accountable as the world begins to recover from the pandemic.
Remember to always tune in from 7-9 PM CST Monday-Thursday for the latest deep-dive analysis from @Barnes_Law!
You can also watch to the program at infowars.com/show or AmericanCountdown.News


newswars--2020-04-20--Disney’s DuckTales Reboot Introduces Gay Dad Couple

A reboot of the hit 80s Disney show Duck Tales now features gay dads in roles .
In new episodes of the 2017 reboot , the show ’ s main characters Huey , Louie and Dewey have a new female friend , Violet , who has two dads and a sister .
Check out this scene below : “ Woo , that ’ s my sister from a couple misters , ” Violet ’ s sister screams , calling attention to their parents ’ sexuality .
In another scene , the dads ’ shirts read “ I ’ m with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other .
In a Tumblr blog post last year covered by LifeSiteNews.com , the show ’ s co-executive producer and story editor Frank Angones said the dads aren ’ t prominent characters “ thus far , ” but that more will be done to address LGBTQ+ issues in the future .
The show ’ s insertion of gay characters is just more evidence of how Disney is mainstreaming the LGBTQ+ agenda and stealthily indoctrinating their target audience – children .
The new episodes of DuckTales are now streaming on the Disney Plus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force indoctrination into extreme sex and blood play , in an effort seize 8th graders innocence .

A reboot of the hit 80s Disney show Duck Tales now features gay dads in roles.
In new episodes of the 2017 reboot, the show’s main characters Huey, Louie and Dewey have a new female friend, Violet, who has two dads and a sister.
Check out this scene below:
“Woo, that’s my sister from a couple misters,” Violet’s sister screams, calling attention to their parents’ sexuality.
In another scene, the dads’ shirts read “I’m with dad,” with arrows pointing at each other.
In a Tumblr blog post last year covered by LifeSiteNews.com, the show’s co-executive producer and story editor Frank Angones said the dads aren’t prominent characters “thus far,” but that more will be done to address LGBTQ+ issues in the future.
The show’s insertion of gay characters is just more evidence of how Disney is mainstreaming the LGBTQ+ agenda and stealthily indoctrinating their target audience – children.
The new episodes of DuckTales are now streaming on the Disney Plus platform.
California schools were attempting to force indoctrination into extreme sex and blood play, in an effort seize 8th graders innocence.


newswars--2020-04-20--States Ask Facebook to Censor Citizens – This Is Election Interference!

Infowars reporter Rob Dew called into The Mark , Melynda and Ed Show on KLBJ Austin , Texas to discuss @ @ @ @ @ to ban Facebook posts and pages attempting to organize protests against stay-at-home orders .

Infowars reporter Rob Dew called into The Mark, Melynda and Ed Show on KLBJ Austin, Texas to discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to ban Facebook posts and pages attempting to organize protests against stay-at-home orders.


newswars--2020-04-20--Studies Show 800,000 Americans Could Die From Shutdown-Related Suicides

Studies estimate that the economic recession spawned by government-mandated “ shutdowns ” in the name of coronavirus safety could result in suicide rates thirteen times higher than deaths caused by the virus itself .
A study published by Goldman Sachs on Monday calculated the unemployment rate could rise from 3 % to 15 % over the next few months .
Authored by economist Jan Hatzius , the new report titled “ The Sudden Stop : A Deeper Trough , A Bigger Rebound , ” forecasts the unemployment rate rising 12 % by midyear .
Another study titled , “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of America ’ s Rising Suicide Rate , ” estimates the correlation between unemployment and suicide rates .
According to the 2014 findings , with a “ 1 % increase in the annual unemployment rate , approximately 21 additional suicides per 100,000 of the population can be expected.
” With the current American population estimated to sit at 330 million , that means each 1 % increase in unemployment would result in 69,300 new suicides .
With Goldman Sachs predicting a 12 % rise in unemployment over the next few months , America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attributed to job loss .
That ’ s 13.3 times more deadly than the latest prediction for Wuhan virus casualties in the U.S .
The latest estimate from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ( IHME ) is a maximum of 60,308 American deaths by August , 4th .
Perhaps this is what President Trump was referring to when he said , “ We can ’ t have the cure be worse than the problem .
”

Studies estimate that the economic recession spawned by government-mandated “shutdowns” in the name of coronavirus safety could result in suicide rates thirteen times higher than deaths caused by the virus itself.
A study published by Goldman Sachs on Monday calculated the unemployment rate could rise from 3% to 15% over the next few months.
Authored by economist Jan Hatzius, the new report titled “The Sudden Stop: A Deeper Trough, A Bigger Rebound,” forecasts the unemployment rate rising 12% by midyear.
Another study titled, “The Economics of Suicide: An Empirical Study of America’s Rising Suicide Rate,” estimates the correlation between unemployment and suicide rates.
According to the 2014 findings, with a “1% increase in the annual unemployment rate, approximately 21 additional suicides per 100,000 of the population can be expected.”
With the current American population estimated to sit at 330 million, that means each 1% increase in unemployment would result in 69,300 new suicides.
With Goldman Sachs predicting a 12% rise in unemployment over the next few months, America could see up to 831,600 additional suicides attributed to job loss.
That’s 13.3 times more deadly than the latest prediction for Wuhan virus casualties in the U.S.
The latest estimate from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a maximum of 60,308 American deaths by August, 4th.
Perhaps this is what President Trump was referring to when he said, “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem.”


newswars--2020-04-20--Compilation: Reopen America Protests Surge Nationwide

Americans across the country have had it with the prolonged lockdowns that have gripped their towns and cities and halted @ @ @ @ @ been protesting these measures in defiance of the stay-at-home orders .
Watch and share this @ @ @

Americans across the country have had it with the prolonged lockdowns that have gripped their towns and cities and halted the economy, and have been protesting these measures in defiance of the stay-at-home orders. Watch and share this compilation now!


newswars--2020-04-20--Watch: Trump Touts America’s “Resurgence” Amid Market Chaos — April 20

President Trump and the coronavirus task force update the public on the administration ’ s efforts to respond to the @ @ @ @ @ White House .
Today ’ s briefing comes just hours after U.S. crude prices plummeted @ @ @ @ @ negative for the first time in history .
Share this special report on the Microsoft @ @ @ @ @ the plan for global enslavement .

President Trump and the coronavirus task force update the public on the administration’s efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak Monday at the White House. Today’s briefing comes just hours after U.S. crude prices plummeted over 100%, turning negative for the first time in history.
Twitter mirror:
LIVE: Press Briefing with Coronavirus Task Force https://t.co/4Wx0XDkiAK — The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 20, 2020
Share this special report on the Microsoft world patent number 060606 and the plan for global enslavement.


newswars--2020-04-20--David Icke Emergency Broadcast: We Are At The Crossroads

David Icke joins The Alex Jones Show to break down the crossroads humanity has reached and which path leads to @ @ @ @ @ what the technocrats have in store for humanity in this all-encompassing interview .

David Icke joins The Alex Jones Show to break down the crossroads humanity has reached and which path leads to assured destruction.
Find out what the technocrats have in store for humanity in this all-encompassing interview.


newswars--2020-04-20--Criminal With ‘Violent History’ Freed Due to Coronavirus Arrested In Carjacking, Hammer Attack

A man recently released from jail due to coronavirus concerns was arrested again after allegedly carrying out a carjacking and attacking a separate victim with a hammer in San Jose , according to police .
James Mitchell Correa , 25 , was freed from Santa Clara County jail on April 10 while awaiting trial for a prior carjacking and related charges – including violating parole – despite protestations from the district attorney ’ s office , who cited Correa ’ s violent history and gang affiliations and said he posed a threat to public safety .
San Jose Police say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pair of attacks Wednesday in San Jose in which he is accused of commandeering someone ’ s car by saying that he had a gun , and the separate hammer attack , ” the Mercury News reports .
Correa was eventually arrested again and is now being held without bail at Santa Clara County jail .
“ Once again , a judge has given more rights to the criminal than they ’ re giving to victims and residents of the city , ” said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being apprehended .
Had he hurt anyone else or caused my officers harm , that would have been a difficult burden to carry.
” “ If you let a misdemeanor offender without this history out , I wouldn ’ t hold you accountable since you can ’ t predict that person would do something like this , but [ Correa ] had all the signs of someone who was going to hurt someone.
” Prisoners across the country are being freed under the guise of concerns about ‘ overcrowding ’ in jails and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Santa Clara County jails have reportedly seen a 26 percent decrease in population since early March .
Watch highlights from the ‘ You Can ’ t Close America Down ’ rally in Austin , Texas .

A man recently released from jail due to coronavirus concerns was arrested again after allegedly carrying out a carjacking and attacking a separate victim with a hammer in San Jose, according to police.
James Mitchell Correa, 25, was freed from Santa Clara County jail on April 10 while awaiting trial for a prior carjacking and related charges – including violating parole – despite protestations from the district attorney’s office, who cited Correa’s violent history and gang affiliations and said he posed a threat to public safety.
San Jose Police say Correa was wanted in connection with “a pair of attacks Wednesday in San Jose in which he is accused of commandeering someone’s car by saying that he had a gun, and the separate hammer attack,” the Mercury News reports.
Correa was eventually arrested again and is now being held without bail at Santa Clara County jail.
“Once again, a judge has given more rights to the criminal than they’re giving to victims and residents of the city,” said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia. “This judge got lucky by this individual being apprehended. Had he hurt anyone else or caused my officers harm, that would have been a difficult burden to carry.”
“If you let a misdemeanor offender without this history out, I wouldn’t hold you accountable since you can’t predict that person would do something like this, but [Correa] had all the signs of someone who was going to hurt someone.”
Prisoners across the country are being freed under the guise of concerns about ‘overcrowding’ in jails and possible spread of coronavirus among inmates.
Santa Clara County jails have reportedly seen a 26 percent decrease in population since early March.
Watch highlights from the ‘You Can’t Close America Down’ rally in Austin, Texas.
Dan Lyman: Follow @CitizenAnalyst


newswars--2020-04-20--UAE Ramps Up Mars Mission Preparations

UAE Ramps Up Mars Mission Preparations

The project has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic , as staff will be required to quarantine after arriving in Japan , where the Mars orbiter will be launched from .
The United Arab Emirates ’ hopes of participating in a Mars exploration mission remain alive after it was announced that an orbiter , which has been developed to explore the planet , will be shipped to its launch site in Japan later this week , after approval from local authorities .
The orbiter that will be used for the mission initially passed safety tests in the USA in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the UAE , but as engineers and astronauts will need to complete quarantine as a safety precaution upon arrival in Japan due to the threat of the Coronavirus , the eventual launch date however remains uncertain , but it has initially been scheduled for July .
Japan has thus far recorded 10,751 cases of COVID-19 , with 171 deaths , according to research conducted by John Hopkins University .
The project dubbed the “ Emirates Mars Mission ” will aim to gather information about the red planet ’ s atmosphere , amid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
The likes of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have touted Mars as a possible destination for future human settlement , and ; perhaps more realistically for now , tourism , but many questions need to be answered before this scenario escapes the realms of science fiction .
American space agency NASA is also expected to launch a Mars mission in the summer , along with China , who plan to conduct research in the planet ’ s atmosphere and in the surface with an orbiter , lander and rover .
Share this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number 060606 and the plan for global enslavement .

The project has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as staff will be required to quarantine after arriving in Japan, where the Mars orbiter will be launched from.
The United Arab Emirates’ hopes of participating in a Mars exploration mission remain alive after it was announced that an orbiter, which has been developed to explore the planet, will be shipped to its launch site in Japan later this week, after approval from local authorities.
The orbiter that will be used for the mission initially passed safety tests in the USA in December 2019, before being shipped back to the UAE, but as engineers and astronauts will need to complete quarantine as a safety precaution upon arrival in Japan due to the threat of the Coronavirus, the eventual launch date however remains uncertain, but it has initially been scheduled for July.
Japan has thus far recorded 10,751 cases of COVID-19, with 171 deaths, according to research conducted by John Hopkins University.
The project dubbed the “Emirates Mars Mission” will aim to gather information about the red planet’s atmosphere, amid increasing speculation that it could sustain human life.
The likes of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have touted Mars as a possible destination for future human settlement, and; perhaps more realistically for now, tourism, but many questions need to be answered before this scenario escapes the realms of science fiction.
American space agency NASA is also expected to launch a Mars mission in the summer, along with China, who plan to conduct research in the planet’s atmosphere and in the surface with an orbiter, lander and rover.
Share this special report on the Microsoft world patent number 060606 and the plan for global enslavement.


newswars--2020-04-20--Mark Zuckerberg: Lockdown Protests Are ‘Misinformation,’ Facebook Will Ban Organizers

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that posts and pages attempting to organize protests against stay-at-home orders will be banned as @ @ @ @ @ CEO confirmed that the posts would be banned to ABC ’ s George Stephanopoulos on @ @ @ @ @ America .
Stephanopoulos asked Zuckerberg how the company deals “ with the fact that Facebook @ @ @ @ @ organize a lot of these protests to defy social distancing guidelines in states .
If @ @ @ @ @ like that , does that qualify as harmful misinformation ?
” “ We do classify @ @ @ @ @ we take that down , ” confirmed Zuckerberg , while at the same time saying @ @ @ @ @ “ that people can debate policies .
”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that posts and pages attempting to organize protests against stay-at-home orders will be banned as “misinformation.”
The Facebook CEO confirmed that the posts would be banned to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on a segment of Good Morning America.
Stephanopoulos asked Zuckerberg how the company deals “with the fact that Facebook is now being used to organize a lot of these protests to defy social distancing guidelines in states. If somebody trying to organize something like that, does that qualify as harmful misinformation?”
“We do classify that as harmful misinformation and we take that down,” confirmed Zuckerberg, while at the same time saying that it’s important “that people can debate policies.”
Read More


newswars--2020-04-20--Joy Behar Calls Anti-Lockdown Protesters ‘Terrorists’ Inspired By Alex Jones

The View co-host Joy Behar blamed the nationwide anti-lockdown protests on Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh and referred to the demonstrators who brought guns to the events as terrorists .
“ Well , you know , let me first say that we are lucky to be working from home , all of us .
I feel for these people who are losing their jobs .
I really do .
But they have to understand that they can infect other people , ” Behar said Monday .
“ You know to paraphrase Patrick Henry , give me liberty and give me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because a lot of people are going to die because of this behavior .
It has already been shown that self-quarantining , whatever you want to call it , besides distancing and PPE ’ s , has been working .
It works.
” Behar went on to blame Infowars ’ Alex Jones and radio host Rush Limbaugh for the broad discontent with local governments ’ stay-at-home orders and other civil liberty violations made by tyrannical Democrat leaders .
“ These people are being egged on by right-wing media and people like Alex Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you bringing guns to a rally ?
You want to call yourself protesters leave your guns home .
Those are terrorists that bring guns to rallies .
I don ’ t trust that at all .
Don ’ t listen to these people .
”

The View co-host Joy Behar blamed the nationwide anti-lockdown protests on Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh and referred to the demonstrators who brought guns to the events as terrorists.
“Well, you know, let me first say that we are lucky to be working from home, all of us. I feel for these people who are losing their jobs. I really do. But they have to understand that they can infect other people,” Behar said Monday.
“You know to paraphrase Patrick Henry, give me liberty and give me death is what they are basically proposing because a lot of people are going to die because of this behavior. It has already been shown that self-quarantining, whatever you want to call it, besides distancing and PPE’s, has been working. It works.”
Behar went on to blame Infowars’ Alex Jones and radio host Rush Limbaugh for the broad discontent with local governments’ stay-at-home orders and other civil liberty violations made by tyrannical Democrat leaders.
“These people are being egged on by right-wing media and people like Alex Jones, like Rush Limbaugh. Why are you bringing guns to a rally? You want to call yourself protesters leave your guns home. Those are terrorists that bring guns to rallies. I don’t trust that at all. Don’t listen to these people.”
RELATED: TEXANS PROTEST PROLONGED ECONOMIC SHUTDOWN, DEMAND AMERICA REOPEN FOR BUSINESS


newswars--2020-04-20--Watch Live: Fauci Condemns Infowars Protest; Owen Shroyer Announces Another!

Learn more about the upcoming rally at infowars.com/cantcloseamerica Also catch the streams at infowars.com/show and Banned.video .
Make sure to @ @ @ @ @ : Also , stay tuned tonight for another episode of American Countdown , hosted by @ @ @ @ @ Alex Jones Show : Monday Live – ABC News Says Lockdown Protesters Are Terrorists , @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , President Trump openly announces that China & the WHO are behind the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ Tune in now as we expose how the government lockdowns are a takeover of society @ @ @ @ @ are letting no crisis go to waste that gives more power to the government at @ @ @ @ @ : David Knight Show : Follow China ’ s Lockdown Or Die ?
Americans Ready @ @ @ @ @ this censored link to join the information war On this Monday broadcast of The David @ @ @ @ @ ll look at China ’ s control over American media and politicians .
Are the @ @ @ @ @ or have they just partnered against the American people ?

Owen Shroyer hosts this LIVE edition of War Room, weekdays 3-6 p.m. CT.
Learn more about the upcoming rally at infowars.com/cantcloseamerica
Also catch the streams at infowars.com/show and Banned.video.
Make sure to follow Owen on Tik Tok:
Also, stay tuned tonight for another episode of American Countdown, hosted by constitutional attorney Robert Barnes.
Alex Jones Show: Monday Live – ABC News Says Lockdown Protesters Are Terrorists, Plus David Icke On Air
Meanwhile, President Trump openly announces that China & the WHO are behind the coronavirus – Must-watch live transmission!
Tune in now as we expose how the government lockdowns are a takeover of society by design. The globalists are letting no crisis go to waste that gives more power to the government at the expense of individual liberties:
Follow Infowars on Telegram:
David Knight Show: Follow China’s Lockdown Or Die? Americans Ready To Buck The System
Share this censored link to join the information war
On this Monday broadcast of The David Knight Show, we’ll look at China’s control over American media and politicians.
Are the communists running the Democrat Party or have they just partnered against the American people?
Watch Live: Follow China’s LockDown Or Die? Are Those Our ONLY Choices? Truth Or Consequences https://t.co/064ZGaTfp4 — David Knight (@libertytarian) April 20, 2020
Remember to follow David Knight on Telegram:


newswars--2020-04-20--Exoplanet Disappears in Latest Hubble Observations

Now you see it , now you don ’ t .
What astronomers thought was a planet beyond our solar system has now seemingly vanished from sight .
Though this happens in science fiction , such as Superman ’ s home planet Krypton exploding , astronomers are looking for a plausible explanation .
One interpretation is that , rather than being a full-sized planetary object , which was first photographed in 2004 , it could instead be a vast , expanding cloud of dust produced in a collision between two large bodies orbiting the bright nearby star Fomalhaut .
Potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ These collisions are exceedingly rare and so this is a big deal that we actually get to see one , ” said András Gáspár of the University of Arizona , Tucson .
“ We believe that we were at the right place at the right time to have witnessed such an unlikely event with NASA ’ s Hubble Space Telescope.
” “ The Fomalhaut system is the ultimate test lab for all of our ideas about how exoplanets and star systems evolve , ” added George Rieke of the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We do have evidence of such collisions in other systems , but none of this magnitude has been observed in our solar system .
This is a blueprint of how planets destroy each other.
” The object , called Fomalhaut b , was first announced in 2008 , based on data taken in 2004 and 2006 .
It was clearly visible in several years of Hubble observations that revealed it was a moving dot .
Until then , evidence for exoplanets had mostly been inferred through indirect detection methods , such as subtle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planets passing in front of their stars .
Unlike other directly imaged exoplanets , however , nagging puzzles arose with Fomalhaut b early on .
The object was unusually bright in visible light , but did not have any detectable infrared heat signature .
Astronomers conjectured that the added brightness came from a huge shell or ring of dust encircling the planet that may possibly have been collision-related .
The orbit of Fomalhaut b also appeared unusual , possibly very eccentric .
“ Our study , which analyzed all available archival Hubble data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paint a picture that the planet-sized object may never have existed in the first place , ” said Gáspár .
The team emphasizes that the final nail in the coffin came when their data analysis of Hubble images taken in 2014 showed the object had vanished , to their disbelief .
Adding to the mystery , earlier images showed the object to continuously fade over time , they say .
“ Clearly , Fomalhaut b was doing things a bona fide planet should not be doing , ” said Gáspár .
The interpretation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the smashup that blasted a dissipating dust cloud into space .
Taking into account all available data , Gáspár and Rieke think the collision occurred not too long prior to the first observations taken in 2004 .
By now the debris cloud , consisting of dust particles around 1 micron ( 1/50th the diameter of a human hair ) , is below Hubble ’ s detection limit .
The dust cloud is estimated to have expanded by now to a size larger than the orbit of Earth around our Sun .
Equally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the object is more likely on an escape path , rather than on an elliptical orbit , as expected for planets .
This is based on the researchers adding later observations to the trajectory plots from earlier data .
“ A recently created massive dust cloud , experiencing considerable radiative forces from the central star Fomalhaut , would be placed on such a trajectory , ” said Gáspár .
“ Our model is naturally able to explain all independent observable parameters of the system : its expansion rate , its fading , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presently inside a vast ring of icy debris encircling the star , colliding bodies would likely be a mixture of ice and dust , like the comets that exist in the Kuiper belt on the outer fringe of our solar system .
Gáspár and Rieke estimate that each of these comet-like bodies measured about 125 miles ( 200 kilometers ) across ( roughly half the size of the asteroid Vesta ) .
According to the authors , their model explains all the observed characteristics of Fomalhaut b .
Sophisticated dust dynamical modeling done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Arizona shows that such a model is able to fit quantitatively all the observations .
According to the author ’ s calculations , the Fomalhaut system , located about 25 light-years from Earth , may experience one of these events only every 200,000 years .
Gáspár and Rieke — along with other members of an extended team — will also be observing the Fomalhaut system with NASA ’ s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope in its first year of science operations .
The team will be directly imaging the inner warm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the first time the elusive asteroid-belt component of an extrasolar planetary system .
The team will also search for bona fide planets orbiting Fomalhaut that might be gravitationally sculpting the outer disk .
They will also analyze the chemical composition of the disk .

Now you see it, now you don’t.
What astronomers thought was a planet beyond our solar system has now seemingly vanished from sight. Though this happens in science fiction, such as Superman’s home planet Krypton exploding, astronomers are looking for a plausible explanation.
One interpretation is that, rather than being a full-sized planetary object, which was first photographed in 2004, it could instead be a vast, expanding cloud of dust produced in a collision between two large bodies orbiting the bright nearby star Fomalhaut. Potential follow-up observations might confirm this extraordinary conclusion.
“These collisions are exceedingly rare and so this is a big deal that we actually get to see one,” said András Gáspár of the University of Arizona, Tucson. “We believe that we were at the right place at the right time to have witnessed such an unlikely event with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.”
“The Fomalhaut system is the ultimate test lab for all of our ideas about how exoplanets and star systems evolve,” added George Rieke of the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory. “We do have evidence of such collisions in other systems, but none of this magnitude has been observed in our solar system. This is a blueprint of how planets destroy each other.”
The object, called Fomalhaut b, was first announced in 2008, based on data taken in 2004 and 2006. It was clearly visible in several years of Hubble observations that revealed it was a moving dot. Until then, evidence for exoplanets had mostly been inferred through indirect detection methods, such as subtle back-and-forth stellar wobbles, and shadows from planets passing in front of their stars.
Unlike other directly imaged exoplanets, however, nagging puzzles arose with Fomalhaut b early on. The object was unusually bright in visible light, but did not have any detectable infrared heat signature. Astronomers conjectured that the added brightness came from a huge shell or ring of dust encircling the planet that may possibly have been collision-related. The orbit of Fomalhaut b also appeared unusual, possibly very eccentric.
“Our study, which analyzed all available archival Hubble data on Fomalhaut revealed several characteristics that together paint a picture that the planet-sized object may never have existed in the first place,” said Gáspár.
The team emphasizes that the final nail in the coffin came when their data analysis of Hubble images taken in 2014 showed the object had vanished, to their disbelief. Adding to the mystery, earlier images showed the object to continuously fade over time, they say. “Clearly, Fomalhaut b was doing things a bona fide planet should not be doing,” said Gáspár.
The interpretation is that Fomalhaut b is slowly expanding from the smashup that blasted a dissipating dust cloud into space. Taking into account all available data, Gáspár and Rieke think the collision occurred not too long prior to the first observations taken in 2004. By now the debris cloud, consisting of dust particles around 1 micron (1/50th the diameter of a human hair), is below Hubble’s detection limit. The dust cloud is estimated to have expanded by now to a size larger than the orbit of Earth around our Sun.
Equally confounding is that the team reports that the object is more likely on an escape path, rather than on an elliptical orbit, as expected for planets. This is based on the researchers adding later observations to the trajectory plots from earlier data. “A recently created massive dust cloud, experiencing considerable radiative forces from the central star Fomalhaut, would be placed on such a trajectory,” said Gáspár. “Our model is naturally able to explain all independent observable parameters of the system: its expansion rate, its fading, and its trajectory.”
Because Fomalhaut b is presently inside a vast ring of icy debris encircling the star, colliding bodies would likely be a mixture of ice and dust, like the comets that exist in the Kuiper belt on the outer fringe of our solar system. Gáspár and Rieke estimate that each of these comet-like bodies measured about 125 miles (200 kilometers) across (roughly half the size of the asteroid Vesta).
According to the authors, their model explains all the observed characteristics of Fomalhaut b. Sophisticated dust dynamical modeling done on a cluster of computers at the University of Arizona shows that such a model is able to fit quantitatively all the observations. According to the author’s calculations, the Fomalhaut system, located about 25 light-years from Earth, may experience one of these events only every 200,000 years.
Gáspár and Rieke — along with other members of an extended team — will also be observing the Fomalhaut system with NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope in its first year of science operations. The team will be directly imaging the inner warm regions of the system, spatially resolving for the first time the elusive asteroid-belt component of an extrasolar planetary system. The team will also search for bona fide planets orbiting Fomalhaut that might be gravitationally sculpting the outer disk. They will also analyze the chemical composition of the disk.
A final warning to president Trump to save America.


newswars--2020-04-20--US oil benchmark goes NEGATIVE for first time after 300% price plummet

West Texas Intermediate oil prices have gone negative in a record low for the US benchmark as the market continues to crater amid the general economic collapse .
Vanishing demand and a glut of supply have combined to heavily impact the US benchmark fuel , with prices dropping from $ 18.27 to close at - $ 37.63 a barrel on Monday – down over 300 percent from the previous day ’ s close .
It ’ s the first time the oil futures contract has ever traded in the negative since the New York Mercantile Exchange ( NYMEX ) started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The collapse in oil markets comes amid a generalized economic downturn , with the coronavirus pandemic plunging most of the world ’ s economies into a downward spiral many believe will be the deepest since the Great Depression of the 1930s .
Global oil storage is currently reaching its limits , and while OPEC recently secured a 9.7 million barrel per day cut in production , the US Department of Energy is nevertheless weighing the idea of paying domestic producers to simply leave the oil in the ground so as not to further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ futures contracts set to expire on Tuesday , investors are scrambling to unload their positions , eyeing the already-glutted market and concerned about being left with a valueless commodity .
As the futures contracts hovered at record lows , oil tankers are reportedly languishing at sea , unable to find places to store their bounty onshore .
Demand for the commodity has dropped an estimated 30 percent worldwide amid the coronavirus crisis .

West Texas Intermediate oil prices have gone negative in a record low for the US benchmark as the market continues to crater amid the general economic collapse.
Vanishing demand and a glut of supply have combined to heavily impact the US benchmark fuel, with prices dropping from $18.27 to close at -$37.63 a barrel on Monday – down over 300 percent from the previous day’s close. It’s the first time the oil futures contract has ever traded in the negative since the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) started trading crude oil futures in 1983.
The collapse in oil markets comes amid a generalized economic downturn, with the coronavirus pandemic plunging most of the world’s economies into a downward spiral many believe will be the deepest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Global oil storage is currently reaching its limits, and while OPEC recently secured a 9.7 million barrel per day cut in production, the US Department of Energy is nevertheless weighing the idea of paying domestic producers to simply leave the oil in the ground so as not to further depress prices.
With May’s futures contracts set to expire on Tuesday, investors are scrambling to unload their positions, eyeing the already-glutted market and concerned about being left with a valueless commodity.
As the futures contracts hovered at record lows, oil tankers are reportedly languishing at sea, unable to find places to store their bounty onshore. Demand for the commodity has dropped an estimated 30 percent worldwide amid the coronavirus crisis.


newswars--2020-04-20--Finally Kicking the GDP Habit

Finally Kicking the GDP Habit

As COVID-19 prompts a reevaluation of institutions and standard methods of operating the world over , an opportunity exists to reorient our economic thinking so that it more closely corresponds to the realities of the modern economic landscape .
It starts with abandoning GDP .
GDP ( gross domestic product , sometimes expressed as gross national product ( GNP ) , a distinction without significance for our purposes ) is an anachronism—about as useful for telling us important things about the health of the modern economy as simply looking at the number of calories consumed by a person to determine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total monetary value of all the goods and services a society produces during a given time .
A product of the mid-twentieth century , GDP is ideally suited for analyzing the capacity and health of an industrialized , undifferentiated economy of few intangible goods and services—it was meant for counting cars , refrigerators , tanks , and bullets , not yoga lessons , cloud storage , Zoom conferences , or Uber drivers .
It is telling that GDP ’ s most recommended attributes are that it is easy to compile and easy to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
See ?
Simple !
There are three fundamental problems with using GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy .
The first , its inability to make qualitative distinctions , was illustrated by my earlier comparison between GDP and human caloric intake .
The qualitative distinctions that GDP fails to make fall along two lines : qualitative differences between like things and qualitative differences between unlike things .
These are , perhaps , best illustrated by example : According to GDP these are equivalent contributions to the health of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to appreciate the enormous difference in the capacities of the computers in question .
This value goes totally unaccounted for using the GDP metric .
So , too , in the following case , which illustrates the second of the two ways in which GDP fails to account for qualitative distinctions : Again , no thinking person is confused about whether these two things make qualitatively different contributions to the economic , and personal , health of the country .
But , again , in terms of GDP there is no distinguishing between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy is that it does not include any measurement of how much loss the economy experienced over the course of the year .
Were there devastating hurricanes that ripped through the Gulf ?
All that shows up in the GDP statistic is increased spending in construction .
Did three new smartphones and a faster microchip come out this year ?
You won ’ t find the depreciation of the prior year ’ s models in the GDP metric .
Was energy production increased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incomprehensible to GDP .
Finally , the third basic problem with using GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy is that it does not account for unpaid labor—i.e.
, time spent doing yard work , taking care of children , or cooking .
Pay someone else to do it and that work will be included in the GDP ; do it yourself and it won ’ t .
Does that make any sense ?
Although GDP is easy to tabulate and make sense of , what it tells us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actual health of a diverse , modern economy that values things like human happiness and environmental health .
It is time to try something new—perhaps an app from the US Department of Labor and Statistics that asks individuals at the end of each day to run through what they did that day : they washed their own laundry but had a few things dry cleaned ; they bought coffee , but they bought it from a place that uses all recycled materials and verifies that its suppliers all accord with ethical labor practices—et @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live daily—a much closer picture of the economic health of the nation .
And that ’ s just one of hundreds of possible suggestions .
This is a moment when , I think , many are open to questioning or rethinking some of the core , underlying values and built-in assumptions of the sociopolitical-economic superstructure that failed us in the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak .
I just want to close by pointing out that according to the narrow metric of GDP someone walking to work rather than driving each day is “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone , I think , tells us that we need to progress beyond GDP , long one of the most ubiquitous conceptual tools for understanding the world and its great confluence of interdependent relations .

As COVID-19 prompts a reevaluation of institutions and standard methods of operating the world over, an opportunity exists to reorient our economic thinking so that it more closely corresponds to the realities of the modern economic landscape. It starts with abandoning GDP.
GDP (gross domestic product, sometimes expressed as gross national product (GNP), a distinction without significance for our purposes) is an anachronism—about as useful for telling us important things about the health of the modern economy as simply looking at the number of calories consumed by a person to determine their health.
GDP is simply the total monetary value of all the goods and services a society produces during a given time.
A product of the mid-twentieth century, GDP is ideally suited for analyzing the capacity and health of an industrialized, undifferentiated economy of few intangible goods and services—it was meant for counting cars, refrigerators, tanks, and bullets, not yoga lessons, cloud storage, Zoom conferences, or Uber drivers. It is telling that GDP’s most recommended attributes are that it is easy to compile and easy to understand: add everything up—more is better. See? Simple!
There are three fundamental problems with using GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy. The first, its inability to make qualitative distinctions, was illustrated by my earlier comparison between GDP and human caloric intake. The qualitative distinctions that GDP fails to make fall along two lines: qualitative differences between like things and qualitative differences between unlike things.
These are, perhaps, best illustrated by example:
A laptop today that costs $3,000
A laptop fifteen years ago that cost $3,000
According to GDP these are equivalent contributions to the health of the economy—however, no thinking person fails to appreciate the enormous difference in the capacities of the computers in question. This value goes totally unaccounted for using the GDP metric.
So, too, in the following case, which illustrates the second of the two ways in which GDP fails to account for qualitative distinctions:
One thousand dollars’ worth of cigarettes
One thousand dollars’ worth of ventilators
Again, no thinking person is confused about whether these two things make qualitatively different contributions to the economic, and personal, health of the country. But, again, in terms of GDP there is no distinguishing between them.
The second problem with using GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy is that it does not include any measurement of how much loss the economy experienced over the course of the year.
Were there devastating hurricanes that ripped through the Gulf? All that shows up in the GDP statistic is increased spending in construction.
Did three new smartphones and a faster microchip come out this year? You won’t find the depreciation of the prior year’s models in the GDP metric.
Was energy production increased? The cost of environmental degradation is incomprehensible to GDP.
Finally, the third basic problem with using GDP as a measure of the overall health of the economy is that it does not account for unpaid labor—i.e., time spent doing yard work, taking care of children, or cooking. Pay someone else to do it and that work will be included in the GDP; do it yourself and it won’t. Does that make any sense?
Although GDP is easy to tabulate and make sense of, what it tells us has very little to do with the actual health of a diverse, modern economy that values things like human happiness and environmental health. It is time to try something new—perhaps an app from the US Department of Labor and Statistics that asks individuals at the end of each day to run through what they did that day: they washed their own laundry but had a few things dry cleaned; they bought coffee, but they bought it from a place that uses all recycled materials and verifies that its suppliers all accord with ethical labor practices—et cetera. The data would be available live daily—a much closer picture of the economic health of the nation. And that’s just one of hundreds of possible suggestions.
This is a moment when, I think, many are open to questioning or rethinking some of the core, underlying values and built-in assumptions of the sociopolitical-economic superstructure that failed us in the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. I just want to close by pointing out that according to the narrow metric of GDP someone walking to work rather than driving each day is “bad” for the economy. This alone, I think, tells us that we need to progress beyond GDP, long one of the most ubiquitous conceptual tools for understanding the world and its great confluence of interdependent relations.


newswars--2020-04-20--We Can’t Just “Restart” the Economy Where We Left Off

The imposition of lockdowns to counter the spread of the infection from the coronavirus is likely to severely damage the real economy .
As a result of these lockdowns , economies have ground to a total halt .
The production of goods and services has stopped while at the same time the enhancement and improvement of productive infrastructure has been terminated .
Does it make much sense to counter the damage caused by the virus by stopping the economy ?
It is akin to trying to fix a headache by chopping one ’ s head off .
The supporters of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the view that this will reduce the number of infections and “ flatten the curve , ” consequently , reducing the number of deaths from the virus .
These population lockdowns seem to be a natural response by governments to reduce the number of dying individuals , and most people are in total agreement with such government decrees .
However , most experts acknowledge that the information we have regarding the nature of the virus is incomplete and of debatable value .
Even the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has criticized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across different countries .
Some countries have favored testing and the isolation of carriers while others have enforced lockdowns .
Even at the level of infection and death data—as unreliable as they are—there is conflicting opinion as to which approaches have worked better .
Thus , it seems that governments worldwide are basing their actions on , at best , conflicting opinions on the virus itself and the appropriate response .
Policy is thus being applied in a very unclear , even contested , environment .
Obviously , there is the real risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , notwithstanding their good intentions , could end in disaster .
Completely stopping the economy in order to counter the viral infection is likely to inflict much greater damage on people ’ s lives and well-being .
There is also the “ moral hazard ” of ceding greater power to governments during emergencies , allowing them to control the economy and individual freedoms to an even greater extent .
According to some experts , the current coronavirus ( SARS-CoV-2 ) is similar in many respects to the influenza virus in terms of seasonality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then once summer arrives the coronavirus is likely to disappear for several months before resurfacing in the wintertime .
Should we introduce lockdowns once again in order to counter the viral menace ?
One can only hope that by then we will have discovered a vaccine or some effective remedy against the virus .
There is , of course , always the possibility that because of its unknowns we might not be able to come up with an effective remedy for the virus .
What then ?
Government bureaucrats who operate under strict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come up with effective solutions .
These bureaucrats also do not have the incentive to seek them out .
This is where a free market economy could help .
The key factor that drives businesses in a free market economy is the opportunity to make profits .
The fact that profit can be made is a sufficient incentive for entrepreneurs to enter a particular market .
Entrepreneurs will discover the ways and means to supply the necessary remedies to eradicate the coronavirus .
The entrepreneurs will also be source of guidance on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ midst of the crisis .
They will provide a framework for individuals to coexist with the virus .
Some Asian countries such as South Korea have had relative success in fighting the coronavirus by introducing large-scale testing of their populations in order to identify individuals who could spread the viral infection .
Given that the only solutions we have so far are lockdowns and social distancing , identifying the individuals who could spread the disease could at least allow for them to be isolated exclusively rather than the entire population .
Moreover , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fight against the coronavirus , the quality of information necessary for effective responses would have been much better .
It is in the interest of profit-seeking individuals to acquire as much information as possible .
This would have allowed scientists to come up with better answers for how to fight the coronavirus .
Entrepreneurs will know how to mobilize the necessary resources to produce remedies for the virus .
In order for them to be able to get on with the business of finding those remedies , entrepreneurs require a free environment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ options and resources for people , they would ensure that various regulations that are preventing the smooth functioning of the market economy be completely removed .
Most people will find it hard to accept this , because we have never had a free market economy .
For instance , people who live under a dictatorship may find it difficult to believe that the free market can provide telecommunication services for them , as they are accustomed to only government supplying such services .
Yet we all know that this is utterly false .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ drop in wealth production as a result of the lockdowns , governments everywhere in the world are busy providing financial support to all the businesses that have been decimated by their policies to flatten the curve without knowing the nature of the virus .
It ’ s Not Possible to “ Restart ” the Economy Where We Left Off There are signs that in some countries the curve is becoming flatter , and as a result , governments are planning for a gradual restarting of the economy .
Some commentators are of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without much harm .
This , however , could be wishful thinking .
For instance , there could be a chaotic transitory period as the prices of various goods and services are reconfigured .
Some commentators are of the opinion that the massive monetary pumping by central banks has alleviated the damages caused by the lockdown .
Unfortunately , monetary pumping can not do such things .
All that monetary pumping can do is inflict new damage on the real economy by weakening the process of real wealth generation .
Those individuals who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must in emergencies such as that which we are experiencing now must realize that money is just the medium of exchange .
It does not produce anything as such .
Monetary pumping only inflicts damage on the process of real wealth generation , making the economy more vulnerable to various shocks such as the coronavirus shock .

The imposition of lockdowns to counter the spread of the infection from the coronavirus is likely to severely damage the real economy.
As a result of these lockdowns, economies have ground to a total halt. The production of goods and services has stopped while at the same time the enhancement and improvement of productive infrastructure has been terminated.
Does it make much sense to counter the damage caused by the virus by stopping the economy? It is akin to trying to fix a headache by chopping one’s head off.
The supporters of the lockdown of the general population are of the view that this will reduce the number of infections and “flatten the curve,” consequently, reducing the number of deaths from the virus.
These population lockdowns seem to be a natural response by governments to reduce the number of dying individuals, and most people are in total agreement with such government decrees.
However, most experts acknowledge that the information we have regarding the nature of the virus is incomplete and of debatable value. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized the conflicting policy advice of medical authorities across different countries. Some countries have favored testing and the isolation of carriers while others have enforced lockdowns. Even at the level of infection and death data—as unreliable as they are—there is conflicting opinion as to which approaches have worked better. Thus, it seems that governments worldwide are basing their actions on, at best, conflicting opinions on the virus itself and the appropriate response.
Policy is thus being applied in a very unclear, even contested, environment. Obviously, there is the real risk that the policies that governments have introduced, notwithstanding their good intentions, could end in disaster.
Completely stopping the economy in order to counter the viral infection is likely to inflict much greater damage on people’s lives and well-being. There is also the “moral hazard” of ceding greater power to governments during emergencies, allowing them to control the economy and individual freedoms to an even greater extent.
According to some experts, the current coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is similar in many respects to the influenza virus in terms of seasonality. If this is the case, then once summer arrives the coronavirus is likely to disappear for several months before resurfacing in the wintertime. Should we introduce lockdowns once again in order to counter the viral menace? One can only hope that by then we will have discovered a vaccine or some effective remedy against the virus.
There is, of course, always the possibility that because of its unknowns we might not be able to come up with an effective remedy for the virus. What then?
Government bureaucrats who operate under strict regulations do not have the necessary flexibility to come up with effective solutions. These bureaucrats also do not have the incentive to seek them out. This is where a free market economy could help.
The key factor that drives businesses in a free market economy is the opportunity to make profits. The fact that profit can be made is a sufficient incentive for entrepreneurs to enter a particular market. Entrepreneurs will discover the ways and means to supply the necessary remedies to eradicate the coronavirus.
The entrepreneurs will also be source of guidance on how the economy could function in the midst of the crisis. They will provide a framework for individuals to coexist with the virus.
Some Asian countries such as South Korea have had relative success in fighting the coronavirus by introducing large-scale testing of their populations in order to identify individuals who could spread the viral infection.
Given that the only solutions we have so far are lockdowns and social distancing, identifying the individuals who could spread the disease could at least allow for them to be isolated exclusively rather than the entire population.
Moreover, if entrepreneurs were allowed to take over the fight against the coronavirus, the quality of information necessary for effective responses would have been much better. It is in the interest of profit-seeking individuals to acquire as much information as possible. This would have allowed scientists to come up with better answers for how to fight the coronavirus.
Entrepreneurs will know how to mobilize the necessary resources to produce remedies for the virus. In order for them to be able to get on with the business of finding those remedies, entrepreneurs require a free environment.
If governments were serious about increasing options and resources for people, they would ensure that various regulations that are preventing the smooth functioning of the market economy be completely removed.
Most people will find it hard to accept this, because we have never had a free market economy. For instance, people who live under a dictatorship may find it difficult to believe that the free market can provide telecommunication services for them, as they are accustomed to only government supplying such services. Yet we all know that this is utterly false.
As a result of the predictable massive drop in wealth production as a result of the lockdowns, governments everywhere in the world are busy providing financial support to all the businesses that have been decimated by their policies to flatten the curve without knowing the nature of the virus.
It’s Not Possible to “Restart” the Economy Where We Left Off
There are signs that in some countries the curve is becoming flatter, and as a result, governments are planning for a gradual restarting of the economy. Some commentators are of the view that this restart could take place without much harm. This, however, could be wishful thinking. For instance, there could be a chaotic transitory period as the prices of various goods and services are reconfigured.
Some commentators are of the opinion that the massive monetary pumping by central banks has alleviated the damages caused by the lockdown.
Unfortunately, monetary pumping cannot do such things. All that monetary pumping can do is inflict new damage on the real economy by weakening the process of real wealth generation.
Those individuals who still hold that monetary pumping is a must in emergencies such as that which we are experiencing now must realize that money is just the medium of exchange. It does not produce anything as such. Monetary pumping only inflicts damage on the process of real wealth generation, making the economy more vulnerable to various shocks such as the coronavirus shock.


newswars--2020-04-20--Spain: €2,000 Fine For “Disrespecting” a Police Officer During Lockdown

Amidst an investigation into the question of whether Spain ’ s draconian lockdown laws are constitutional , people are being fined a whopping €2,000 euros for “ disrespecting ” a police officer .
Unlike other European countries , people in Spain aren ’ t even allowed to go out to exercise during the coronavirus quarantine .
Citizens are only allowed to visit their nearest grocery store and only one person can be in a vehicle at a time unless the other person is classed as “ vulnerable ” or there is a medical emergency .
The lockdown is enforced via @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are quizzed as to their intentions by aggressive police , some of whom carry guns .
A physiotherapist was hit with a €600 euro fine for going to see a client after police stopped him when he was driving home .
The €2,000 euro fine for “ disrespecting ” a police officer is obviously completely arbitrary and easily open to abuse as a form of revenue generation .
“ The guidelines state a standard €601 penalty for unauthorized movement outside the home without good reason that can be increased to up to €2000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inappropriate attitude ” to law enforcement officers , reports the Local .
People who can not provide identification to police are fined €700 euros , while a trip to a second home earns a €1500 euro fine .
The biggest fine – a gargantuan €10,400 euros – is reserved for anyone who attempts to “ to organize or participate in a gathering , party or celebration.
” According to journalist Jason O ’ Toole , who is locked down in Madrid , tensions are “ running high ” and people are now being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” to the grocery shop .
This has prompted some judges , solicitors , law professors , and NGOs to complain that the onerous fines are “ unconstitutional.
” “ There ’ s an investigation now underway by the Defensor del Pueblo ( Spanish Ombudsman ) to see if the fines are “ correct and proportional , ” because they want to “ protect the rights of the citizens.
” It ’ s a move that has even been welcomed by La Abogacia del Estado , ” writes O ’ Toole .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether the fines are legally sound and says it ’ s possible many cases could be thrown out of court on a technicality .
They say , for example , those apprehended might get off scot-free if the police didn ’ t first give them a formal warning – like a yellow card in football.
” My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever .
It is CRUCIAL that you support me .
Please sign up for the free newsletter here .
Donate to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown .

Amidst an investigation into the question of whether Spain’s draconian lockdown laws are constitutional, people are being fined a whopping €2,000 euros for “disrespecting” a police officer.
Unlike other European countries, people in Spain aren’t even allowed to go out to exercise during the coronavirus quarantine.
Citizens are only allowed to visit their nearest grocery store and only one person can be in a vehicle at a time unless the other person is classed as “vulnerable” or there is a medical emergency.
The lockdown is enforced via a network of roadblocks at which drivers are quizzed as to their intentions by aggressive police, some of whom carry guns. A physiotherapist was hit with a €600 euro fine for going to see a client after police stopped him when he was driving home.
The €2,000 euro fine for “disrespecting” a police officer is obviously completely arbitrary and easily open to abuse as a form of revenue generation.
“The guidelines state a standard €601 penalty for unauthorized movement outside the home without good reason that can be increased to up to €2000 if the offender responds with an “inappropriate attitude” to law enforcement officers, reports the Local.
No nos gusta
No es lo que queremos
Pero la irresponsabilidad nos daña a todos #QuedateEnCasa pic.twitter.com/OQG2lOO1hJ — Policía Nacional (@policia) March 21, 2020
People who cannot provide identification to police are fined €700 euros, while a trip to a second home earns a €1500 euro fine. The biggest fine – a gargantuan €10,400 euros – is reserved for anyone who attempts to “to organize or participate in a gathering, party or celebration.”
According to journalist Jason O’Toole, who is locked down in Madrid, tensions are “running high” and people are now being arrested for going out “too frequently” to the grocery shop.
This has prompted some judges, solicitors, law professors, and NGOs to complain that the onerous fines are “unconstitutional.”
“There’s an investigation now underway by the Defensor del Pueblo (Spanish Ombudsman) to see if the fines are “correct and proportional,” because they want to “protect the rights of the citizens.” It’s a move that has even been welcomed by La Abogacia del Estado,” writes O’Toole.
“The Ministry of Justice is now questioning whether the fines are legally sound and says it’s possible many cases could be thrown out of court on a technicality. They say, for example, those apprehended might get off scot-free if the police didn’t first give them a formal warning – like a yellow card in football.”
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