theduran--2020-03-29--Why Trump Will Probably Win Re-Election

Why Trump Will Probably Win Re-Election

Throughout this election-season in the United States , there have been many indications that the stupid voters who chose Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in 2016 are doing it yet again and chose Joe Biden over Sanders , and that they thus handed Trump the victory in 2016 and are repeating that performance in 2020 .
A new poll shows it clearly .
Just like happened in 2016 when Democratic Party voters who were predominantly Blacks and/or seniors swallowed the propaganda-line from the billionaire-controlled ‘ news ’ -media against the electability of Sanders , those voters have done it yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having passed over the only candidate who could have beaten him : Sanders .
( A 22 June 2016 Bloomberg News report right after Hillary had won the nomination headlined “ Nearly Half of Sanders Supporters Won ’ t Support Clinton ” .
Of course , that was being reported too late for the voters to be able to do anything about it ; and this is how the billionaires work . )
Unlike Biden and Hillary , who have had broad support but tepid support , Sanders has had support which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than does Trump .
A close reading of all of the polls , both in 2016 and in 2020 , indicates that the passion-factor is crucial to electoral victory ( bringing a candidate ’ s voters to the polls , or “ turnout ” ) but hasn ’ t been receiving the attention it deserves in the billionaires ’ ‘ news ’ -media ; and , therefore , the stupidest voters haven ’ t even noticed it , but went instead for what they had been deceived to think ‘ the more-electable ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden in 2020 .
This fact is now receiving yet another powerful confirmation in an ABC News poll published on March 29th , headlined “ Biden consolidates support , but trails badly in enthusiasm : Poll ” .
strong enthusiasm for Biden among his supporters – at just 24 % – is the lowest on record for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years of ABC/Post polls .
More than twice as many of Trump ’ s supporters are highly enthusiastic about supporting him , 53 % .
It ’ s even worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : There ’ s déjà vu in these results : Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found herself in largely the same position four years ago .
She , too , had a slim lead among Democrats for the nomination and ran essentially evenly with Trump among registered voters .
And she lagged in enthusiasm , with a low of 32 % very enthusiastic in September 2016 .
Biden is 8 points under that mark now .
Furthermore — and also confirming earlier polls — Eighty-three percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning seniors prefer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from February ; two-thirds of blacks say the same , a 34-point increase .
Eighty percent of Sanders backers say they ’ ll vote for Biden against Trump ; as noted , 15 % say they ’ d back Trump .
( This is familiar : Twenty percent of Sanders supporters said they ’ d vote for Trump in spring 2016 . )
How bad was it in 2016 ?
It definitely accounted for Hillary ’ s losing to Trump in the three crucial states : Michigan , Wisconsin , and Pennsylvania .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Half of Sanders Supporters Won ’ t Support Clinton ” turned out to have been an over-estimate , the final real figures still were quite substantial , and far more than accounted for Hillary ’ s losses in each one of those three crucial states .
So : they ’ re doing it again .
And maybe they ’ ll blame Russia , and blame Sanders , for it , like Hillary did in 2016 .
A con-job requires not just a deceiver but a believer .
But to be conned repeatedly — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never learn from prior experience , but only repeat prior experience .
There is a difference between learning and repeating .
Repeating can be done merely by memorizing , but learning requires real intelligence .
Those suckers chose the candidate they had been spoon-fed to misbelieve would have the higher likelihood of beating Trump — the propagandized lie ( and it was a lie ) being that Hillary ( and now Biden ) would be more electable than Sanders .
This stupidity is the reason why Americans in the coming November 3rd election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of whom are — themselves — stupid , incompetent , and disastrous for everyone except perhaps their own billionaire sponsors , who had financed their campaigns .
The idiots want America to be run like a business , but the problem is that it already is .
And to the stockholders in it ( mainly the billionaires ) , their own benefits are vastly more important than the benefits to the public — the billionaires ’ corporations ’ employees and consumers — the taxpayers ( other than themselves — if they even pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are higher than the subsidies they receive from the government ) .
Collectively , the billionaires get the government that they have bought , and everybody else gets the scraps that are left over .
And this is how it happens .
What could turn things around for Biden ?
Over 100,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths could , even if Biden would have handled the crisis just as atrociously as Trump did .
( Of course , Sanders wouldn ’ t have , but apparently he ’ s gone from the contest now .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ author , most recently , of They ’ re Not Even Close : The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records , 1910-2010 , and of CHRIST ’ S VENTRILOQUISTS : The Event that Created Christianity .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse, originally posted at The Saker
Throughout this election-season in the United States, there have been many indications that the stupid voters who chose Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in 2016 are doing it yet again and chose Joe Biden over Sanders, and that they thus handed Trump the victory in 2016 and are repeating that performance in 2020. A new poll shows it clearly.
Just like happened in 2016 when Democratic Party voters who were predominantly Blacks and/or seniors swallowed the propaganda-line from the billionaire-controlled ‘news’-media against the electability of Sanders, those voters have done it yet again and thus are re-electing Trump by having passed over the only candidate who could have beaten him: Sanders. (A 22 June 2016 Bloomberg News report right after Hillary had won the nomination headlined “Nearly Half of Sanders Supporters Won’t Support Clinton”. Of course, that was being reported too late for the voters to be able to do anything about it; and this is how the billionaires work.)
Unlike Biden and Hillary, who have had broad support but tepid support, Sanders has had support which is not only passionate but is also broader than does Trump. A close reading of all of the polls, both in 2016 and in 2020, indicates that the passion-factor is crucial to electoral victory (bringing a candidate’s voters to the polls, or “turnout”) but hasn’t been receiving the attention it deserves in the billionaires’ ‘news’-media; and, therefore, the stupidest voters haven’t even noticed it, but went instead for what they had been deceived to think ‘the more-electable’ candidates: Hillary in 2016, and Biden in 2020.
This fact is now receiving yet another powerful confirmation in an ABC News poll published on March 29th, headlined “Biden consolidates support, but trails badly in enthusiasm: Poll”.
It says:
strong enthusiasm for Biden among his supporters – at just 24% – is the lowest on record for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years of ABC/Post polls. More than twice as many of Trump’s supporters are highly enthusiastic about supporting him, 53%.
It’s even worse than it was for Clinton in 2016:
There’s déjà vu in these results: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found herself in largely the same position four years ago. She, too, had a slim lead among Democrats for the nomination and ran essentially evenly with Trump among registered voters. And she lagged in enthusiasm, with a low of 32% very enthusiastic in September 2016. Biden is 8 points under that mark now.
Furthermore — and also confirming earlier polls —
Eighty-three percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning seniors prefer Biden over Sanders, up 63 points from February; two-thirds of blacks say the same, a 34-point increase.
Eighty percent of Sanders backers say they’ll vote for Biden against Trump; as noted, 15% say they’d back Trump. (This is familiar: Twenty percent of Sanders supporters said they’d vote for Trump in spring 2016.)
How bad was it in 2016? It definitely accounted for Hillary’s losing to Trump in the three crucial states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Although the early estimate that “Nearly Half of Sanders Supporters Won’t Support Clinton” turned out to have been an over-estimate, the final real figures still were quite substantial, and far more than accounted for Hillary’s losses in each one of those three crucial states. So: they’re doing it again. And maybe they’ll blame Russia, and blame Sanders, for it, like Hillary did in 2016. A con-job requires not just a deceiver but a believer. But to be conned repeatedly — that is plain stupid.
(The lying New York Times headlined misleadingly on 28 March 2017, “A 2016 Review: Turnout Wasn’t the Driver of Clinton’s Defeat”, and reported that, “it’s clear that large numbers of white, working-class voters shifted from the Democrats to Mr. Trump,” and hid the fact that, as McClatchy newspapers headlined on 1 May 2017, “Democrats say they now know exactly why Clinton lost” and that this reason was that “Obama-Trump voters, in fact, effectively accounted for more than two-thirds of the reason Clinton lost.” Those voters did “turn out,” but for Trump instead of for her — and, yet, the Times said it wasn’t a “Turnout” problem. Of course, they simply lied. This is how billionaire-controlled media deceive enough of the stupid in order to sway ‘elections’: they do it by misreporting the reality.)
The stupid never learn from prior experience, but only repeat prior experience. There is a difference between learning and repeating. Repeating can be done merely by memorizing, but learning requires real intelligence.
Those suckers chose the candidate they had been spoon-fed to misbelieve would have the higher likelihood of beating Trump — the propagandized lie (and it was a lie) being that Hillary (and now Biden) would be more electable than Sanders. This stupidity is the reason why Americans in the coming November 3rd election will be choosing between two candidates both of whom are — themselves — stupid, incompetent, and disastrous for everyone except perhaps their own billionaire sponsors, who had financed their campaigns.
The idiots want America to be run like a business, but the problem is that it already is. And to the stockholders in it (mainly the billionaires), their own benefits are vastly more important than the benefits to the public — the billionaires’ corporations’ employees and consumers — the taxpayers (other than themselves — if they even pay taxes, or at least taxes that are higher than the subsidies they receive from the government). Collectively, the billionaires get the government that they have bought, and everybody else gets the scraps that are left over. And this is how it happens.
What could turn things around for Biden? Over 100,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths could, even if Biden would have handled the crisis just as atrociously as Trump did. (Of course, Sanders wouldn’t have, but apparently he’s gone from the contest now.)
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
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theduran--2020-03-29--Nicaragua and the COVID-19 pandemic

Nicaragua and the COVID-19 pandemic

While each country ’ s experience facing the COVID-19 pandemic is different , some common fundamental factors can make the difference between widespread catastrophe and relative stability .
Nicaragua has so far been among the most successful countries in Latin America in protecting its population from the virus while also maintaining normal economic life .
As of March 28th , Nicaragua has three confirmed cases with one fatality .
Another 14 people who may have the virus are under observation but have so far tested negative .
Nicaragua ’ s public health system offers free , universal health services based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national network of hospitals , health centres and health posts is supported by a network of tens of thousands of volunteer health promoters called brigadistas .
Over the last week , health personnel and brigadistas have visited over 1.2 million households in an education and monitoring campaign to address the pandemic .
Since the country is still in the first phase of the pandemic , the government has prioritized prevention and education .
Its borders remain open , as do the country ’ s schools and public offices .
Public events have not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade activities continue without restrictions .
Ever since January , when the World Health Organization declared a health emergency in relation to the COVID-19 virus , Nicaragua ’ s government team has coordinated closely with the Panamerican Health Organization , following the relevant protocols for the different phases of the pandemic .
Nicaragua ’ s authorities have promoted an intense education campaign aimed at preventing the spread of the virus .
The principal measures the government has stressed during the current first phase of the pandemic in Nicaragua have been the importance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seconds with soap and water and taking care when sneezing or coughing so as not to infect other people .
Travellers arriving from countries where the virus is active are told to self-isolate for 14 days with follow up from health personnel to check how they are .
Other measures frequently promoted every day via radio , television , social networks , posters and printed materials have been : cleaning constantly-used surfaces like desks , phones and computers , work surfaces and toys ; keeping a physical distance of at least 1.5 metres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most importantly , reporting to the nearest health unit at signs of possible symptoms of the virus .
Once the second phase of the pandemic begins , requiring measures of containment , then the government may well ban public events , close schools , enforce social distancing , limit travel and seek to maximize work from home .
Likewise , in any third phase involving potential uncontrolled spread of the virus among the population , more extreme measures may be taken such as the general quarantine already applied in countries like Venezuela @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the public health system and the National System of Disaster Prevention ’ s ( SINAPRED ) civil defence system along with the country ’ s armed forces for that eventuality .
At a regional level , Nicaragua has coordinated closely with the mechanisms of the Central American Integration System ( SICA ) and the system ’ s member governments .
SICA has produced a regional contingency plan aiming to protect people from the pandemic and treat those affected while maintaining regional economic life and security .
Nicaragua is one of the few countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ molecular biology approved by the World Health Organization .
Its director has said it is the only laboratory in the region that produces the reactive agents for the serological diagnosis of dengue and was the only molecular biology laboratory in Latin America able to diagnose influenza types accurately in 2019 .
Similarly , Nicaragua has the only public sector plant in Central America producing vaccines .
The plant is a joint venture between the Nicaraguan government and the Russian Federation and is preparing to produce the Cuban Interferon Alfa-2-B antiviral medicine for use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On March 18th , the “ Henry Reeve ” Cuban medical brigade arrived in the country , composed of epidemiologists , virologists , intensive care specialists and other expert medical professionals to strengthen Nicaragua ’ s response to the pandemic .
Nicaragua has also participated in regional video conferences facilitated by the Association of Caribbean States , in video conferences with experts from China and has also benefited from the experiences of experts from Taiwan .
For the moment , Nicaragua has been successful preventing the virus from spreading .
The authorities have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spread in the general population .
37,206 health workers in both public and private health institutions have been trained in preventive measures , how to identify suspected cases , how to protect fellow health workers , how to provide medical care and how to transfer patients safely between local health units , health centres and hospitals .
Similarly , the health ministry has trained 250,000 community health promoters in preventive measures , early identification of patients with symptoms and how to ensure referral of suspected cases to the different health posts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the popular economy of medium , small and micro businesses of all kinds , small farming households and cooperatives across many different industries generate 70 % of all employment .
The remainder is provided by the public sector along with the private business sector including free trade zone businesses .
This economic structure means that a majority of the economically active population depend on daily or weekly income to be able to buy food and other basic items .
So for Nicaragua , as for so many other countries impoverished by centuries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down the economy practically impossible .
For their part , Nicaragua ’ s right-wing opposition continue the same relentess disinformation campaigns that they used during their violent , failed coup attempt in 2018 , spreading false rumours and scaremongering via their news outlets and social media .
At times , this propaganda reaches extreme levels of malevolent hysteria , claiming the government is concealing hundreds of cases of the virus .
In interviews , international media uncritically retail the views of inveterate frauds like Confidencial ’ s Carlos Fernando Chamorro acccusing Nicaragua ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to address the pandemic .
Opposition propagandists like Chamorro lurch insanely from demented accusations of savage dictatorship to phony complaints of laissez faire negligence .
In Nicaragua , as everywhere else in the world , the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the unremitting global class war of elites against the impoverished majority .
As in the violent , failed 2018 coup attempt , responses in Nicaragua to the crisis generally reflect that class reality .
While the country ’ s right wing opposition elite and their middle class followers dilute their rum and cokes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s salt-of-the-earth workers and rural farming families are once again pulling the economy through hard times .
Nicaragua ’ s Sandinista government ’ s so far successful measures against the pandemic , as in Cuba and Venezuela despite vicious US sanctions , confirm the superiority of revolutionary grass roots democracy over the all too apparent failures of Western neoliberal plutocracies .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by Stephen Sefton, Tortilla con Sal…
Brigadistas visit house by house (Photo: Voz del Sandinismo)
While each country’s experience facing the COVID-19 pandemic is different, some common fundamental factors can make the difference between widespread catastrophe and relative stability. Nicaragua has so far been among the most successful countries in Latin America in protecting its population from the virus while also maintaining normal economic life. As of March 28th, Nicaragua has three confirmed cases with one fatality. Another 14 people who may have the virus are under observation but have so far tested negative.
Nicaragua’s public health system offers free, universal health services based on community focused preventive care. The national network of hospitals, health centres and health posts is supported by a network of tens of thousands of volunteer health promoters called brigadistas. Over the last week, health personnel and brigadistas have visited over 1.2 million households in an education and monitoring campaign to address the pandemic.
Since the country is still in the first phase of the pandemic, the government has prioritized prevention and education. Its borders remain open, as do the country’s schools and public offices. Public events have not been canceled. Business, travel and trade activities continue without restrictions. Ever since January, when the World Health Organization declared a health emergency in relation to the COVID-19 virus, Nicaragua’s government team has coordinated closely with the Panamerican Health Organization, following the relevant protocols for the different phases of the pandemic. Nicaragua’s authorities have promoted an intense education campaign aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. The principal measures the government has stressed during the current first phase of the pandemic in Nicaragua have been the importance of thorough hand washing for at least 20 seconds with soap and water and taking care when sneezing or coughing so as not to infect other people.
Travellers arriving from countries where the virus is active are told to self-isolate for 14 days with follow up from health personnel to check how they are. Other measures frequently promoted every day via radio, television, social networks, posters and printed materials have been: cleaning constantly-used surfaces like desks, phones and computers, work surfaces and toys; keeping a physical distance of at least 1.5 metres when talking with other people; and, most importantly, reporting to the nearest health unit at signs of possible symptoms of the virus. Once the second phase of the pandemic begins, requiring measures of containment, then the government may well ban public events, close schools, enforce social distancing, limit travel and seek to maximize work from home.
Likewise, in any third phase involving potential uncontrolled spread of the virus among the population, more extreme measures may be taken such as the general quarantine already applied in countries like Venezuela or Argentina. The government has prepared the public health system and the National System of Disaster Prevention’s (SINAPRED) civil defence system along with the country’s armed forces for that eventuality. At a regional level, Nicaragua has coordinated closely with the mechanisms of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the system’s member governments. SICA has produced a regional contingency plan aiming to protect people from the pandemic and treat those affected while maintaining regional economic life and security.
Photo: Jairo Cajina/Canal 4
Nicaragua is one of the few countries in the region with a laboratory of molecular biology approved by the World Health Organization. Its director has said it is the only laboratory in the region that produces the reactive agents for the serological diagnosis of dengue and was the only molecular biology laboratory in Latin America able to diagnose influenza types accurately in 2019. Similarly, Nicaragua has the only public sector plant in Central America producing vaccines. The plant is a joint venture between the Nicaraguan government and the Russian Federation and is preparing to produce the Cuban Interferon Alfa-2-B antiviral medicine for use treating patients with the COVID-19 virus. On March 18th, the “Henry Reeve” Cuban medical brigade arrived in the country, composed of epidemiologists, virologists, intensive care specialists and other expert medical professionals to strengthen Nicaragua’s response to the pandemic. Nicaragua has also participated in regional video conferences facilitated by the Association of Caribbean States, in video conferences with experts from China and has also benefited from the experiences of experts from Taiwan.
For the moment, Nicaragua has been successful preventing the virus from spreading. The authorities have prepared 19 hospitals should the pandemic begin to spread in the general population. 37,206 health workers in both public and private health institutions have been trained in preventive measures, how to identify suspected cases, how to protect fellow health workers, how to provide medical care and how to transfer patients safely between local health units, health centres and hospitals. Similarly, the health ministry has trained 250,000 community health promoters in preventive measures, early identification of patients with symptoms and how to ensure referral of suspected cases to the different health posts, health centres and hospitals.
In Nicaragua, the popular economy of medium, small and micro businesses of all kinds, small farming households and cooperatives across many different industries generate 70% of all employment. The remainder is provided by the public sector along with the private business sector including free trade zone businesses. This economic structure means that a majority of the economically active population depend on daily or weekly income to be able to buy food and other basic items. So for Nicaragua, as for so many other countries impoverished by centuries of rich-country depredation, this makes shutting down the economy practically impossible.
For their part, Nicaragua’s right-wing opposition continue the same relentess disinformation campaigns that they used during their violent, failed coup attempt in 2018, spreading false rumours and scaremongering via their news outlets and social media. At times, this propaganda reaches extreme levels of malevolent hysteria, claiming the government is concealing hundreds of cases of the virus. In interviews, international media uncritically retail the views of inveterate frauds like Confidencial’s Carlos Fernando Chamorro acccusing Nicaragua’s President Ortega of not doing enough to address the pandemic. Opposition propagandists like Chamorro lurch insanely from demented accusations of savage dictatorship to phony complaints of laissez faire negligence.
In Nicaragua, as everywhere else in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the unremitting global class war of elites against the impoverished majority. As in the violent, failed 2018 coup attempt, responses in Nicaragua to the crisis generally reflect that class reality. While the country’s right wing opposition elite and their middle class followers dilute their rum and cokes with tears of self-pity, Nicaragua’s salt-of-the-earth workers and rural farming families are once again pulling the economy through hard times. Nicaragua’s Sandinista government’s so far successful measures against the pandemic, as in Cuba and Venezuela despite vicious US sanctions, confirm the superiority of revolutionary grass roots democracy over the all too apparent failures of Western neoliberal plutocracies.
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theduran--2020-03-29--The tragedy of Hamlet, the tragedy of Bernie (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the Hamlet Complex that has plagued and continues to plague Bernie Sanders .
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson predicted that former Vice President Joe Biden “ will not be the Democratic nominee ” that ends up facing President Donald Trump in November .
After a slow start in the early primaries , Biden won South Carolina overwhelmingly in late February , rolled to victory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unstoppable ever since .
However , he still doesn ’ t hasn ’ t officially sealed the Democratic nomination , although reaching the 1,991 electoral votes required seems like a formality at this point .
Carlson , however , speculated Friday on Charlie LeDuff ’ s podcast “ No BS News Hour ” that Democrats would find a way to remove the “ in decline ” Biden and replace him with a stronger candidate .
Speaking of the coming “ reorder of our politics ” due to the coronavirus pandemic , Carlson said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and would bet money , that Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee on election day .
I just don ’ t believe that .
I really don ’ t. ” “ What did you say ?
” asked a clearly surprised LeDuff .
“ I sincerely and totally believe that Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee on election day , ” Carlson insisted .
“ I don ’ t believe that.
” “ How does that math work ?
” asked another co-host .
“ Well , the math @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not about math , it ’ s about will , ” said the Daily Caller co-founder .
“ So the Democratic Party is intent on taking power , period , period , and they mean it , and they ’ re willing to do kind of whatever they think works .
I mean that ’ s demonstrable.
” Stating that Biden “ is not prepared ” and “ can ’ t beat ” President Trump or “ lead the country , ” Carlson noted his mental decline .
“ He shouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
“ I ’ m not being mean .
I know him .
I ’ ve always liked him .
But that ’ s true .
And so , those are two trains traveling toward each other at high speed .
Two competing imperatives .
We ’ ve got to win , but we ’ ve got a guy who can ’ t win .
Therefore , they ’ re gon na replace him.
” “ This is not the guy I ’ ve known , and you can ask anybody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Carlson continued .
“ This is not him .
He ’ s a completely different person , and he ’ s in decline and I feel bad about it .
That ’ ll be me someday … I hope somebody loves me enough to not let me run for president.
” Then , Carlson speculated on Biden ’ s likely replacement .
“ If I had to bet I would think Andrew Cuomo would be the most likely to replace Biden , ” he said before a discussion about the 1968 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hubert Humphrey won the nomination despite not winning any of the state primary elections .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the Hamlet Complex that has plagued and continues to plague Bernie Sanders.
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Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute.
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Via The Daily Caller…
Fox News host Tucker Carlson predicted that former Vice President Joe Biden “will not be the Democratic nominee” that ends up facing President Donald Trump in November.
After a slow start in the early primaries, Biden won South Carolina overwhelmingly in late February, rolled to victory on Super Tuesday, and has been unstoppable ever since. However, he still doesn’t hasn’t officially sealed the Democratic nomination, although reaching the 1,991 electoral votes required seems like a formality at this point.
Carlson, however, speculated Friday on Charlie LeDuff’s podcast “No BS News Hour” that Democrats would find a way to remove the “in decline” Biden and replace him with a stronger candidate.
Speaking of the coming “reorder of our politics” due to the coronavirus pandemic, Carlson said, “I am utterly convinced, and would bet money, that Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee on election day. I just don’t believe that. I really don’t.”
“What did you say?” asked a clearly surprised LeDuff.
“I sincerely and totally believe that Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee on election day,” Carlson insisted. “I don’t believe that.”
“How does that math work?” asked another co-host.
“Well, the math doesn’t work, but it’s not about math, it’s about will,” said the Daily Caller co-founder. “So the Democratic Party is intent on taking power, period, period, and they mean it, and they’re willing to do kind of whatever they think works. I mean that’s demonstrable.”
Stating that Biden “is not prepared” and “can’t beat” President Trump or “lead the country,” Carlson noted his mental decline.
“He shouldn’t be working still,” he said. “I’m not being mean. I know him. I’ve always liked him. But that’s true. And so, those are two trains traveling toward each other at high speed. Two competing imperatives. We’ve got to win, but we’ve got a guy who can’t win. Therefore, they’re gonna replace him.”
“This is not the guy I’ve known, and you can ask anybody who knows him or has watched him,” Carlson continued. “This is not him. He’s a completely different person, and he’s in decline and I feel bad about it. That’ll be me someday … I hope somebody loves me enough to not let me run for president.”
Then, Carlson speculated on Biden’s likely replacement.
“If I had to bet I would think Andrew Cuomo would be the most likely to replace Biden,” he said before a discussion about the 1968 Democratic convention, when former Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the nomination despite not winning any of the state primary elections.
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theduran--2020-03-29--Macron WARNS: EU facing “the death of Schengen” (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss French President Emmanuel Macron ’ s statement that Europe is staring at the ‘ death of Schengen.
’ Macron warned EU leaders of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent closure of borders , risking the ‘ survival of the European Project.
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The statement comes as the novel coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic , which has currently infected almost 465,900 worldwide , continues to increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing at least 21,000 , according to the most recent data .
Speaking to the leaders of the 26 European Union states , French President Emmanuel Macron , during a Thursday video-conference on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic , warned that the bloc ’ s fundamental projects , including the no-border zone , could be imperiled if the nations fail to show solidarity during the crisis , according to Reuters .
Commenting on a phone call Macron had with US President Donald Trump , the French president noted that France and the US , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ a new strong initiative ” in response to the ongoing pandemic , without specifying details .
The EU is appears to be finding it difficult to develop a common approach to counteract the rapidly spreading threat posed by the deadly pandemic , prompting each country to handle the crisis in a different way .
Many states have implemented restrictions and closed borders with other EU nations as a preventive measure to slow the spread of the virus .
“ The European Union today is actually unable to cope with its main task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ single market .
The main duty of the EU is to ensure united economic space , free movement of labor , goods , services and capital .
We have obvious problems today with at least three of these components , ” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said on Tuesday .
On Wednesday , a draft statement of the European Council seen by Euractiv revealed that EU heads of state have called for the establishment of a Europe-wide crisis management centre in the light of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic .
On Thursday , 26 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , during which they discussed the outbreak ’ s repercussions on the bloc ’ s economy as well as ordering a draft for a recovery plan .
As of Thursday , the European region had registered 29,771 new confirmed infections , to raise the total to 250,287 cases of the deadly coronavirus , along with an additional 1,964 deaths to bring the total to an estimated 13,950 .
Nations most afflicted with the virus in the EU are Italy , with at least 74,386 infection cases ; followed by Spain , with an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least 36508 cases ; France , with an estimated 24920 cases ; and Switzerland , reporting 9714 cases .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that Europe is staring at the ‘death of Schengen.’
Macron warned EU leaders of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent closure of borders, risking the ‘survival of the European Project.’
Support Free Speech:
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute.
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Via Sputnik News…
The statement comes as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has currently infected almost 465,900 worldwide, continues to increase in all parts of the globe, killing at least 21,000, according to the most recent data.
Speaking to the leaders of the 26 European Union states, French President Emmanuel Macron, during a Thursday video-conference on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, warned that the bloc’s fundamental projects, including the no-border zone, could be imperiled if the nations fail to show solidarity during the crisis, according to Reuters.
“What’s at stake is the survival of the European project,” Macron told the leaders in the conference call, according to Reuters, citing a French diplomat. “The risk we are facing is the death of Schengen”.
Commenting on a phone call Macron had with US President Donald Trump, the French president noted that France and the US, along with other countries, were preparing “a new strong initiative” in response to the ongoing pandemic, without specifying details.
Very good discussion with @realDonaldTrump. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we are preparing with other countries a new strong initiative in the coming days. — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 26, 2020
The EU is appears to be finding it difficult to develop a common approach to counteract the rapidly spreading threat posed by the deadly pandemic, prompting each country to handle the crisis in a different way. Many states have implemented restrictions and closed borders with other EU nations as a preventive measure to slow the spread of the virus.
“The European Union today is actually unable to cope with its main task — to ensure the functioning of a single market. The main duty of the EU is to ensure united economic space, free movement of labor, goods, services and capital. We have obvious problems today with at least three of these components,” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a draft statement of the European Council seen by Euractiv revealed that EU heads of state have called for the establishment of a Europe-wide crisis management centre in the light of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, 26 EU national leaders held a six-hour videoconference, during which they discussed the outbreak’s repercussions on the bloc’s economy as well as ordering a draft for a recovery plan.
As of Thursday, the European region had registered 29,771 new confirmed infections, to raise the total to 250,287 cases of the deadly coronavirus, along with an additional 1,964 deaths to bring the total to an estimated 13,950.
Nations most afflicted with the virus in the EU are Italy, with at least 74,386 infection cases; followed by Spain, with an estimated 47610 cases; Germany, with at least 36508 cases; France, with an estimated 24920 cases; and Switzerland, reporting 9714 cases.
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theduran--2020-03-29--Is The COVID-19 Outbreak A Trojan Horse To Increase Smartphone Surveillance?

The coronavirus outbreak is proving to be the Trojan horse that justifies increased digital surveillance via our smartphones .
All over the world , starting with China – the suspected origin of the COVID-19 outbreak – governments are increasing surveillance of citizens using their smartphones .
The trend is taking off like wildfire ; in China citizens now require a smartphone application ’ s permission to travel around the country and internationally .
The application is AliPay by Ant Financial , the finance affiliate controlled by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma , and Tencent Holdings Ltd. ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health code to travel , Yahoo News reported .
China isn ’ t the only country looking towards smartphones to monitor their citizens ; Israel and Poland have also implemented their own spying to monitor those suspected or confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus .
Israel has gone the more extreme route , and has now given itself authority to surveil any citizen without a court warrant .
Poland on the other hand is requiring those diagnosed with COVID-19 ordered to self-isolate to send authorities a selfie using an app .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ respond back in 20 minutes with a smiling face , they risk a visit from police , Dailymail reported .
Singapore has asked citizens to download an app which uses Bluetooth to track whether they ’ ve been near anyone diagnosed with the virus ; and Taiwan , although not using a smartphone , has introduced “ electronic fences ” which alert police if suspected patients leave their homes .
Meanwhile , here in the U.S. as reported by the Washington Post , smartphones are being used by a variety of companies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track if social distancing orders are being adhered to .
Beyond that , the mobile phone industry is discussing how to monitor the spread of COVID-19 .
If that ’ s not enough , as this author reported for The Mind Unleashed , the government wants to work with big social tech giants like Google , Facebook , and others , to track the spread of COVID-19 .
A new live index shows the increase of the police state by Top10VPN , a Digital Rights group .
Top10VPN lists a total of 15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track the phones of coronavirus patients , ranging from anonymized aggregated data to monitor the movement of people more generally , to the tracking of individual suspected patients and their contacts , known as “ contact tracing.
” That ’ s not the only live index , a company called Unacast that collects and analyzes phone GPS location data also launched one .
Except this is a “ Social Distancing Scoreboard ” that grades , county by county , monitoring who is following social distancing rules .
As Activist Post previously wrote while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state , these measures being put into place now will likely remain long after the pandemic has stopped and the virus has run its course .
That ’ s the everlasting effect that COVID-19 will have on our society .
The coronavirus is now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization , and it may very well be a legitimate health concern for all of us around the world .
But it ’ s the government ’ s response that should worry us all more in the long run .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus has infected 640,589 , killed 29,848 , while 137,270 have recovered according to the Johns Hopkins map .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Aaron Kesel via ActivistPost.com:
The coronavirus outbreak is proving to be the Trojan horse that justifies increased digital surveillance via our smartphones.
All over the world, starting with China – the suspected origin of the COVID-19 outbreak – governments are increasing surveillance of citizens using their smartphones. The trend is taking off like wildfire; in China citizens now require a smartphone application’s permission to travel around the country and internationally.
The application is AliPay by Ant Financial, the finance affiliate controlled by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma, and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat. Citizens now require a green health code to travel, Yahoo News reported.
China isn’t the only country looking towards smartphones to monitor their citizens; Israel and Poland have also implemented their own spying to monitor those suspected or confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus. Israel has gone the more extreme route, and has now given itself authority to surveil any citizen without a court warrant. Poland on the other hand is requiring those diagnosed with COVID-19 ordered to self-isolate to send authorities a selfie using an app. Which, if Poles don’t respond back in 20 minutes with a smiling face, they risk a visit from police, Dailymail reported.
Singapore has asked citizens to download an app which uses Bluetooth to track whether they’ve been near anyone diagnosed with the virus; and Taiwan, although not using a smartphone, has introduced “electronic fences” which alert police if suspected patients leave their homes.
Meanwhile, here in the U.S. as reported by the Washington Post, smartphones are being used by a variety of companies to “anonymously” collect user data and track if social distancing orders are being adhered to. Beyond that, the mobile phone industry is discussing how to monitor the spread of COVID-19. If that’s not enough, as this author reported for The Mind Unleashed, the government wants to work with big social tech giants like Google, Facebook, and others, to track the spread of COVID-19.
A new live index shows the increase of the police state by Top10VPN, a Digital Rights group. Top10VPN lists a total of 15 countries which have already started measures to track the phones of coronavirus patients, ranging from anonymized aggregated data to monitor the movement of people more generally, to the tracking of individual suspected patients and their contacts, known as “contact tracing.”
That’s not the only live index, a company called Unacast that collects and analyzes phone GPS location data also launched one. Except this is a “Social Distancing Scoreboard” that grades, county by county, monitoring who is following social distancing rules.
As Activist Post previously wrote while discussing the increase of a police surveillance state, these measures being put into place now will likely remain long after the pandemic has stopped and the virus has run its course. That’s the everlasting effect that COVID-19 will have on our society. The coronavirus is now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and it may very well be a legitimate health concern for all of us around the world. But it’s the government’s response that should worry us all more in the long run.
At the time of this report the COVID-19 virus has infected 640,589, killed 29,848, while 137,270 have recovered according to the Johns Hopkins map.
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theduran--2020-03-29--BELIEVE ME  — I’m A Moron

BELIEVE ME  — I’m A Moron

No , not me , Jessica Valenti and all the other airhead feminists who have contributed to this male-bashing anthology .
Male-bashing and grossly defamatory .
Believe Me HOW TRUSTING WOMEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD by Jessica Valenti and a gaggle of her demented fellow travellers is advertised on the Amazon UK website with the following blurb : “ Harvey Weinstein .
Brett Kavanaugh .
Jeffrey Epstein .
Donald Trump .
The most infamous abusers in modern American history are being outed as women speak up to publicly expose behavior that was previously only whispered about… ” If you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kavanaugh finds himself listed next to the odious Jeffrey Epstein , it is because according to Valenti and her co-compiler/editor Jaclyn Friedman : “ Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court despite overwhelming evidence that he is a serial sexual predator.
” And this “ overwhelming evidence ” is ?
We had the emotional testimony of Christine Blasey Ford , or perhaps that should be Christine ’ s blazing fraud , that three and a half decades ago Kavanaugh and another teenager were in a room with her , alone at a house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand over her mouth to stop her screaming .
I thought he was going to rape me .
Or choke me .
Sob .
Please don ’ t confirm this man to the Supreme Court .
And like so much emotive testimony from liars of both sexes down through the ages , it was a total crock .
The beauty of a purportedly delayed report of sexual assault is that because there is no physical evidence it comes down to she said/he said .
And why would a woman lie ?
Foolishly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why ; it was to put an asterisk next to Kavanaugh ’ s name in the event of an attempt being made to overturn Roe v Wade , ( 1973 ) .
Incidentally , Roe v Wade is a prime example of why we should not simply believe women .
That landmark case was effected by the duplicity of two feminist attorneys .
A quarter of a century later , after becoming a born again Christian , the woman at the centre of it testified as follows : “ My name is Norma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admit that I ’ m the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade .
The affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court didn ’ t happen the way I said it did , pure and simple .
I lied !
Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffey needed an extreme case to make their client look pitiable .
Rape seemed to be the ticket .
What made rape even worse ?
A gang rape !
It all started out as a little lie , but my little lie grew and became more horrible with each telling.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more to the Blasey Ford case .
Who could debunk an allegation of sexual assault post-dated thirty-five years ?
Only a man like Kavanaugh , a squeaky clean choirboy who kept a detailed record of all the parties he attended !
On top of that , when she was cross-examined by sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell , Ford was exposed as a shameless liar .
She had claimed her home had two front doors because of this imaginary incident .
That was a lie .
It had two front doors because she and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She claimed that for some reason it made her too nervous to fly .
That was exposed as a lie .
All the same , it was still possible to believe Ford had had some sort of terrible experience in her teens which had scarred her for life , and that she had accidentally put Kavanaugh ’ s face on it – that can happen .
However , any hope of this was shattered by the vlogger Ali Alexander who pointed out the reason she was so vague about the time and venue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kavanaugh ’ s contemporaries had published a book about his salad days in which he mentioned the kind of antics he and Kavanaugh had gotten up to .
Ford had obviously read that book , but it contained no details about the house concerned .
The aforementioned brazen admission of Dr Ford ’ s attorney was the icing on the cake .
The other allegations against Kavanaugh are even less credible , indeed one of the people behind them is now behind bars for unrelated reasons .
Crooked lawyer Michael Avenatti posed as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ripped off his most high profile female client , the adult entertainer Stormy Daniels .
Other contributors to this book include Moira Donegan , another woman who has no qualms about defaming innocent men , and Katherine Cross ( not to be confused with a sane historian of the same name ) who describes herself as “ a pizza-loving feminist sociologist , trans Latina , and amateur slug herder ” .
Do the brazen attack on Brett Kavanaugh and the oft ’ parroted lies about Donald Trump also mentioned in this book prove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course not !
But Bill Cosby and quite likely Harvey Weinstein are now behind bars because women were believed when they shouldn ’ t have been .
The so-called expert witness at both Cosby ’ s retrial and Weinstein ’ s trial was Barbara Ziv who was brought in by the prosecution to “ educate ” jurors about the ( non-existent ) rape trauma syndrome .
Ziv testified that “ we ” have thirty years of research that shows us rape victims often remain on cordial terms with their attackers , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By thirty years of research , Ziv means thirty years of listening and believing .
What do other so-called experts say ?
According to rape crisis centres worldwide : “ Rape is a terrifying , violent and humiliating experience that no woman wants or asks for.
” Yet so many of them go back for more .
Or are we being played ?
The photographs at the top of this page were taken in 1940 .
They are of John Dutton and the teenager he raped .
Note her face ; this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ file .
Real victims have bruises , not credibility issues .
Look too at Dutton ’ s face : when they can , real victims fight back .
Believe women ?
Not if their names are Valenti and Friedman .
Believe evidence instead !

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
No, not me, Jessica Valenti and all the other airhead feminists who have contributed to this male-bashing anthology. Male-bashing and grossly defamatory.
Believe Me HOW TRUSTING WOMEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD by Jessica Valenti and a gaggle of her demented fellow travellers is advertised on the Amazon UK website with the following blurb:
“Harvey Weinstein. Brett Kavanaugh. Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump. The most infamous abusers in modern American history are being outed as women speak up to publicly expose behavior that was previously only whispered about…”
If you’re wondering why Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh finds himself listed next to the odious Jeffrey Epstein, it is because according to Valenti and her co-compiler/editor Jaclyn Friedman: “Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court despite overwhelming evidence that he is a serial sexual predator.”
And this “overwhelming evidence” is?
We had the emotional testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, or perhaps that should be Christine’s blazing fraud, that three and a half decades ago Kavanaugh and another teenager were in a room with her, alone at a house party, and that Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming.
I thought he was going to rape me. Or choke me. Sob. Please don’t confirm this man to the Supreme Court. And like so much emotive testimony from liars of both sexes down through the ages, it was a total crock.
The beauty of a purportedly delayed report of sexual assault is that because there is no physical evidence it comes down to she said/he said. And why would a woman lie? Foolishly, Blasey Ford’s lawyer told us why; it was to put an asterisk next to Kavanaugh’s name in the event of an attempt being made to overturn Roe v Wade, (1973). Incidentally, Roe v Wade is a prime example of why we should not simply believe women. That landmark case was effected by the duplicity of two feminist attorneys. A quarter of a century later, after becoming a born again Christian, the woman at the centre of it testified as follows:
“My name is Norma McCorvey. I’m sorry to admit that I’m the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade. The affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court didn’t happen the way I said it did, pure and simple. I lied! Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffey needed an extreme case to make their client look pitiable. Rape seemed to be the ticket. What made rape even worse? A gang rape! It all started out as a little lie, but my little lie grew and became more horrible with each telling.”
But there is more, a lot more to the Blasey Ford case. Who could debunk an allegation of sexual assault post-dated thirty-five years? Only a man like Kavanaugh, a squeaky clean choirboy who kept a detailed record of all the parties he attended!
On top of that, when she was cross-examined by sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, Ford was exposed as a shameless liar. She had claimed her home had two front doors because of this imaginary incident. That was a lie. It had two front doors because she and her husband rented out their home. She claimed that for some reason it made her too nervous to fly. That was exposed as a lie.
All the same, it was still possible to believe Ford had had some sort of terrible experience in her teens which had scarred her for life, and that she had accidentally put Kavanaugh’s face on it – that can happen. However, any hope of this was shattered by the vlogger Ali Alexander who pointed out the reason she was so vague about the time and venue of this imaginary attack. One of Kavanaugh’s contemporaries had published a book about his salad days in which he mentioned the kind of antics he and Kavanaugh had gotten up to. Ford had obviously read that book, but it contained no details about the house concerned. The aforementioned brazen admission of Dr Ford’s attorney was the icing on the cake.
The other allegations against Kavanaugh are even less credible, indeed one of the people behind them is now behind bars for unrelated reasons. Crooked lawyer Michael Avenatti posed as a champion of women, yet he ripped off his most high profile female client, the adult entertainer Stormy Daniels.
Other contributors to this book include Moira Donegan, another woman who has no qualms about defaming innocent men, and Katherine Cross (not to be confused with a sane historian of the same name) who describes herself as “a pizza-loving feminist sociologist, trans Latina, and amateur slug herder”.
Do the brazen attack on Brett Kavanaugh and the oft’ parroted lies about Donald Trump also mentioned in this book prove women are never to be believed? Of course not! But Bill Cosby and quite likely Harvey Weinstein are now behind bars because women were believed when they shouldn’t have been. The so-called expert witness at both Cosby’s retrial and Weinstein’s trial was Barbara Ziv who was brought in by the prosecution to “educate” jurors about the (non-existent) rape trauma syndrome. Ziv testified that “we” have thirty years of research that shows us rape victims often remain on cordial terms with their attackers, and even have consensual sex with them afterwards. By thirty years of research, Ziv means thirty years of listening and believing.
What do other so-called experts say? According to rape crisis centres worldwide: “Rape is a terrifying, violent and humiliating experience that no woman wants or asks for.”
Yet so many of them go back for more. Or are we being played?
The photographs at the top of this page were taken in 1940. They are of John Dutton and the teenager he raped. Note her face; this is not the worst photograph from the file. Real victims have bruises, not credibility issues. Look too at Dutton’s face: when they can, real victims fight back. Believe women? Not if their names are Valenti and Friedman. Believe evidence instead!
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theduran--2020-03-28--How Fascism Won Control in The West

How Fascism Won Control in The West

“ The West ” is the nations that are essentially controlled , basically dictated-to , by America ’ s approximately 600 billionaires , who control the U.S. Government , by coordinatedly funding ( through their news-media and political donations , and also by their members-only private conferences ) the careers of cooperative politicians , and who thereby defeat the politicians who act against increasing the percentage of the nation ’ s wealth that these few people hold , and against increasing their extractions from everybody else .
( Those non-compliant politicians are derisively called “ socialists ” and equated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the democratic socialist FDR and the leaders of the democratic socialist Scandinavian countries ; and America ’ s dumbest voters , who always tip the ‘ democratic ’ balance favoring the billionaires ’ propaganda , believe this propaganda from these billionaires ’ organizations , which equate “ socialism ” with “ communism , ” and they think that they live in a democracy , which they don ’ t .
Their beliefs are false both about history and about ideology . )
These billionaires can not control the world and thereby extract from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they control a global military that serves as their international enforcement arm in a world where ‘ international law ’ has no enforcement arm and so these approximately 600 individuals basically write and enforce ( by their Government ’ s invasions and threats of invasions ) the real “ international law , ” which is whatever the U.S. Government — their Government — does and dictates .
Consequently , while there was enforcement against Yugoslavia ’ s Slobodan Milosevic , even though the International Court of Justice finally ruled that The West ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and there is enforcement against Julian Assange , even though he did nothing that The Establishment ’ s own New York Times and others had not done , during the decades prior to the U.S. Government ’ s becoming the locked-down dictatorship that it is today ( having the world ’ s highest percentage of its citizens in prison ) ; yet there still is no actual enforcement , at all , against George W. Bush for actually invading and destroying Iraq on the basis only of lies , and Afghanistan mainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Barack Obama for destroying Libya , Syria , Ukraine , Honduras , Venezuela , and Yemen , also on the basis only of lies , nor against Donald Trump for continuing and worsening his predecessors ’ invasions and intensifying especially against Iran .
Trump intensifies against Iran because he is funded by different American billionaires than Obama was — billionaires who especially want to destroy and take over Iran .
He intensifies against Venezuela for the same reason .
But the basic agenda is the same .
How did this fascist America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and policed dictatorship , come to be ?
Before this question can be sensibly addressed , a reader must first recognize and acknowledge that today ’ s U.S. is , indeed , that extraordinarily bad ( at least internationally ) , because otherwise this question can not even exist — it can not be posed , much less considered .
Almost in every instance during the past 20 years in which a country that had not invaded the country that was invading it was being invaded by the U.S. , sometimes accompanied by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Therefore , the billionaires ’ ‘ news ’ -media and scholars simply refuse to acknowledge that the democratic principles which are stated in America ’ s Constitution have become essentially null and void , empty platitudes , in today ’ s America — now only formally a democracy ( since amending the Constitution is no longer even necessary , in an actual dictatorship ) .
But can such a collective dictatorship actually exist ?
Doesn ’ t a dictator have to be one person ?
Is a corporation one person ?
Of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controlling owners , which can be one person , but it also can be a collection of them , each being represented on its board .
The number of dictators a nation has is irrelevant .
Similarly , the number of parties a nation has is irrelevant to the question if whether or not it is a dictatorship .
Throughout history , most dictatorships have been collective , and were called “ aristocracies.
” Furthermore , most aristocracies have been led by a monarch .
Not every monarch is “ absolute ” or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the collective — the aristocracy itself — is the dictator .
Wherever an aristocracy exists as a ruling collective , it normally is an aristocracy of wealth ; but , when a predominant clergy rule the country , the dictatorship is called a “ theocracy , ” and this is not the type of aristocracy that rules the United States .
America definitely has an aristocracy of wealth , and they definitely do rule , in this country .
( Here is how they exercise their rule . )
The fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country does not prove that this country isn ’ t a dictatorship , because all of the major news-media receive my articles for publication and none publish them any longer ; my writings are blacklisted in America and throughout its empire .
Anyone who is reading this anywhere in the empire is reading a blacklisted news-medium .
It is blacklisted because it is too true .
No billionaire is going to publish this .
It is America ’ s type of samizdat .
Therefore : How did fascism win control in The West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1945 , and it gradually expanded from there until 24 February 1990 when the Soviet Union and its communism and its Warsaw Pact mirror-image of America ’ s anti-Russian military alliance NATO all were about to end and George Herbert Walker Bush started instructing his foreign vassals privately and in secret to continue the Cold War in their countries until Russia itself will be defeated and controlled from Washington .
This is a military dictatorship also , because though it is hidden , the reality is that America spends annually around half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and tens of trillions of dollars have been ‘ lost ’ ( perhaps to firms such as Lockheed Martin ) in the portion of America ’ s military expenditures that are made public ( consequently , even that “ half ” might be an understatment of the true expense of America ’ s military , if those unaccountable-for funds are included ) .
So , U.S. taxpayers fund this enormous global military , for the benefit of America ’ s billionaires and of their foreign allies or vassals .
Details of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Whiteout and The Secret Team .
Regarding the enforcement of this barbaric regime upon third-world countries , an outstanding book is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man .
The aristocracy allow their publishers to accept a few such honest history books , so long as those books are not topical to today ’ s news ( as the present article is ) .
And if the few honest history books had been marketed as intensively as the propaganda is , then they might have had an impact .
Furthermore , there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out its domestic policies , which policies are likewise bipartisanly supportive of extracting from the public to the billionaires , such as America ’ s current coronavirus bailouts are : they provide $ 500 billion to large corporations versus $ 150 billion to state and local governments and no specified total allocated to fund the benefits to ordinary Americans ( perhaps so as to hide how small that total is in relation to the benefits that are being doled out to billionaires ) .
Moreover , for megacorporations and investors , the Federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the announced $ 2 trillion initial ‘ rescue package ’ , and of multiple types , some of them illegal ( but thbose laws aren ’ t enforced ) .
So , whatever the man-in-the-street ( on Main Street ) , might get , the man on Wall Street would be receiving huge multiples of that .
Both of the political Parties are controlled by billionaires ; so , no part of the Establishment wants any basic change .
Only an outright revolution could provide such change — eliminate the aristocracy — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want it .
Instead , Americans respect the aristocracy .
If this is “ democracy , ” then what does “ fascism ” even mean , other than a PR buzzword to ‘ justify ’ this situation ?
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author , most recently , of They ’ re Not Even Close : The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records , 1910-2010 , and of CHRIST ’ S VENTRILOQUISTS : The Event that Created Christianity .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse
“The West” is the nations that are essentially controlled, basically dictated-to, by America’s approximately 600 billionaires, who control the U.S. Government, by coordinatedly funding (through their news-media and political donations, and also by their members-only private conferences) the careers of cooperative politicians, and who thereby defeat the politicians who act against increasing the percentage of the nation’s wealth that these few people hold, and against increasing their extractions from everybody else. (Those non-compliant politicians are derisively called “socialists” and equated with the communist Joseph Stalin instead of with the democratic socialist FDR and the leaders of the democratic socialist Scandinavian countries; and America’s dumbest voters, who always tip the ‘democratic’ balance favoring — gullible to — the billionaires’ propaganda, believe this propaganda from these billionaires’ organizations, which equate “socialism” with “communism,” and they think that they live in a democracy, which they don’t. Their beliefs are false both about history and about ideology.)
These billionaires cannot control the world and thereby extract from more and more of it, unless they control a global military that serves as their international enforcement arm in a world where ‘international law’ has no enforcement arm and so these approximately 600 individuals basically write and enforce (by their Government’s invasions and threats of invasions) the real “international law,” which is whatever the U.S. Government — their Government — does and dictates. Consequently, while there was enforcement against Yugoslavia’s Slobodan Milosevic, even though the International Court of Justice finally ruled that The West’s chief allegations against him were lies, and there is enforcement against Julian Assange, even though he did nothing that The Establishment’s own New York Times and others had not done, during the decades prior to the U.S. Government’s becoming the locked-down dictatorship that it is today (having the world’s highest percentage of its citizens in prison); yet there still is no actual enforcement, at all, against George W. Bush for actually invading and destroying Iraq on the basis only of lies, and Afghanistan mainly on the basis of lies, nor against Barack Obama for destroying Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Honduras, Venezuela, and Yemen, also on the basis only of lies, nor against Donald Trump for continuing and worsening his predecessors’ invasions and intensifying especially against Iran. Trump intensifies against Iran because he is funded by different American billionaires than Obama was — billionaires who especially want to destroy and take over Iran. He intensifies against Venezuela for the same reason. But the basic agenda is the same.
How did this fascist America, the world’s most militarized and policed dictatorship, come to be?
Before this question can be sensibly addressed, a reader must first recognize and acknowledge that today’s U.S. is, indeed, that extraordinarily bad (at least internationally), because otherwise this question cannot even exist — it cannot be posed, much less considered. Almost in every instance during the past 20 years in which a country that had not invaded the country that was invading it was being invaded by the U.S., sometimes accompanied by UK or others of its international partners-in-crimes. Therefore, the billionaires’ ‘news’-media and scholars simply refuse to acknowledge that the democratic principles which are stated in America’s Constitution have become essentially null and void, empty platitudes, in today’s America — now only formally a democracy (since amending the Constitution is no longer even necessary, in an actual dictatorship).
But can such a collective dictatorship actually exist? Doesn’t a dictator have to be one person? Is a corporation one person? Of course not. A corporation is its controlling owners, which can be one person, but it also can be a collection of them, each being represented on its board. The number of dictators a nation has is irrelevant. Similarly, the number of parties a nation has is irrelevant to the question if whether or not it is a dictatorship.
Throughout history, most dictatorships have been collective, and were called “aristocracies.” Furthermore, most aristocracies have been led by a monarch. Not every monarch is “absolute” or the actual dictator; in most aristocracies, the collective — the aristocracy itself — is the dictator.
Wherever an aristocracy exists as a ruling collective, it normally is an aristocracy of wealth; but, when a predominant clergy rule the country, the dictatorship is called a “theocracy,” and this is not the type of aristocracy that rules the United States. America definitely has an aristocracy of wealth, and they definitely do rule, in this country. (Here is how they exercise their rule.)
The fact that this fact can be published in this country does not prove that this country isn’t a dictatorship, because all of the major news-media receive my articles for publication and none publish them any longer; my writings are blacklisted in America and throughout its empire. Anyone who is reading this anywhere in the empire is reading a blacklisted news-medium. It is blacklisted because it is too true. No billionaire is going to publish this. It is America’s type of samizdat.
Therefore: How did fascism win control in The West?
The process started on 26 July 1945, and it gradually expanded from there until 24 February 1990 when the Soviet Union and its communism and its Warsaw Pact mirror-image of America’s anti-Russian military alliance NATO all were about to end and George Herbert Walker Bush started instructing his foreign vassals privately and in secret to continue the Cold War in their countries until Russia itself will be defeated and controlled from Washington.
This is a military dictatorship also, because though it is hidden, the reality is that America spends annually around half of the entire world’s military budget, and tens of trillions of dollars have been ‘lost’ (perhaps to firms such as Lockheed Martin) in the portion of America’s military expenditures that are made public (consequently, even that “half” might be an understatment of the true expense of America’s military, if those unaccountable-for funds are included). So, U.S. taxpayers fund this enormous global military, for the benefit of America’s billionaires and of their foreign allies or vassals. Details of this operation have been provided in books such as Whiteout and The Secret Team. Regarding the enforcement of this barbaric regime upon third-world countries, an outstanding book is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. The aristocracy allow their publishers to accept a few such honest history books, so long as those books are not topical to today’s news (as the present article is). And if the few honest history books had been marketed as intensively as the propaganda is, then they might have had an impact.
Furthermore, there are vast literatures showing how this dictatorship carries out its domestic policies, which policies are likewise bipartisanly supportive of extracting from the public to the billionaires, such as America’s current coronavirus bailouts are: they provide $500 billion to large corporations versus $150 billion to state and local governments and no specified total allocated to fund the benefits to ordinary Americans (perhaps so as to hide how small that total is in relation to the benefits that are being doled out to billionaires). Moreover, for megacorporations and investors, the Federal Reserve is providing bailouts even larger than the announced $2 trillion initial ‘rescue package’, and of multiple types, some of them illegal (but thbose laws aren’t enforced). So, whatever the man-in-the-street (on Main Street), might get, the man on Wall Street would be receiving huge multiples of that. Both of the political Parties are controlled by billionaires; so, no part of the Establishment wants any basic change. Only an outright revolution could provide such change — eliminate the aristocracy — and America’s public don’t want it. Instead, Americans respect the aristocracy.
If this is “democracy,” then what does “fascism” even mean, other than a PR buzzword to ‘justify’ this situation?
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
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theduran--2020-03-28--Will lockdown lead to a permanent nanny state? (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss our freedoms after the corona pandemic ends and governments roll back their lockdown policies .
What pieces of the lockdown will become legislation and what freedoms will have been permanently lost to the Covid-19 crisis .
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute .
The Duran Audio Podcast : Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes .
South Africa ’ s 57 million people entered into a Martial law-style lockdown for three weeks starting on Friday , a move by the government that would hopefully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so the hospital system does not become overwhelmed by virus patients , reported AFP .
The country ’ s Department of Health announced two COVID-19 deaths to end the week , with total confirmed cases above 1,000 .
South Africa has administered 20,000 tests so far , as officials fear the outbreak could be much more extensive than previously thought because of the lack of test kits .
The lockdown of South Africa is the first time the government has stripped the basic freedoms of its citizens since it became a democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you stay at home .
The exception is for survival : food [ and ] health , with security forces making sure that the law is enforced , ” government minister , Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma , said .
The sale of alcohol and cigarettes has been banned for three weeks , along with any outdoor activity such as jogging , walking dogs , and or going to the park .
The government warned that offenders would be prosecuted and either fined or jailed .
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tested negative for COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a military base in Soweto township outside Johannesburg before they launched deployments across the country .
“ I send you out to go and defend our people against coronavirus , ” Ramaphosa said .
“ This is unprecedented , not only in our democracy but also in the history of our country , that we will have a lockdown for 21 days to go out and wage war against an invisible enemy coronavirus , ” he said .
With South Africa now at war , not with a neighboring country but rather a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population , here is what the battlefield looks like , courtesy of Twitter .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss our freedoms after the corona pandemic ends and governments roll back their lockdown policies.
What pieces of the lockdown will become legislation and what freedoms will have been permanently lost to the Covid-19 crisis.
Support Free Speech:
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute.
The Duran Audio Podcast:
Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes.
Via Zerohedge…
South Africa’s 57 million people entered into a Martial law-style lockdown for three weeks starting on Friday, a move by the government that would hopefully flatten the pandemic curve and slowdown infections, so the hospital system does not become overwhelmed by virus patients, reported AFP.
The country’s Department of Health announced two COVID-19 deaths to end the week, with total confirmed cases above 1,000. South Africa has administered 20,000 tests so far, as officials fear the outbreak could be much more extensive than previously thought because of the lack of test kits.
The lockdown of South Africa is the first time the government has stripped the basic freedoms of its citizens since it became a democracy in 1994.
“The law is that you stay at home. The exception is for survival: food [and] health, with security forces making sure that the law is enforced,” government minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said.
The sale of alcohol and cigarettes has been banned for three weeks, along with any outdoor activity such as jogging, walking dogs, and or going to the park. The government warned that offenders would be prosecuted and either fined or jailed.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday. He visited troops at a military base in Soweto township outside Johannesburg before they launched deployments across the country.
“I send you out to go and defend our people against coronavirus,” Ramaphosa said. “This is unprecedented, not only in our democracy but also in the history of our country, that we will have a lockdown for 21 days to go out and wage war against an invisible enemy coronavirus,” he said.
With South Africa now at war, not with a neighboring country but rather a virus that is starting to ravage its population, here is what the battlefield looks like, courtesy of Twitter.
Cyril, you better come and fix this immediately. I hope this soldier will not be serving in the military anymore. This is absolutely horrific, that's a soldier assaulting citizens. #COVID19 #COVID19SouthAfrica #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/Iv4HI14AjH — Erik Thiart (@ErikThiart) March 27, 2020
Mozambique is a military state, we live in a country where the military is always around. Says a lot about freedom of expression.. Now our neighbours, South Africa only unleashes the army when it’s needed!. And when they do, they do????#covid19 #stayhome #southafrica pic.twitter.com/r1htd08hci — anicha abdul (@AbdulAnicha) March 25, 2020
South Africa's military has begun enforcing a #coronavirus lockdown, which includes bans on alcohol sales and even dog-walking. Over 1,000 #COVID19 cases and 2 deaths have been confirmed pic.twitter.com/lanbMFw2hb — QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) March 27, 2020
South Africa has declared WAR on #Coronavirus & deployed the Military. pic.twitter.com/Bd5Z37OeYb — Trends Central ™ (@Trends_Central) March 25, 2020
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theduran--2020-03-28--The deadly arrogance of grievance politics [Video]

If a picture is worth a thousand words , what is a six-minute video worth ?
A lot .
Left-wing grievance politics and racism is proving to be not just stupid .
It is proving to be truly fatal .
Just ask anyone with a bit of sanity who is living in the plague-stricken Manhattan today .
Watching the coronavirus numbers soar there from day to day is evocative of Stephen King ’ s The Stand .
Thank God that Life is not fully imitating that great – and frightening – piece of Art .
Tucker Carlson has a gift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he does it again here .
It is not tragic that he is telling us real news , but the nearly 30,000 people in New York City alone who have contracted coronavirus , and the 450 who succumbed thus far ( about 25 % of the entire US death toll at this point ) would probably have a thing or two to tell their mayor , Bill de Blasio and various other people that told them to “ hug a Chinese person ” or some other flower-children tripe .
See for yourself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have astounding numbers in the US .
Why ?
Because we report everything pretty accurately .
Speculation still exists that China ’ s own numbers are being suppressed , but whether that is true or not , one advantage the Chinese Communists presently have is that they do not give a hoot about racism and grievance politics .
If their reported numbers are indeed accurate ( and there is increasing reason to believe that the are ) , it is probably because whatever else the Chinese draconian measures were , they included the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the problem , not hurting someone ’ s poor widdle feewings .
I obviously have zero sympathy for leftism , but there is real reason for this .
I would never advocate for a Communist government , but the soft tyranny of bleeding-heart leftism is now actually traceable as a cause for killing people .
One wonders what post-COVID America is going to be like in terms of attitudes .
One hopes that we would use this awful pandemic to start living in reality .
Those who are sick , those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would at least rest easier if they knew the rest of us learned our lessons from this plague .
We all rightly need to repent of our foolishness and get back to the basics of the Christian culture we once lived in .
Prayer , alignment with God instead of the Brotherhood of Man that socialism and communism promise .
They can not deliver their promise .
The old ways are what have always lasted .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a six-minute video worth? A lot. Left-wing grievance politics and racism is proving to be not just stupid. It is proving to be truly fatal. Just ask anyone with a bit of sanity who is living in the plague-stricken Manhattan today. Watching the coronavirus numbers soar there from day to day is evocative of Stephen King’s The Stand. Thank God that Life is not fully imitating that great – and frightening – piece of Art.
Tucker Carlson has a gift for succinctly stating the truth. Tragically, he does it again here. It is not tragic that he is telling us real news, but the nearly 30,000 people in New York City alone who have contracted coronavirus, and the 450 who succumbed thus far (about 25% of the entire US death toll at this point) would probably have a thing or two to tell their mayor, Bill de Blasio and various other people that told them to “hug a Chinese person” or some other flower-children tripe.
See for yourself.
We probably knew that COVID would have astounding numbers in the US. Why? Because we report everything pretty accurately. Speculation still exists that China’s own numbers are being suppressed, but whether that is true or not, one advantage the Chinese Communists presently have is that they do not give a hoot about racism and grievance politics. If their reported numbers are indeed accurate (and there is increasing reason to believe that the are), it is probably because whatever else the Chinese draconian measures were, they included the notion that the virus and its containment are the problem, not hurting someone’s poor widdle feewings. I obviously have zero sympathy for leftism, but there is real reason for this.
I would never advocate for a Communist government, but the soft tyranny of bleeding-heart leftism is now actually traceable as a cause for killing people.
One wonders what post-COVID America is going to be like in terms of attitudes. One hopes that we would use this awful pandemic to start living in reality.
Those who are sick, those who are dying and those who will die would at least rest easier if they knew the rest of us learned our lessons from this plague. We all rightly need to repent of our foolishness and get back to the basics of the Christian culture we once lived in. Prayer, alignment with God instead of the Brotherhood of Man that socialism and communism promise. They cannot deliver their promise. The old ways are what have always lasted.
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theduran--2020-03-28--Italy leans on Russia after the EU fails to deliver

More than 15 military transport planes flew from Russia to Italy delivering disinfection units , 180 doctors , 100 personnel which include specialists in biological protection , nurses , ventilators , and masks .
The experts sent to Italy have worked on international epidemics including African Swine Fever and in developing an Ebola vaccine .
Italy ’ s Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte had requested help from Russia , and the government commissioner for the coronavirus emergency , Domenico Arcuri , confirmed the help had arrived .
Luigi Di Maio , Italy ’ s Foreign Minister , personally welcomed the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Videos emerged online of the trucks on their way to northern Bergamo near Milan , the hardest hit by the virus .
Lombardy regional councilor for health services , Giulio Gallera , announced the arrival of Russian doctors at Papa Giovanni Hospital in Bergamo .
Moscow has a tradition of international solidarity that dates back to the Soviet era .
“ Never had so many Russian planes and personnel landed before in a NATO country , ” reported the Italian daily ‘ La Repubblica ’ .
Italy imports gas to fuel their power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the EU sanctions against Russia to be relaxed , even though the plea has not been heeded , and sanctions have been repeatedly renewed .
Italy ’ s Civil Protection Agency Facebook page was full of grateful comments , and some anger at the US , which was seen as not forthcoming with aid in the darkest hours of Italy ’ s need .
The current global political scene is changing rapidly as a result of the coronavirus .
We are seeing new super-powers emerging , such as China and Russia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US and NATO .
The shifting sands of alliances remind us of a similar situation before WW2 .
Italy , and several other EU members , may find themselves forging new alliances that are headed east .
The current US domestic political chaos gave Russia and China the chance to offer an alternative to nations who may be ready to wrest-free of the former US domination .
This situation leads to a new version of the old ‘ Cold War ’ era , in which the world was split into West and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ don ’ t look a gift horse in the mouth ” means that you shouldn ’ t criticize a gift , but that didn ’ t stop the Italian daily ‘ La Stampa ’ from reporting an unnamed high-level political source that most of the Russian supplies sent to Italy were ‘ useless ’ .
Russia ’ s Ambassador to Italy Sergei Razov dismissed the report as perverse .
“ Such assertions are the product of a perverse mind .
A selfless desire to help friendly people in trouble is seen as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When asked if Russia expected Italy to return the favor by trying to get EU sanctions lifted , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the notion as absurd .
“ We ’ re not talking about any conditions or calculations or hopes here , ” he said on Monday .
“ Italy is really in need of much more wide-scale help and what Russia does is manageable.
” Besides the desire to help a neighbor in need , there is the fact that the majority of the 658 people with confirmed cases in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Europe , making the case for Russian self-protection as well as Italian friendship .
Russian administration is well-organized and able to impose strong measures in such a crisis , as compared to other countries that have been slow to institute strict measures and precautions .
European Union countries have been slow to help their fellow members .
Italy , France , and Spain have urged a massive response ; however , the EU is divided on a potential rescue plan for the region ’ s economy , with Germany , the Netherlands , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they see as unreasonable expectations .
Nine EU countries including France , Italy , and Spain have called for a common debt plan administered by a European institution to raise funds on the market ; but , Germany and the other tight-fisted members stress that all EU countries can finance themselves .
Matteo Salvini , former deputy prime minister , speaking to the Italian Senate , said “ In Brussels , it is clear they are yet to understand the situation .
If the German Government keeps talking about the European Stability Mechanism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that funds are given to Italy but have to be paid back in the future , Berlin and Brussels got it wrong , ” clearly furious at the German and EU stance .
The origins of the Italian crisis Mario Di Vito is a correspondent for the Italian daily , “ Il Manifesto ” .
He compares the coronavirus crisis in Italy to that of a world war .
In explaining how the virus moved rapidly he points to Confindustria , the association of Italian industrialists , who pressured the government to not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Milan , Beppe Sala , continued to tell people to leave their houses and to live a normal life ; however , once the number of dead and infected spiked it was apparent those early decisions were deadly .
The stay-at-home order from PM Conte came much too late , and the weakness of the Italian healthcare system was exposed as the sick and dying rose into the thousands .
Two weeks of military-enforced stay-at-home orders have paid off with signs of the slowing down of new infections and deaths since Italy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 .
Italy has by far the most virus deaths of any nation in the world , numbering 8,165 .
While the official count of positive cases is 80,539 , experts assume the actual number may be much higher .
At least 33 doctors have died and 6,414 medical personnel have tested positive in Italy .
“ We know it before we go into battle , and we accept it , ” Dr. Luca Lorini , head of intensive care in a hospital in Bergamo told the Associated Press .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator…
More than 15 military transport planes flew from Russia to Italy delivering disinfection units, 180 doctors, 100 personnel which include specialists in biological protection, nurses, ventilators, and masks. The experts sent to Italy have worked on international epidemics including African Swine Fever and in developing an Ebola vaccine. Italy’s Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte had requested help from Russia, and the government commissioner for the coronavirus emergency, Domenico Arcuri, confirmed the help had arrived. Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s Foreign Minister, personally welcomed the first Russian plane to arrive on Sunday. Videos emerged online of the trucks on their way to northern Bergamo near Milan, the hardest hit by the virus.
Lombardy regional councilor for health services, Giulio Gallera, announced the arrival of Russian doctors at Papa Giovanni Hospital in Bergamo. Moscow has a tradition of international solidarity that dates back to the Soviet era. “Never had so many Russian planes and personnel landed before in a NATO country,” reported the Italian daily ‘La Repubblica’.
Italy imports gas to fuel their power plants, and Rome has previously called on the EU sanctions against Russia to be relaxed, even though the plea has not been heeded, and sanctions have been repeatedly renewed.
Italy’s Civil Protection Agency Facebook page was full of grateful comments, and some anger at the US, which was seen as not forthcoming with aid in the darkest hours of Italy’s need.
New alliances emerging
The current global political scene is changing rapidly as a result of the coronavirus. We are seeing new super-powers emerging, such as China and Russia, and former power-houses weakening, such as the US and NATO. The shifting sands of alliances remind us of a similar situation before WW2. Italy, and several other EU members, may find themselves forging new alliances that are headed east. The current US domestic political chaos gave Russia and China the chance to offer an alternative to nations who may be ready to wrest-free of the former US domination. This situation leads to a new version of the old ‘Cold War’ era, in which the world was split into West and East camps of influence.
The critics
The saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” means that you shouldn’t criticize a gift, but that didn’t stop the Italian daily ‘La Stampa’ from reporting an unnamed high-level political source that most of the Russian supplies sent to Italy were ‘useless’.
Russia’s Ambassador to Italy Sergei Razov dismissed the report as perverse. “Such assertions are the product of a perverse mind. A selfless desire to help friendly people in trouble is seen as insidious,” Razov told Russian media.
When asked if Russia expected Italy to return the favor by trying to get EU sanctions lifted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the notion as absurd. “We’re not talking about any conditions or calculations or hopes here,” he said on Monday. “Italy is really in need of much more wide-scale help and what Russia does is manageable.”
Besides the desire to help a neighbor in need, there is the fact that the majority of the 658 people with confirmed cases in Russia have recently flown back from western Europe, making the case for Russian self-protection as well as Italian friendship.
Russian administration is well-organized and able to impose strong measures in such a crisis, as compared to other countries that have been slow to institute strict measures and precautions.
The EU response
European Union countries have been slow to help their fellow members. Italy, France, and Spain have urged a massive response; however, the EU is divided on a potential rescue plan for the region’s economy, with Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland opposed to what they see as unreasonable expectations. Nine EU countries including France, Italy, and Spain have called for a common debt plan administered by a European institution to raise funds on the market; but, Germany and the other tight-fisted members stress that all EU countries can finance themselves.
Matteo Salvini, former deputy prime minister, speaking to the Italian Senate, said “In Brussels, it is clear they are yet to understand the situation. If the German Government keeps talking about the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) without conditions which provides that funds are given to Italy but have to be paid back in the future, Berlin and Brussels got it wrong,” clearly furious at the German and EU stance.
The origins of the Italian crisis
Mario Di Vito is a correspondent for the Italian daily, “Il Manifesto”. He compares the coronavirus crisis in Italy to that of a world war. In explaining how the virus moved rapidly he points to Confindustria, the association of Italian industrialists, who pressured the government to not shut down production, and the Mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, continued to tell people to leave their houses and to live a normal life; however, once the number of dead and infected spiked it was apparent those early decisions were deadly. The stay-at-home order from PM Conte came much too late, and the weakness of the Italian healthcare system was exposed as the sick and dying rose into the thousands.
The Italian numbers mounting
Two weeks of military-enforced stay-at-home orders have paid off with signs of the slowing down of new infections and deaths since Italy’s first positive test on February 20. Italy has by far the most virus deaths of any nation in the world, numbering 8,165. While the official count of positive cases is 80,539, experts assume the actual number may be much higher. At least 33 doctors have died and 6,414 medical personnel have tested positive in Italy.
“We know it before we go into battle, and we accept it,” Dr. Luca Lorini, head of intensive care in a hospital in Bergamo told the Associated Press.
Steven Sahiounie is an Syrian American award winning journalist
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