Society's ChildS


Health

For the first time, Russian coronavirus recoveries OUTNUMBER new diagnoses

health worker
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev
After weeks of coronavirus crisis dread, things could finally be getting better. On Wednesday, Russia recorded its first day of more Covid-19 recoveries than new cases, and the prime minister now believes Russia has hit its peak.

According to official statistics published by the Russian government, 9,262 Covid-19 patients beat the virus in the last 24 hours, and 8,764 people were diagnosed. The latest daily number of recoveries is the highest on record, and the tally of newly confirmed cases represents the lowest increase since May 1.

The latest numbers are a positive trend, and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin believes that Russia is reaching the peak of the burden placed on its healthcare system by the virus.

"The situation is gradually stabilizing, especially in Moscow, which was the first to face a new infection," he said.

Eye 2

Jeffrey Epstein 'recruited a young sex trafficking victim' on trip to Africa with Bill Clinton, court papers allege

Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell
© The Mega AgencyBill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell pose at the door of Epstein's private jet during the trip on which Juliette Bryant alleges she was ensnared as a sex trafficking victim
Aspiring model Juliette Bryant says in court filings that she was asked to a 2002 dinner in South Africa with Epstein, "a former high US Government official, a famous actor and a well-known comedian".

Bryant claims it "turned into years of horrific abuse and manipulation" at the hands of the billionaire paedophile, who later repeatedly raped her.

Flight logs — submitted as part of her lawsuit against Epstein's estate — now name ex-President Clinton, actor Spacey and comedian Tucker as being part of the trip.

Bryant now wants Epstein's estate to hand over any documents relating to the trio — although there is no suggestion they knew of her recruitment or subsequent abuse.

Megaphone

Best of the Web: Stanford researcher Dr. John Ioannidis says coronavirus might not be as deadly as flu


Comment: He's hedging by saying 'it might not be as deadly as the flu'. We're confident we can dispense with the academic stance on his behalf and say what he's really thinking: IT'S NOT AS DEADLY AS THE FLU.


covid test
A Stanford statistician says COVID-19 isn't as deadly as we thought — but his calculations in a new study are already under attack from critics who say it overlooks the actual body count.


Comment: They haven't even reported his finding yet but they're already bringing in 'official critics'!


In an analysis, Dr. John Ioannidis places the fatality rate between 0.02%-0.4%, far lower than the 1%-and-way-up numbers that were once bandied about - and much closer to the 0.1% death rate of the flu.

"While COVID-19 is a formidable threat, the fact that its IFR (infection fatality rate) is much lower than originally feared, is a welcome piece of evidence," he wrote. "At a very broad, bird's eye view level, worldwide the IFR of COVID-19 this season may be in the same ballpark as the IFR of influenza."

Comment: 'We shouldn't fetishize numbers'... say the number fetishizers who have panicked the planet with fake numbers for months on end!!!

Ioannidis is recognized as one of the world's leading statisticians and epidemiologists. His critics are worse-than-useless. It's not just that it's 'not the flu', as the global media told everyone 3 months ago. IT'S NOT EVEN THE FLU.


Megaphone

Paris burns for 4th night as residents clash with riot police over motorcyclist's death

paris protest
Protestors pelted riot police with fireworks and other missiles from behind.
Paris riot police faced off against irate protestors in the suburb of Argenteuil amid a fourth night of violence following the death of 18-year-old Sabri Choubi in a motorbike accident at the weekend.

Residents blame police for the young man's death, but authorities have repeatedly denied involvement in the crash which took his life, claiming that a police vehicle in the area at the time was not chasing Choubi.

Regardless, the banlieues - high-rise, low-income areas of the city - continue to burn as the community vents its anger at the second high-profile biker accident in the area in the space of a month.

Cardboard Box

Best of the Web: UK: 250% rise in adults suffering food insecurity, over 15 million see income drop


Comment: It's almost like they're trying to kill millions of people...


poverty uk
© AlamyEven before the coronavirus, living standards had flatlined amid wage stagnation and austerity.
Nearly 5,000,000 adults in the UK are suffering from food insecurity, according to a Food Foundation survey.

In addition to the adults impacted by the issue, a further 1,700,000 children are also suffering from the problem, which has seen households run out of food or ration meals.

Food insecurity is almost 250% higher than prior to the coronavirus lockdown, put in place towards the end of March.

Around 880,000 households are receiving food parcels from the government or other charitable services, while a further 4,400,000 are reliant on friends, families, neighbours or volunteers to bring produce to them.

Comment: The lockdown is compounding the already dire situation in the UK:


Pirates

Successor to Ex-Daesh leader al-Baghdadi arrested

Flag/Quardash
© CNews/oneindia.comISIS flag • Abdullah Quardash
US President Donald Trump in October 2019 announced that former Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed as a result of a US military operation.

Iraqi intelligence announced on Wednesday that an alleged successor to ex-Daesh leader al-Baghdadi had been arrested, according to a report by Ashaq al Awsat.

According to the INA news agency, Iraqi intelligence detained Abdullah Quardash, a possible successor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. "Today, the National Intelligence Service announced the arrest of the candidate to succeed the terrorist Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi", INA news agency reported, citing security sources. No official confirmation from Baghdad has followed the reports.

Comment: So what has Abdullah Qardash (aka: Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi) been up to?
"Qardash was responsible for the production and development of mustard gas, which was used for attacking Iraqi forces across the country. He plays a prominent role in the negotiation process between the group and its factions, as well as with other terrorist movements," Iraq's Intelligence Service said on Thursday.

According to the intelligence, Baghdadi and Qardash met at the end of 2011 in Baghdad. After a while, Baghdadi had tasked him with developing factories in Syria to produce weapons and various explosive devices. Qardash, whose arrest was reported late on Wednesday by the Iraqi state media, also occupied a number of senior positions in Daesh, the office noted.



Gold Coins

Prison for buying bitcoin? Proposed law could see Russians serving time for using cryptocurrencies

bitcoin
© Getty Images / Yuriko NakaoFILE PHOTO
Politicians in Russia have suggested punishment of up to 2 million rubles and seven years in jail for the illegal use of digital assets and currencies. Some say the proposed law amounts to a total ban on cryptocurrencies.

Members of the State Duma, Russia's parliament, are in the process of creating legislation that would introduce criminal liability for using digital financial assets and currencies.

Under the new law, Russians could be penalized for any use of cryptocurrency, from full-blown operations like owning an exchange or mining farm, to smaller transactions, such as buying bitcoin with a Russian bank account.

Comment: One wonders if this includes the e-RMB, aka the crypto-yuan.


Padlock

Best of the Web: New York Post: 'End New York City's lockdown now!'

New York Post cover May 21, 2020
New York Post cover for May 21, 2020
Sometimes, a good rant is all a writer can offer. Bear with me.

Last Friday morning, some 3,500 New Yorkers lined up at a Catholic church in Queens to receive free food hours before it even opened, ­according to the New York Police Department. Catholic Charities has reported a 200 percent increase in demand over the past month and a half.

By prolonging the coronavirus shutdown long after its core mission was accomplished, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have plunged tens of thousands of New Yorkers into poverty.

It needs to end. Now.

Comment: While some can see the need for getting back to business, others are still ignoring the fact that economies are opening back up and masses of people aren't dying.






Attention

Say what? Zacarias Moussaoui renounces terrorism, calls Bin Laden a CIA tool, warns Muslims against fake jihadis

moussaoui bin laden
The only man ever convicted in a U.S. court for a role in the Sept. 11 attacks now says he is renouncing terrorism, al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Colorado after narrowly escaping the death penalty at his 2006 trial.

He was sometimes referred to as the missing 20th hijacker, and while he was clearly a member of al-Qaida there is scant evidence to suggest he was slated to hijack a plane on Sept. 11, 2001. Instead, prosecutors pinned responsibility on Moussaoui because they said he could have prevented the attacks if he had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of al-Qaida and its efforts to attack the U.S. when he was arrested in August 2001.

In a handwritten court motion Moussaoui filed with the federal court in Alexandria last month, Moussaoui wrote, "I denounce, repudiate Usama bin Laden as a useful idiot of the CIA/Saudi. I also proclaim unequivocally my opposition to any terrorist action, attack, propaganda against the U.S."

He also said he wants "to warn young Muslim against the deception and the manipulation of these fake Jihadis."

His remarks are a far cry from his 2006 trial, when he taunted victims and flashed a victory sign after a jury opted to send him to prison for life rather than execute him. At his final sentencing hearing, he told the judge "God save Osama bin Laden you will never get him."

Comment: Well, he may not be right in the head, but he's not wrong...


People 2

US jobless claims total 2.4 million as unnecessary Covid-19 lockdown wreaks havoc

out of business
First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled 2.44 million last week as the tail effects of the coronavirus shutdown continued to impact the U.S. jobs market.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 2.4 million claims.

The seasonally adjusted total, while still well above anything the nation had seen in pre-coronavirus America, represents the seventh straight week of a declining pace following the record peak of 6.9 million in late March.

In addition, a review from last week brought the number down substantially, from 2.98 million to 2.69 million. In the nine weeks since the coronavirus-induced lockdown has closed large parts of the U.S. economy, some 38.6 million workers have filed claims.