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Talking creates lingering droplets in air that might spread coronavirus - study


Sputnik
Thu, 14 May 2020 18:58 UTC
couple sitting dock
© Pixabay/CC0
A new report published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that loud speech can cause particles, which may contain the COVID-19 coronavirus, to escape from a person's mouth and remain in the air for as long as 14 minutes.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the University of Pennsylvania, used a laser to determine the number of respiratory droplets released through human speech. The researchers found that just one minute of loud speaking releases at least 1,000 droplets that can linger for as long as 14 minutes, possibly carrying the coronavirus.

"Highly sensitive laser light scattering observations have revealed that loud speech can emit thousands of oral fluid droplets per second," the report concluded, adding that researchers' observations confirmed "that there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments."

Comment: Is this really news? Everyone knows that when you're hanging out with a sick person you're going to be exposed to that sickness. Trying to mitigate exposure is basically a fool's game (masks included). Viruses are everywhere. Keeping the best defense against infections, your immune system, in tip top shape is the only viable strategy. While this study itself may be valid in and of itself, its promotion in the media is nothing more than fear porn.

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Handcuffs

Montenegro police arrest 60 protesters after clashes over detention of Orthodox priests


RT
Thu, 14 May 2020 17:00 UTC
Riot police Montenegro
© Reuters / Stevo VasiljevicRiot police in Montenegro.
Montenegro police used teargas against protesters demanding the release of Serbian Orthodox Church priests detained for violating Covid-19 restrictions. Demonstrators claim the arrests were part of a wider crackdown on the Church.

The people's anger was caused by the arrest of Serbian Orthodox Church Bishop Joanikije and several priests who led a religious procession amid a ban on public gatherings in the town of Niksic on Tuesday. The protests broke out late on Wednesday in several cities in the small Balkan state, which split from Serbia in 2006.

Videos from the protests captured violent scenes, showing a group of around a dozen policemen in full riot gear attacking a single demonstrator with batons and the crowd fleeing from the tear gas. Law enforcement also used stun grenades against the demonstrators, In4s website reported.

Comment: See also:

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Stormtrooper

Woman in Stormtrooper costume attacked by idiot police for carrying plastic gun at Star Wars-themed restaurant

Elias Marat
The Mind Unleashed
Wed, 13 May 2020 17:24 UTC
stormtrooper costumed arrest
An investigation has been launched after a woman dressed as a stormtrooper to promote a restaurant on Star Wars day (4 May) was thrown to the ground by police for carrying a 'firearm' which turned out to be a toy gun.

Police in Canada have launched an internal investigation after police officers threw a woman wearing a Star Wars stormtrooper costume to the ground and bloodying her before handcuffing her on suspicion that she was carrying a gun on May 4th. However, the "firearm" was actually a toy modeled on the blaster guns carried by the iconic Imperial villains.

May the fourth is known among fans of George Lucas' as Star Wars Day. The catchphrase of the occasion, "May the Fourth be with you," is a pun on the saga's beloved catchphrase, "May the Force be with you."

Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, a pizza and donair kebab restaurant themed on the series located in Lethbridge, Alberta, hoped to use the unofficial holiday to promote itself.

Restaurant owner Bradley Whalen explained to Lethbridge News Now:
"We had music playing in the parking lot, we had one of our staff dress up as a stormtrooper kind of waving to people walking up and down the road, we had people stopping by and getting pictures with the stormtrooper, we put a couple of promotions on in the restaurant to entice people to come."

Comment: Canada would now be following further in the hystericized police state tactics of its neighbor to the south, where bizarrely explained shootings are a matter of course. Now that Canada has had its very high-profile, highly unlikely mass shooting, Puppet Trudeau is falling in lock-step. And so, apparently, are the Canadian police.

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Snakes in Suits

Washington State Governor to residents: COVID-test-deniers will not be allowed to leave home to get groceries

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Wed, 13 May 2020 11:20 UTC
obey
At his May 12 press conference, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee laid out the plans for the statewide contact tracing initiative.
"[The initiative] is robust, it is vigorous and it is comprehensive, and it needs to be all three to be successful," Inslee said.

"If we do not succeed in this second stage of our efforts, this virus could come bright back and bite us."
As LynnwoodTimes.com's Luke Putvin notes, the information Inslee provided was labeled as "Contact Tracing: Box in The Virus." The steps were listed as follows:

box the virus
Contact tracing involves interviewing people with positive COVID-19 tests to identify who they've been in contact with, getting those people tested and then making sure they isolate themselves and their families.
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Bizarro Earth

Army to scale-down joint exercise in Europe with coronavirus precautions

John Vandiver
Stars and Stripes
Thu, 14 May 2020 22:05 UTC
Allied Spirit exercise
© MARTIN EGNASH/STARS AND STRIPESThe enemy forces, in a training scenerio, signal to fellow soldiers using a spotlight, during the Allied Spirit VIII exercise in Hohenfels, Germany, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018.
Thousands of U.S. and Polish soldiers will participate in drills next month, marking the first time since the coronavirus crisis began that American troops will assemble for a large-scale exercise in Europe.

"All COVID-19 precautionary measures will be taken to ensure the health and protection of participating armed forces and the local population," U.S. Army Europe said in a statement Wednesday.

Called Allied Spirit, the drill is connected to the scaled-down version of Defender Europe-20, a series of events that was intended to be among the largest Army training efforts on the Continent since the Cold War.
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Footprints

Germany will ease border restrictions aiming for 'free travel' by mid-June


France 24
Wed, 13 May 2020 13:21 UTC
2 hikers on road
© picture-alliance/dpa/P.KneffelGerman borders to open on June 15
Germany wants to end by the middle of next month checks at land borders introduced to fight the coronavirus as infection rates slow, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Wednesday.

Seehofer told reporters the EU's top economy had "set the clear goal of free travel in Europe by mid-June" and would begin easing some border checks this week.

Restrictions on crossing the border imposed two months ago would be ended with Luxembourg and eased with Austria, Switzerland and France on Saturday, enabling business trips and family visits to take place. The border controls with those neighbours would then end on June 15, assuming the virus outbreak is still seen to be under control.

The total opening of borders "depends on our continuing to do our all to fight the infection," Seehofer said, warning against complacency in light of the encouraging data in Germany. Seehofer said the agreements on loosening the measures had been reached in bilateral talks with neighbours this week.

He said that travel from non-EU countries such as the United States and Russia would remain restricted until at least June 15.

Comment:
Austria is looking to ease restrictions as well, but Chancellor Kurz has announced that his nation's border with Italy will remain shut. He claims the current number of Covid-19 infections in Italy makes reopening the shared border an imprudent choice for the time being. Border traffic between Germany and Austria will be eased starting this weekend. The Swiss-Austrian border will likewise be opened in mid-June.


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Star of David

Israel: Decades of discriminatory land policies continue to hem in Palestinians


Human Rights Watch
Tue, 12 May 2020 18:02 UTC
Jisr al-Zarqa Israel
© Lowshot LtdJisr al-Zarqa, the only Palestinian town in Israel on the Mediterranean, bordered to the south by an earthen berm separating it from the predominantly Jewish town of Caesarea; to the north by Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, with its fish ponds; and to the east by Highway 2. Aerial photography taken between 2011 and 2015.
Palestinian towns squeezed while Jewish towns grow

The Israeli government's policy of boxing in Palestinian communities extends beyond the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian towns and villages inside Israel, Human Rights Watch said today. The policy discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel and in favor of Jewish citizens, sharply restricting Palestinians' access to land for housing to accommodate natural population growth.

Decades of land confiscations and discriminatory planning policies have confined many Palestinian citizens to densely populated towns and villages that have little room to expand. Meanwhile, the Israeli government nurtures the growth and expansion of neighboring predominantly Jewish communities, many built on the ruins of Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948. Many small Jewish towns also have admissions committees that effectively bar Palestinians from living there.
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Light Saber

Losing her grip: Michigan sheriff says he won't enforce Whitmer's stay-at-home order

Aris Folley
The HIll
Mon, 11 May 2020 17:51 UTC
Gretchen Whitmer
© State Of MichiganMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, gives an update to the state's response to the coronavirus on Monday, May 11, 2020. Whitmer is joined by Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, center, and Chief Operations Officer Tricia Foster."
A county sheriff in Michigan said Monday that his office will not enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D) stay-at-home order intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which data shows has resulted in more than 47,000 cases in the state and more than 4,500 deaths.

Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian BeGole said in a written statement that he decided to share his office's position on the governor's executive orders after receiving "many calls" from local residents and businesses on the matter and "especially since the Michigan Legislature did not extend the state of emergency beyond April 30 as required by law."

"The legality of that is a judicial branch determination," BeGole said, noting his office's "responsibility to serve and protect the citizens of Shiawassee County and to ensure their rights as described in both state and federal Constitution."

"With limited resources, staffing and facilities, our priority focus will be on enforcing duly passed laws for the protection of Shiawassee County citizens," he added. "I have decided, within my authority, that our office cannot and will not divert our primary resources and efforts towards enforcement of the Governor Whitmer's executive orders."

The move comes about a week after two county sheriffs in Arizona said they would not enforce Gov. Doug Ducey's (R-Ariz.) stay-at-home order, citing the Constitution, and days after a California sheriff said he would not enforce similar coronavirus measures in the state because it was "time to get back opening up."

Though the stay-at-home order in Michigan had previously been scheduled to end later this week, Whitmer extended it last week through late May in a bid to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Comment: Whitmer would do well to remember that her power is derived from the people, and if the people decide that they don't agree with her dictatorial power grab then she has no power.



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Eye 1

This is why you can't trust the fact checkers

Derrick Broze
The Last American Vagabond
Mon, 11 May 2020 07:13 UTC
facebook fact check
For the last eight years I have worked as a writer, researcher, and investigative reporter for many well-known American independent media outlets. I have spent my time investigating digital surveillance technology, attacks on indigenous communities, and the overall growth of the government and corporate power. As someone working in this field, writing about topics which are often seen as controversial or "outside the mainstream" - censorship and personal attacks are part of the job description.

However, the attacks on independent media have rapidly increased in the last four years, with many formerly active journalistic outlets ceasing to exist due to lack of traffic and thus, lack of funds. We have seen outlets outright branded "fake news" or accused of collusion with the Russian government. Some channels and websites have been unable to apply for advertising or use certain digital products based on these labels. Some channels and reporters have been deleted off social media and other digital platforms altogether. And, if the social media managers don't delete you, they might just use the algorithm to hide your posts, limiting your ability to interact with the public.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Pennsylvania health official moved mother from nursing home as deaths skyrocketed

Ben Feuerherd
New York Post
Wed, 13 May 2020 17:40 UTC
Rachel Levine
© APDr. Rachel Levine
The health official responsible for overseeing nursing homes in Pennsylvania — where nearly 70 percent of the state's coronavirus-related deaths have occurred — has reportedly moved her elderly mother out of a facility as deaths skyrocketed.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel ­Levine said Tuesday that her 95-year-old mother requested to be moved out of a personal-care home, the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg ­reported.

"My mother requested, and my sister and I as her children complied, to move her to another location during the COVID-19 outbreak," said Levine, ­according to ABC27.

"My mother is 95 years old. She is very intelligent and more than competent to make her own decisions," Levine added.

Comment: It's okay for policy makers to make their own decisions about how they will or will not comply with their own dictates in response to the corona-circus, but not okay for anyone else.

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