Comment:

• U.S. Empire is heading into 'irrevocable' decline
• Collapse: The nine dynamics of decay, the lifestyle of bureaucracy
• Closing the 'Collapse Gap': the USSR was better prepared for collapse
• Elite power and why America is so corrupt

Comment: This analysis sounds like it's on the right track. The media shouted too loudly about that Wuhan market. We initially suspected a connection with China's only BSL-4 biolab in Wuhan, but that does indeed appear to be pure coincidence.

• CDC suddenly shuts down US Army's Fort Detrick bioweapons lab due to 'lapses in safety'
• New Fort Detrick BioDefense laboratory may reflect a Bush germ war effort
• Pentagon Biological Weapons Program Never Ended: US Bio-labs Around The World
• Ethnic-Specific Weapons: Leaked Documents Reveal US Diplomats in Georgia Trafficking Human Blood And Pathogens For Pentagon Biowarfare Laboratory
• Research paper finds HIV like insertions in 2019-nCoV not found in any other coronavirus, "unlikely to be fortuitous in nature"
• Coronavirus Coverup: Vitamin C dramatic help against infection in China, South Korea — Why aren't we being told?

Comment: See also:

• Washington-based Organization of American States 'deteriorated', ceased to be inter-American - Argentina's president-elect
• 'OAS misled public': MIT study finds 'NO evidence of fraud' in Bolivia election that saw Evo Morales ousted in military coup
• Mexico condemns coup in Bolivia, slams OAS over inaction
• Rafael Correa: Morales forced out by 'coup'; OAS an instrument for 'US domination'
• 'Get your rifle, piece of trash': Maduro lambasts OAS chief who suggested "military intervention" in Venezuela
• Washington's "Ministry of Colonies": OAS panel obediently ignores Zionist crimes and abuses but pushes for regime change in Venezuela

Comment: AOC, Sanders, et.al. nix sanctions during epidemic

Nine members of Congress have signed on to a letter asking the Trump administration to suspend U.S. sanctions on Iran amid the COVID-19 crisis. The letter, which was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin:

"Rather than continue to pile on sanctions in the Iranian people's hour of need, we urge you to substantially suspend sanctions on Iran in a humanitarian gesture to the Iranian people to better enable them to fight the virus, it reads. Sanctions relief should encompass major sectors of the Iranian economy, including those impacting civilian industries, Iran's banking sector and exports of oil, and should last for at least as long as health experts believe the crisis will continue. Failure to do so risks inhibiting the delivery of key humanitarian goods, and putting the Iranian people into further health and economic peril."

It was signed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA).

Activists have launched a "80 Hours for 80 Million Lives" campaign, which calls on individuals to collectively make 80 hours of calls to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and demand an end to the sanctions. They've also scheduled a "Twitter storm" for this afternoon using the hashtag #EndCOVIDSanctions.

Narges Bajoghli, an assistant professor of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Mahsa Rouhi, a research fellow at the Nonproliferation and Nuclear Policy program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, detail the the horrific reality in todays New York Times:

"The Trump administration claims that its sanctions do not hinder medicine and humanitarian trade. But since the sanctions prevent international financial transactions and shipping, any trade, including that of medicines and medical equipment, is almost impossible. Several companies that supply the medical equipment required to fight coronavirus have stopped shipping to Iran because their banks refuse to handle the transactions.

"The Trump administration's unwillingness to ease restrictions when Iran faces this debilitating crisis will severely hobble efforts at engagement for years to come and stain the reputation of the United States as a global leader."

Times like these seem to bring out the best and worst in people. Is it more than a choice?

Comment: It just shows how opportunist and pathological some politicians are that they would use the coronavirus crisis for their own ends: Nancy Pelosi isn't going to let a global crisis go to waste

In response to the bill, U.S. stocks whipsawed:

Wall Street was up and down on Wednesday after a historic surge in the previous session that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring more than 2,000 points in its best one-day percentage gain since 1933.

The Dow jumped 700 points from the opening bell before retreating into negative territory. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also traded lower.

On Wednesday, the US Senate and the White House reached a deal on a massive $2 trillion relief bill to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Asian markets soared. And European stocks rose too.

See also: UK MPs to leave Parliament for month-long recess as controversial Coronavirus Bill is rushed through

Comment: And at the same time we're being told that the the country is basically on a war footing?

See also:

• Coronavirus: Language as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
• Coronavirus and why Russians are lucky to be led by Putin
• Public health professors warn that COVID-19 crackdown could be more harmful than virus itself
• Class war in the making? Coronavirus quarantines pit well-off hermits against serfs who supply them

Comment: Trump also announced during a town hall that he canceled the Democrat's version of the coronavirus bill on Tuesday, which was bloated with financial aid to places that weren't even affected by the shutdown. Meanwhile, France is expected to stay locked down for six more weeks, That's the recommendation from a group of Macron advisors. The Dow surged on Tuesday on the hopes of a trillion-dollar stimulus package passing. Three US Navy sailors aboard aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippines were the first service members deployed on a ship to test positive for coronavirus. The LA County Sheriff decided to make gun shops non-essential services, which means they will have to close during the lockdown.

Greta Thunberg felt the need to announce to the world that it's "extremely likely" she has contracted the coronavirus, despite the fact that her symptoms are not so bad that she needs immediate attention. Italy has upped the fines for people defying the quarantine. People can now be fined up to $3,200 for having the temerity to go outside. The Moscow mayor met with Putin today and warned that there could be many more cases than what has been officially reported in Russia. He urged the president to take more robust measures to fight the spread. Putin already has to deal with being referred to as a dictator - which is ridiculous - so it's hard to blame him for being reticent to lock down Russia. They have continued to shut down non-essential businesses, as on Tuesday all night clubs, cinemas, entertainment centers and hookah bars will have to shutter their doors.

Anyone who has left NYC over the last few days is being urged to self-quarantine for two weeks due to the large number of cases coming out of the East Coast. Trump's senior immunologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has slammed the mainstream media for trying to pit him against Trump. The media has a serious issue with trying to always find a way to make Trump look bad, they don't care about the consequences. A hysterical journalist at the Telegraph revealed her xenophobia by tweeting that, once the coronavirus madness is over, anyone who owns a product made in China should wear a "badge of shame."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo thinks that "the worst is yet to come" for NYC and that the apex will be in the next few weeks. He believes the priority for medical supplies like ventilators should be in NY. A legal counsel for Julian Assange, Baltasar Garzon, has been admitted to a hospital in Spain after testing positive for the virus. The French department of Aisne has banned the sale of alcohol during the lockdown. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has classified gun shops as an essential service, reversing a sales ban when the state went into lockdown.

The epicenter of the outbreak, China's Wuhan, saw no new cases today as 60 million residents go back to living their normal lives.

Kudlow: Look at reopening safe areas

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said that congressional leaders are close to striking a deal on a $2 trillion-plus fiscal stimulus package to try to assist workers and businesses who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak. He said the package is "absolutely essential" to the reopening of the economy.

"After the 15-day period is over, which I guess ends [at] the end of this week or the weekend, we will take another look at the possibility of targeting areas that are safe enough. We have to do this with the assent and help of the health specialists — there's no question about that."

He said they're hearing from a lot of small businesses who want to see if they can "liberalize" and "target more" and "stop as many shutdowns as we have. That doesn't mean [we're] going to leave social distancing; that doesn't mean we're going to walk away from the mitigating advice that we've received from our health specialists and so forth. It just means we're going to take a slightly different look at this and I think the president would like to do something in the next couple of weeks. We know small businesses have been shut in, we know that a lot of workers are either furloughed or laid off."

Coupled with $4 trillion of lending authority for the Federal Reserve, the stimulus could add up to about $6 trillion, or 30% of GDP.

"This is the largest Main Street assistance package in the history of the country. Here we are with a $6 trillion package and we may be taking a new look at the shut-ins around the country. But let's get this thing passed. Let's just get this bill passed. It's so important."

Mr. Kudlow said a $500 billion stabilization fund for businesses, states and localities is not a "slush fund," as Democrats have described it. "This is aboveboard. Everyone will get a chance to see it. Nothing's going to be hidden, and we're just trying to get the basic essentials of the economy."

Comment: On the one hand, it's over the top to scold Biden for coughing in his own home. On the other hand, if Biden is going to criticize Trump he should make sure that he is not leaving himself open to criticism. He's rather clueless overall, so this isn't surprising behavior.