Threat Matrix 2020

Established in 2001 after the 9/11 attack on America, this thread is designed to identify threats to America, both internal and external, and evaluate the probability of those threats occurring and the extent of potential damage. Discussions may stray into ‘tinfoil’ territory, but the goal is to peel back and confirm information so we can make founded decisions and actions.

Wuhan Virus -
Many of the various categories I’m following have now integrated effects from this pandemic, but I’m keeping them separate for clarity. We are entering uncharted waters as far as this pandemic goes. . . . . .

Senate democrats agreed to a stimulus package (they had an agreement last Sunday - until Pelosi showed up and threw a monkey wrench into things). Check FR threads for more details and analysis. We are about a week out from the end of the President’s 15 day period. Infection growth rates still climbing with no inflection seen.

Bloomberg is reporting that some countries have halted exports of foods due to fears surrounding the corona virus pandemic. Some countries, like China, are taking the opportunity to divert harvests into the national, strategic reserves (rice and wheat). These shipping bans are not widespread, but could indicate a potential follow-on scenario of localized hunger/famine if it spreads.

Reports are growing of EMS and law enforcement increasingly coming down with the virus. Hardest hit is NYC with New Orleans coming close behind. PAY ATTENTION: fewer law enforcement and MORE criminals released onto the streets will cause crime to skyrocket. Some in NYC are calling the current situation there a Mad Max scenario.

One of the economic tremors now coming into view is how lost income is going to effect the lending community. Mortgage companies are bracing for a severe cash crunch when Americans who lose jobs and income because of the corona virus pandemic stop making payments on their home loans. The companies, such as Quicken Loans Inc. and Mr. Cooper Group Inc., expect a wave of missed payments from borrowers as early as next month that will force them to come up with tens of billions of dollars on short notice.

Syria/Turkey -
There are hints that Turkey is working to come up with a plan to push the US out of the remaining parts of Syria, where Americans are guarding oil fields. During his meeting with Putin earlier in the month, Erdogan spoke about using the oil infrastructure and revenues to rebuild Syria. Not sure how this will pan out, monitoring.

China/Taiwan -
Anger is reportedly building in Taiwan over increased China encroachments. Though this is part of a larger effort by China to exert control of the China Sea, it is troubling to think that China may try something dumb while the rest of the world is focused on the corona virus.

CW2 -
A Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin to law enforcement is warning that violent extremists could strike the U.S. amid the corona virus crisis. “Violent extremists probably are seeking to exploit public fears associated with the spread of COVID-19 to incite violence, intimidate targets and promote their ideologies, and we assess these efforts will intensify in the coming months,” the bulletin states according to ABC News. The article fails to report the abundance of leftist/anarchists (antifa) activity that have been posted here in the past. Again, the current political/social environment is causing extremists on both sides to up gun and stir their supporters. If we get a big bump outside the virus response things could go kinetic on a local basis.

Yesterday LA Mayor Eric Garcetti lashed out at non-essential stores that refuse to close, making an ominous threat to shut off their utilities if they don’t voluntarily close. History shows that such authoritarian control becomes something the politicians will be unwilling to easily give up once the crisis blows through.

In a parallel note, LA County Sheriff’s Dept. Enforcement efforts to close non-essential businesses have been suspended. NOTE: LA County also released some 1700 prisoners into the community to ‘protect’ them from corona virus.

Wuhan Virus -
Many of the various categories I’m following have now integrated effects from this pandemic, but I’m keeping them separate for clarity. Check numerous FR threads for more specific corona virus threads. We are entering uncharted waters as far as this pandemic goes. . . . . .

Senate bill passed last night, Pelosi reportedly doesn’t oppose. Senate now on recess until April 20th - no more grandstanding by democrats there for a little while.

Economic aftershocks continue - tens of thousands of stores are likely not to pay their rent this month, creating a huge shortfall for commercial property owners and eventually banks. In some cases, property owners are working with the stores to work out temporary solutions. Landlords can’t afford to stop collecting rent for long, with many property owners sitting on loads of debt. This is one of the key reasons the President wants to get portions of the country out of lock down and back to work as soon as possible.

In the EU there is a growing sense of unease over Beijing’s targeted strategy to help certain European countries with medical supplies to fight the virus. An EU spokesman said “China is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the US, it is a responsible and reliable partner.” China has even gone as far as to attempt to discredit the EU stigmatize Europeans as if all were carriers of the virus.

The woman came into Gerrity’s Supermarket in Hanover Township and “proceeded to purposely cough” on the store’s fresh produce as well as a small section of its bakery, meat case, and grocery shelves, according to the store’s co-owner Joe Fasula. This resulted in the disposal of approximately $35,000 worth of food. This is the latest in a series of ‘coughing’ incidents in stores that is also running parallel with individuals ‘licking’ items. Law enforcement and DAs are increasingly looking at adding the ‘terrorist’ threat to the charges. Our society is very sick.

My assessment - I don’t see any good trends. Major metropolitan areas will continue to have increased infections and hospitalizations. The response of the private sector to meet medical needs is extraordinary, but will take weeks to tool up to produce enough to make a difference. I expect to see more success stories from the malaria drugs, but also more media efforts to discredit it. The closer to the end of the month we get, I expect to see the President increasingly speak about methods to restart the economy.

Iraq -
Two rockets hit the green zone in Bagdad over night. It is the 26th such attack targeting installations where foreign troops or diplomats are based across Iraq since late October. No injuries reported.

Pakistan/India -
The corona virus has interrupted the border tensions - a viral ceasefire. Pakistan is suffering from a significant epidemic while India currently has outbreaks in a few areas. Efforts once to fight each other are no focused more on fighting the spread of the virus. Pakistan has suffered from the virus the most due to pilgrims from Iran bringing the virus with them and cross border activity with China. India far less so having quickly shut down travel from China and other nations with a lot of virus activity.

Oil Price War -
Some analysts are expecting oil to drop to the $10 / barrel range next month. This is due in part to a production reduction agreement between SA and Russia expiring. Global oil storage is also reportedly near maximum, meaning that there would be no room to store additional production. Other oil producing countries, especially America, are seeing the petroleum industries hit very hard.

CW2 -
Timothy Wilson was killed in confrontation with FBI while en route to attack a hospital filled with Covid-19 patients in Belton, Missouri. Wilson was under FBI surveillance since last September. Benton’s mayor had recently issued ‘stay at home’ orders and Wilson felt compelled to act. Wilson reportedly an extremist alt-right follower. Anger and agitation in the extremists on both sides of the spectrum is continuing to increase.

Terrorism threats -
According to an article by the Washington Times, The Bureau of Prisons failed to adequately monitor thousands of communications from more than 500 inmates with ties to terrorism, according to a Justice Department inspector general report released Wednesday. The prison system is one of the major source of new recruits to radical islam.

British PM Boris Johnson tested positive for corona virus. Symptoms are currently mild and is self isolating.

The US now has the highest cases of CONFIRMED infections in the world. About half of those are centered on New York City with New Orleans developing into another hot spot (Mardi Gras being blamed). News reports surfacing that truckers are reluctant to enter NYC due to the intensity of the outbreak there. Bad news for grocery and other services dependent on outside resupply.

After badmouthing the EU, China is facing additional push back on the poor quality of the corona virus test kits they’ve supplied to EU countries. Reports coming back that they have an error rate of as much as 80%. You can be sure, EU countries paid a pretty euro for them.

Israel -
In a dramatic turn of events, the Blue and White Party, which served as the alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March 2 election, broke up on Thursday after party head Benny Gantz decided to enter Netanyahu’s government. He is expected to resign after a full unity gov is formed. This move will stabilize the government finally after an unprecedented three national elections within a years time. It also issues a death knell to the Blue and White party as its other members now fall apart into separate factions.

Iraq/Iran -
The Freebeacon reports “The Trump administration on Thursday designated a vast network of front companies and entities tied to Iran’s terrorism operations in Iraq, where U.S. personnel have been under near-constant attack by militia groups armed and funded by Tehran.
The new designations target “Iraq-based front companies, senior officials, and business associates that provide support to, or act for or on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), in addition to transferring lethal aid to Iranian-backed terrorist militias in Iraq, such as Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH),” according to the Treasury Department.”

At face value this may not seem like much, but when placed into the greater context of the Iranian economic meltdown it means that what few funds Iran has left may not be available to Iraqi militia if it wants to continue supporting rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Syria/Lebanon.

Venezuela -
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed a searing criminal indictment against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and several “co-conspirators,” accusing them of an array of narcotics and trafficking-related crimes, including efforts to smuggle drugs into the United States. The United States, and more than a hundred other countries, no longer recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela – instead throwing their support behind opposition figure Juan Guiado. However, Maduro has maintained his position at the helm in the capital Caracas, overseeing the socialist regime and commanding the security forces. Expect little to change for now, but this action basically closes the door on any compromise between the US and Maduro.

Iran/Syria -
Reports of three arms shipment via Iranian aircraft arriving at Damascus Thursday. I fully expect that by the end of Friday there will be rubble and secondary explosions at those delivery areas.

Turkey/Syria -
Turkish supported forces in eastern Syria have reportedly cut off water to about 400,000 civilians in the area of Tel Abyad. This is predominantly settled by Kurdish and Christian minorities.

Wuhan Virus -

I’m listing things on my matrix radar here - lots of threads on other aspects of this situation on FR.

President Trump signs order authorizing secretaries of both defense and homeland security to summon military and Coast Guard reservists to active duty. This could be as many as one million. Their use is expected to be in support of efforts to control the epidemic.

Rhode Island has made its mark by essentially closing its borders to New York residents and directing a quarantine of anyone who’s been to New York the past two weeks. Taking it one step further, Rhode Island police began stopping cars with New York plates Friday. On Saturday, the National Guard will help them conduct house-to-house searches to find people who traveled from New York and demand 14 days of self-quarantine.

This is on the backs of the White House urging anyone who has been in New York to self-quarantine for 14 days to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This may become the model for a staged economic recovery by tight isolation of the worst spots. NYC currently has about 50% of the nations corona virus infections and as an important economic/transportation hub likely serves to continually feed infected individuals throughout the country.

Confusion in China as they reclose theaters and restrict travel once again in Hunan. Much rumor of a second wave of infections building and the CCP PR campaign doesn’t like that. In Wuhan, 5%-10% of patients pronounced “recovered” have tested positive again. Internal chaos continues as it is being reported that residents of Hubei province in China teamed up with their local police force to battle the police from neighboring Jiangxi province - who set up a roadblock on the Yangtze River Bridge to prevent the people of Hubei from crossing and returning to work.

West Bank and Gaza -
Corona virus infections are on the increase and the relatively good economy they have had is about to crash. Israel’s lock down responses suddenly put thousands of Palestinians out of work. According to a senior PA official, the Palestinian Authority’s economy is almost entirely incapable of enduring such a crisis. Such a collapse will occur in the span of a few days, predict concerned senior PA officials, who believe that anarchy and chaos will erupt. Not only in the PA areas but, even more drastically in the congested Gaza Strip – where the healthcare system is all but non-functioning in regular times, let alone the current emergency.

Syria -
In the typical middle eastern way, the truce in Idlab is generally holding but there are daily artillery exchanges targeting the careless on both sides.

Lebanon -
Lebanese riot police cleared dozens of protesters camps in Downtown Beirut on Friday evening as the country’s corona virus curfew measures came into effect, local media reported.

Gaza/Israel -
Israel bombed several targets in Gaza after a rocket was launched into Israel. The rocket impacted into an empty field, causing no damage or injuries.

Very busy news day to filter out the crap but here’s what’s on my radar

Wuhan Virus -
Significant developments on my radar . . . .

Reports coming out that U.S military has moved essential command and control teams to hardened locations like Cheyenne Mountain for isolation to weather corona virus pandemic.

The nation is nearing the end of the 15-day program to curb the infection rate. As promised the president is now reviewing options for the path forward. One such option appears to be the regional interstate quarantines of hot spots. Yesterday Rhode Island made the news with state police and NG stopping NY licensed vehicles as well as going door to door to identify any NY residents and enforcing a 14 day quarantine. Today Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is requiring travelers from Louisiana to self-isolate for 14 days and said the Florida Highway Patrol will install checkpoints on major roads to screen travelers from that area, he announced on Friday. The lack of comment by the President other than to only issue stern travel warnings may indicate his concurrence with the practice. Other actions such as opening up the economy may depend upon containing these hot spots.

People fleeing pandemic hot spots - NYC and now New Orleans is not unexpected. This migration was documented in California over a week ago when at that time it looked like the state would have explosive infection numbers. Many fled to second homes, vacation rentals and RV camping areas in S Cal, overwhelming local small cities and their resources.

Individual security concerns reflected in recent gun/ammo sales surge is also being seen in the home security market where it is reported that sales have jumped nearly 90% in recent days. Periods of social instability also generate insecurity, a fact not helped by the publicized release of thousands of prisoners across the nation. MONITORING - this could be a precursor to serious societal breakdown as the imposed shelter in place orders drag on.

Interesting information regarding the reported abundance of urns in Wuhan - it is estimated that urns delivered is about twice the official virus death count. Many linking this to the clear suspicion that china fudged the real numbers to save face.

Saudi Arabia-
Two missiles were fired at Riyadh SA overnight, they were reportedly shot down by Patriot missiles. Some reports indicate that they may have been fired from the vicinity of Basrah, Iraq. Other reports that Houthi fired off the attack.

N Korea -
Launched a suspected ballistic missile into the East China Sea near Japan overnight.

Iraq -
U.S. officials say they are receiving near-daily reports of “imminent” attacks planned against US-linked military or diplomatic facilities. Iran has been trying to motivate its militias to harass US and allied forces. I think that things are delayed because of the corona virus with Iran and shia’s being hardest hit.

Iran -
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has designed and produced a new generation of centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant in central Iran, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

Wuhan Virus -
As we enter an extended period of social distancing, these are the significant developments on my radar . . . .

Democrat governors are threatening doctors and pharmacists with consequences for prescribing or filling orders for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat the Wuhan virus. This is an extension of the TDS - anything that the President is for - democrats in a knee jerk reaction are against and will do what ever to disrupt those things to try to make him look bad.

“We will be extending our guidelines to April 30th to slow the spread,” Trump said Sunday in the Rose Garden.
The extension was announced after the president said the peak death rate in the United States for the coronavirus is expected to hit in two weeks, according to models of the virus.

Reports from NYC state that 13% of the NYPD is out sick, 4,651 officers. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said he expects 900 to have tested positive for coronavirus by tomorrow morning. This probably projects to fire department and medical personnel (perhaps even higher having to physically respond to calls)

Russia is initiating policies similar to shelter in place across the country and specifically in Moscow. Today they closed their borders. So much for the russian immunity. I suspect that they have a much larger problem and are keeping a wrap on it - or at least have been and the wrappings are coming loose.

Fallout continues regarding the poor quality of Chinese test kits sent to Spain, Turkey, and Czech Republic - 80% failure rate. Netherlands is recalling 600,000 protective masks for similar quality reasons. This is blowing up China’s PR efforts to be the ‘good’ guy in this whole pandemic and pin the blame on the US.

Saudi Arabia/Russia-
Crude oil prices have dropped 68 percent this year as the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has added to a supply glut at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic has caused demand destruction. Prices dipped below $20 / barrel for a short period. These depressed prices under these circumstances have added to downward pressures on international markets.

Iraq/Iran -
Increasing rumors that U.S. might launch a military operation against Kata’ib Hezbollah. This is the primary Iranian supported militia group in Iraq. Over the past week US military spokesmen have been stating that there is intelligence of a larger offensive being planned by iranian backed militias. In recent days as well, attacks against US/collation troops have marked a slight increase. That increase may be tempered by corona virus impacting there shia members of those militias.

Gaza-
Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip have cancelled mass rallies planned for next week along the border with Israel amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the densely-populated territory. This accounts for the reason things have been relatively quiet towards Israel lately.

Corona virus overwhelming the news feeds and sources.

Wuhan Virus -
Significant developments on my radar . . . .

States are now switching to mandatory 14 day quarantines for outsiders entering their states. This is creating friction between states and governors. Washington is silent on this increasing trend.

LA and Seattle reported corona virus has officially entered their homeless communities. This will create a strong spike in infections and deaths.

Observations of Chinese rhetoric and news leaking out of the country indicate that there may be a second wave of infections building. One report from the Hunan area has 48 new cases that have emerged with one new death, the reputed “source” having brought the infection from outside the country. The now viral report of tens of thousands of burial urns in Wuhan has generated estimated deaths of 42,000, versus the reported 3304.

Iran -
Intelligence continues to build indicating that Iran is attempting to use the corona virus as an opportunity to force easing of sanctions and furthermost of its power plans for the middle east. The major problem is that internal discord with the Iranian economy, continued wars and now pandemic response have many Iranians upset with the government’s response to the outbreak. Increased proxy attacks of late suggest the attempt is going out, but I suspect much of the lack of vitality of those attacks are muted one due to the effects of the virus on those proxies as well as the lack luster leadership following the killing of the IRGC general last year.

Libya -
The European Union announced Tuesday the launch of a new naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at enforcing the U.N. arms embargo on Libya. The previous mission unraveled when Italy opposed it saying it increased illegal immigration to the country. Cease fire talks are not producing any results and clashes are reported to be on the rise.

CW2/Civil Unrest -
A great warning from observation of history. High unemployment and stagnant economic activity tend to lead to social unrest, including demonstrations, strikes, and other forms of potentially violent disruptions. Leftist groups like Antifa have already been promoting disruptions and rioting, but for now largely refrained from actions. As local police forces get hammered by the virus resulting in fewer LEOs on the street, and criminals released from jails/prisons, crime rates will increase, placing additional pressures. Add to the mix people being limited largely to their homes and it becomes explosive. Businesses around the country are being observed to be taking precautions by boarding up their closed stores. As I’ve pointed out earlier, the run on guns/ammo is a reflection of the uncertainty of the stability of society to maintain order and peace as this emergency continues.
Add to the current situation the presidential elections and things can become even more explosive if the crisis doesn’t start getting resolved by summer.

WARNING ANALYSIS - Status quo can be maintained provided there are no substantial hits to the continued receipt of welfare and related. If that gets interrupted or stopped for any period of time expect the inner cities to become violent. Watch out for any serious disruption of the food supply chain. Stores are just getting their supply chain back to pre-panic status. Be alert to national and local news for any of these indicators. If you failed to prepare by having a minimal 2-week food supply, NOW is the time to correct that - gently because even two weeks worth of purchases will draw red flags.

Trying to stay on top of other critical issues/threats inspire of the wall to wall corona virus news.

Wuhan Virus -
Significant developments on my radar . . . .

Deaths from the virus in the US have exceeded China’s “reported” death toll. If observations are correct that is a fake milestone considering that the real toll is probably at least 10x what the Chinese have reported. Even so, US death toll went from 3000 to 4000 in less than 24 hours. . . .

Yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci estimated that – even with all of the correct measures being put into place – the best case is 100,000 to 200,000 deaths as a result of the COVID-19 virus. This places the toll from china into a very suspicious mode. China has about 4x the US population in many densely packed cities. Yet our ‘models’ indicate that we expect TWO orders of magnitude numbers of deaths. Something is not adding up.

Russia sent a cargo aircraft full of medical supplies. The amount is but a drop in the bucket to US needs and is at best a PR stint by Putin to rub the US’ face in the current problem.

L.A. County Sheriff has released about 2,900 nonviolent inmates (16% of jail population) with another 500 set to be released today. This is all in the name of protecting them from the virus. This is a very stupid policy. There are no jobs for them to go to, the city is under a ‘shelter in place’ order, making the only community they can process into that of crime. This is happening all over the country now - expect increasing crime waves.
BTW - on a good note, the sheriff has been removed as head of the county EOC and there is a growing movement to vote him out of office.

Israel/Syria -
Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in the area near Homs, Syria for the second time within a month on Tuesday night. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the airstrike targeted the Al-Shayrat airbase and sites belonging to Iranian militias near Homs and that a cargo plane had flown between the airbase and the T-4 airbase shortly before the airstrikes occurred. I noted a few days ago that cargo planes arrived from Iran and to expect air strikes. Well they are here. There was no significant Syrian AA response. Syrian sources say it is a combination of ada moved north to support Idlib operations and corona virus

N Korea -
Returning to more hostile rhetoric North Korea vowed Monday to “repay the U.S. with actual horror and unrest” following remarks from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week in which he called on world leaders to keep applying pressure on the Hermit Kingdom’s controversial nuclear program.

Corona virus overwhelming the news feeds and sources.

Wuhan Virus -
Significant developments on my radar . . . .

EU is in melt down mode. Stronger countries like Germany/France forcing lesser nations like Italy and Spain to the sidelines in regards to financial and medical support. Survival of the fittest mode.

US hitting 1000+ fatalities per day rate. For those who want to compare this to the annual flu - NYC has had as many corona virus deaths in one month as they get from the flu in an entire YEAR. The current seasonal flu death - approximately 8,000, US corona virus currently is over 5,000.

March 2020 was the second largest for gun sales at over 2 million. The only month larger was after 0bama’s re-election.

A county in central Henan Province, China has gone under a total lock down due to recent COVID-19 cases. This could be the leading edge of a feared second wave of infections to hit the nation. More and more evidence of the massive Chinese coverup over the origin, and actual numbers keeps getting more and more exposure. China imported more than two billion masks and 25 million pieces of protective clothing from overseas before the corona virus outbreak reached pandemic levels, it has been revealed from a Chinese government report detailing its foreign trade for the first two months of the year.

Israel -
IAF night time activity over Beirut has become an almost common occurrence. This is paying off by throwing the Syrian ada system into a normalcy mode, so that when Israel launches an attack on Iranian storage facilities, Syria lacks the response time to effectively engage the first salvos of missiles. It also sends a message to the Hezbollah dominated Lebanese government that they are impotent to stop IAF operations.

Drug War -
Responding to what appears to be drug cartels trying to take advantage of the chaos and diversion of resources to deal with the corona virus, the US has beefed up its interdiction of drugs via sea. This also coincides with the indictment of Venezuela’s Madura for drug trafficking.

Iran -
The President on Wednesday warned Iran about a suspected surprise attack on US and collation forces. I been posting on that threat already, but the fact that it has fully reached POTUS’ attention for him to speak out means he thinks iran may do something stupid. As warned, Iran is seriously injured economically as well as bled out from Syria and corona virus. The mullah’s may out if they think their positions are in jeopardy regardless on the consequences thinking they will solidify support of the nation behind them.

CW2 -
The exploding unemployment rate resulting from the corona virus shutdowns should put everyone at high alert. It is very common for social upheavals during periods such as this where the combination of polarization of the virus, stressed access to food supplies, release of thousands from prison, confinement/controls of personal movements and liberties and the overall entitlement generation start to converge into a dangerous cocktail. Radical labor union organizers are on line encouraging more radical and violent strikes and activities, targeting the capitalist corporations they see as the cause of societal discomfort during this pandemic. Leftist groups like Antifa are laying the foundations for the same - conditioning their followers to go on looting and violent riots against just about everything. Law enforcement will continue to have a reduced presence due to forces being hit with the virus, further compounding issues. Be alert, if this thing stays locked down much past June, things could get spicy fast.

Corona virus overwhelming the news feeds and sources.

Wuhan Virus -
Significant developments on my radar . . . . ;

Officially crossed the one million infections globally. See FR thread for developments.

Weekly jobless claims have just gone off the chart. The probability of civil unrest has just increased significantly.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1365/jobless-claims-historical-chart

A Brooklyn man was caught allegedly hoarding close to one million masks, gloves, gowns and other medical supplies. Officials confiscated the materials and arrested the individual.

Other corona virus reverberations are continuing to rock the economy. Commodities prices have dropped, pulling the carpet out from under farmers. Corn crops designated for ethanol production may end up rotting as production facilities are expected to decrease by 1/3. Beef is nearing some of its lowest prices as people seem to be switching to vegetables and wheat. Storage for the excess is not existent. Other signs of economic crunch consists of looking at major railroad yards. The Union Pacific yard in Roseville CA has dozens of idle engines parked throughout. No trains being formed up. This reflects reduced cargo traffic in the Bay area coming and going.

March 2020 was the largest for background checks and reportedly the second largest for gun sales at over 2 million. It may have exceeded the sales following 0bama’s re-election. Numbers still coming in.

Russia reported 771 new cases today which was a 43% jump over yesterday, but the official total is still below 4,000 cases. Most of those cases are in Moscow where, as of today, everyone is required to download and install a new phone tracking app. Putin extended the lock down thru the end of April.

In an act of unmitigated gall, 3M reportedly sold masks destined for the US to foreign countries that were will to pay more. Corporate leaders that approved the sales/diversions could face jail for violations of the Defense Production Act.

Iran -
The second US carrier is departing the Persian Gulf region, the USS Truman. With the USS Rosevelt down due to corona virus infections, that leaves the USS Regan the only active and close carrier group to the region should Iran get froggy.

CW2 -
Still looking at continued reports buried under the corona virus news about localized looting and businesses boarding up their stores in potential preparation for civil disturbances and riots. I can’t say just when or what will trigger violence but the social / economic state the country is in is delicate to say the least.

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