Wuhan virus -
That which in 2019 was tinfoil hat time turned out otherwise. WEF and Bill Gates playing pandemic planning games about a “novel coronavirus” just before the wuhan virus broke forth officially. Now director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a virus even more transmissible and fatal than Covid-19, noting the “evolutionary certainty” of such an occurrence. Last month vp harris addressing the UN said “we must prepare for the next one” when speaking of the wuhan epidemic.
OBSERVATION - I’ll admit, the tinfoil is strong here, but given the almost frantic effort of governments and ‘scientists’ pushing for 100% vaccination for a disease that has a 99.7% recovery rate makes me stop and say “why”.
Project Veritas has released a memo from facebook that states that it will censor and delete any information that may lead to “vaccine hesitancy”. Be aware.
With fauci backtracking on the wuhan source debate, now all the medial outlets are scrambling to an orwellian rewrite of their denials of the lab release theory. A year ago they chalked concerns about the Wuhan lab up to “conspiracy theories.” Even Politifact is retracting its defense as new information comes out.
biden has called for an ‘independent’ investigation into the origins of the wuhan virus while at the same time ordering the State Dept to end its investigation of the same.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
biden issued an “executive order” requiring financial regulators and government budget managers to weigh “climate risk” in issuing regulations and making investment decisions.
Governors from Texas, Idaho, Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, South Carolina, and Wyoming have issued executive orders to ban COVID-19 vaccine passports, while Iowa, Alabama, Utah, Arkansas, and North Dakota have passed bills into law to deal with the issue. Other states like California, Oregon, Washington and NY are pressing forward with passports.
The World Bank has told Russia that it should implement a guaranteed minimum income for the nation to combat poverty and economic hardship. No comment from Russia in response that I can find.
On Tuesday the Pope called on all to embrace essentially the green new deal, calling for “a new ecological approach” to transform “the way humans inhabit the world, our lifestyles, our relationship with the earth’s resources and, in general, our way of seeing human beings and living life.”
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Economy -
Brazil has announced that it expects total coffee output to plunge 22.6% in 2021. About 70% of the world’s Arabica beans are grown in Brazil. The decline in production is due to a massive drought that has enveloped the entire country. Adjacent areas coffee production has been hit as well. Coffee futures are on the rise.
23 States have now ended the $300 weekly federal pandemic unemployment compensation supplement.
The National Composite Index marked its tenth consecutive month of accelerating prices with a 13.2% gain from year-ago levels, up from 12.0% in February. Analysts are trying to link the rise to people relocating due to wuhan, which may have been a component, but not mentioned was last years BLM/Antifa riots and skyrocketing crime in major cities that drove people out of the cities and into the suburbs.
NOTE - the bubble grows larger, supported by low interest rates from the Fed.
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Invasion of Illegals -
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is moving to end a local police program in Bristol County, Massachusetts, that has helped take illegal alien child rapists, attempted murderers, assailants, carjackers, and others off the streets. Last week, Mayorkas announced he was directing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to end its 287(g) agreement with Bristol County, Massachusetts, as well as terminating DHS use of detention facilities in Massachusetts and Georgia — both of which hold criminal illegal aliens.
Analysis from Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) Director of Investigations Jon Feere’s analysis of the program he writes “The Biden administration seems to be upset that the successful 287(g) program in Bristol County, Mass., has resulted in the identification of illegal aliens arrested for child rape, assault, strangulation, arson, attempted murder, armed carjacking, breaking and entering, and identity theft, and they plan to put an end to this public safety program immediately, no matter the cost to public safety. This is consistent with the administration’s enforcement priorities and would ensure that countless criminal aliens are released into our communities. In fiscal year 2020, state and local law enforcement trained under 287(g) encountered approximately 920 aliens convicted for assault, 1,261 convicted for dangerous drugs, 104 convicted for sex offenses/assaults, 377 convicted for obstructing police, 190 convicted for weapon offenses, and 37 convicted for homicide, to name a few crimes”
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Biden watch -
The first US-Russia summit of the Biden presidency will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 June. That comes at the tail end of Biden’s already scheduled trip to the United Kingdom for the G7 summit and Brussels for a meeting of Nato leaders, giving the president plenty of time to hear from US allies before sitting down with Putin. This has all the potential of becoming a major dumpster fire if they can’t keep biden drugged up enough to handle the agenda.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Live news coverage at George Floyd Square on the anniversary of his death was interrupted by dozens(?) of shots of gunfire. According to news reports, the police officers responded to calls from the scene relaying that a vehicle was seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed. One person with gunshot wounds was admitted to the hospital.
After a short period of relative calm, rioters in Portland lite it up, literally. While this crowd was yelling “Burn the building down,” some individuals in the crowd have lit a dumpster on fire that has been pushed up against the Justice Center. In addition to the Justice Center, rioters also vandalized the City Hall and numerous businesses in between.
A memo leaked from the State Department supporting BLM propaganda globally. The memo reportedly states “The Department supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ in messaging content, speeches, and other diplomatic engagements with foreign audiences to advance racial equity and access to justice on May 25th and beyond. We encourage posts to focus on the need to eliminate systemic racism and its continued impact.” Already, U.S. embassy in Spain is now flying a Black Lives Matter flag.
In the dark blue bastion of Austin TX, homeless have established a tent city with its own machete-wielding “security” at city hall.
NOTE - in the Portland/Seattle enclaves of BLM/Antifadom the leftists have shifted some of their emphasis towards protecting homeless encampment throughout those metropolitan areas. They have found the same fertile ground in Austin.
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POLITICAL FRONT -
Continuing to monitor voting recounts in AZ and GA.
One particularly dangerous front is the Grand Jury convened to investigate Trump and his businesses. It has all the trapping of a political witch hunt. If they try to arrest and jail him, there is chances that the right will finally have the last straw and grant the leftists their civil war.
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China -
China’s foreign ministry on Monday warned the United States and South Korea not to interfere in Taiwan, after leaders of the two countries agreed last week to work together to seek peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “China brooks no foreign interference on the Taiwan issue,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
NOTE - These warnings are now almost routine, but China is trying to establish a precidence when they attack Taiwan that the rest of the world was warned to stay away.
China has released computer-generated images of the Xian H-20 strategic bomber have been published by the state defence corporation, Norinco. Like most Chinese items, it is almost a carbon copy of the B2 stealth bomber. It is suppose to have an 1800 mile range - putting Guam within range. For comparison, the USAF B-2 Spirit has an operational range of nearly 7,000 miles.
NOTE - more US technology that was stolen. Shows China’s continued aggressive push to dominate the Western Pacific.
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North Korea -
Rumors out of NK suggest that Kim Jong-un’s sister has given orders for a purge of government agencies. At least one high ranking official has been reportedly executed.
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Japan -
Ministry of Defense announced this month plans to acquire two new combat ships equipped with an AEGIS integrated naval weapons system. Tokyo had previously announced that it would acquire the AEGIS last October. This news comes with Japan announcing that it will no longer follow a one percent GDP cap on defense spending.
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Israel - CEASEFIRE
Continues to hold yet unrest continues in mixed arab/jewish cities.
Blinken announced Tuesday that the Biden administration will reopen its Consulate General in Jerusalem — restoring ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration — and seek $75 million from Congress to provide development and economic assistance to Palestinians. NOTE - That “assistance” will only line the pockets of Abbas and Hamas - always has, always will.
Abbas his trying to get his fingers into the rebuild Gaza money pot. Abbas emphasized the importance of including the PA in any plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the recent round of war between Israel and Hamas. He also demanded that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas must include banning visits by Jews to al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount,
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Iran -
A large fire was reported at the Kangan Petro Refining Co. (KPRC) in southern Iran along the coast of the Persian Gulf on Monday, just a day after an explosion reportedly impacted a drone factory in the center of the country.
There is an election going in in Iran today. Reports indicate that the Revolutionary Guard have already picked a likely winner from among the seven men who have been qualified for the Iranian presidency. RUNINT indicates that the winner will be Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who would have a far more conservative administration than the current president Rouhani.
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Lebanon -
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is speaking on TV, and he’s not looking well. Pale, thin, a bit breathless and coughing from time to time. Nasrallah stated on Tuesday that he had not made any statements in recent weeks because he had been sick.
NOTE - Nasrallah reportedly has had wuhan, but there is continued speculation this might be a second infection.
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Syria -
National “elections” ongoing in Syria, low turnout is being observed as Assad’s Ba’ath Party is expected to win again.
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Afghanistan -
Australia has said it will shut its embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Friday, as the withdrawal of international troops proceeds. In a statement, Canberra talked of “an increasingly uncertain security environment” in the country.
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Belarus -
A colleague of opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, who was arrested in Belarus after being taken off a diverted flight on Sunday, says dissidents now fear for their lives. Europe continues to widely denounce the arrest.
NOTE - Belarus has been referred to as the european North Korea, who’s government is very totalitarian and resticted.
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Armenia/Azerbaijan -
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry on Tuesday denied accusations by Armenia that it had fired across the border at Armenian positions.
Armenia’s defense ministry said earlier that an Armenian soldier had been killed during a shootout with Azeri forces on its eastern border with Azerbaijan.
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Wuhan virus -
Facebook will lift its ban on posts that claim COVID-19 was man-made or manufactured. FB catching a lot of well deserved flack for its original ban and it should be interesting as the contra view of the origin of wuhan get their day in sunlight.
With recent events pointing to the wuhan lab as the source, biden has been forced to circle back on the issue (after shutting down Trumps investigation of the same). “The U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” he says. He adds that he wants another report in 90 days on the question.
OBSERVATION - biden is kicking the can down the road hoping that the narrative can be changed to something else by then.
Australia’s second most populous state Victoria will enter a seven-day lockdown to counter a fast-spreading outbreak in its capital, Melbourne. Victoria’s acting Premier James Merlino said the outbreak involved a highly contagious strain of the virus, the B.1.617 variant. A returned traveller was infected with the strain, which Mr Merlino said was spreading “faster than we have ever recorded”. Other Australian states are expected to limit movement from Victoria, with South Australia already blocking travellers from the state.
University of Louisville has published a study challenging what has been the prevailing belief that mask mandates are necessary to slow the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. The study notes that “80% of US states mandated masks during the COVID-19 pandemic” and while “mandates induced greater mask compliance, [they] did not predict lower growth rates when community spread was low (minima) or high (maxima).” Also “Case growth was independent of mandates at low and high rates of community spread, and mask use did not predict case growth during the Summer or Fall-Winter waves.” (TH)
In a study, conducted by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published May 24 in the journal Nature, researchers found that even a mild case of coronavirus could leave people with lifelong protection against the virus with researchers calling previous reports that immunity was not long-lived following infection “a misinterpretation of the data.” In reply to earlier claims that the antibodies decline quickly after recovery, researcher Ali Ellebedy, PhD replied “But that’s a misinterpretation of the data. It’s normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don’t go down to zero; they plateau. Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people’s lives. That’s strong evidence for long-lasting immunity.”
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Economy -
China faces another season of potentially record floods and associated crop losses. See China below
The NY Post is reporting that the Biden administration is considering a plan to import the bulk of the materials needed to build electric vehicles and the batteries that power them instead of mining them domestically — a nod to environmental groups that make up a key part of the Democratic constituency. NOTE - many of these foreign mines utilize essentially slave labor, but the radical environmental left doesn’t appear to care about this.
The San Francisco Bay area air quality management board is considering forcing the shutdown of the PBF Martinez and Chevron Richmond refineries in Northern California, a refinery that provides the majority of aviation jet fuel to the state and military. This would force Kalifornia to import fuel from nasty, pollution producing countries like China. On another energy front Kalifornia imports more electricity than any other state– currently at 32 percent from the Northwest and Southwest and is also the only state in the lower 48 states that is totally dependent on foreign suppliers as it has increased imported crude oil from foreign countries from 5 percent in 1992 to 58 percent today. (Tied very closely to exports from Saudi Arabia). Kalifornian also forbids the import of gasoline from other states, only those in Kalifornia certified to produce the expensive ‘blends’ are allowed. The cascade effect of Kalifornia’s energy policy is bleeding the economy to death just by itself.
Speaking of fuel costs, U.S. motorists will see the highest gasoline prices in seven years when they hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend. According to AAA, retail gasoline prices are at about $3.04 a gallon on average nationwide, the most expensive since 2014.
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Invasion of Illegals -
News articles on how ICE is being killed off by thousands of paper cuts, new administration rules that effectively hand tie the agency from performing its job to protect the country from illegals.
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Biden watch -
President Joe Biden mistakenly blamed the “Tuskegee airmen” training program for fueling black American hesitancy about the coronavirus vaccine. “By the way, many of the older members of that community had memories of experimentation on black Americans that were not told about, like what happened, with the, you know, Tuskegee airmen and all those tests,” Biden said. “And so there was a great reluctance.” (Breitbart)
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Most marches this week in memory of George Floyd have been relatively peaceful. Antifa straphangers have been the main rabble rousers.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
After completing its winter maintenance period in Yokosuka, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is underway conducting carrier qualifications ahead of the start of its spring patrol. The carrier left Japan last week. It is planned to be in the Middle East this summer to help support the Afghanistan withdrawal. The Reagan will replace the Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is currently in the Middle East.
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China -
China is facing another season of potential record flooding. Rain in some parts of central and southern China has hit record highs in recent weeks even though overall precipitation is about 10% lower this year compared with last year. Water levels on the Yangtze and its tributaries were expected to rise further over the next week, and it warned of major floods throughout the country from June to August. Some monitoring stations are issuing alerts, with the Wuhan city section of the Yangtze river in central China more than two meters higher than the normal at this time of the year as a result of heavy rain upstream.
NOTE - Last year’s flooding destroyed critical crops such as rice and soy beans. China purchases globally to replace those losses have been a major factor in price escalation.
China has finished subjugating Hong Kong. Hong Kong lawmakers pass bill to revamp elections, reducing democratic representation. The move reduces the proportion of directly elected lawmakers in the legislature, tightens control of the polls, and introduces a complex system of candidate vetting.
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North Korea -
International Institute for Strategic Studies in its annual report “The Military Balance 2021” indicates that North Korea has at least three intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of striking the U.S. mainland. There are three models that NK currently has capable of reaching the US - Hwasong-14, Hwasong-15 and the newest just revealed in Oct 2020, Hwasong-16. There are many shorter ranged missiles capable of reaching US bases in the western Pacific such as Guam. There is still debate on whether or not NK has been able to construct a warhead small enough for these missiles to carry.
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Russia - MAINTAINING WATCH
Russia has deployed three nuclear-capable long-range bombers to its base in Syria. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that three Tu-22M3 bombers have arrived at the Hemeimeem air base, located in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia for training purposes. The Tupolev Tu-22M3, code-named Backfire by NATO, is a supersonic twin-engine long-range bomber which is capable of carrying nuclear weapons and has a range exceeding 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles). This is the first time since the end of the cold war that Russia has stationed assets like this in the region.
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Israel - CEASEFIRE
Cease fire holding, still civil unrest among arab Israelis .
Hamas threatens to renew fighting if Israel ‘violates’ Al-Aqsa. Hamas also claims it had 500 Km of ‘tunnels” most untouched by Israel. One comparison is that the claimed tunnel network is some 100km larger than the tunnel network under London.
UAE told US officials they will participate in Egyptian-led mediation, stabilization and reconstruction efforts, but clarified: UAE will provide direct humanitarian support but will not fund any effort that involves Hamas.
Egypt invited Israel and Gaza to Cairo, with Israel already accepting. I’ve seen no word of acceptance by Hamas yet.
OBSERVATION - Unlike past cease fires with Hamas, Hamas has made no effort to take pots shots at Israel with its weapons. This to me indicates they got hammered hard and are reluctant to resume actual shooting, even though they maintain the tough talk. Countries willing to supply money to Gaza to rebuild are very open in saying they will keep those funds out to he hands of Hamas. Reality is Hamas IS the government of Gaza and it will be virtually impossible to keep their hands out of the kitty.
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Iran -
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said Iran is enriching uranium to levels that only countries seeking to make atomic weapons reach, and that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program can no longer be returned to where it stood when a landmark 2015 deal was struck with world powers. “A country enriching at 60 percent is a very serious thing — only countries making bombs are reaching this level,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Wednesday and cited by the Reuters News Agency.
OBSERVATION - Under the current transjectory of US/Iranian diplomacy, the probably of Iran obtaining the bomb is almost certain. The US will do nothing but lip service against it. Israel’s covert attacks on key Iranian facilities over the past year have seriously damaged, but not stopped their efforts. My understanding that the 60% enrichment production is limited because of the severe damage to the main enrichment facility. It is more of a demonstration to the world. This won’t last for long.
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Iraq -
There are reports that Iraqi PMF 13th Brigade Leader Qassim Musleh was arrested by the Iraqi Security Forces earlier today. He was arrested on charges of corruption and being behind recent assassinations in Iraq. PMF militants have begun deploying in areas around The Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq in response to the earlier arrest. Threats have been issued towards the Iraqi PM in regards to the arrest.. Iraqi security forces are reinforcing the Green Zone and the Prime Minister’s office. Reports are mixed on if the PMF has pulled back or not following Iraqi reinforcements.
NOTE - The PMF is one of the larger militia groups supported by Iran.
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Lebanon -
More speculation on the health of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli military believes the Hezbollah chief may have contracted the coronavirus, following a speech on Tuesday in which the terrorist leader was seen coughing and occasionally struggling for breath, The Times of Israel has learned.
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Afghanistan -
(Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday warned nearby nations against allowing the United States to use their territory for operations in the country after they withdraw from Afghanistan. U.S. officials have privately said that they are exploring potential basing options in countries near Afghanistan, like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but have so far not come to an agreement with any of them.
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Armenia/Azerbaijan -
Some unrest between Armenian and Azerbi forces being reported.
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