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We are now at the inflection point in the Wu Flu phenomenon, where some fearless prognosticators are prophesying that the economy will never come back and others are prophesying that the economy will come back in a flash. I dare say that the prophecies have a lot to do with whether the prophet in question leads a religious cult prophesying that Donald Trump will lose the November election or not. You tell me. Then there are other questions. Was it really such a good idea to shut the world economy down on the basis of computer models that turned out...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) offered a critical assessment of the federal government’s readiness for the novel coronavirus, describing it as not a “great moment in American leadership.” Romney mostly kept his criticisms broad, avoiding attacking President Trump directly, though he took a few swipes at the president’s management style during an event with Georgetown University students via video chat on Tuesday night. The speed of our response looked slow compared to other people. That first phase will not stand out as a great moment in American leadership,” Romney said, referring to the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, adding, “We didn’t...

In 2008, the American political landscape was electrified by the emergence of Sarah Palin. As a governor of Alaska, Palin's selection to be John McCain's vice presidential running mate added energy to McCain's relatively lethargic campaign against Senator Barack Obama. Palin's hockey mom speech was well received at the Republican National Convention that summer. Her populism continues to embody a sizable component of American politics. Her skyrocketing fame was brought back to Earth in the fall of 2008 by the revelation of an important statement she made during the campaign: "She could see Russia from her house." That turned out...

NEW YORK - Americans appear to be losing faith in what President Donald Trump says about the coronavirus pandemic, with almost everyone rejecting Trump’s remark that COVID-19 may be treated by injecting infected people with bleach or other disinfectants, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,001 adults, including 416 Democrats and 419 Republicans.

DOW futures up 318 points as of this writing. Points to a good day in the market.

Britain's defence laboratory will test whether a product found in insect repellent can also be used to kill the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Sky News has learned. Citriodiol is known to be effective at destroying certain types of coronavirus, so the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is exploring its use against the strain behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down have been asked to conduct studies to provide further evidence, a spokesperson said. "Further work is required to determine its full effectiveness, acquisition and distribution," the MoD spokesperson added. Sky...

A nanny for a mega-rich New York City family has revealed that she's been expected to follow them out to the Hamptons during the pandemic — where they have sports coaches, manicurists, chefs, and personal trainers coming in and out every day. That nanny told her story to The Cut anonymously, detailing the particularly unsafe conditions she's been forced to endure. She is also hardly the only member of 'outrageously large' household staff that the family employs, and has been shuttled back and forth between Manhattan and the Hamptons in the past several weeks.

I know what you're thinking. He's an animal, obviously. He threw a young staffer up against a cold marble wall in an isolated chamber of the Capitol's labyrinthine corridors and reached under her skirt. When she struggled to free herself from the senator and managed to wriggle away, he angrily pointed a finger in her face and said accusingly and with a "tight" voice, "You're nothing to me. You're nothing!" before leaving her disheveled and confused up against the wall and walking away. What a monster! What an animal! This is the same Senator Biden who just two years earlier...

Los Angeles (AFP) - Anxiety may be soaring under coronavirus lockdown, but a study Wednesday found Americans are enjoying more time with their partners and children, rediscovering hobbies and creative pursuits -- and smoking marijuana. The University of Southern California survey found Americans particularly miss visiting friends and relatives, dining at restaurants and shopping at real-world stores, but are adapting their habits at an astonishing pace. "We've been thrust into the greatest social science experiment of all time," Jeffrey Cole, the study center's director, told AFP. "Except that none of us prepared and none of us volunteered." "We're seeing massive...

A Chester mother says her daughter faces up to five years in prison in Thailand after she and three others were arrested trying to feed zoo animals they thought were abandoned. “I am hoping that the U.S. officials can help in any way that they have the ability to do so,” said Marie Somers, who has contacted the offices of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas. Joy Somers, 33, who grew up in Sandown, was charged with a computer crime for posting a video of Phuket Zoo’s conditions on Facebook. Joy Somers said she stumbled across the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Hebrew Worship Words Kabed Psalm 22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!     All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!     Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! Psalm 86:9All the nations you have made     will come and worship before you, Lord;     they will bring glory to your name. Psalm 86:12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;     I will glorify your name forever. New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage) . "Kabed" from the root word for "heavy" means numerous, rich, honorable, or to make weighty. Strong's...

Three months ago, if you’d told Queens DJ Kiki Feliz that she’d soon master boeuf bourguignon in her tiny kitchen, “I would’ve laughed in your face,” says the 27-year-old. “Before the pandemic, I think I’ve grocery shopped about 10 times in 3 ½ years of living in New York … and now I’m in the kitchen all day, every day.” Now that she’s had a taste of the domestic life, she finds herself wanting more. “I’ve thought about making bread,” says Feliz, who has yet to tackle the ubiquitous quarantine sourdough. “I definitely have plans to start a garden, and I...

The novel coronavirus was unable to dampen the interest of homebuyers in the past week. Even as people follow stay-at-home guidelines, the number of people filing home purchase applications rose 12 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's the strongest level in almost a month. "The ten largest states had increases in purchase activity, which is potentially a sign of the start of an upturn in the pandemic-delayed spring homebuying season, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly ease in various markets,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “California and...

It’s just the flu, bro. Back in day 13 of the thread we discussed “Healthiness differentiated social distancing”. If you are vulnerable maybe you should socially distance but if you are healthy then you should be out and about. This is the proper way to get herd immunity. This way the healthy people build immunity and then, after contagious period passes, they can’t pass CV on to the vulnerable. Instead we are doing the opposite - protect the children at all costs and let the people in nursing homes get sick. Even Sweden has said that their method is great...

As I’ve noted before, the politicians and experts telling us to shut up, sit down and stay in our homes under virtual house arrest themselves all have jobs to go to and paychecks to collect. They are essential, we are told, as opposed to you and me and most of America, who are not. Leading the pack is Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, of which it is now being said -- if you can fake it there, you can fake it anywhere. Cuomo has been faking it as a truthful and competent leader of his state. At a recent...

Iran shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments about naval confrontation in the contested waters of the Persian Gulf, warning Wednesday a hard slap in the face awaits foreign perpetrators committing even “the merest violation” of the Islamic republic’s territory. Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi lashed the U.S. for allegedly causing disturbances in the Persian Gulf... He dismissed Trump’s threat last week that the U.S. Navy will fire at Iranian boats as “psychological warfare” aimed at distracting public attention ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Trump was reacting to ongoing reports of Iranian gunboats that continue harassing American ships...

Mitt Romney has slammed Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic mocking him as 'not the smartest guy in the room' and saying his initial response was not a 'great moment in American leadership'. The Republican Senator laid into the president while speaking live on the Georgetown Politics Forum Tuesday evening. As well as blasting Trump's leadership style, Romney also criticized his move to stop funding to the World Health Organization and said a more centralized approach from the federal government would have been 'more effective' in tackling the pandemic.

Deutsche Bank has published its financial report for the first quarter of 2020, revealing that the German lender has posted a bottom-line loss of €43 million attributable to shareholders during the three month period. Although the German bank posted a loss of €43 million, it is worth noting that it is still better than analysts had initially expected, with the figure reflecting higher revenues on the back of increased trading, which has been driven by COVID-19 related volatility. For the three month period, Deutsche Bank confirmed that it had achieved a Group profit before tax (PBT) of €206 million after...

One of the left’s standard attacks on the President is that he doesn’t listen to the science! Sadly, he did listen to the so-called experts who predicted wildly hyperbolic death and destruction and he agreed to the economic shutdown. The President surely realizes by now that he should have operated on his gut instincts which rarely fail him. Dr. Fauci, for example, sees no patients. He looks at computer models, all of which were wrong. Dr. Birx probably has more hands-on experience, but she too recommended closing up the nation. They were wrong.

* HSBC on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings that missed expectations after the bank set aside more money for potentially larger loan losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and weakening oil prices. * The bank, Europe’s largest by assets, said its pre-tax profit fell 48% year-over-year to $3.23 billion in the first quarter of 2020, below an average analyst forecast of $3.67 billion. * HSBC shares in Hong Kong were flat after the earnings release when trading was resumed following a lunch break. The bank said it increased its expected credit impairment charges by $2.4 billion to $3 billion “due to...