The leaders of the World Health Organization need to be “held to account” for their “subservience to Beijing” during the coronavirus pandemic, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in an op-ed Wednesday.
WHO, an arm of the United Nations, has provided cover for Chinese authorities as they attempt to shirk responsibility for the global coronavirus pandemic.
“The world’s leading global health organization cannot be used as a tool of the CCP, and the U.S.—the WHO’s largest financial contributor, giving five times as much money as obligated—must take steps to ensure it [isn’t],” Rubio wrote in National Review.
“Once this pandemic is under control, WHO leadership should be held to account. That includes Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has allowed Beijing to use the WHO to mislead the global community.”
As previously reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation, Tedros won his WHO post with China’s backing and is leading WHO as it runs interference for the oppressive regime’s propaganda campaign.
Rubio said WHO’s director-general “is either complicit or dangerously incompetent. Neither possibility bodes well for his future at the helm of this critical organization.”
A top WHO official went viral earlier in March after cutting off an interview when asked about Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
“Dodging questions about Taiwan to please Beijing isn’t fatal, but it is indicative of a systemic problem within WHO leadership: a subservience to Beijing that comes at the expense of its stated commitment to public health,” Rubio wrote.
??WOW?? Bruce Aylward/@WHO did an interview with HK’s @rthk_news & when asked about #Taiwan he pretended not to hear the question. The journalist asks again & he hangs up!
She calls back & he said “Well, we’ve already talked about China.”
— ?Hong Kong World City ???? (@HKWORLDCITY) March 28, 2020
WHO has come under increasing scrutiny from Republican lawmakers.
Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott on Tuesday called for a congressional investigation into whether WHO helped China’s communist government cover up the virus in its early stages.
Scott also called for congressional hearings on whether the United States should continue funding WHO.
Since Tuesday, liberal journalists on CNN and MSNBC have been teaming up with elected Democrats to shoot down the notion that their collective obsession with impeaching President Trump slowed the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The biased coverage argued the “talking point” was “dangerous” and predicted that it would not “pick up much traction.”
Pelosi Using Coronavirus Crisis To Push Tax Break for Her Wealthy Neighbors
Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi addresses reporters at a news conference last week in the Capitol. After President Trump signed a $2 trillion bill aimed at relief for Americans in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, Pelosi is planning new legislation using the crisis as cover to restore a huge tax break to the wealthy. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
To Nancy Pelosi, all politics is local – even in an epidemic of global proportions.
The House speaker, who hails from one of the wealthiest congressional districts in the United States, is pushing to use government efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak as a weapon to fight for a tax break that would benefit the wealthiest Americans – very much including her neighbors.
Dems have told us that they will never let a crisis go to waste. Pelosi is trying to make good on that promise by aiming to roll back the SALT cap, which would result in funneling money to the wealthy elite. https://t.co/RQneTLWkLH
— Ways and Means GOP (@WaysandMeansGOP) April 1, 2020
Less than a week after President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion emergency relief measure to help Americans hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, Pelosi wants a new recovery package to include a restoration of tax deductions for wealthy Americans in high-tax states, according to Fox News.
The state and local tax (SALT) deduction was eliminated by the Republican tax reform of 2017 — the tax reform that helped spur an economy that was roaring before the coronavirus hit.
For Pelosi, the San Francisco liberal who represents a congressional district where the median household income is $113,919, according to the Census Bureau, that would mean getting back a big tax break for her neighbors – and herself.
As Fox reported:
“Pelosi and her husband have a property tax liability of approximately $198,337.62 considering their two homes, a winery and two commercial properties, public records show, indicating that the couple could reap substantial benefits in the event of a full SALT repeal.”
Do you think this Pelosi tax cut for the wealthy will get past the Senate?
0% (0 Votes)
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Imagine a Democrat reaping “substantial benefits” from government tax policy.
It was almost enough to make social media users think Pelosi’s professed sympathy for the poor had more to do with hypocritically helping herself and her wealthy neighbors than aiding the country’s less fortunate.
So the Democrats stand for tax breaks for the wealthy. Bad idea, but bad ideas are normal for the Democrats.
So @SpeakerPelosi now wants a tax cut for herself and her rich friends, isn’t that interesting considering @TheDemocrats continuously blame @GOP for this
Pelosi pushes ‘SALT shakeup’ stimulus that could reduce her tax bill and enrich her wealthy districthttps://t.co/xKpsPvMWMC
The Democrats have hated that part of the Republican tax cut from the get-go.
When the state and local deductions were legal, governments of Democratic-run states like Pelosi’s California and deep-blue New York could tax their wealthy residents without worrying too much because those taxes could just be written off on the federal tax bill.
Once the reform kicked in, the tax bills on wealthy liberals started to bite.
The Democrats who control the House of Representatives under Pelosi malicious reign would like nothing more than to be able to use that power to restore the deduction – so the country’s richest liberals could go back to hiding behind high state taxes to reduce their federal bill. (Liberals love high taxes when everyone else is paying them.)
But with Republicans still firmly in control in the Senate, Pelosi’s push isn’t likely to get much further than her own chamber.
“This is a nonstarter,” a representative for Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told Fox. “Millionaires don’t need a new tax break as the federal government spends trillions of dollars to fight a pandemic.”
Ah, but Pelosi thinks they do.
Her neighborhood, after all, is listed by the financial news website GoBankingRates as the 24th richest congressional district in the country. Her constituents, her neighbors, could sure use that new tax break.
She could even use it herself.
And for Nancy Pelosi, even in the middle of an epidemic of global proportions, all politics is local.
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In a time when many Christians are going out of their way to ease the suffering of those who have contracted Chinese Virus, lefties are going out of their way to trash them because of their beliefs. On Wednesday radical progressives smeared Rev. Franklin Graham and his charity’s makeshift coronavirus clinics because the Christian and son of Billy Graham disagrees with homosexual marriage. Yeah how’s that for unifying in times of crisis?
"One Of The Worst Coverups In Human History": MSM Attention Turns To Chinese Biolab Near COVID-19 Ground Zero
In late January we asked whether a prolific Chinese scientist who was experimenting with bat coronavirus at a level-4 biolab in Wuhan China was responsible for the current outbreak of a virus which is 96% genetically identical – and which saw an explosion in cases at a wet market located just down the street.
For suggesting this, we were kicked off Twitter and had the pleasure of several articles written by MSM hacks regarding our ‘conspiracy theory’ – none of which addressed the plethora of hard evidence linked in the post. These are the same people, mind you, who pushed the outlandish and evidence-free Trump-Russia conspiracy theory for years.
Whether or not the virus was engineered (scientists swear it wasn’t) – it shouldn’t take Perry Mason to conclude that a virulent coronavirus outbreak which started near a biolab that was experimenting with — coronavirus — bears scrutiny. Could a lab worker have accidentally infected themselves – then gone shopping for meat at the market over several days, during the long, asymptomatic incubation period?
In February, researchers Botao Xial and Lei Xiao published a quickly-retracted paper titled "The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus" – which speculated that the virus came from the Wuhan biolab.
Now, mainstream outlets are catching on – or at least have become brave enough to similarly connect the dots.
Earlier this week, Fox News‘ Tucker Carlson suggested that COVID-19 may have originated in a lab.
Tucker Carlson is currently citing a report that he openly admits he can’t confirm is true to question if coronavirus was made in a lab pic.twitter.com/CTxrJtw0Sh
And now, the Washington Times is out with a report titled "Chinese researchers isolated deadly bat coronaviruses near Wuhan animal market."
Chinese government researchers isolated more than 2,000 new viruses, including deadly bat coronaviruses, and carried out scientific work on them just three miles from a wild animal market identified as the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several Chinese state media outlets in recent months touted the virus research and lionized in particular a key researcher in Wuhan, Tian Junhua, as a leader in bat virus work.
The coronavirus strain now infecting hundreds of thousands of people globally mutated from bats believed to have infected animals and people at a wild animal market in Wuhan. The exact origin of the virus, however, remains a mystery. –Washington Times
"This is one of the worst cover-ups in human history, and now the world is facing a global pandemic," said Texas GOP Rep. Michael T. McFoul – a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. McFoul believes China should be held accountable for the outbreak.
Meanwhile, a video from December funded by the Chinese government shows Tian collecting samples from captured bats and storing them in vials.
"I am not a doctor, but I work to cure and save people," said Tian, adding "I am not a soldier, but I work to safeguard an invisible national defense line."
The mainstream theory behind the virus is that it crossed over to humans after first infecting an intermediary species – such as a pangolin.
The United States of America is basically closed for business, leaving citizens jobless, broke, and without options. We’re facing restrictions on movement the likes of which our nation has never seen. The stores that are open have never fully restocked after the “panic buying” of previous weeks, leading to shelves barren of things like meat, flour, toilet paper, and rice.
It’s only a matter of time before these issues combine to become the flashpoint that leads to an explosion of civil unrest and violent crime.
So far, a lot of people in the area where I’m staying seem to be treating this break of business like a surprise staycation. It’s nice to see families out walking together, playing games, and spending time with the people they love.
But this happiness may be shortlived. Despite generous government-mandated disaster pay, unemployment, and stimulus checks, the money may not arrive in time for former employees, self-employed people, and gig workers to pay their personal bills. And when the money does arrive, for many folks it isn’t going to be the same amount they were earning before the shutdowns. Most people don’t have emergency funds, so things will be dire in short order.
Of course, this affects landlord, mortgage companies, utility companies, retail businesses…the list could go on and on.
The supply situation
A lot of people are blaming “hoarders” and preppers for the shortages seen in stores. Of course, it’s nonsense to blame preppers because we’ve been buying our things over a course of years. And honestly, if it was only “panic buyers” causing problems, wouldn’t the stores be replenished by now? After all, people have hardly been able to shop for two weeks in many states due to social distancing measures.
In reality, there are major issues with the supply chain, a problem many folks aren’t seeing because they’re not at the store. Distribution systems are breaking down.
A source at a Walmart Superstore recently confided that the trucks were only delivering a fraction of the items needed to restock shelves. Imports aren’t arriving in California ports, at least not anywhere close to the degree they were before.
And because more people are eating at home than ever before, the demand on grocery stores has increased dramatically. This also comes at a time after farmers have been driven out of business by the trade war. (source) We have actual shortages here, and it isn’t just due to “panic buying.” That only exposed the dangers of the Just In Time delivery philosophy used by retailers.
The third worrisome factor is extreme restrictions on movement. Never in my lifetime have I witnessed such a thing in the United States as we’re seeing now.
If you can’t satisfy the requirements laid out by your state or local government, you could face fines and even misdemeanor charges for breaking stay-at-home orders.
Don’t count on 911
Add to all of the above, police officers are getting sick. Hundreds of NYPD and Detroit police officers have tested positive for Covid-19.
Some places, like Cincinnati, are limiting in-person police responses to crimes “to reduce unnecessary contact between officers and the public to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
During the coronavirus outbreak and beginning Tuesday morning, Cincinnati police officers will no longer respond in person to the following reports: criminal damaging, dog bites, lost property, lost or stolen license plates, phone harassment, property damage or found property.
Police will no longer respond to assault reports, unless a suspect is still present or the victim requires medical attention, breaking and entering reports unless a suspect is still present, menacing reports “unless suspect is expected or threatens to return or is part of the elements of domestic violence” or theft reports “where there is no possibility of immediate apprehension.” (source)
How long before officers just stop coming in to work and instead, stay home to take care of their families? And, can you blame them if they do?
Other countries are seeing civil unrest.
The Covid-19 lockdowns are resulting in violence in other countries.
Italy has begun to see chaos. People are running out of food, money, and patience.
Videos are appearing on social media of people struggling to cope with the effects of the lockdown. In Palermo, Sicily, police have been forced to head to supermarkets after reports of people stealing food to feed themselves, and groups have appeared in recent days looking to organise raids on supermarkets.
A video has been widely shared around Italy showing a father beside his young daughter, who is eating a solitary slice of bread, telling the Italian primer minister Giuseppe Conte “We’ve already been inside for 15 to 20 days and we are at our limit. Just like my daughter, other children in a few days won’t be able to eat this slice of bread. Rest assured you will regret this, because we are going to have a revolution”. (source)
It isn’t just an Italian problem. As soon as restrictions were partially lifted in China, citizens began to riot, beating police with their own shields and overturning police cars.
This could be the perfect storm.
It’s only a matter of time before the factors above combine to create the “perfect” conditions for widespread civil unrest and crime. When Cat Ellis wrote her book about surviving this pandemic, there’s a reason she included detailed information about securing your property and preparing for potential assaults on your home or retreat. You’ve got your supplies. Now you need to focus on defensive planning.
And if you think that is far-fetched, then why are retailers across the country boarding up their windows? Zero Hedge reports:
In Beverly Hills, the Pottery Barn and West Elm stores near Rodeo Drive were spotted with boards across the windows according to TMZ…
…Meanwhile, stores in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Paris, Vancouver and elsewhere were similarly boarded up. (source)
I suspect it isn’t just luxury stores that need to get prepared. The rest of us need to be ready, too. Many people in the preparedness community have noticed with discomfort the increasing number of people saying, “I’ll just come to your house” or “It’s not fair that selfish preppers have all this stuff and they’re refusing to share.” Many of us have been asked by friends, neighbors, and family members if we can spare some toilet paper or hand sanitizer.
The people who suspect you may have food will show up at your door one of these days when they run out of food. First, they’ll come asking for it. Then they’ll come demanding it. And not just from you but also from local businesses. The ensuing theft and violence will lead to harsher crackdowns from law enforcement and vigilante justices as people stand up to defend their homes and businesses. And if you think the Constitution is being trampled now, hold on to your halo. Eventually, this will lead straight to martial law and totalitarianism the likes of which we’ve never seen in our country.
Don’t think for a second that it won’t happen here.
Virus or no virus, people are not just going to quietly stay home and watch as their families starve to death.
What happens when people start running out of the food they hurriedly purchased before the lockdowns? What happens when overloaded unemployment offices are unable to get people’s payments to them in a timely fashion?What happens when the stimulus checks haven’t arrived yet and there’s no money in people’s wallets for groceries? What happens when stores aren’t able to replenish enough to keep people fed?
I think anyone who has been in the preparedness world knows exactly what happens.
Anger. Violence. Looting. Uncontrollable hordes of people storming stores.
Sort of like every Black Friday except this time, people won’t just want inexpensive bath towels and televisions. They’ll want food to keep their families from starving to death. And they’ll be willing to take down anyone who gets in their way. Whether that’s a parent defending the supply they’ve carefully acquired to take care of their own children or a store security guard, it won’t matter to those who have not prepared for this.
Every year, I show video clips in the Black Friday Hall of Shame. And every year, I write, “If they’ll act like this over home linens, what happens when those same people are hungry?”
This may be the year that we find out what happens.
It takes a whole different level of depravity to crash an online Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and troll addicts into breaking their sobriety during a national quarantine, but, apparently, there are such depraved people in the world.
According to Business Insider, the New York Inter-Group Association had been hosting Alcoholics Anonymous meetings via Zoom for the past several weeks in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. On Tuesday, a meeting went south when a troll crashed the online event to taunt the addicts about how “alcohol is soooo good” while shouting misogynistic and anti-semitic slurs.
“Meeting organizers quickly muted the intruder and removed them – but by then the meeting had been derailed and more than half of the participants had left,” reported Business Insider.
This phenomenon, known as “Zoom-bombing,” wherein trolls crash videoconferences to taunt those in session, has seen an uptick during the pandemic for obvious reasons. Multiple New York Inter-Group AA meetings have fallen prey to this unfortunate cyber attack, which are mostly organized on 4chan and Discord forums.
“One YouTube channel has uploaded multiple videos showing Zoom trolling – one clip appeared to show trolls flashing bottles of whiskey in an AA meeting before it was scrubbed from YouTube, PCMag reported on Tuesday,” continued Business Insider.
In response, Zoom recently published helpful guidelines on ways for organizations to shield themselves from these attacks. The situation has gotten bad enough that the FBI in Boston recently warned people to be on the lookout after trolls disrupted two school videoconferences.
Use of Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms has soared during the coronavirus outbreak, and now the FBI in Boston is warning users to watch out for “Zoom-bombing,” in which hijackers disrupt Zoom sessions with pornography, profanity and hate.
The FBI says two schools in Massachusetts were “Zoom bombed,” with one hijacker yelling profanity and another displaying swastika tattoos.
To avoid such incidents, the bureau recommends requiring a password or using Zoom’s waiting room feature to screen guests, and never making teleconference links available on public social media posts. Users can also set the screensharing option to “Host Only.”
Speaking with Business Insider, a Zoom representative said the company is “deeply upset to hear about the incidents involving this kind of attack,” and outlined ways for users to protect themselves.
“For those hosting large, public group meetings, we strongly encourage hosts to review their settings and confirm that only the host can share their screen,” said the representative. “For those hosting private meetings, password protections are on by default and we recommend that users keep those protections on to prevent uninvited users from joining.”
During this time of intense quarantine, addicts are especially prone to break sobriety as their support network crumbles under the weight of necessary social distance orders.
“We are all in our separate homes. And that can be dangerous, because alcoholics are notorious for isolating, for withdrawing from social situations – sometimes with a bottle,” one Business Insider employee said of their experience. “If you drink normally, you may be wondering, ‘Why not just drink – even if you have a problem? Right now, while locked down, who could that hurt?’ I can answer that. I drank myself into the emergency room years ago. I know many people who did. Do you think hospitals need that right now? Do you think healthcare workers need to deal with millions of people whose immune systems are severely compromised by binge drinking?
“What if we need to drive someone to the hospital? I drove many times in a blackout. What if, drunk, I needed more booze and went on a calamitous excursion to get it?” the employee continued. “Instead, I can try to be of service to someone who is alone or suffering. That service is what keeps me sober.”
The nation’s domestic Spanish-language networks have found a way to superimpose their most prominent public policy agenda item on their coronavirus coverage: by bemoaning the exclusion of illegal immigrants in the recently-passed economic aid package.
