NEW RESEARCH CASTS DOUBT CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC STARTED AT WUHAN FOOD MARKET

They determined the first patient had no links to a shady seafood market selling live snakes and bats for human consumption

Zero Hedge – JANUARY 26, 2020

The South China Morning Post reports that a team of researchers at Wuhan’s Jinyintan hospital have retraced the movements of the first individual who was diagnosed with the virus.

They determined that he had no links to a shady seafood market selling live snakes and bats for human consumption.

The development comes despite practically all of the western media reports from the city of Wuhan having claimed that the city’s hospitals have been completely overwhelmed by cases of pneumonia as more cases of the Wuhan coronavirus are confirmed.

Amazingly, SCMP caveated its report by claiming that other patients among the earliest cases had “continuous exposure to the market,” which was shut down on Jan. 1 by Wuhan authorities over fears that its trade in wild animals was linked to the viral outbreak. Authorities have since banned the selling of live animals at markets.

The researchers, seven of whom work at Wuhan’s Jinyintan hospital, designated for patients with the illness, revealed on Friday in The Lancet medical journal that symptoms of the new disease were first reported on December 1 – much earlier than the Wuhan government’s initial announcement on December 31 of 27 cases of the pneumonia-like infection.

According to the report, the first patient had no exposure to the Huanan seafood market which was shut down on January 1 over fears – later confirmed – that the new virus was linked to its trade in wild animals. The researchers added that none of the patient’s family had developed fever or any respiratory symptoms. There was also no epidemiological link between the first patient and the later cases, they found.

The researchers analysed data from 41 patients with confirmed infections who had showed an onset of symptoms up to January 2. Six of those patients died, putting the fatality rate of the group at 15 per cent. The researchers noted that clinical presentations of the patients greatly resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The first patient to die from the new coronavirus had continuous exposure to the market before he was admitted to hospital with a seven-day history of fever, cough and breathing difficulties, according to their report.

Doctors also identified 13 other patients who had no contact with the market, which helps build the case for human to human transmission.

The absence of a link to the seafood market is one of the indicators for human-to-human transmission of the virus and the researchers identified another 13 patients who also had no direct exposure to the market.

“Taken together, evidence so far indicates human transmission for 2019-nCoV,” the report said. “We are concerned that 2019-nCoV could have acquired the ability for efficient human transmission,” the researchers added, along with a strong recommendation for precautions such as fit-tested N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment.

Much to Beijing’s chagrin, a team of Chinese scientists on Friday revealed that symptoms of the virus first emerged as early as Dec. 1, much earlier than the Wuhan government’s initial announcement of the first 27 cases on Dec. 31. The notion that the virus may have been transmitted to humans via consuming bats, rats, badgers or snakes was widely reported in the Western press, even by CNN.

Though the possibility of zoonotic transmission hasn’t been entirely ruled out, these researchers apparently believed that there’s reason to doubt that the fish market was the source of the virus. However, the situation is still very much in flux, and it remains true that some of the other patients did have contact with the market.

Either way, do the researchers findings lend more credence to the other conspiracy theory about the virus’s origin? Wuhan reportedly has two labs that participate in China’s bio-warfare program, as Radio Free Asia first reported, and a handful of US outlets, including the Washington Times, have picked up the story.

January 26, 2020 0

2ND AMENDMENT POPULARITY EXPLODES AS MORE AMERICANS REALIZE ITS TRUE INTENT

When the governor of Virginia threatened to strip his people of their constitutional right, over 22 thousand showed up to protest

Greg Reese – JANUARY 23, 2020

The protest in Richmond this Monday, attended by over 22,000 gun rights advocates, not only celebrated the Second Amendment as a God-given right, but also as one of the bedrocks of liberty in America.

January 23, 2020 0

Did patient zero really catch new Chinese virus by eating infected bat soup? It’s actually perfectly possible

By Peter Andrews

A group of Chinese scientists today reported that the likely source of the deadly 2019‐nCoV virus is snakes, based on genetic analysis. However, grisly images from a Chinese restaurant suggest bats may also be on the menu.

Their findings were fast-tracked to publication yesterday in the Journal of Medical Virology, and report that infected people were exposed to various wildlife species at the market, where live poultry, seafood, bats and snakes among others, were present.

A detailed genetic analysis of 2019‐nCoV revealed that it is a new strain which seems to be a mixture of two other coronaviruses; one of which is from bats and another unknown strain. The group presented evidence that the last place the virus resided before hitting humans was a snake species, based on certain biological markers in the virus’s surface proteins. These proteins are what allow viruses to invade host cells, and the mutated form is allowing 2019‐nCoV to easily attack human cells.

Beijing city cancels major public events including Chinese New Year temple fairs due to coronavirus outbreak

So according to the scientists, at some point a bat virus jumped into snakes, and adapted to its immune system. Later, people at the Wuhan market either handling or eating snake meat became infected. But images surfacing from Wuhan, and released by the Daily Star Online, offer another, even grosser explanation. Could the virus have leapt directly to humans from bats?

Soup du jour

Different cultures eat exotic foods, and Chinese people are well known for having a taste for some meats that might raise eyebrows or even churn stomachs. But bat soup?! Amazingly, it is apparently very popular in China, and considered a delicacy there.

Graphic ⚠️
#ChinaPneumonia — “Bat Soup” on 🇨🇳 diners’ desk.#Wildlife animals hv ALWAYS been “delicacies” in #China, some even claim they can improve health & sex performance.

Let’s NOT forget #Bats are reservoirs for <60 viruses.#coronavirus #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/Eg7QEUxrsz

— @Dystopia – #HongKong is NOT China (@Dystopia992) January 22, 2020

The images have to be seen to be believed — they appear to show the full body of a small black bat, leathery wings and all, perched in a dish of brown liquid and leering like a vampire in disguise. One video shows a girl putting the creature whole into her mouth as she dines with friends. But it looks like the bats may have had the last laugh.

Second city shuts down all public transport amid deadly virus outbreak in China

The Chinese outbreak of the SARS virus in the early 2000s was eventually traced back to a colony of horseshoe bats in Yunnan province. Since we know that 2019‐nCoV is genetically closer to SARS than it is to any other virus, it seems probable that bats could be the carriers for this one too. These bats do not appear to have the tell-tale large ears of horseshoe bats, but they could be a closely-related species.

Offal-ly bad news

Most suggestively, in some of the images the bats’ guts are visible floating in the soup. If undercooked offal was consumed by humans this a likely source of the virus reaching humans, as some organs are breeding grounds for viruses.

Just last year there were reports of a plague that killed a husband and wife in western Mongolia — unrelated to the present outbreak. The couple ate the raw stomach, kidney and gall bladder of a marmot, and died soon after from a severe case of pneumonic plague. This plague, while having symptoms similar to the current outbreak, is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. They used the offal as a traditional remedy. This prompted officials to quarantine the couple’s township, but happily there was no further spread of the plague.

Of course, cooking meat properly and thoroughly is one way of killing any bugs it may have been carrying. But viruses are more resistant to heat than many bacteria, and in any case, do you really trust the chefs serving up whole bats in murky broth to have passed their food safety inspection with flying colors?

But whether it is from snakes, bats or a combination of the two, as the virus rages on, researchers at least have a lead, if not a cure.

January 23, 2020 0

Alabama Congressman Claims that Americans Fork Over $60 Billion to Educate Illegal Aliens

By Jose Nino

Representative Bradley Byrne told his Congressional colleagues during a hearing on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 that American taxpayers pay over about $60 billion to educate illegal alien students and the children of illegal aliens.

Byrne highlighted that the burden of paying for the education of more than 1.5 million legal and illegal immigrants coming into the country annually is shouldered by American citizens.

“In 2016, the Pew Research Center estimated that 3.9 million — or 7.3% — of kindergarten through 12th grade students in the United States were either here illegally or were the children of at least one parent illegally present in the United States,” Byrne stated. “Can anyone tell me how much we spend on public education for that population of students? It’s around $60 billion.”

The Republican congressman detailed that while the federal government requires English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for approximately 9.6 percent of American students who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP), state and local governments must bear the majority of the costs.

“What percentage of ESL programs are paid for by the federal government that requires them? Just over one percent,” Byrne declared. “Who pays for the rest? States and local school systems.”

Byrne stated:

So, we require it and we push 99 percent of the costs on state and local school systems. That costs a lot of money for these state and local school systems. Many of them, like my state of Alabama, just don’t have it. But because the federal government requires it, they have to put that money in there to the detriment of other programs.

That cost is not being borne by those of us in Washington. It’s being borne by men and women and the states and local school systems around the United States of America. But really the cost is being borne by children who are being denied the programs that they should have. Children who are citizens of the United States, whose parents are citizens of the United States, they’re being denied programs because we’re forcing their state and local school systems to take on an expense that we should be taking on because we’ve failed to enforce our own laws.

Steven Kopits conducted a study that showed the United States could have up to one million new migrant children by the November 2020 election — about 800,000 of those would need to be enrolled in local school districts.

There are steep costs to mass migration. From being a massive burden for taxpayers to its politically destabilizing effects, mass migration presents a unique threat to the United States.

The 2020 election will likely feature immigration as one of the top issues, which the Trump campaign likely recognizes given its popularity among GOP voters.

December 11, 2019 0

WRONG NARRATIVE? AFP & REUTERS SCRUB STORY ABOUT 100,000 DETAINED MIGRANT CHILDREN AFTER UN SAYS IT HAPPENED ON OBAMA’S WATCH

Instead of issuing corrections, however, Nowak’s clarification prompted several outlets to withdraw their stories altogether, including Reuters and AFP, who both said no replacement story would be forthcoming

11/20/2019

Several news agencies have opted to delete a story stating that 100,000 migrant children were detained in US border facilities after the United Nations clarified that the number is years old, predating the age of Trump.

After media outlets published stories trumpeting the 100,000 figure earlier this week, based on the word of UN refugee specialist Manfred Nowak, the expert was forced to correct his initial statement on Tuesday. As it turns out, the figure Nowak cited to reporters dates back to 2015, meaning the dramatic number of detentions he revealed occurred under the watch of President Barack Obama, rather than Donald Trump, who is often assailed by progressive critics over his border policies.

Instead of issuing corrections, however, Nowak’s clarification prompted several outlets to withdraw their stories altogether, including Reuters and AFP, who both said no replacement story would be forthcoming.

At the time of publishing, AFP’s version of the story containing the outdated figure was still live on its website.

Once responsibility for the vast number of detentions was passed from Trump to Obama, however, Nowak decided to clarify further that the 100,000 figure referred to the cumulative number of migrant children detained at any point in 2015, rather than all at one time, another caveat he apparently forgot to explain to reporters previously.

Despite frequent and vocal criticisms of President Trump’s border policies, his predecessor’s approach to immigration was not entirely different, even earning Obama the moniker of “Deporter in Chief.” During his first term, President Obama deported some 400,000 migrants each year, setting a record for himself in 2012 at over 409,000. President Trump, meanwhile, has deported fewer than 300,000 each year since taking office in 2017.

A widely-circulated photo showing migrant children locked in a cage is also often attributed to President Trump’s policies, but just like the figure presented by Nowak, it also dates back to the Obama years.

A handful of netizens took notice of the abrupt reversal by the news agencies, some critical of the move to outright scrub the offending articles, rather than simply correcting them to reflect the facts.

“The appropriate action would be to correct the story and issue a retraction, not delete it,” one user suggested. “The fact that this self proclaimed ‘news agency’ is going to bury news because it didn’t fit the narrative they’ve been tasked with dispensing encapsulates everything wrong with the press.”

November 20, 2019 0

Romney: Trump Syria Policy “A Bloodstain In the Annals Of American History”

Posted By Ian Schwartz
On Date October 18, 2019

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) delivers remarks on the Senate floor on Syria. “What we have done to the Kurds will stand as a bloodstain in the annals of American history.”

Let me briefly recount what’s happened in the past seven days since the U.S. announced our withdrawal. The Kurds, suffering loss of life and property, have allied with Assad. Russia has assumed control of our previous military positions, and the U.S. has been forced in many cases to bomb some of our own facilities to prevent their appropriation by Russia and Turkey…

The ceasefire does not change the fact that America has abandoned an ally. Adding insult to dishonor, the Administration speaks cavalierly, even flippantly, even as our ally has suffered death and casualty, their homes have been burned, and their families have been torn apart…

What we have done to the Kurds will stand as a blood stain in the annals of American history.

There are broad strategic implications of our decision as well. Iranian and Russian interests in the Middle East have been advanced by our decision. At a time when we are applying maximum pressure on Iran, by giving them a stronger hand in Syria, we have actually weakened that pressure. Russia’s objective to play a greater role in the Middle East has also been greatly enhanced. The Kurds out of desperation have now aligned with Assad. So America is diminished. Russia, Iran, and Assad are strengthened.

And so I ask how and why that decision was made?…

I ask whether it is the position of the Administration that the United States Senate, a body of 100 people representing both political parties, is to be entirely absent from decisions of the magnitude just taken in Syria?

Now some argue that we should not have been in Syria in the first place because there was not a vote taken by the Senate to engage in war there. I disagree. Congress has given the President legal authority and funding to fight against terrorists in Syria…

Others argue that we should just get out of a messy situation like this. The Middle East, they say, has had wars going on forever, just let them have at it. There’s of course a certain logic to this position as well, but again it applies only to the original decision as to whether or not we should have gone into Syria. Once we have engaged, and made the commitments we made, honor as well as self-interest demand that we not abandon our allies.

It has been suggested that Turkey may have called America’s bluff, telling the president that they were coming no matter what we did. If this is so, we should know it, for it would tell us a great deal about how we should deal with Turkey now and in the future.

Some have argued that Syria is a mess, with warring groups and sub groups, friends and allies shifting from one side to another, and thus we had to exit because there was no reasonable path for us to go forward. Are we incapable of understanding and shaping complex situations? Russia seems to have figured it out. Are we less adept than they? And are our principles to be jettisoned when we find things get messy?

The Administration claims that none of these reasons are accurate. Instead, the President has said that we left to fulfill a commitment to stop endless wars, to bring troops home, to get them out of harm’s way, perhaps to save money. I find these reasons hard to square. Why? Well, we withdrew 1,500 troops in Syria but we are adding 2,000 troops in Saudi Arabia. And all totaled, we have 60,000 troops in the Middle East.

Assuming for the sake of understanding that getting out of endless wars was the logic for the decision, why would we take action so precipitously? Why would we not warn our ally, the Kurds of what we were about to do? Why would we not give them time to also withdraw or perhaps to dig in to defend themselves? Clearly, the Turks had a heads up because they were able to start bombing within in mere hours.

I simply do not understand why the Administration did not explain in advance to Erdogan that it was unacceptable for Turkey to attack an American ally. Could we not insist that together we develop a transition plan that protects the Kurds, secures the ISIS prisoners, and meets the legitimate concerns of Turkey as well? Was there no chance for diplomacy? Are we so weak, and so inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey?

We once abandoned a red line. Now, we have abandoned an ally.

October 18, 2019 0

ABC Shows Video of Kentucky and Says it’s ‘Exclusive Video’ from Turkey

OCT 15, 2019

More evidence that the media is faker than the Kardashians’ faces

October 15, 2019 0

TRUMP EFFECT: United Nations Complains It Will Run Out of Money in Three Weeks

Globalism may be on its last legs.

By Shane Trejo

United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres complained on Monday that his globalist organization is running a massive deficit of $230 million and could run out of money at the end of the month due to their profligate spending.

“Member States have paid only 70 percent of the total amount needed for our regular budget operations in 2019. This translates into a cash shortage of $230 million at the end of September. We run the risk of depleting our backup liquidity reserves by the end of the month,” he wrote.

Only 129 member states out of 193 have paid their membership dues, as more countries become sick of the UN’s overreach as they attempt to push dangerous migrants into first-world nations across the planet. They are urging derelict countries to pay up to keep the UN solvent.

“This is the only way to avoid a default that could risk disrupting operations globally. The Secretary-General further asked governments to address the underlying reasons for the crisis and agree on measures to put the United Nations on a sound financial footing,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

After announcing a $4 billion rescission to halt foreign aid mostly to the globalist United Nations, President Donald Trump has done a complete reversal after consulting with Congressional swamp rats and neocon globalists within his administration.

The fiscal hawks in the Trump administration have lost once again, and they are placing the blame on Congress for convincing Trump to do the wrong thing and reverse the cuts.

“The president has been clear that there is fat in our foreign assistance and we need to be wise about where U.S. money is going,” a senior administration official said. “Which is why he asked the administration to look into options to doing just that. It’s clear that there are those on the Hill who aren’t willing to join in curbing wasteful spending.”

However, it is more likely that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were more influential in convincing the the President to reverse course. According to a Politico report, these neoconservatives got into Trump’s ear and tricked him into believing that the foreign aid cuts would hurt national security and alienate Democrats before upcoming negotiations over a shutdown deadline.

However, with the UN being so corrupt and mismanaged, they may just fall apart on their own without the Trump administration needing to administer massive cuts. They will have to scramble to stay afloat, as member states increasingly see no tangible benefit in paying their dues.

October 10, 2019 0

Stabbing attack at Paris police HQ: What is known

A knife-wielding assailant killed four French officers inside police headquarters in Paris before being shot dead by a first responder. Here is what is known about the attack that put France’s capital on high alert.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The perpetrator entered the Paris police headquarters shortly before 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT). He carried a ceramic knife with him, which wasn’t picked up by the metal detectors.The man swiftly made his way into one of the offices where he engaged in an argument with a policeman. At some point during the quarrel, he got his long-blade knife out and stabbed his interlocutor and others around him. Four officers, three men and a woman, suffered mortal wounds in the attack, authorities announced.

The suspect was only stopped when another policeman shot him dead with an automatic rifle.

WHO WAS THE ATTACKER?

The attacker was described as a staffer at the police headquarters, who had worked there for around 20 years and had never caused any problems. The man was said to be an administrator in the intelligence unit. He had all the security clearances, which allowed him to enter the police HQ without causing any suspicions and roam freely around the building.

The person reportedly converted to Islam months before the incident, but this is yet officially to be confirmed.

THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE STABBING

The motive for the attack isn’t yet clear, but police union leader Jean-Marc Bailleul said that it was likely a criminal rather than a terrorist incident. “It was a moment of madness,” Bailleul told BFM TV. Another police official told Franceinfo radio that there were “tensions” between the attacker and his direct supervisor, who may have been among the victims.

WHERE DID IT HAPPEN?

The Paris police headquarters occupy a historic building on Ile de la Cite, a natural island in the Seine River in the very heart of the French capital. The HQ is located just a few buildings away from the iconic Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and other well-known historical landmarks.

Knife attack at Paris police HQ: At least four officers dead, suspect fatally shot, reports say

HOW DID THE GOVERNMENT REACT?

The high-profile attack saw top officials rushing to the scene shortly after it happened. French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the HQ as soon as a secure perimeter was established. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner, who postponed his visit to Turkey, were also there.

October 3, 2019 0

Pelosi NECK DEEP in Ukraine – Female Ukrainian Party Girl Connected to Military and Government is Her Legislative Aide

By Jim Hoft

Nancy Pelosi is neck deep in Ukraine politics. Her legislative aide, Ivanna Voronovych, is from the Ukraine and is connected to the Ukrainian Embassy, the Ukrainian military, the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian party life.

Young Ivanna Voronovych was a party girl in the Ukraine and somehow managed to make her way into a position as a Legislative Aide to Nancy Pelosi –

Young Voronovych started her career working at the US Embassy in the Ukraine in Kiev. She worked for Roman Woronowycz, the Kiev Bureau Chief, who is connected to Nancy Pelosi. As a matter of fact, he is a fan of Pelosi’s. Woronowycz is well connected with with the US Congress as can be seen from the picture below where he was given a tour of the Capital by Voronovych before reportedly meeting up with Pelosi, Schumer and others. He once posted, “Tell Nancy to keep up the good work!” (What is he referring to here?)

Voronovych’s parents are well connected. Her mom worked with the Ukrainian Army, and even received the Ukraine Order of Merit for military and political activity. Yoronovych’s father worked in the Ukrainian Foreign Service and he’s also connected to the Ukrainian government.

Why is this girl on Pelosi’s staff? Why does Pelosi have a Ukrainian party girl whose parents are connected to the Ukrainian military and government on her staff? What is going on here?

Hat tip Yaacov Apelbaum

October 1, 2019 0