12 days of Covid Christmas

Message from Australia

Written by Henry R. Greenfield Nov 1st

 Resident of Australia

Australia just recorded zero cases of CV19 again after a big spike last month in Melbourne? What can the US and the rest of the world learn from this? 

 What a shocker. 

•Masks work, contact tracing works, all residents doing the right thing works and then you don’t you     lose lives, jobs, the economy and you are less miserable. 

•Selective lockdowns work. 

•Closing borders work. By state and not just international. 

•Making all international flights that come in go into 14 day (no exception) hotel monitored quarantine, WORKS! 

After Covid disasters where some people decided they didn’t like quarantine, left isolation and became ‘superspreaders', killing a few hundred people and forcing a complete lockdown for the entire state of Victoria, Australia learned the hard way. If you are going to do something, be serious about it and do it right with no exceptions.

 Is all this difficult? Absolutely. Is it terribly inconvenient? Of course it is. But look at the results. It works, just as it did in Perth, where I live. We talked a good game but we didn’t stick with it and we lost big time so we had to double down and do it right.

 Let’s be clear. Many of us have gone through the quarantine, it is not fun. No one wants to be isolated where you cannot step outside the door of your hotel room for 14 days and you pay $3,000 for the privilege. But it saves lives, it works.

 LIFE IS NOW ALMOST NORMAL IN AUSTRALIA. We can go to church, we have, in most of the country, large gatherings, all the restaurants are open, we play sports and go Christmas shopping. We made our mistakes and we are opening up carefully and slowly. We still are wearing masks where necessary. We test test test and contact trace and wash our hands. 

 HERE IS THE LESSON FOR THE WORLD. It is not just small countries like New Zealand that can beat this virus. As I have written before, it is not a woman thing or a man thing or a young thing or an old thing, it is an everybody thing. If absolutely everyone adheres to the rules and the government takes the pandemic seriously, like I mean really seriously, then CV19 can be stopped in it's tracks.

 It has not been cured, just controlled. Travel is still virtually cut off from the rest of the world. You have to apply to get in and out of Australia. But we have our lives back, we are not dying in hundreds of thousands, 10s’ of thousands or hundreds not even 1 or 2. We are not dying anymore. 

 The answer to the Covid spread in the UK and Europe and other parts of the world, but especially the USA, is that your leadership is taking you down down down. You do not have to be China, you do not have to ‘give up your freedom’. You just have to pay attention and care about protecting others. You cannot play games with other people's lives or say it is over or you are rounding the curve when you have 100,000+ plus cases in one day like yesterday in the USA. You cannot go into denial and say, well they had other symptoms or the people who died were old, or the deaths were not reported fairly or it is all exaggerated. Really, come on! Open your eyes and ears. This is not some weird conspiracy.

 Dear USA and its citizens, the President of the USA could have stopped this. We did it in Australia so any country, of any size, can do it. He is lying to you. You are losing to China. We need you to wake up and get rid of that guy and rejoin the rest of the world. You matter, please understand that. Come on, you can do it. And tell all the ding dongs with the guns that seem to threaten anyone they don't like or anyone they don't understand, to cut it and go home and grow up. Your schtick is getting old, we don’t even laugh about it anymore. 

 Sincerely, The Rest of the World

Survivors

  

If you were born before there was a colored tv in every home, before frozen dinners, lasers, satellites, microwave ovens and before a man walked on the moon....you are a survivor.
If you arrived before computers, cell phones, smart watches, calculators and every other form of artificial intelligence that we substitute for our brains ….you are a survivor.
If you thought fast food was toast, a Big Mac was a truck, a meaningful relationship was learning to get along with your brother and time-sharing was spending the day with your kids ….you are a survivor.
If you believed that a microchip was a small french fry or a chunk of wood, hardware was bolts and doorknobs and software wasn't even a word, then, you my friend, are definitely an old school survivor.
 In your day, smoking was fashionable, grass was on the lawn and coke was a refreshing beverage on a hot day. Rock music was a lullaby and a gay person was just a happy guy or gal who was usually the life of the party. As for AIDS, they were prosthetics or wheelchairs for the handicapped or help for developing countries.
Yes, if you were born before identity theft was a real thing, and leaders were chosen from worthy people who had a long career of public service, not real-estate salesmen or tv celebrities, you are a member of a very hardy and long lived bunch who have survived the trials and tribulations of a mad and constantly changing world. Look at the amazing adjustments you have had to make.
Take the year 2020 for example: You become a prisoner in your own home, separated from friends and colleagues, keeping prescribed distances from all people. You have had to cover your face and clean your hands until they're raw and regard everyone and everything as carriers of a deadly virus. Did you let that defeat you ?? No, you are an old warrior. This strange and confusing time will end. You will adjust once again and continue to fight on.....You are a survivor.

Where the hell is that vaccine ??

 

Canada’s first big push for a COVID-19 vaccine may be falling victim to sour relations with Beijing, as Chinese officials continue to hold up a shipment of the drug needed to carry out promised human trials here.

CanSino Biologics of Tianjin, China signed an accord with the federal government in May to have its vaccine tested in Canada, a heavily promoted deal the government said could give Canadians early access to the serum. But more two-and-a-half months later, the Canadian trials have yet to start, because scientists have nothing to study.

Samples of the vaccine candidate – already one of the world’s most advanced in terms of the trial process – have not been approved for shipment to Canada by Chinese customs, one of the researchers confirmed Tuesday.

David Mulroney, Canada’s ambassador to China from 2009 to 2012, said it’s hard to know why the delivery has been stalled, but he has his suspicions.

  “It’s likely that the shipment is being delayed as part of China’s retaliation against Canada over the Meng (Wanzhou) arrest,” he said, referring to the Huawei Technologies CFO held in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition request.
“But it could also be due to the kind of sudden, unexplained delay that routinely happens when you’re dealing with China’s opaque and often uncooperative customs authorities.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the agreement between CanSino – a company with extensive Canadian ties – and the National Research Council (NRC) in mid-May, calling it “encouraging news.”
Under the accord, the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University would hold a small Phase 1 safety trial, and possibly also Phase 2 and 3 trials. If approved by regulators, it could then be manufactured at an NRC facility in Montreal, making Canadians “among the first in the world to have access to a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19,” the council has said.

Meanwhile, CanSino has conducted its own Phase 1 and 2 trials in China, and was the first developer to publish study results in a peer-reviewed journal. They indicate the vaccine is generally safe and prompts an immune response in most recipients.
Last month, the company’s co-founder said it was in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to conduct Phase 3 trials, which determine whether the vaccine actually protects people against COVID-19 infection.

Back in Canada, “we are continuing to wait for the vaccine,” said Scott Halperin, the Dalhousie scientist heading Canada’s planned Phase-1 trial. “All we know is that its awaiting customs clearance by the Chinese government for export,” he said. “We have not been able to obtain any projected time lines. Nothing much else I can say, other than we can start the trial as soon as we receive the vaccine.”
Asked if political issues might be involved, he said that was “an excellent question to pose to Global Affairs Canada.”

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, said Tuesday he does not know what’s behind the delay. But he said it “could well be part of the Chinese arsenal” in the dispute over Meng’s arrest.
In an apparent response to the executive’s detention, Beijing has already imprisoned Michael Kovrig, a Canadian ex-diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a Canadian businessman, under vague espionage charges; increased another Canadian’s drug-dealing sentence from jail to death; and blocked some agricultural imports from Canada.

The federal government has said it is also looking at pre-ordering other vaccines that are advanced in their testing but, unlike the U.S. and several European countries, has yet to do so. The NRC is also collaborating with a team at the University of Saskatchewan and U.S. company VBI Vaccines on their own coronavirus vaccines.

The CanSino vaccine candidate – called Ad5-nCoV – uses a different, harmless virus as a delivery system. The “adenovirus” is modified to express part of the SARS-CoV-2 germ that causes COVID, which is meant to trigger the immune system to fend off the coronavirus.
Early studies have not been a total success, with dampened immune response in some people, likely because they’ve been exposed to the vaccine’s adenovirus backbone before and have antibodies that repel it.

For that reason, some experts have questioned Canada’s investment in the product. Others say none of the leading vaccine candidates are likely to be perfectly effective, and any vaccine is better than none.

Musk's Space Tesla will crash into earth

Eighteen months ago, Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful in the world, into space with Musk’s personal 2008 Tesla Roadster on board. To make the launch more fun, Musk put a spacesuit-clad dummy named “Starman” in the driver’s seat of the Roadster and had him listen to endless loops of David Bowie’s Space Oddity during the journey.
Since then, Starman has spent more than 550 days in outer space. According to WhereIsRoadster.com, an independent site tracking the electric car’s real-time location, the vehicle had completed its first orbit around the sun by Sunday, traveling nearly 763 million miles since last year’s launch.

“If the battery was still working, Starman has listened to Space Oddity 151,881 times since he launched,” the tracking site says. But that’s not very likely, because Tesla’s battery would only last for about 12 hours after liftoff, Musk said at the Falcon Heavy’s post-launch briefing at Kennedy Space Center last year.
The Starman’s current location is about 185 million miles from Earth, according to the tracking site. To be able to see it from here, one would need a telescope with a diameter of at least 43,823 feet.

 

The cherry-red Roadster was originally sent on a path toward Mars’ orbit. Because of the car’s unsterile condition, planetary scientists had worried about bacterial contamination once it crashed into the red planet, which would muddle scientific efforts to search for life on Mars.

But a later calculation by University of Toronto astrophysicist Hanno Rein estimated that the Roadster would more likely crash into Earth, Venus or the sun—in as soon as 10 million years.
As predicted by that calculation, last November, Starman passed the Mars orbit and drifted further into the solar system toward the asteroid belt.

The car is currently moving away from Earth at a speed of about 988 miles per hour. It will fly near Mars again on October 7 next year and come relatively close to Earth every 30 years.
Rein’s study suggests that we may even get a telescopic glimpse of the Roadster within 100 years if the car flies within one Earth-moon distance.

After its third Earth flyby, the Roadster’s path will get increasingly chaotic and unpredictable due to Earth’s gravitational tug that will cause small changes in some of the car’s orbital parameters every time it comes close. Happy Landing Starman !

Buddy, The Dog With Covid 19

Buddy liked dog stuff: running through the sprinklers, going on long car rides, swimming in the lake. He cuddled the Mahoneys—his owners and family—at the end of tough days. He humored them when they dressed him up as a bunny for Halloween. He was a protective big brother to 10-month-old Duke, the family’s other German shepherd. He loved everyone. He lived up to his name.

In mid-April, right before his seventh birthday, Buddy began struggling to breathe.

Six weeks later, he became the first dog in the United States to be confirmed positive for COVID-19. On July 11, Buddy died.

Upon announcement, Buddy’s milestone case appeared fairly open and shut, but the Mahoneys’ experience over the two and a half months between their dog’s first wheeze and his death was one of confusion and heartbreak. Their story puts a spotlight on the rare experience of being an owner of COVID-positive pet—a distinction shared by only a handful of individuals around the world. While more than five million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the U.S., fewer than 25 pets have. There’s no rubric for how to navigate COVID-19 in your pet dog.

“You tell people that your dog was positive, and they look at you [as if you have] ten heads,” Allison Mahoney says. “[Buddy] was the love of our lives….He brought joy to everybody. I can’t wrap my head around it.” The Mahoneys say they are frustrated that health experts didn’t more closely probe possible connections between COVID and the cascading health problems. After Buddy’s diagnosis, Allison’s husband, Robert, asked New York City veterinary health officials, who were in charge of the case, whether they were interested in doing more testing on Buddy. Robert Mahoney says the officials never asked for further testing or exams.

The New York City Department of Health said he was probably no longer contagious—by May 20, when he was tested the second time. Buddy wasn’t tested after that date.

For humans, the signs and symptoms of infection vary widely. In some, its presence is barely a flicker. In others, it causes total organ failure. For many, it’s somewhere in between. Having an underlying medical condition increases susceptibility, doctors think. We’re learning more every day.

The narrative for the coronavirus in animals, however, has so far been consistent and narrow: They are rarely affected. When they do get the virus, it’s almost always from an owner. They generally have mild symptoms. They usually recover.

In reality, little is known about how the virus affects the typical pet dog. They can't tell us.

The Mahoneys’ detailed accounts and Buddy’s veterinary records now comprise some of the most comprehensive and granular information the public has on an infected animal. Their story also sheds light on the gaps in public knowledge regarding animals and the novel coronavirus, highlighting what may be a need for a more unified, consistent approach to monitoring and investigating positive cases, and bringing that information back to the research community.

Buddy’s decline

When Buddy, who’d never been sick, developed thick mucus in his nose and started breathing heavily in April, no one except Robert Mahoney believed the dog might have COVID-19. Mahoney himself had been suffering through the virus for three weeks—he was weak, had a scratchy throat, and had lost his sense of taste. “They called me on Easter and said, ‘By the way, Mr Mahoney, here’s your Easter gift: you’re positive,’ ” he recalls.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, I thought [Buddy] was positive” too, he says. At first, it was difficult to find someone to examine Buddy. His usual vet wasn’t seeing patients because of the pandemic. Another local clinic wouldn’t allow Robert Mahoney to come into the office because he had COVID-19, so they prescribed Buddy antibiotics over the phone. Mahoney says the vet was skeptical that Buddy might have the coronavirus, and the office didn’t have test kits anyway.
 

The next week, Buddy was still struggling to breathe and had lost his appetite, so the Mahoneys’ 13-year-old daughter, Julianna, who had tested negative, was permitted to bring the dog into the office.

From April 21 to May 15, Buddy continued to lose weight. He became increasingly lethargic. The Mahoneys took him to three different veterinarians on Staten Island, none of whom thought the coronavirus was likely and they had not yet identified lymphoma as a probable cause of his illness. ( It turned out that Buddy had underlying health problems: a form of cancer). It’s unclear whether the cancer made him more susceptible to contracting the coronavirus. It is, however, a logical assumption.
 

It was at the third veterinary clinic, Bay Street Animal Hospital, where Mahoney was finally able to have Buddy tested for COVID-19. That was on May 15, one month after Buddy’s breathing trouble began.

A few days later, the clinic called. Buddy’s test results were in: He was positive. As Buddy's health continued to decline, the Mahoneys decided to have him euthanized. Although his body was offered to health officials for study, no one seemed interested. He was cremated and is sadly mourned by his family, including Duke.



Knowledge gaps

Buddy’s case highlights an important question: Are animals with underlying conditions more likely to get sick from the coronavirus, just as humans are? It also highlights just how little information is available about infected pets. Cats have been known to contract Covid 19 also in the United States. A virus that can easily jump species is a frightening thing.

Obama's Moving Tribute

How's that campaign going Mr T ??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moguls, lobbyists and favored Republicans get millions in government aid from Covid Program

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been under pressure to share more information about the PPP loans

The US government has distributed more than $521bn (415bn) to businesses from its emergency coronavirus aid. This week, the public finally got a glimpse of who's been getting the money.

The list, released by the US Treasury Department, reignited debate about the controversial program, called the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
"We don't want to say that the PPP didn't help small businesses - it did. But well-connected small businesses got helped first and most," said Joshua Gotbaum,  scholar at the Brookings Institution think tank.
The program was intended to help small firms and prevent widespread layoffs during the pandemic. It offers loans, distributed by banks, that can be forgiven if firms use them primarily to pay staff wages,
But it has faced significant criticism, including that money has gone to bigger companies that don't need the help. Government inspectors have also warned that it is at risk of fraud, due to limited transparency and oversight.

The names published on Monday represented firms that received loans worth more than $150,000 - less than 15% of the more than 4.8 million overall loans. And some flaws in the data have surfaced. (Scooter company Bird said it was erroneously listed.)
Steve Ellis, president of budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, called the disclosures long overdue. He warned that the government will have to provide much more information if it wants to build confidence that program is not being abused.
So who got the money?

The politically connected

Recipients included businesses owned by the family of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law; a shipping business owned by the family of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao; and several members of Congress or their spouses.
New York law firm Kasowitz, Benson & Torres, headed by Mr Trump's long-time personal attorney Marc Kasowitz, also received a loan worth between $5 million and $10 million. It was among dozens of law firms that received PPP aid.
Dozens of tenants of Mr Trump's real estate company also received money, as did many powerful Washington lobby groups and political organisations, such as the Black Congressional Caucus.
Mr Gotbaum said it was "scandalous" that firms tied to politicians were benefiting from the program, which at one point ran out of money.

Celebrities

Kanye and his daughter North at his Yeezy fashion show in Paris in March

Kanye West's Yeezy apparel brand - which recently announced a long-term deal with Gap - got a loan worth between $2m and $5m, which was expected to help save 106 jobs.
Several other high profile fashion figures also got funds in that range, including Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang.

Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican, owns stakes in two wineries that received loans

The Nobu restaurants and hotels backed by actor Robert De Niro also received worth between $11m and $28m, while Francis Ford Coppola Winery, owned by the director's family, received a loan worth between $1m and $2m.
"We are using the PPP loan to ensure employee wages and benefits continue during these uncertain times," the winery wrote on Twitter after the deal was flagged.

The Ayn Rand Institute received a loan between $350,000 and $1m, to retain 35 jobs, while Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform Foundation received $150,000-$300,000 for 33 jobs.
The group, known for its anti-tax, anti-spending views, said it had not opposed the Paycheck Protection Program, "viewing it as compensation for a government taking during the shutdown".
Planned Parenthood affiliates also received more than $40m in loans. Republican lawmakers and the Small Business Administration have pressed the women's health care group, which provides abortion services, to return the money.

Some foreign companies also receiving relief including Korean Airlines, which received $5-$10m in aid to retain 500 US-based employees; and Chinese electric car maker Nio, which received $5-$10m in aid to retain 204 employees in America.
Mr Gotbaum said evidence so far suggests the boost to employment has been somewhat limited, especially after Congress loosened rules about how the PPP funds must be spent.
He said it would have been more effective to send money to workers directly via tax systems, as many other countries have done.
Just another example of corrupt management by the administration to add to the ever growing list.

 



The thirtieth birthday of the Hubble telescope

 



The legend of Trump

A genius in his own mind

 

 

Stocks drop at fear of second wave of Corona virus

 

  

Global stock markets have fallen amid fears that an uptick in coronavirus cases could cause more economic damage.

The declines came after the US Federal Reserve warned that the American economy faces a long road to recovery... also amid warnings of a second wave of Covid 19.
In the US, the three main share indexes saw their worst day in weeks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 7%. Stock markets in Asia also fell on Friday with benchmark indexes losing ground in Japan, Hong Kong and China.  The falls followed a weeks-long rally that had helped shares recover some ground from the lows seen in March.

Canadian stocks opened lower on Thursday, June 11. The market has been rallying because they were looking to 2021 and saying we’re going to get past this and then things will sort of get back to normal. That, plus the easing of lockdowns and a massive stimulus program to help the economy bounce back  to pre-pandemic levels have been pivotal in the S&P 500 staging a stunning recovery from a deep, virus-induced selloff.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes ended lower after Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged it could take years for the millions of people laid off due to COVID-19, to get back to work.
Not to mention, a second wave could drive the market down again.

Energy and travel stocks were among the biggest losers, as global crude oil prices also took a hit. European shares also dropped; all losing 4% or more.
"Government, companies and people would be better prepared for a second wave than for the first one," said Roland Kaloyan, European equity strategist at Societe Generale.
"But the problem is there is a limit to  long governments can keep injecting money."

Slow recovery

Share prices had gained in recent weeks amid hopes that the economy would rebound as authorities loosened restrictions put in place to try to slow the spread of the virus. Last week's surprise report showing US employers had restarted hiring in May helped to push the tech-heavy Nasdaq index to new highs.
But the recovery remains tentative. On Thursday, the US Labor Department reported that another 1.5 million people had filed new unemployment claims last week. More than 30 million continue to collect the benefits, it said.
US Federal Reserve policymakers said on Wednesday that the unemployment rate could remain above 9% at the end of the year - close to the worst level of the financial crisis,  At a news conference, Fed chairman Jerome Powell warned that this assessment may prove optimistic, if coronavirus infection and hospitalisation rates rise.
Several states that have moved to reopen, including Arizona and South Carolina, have seen a definite rise in Covid-19 cases in recent days.
"It could hurt the recovery, even if you don't have a national level pandemic. Just a series of local ones, of local spikes, could have the effect of undermining people's confidence in travelling, in restaurants and in entertainment," he said.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he did not want to see a return of the lockdowns that had kept the world's largest economy frozen for weeks.
But economists have warned that people will stay at home voluntarily if they are afraid of becoming ill.
More and more experts are predicting a second wave. So, lets take what we learned from the first one and tighten our belts and try to budget ourselves accordingly. Also, stock up on everything from hand sanitizer to toilet tissue before it happens. Buying stock in toilet tissue seems like a safe bet.

Black Lives Matter

 

 

Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can’t just be on people of colour to deal with it. It’s up to all of us – Black, white, everyone – no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets." – Michelle Obama in a statement following the harrowing death of George Floyd

 

ARTISTS FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A picture really is worth a thousand words. A painting can speak to us if we are open to it. Art is a window to our time.  It represents the emotions, the philosophy, the soul and even the politics of our time. These paintings are a sad reflection of what is happening. Keep an open mind and keep an open heart.





Speaks for itself

 



Chauvin charges upped to murder two

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will increase the charges against Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd to second-degree murder, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the case revealed. Perhaps the public outrage around the world helped the US justice system to be a little more fair and impartial.
Additionally, the other three officers involved in Floyd’s fatal arrest—Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane—will be charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Chauvin was arrested last Friday (May 29) and originally faced charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, which caused his death.

All four of the men face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the criminal complaints.

The Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the elevated murder charge against Chauvin or the charges filed against the other three officers Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if Lane and Thao had retained lawyers.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asked the community for continued patience on Wednesday as his team of prosecutors investigate the case, noting that prosecution of police officers for such a charge is a difficult task.

"I feel a tremendous sense of weight, I feel that this is a very serious moment," Ellison said. "I can tell you I feel no joy in this, but I do feel a tremendous sense of duty and responsibility."

 

Ellison explained Wednesday after the charges were announced that first-degree murder would require proving premeditation, which the facts do not support at the moment. Instead, his team will assert that Chauvin committed a felony assault which unintentionally resulted in Floyd's death, which fits the requirements for second-degree murder.

These increased charges may put a bandaid on this situation but it does not solve the root problem of racism in America. And it cannot assuage the grief of George Floyd's family.

* Additional facts:
- Chauvin had a prior 18 complaints against him for foul language and improper conduct.
- The day after Chauvin was arrested, his wife Kellie filed for divorce. Apparently, she was appalled by the murder and so upset she could no longer stay in the relationship.

Riots over George Floyd's death by Minneapolis cop

Buildings near the demonstrations were destroyed by fires  

The US National Guard has been deployed to Minneapolis after two nights of violent clashes following the death of an unarmed black man in police custody.

George Floyd, 46, died on Monday and video showed him gasping for breath as a white policeman knelt on his neck.
Police fired tear gas at protesters as businesses were looted on Wednesday. There have also been protests in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and Memphis,
Tennessee. Floyd's death added to longstanding anger over the police killings of black Americans, including the recent cases of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state's national guard troops on Thursday at the request of the mayors of Minneapolis and nearby St Paul. He said the looting, vandalism and arson of a night earlier had resulted in damage to many businesses, including ones owned by minorities.
"George Floyd's death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction," he said in a statement calling on all protests to remain peaceful.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on Wednesday for criminal charges against the policeman who was filmed pinning down Mr Floyd. Four police officers involved in the arrest have already been fired.
The incident echoes the case of Eric Garner, who was placed in a police chokehold in New York in 2014. His death became a rallying cry against police brutality and a catalyst in the Black Lives Matter movement.

The protests began in the afternoon on Tuesday, when hundreds of people came to the intersection where the incident had taken place. Organisers tried to keep the protest peaceful and maintain coronavirus social distancing, with demonstrators chanting "I can't breathe".

During the second night of demonstrations on Wednesday, the crowd grew into the thousands, with protesters pelting rocks and some throwing tear-gas canisters back at police. There was a standoff outside the police station where officers formed a human barricade to prevent protesters gaining entry.

The morning after a violent and destructive night across the city, the air was thick with acrid smoke as buildings continued to smoulder. Fresh graffiti covers nearly every wall, sign and surface. Bus stop shelters are skeletal with their glass walls completely shattered.
This thriving commercial corner of the city of Minneapolis has taken on the look of a war zone.

Much of the worst damage was concentrated around the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct, where the officers involved in the killing of George Floyd are believed to have worked.
At least 100 demonstrators gathered once again this morning, shouting at a line of silent, helmeted police officers blocking the entrance to the precinct's parking lot. Armed officers watched from the roof.
The car park of a looted Target was strewn with debris from inside the store, and people were still freely going in and out of smashed windows and doors. Everyone seemed agog at the extent of the damage. And it was indiscriminate.
Banks, cheque cashing shops and liquor stores were hit, but the windows of a public library branch were also smashed in. The classrooms of a charter school in the same strip mall complex as the Target were under several inches of water, as a security alarm droned on from somewhere.
Anger in the streets was palpable. Periodically there were shouts and wails. It seems a foregone conclusion that demonstrations will continue for days if not weeks, and further violence could follow. As one protester said: "It's sad. But this is how they're going to listen."

Mr Floyd's brother said he hoped the officers involved got the death penalty.
"I'm never gonna get my brother back," he said. "We need justice."
Speaking through tears, he said the officers who "executed my brother in broad daylight" must be arrested and that he was "tired of seeing black men die".

 

Fires raged overnight close to the site where George Floyd was pinned down by police officers 

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo apologised for the "pain, devastation and trauma" caused by Mr Floyd's death and said his department had contributed to "a deficit of hope" in the city.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has also condemned Mr Floyd's death, saying the role of "entrenched and pervasive racial discrimination" must be recognised and dealt with.
She called for protesters to act peacefully, and for police to "take utmost care not to inflame the current situation even more".

What happened to George Floyd?

Officers responding to reports of the use of counterfeit money approached Mr Floyd in his vehicle on Monday.

According to police, he was told to step away from the car, physically resisted officers and was handcuffed. The police statement noted his apparent "medical distress". Video of the incident does not show how the confrontation started.



George Floyd

 

George Floyd repeatedly told the police officers who detained him that he could not breathe



A white officer can be seen using his knee to pin Mr Floyd to the ground by the neck as Mr Floyd groans "please, I can't breathe" and "don't kill me".

The city has identified the four officers involved as Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng.

Local media have named Mr Chauvin as the officer seen with his knee on Mr Floyd's neck.

The Minneapolis Police Officers Federation said the officers were co-operating with the investigation. In a statement to local media, the union said "now is not the time to rush to judgment".

"We must review all videos. We must wait for the medical examiner's report."

One of the ex-officers - Derek Chauvin, 44 - had previously been involved in three other police shootings and had 17 complaints filed against him over his 19-year career, according to the Associated Press.

Racism is alive and well in the USA. Slavery was abolished 155 years ago but racism, fueled by the preconceived notions of inferiority and superiority of those days, still persists. What does it take to abolish attitudes and injustice ??

Heh Heh !

 

Finding Waldo is no problem in 2020

How bout a nice cruise ?

 

Too Soon

If you are thinking of sticking your head out to enjoy some sunshine, it might be better to stay in your own backyard.

 

 

Witness the scene in a Toronto park on Saturday:

 

Trinity Bellwoods Park

 

Do you see any masks or efforts at social distancing? Evidently, when restrictions are loosened up just a little, people go absolutely ape-shit... endangering themselves and everyone around them. Also endangering anyone they come in contact with when they return home. No one in the image appears to give a damn about a lethal pandemic. There has been a definite spike in Covid cases in Ontario this week due to lowering some restrictions. IT"S TOO EARLY TO IGNORE PANDEMIC PROTOCOLS FOLKS. If we do, we will go back to square one and suffer a complete lock-down all over again and miss out on a beautiful summer.

 

 

 

Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, is setting a poor example by lowering his mask and ignoring social distancing. Apparently on Sunday, May 24, the police belatedly paid more attention and patrolled the parks.



Saturday at Victoria Park in Coburg, on Lake Ontario. The sunshine must have blocked their thinking processes



LET OTHER PEOPLE TEST THEIR STUPIDITY

STAY SAFE FRIENDS!



Mika defends husband Joe from Trump's sick innuendo

Mika Brzezinski

 

Mika with husband Joe

  TV host, Mika Brzezinski, has furiously rebuked President Donald Trump for falsely suggesting her husband and co-presenter may have got away with murder. In tweets, Mr Trump has appeared to link MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough to the death of an aide two decades ago, a conspiracy theory debunked by police.
"Donald, you're a sick person," anchor Brzezinski said on air as she defended her husband.
She also demanded Twitter take down the president's incendiary tweets.
"He's once again tweeting conspiracy theories about Joe, falsely accusing him of murder," Ms Brzezinski said on her MSNBC show Morning Joe on Wednesday, before addressing the president directly.

She questioned how the president could subject the family of a congressional aide - who authorities said died of natural causes in Mr Scarborough's office in 2001 - to such "BS".
"Donald, you're a sick person," Ms Brzezinski said. "You're really a cruel, sick, disgusting person." She said the president's tweets were merely a ploy to deflect from the Covid-19 pandemic because her husband "speaks the truth" about Mr Trump's "lack of ability to handle this massive human catastrophe".

MSNBC, Ms Brzezinski and Mr Scarborough have been highly critical of the president's handling of the US coronavirus outbreak. Countrywide, cases have surpassed 1.5 million.
Ms Brzezinski then turned to Twitter, saying the company should remove Mr Trump's tweets.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," she scolded the social media giant.

@jack At what point is @Twitter a part of this? TAKE DOWN TRUMP’s ACCOUNT— the world world be safer. Retweet if you agree— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) May 20, 2020

It is by no means the president's first clash with the couple. In 2017, he referred to Ms Brzezinski on Twitter as "low IQ Crazy Mika" and claimed she had been "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he saw her once near his Florida home.

What did Trump say and what is the truth?

On Wednesday, Mr Trump complained that his convicted former adviser Roger Stone had been treated unfairly, "while guys like Low Ratings Psycho Joe Scarborough are allowed to walk the streets? Open Cold Case!"
Last week he tweeted: "When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn't it obvious? What's happening now? A total nut job!"
The president first directed the baseless charge at Mr Scarborough in November 2017, suggesting he should be fired "based on the 'unsolved mystery' that took place in Florida years ago".

Facts
However, the case the president is apparently referring to is not a cold case.
Mr Scarborough is a former Republican congressman who represented a Florida district from 1995 to 2001. In July 2001, a member of his staff, 28-year-old Lori Klausutis, was found dead in the lawmaker's office in Fort Walton Beach.
Mr Scarborough was in Washington DC at the time. Despite the president's suggestion of something untoward in his exit from Congress, Mr Scarborough had stepped down before Klausutis' death.
Authorities determined Klausutis died after losing consciousness from an abnormal heart rhythm, before collapsing and striking her head. She had told a colleague a day earlier that she felt unwell.
Police found no foul play and a medical examiner established Klausutis had suffered an acute subdural hematoma, or blood clot, ruling her death accidental.
After Mr Trump's tweet about the matter on 12 May, Mr Scarborough said live on air: "Why don't you turn off the television, and why don't you start working, OK?"

What other conspiracy theories has Trump promoted?

Mr Trump was the most high-profile supporter of the bogus "birther" theory that former President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible for the presidency.
In 2016, Mr Trump suggested the father of his then-Republican presidential rival Ted Cruz had been seen with John F Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, before the president's death. His source for the claim was an unverified tabloid report.
Last April, Mr Trump suggested that the noise from windmills causes cancer. Scientists have found no such health risks.
The president has also shared a baseless theory that former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton were connected to last year's prison suicide of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Apparently, the president is brilliant at something, after all.....distraction and lies.