Elon Musk's SpaceX Rocket Sent Astronauts To ISS

(AP's article from The ABC NEWS on 31 May 2020.)

Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launches rocket carrying astronauts bound for the ISS: NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken lifted off at 3:22pm local time from the same launch pad used to send the Apollo astronauts to the Moon a half-century ago.

"Let's light this candle," Commander Doug Hurley said just before lift-off. Minutes later, they safely entered orbit. Despite more storms in the forecast, the company pressed ahead in its historic attempt to launch astronauts for NASA, a first by a private company.

It's NASA's second go at the launch. The first attempt three days ago was halted due to bad weather. Leading up to the successful launch, forecasters put the odds of success at just 50:50. The flight also ended a nine-year launch drought for NASA, the longest such hiatus in its history.

Ever since it retired the space shuttle in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian spaceships launched from Kazakhstan to take US astronauts to and from the space station. The two men are scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Sunday for a stay of up to four months, after which they will return to Earth with a splashdown at sea.

Death Railway? Or Just Thai-Burma Railway

(Extracts from The BREAKTHROUGH IN BURMA by Dr. Ba Maw in 1968.)

Our next Japan-Burma joint undertaking was the construction of the Thai- Burma railway, in which we helped by supplying labour to build the Burma section of it.

This project, and particularly the way some of the labour employed in it was obtained, has become one of the most controversial wartime actions of the Japanese in Southeast Asia, largely as a result of enemy propaganda, which promptly called it the “death railway” because so many labourers, including war prisoners in the hands of the Japanese who were put to work at it, died of sheer hunger, disease, and exhaustion.

For years the British painted it as almost the foulest crime of the war in Asia of a foul-hearted people, the Asian counterpart of the Nazi butcheries in Europe. There is nothing I can say with regard to this charge. I do not know all the facts, but only those relating to the Burmese side of the matter. I will narrate fully what I know.

Suzuki & Sawamoto: Burma's Founding Fathers (2)

(Chapter-3 from Joyce Lebra's"Japanese-trained Armies in Southeast Asia.")

Aung San & Hla Myaing at Suzuki's house in Hamamatsu.

Japan at the outbreak of war in Pacific faced critical problems for which she was ill prepared. Southeast Asia was a newcomer to map maneuvers in the upper echelons of Army General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo, where attention was traditionally focused rather on North China and Soviet Russia.

To counteract the lack of information about Southeast Asia in Tokyo, the Second Bureau of Imperial General Headquarters adopted the expedient of sending young field-grade officers to every nation in Southeast Asia in a series of far-flung intelligence missions. (Suzuki was one of them and he was sent to British Burma in 1940.)

The information fed back from these agencies became the basis for policy decisions made within Imperial General Headquarters. Other ingredients in the wartime decision-making process were the preconceptions of officers in the First Bureau, the powerful Operations Bureau, which overrode the Second Bureau in any confrontation.

Jimmy Lai of Hong Kong: Only Trump Can Save Us

(Based on staff article from The CNN EDITION on 26 May 2020.)

(Media mogul Jimmy Lai; Only Trump can save Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai, founder of Hong Kong's pro-democracy newspaper The Apple Daily, has been a thorn in the side of China's Communist Party for decades. As Beijing moves to enforce the controversial Hong Kong national security law, Lai is pleading with the US President Trump for help.)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Reacting to China’s plans for a Hong Kong national security law, outspoken media tycoon Jimmy Lai tweeted Saturday (May 23) that he would fight to the end for his home.

The announcement at the National People’s Congress that China is planning a security law for Hong Kong sparked criticisms that it would be a violation of the “one country, two systems” formula introduced in 1997 and meant to last for 50 years. Following the harsh police crackdowns on protests against a planned extradition law, Hong Kong democracy activists view the plan as renewed repression.

Lai, who is the founder of Next Magazine and Apple Daily, tweeted his response to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) measures Saturday. “Under CCP’s clampdown HK people have 2 choices: immigrate or stay to fight to the end. I’ll fight to the end. HK is my home. We are not frightened,” he wrote on his new English-language Twitter account.

Dog-mad China Calling Australia "The Dog Of US"

(Samantha Maiden's article from The NEWS.COM.AU on 20 May 2020.)

Chinese state media labels Australia ‘the dog of the United States’: China hits back at Australia with crippling trade tariffs as tensions heat up over coronavirus investigation. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has urged China to clarify if it is preparing a “hit list” of Aussie exports to punish Australian farmers.

The demand for answers follows China’s latest barb in an exchange of bizarre insults over escalating trade tensions, branding Australia as looking like a “giant kangaroo that acts as the dog of the US”.

Amid reports from the news agency Bloomberg today that wine, seafood, oats, fruit and dairy exports could face stricter quality checks, delayed customs clearances, antidumping probes or consumer boycotts, Senator Birmingham said this was a matter for China. “This is an unsourced claim for Chinese authorities to respond to,’’ he told news.com.au

Suzuki & Sawamoto: Burma's Founding Fathers (1)

(Louis Allen's Chapter-13 from The Themes & Theories in Modern Japanese History.)

Colonel Suzuki Keiji of Imperial Japanese
Army & Founding Father of BIA. 

On 23 April 1963 a dinner was held at the Kansuiro Restaurant at Ito Hot Springs. The dinner was also a meeting of the Biruma-Kai, consisting of the surviving members of the Minami Kikan, the Japanese organization which had founded the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in 1942, and the surviving advisers to that army's successor, the Burma National Army (BNA).

There were about twenty people at the dinner, and they included Mr Okada Kosaburo, of Ensuiko Sugar Refinery in Taiwan which had helped the Minami Kikan in its early days, Mr (formerly Major-General) Suzuki Keiji, the head of the kikan and the founder of BIA, Mr (formerly Major-General) Sawamoto Rikichiro, former chief adviser to the BNA.

The talk turned naturally to the past and to Burma and it was not long before voices were raised in anger. The two generals were locked in a fierce argument. The other guests looked embarrassed and one of Suzuki's former aides, Yamamoto Masayoshi, suggested since the turn conversation has taken was casting a chill were over what were meant to be festive proceedings, it would be better to continue the argument later in a separate room.

After Barley and Beef China Targeting Iron Ore

(Staff article from The SKY NEWS AUS on 22 May 2020.)

China ‘goes after Australia’ with brand new iron ore ‘threat’: Sky News host Paul Murray says “there is a brand new threat” issued by the Chinese Communist Party who have said they “are ready to hurt the Australian economy”.

China’s The Global Times reported “it seems the Australian government has no intention of sowing new troubles in its trade with China, but the possibility of deteriorating tensions escalating into a trade war should not be ignored”.

Mr Murray said it is clear China is once again “threatening us” and they "are confirming by their actions that they are going after us”. “First it was barley, then a bit on beef and now the big game, iron ore”.

Socialists, Capitalists, & Cholera in Hamburg (1892)

(Louise O'Shea's article from The RED FLAG Australia on 14 May 2020.)

I certainly didn’t expect to spend the start of 2020 wading through nearly 700 pages about the 1892 Hamburg cholera epidemic, but I’m glad I did. Death in Hamburg, British historian Richard J. Evans’ social history of the epidemic, is a page-turner, his passion for the topic nothing short of infectious.

At the time it was published in 1987, the contemporary parallel was the spread of HIV-AIDS. The parallels with our sorry times are, if anything, more direct. It’s a tale of official indifference, denial, opportunism by the wealthy and callousness towards the masses.

It is also the story of how a disease brought about a profound political and economic upheaval, such that up until WWI, the history of the city was measured “before” and “after” the epidemic. Upended particularly was the relationship between social classes – the old rulers being discredited and those previously sidelined decisively entering the stage. The epidemic, in other words, changed everything.

White Bridge Massacre: Rangoon's Inya Lake (1988)

(Based on Wa Lone's article from The MYANMAR TIMES on 08 April 2014.)

On March 16, 1988 the protesting students fanned out across wide Prome road, almost 4000 of them in total marching together behind a student union flag bearing a peacock. They had set out from Rangoon University on March 16 for Regional College 2 in Hlaing township, where they were planning to combine with other students to protest against General Ne Win's hated socialist government.

As they headed north along Prome Road, the demonstrators slowly passed the White Bridge, which leads from the road up to the bank of Inya Lake. And then the soldiers arrived. Vehicles laden with machine guns blocked the road in front of the marchers, while hated riot police also moved in from behind.

With the lake on the right and the high walls of an affluent Kamaryut township neighbourhood on the left, the protesters were sitting ducks. The police showed no mercy, driving up to the protesters in trucks and attacking them viciously.

No Rice In Australia By Christmas: Aussies To Eat Cakes

(Cara Jeffery's article from The ABC NEWS on 27 March 2020.)

Australia imported nearly 300,000 mTons rice in 2019 alone.

Coronavirus rice shortage brought on by water shortage and Vietnam ban: Supermarket shelves usually laden with rice are unlikely to be fully restocked in the short-term because of Australia's low rice production brought on by drought and lower water allocations.

Rice was the first staple food commodity to be restricted when COVID-19 panic buying stripped shelves. When coronavirus hit Australia and people raided the stores stockpiling toilet paper and hand sanitiser, rice also became a rare commodity very quickly. It was the first staple food to be restricted by retailers amid COVID-19 panic buying, as there just was not enough to go around.

Food Security Concern: SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur said it was the first time food security had been an issue in Australia in a long time. SunRice is one of the largest rice food companies in the world and one of Australia's leading branded food exporters. Mr Arthur said for rice to be rationed should serve as a reminder to governments about the important role of farmers feeding not only Australia, but also the world.

Lockdown Rebellion: New Jersey Gym Reopens

(Jordan Freiman's article from The CBS NEWS on 18 May 2020.)

New Jersey gym reopens in violation of stay-at-home order: A gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, reopened Monday in defiance of the state's stay-at-home order. A crowd of supporters stood outside Atilis Gym as it opened its doors at 8 a.m.

Co-owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti were issued a court summons for violating Democrat Governor Phil Murphy's stay-at-home order, but the business remained open throughout the day. Customers were issued warnings. The gym had been closed since New Jersey's coronavirus lockdown measures ordering non-essential businesses to close went into effect in mid-March.

The gym instituted a number of safety measures for Monday's reopening. According to their Facebook page, the gym was only operating at 20% capacity, and only current members were allowed inside. Temperatures were taken upon entry, and anybody with a temperature above 100.4 degrees would be turned away.

Ma Thein Shin – Chapter (6)

(Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s “Ma Thein Shin Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

(On 6 January 1966 General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Socialist Government in Burma foolishly prohibited the civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460 basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Farmers and producers were forced to sell their produce only to the government which rationed everything to people through so-called people shops. Commerce died suddenly and black markets thrived and widespread starvation started killing people. Hta-nyet (jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is produced.)

Winter 1969

Late winter days had arrived and in the heavy dawn mist the train appeared to be struggling by carrying a seemingly heavy load. The snowy cloud were now covering the faraway western mountain ranges.

Train was on the return trip from Kyauk-pa-daung and the setting sun was almost dying once the train reached Shew-lin-ban Station. I was sitting beside Nyo Nyo and doing the cash accounts of my one day work at the same time wondering what Nyo Nyo was thinking about deeply in her innocent mind.

Without her telling me I could correctly guess her ongoing day-to-day troubles. The worries from deep inside of her were plainly showing up on her little round face. In last few days her little face was visibly becoming paler and paler as her money troubles mounted over time. Usual brightness in her eyes was nearly gone. She wouldn’t laugh as before when her friends were laughing. She even stopped talking to them as her unhappy mind had weakened her outer appearance.

On the trains she just stared out the windows as if she was withdrawing from the life. Her fading red shirt was fraying at the edges. I could feel her eyes filled with tears even when I was just seeing her back. Without expensive coconut oil her long hairs were now untidy and flying all over in the wind as the coconut oil prices went up ten times last year alone.

Atwater California: Sanctuary City From Lockdown

(Rita Beamish's article from The San Francisco Chronicle on 17 May 2020.)

Craig Arnold replaces a micro sprinkler head after taking it out for a demonstration in a block of almonds trees he manages March 6, 2014 near Arnold Farms in Atwater, Calif. Arnold is a partner in the family farm with his Uncle Glenn Arnold and father, Bill Arnold. Today the family farms about 800 acres of almonds and about 400 of peaches, sweet potatoes, squash and wheat.

This year Arnold estimates that Merced Irrigation District may only allot 6 inches of water per acre for one crop as opposed to the normal 30-40 inches allotted in normal years. Because of this, Arnold is anticipating having to draw from the farm's wells, tapping into the ground water, to make up the difference.

They're also planning on allowing most of the squash and sweet potatoes to fallow, so they can use the water for the almonds and peaches. Almond trees can survive without water, but it can take years for them to recover back to full production.

Mask Standoff: Mask-On Left & No-Mask Right

(Staff article from The POLITICO on 01 May 2020.)

Wearing a mask is for smug liberals. Refusing to is for reckless Republicans. Welcome to Washington's latest partisan standoff. In the ‘60s, protesters burned bras. In 2020, they might soon be burning masks.

Views on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic have become increasingly polarized, yet another political issue that for many culture war combatants is filtered through an ideological lens. The left has been almost uniformly — and loudly — in favor of sacrificing many personal liberties in exchange for containing the virus’ spread.

The right has been divided, but the vocal activist wing of conservatism that has enormous influence on social media and Fox News, has been far more willing to attack the various infringements on where people can go and what they have to wear. The mask has become the ultimate symbol of this new cultural and political divide.

Virus Didn't Crush Economy: People Who Obeyed Did

(Mac Slavo's article from The SHIFT PLAN on 13 May 2020.)

IT WASN’T THE “VIRUS” THAT CRASHED THE ECONOMY, IT WAS THE PEOPLE WHO OBEYED: Most atrocities in human history have all been committed by individuals and agents of government who were “just following orders” or “just obeying the law.”  The virus didn’t give any orders. It was the people who obeyed the commands of tyrants that crashed the economy and ruined the livelihoods of others.

Most human beings still think like slaves.  Instead of asking questions or using critical thinking skills to ask if something is right before doing it, they simply obey perceived “authority”.  The truth is, this lockdown is the fault of everyone who complied and everyone who used force to exact revenge on those who disobeyed.  It was the same in all tyrannical takeovers in history.

The mainstream media keeps blaming the economic devastation on the coronavirus, but it wasn’t the fault of a virus.  It was the fault of the government and the slave mentality of the police and the public willingly obeying their commands.

Failed Chinese Rocket Missed NYC By Just 13 Minutes

(Adam Smith's article from The INDEPENDENT UK on 14 May 2020.)

A failed rocket, launched from China, eventually landed in the Atlantic Ocean with reports of fallen debris destroying property: A Chinese rocket has crashed down to Earth, missing New York by minutes.

The Long March-5B rocket, an unmanned prototype craft launched into space on 5 May, fell down and came around 13 minutes of hitting the city. CNN reported that the rocket launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the Hainan province in South China. The rocket experienced a mysterious malfunction on its first flight, but nevertheless returned to China as planned.

The spacecraft, which had been in development for 10 years with the intention to carry large payloads into low-Earth orbit, was over 50 meters long and weighed 849 tons when it took off. Usually when a rocket launches, the first stage provides the majority of the thrust to get the craft into orbital velocity before dropping into the ocean. A second stage then activates, pushing the rocket’s payload into orbit. However, the rocket had difficulty breaking out of the Earth's atmosphere.

FBI: China's Targeting Of COVID-19 Research Orgs

(The press release from The FBI on 13 May 2020.)

People’s Republic of China (PRC) Targeting of COVID-19 Research Organizations: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are issuing this announcement to raise awareness of the threat to COVID-19-related research.

The FBI is investigating the targeting and compromise of U.S. organizations conducting COVID-19-related research by PRC-affiliated cyber actors and non-traditional collectors. These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.

The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, and efficient treatment options. The FBI and CISA urge all organizations conducting research in these areas to maintain dedicated cybersecurity and insider threat practices to prevent surreptitious review or theft of COVID-19-related material.

States Won't Follow ScoMo's Reopening Measures

(Ashleigh Raper's article from The ABC NEWS on 11 May 2020.)

NSW coronavirus restrictions to lift from Friday, but will not follow all National Cabinet measures: New South Wales will start relaxing lockdown restrictions from Friday, but does not plan to implement all step one measures agreed to by National Cabinet.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Sunday that outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted and people can have five visitors at any one time. Cafes and restaurants will also be able to have up to 10 people dining in.

Weddings will be allowed to have up to 10 guests while funerals can accommodate up to 20 mourners indoors and 30 outdoors. The rules have also been relaxed for places of worship, where there can now be up to 10 people at religious gatherings. Outdoor gyms and playgrounds will open and outdoor pools with restrictions.

Yulin Dog Meat Festival In China Every June

(Stuart Leavenworth's article from The NPR on 02 June 2016.)

China's Dog Meat Festival Will Go On Despite Growing Protests: Held every year, the Yulin Dog Meat Festival results in the slaughter of thousands of dogs, which are then served in some of the restaurants in this city in south China.

An international campaign to halt the killing keeps growing each year. Millions in Canada, the U.K. and the United States have signed petitions calling for China to end the festival, which is scheduled to start this year on June 21.

Yet it not just foreign activists who are working to stop China's dog meat trade. There are now millions of pet owners in the world's most populous country. Many are appalled by Yulin's continuing celebration of the eating of dog meat and by the uncertain manner in which the meat is obtained.

China Punishing Australia: Suspending Beef Imports

(Stephen Dziedzic's article from The ABCNEWS on 13 May 2020.)

Dog meat imports will replace Aussie beef imports.

China's meat import suspension a reminder of Beijing's ability to inflict economic pain: Many countries caught in a dispute with Beijing suddenly find their industries hit with regulatory roadblocks.

China's sudden announcement it was suspending imports from four Australian abattoirs sent a ripple of unease through the Federal Government. But it probably didn't come as a shock. 

Australian officials and politicians hoping for an explanation were treated to a predictable piece of theatre from Zhao Lijian, the famously combative spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Australian abattoirs were guilty of "repeated violations of inspection and quarantine requirements" Mr Zhao declared. The issue had nothing to do with China's increasingly sour relationship with Australia, he insisted. The Chinese Government was merely "safeguarding the health and safety of Chinese consumers".

Dr. Anthony Fauci Squares Off With Sen. Rand Paul

(Ben Tobin's article from The USA TODAY on 13 May 2020.)

'I don't think you're the end-all': Rand Paul slams Anthony Fauci at Senate hearing: Sen. Rand Paul tangled with the nation's foremost COVID-19 public health expert during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday over sending kids back to school and reopening the economy.

Speaking during a meeting of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Paul, R-Ky., said it is "ridiculous" to have a national strategy of not sending kids back to school in the fall and attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Paul said that the COVID-19 mortality rate of children is much lower than adults, and he pointed to Sweden, which has kept schools open for children under 16 and is outside the top 10 countries in the world for COVID-19 deaths per capita. Sweden does, however, have the largest number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Scandinavia.

Australian Gyms Will Re-open Soon, But With Catch-20

(Max Langridge's article from The DMARGE on 10 May 2020.)

In what will no doubt be news to the ears of Australians everywhere, you will soon be able to don your best gym gear, dust off your training shoes and forget all about home ‘grim gyms’, as ‘proper’ gyms in Australia can soon re-open their doors to paying members…albeit with a slight catch.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has today (Friday 7th May) announced a plan toward lifting the restrictions currently in place, “Today, National Cabinet agreed a three-step plan and a national framework to achieve a COVID-safe economy and society. It is our goal to move through all of these steps to achieve that COVID-safe economy in July of this year.”

Restaurants and cafes fall into the stage one category, meaning they will be among the first to re-open, and perhaps more importantly, outdoor bootcamps of up to 10 people can resume as part of the stage one relaxation as well.

Gov. Cuomo Admits His Mar-25 Order Was Wrong

(Editorial article from The NEW YORK POST on 10 May 2020.)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has finally admitted — tacitly and partially, anyway — the mistake that was state health chief Howard Zucker’s order that nursing homes must admit coronavirus-positive patients.

On Sunday, Cuomo announced a new regulation: Such patients must now test negative for the virus before hospitals can return them to nursing homes. Yet the gov also admitted that COVID-19 cases might still go to the facilities via other routes, and didn’t explicitly overrule Zucker’s March 25 mandate that homes must accept people despite their testing status — indeed, couldn’t even require a test pre-admission.

The gov’s people say that a home that simply can’t accommodate coronavirus patients never had to take them — though they are obliged to help those people find a place that will, with help available from the state if needed. That is: Zucker’s mandate was never more than a “don’t discriminate” rule. But Zucker publicly presented it as “must accept” — and Cuomo’s remarks regularly implied there must be something wrong with a home that couldn’t handle corona patients.

West Papua: Fight For Freedom From Indonesia

(Foreign Correspondent article from The ABC NEWS on 12 May 2020.)

The battle for West Papuan independence from Indonesia has intensified with deadly results: In the highlands of Papua, in easternmost Indonesia, villagers are returning to the burnt-out remains of their abandoned homes.

A woman slumps on the grass, overcome with grief, as men dig a pit for the remains of those who could not escape the bloodshed. The air is filled with the sound of wailing. Witnesses who fled the attack say they saw bombs rain down from Indonesian helicopters. This is the aftermath of a secret war being waged just a few hundred kilometres north of mainland Australia, captured in video obtained by Foreign Correspondent.

Since late 2018, West Papuan separatists have engaged in an escalating series of deadly skirmishes with Indonesian security forces as they renew a decades-old push for independence. Indonesia has sought to suppress news of the conflict getting out, restricting foreign media from entering the contested provinces and even cutting off the region's internet access at the height of the revolt.

Iran Is Losing Its Grip In Iraq Sans Soleimani

(Eli Lake's article from The BLOOMBERG on 04 May 2020.)

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- When U.S. missiles killed Iran’s most important general and its most important militia leader in early January as they were visiting Baghdad, it looked like American forces would be kicked out of Iraq. Iraq’s parliament convened just hours after the strike and approved a symbolic resolution to expel the U.S.

More than four months later, not only are U.S. forces still there, but it’s clear that the killings have created space for a new Iraqi government to assert some independence from its powerful neighbor. The signs of this new approach have been building over recent months, and the ascendance last week of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to the post of transitional prime minister is the latest and most profound.

Consider that Kataib Hezbollah, the militia largely responsible for attacks on U.S. positions in Iraq, openly accused the new prime minister of participating in the U.S. plot to kill the Iranian leaders during the negotiations to select an interim prime minister. The militia opposed Kadhimi and threatened violence if he became prime minister. The Iraqi Parliament ignored it.

Cuomo's Mar-25 Order Killed Far Too Many NY Oldies

(Michael Goodwin's article from The NEW YORK POST on 05 May 2020.)

Cuomo's Mar-25 order basically killed nearly 2,000 oldies.

Two weeks ago, Gov. ­Andrew Cuomo was first asked about his policy that forced nursing homes to admit ­patients infected with the coronavirus. “That’s a good question, I don’t know,” the governor answered, turning to an aide.

On Tuesday, Cuomo was asked about a report from the Associated Press that his team had added more than 1,700 deaths to the count of those who died in nursing homes, bringing the total to at least 4,813. “I don’t know the details, frankly,” the governor answered, turning to an aide.

Cuomo is legendary for micromanaging and has been praised for his detailed daily briefings during the pandemic. He has closed schools, religious services and businesses because each human life is “priceless.”

Armed Cyborg Dogs Patrolling Singapore parks?

(Staff article from The IB TIMES SG on 09 May 2020.)

Black Mirror-like cyborg dogs have taken over public parks in Singapore and people are freaking out, Singapore has deployed a Boston Dynamics' Spot robot to patrol a popular park and relay pre-recorded messages 'to remind park visitors to observe safe distancing measures'.

At a time when simply sharing space with a fellow human can prove to be dangerous, many governments, airports, and hospital are replacing people with robots to limit the spread of the deadly virus that continues to spread rampantly across the globe.

Singapore has enlisted the services of a four-legged robot to patrol public parks and remind people to practice social distancing from Friday, May 8. The city-state's municipal authorities announced that it would deploy Spot, Boston Dynamics' famous yellow and black canine robot, at a local park to ensure cyclists, joggers, and other park-goers are following the rules, according to The Straits Times.

Elon Musk Moving Tesla Factory Out Of California

(Ians's article from The IB TIMES SG on 10 May 2020.)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has threatened to move his Fremont car factory in California to Nevada or Texas if the state does not allow the facility to open despite the sheltering-in-home in place. Musk has filed a lawsuit in California's Alameda County to reopen the Fremont Tesla plant.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!" Musk tweeted on Saturday.

He added: "Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA".

According to a report in CBS News, Musk has called 30 per cent of the workforce to resume duties at Tesla Fremont factory, saying Governor Gavin Newsom's order permitted it. The Tesla California plant was shut on March 23 under a six-county order in the San Francisco area, which has been extended through May 31.

Sweden Refused To Lockdown: Others Are Following

(John Fund's article from The NATIONAL REVIEW on 03 May 2020.)

Sweden Bucked Conventional Wisdom, and Other Countries Are Following: No lockdown, no shuttered businesses or elementary schools, no stay-at-home. And no disaster, either. Spring is in the air, and it is increasingly found in the confident step of the people of Sweden.

With a death rate significantly lower than that of France, Spain, the U.K., Belgium, Italy, and other European Union countries, Swedes can enjoy the spring without panic or fears of reigniting a new epidemic as they go about their day in a largely normal fashion.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s Emergencies Program, says: “I think if we are to reach a new normal, I think in many ways Sweden represents a future model — if we wish to get back to a society in which we don’t have lockdowns.”

Danger Of Wuhan Corona Virus Seriously Overstated

(Matthew Boyle's article from The BREITBART NEWS on 08 May 2020.)

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Friday that American political leaders are “overstating the danger” of coronavirus to most Americans while “underestimating” the economic “carnage” that lockdowns nationwide are causing.

Toomey, a key U.S. senator from a Rust Belt battleground state, conducted this interview with Breitbart News after rolling out a plan to much more quickly reopen Pennsylvania than the plan the state’s Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf has begun.

Toomey, a widely respected Republican who serves alongside a Democrat, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), is not known for making outlandish claims so his statements here that the panic driving policy decisions around the country instead of science—which shows the disease is much less severe than originally thought—are a huge step for the country as the conventional wisdom behind the lockdowns nationwide is challenged ever so more.

Is Wind Renewable? Turbines Surely Are Not

(Matt Ridley's article from The SPECTATOR UK on 13 May 2020.)

The Global Wind Energy Council recently released its latest report, excitedly boasting that ‘the proliferation of wind energy into the global power market continues at a furious pace, after it was revealed that more than 54 gigawatts of clean renewable wind power was installed across the global market last year’.

You may have got the impression from announcements like that, and from the obligatory pictures of wind turbines in any BBC story or airport advert about energy, that wind power is making a big contribution to world energy today. You would be wrong. Its contribution is still, after decades — nay centuries — of development, trivial to the point of irrelevance.

Here’s a quiz; no conferring. To the nearest whole number, what percentage of the world’s energy consumption was supplied by wind power in 2014, the last year for which there are reliable figures? Was it 20 per cent, 10 per cent or 5 per cent? None of the above: it was 0 per cent. That is to say, to the nearest whole number, there is still no wind power on Earth.

Lockdowns Kill Economies To Save Few Baby Boomers

(Andrew Probyn's article from The ABC NEWS on 08 May 2020.)

when Treasurer Josh Frydenberg addressed the National Press Club on Tuesday, he was keen to put a few things straight. "Some observers claim the Swedish model of handling the virus with significantly fewer restrictions is the model of success," Frydenberg said.

"Respectfully, I disagree. Sweden has 40 per cent of Australia's population but 70 times the death rate. The numbers speak for themselves." There's growing concern in government that a view is taking hold in some conservative quarters, influenced by the likes of broadcaster Alan Jones, that restrictions need to be dramatically lifted to save the economy from ruin.

Jones, holed up in his Southern Highlands safe house, is among commentators who've endorsed the views of Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, Professor of Structural Biology at the Stanford School of Medicine.