Opinion | Trump’s Deliberate Coronavirus Deception – The New York Times

On Feb. 7, Trump described the virus as airborne and “more deadly than even your strenuous flus,” adding, “this is 5 percent versus 1 percent, or less than 1 percent.” It’s not clear whether Trump thought that Covid-19 had a 5 percent case fatality rate — a number that seemed plausible in February — but he clearly knew that compared with the flu, it was several times more likely to kill.

And yet he told the country just the opposite. “The percentage for the flu is under 1 percent,” Trump said on March 7. “But this could also be under 1 percent because many of the people that aren’t that sick don’t report.” Despite knowing that the virus was airborne, he mocked mask-wearing and held several large indoor rallies. He told Woodward in March that “plenty of young people” were getting sick, but over the summer would insist that 99 percent of cases were “totally harmless” and that children are “almost immune.”

We know now that this wasn’t just Trump being buffoonish and engaging in magical thinking. It was conscious deception. Publicly, Trump kept insisting that the virus would disappear. Privately, he told Woodward: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

It’s now clear that just because Trump is lying to us, that doesn’t mean he’s lying to himself.

Trump’s lies sabotaged efforts to contain the coronavirus, almost certainly leading to many more deaths than it would have caused under a minimally competent and non-sociopathic leader. On Sept. 9, there were 1,176 coronavirus deaths in the United States. In Canada, there were two.

When someone’s actions lead to the death of another, we evaluate that person’s intent and state of mind in order to assign the right measure of blame. When a president’s actions lead to the deaths of thousands, we should do the same.

UK has already breached withdrawal agreement, EU lawyers say

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Leaked legal opinion says bloc already has grounds to take ‘legal remedies’ that could lead to financial and trade sanctions

Britain has already breached the withdrawal agreement by tabling the internal market bill, prompting Brussels to plan legal action that could lead to financial and trade sanctions, according to a leaked EU legal opinion.

The European commission believes Boris Johnson’s government breached the terms of the treaty just by taking the first steps to pass a new law that would negate key parts of the agreement signed last year.

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Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready’ Brexit had a secret footnote: we’ll rehash it later | Fintan O’Toole

Suggesting Britain could sign the withdrawal agreement with its fingers crossed makes perfect sense for a government of liars

Everybody knows Boris Johnson can lie for England. To his supporters, it was one of his best assets. They believed he could bamboozle the European Union into giving him the only Brexit deal that is really acceptable – one that gives Britain all the advantages of being in the EU without any of the botheration of being a member. The problem is that congenital mendacity isn’t just for foreigners. If you lie for England, you will also lie to England.

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Suggesting Britain could sign the withdrawal agreement with its fingers crossed makes perfect sense for a government of liars

Everybody knows Boris Johnson can lie for England. To his supporters, it was one of his best assets. They believed he could bamboozle the European Union into giving him the only Brexit deal that is really acceptable – one that gives Britain all the advantages of being in the EU without any of the botheration of being a member. The problem is that congenital mendacity isn’t just for foreigners. If you lie for England, you will also lie to England.

This week, these two streams of fabrication finally became one. In openly admitting that it signed the withdrawal agreement with the EU in bad faith, Johnson’s Vote Leave government also implicitly confessed that it lied wholesale to the electorate in December’s general election. The cross-contamination of domestic politics by the deceit that is Brexit’s DNA is now complete.

Continue reading…

3,951 new coronavirus cases diagnosed as cabinet meets on closure – The Jerusalem Post

Jerusalemites wearing face masks for fear of coronavirus  walk on Jaffa road in the City Center of Jerusalem on July 12, 2020. Israel has seen a spike of new COVID-19 cases,  cabinet ministers imposed new restrictions on public gatherings in a bid to stem the rising infection rate of the coronavirus (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

Some 3,951 people were diagnosed with coronavirus on Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported Thursday, setting a new record for the country. There were 487 people in serious condition, including 137 who were intubated. The death toll hit 1,055.

The plan that coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu and the ministry will present is still somewhat unclear, though it appears that from the perspective of health professionals, there are two options: a total lockdown such as the one the country underwent on Passover, or a “breathing” closure which would involve tightening restrictions but not completely shutting down.

Source: 3,951 new coronavirus cases diagnosed as cabinet meets on closure – The Jerusalem Post

The coronavirus may have reached Los Angeles by Christmas – Los Angeles Times

Researchers from UCLA and their colleagues at the University of Washington documented an unmistakable uptick in patients seeking treatment for coughs. The increase began the week of Dec. 22, 2019, and persisted through the end of February.

Some of those patients were treated in outpatient centers. Others came to emergency rooms, and some were ultimately admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center or other hospitals operated by UCLA

“A significantly higher number of patients with respiratory complaints and diseases starting in late December 2019 and continuing through February 2020 suggests community spread of SARS-CoV-2 prior to established clinical awareness and testing capabilities,” wrote the team led by Dr. Joann Elmore, who is both an internist and professor of health policy and management at UCLA.

We now know that seven patients treated at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in mid-March for a flu-like illness actually had COVID-19. The fact that they all felt well enough to leave their homes and had no clear ties to anyone who had recently visited a COVID-19 hotspot suggests they became infected through sustained community transmission, another group of researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Source: The coronavirus may have reached Los Angeles by Christmas – Los Angeles Times

4 U.S. teachers die of coronavirus after school year begins – National | Globalnews.ca

AshLee DeMarinis was just 34 when she died Sunday after three weeks in the hospital. She taught social skills and special education at John Evans Middle School in Potosi, Missouri, about 70 miles (115 kilometres) southwest of St. Louis.

A third-grade teacher died Monday in South Carolina, and two other educators died recently in Mississippi. It’s unclear how many teachers in the U.S. have become ill with COVID-19 since the new school year began, but Mississippi alone has reported 604 cases among school teachers and staff.

The early phase of the pandemic claimed the lives of dozens of teachers. The New York City Department of Education alone lost 31 teachers among 75 employees whose deaths were blamed on the coronavirus.

Across the U.S., the American Federation of Teachers lists 210 union members who have died. The list includes support staff and retirees as well as teachers.

Source: 4 U.S. teachers die of coronavirus after school year begins – National | Globalnews.ca

Abducted Kolesnikova ‘told she was leaving Belarus dead or alive’ | Euronews

Maria Kolesnikova said in a formal complaint released by her lawyer that she was threatened agents of Belarus' state security committee.

“These people threatened to take my life, which I perceived as real,” wrote Kolesnikova.

“In particular, it was stated that if I did not leave the territory of the Republic of Belarus voluntarily, I would still be taken away: alive or in parts.”

“There were also threats to deprive me of my liberty for up to 25 years, to cause me problems in places of detention, in places of deprivation of liberty, which I also perceived as real.”

Kolesnikova claims that when she did not consent to the authorities and that she was kept in a cell for one hour, the letter continues.

She also confirms the version of her supporters that, in order not to be forcibly expelled from the country, she tore up her passport.

“After the KGB officers realised that I would not leave Belarus voluntarily, they put a bag on my head, pushed me into a minibus, and took me to the [Aleksandrovka village], where they tried to use force against my will to expel me from the Republic of Belarus.”

“After I tore my passport, thus excluding entry into the territory of Ukraine, I was again put in a minibus and taken to the Mozyr border detachment, where I was until the evening of September 8, 2020.”

The letter also states that Kolesnikova was “warned about criminal liability for knowingly false denunciation”.

Source: Abducted Kolesnikova ‘told she was leaving Belarus dead or alive’ | Euronews

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