| #JustWearScrubs: GOP chairwoman tells anti-lockdown protesters to impersonate health care workers Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:37 AM PDT  Dr. Kelli Ward, chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, is urging would-be demonstrators at rallies against social restrictions to wear personal protective equipment to punk the press.
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| Trump says he knows about Kim Jong Un's health 'but I can't talk about it now' Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:43 PM PDT  President Trump was asked about the widespread speculation surrounding the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a White House news conference on coronavirus on Monday. Trump suggested he knew "exactly" how Kim is doing, but declined to reveal that information.
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| McConnell to Move Quickly on Confirming His 38-Year-Old Protégé to the Bench Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:50 PM PDT  When the U.S. Senate returns from a lengthy absence next week, one of its first orders of business will be advancing the nomination of a 38-year-old ally of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the second highest court in the land. According to two Democratic aides, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is expected to schedule a committee hearing for May 6 for Justin Walker, a federal judge in Kentucky whom President Trump has nominated to the influential D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. McConnell announced on Monday that the Senate would return to session on May 4 for its first full week of legislative business after the CARES Act passed in late March. And he has not been shy about his desire to start confirming judges as soon as his chamber is back in session. "I haven't seen anything that would discourage me from doing that. And as soon as we get back in session, we'll start confirming judges again," he told Hugh Hewitt in a recent interview. McConnell's office had no comment. Graham's office did not return a request for comment. Mitch McConnell Turned the Courts Conservative—and Democrats Helped HimWalker is a McConnell protégé who has close ties to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and played a high-profile role defending him during his contentious confirmation hearings. Walker moved up the ranks of conservative legal circles before landing a judgeship on the United States District Court of the Western District of Kentucky. There, his record has been distinguished by conservative jurisprudence and a flair for unorthodox rulings. "On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter," Walker wrote in ruling against ordinances restricting attendance at religious services do to the coronavirus pandemic, "that sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of The Onion."Walker's lack of experience and partisan background has earned him "not qualified" ratings from the American Bar Association and the opposition of Democrats, who see his nomination as a thinly veiled attempt to place young ideological allies in key judicial positions. "If Graham/McConnell go forward with this, it would show that Senate Rs are rushing the Senate back to confirm an unqualified, anti-health care judge instead of responding to the pandemic and conducting oversight," said a Senate Democratic aide.McConnell and Kavanaugh attended Walker's swearing-in on March 13 in Louisville. There, the majority leader and Walker, his former intern, praised each other effusively in public remarks.In his Monday announcement on the May 4 return, McConnell said the Senate "must focus on concrete steps to strengthen our response to this complex crisis," adding that lawmakers "cannot get distracted by pre-existing partisan wish-lists."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Andrew Cuomo wishes he had 'blown the bugle' on coronavirus earlier Posted: 28 Apr 2020 06:22 AM PDT  New York governor discussed US reactions to first news of the outbreak from China in interview with Axios on HBO * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageNew York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, has said he wishes he had "blown the bugle" about Covid-19 earlier.According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, New York state has confirmed more than 290,000 coronavirus cases and approaching 23,000 deaths. Countries such as France, Italy and Spain have recorded more deaths but not by much, and New York City alone has the fifth-highest death total in the world, with the UK in fourth.Speaking to Axios on HBO, Cuomo discussed US reactions to the first news of the outbreak, from China in December."When we heard in December that China had a virus problem," he said, "and China said basically, 'It was under control, don't worry,' we should've worried."When China says, 'Don't worry, I have a fire in my backyard,' you don't hang up the phone and go back to sleep, right? You get out of your house and you walk two houses over to make sure I have the fire under control. Where was every other country walking out of their home to make sure China had it under control?"Cuomo added: "I wish someone stood up and blew the bugle. And if no one was going to blow the bugle, I would feel much better if I was a bugle blower last December and January … I would feel better sitting here today saying, 'I blew the bugle about Wuhan province in January.' I can't say that."Cuomo's handling of the outbreak has nonetheless met with widespread approval, even fueling talk of an unlikely presidential run – speculation he has consistently turned down.The governor has given daily media briefings widely praised and contrasted with those delivered by Donald Trump at the White House, and demonstrated a grip on governance of his state that has kept it on lockdown while he manages its often fractious relationship with the federal government.Still, questions are increasingly being asked about whether New York's heavy death toll might have been avoided.Cuomo first voiced fears the New York healthcare system would be overwhelmed but that has not turned out to be so."I don't think New Yorkers feel or Americans feel that government failed them here," Cuomo said. "I think they feel good about what government has done … their healthcare system did respond. This was not Italy, with all due respect … There were not people in hallways who didn't get healthcare treatment."Cuomo also said he thought the US would be better prepared for the next such public health crisis."This will change society," he said. "Society will not allow this to happen again. They will want to be more prepared. They will want to move more quickly. And government will follow that social instinct."Cuomo is now considering how to reopen the state economy, a process he has indicated will be done in stages.
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| Australia rejects Chinese 'economic coercion' threat amid planned coronavirus probe Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:17 AM PDT  Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has cautioned China against attempts at "economic coercion" as Australia pushes for an investigation into the coronavirus pandemic that China opposes. Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, said in a newspaper interview on Monday the "Chinese public" could avoid Australian products and universities. Australia last week called for all members of the World Health Organization (WHO) to support an independent review into the origins and spread of the coronavirus, and is lobbying world leaders.
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| Possible link between COVID-19 and rare illness in children Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:11 PM PDT  British doctors raised alarms about Kawasaki disease after a number of children diagnosed with COVID-19 died despite having no underlying health issues, according to a U.K. official.
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| El Salvador gangs: 'No ray of sunlight for inmates' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:56 AM PDT  El Salvador, already criticised by rights groups, cracks down further on imprisoned gang members.
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| Retired Republican Senator Jeff Flake will vote for Biden over Trump and says GOP needs 'a sound defeat' in 2020 election Posted: 28 Apr 2020 12:12 PM PDT  Retired Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona will not be voting for Donald Trump this November. No, he'll be voting for a Democrat for president for the first time in his life."This won't be the first time I've voted for a Democrat — though not for president [before]. Last time I voted for a third-party candidate. ... But I will not vote for Donald Trump," Mr Flake said in an interview with The Washington Post.
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| Supreme Court Dismisses NYC Gun Rights Case; Conservative Justices Dissent Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT  The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case brought by three New York City handgun owners challenging a city regulation that prohibited gun owners from transporting their firearms outside the city.The court agreed to hear the case in December, but the city then amended the regulation to allow gun owners to bring firearms to other locations. The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in an unsigned opinion that the case was moot because the city had amended its original regulation.Conservative justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch wrote in their dissent that the case should not have been dismissed."By incorrectly dismissing this case as moot, the Court permits our docket to be manipulated in a way that should not be countenanced," the justices wrote. Lawyers for the plaintiffs had argued that the case should not be dismissed because the city changed its regulation due to fears that the Supreme Court would use the case to restrict broader gun control measures.Gun rights advocates had initially hoped the court's conservative majority would tip the case in their favor."I believe it will change the way the Second Amendment is applied to everyone who owns a gun in the country," Romolo Colantone, a resident of Staten Island and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said in December 2019.
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| Resettled Cambodian refugees still vulnerable to deportation Posted: 27 Apr 2020 01:21 PM PDT  As the U.S. commemorates the 45th anniversary of the refugee group's arrival, Southeast Asian American refugees still face hardships.
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| Police: Palestinian stabs Israeli woman, is shot by witness Posted: 28 Apr 2020 04:44 AM PDT  A Palestinian teenager stabbed an Israeli woman on Tuesday before being shot and wounded by a bystander, Israeli police said. The attack came on Israel's Memorial Day, when the country mourns those killed in wars and militant attacks. Israelis usually mark the occasion by visiting the graves of loved ones, but military cemeteries are closed this year and small ceremonies are being held without attendees as part of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
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| Putin extends Russia's lockdown for two weeks, prepares to ease in mid-May Posted: 28 Apr 2020 12:57 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin extended coronavirus lockdown measures for another two weeks on Tuesday, while ordering his government to begin preparations for a gradual lifting of the curbs from mid-May. Although Putin said the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus was now stabilising, he told Russians to expect the worst days of the outbreak were still ahead. The number of new cases in Russia rose by a record 6,411 on Tuesday, bringing its nationwide tally to 93,558.
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| Judge blocks 30-day extension of Illinois stay-at-home order Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Governor J.B. Pritzker, however, has vowed to appeal the ruling.
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| Asia virus latest: Olympics face pandemic threat; China decries 'lies' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 04:25 AM PDT  The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president said. The pandemic has already forced a year-long delay of the Games -- which are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021 -- but Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said no further postponement was possible. In an interview with Japan's Nikkan Sports daily, Mori was categorical when asked if the Olympics could be delayed until 2022 if the pandemic remains a threat next year, replying: "No."
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| Canceling a cruise due to coronavirus? Here’s a list of updated policies Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Following the COVID-19 outbreak, cruise lines like Disney, Norwegian and Viking are implementing strict travel restrictions to protect passengers and crew members.
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| The Supreme Court has thrown out major gun rights case Posted: 27 Apr 2020 01:20 PM PDT  The Supreme Court sidestepped a major decision on gun rights Monday in a dispute over New York City's former ban on transporting guns.
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| Tara Reade: What are the sex attack allegations against Joe Biden? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:10 PM PDT  A former aide to the presidential candidate finds support for her sexual assault claim against him.
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| With Welfare Repayment Looming, Net1 Seeks Bankruptcy Protection For Unit Posted: 27 Apr 2020 09:45 AM PDT |
| Officials: 9 inmates dead in Peru coronavirus prison riot Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:15 AM PDT  Prisoners in Peru staged a riot to protest their precarious living conditions following the deaths of several fellow inmates from the new coronavirus, but the revolt in itself proved fatal, with nine prisoners winding up dead, authorities said. Authorities said Tuesday the inmates were shot to death during a clash with authorities at the Miguel Castro Castro prison in Lima a day earlier. Images taken by The Associated Press show one of the deceased prisoners was surrounded by candles and placed next to a cross and an illustration of Jesus Christ that is venerated in Peru.
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| Taiwan pushes WHO participation in rare ministerial call with U.S. Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:58 PM PDT |
| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Wall Street-backed Democratic challenger lived in a Trump property for years before moving to Queens in late 2019 Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:41 PM PDT  The candidate, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, also renounced several of the conservative positions she took in her 2010 book promoting small government.
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| Mexico Has Deported Nearly All Illegal Immigrants from Shelters to Contain Coronavirus Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:56 AM PDT  Mexico said it has just over 100 people remaining in its government migrant centers after removing thousands over the past five weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement that it had removed migrants from 65 government facilities since March 21, following health and safety guidelines amid the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, the Mexican government held 3,759 people, but that number has shrunk to 106 after 3,653 migrants were deported to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.Those remaining in INM centers are awaiting the decisions on asylum requests or judicial hearings, or had asked permission to stay, a migration official told Reuters.Last week, the Trump administration announced an executive order that would suspend permanent immigration procedures for 60 days, after saying in March that it would immediately deport any illegal immigrants attempting to enter the country over concerns of potential coronavirus outbreaks in detention facilities. Reuters found earlier this month that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection have removed nearly 7,000 migrants to Mexico, including nearly 400 children."President Trump is committed to protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday. "As President Trump has said, 'Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers.' At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary."Democrats around the country, including in California and Chicago, have countered with proposals to provide illegal immigrants with access to locally run relief programs."Here in Chicago, saying 'we are all in this together' means that during this crisis, no one gets left out and no one gets left behind," Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said in announcing an executive order to secure coronavirus relief benefits for undocumented city residents.
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| A 101-year-old woman who was born during the Spanish flu survived COVID-19 Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:41 AM PDT  Angelina Friedman, a resident at North Westchester Restorative Therapy and Nursing Center in New York state, turns 102 this year.
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| Coronavirus: What African countries are doing to help people to eat amid the lockdowns Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:28 AM PDT  What African countries are doing to help people to eat amid the lockdowns.
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| if you're making a mask at home use a combination of two fabrics for better protection says study Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:09 AM PDT  A new US study has found that if you're masking masks at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, then using a combination of two different fabrics and ensuring a good fit could offer the most effective protection. Carried out by researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, the new study set out to investigate which fabrics are best for filtering the tiny respiratory droplets that are released when a person coughs, sneezes, speaks or breathes and which are thought to spread COVID-19. The researchers looked at a variety of everyday fabrics easily found around the house including cotton, silk, flannel and polyester-spandex chiffon, which is a sheer, synthetic fabric often used for items such as evening gowns.
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| Ivory Coast presidential candidate Soro sentenced to 20 years in prison Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:52 AM PDT  Guillaume Soro, the former rebel leader running for president in Ivory Coast, was convicted in absentia on Tuesday of embezzlement and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a verdict likely to exclude him from October's election. The verdict was announced after a trial that lasted only a few hours and was boycotted by Soro's lawyers, who say the charges were cooked up to prevent their client from being a candidate. The Oct. 31 election is seen as a test of stability for Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, which has emerged from a civil war in 2010-11 that killed some 3,000 people to become one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.
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| Bill Gates thinks the global shift towards nationalism made the coronavirus response worse Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:38 AM PDT  "Very few people get an A in terms of what they've done in this situation," Gates said in an interview with The Times.
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| Prague mayor under protection after reports of Russian plot Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:18 PM PDT  Prague's mayor said on Monday that he was under police protection, but stopped short of confirming Czech media reports that he had been targeted by Russia for removing a statue of a Soviet war hero. Zdenek Hrib clashed with Moscow earlier this month after he oversaw the removal of a controversial Cold War-era statue dedicated to Soviet general Ivan Konev, a move Russian diplomats called an "unfriendly" act of "vandalism by unhinged municipal representatives."
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| South Korean official says Kim Jong Un may be avoiding public due to 'coronavirus concerns' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:19 AM PDT  South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Kim's absence was not "particularly unusual" in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Trump pushes advisers to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, citing coronavirus Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT  Trump complains almost daily that U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan and are now vulnerable to the pandemic, officials said.
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| Scientists are perplexed by the low rate of coronavirus hospitalizations among smokers. Nicotine may hold the answer. Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT  No experts are remotely advocating for people to take up smoking to prevent COVID-19, but some researchers have theorized nicotine may be playing some role in keeping the virus at bay, Vice reports. That's because there's a surprisingly low rate of smokers among coronavirus hospitalizations.In France, for example, 25 percent of the population smokes, but only 5.3 percent of coronavirus patients have been recorded as smokers, and studies have found low rates in China and New York City, as well.Greek cardiologist and tobacco harm-reduction specialist Konstantinos Farsalinos thinks nicotine (crucially, not tobacco) might be lessening the intensity of cytokine storms, an overreaction of the body's immune system which seems to be the cause of the most severe coronavirus symptoms. French researchers have a slightly altered theory that nicotine prevents the virus from entering cells (the difference lies in the type of receptors the virus latches onto), and they're hoping to test out nicotine patches on patients to see if they help fight off COVID-19. The French government suspended the online sale of patches to make sure people don't buy in bulk and try to treat themselves that way.The seemingly out-there theory has piqued the interest of scientists across the world, though many are urging caution. The lower rates could be a result of some other chemical in tobacco producing a protective effect, or it could be that the number of smokers is being underreported."Smokers who have developed chronic disease have likely quit because of their disease," Michael Siegel, a community health sciences professor at Boston University, said. "Many of the smokers who are continuing to smoke are doing so because they don't have disease yet. So this would be expected to skew the sample of hospitalized patients toward people who do not smoke." Read more at Vice.More stories from theweek.com Movies that debut on streaming and not in theaters can be eligible for the Oscars next year How Democrats blew up MeToo Pence refused a mask at Mayo Clinic because he wanted to thank workers by 'looking them in the eye'
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| Turkey sends medical equipment to help US fight virus Posted: 28 Apr 2020 02:32 AM PDT  Turkey has dispatched a planeload of personal protective equipment to support the United States as it grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. A Turkish military cargo carrying the medical equipment took off from an air base near the capital Ankara on Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. It was scheduled to land at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington later in the day.
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| Bill De Blasio Appoints Wife as Co-Chair of Coronavirus Racial Inequality Task Force Posted: 27 Apr 2020 07:04 AM PDT  New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday announced that he would appoint First Lady Chirlane McCray as co-chair of a task force on coronavirus racial inequality.De Blasio will form the "Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity" as part of the city's plan to reopen businesses that have been closed during the pandemic. Many of New York's poorest zip codes have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, with black and Hispanic patients dying at higher rates than white residents."The economic and racial disparities that have been made so clear by this crisis, we knew about them before," de Blasio, who was elected mayor six years ago, said at a press conference. "A powerful, painful exclamation point has been put on them by this crisis."McCray's appointment to the task force has raised eyebrows amid rumors that she is planning a run for the presidency of New York's Brooklyn borough."This is political. I wish de Blasio would stop doing this," City Councilman Robert Holden (D., Queens) told the New York Post. "Let her win the Brooklyn borough presidency on her own merits."McCray has presided over ThriveNYC, an initiative designed to improve the city's mental health care, which has spent over $1 billion since its founding in 2015. Between 2015 and 2018, the number of police complaints in the city involving mentally disturbed people rose 23 percent, and the number of mentally ill homeless individuals rose by over 2,000 over the same period.
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| El Salvador: Gangs 'taking advantage of pandemic' Posted: 27 Apr 2020 06:21 AM PDT  President Nayib Bukele authorises the police and army to use lethal force to contain the violence.
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| Mnuchin warns some U.S. firms could face criminal liability over coronavirus loans Posted: 28 Apr 2020 06:12 AM PDT  The U.S. Treasury Department will audit every loan for more than $2 million given under the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses hurt by the coronavirus fallout, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday. Mnuchin's comments come as more public companies and better-financed entities have decided to return funds or forego their loan allocations after the Treasury put out new guidance last week excluding well-financed publicly trade companies from the forgivable loans meant to fund payrolls and other expenses during virus-related closures. On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team returned a $4.6 million loan it received through the program.
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| The EU rewrote a report detailing China's coronavirus 'disinformation' campaign following pressure from Beijing Posted: 27 Apr 2020 06:26 AM PDT  References to a Chinese campaign of "global disinformation" about the coronavirus were removed before publication.
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| Prague's mayor, a critic of Russia, is under police protection after a magazine alleged a Russian assassin had entered the country to kill him Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:10 PM PDT  The report hasn't been confirmed by Czech authorities, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the report was "fake."
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| Living in post-Nazi Dachau: painful childhood memories Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:24 PM PDT  Jean Boehme still remembers the number of the Nazi concentration camp block where he lived as a child: 31C. Boehme, now 73, grew up on the site of Dachau, the concentration camp just outside Munich which was liberated 75 years ago on Wednesday. Although it remains a less well-known story of the Holocaust, Dachau was one of several Nazi camps which were repurposed after the war.
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| Cuomo hits back at Trump, McConnell over federal aid for states due to coronavirus Posted: 27 Apr 2020 10:11 AM PDT  In a press conference on Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to a tweet by President Trump in which he said the federal government should not be "bailing out poorly run" democratic-led states. Cuomo said this is not the time to be keeping track of who contributed the most money, but said that New York and other states that have been hit hard by the coronavirus and have Democratic governors give more money to the federal government than states like Kentucky. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a republican from Kentucky, said last week that states should consider bankruptcy as a response to financial hardship due to the pandemic.
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| A Former VA Secretary Volunteered to Return As a Doctor. No One’s Called Him Back Posted: 28 Apr 2020 11:26 AM PDT  After the VA announced it was seeking retired health care workers to return to duty, Shulkin threw his hat in the ring.
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| Religious freedom watchdog pitches adding India to blacklist Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:03 AM PDT  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is urging that the State Department add India to its list of nations with uniquely poor records on protecting freedom to worship — while proposing to remove Sudan and Uzbekistan from that list. The bipartisan commission, created in 1998 by Congress to make policy recommendations about global religious freedom, proposed designating India as a "country of particular concern" in the annual report it released Tuesday. President Donald Trump declined to criticize the citizenship measure during his February visit to India, where his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was punctuated by skirmishes between Hindus and Muslims.
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| Islamic Terrorists Confront Coronavirus Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE J ihadi leaders are telling their militants that the coronavirus is their friend, a fellow soldier of Allah, and that is good news for us. With a bit of luck, these lunatics will forego any health precautions, and there won't be any respirators available for them when that soldier of Allah comes to take them to paradise. Jihad magazines are now calling on their lone wolves to take advantage of this crisis and attack the West, pointing to places such as Paris, London, Brussels and Chicago. And it certainly is an excellent time for them to attack, especially if they choose self-immolation: My advice would be to do so in stadiums, nightclubs, or large venues, before the end of this mandatory confinement. I have spent the last few days monitoring radical messages for this article, and I suspect that this viral-jihadist plan might have some gaps in it, but I can't quite put my finger on them. From the point of view of a freedom-loving Westerner and enemy to scum in general, it seems like a perfect plan."The last thing [the Crusaders] want is for the horrible pandemic experience to coincide with attacks on their countries," they say in their pamphlets. ("The Crusaders" are you and I.) "America, France, Britain, and other countries are rechanneling their armed forces towards fighting the virus," they celebrate, claiming that this keeps them from concentrating on their anti-jihadi surveillance. As I read their propaganda, I receive a message on my cell phone from a source in the police: "One of Europe's most wanted jihadists has just been arrested in Almeria [southern Spain]. He was wearing a mask to hide his identity from the police!" I light a cigar, smiling like Hannibal Smith.The terrorist arrested in Spain is Abdel Majed. He is a former British rapper. After listening to some of his music, I wonder if perhaps he should have faced execution long before he decided to leave everything to go to Syria and join Islamic State (or at least a ban on public performance). There, he became infamous for posting gruesome images on Twitter of him holding the heads of decapitated hostages. This led the police to wrongly suspect, for a time, that he might be Jihadi John, the bloodthirsty individual who became notorious for his video of the disgusting murder of American journalist James Foley. Abdel Majed had arrived in Spain ten days ago. In a demonstration of state forces being "very distracted" by coronavirus, as Islamist leaders suggest, about 20 police officers armed to the teeth raided Abdel Majed's house in the early hours of the morning, arresting him without having to fire a single shot.For the most part, both Al Qaeda and Islamic state are convincing their terrorists that the coronavirus is Allah's punishment for infidels, inferring that the faithful are not harmed. Within this trend, there are two lines of theological discourse: one, more cautious, which points out that although it does not harm jihadists, "it is better to wash your hands," and another, more seductive from our point of view, that insists the coronavirus "is a friend of the jihad" and that, in the worst case, pneumonia is nothing more than a passport to paradise.As usual, these diatribes of jihadi leaders are the product of relentless predicating from radical clerics. On April 8th, the Egyptian "scholar" Mohammed Al-Hefnawi Al-Ansari posted a video on YouTube where, overjoyed, he signaled the way forward for the more ominous of his viewers. "Thank you coronavirus," he said, "by order of Allah, who has imposed this plague on us, the coronavirus has managed to close all the pubs." And he added with evident enthusiasm: "The coronavirus has closed the pubs and has banned bongs and cigarettes. Thank you coronavirus!" A guy who is happy about a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people worldwide is, by definition, a bad person. But if he also celebrates that the bars have had to close, personally, and as a Spaniard, I consider Al-Ansari to be the damned offspring of a hyena.It is easier to sympathize with what a Canadian cleric, I think his name is Younus, said to his disciples. This Islamist leader claims that mingling with non-Muslims is "more dangerous than the coronavirus." This idea is interesting for two reasons: On the one hand, it could keep the jihadists away from us, which is exactly what we want, and on the other hand, it could keep the terrorists close to the coronavirus, which won't keep us awake at night either.Encouraged by such messages, a radical Islamist claimed that, thanks to the popularization of the mask, Europeans and Americans are finally discovering the benefits of the burqa. Meanwhile, in another forum, an enthusiastic Islamist writes a long message in which he repeats the same statement over and over again: "Muslims don't kill, they infect. That's only for infidels!" Brilliant. A definite candidate for the Darwin Awards 2020. The best thing is that there are hundreds like him all over the various forums and social networks.Far from our borders, in Iraq, Islamic State terrorists are taking advantage of the pandemic to intensify their attacks, especially against security forces, due to the fact that they are "distracted" in streets and town squares forcing civilians to respect the confinement. In Tunisia, two Islamists were arrested last week on charges of attempting to infect the police with coronavirus. The first of these masterminds hatched his brilliant plan and spread it among his followers. The second, who was already under police surveillance, was instructed to cough like crazy every time he visited the police station, so as to spread the virus. He was arrested for being unhygienic but ended up going to jail for jihadi terrorism.I stumbled across a prayer to Allah, written by a lunatic imam, asking the Almighty to annihilate all the infidels with the coronavirus, causing them as much pain as possible, and to protect the Muslims from the virus. Contrast that plea with another prayer that has also accidentally fallen into my hands, from European bishops, in which the faithful are invited to pray for an end to the pandemic and for the healing of all affected people in all countries of the world. All of this just reminds me that, when this pandemic is over, the cultural battle in the West will continue to live on. It's important to remember which side we want to be on.
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