Zorro
Zorro's JournalSouth Korea Confident That Rumors of Kim Jong-un Illness Are Wrong
Source: New York Times
Comments by the country’s unification minister represent the South’s most categorical rebuttal of reports that the North’s leader may be incapacitated.
South Korea is confident that there is no basis to the recent swirl of rumors that the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is gravely ill, the South’s chief policymaker on the North said in comments reported on Monday.
“Our government has enough information-gathering capabilities to say confidently that there is nothing unusual” about Mr. Kim’s health, Kim Yeon-chul, South Korea’s unification minister, said during a forum on Sunday. Video footage of his comments was made available on Monday.
The comments were South Korea’s most categorical rebuttal yet of the recent reports about the North Korean leader, some of which said that he was “in grave danger” or had become “brain-dead” or was in a “vegetative state” after botched heart-valve surgery.
It is highly unusual for a senior South Korean official to publicly dispute news reports about what is happening inside North Korea’s secretive leadership. Normally, South Korean officials maintain a neither-confirm-nor-deny policy, at least on the record, for fear of disturbing sensitive relations between the two Koreas.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/26/world/asia/kim-jong-un-health.html
Trump's Contempt for the Ex-Presidents Is Costing Us Right Now
About a year ago, in an interview in the Oval Office, I asked President Trump if his years behind the storied Resolute desk had made him empathize with his predecessors. In the very room where most of them had called on one another in times of crisis for years — and well before the novel coronavirus pandemic changed the country, and the world — Mr. Trump was dismissive of the men who came before him.
He answered my question without hesitation: “No, no.” His attitude toward his predecessors has apparently only hardened over time. The chaos of the pandemic has shined a spotlight on his contempt for the living presidents.
He has stripped them of one of their only jobs in retirement: their unique ability to unify the country in a crisis. The relative absence of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter is more striking now than ever before.
Mr. Obama’s endorsement of Joe Biden on April 14 was as much — if not more — about calling out Mr. Trump as it was about declaring his support for his former vice president. The endorsement gave Mr. Obama the chance to speak up against not only Mr. Trump’s muddled handling of the pandemic but also his entire presidency in a video that ran nearly 12 minutes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/opinion/coronavirus-trump-presidents.html
To solve our problems, marginalize Trump
What President Trump says should not be taken seriously. Period. He long ago lost that right, but his suggestion on Thursday that taking a “disinfectant .?.?. by injection” might be a way to fight the coronavirus virus should be the last straw for everyone.
The petrifying absurdity of this presidency was brought home when the company that owns Lysol had to issue a statement on Friday declaring that “under no circumstance” should its products be ingested or injected. You think? Only Trump could make such a statement necessary.
Underscoring the reality that Trump is a clear and present danger to public health, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Friday that taking chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine — the drugs Trump and his Fox News friends promoted relentlessly for weeks as a magical cure for covid-19 — could cause “serious poisoning and death” taken outside a hospital or formal clinical trial. The only reason an agency of the government that Trump theoretically leads had to do this was Trump’s demented recklessness.
Let’s turn the corner this week.
First, as hard as it might be, the media needs to put the equivalent of a consumer warning on all coverage of Trump, who spent part of his Sunday afternoon rage-tweeting against the press. He has squandered the privilege of being covered as a normal president would, and both the tone and the content of mainstream reporting must change to reflect this. It would make this easier if Republicans decided they do not want to be the party of Clorox chewables. Will they finally disown Trump in large numbers? Don’t bet your next load of laundry.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/to-solve-our-problems-marginalize-trump/2020/04/26/b37abb9c-8666-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html
McConnell's rejection of federal aid for states risks causing a depression, analysts say
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would rather see states declare bankruptcy than give them federal aid to deal with the economic collapse triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s a recipe for turning a potentially short recession into a prolonged depression, according to officials and analysts.
The question of whether Congress and the White House should provide relief funding to state and local governments — as the feds have done already for private business — is about to reach a showdown in Washington.
The stakes are high in our region, where state and local officials say that without federal action they will have to make even deeper cuts than feared in core services such as education, housing and health programs (apart from those required to fight the virus).
Governors, mayors and county leaders of both parties are clamoring for help in the next federal rescue package after McConnell and President Trump blocked such assistance in the $484 billion bill approved last week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mcconnells-rejection-of-federal-aid-for-states-risks-causing-a-depression-analysts-say/2020/04/26/1fd4731c-8632-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html
Rick Scott says Americans would rather collect unemployment than go to work
Sen. Rick Scott wrote in a campaign fundraising email sent Thursday night that Americans thrown out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic would rather collect unemployment than go back to work.
“Businesses looking to reopen are telling us their employees don’t want to come back to work because they collect more on unemployment,” Scott‘s email said. “And who can blame them?”
In the email, Scott railed against the $600-per-week unemployment benefits Congress allotted to out-of-work Americans, and he blamed Democrats for allowing it to go through. The benefits made up a part of a $2 trillion package called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 96-0 in late March.
One of those votes belonged to Scott, although at the time he had strong objections, including that some workers would receive benefits exceeding their former salaries.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/24/rick-scott-says-americans-would-rather-collect-unemployment-than-go-to-work/
They're all vile assholes, but Rick Scott is an especially vile asshole.
Trump expands battle with World Health Organization far beyond aid suspension
Source: Washington Post
President Trump and his top aides are working behind the scenes to sideline the World Health Organization on several new fronts as they seek to shift blame for the coronavirus pandemic to the world body, according to U.S. and foreign officials involved in the discussions.
Last week, the president announced a 60-day hold on U.S. money to the WHO, but other steps by his top officials go beyond a temporary funding freeze, raising concerns about the permanent weakening of the organization amid a rapidly spreading crisis.
At the State Department, officials are stripping references to the WHO from coronavirus fact sheets, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has instructed his employees to “cut out the middle man” when it comes to public health initiatives the United States previously supported through the WHO.
The United States will now attempt to reroute the WHO funds to nongovernment organizations involved in public health issues, according to interviews with U.S. officials and an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-expands-battle-with-world-health-organization-far-beyond-aid-suspension/2020/04/25/72c754e6-856e-11ea-9728-c74380d9d410_story.html
Injections of Bleach? Beams of Light? Trump Is Self-Destructing Before Our Eyes
“And he’s going to get re-elected.”
Not a day goes by without several friends — Republicans as well as Democrats — saying that to me. It’s the blunt coda to a bloated recitation of Donald Trump’s failures during this pandemic. It’s a whimper of surrender following a scream of disbelief.
Tens of thousands of Americans die; what does the president do? Spreads bad information. Seeds false hope. Reinvents history, reimagines science, prattles on about his supposed heroism, bellyaches about his self-proclaimed martyrdom and savages anyone who questions his infallibility.
In lieu of leadership, grandstanding. In place of empathy, a snit. And he’s going to get re-elected.
With that refrain we perform a spiritual prophylaxis. We prepare for despair.
But somewhere along the way, we started to confuse a coping mechanism with reasoned analysis. We began to treat a verbal tic as inevitable truth.
It isn’t. While Trump may indeed be careening toward four more years, it’s at least as possible that he’s self-destructing before our eyes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/opinion/bleach-sunlight-coronavirus-trump.html
GOP memo urges anti-China assault over coronavirus
The Senate Republican campaign arm distributed the 57-page strategy document to candidates.The National Republican Senatorial Committee has sent campaigns a detailed, 57-page memo authored by a top Republican strategist advising GOP candidates to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China.
The memo includes advice on everything from how to tie Democratic candidates to the Chinese government to how to deal with accusations of racism. It stresses three main lines of assault: That China caused the virus “by covering it up,” that Democrats are “soft on China,” and that Republicans will “push for sanctions on China for its role in spreading this pandemic.”
“Coronavirus was a Chinese hit-and-run followed by a cover-up that cost thousands of lives,” the April 17 memo states.
The document urges candidates to stay relentlessly on message against the country when responding to any questions about the virus. When asked whether the spread of the coronavirus is Trump’s fault, candidates are advised to respond by pivoting to China.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/gop-memo-anti-china-coronavirus-207244
The pandemic could put your doctor out of business
Primary-care practices were barely eking by. If patients stay away too long, they’ll crumble.Some coronavirus patients experience a mild fever or never know they were infected. Others crash quickly and unpredictably, five to 12 days after developing symptoms; every doctor on the front lines has been humbled by a patient who is fine in the morning and on a ventilator in the afternoon. To combat this problem, primary-care teams at my hospital are trying something new: calling patients on Days 2, 5 and 8 after we’ve diagnosed them with covid-19 and instructed them to self-isolate at home. We’re looking for signs of an impending crash. We’re also reaching out to our frailest patients and giving them instructions about what to do if they contract the virus.
I made 30 such calls last week to people living alone, struggling with food insecurity or grappling with mental health issues. These were some of the most meaningful conversations of my career. Our primary-care teams have undoubtedly saved many lives with the telephone surveillance, which takes about 30 percent of our doctors’ time and nearly all of our nurses’ time. Primary-care practices across the country are deploying similar programs.
We’re also doing it, apparently, for peanuts. Covid-19 has led to a revolution in telemedicine, but insurance companies will pay only for services that directly replace in-person visits. Our frequent calls don’t do that; a patient wouldn’t come back two days later just to check in. At the same time, our core pre-covid work has evaporated. We ask patients not to come in for preventive or chronic care, for both their safety and — to preserve our protective gear — ours.
That won’t stop us, of course; the heroism I see every day has nothing to do with remuneration. But the pandemic, to say nothing of the looming backlog of deferred medical care, will not retreat quickly, and it doesn’t help patients if primary-care providers go out of business.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/24/pandemic-could-put-your-doctor-out-business/
'I was born in America with constitutional rights:' Protest organizer could face criminal charges
Days after hundreds of protesters gathered for a “Freedom Rally” in downtown San Diego, a woman who organized the protest could face a misdemeanor charge for allegedly encouraging others to violate stay-home orders meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The woman, Naomi Israel, 27, of San Diego, said Thursday that she and her husband are unemployed in the face of COVID-19, have bills to pay and want to return to work.
“I don’t know how much longer I can go without being (employed), as many fellow Americans probably feel,” said Israel, a caregiver. “It’s important that we all get back to work in the safest way possible.”
She said police told her Thursday that the San Diego City Attorney’s Office was reviewing the case against her and had not filed charges.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2020-04-22/san-diego-submits-case-against-weekend-protester-for-possible-criminal-charge
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