China is trying to absolve their blame for the Coronavirus Pandemic by saying it started elsewhere.

 

A sick man in China this January. The Guardian/AFP/Getty.

China has been trying to absolve their blame for the Coronavirus Pandemic by saying the outbreak started elsewhere. The Guardian. State media has been reporting widely that the virus can be found on frozen food imports, and idea not supported by western doctors. They also claim that though the virus was first found in Wuhan, the virus did not start there. Instead they said the first human to human transmission happened on the "Indian subcontinent". China has also hyped up reports from Italy that showed people with Coronavirus antibodies in Italy in fall of 2019, but western doctors have dismissed this as the antibodies were likely for other Coronaviruses and not SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused Covid-19 disease. It is largely seen that China is pushing these theories in order to downplay their role in the pandemic. 

My Comment:

I actually think there is some small evidence that the Coronavirus did not start in Wuhan. After all the bats that are likely the source of the virus do not actually live in that part of China. A possible explanation is that it was a traveler from the bat region that went to Wuhan and infected people. But the idea that the virus didn't start in China? I don't see any evidence of that. We would have been seeing widespread cases in other countries in the months of November, December and January if that was the case. 

I have always thought that the pandemic was due to a lab leak from one of the germ research labs in Wuhan. I don't think it was an intentional release but I think it was due to incompetence from the people at that lab. I think there is a strong circumstantial case for that idea, though it is far from proven.

What is extremely unlikely is that the virus came from India. Like I said the bats that are the likely source for the virus live in China, not India and I'd be shocked if India was the source of the virus. Especially since they didn't see an early wave of infections, unlike China. I guess it is possible that a Chinese person went to India, infected someone there and then the virus came back to China but even that means the actual source was India. 

I also think that China's claims that the virus can be transmitted from frozen foods to be delusional. The one thing I have heard again and again is that the Coronavirus doesn't transmit easily from fomites, surfaces in contact with the virus. Instead the virus mostly infects from infected droplets caused by coughing, sneezing, talking and even singing. This isn't like influenza where surfaces are a major concern. Plus, it's not like people are licking their frozen food packages and people also tend to cook their food. I'm not saying it is impossible but it's extremely unlikely that the virus spread this way in the initial phases of the pandemic. 

The problem is that no matter how the virus started it's going to be pretty much impossible to ever determine for sure where it came from. China is not allowing a full investigation and without that it's not possible to figure it out. Part of that is due to the culture of secrecy in China but I think it has more to do with China wanting to avoid blame for their role in this virus. 

It seems very clear to me that China is downplaying their role in this pandemic. Even if the idea that this was a leak from their research labs is false it's not like they didn't make this situation much worse. All China had to do was cut off international travel like they did with internal travel. They didn't and it helped spread the virus across the world. 

China's actions caused the deaths of almost 1.5 million people globally and did untold damage to the world's economy. They are responsible for almost all of those deaths as they could have easily prevented the virus from spreading. 

It makes sense thought that the Chinese are downplaying their government's role in the pandemic. It could be argued that what they did was a casus belli, a justification for war. At the very least they deserve sanctions for their actions and for their effort to cover up the actual source of the virus. 

Iran claims that Israel assassinated their nuclear scientist via a remote control gun turret. Here's why I don't believe it...

 

The funeral for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi. LA Times/Iranian Defense Ministry. 

As you may be aware, Iran is claiming that Israel assassinated their nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi with a remote control gun turret. Despite their initial reports that gunmen shot up and killed the Iranian scientist's convoy, also detonating a vehicle, the Iranians are now saying that the attack was done remotely. They claim that weapons were found on the scene that were of Israeli manufacture and that the weapons were controlled via satellite. 

I find this to be unlikely to say the least. Though I think a satellite controlled gun turret is certainly possible, the latency is going to be a huge issue. Most remote gun turrets are operated on the ground via a hardline so their is little to any delay between a command being issued and the weapon firing. 

It also seems needlessly complicated. You would need boots on the ground to actually deploy the weapon so at that point it just makes more sense to have that guy shoot instead of dealing with the trouble caused by satellites. Or just use a car bomb or any of a hundred easier ways to ambush a convoy. Just getting this device to Iran seems like a major issue compared to bringing a couple of guys with guns and explosives. 

Furthermore I would say that you sure as hell wouldn't leave that kind of technology behind. If such a weapon system exists you wouldn't leave it behind to fall into enemy hands like the Iranians are accusing the Israelis of. You would have a team there to extract it so it couldn't be reverse engineered, either to replicate it or develop countermeasures to it. 

Finally, I have to say that the Iranians are flip flopping here. They had a guy on state television saying that he saw guys with guns shoot up the convoy, plus it wouldn't make any sense for there to be a vehicle explosion as well. I doubt the scientist guards had the heavy weapons or explosives on them to destroy a car. I think that the original story is a lot more believable. 

Could I be wrong? Of course! I don't think there is anything technically unrealistic about using a weapon system this way, it just seems very unlikely and extremely over complicated. If there was any remote gunfire at all, I think it would have been local in nature, either a wireless internet connection or a hard line, not a satellite link. 

So why would the Iranians lie about this? I am not sure and if there is anything about this story that gives me pause it is this. Why would they admit to the Israeli's having new technology that allowed them to pull off an almost perfect assassination? It might have to do with trying to prove that the Israelis did this but why bother? Everyone already suspects them. It just doesn't make much sense to me... 

Joe Biden has broken his foot...

 

Joe Biden and one of his two dogs, Major. CBS News.

Joe Biden has broken his foot while playing with one of his dogs, Major. CBS News. Doctors say he has hairline fractures in his mid-foot and will have to wear a walking boot for several weeks. Biden is 78 and should the election be confirmed he would be the oldest President ever elected. President Trump sent well wishes to Biden as well.

Get well soon! https://t.co/B0seiO84ld

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2020

 

My Comment:

Ugh, why on earth did the Democrats pick someone so old to run for President? I think Joe Biden's health is a big story even if nothing really comes from this. I don't think someone this frail should be President. If he could break his foot just playing with his dog, then how is he going to make it through four years of a presidency? 

The conspiracy theories are flying already. Biden's actually really sick, Biden's been arrested or Biden's actually dead. I don't believe any of that. I have been around German Shepherds and I know how squirrely they can be. I think the story seems reasonable enough. Biden's 78, even a minor issue could lead to broken bones. 

I do have to say that I do approve of Major as a name. That was my dog when I was younger. He wasn't a German Shepard but he was a fine mutt. Plus German Shepherds are fine dogs and I have always liked them. 

Despite my dislike of Joe Biden and my disgust with the Democratic Party, I do hope that Biden makes a full recovery. I am no fan of Biden but I do want him to be healthy if he somehow makes it to be the President. He's many things, most of them terrible, but at least he isn't Kamala Harris... 

Boko Haram kills 110 people in Nigeria.

 

Hundreds show up to mourn the dead at the funeral. The Guardian/AFP.

Boko Haram has killed 110 people in Nigeria during a massive massacre. AFP. The attack occurred in the village of Koshobe. Boko Haram targeted rice workers in their fields and slit their throats. Six people were wounded in the massacre while at least eight people are missing. Several women may also have been kidnapped. Boko Haram is an ISIS affiliate and is responsible for extreme terror attacks in Nigeria. This slaughter was the worst attack so far this year. 

My Comment:

Not a whole lot of information on this attack, other then it was brutal. When I first saw the story this morning the news reports couldn't decide on how many casualties there were, so I held off on writing the story until tonight. Not much has changed though the media seems to have settled on the 110 figure. 

This is obviously a horrible attack but not one that is unique for Boko Haram. They seem to specifically target civilians for these kinds of massacres in place of other terrorism tactics. Boko Haram rarely tries to conduct the kinds of high profile terror attacks like al-Qaeda and ISIS but instead just launch attacks like this. 

Boko Haram also kidnapped people, though I don't think it will be for ransom. Boko Haram has ransomed people for money before but given that the people taken were poor and women my guess is that they were taken for other reasons. Boko Haram and ISIS have a long history of kidnapping women for sex slavery or as wives and I wouldn't be surprised if that is what happened here. 

As for Nigeria, they need to do more to protect their people. If they don't have the troops to secure their villages they should allow their people to arm themselves. Though there probably would have been casualties it's possible that Boko Haram could have been beaten back and if not they could have at least bought some time to get the non-combatants out. 

Though Boko Haram is still a major threat I don't think they are a global one. They haven't really attacked outside of Africa so I don't see them taking up the banner of global Jihad from ISIS. Indeed, ISIS never really embraced Boko Haram that much, largely because they are racist against black people, even as they proclaim that they are not. 

Riots in France over a new bill outlawing the filming of police.

 

Rioters tip over a trailer in France. BBC/Reuters.

Riots have broken out in France over a new bill outlawing the filming of police and a suspected case of police brutality. BBC. Riots and demonstrations were held in Paris and many other French cites. The new law would ban and criminalize publishing film or photographs of police officers with the intent to harm their "physical or psychological integrity". The riots have also been fueled by a viral video showing police trying to detain Michel Zecler, a French music producer. Zecler claims that the police used excessive force and used racial language against him. 

My Comment:

Normally French people rioting is not even worthy of mentioning these days but it's a slow news day and the case does touch on a lot of interesting subjects. But I do want to mention that the French rioting is nothing new and if it hadn't been this incident something else would have set off riots eventually anyways. 

This is one of those rare case where just about everyone involved looks like a complete imbecile. Nobody here looks good and I'm actually rather disgusted with the entire situation. 

First of all, this law is absolutely ridiculous. I have always had a major problem with people trying to censor photography and film. As far as I am concerned anything that happens in the public is fair game. I also think that since there is no law against a person saying what they saw with their own eyes, or making a drawing of painting of the same thing, I think there should be no law against publishing a photo, regardless of how it was taken (with a few obvious exceptions). This law is a farce and a huge insult to the concept of freedom of speech. And I am sure that France's current harassment laws could cover any actual harassment that police officers face, if they were to actually use them.

And the Zecler case? The cops screwed up there. Why? Because they were harassing someone for not wearing a facemask. Normally I would be on the cops side here but harassing someone just for not wearing a facemask? What a waste of police resources. It's disgusting that they tried to arrest someone for that. I know that the cops are following orders of the politicians but at some point someone should have said "No, this is stupid, we aren't doing that". Shame on these cops for enforcing something so stupid. 

But let's not pretend that the other side isn't also stupid as hell. I watched the video and I saw no problem with the police use of force against Zecler. He was resisting arrest and I would have been fine if the police tackled him to the ground and otherwise used force. The arrest was stupid and should have never happened but it sure looked legal to me. Though I do admit that's from an American perspective. And I have long decided to ignore claims of racial abuse without evidence. Too many Jussie Smollet's and Bubba Wallace's out there for me to believe just based on someone's word. 

And the fact that the people opposing the law allowed riots to happen takes away any and all sympathy I have for them. It has long been my belief that all riots are unjustifiable and that people that participate in them should be punished to the full extent of the law. Though their cause in this case might be a bit more justified then usual, I still want to see everyone of these people arrested, tried and convicted just because they rioted. I have no tolerance for rioters whatsoever. 

In short, these people all deserve each other. Nothing that is happening here is justified in any way and I won't even try to defend any of the major players in this case. The proposed law is stupid, the police behavior was unjustified, Zecler was being a tool, and the rioters are just plain evil. I'm just glad it's happening somewhere else for once instead of happening in the United States. 

Top Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated.

 

File photo of an Iranian nuclear powerplant. AFP. 

Top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated by gunmen, dramatically raising tensions in the region. AFP. Fakhrizadeh was traveling outside of Tehran when he was ambushed. A car bomb exploded in front of his car and he was sprayed by gunfire from unknown assailants. Fakhrizadeh has been described as Iran's father of their nuclear program and was a major figure. Iran is blaming Israel for the attack with anonymous sources in the American government confirming that the Israelis were responsible. The assassination comes after the high profile killing of al-Qaeda's #2 man and the killing of Qasem Soleimani. 

My comment:

I have mixed feelings about this attack. I have no doubt that killing Fakhrizadeh was a good thing. Allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon is not in anybody's best interest and he was a major component of those plans. With him dead Iran will have a much harder time in creating a nuclear bomb. 

On the other hand this is a huge step up in the tensions for the region. Iran is going to be furious about this loss of face and may try and retaliate on those they blame responsible. They may launch terror attacks against Israel or perhaps even Saudi Arabia and the United States in response. It could even lead to a new war against Israel utilizing Iran's proxy, Hezbollah. 

I don't think that there is much doubt that this was an Israeli operation. It has all the hallmarks of one of their operations and the killing of al-Qaeda's number 2 man this summer was confirmed to be an Israeli attack. They also had the biggest motivation to kill Fakhrizadeh and the best opportunity to do so. 

The big remaining question is if they got help or not. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia dislike the idea of a nuclear armed Iran and they could have helped Israel with intelligence. Though Saudi Arabia has not yet signed a peace deal with Israel they do see Iran as a common enemy and I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to help out. 

I think that Israel took this action to prevent a potential Joe Biden presidency (which is no sure thing) from reinstating the Obama era nuclear deal. That deal was famous for how in favor of Iran it was and was basically unenforceable. This strike makes going back into that deal political suicide and probably impossible as the Iranians will likely have no interest. If so I think that this assassination was a coup for the Israelis. 

Is an actual war likely? I doubt it. I think that the Iranians will retaliate but it will be with Hezbollah. I doubt that they will launch an attack on Israel itself using their own forces. But I do expect there to be some terror attacks or border skirmishes targeting Israel. I don't think that the United States is at too much risk but I also know that Iran has sleeper cells here they could potentially activate. Doing so would be a terrible move but I also don't think that the Iranians are that smart. 

Regardless, I do have to say that I am again impressed with Israel's intelligence services. I am guessing that this was a Mossad op given how professional it is. At the same time I have to say that the Iranians should be pretty embarrassed that this happened. I know that Fakhrizadeh had guards but not only did they fail to save him, they also did not manage to kill or wound (as far as I know) any of the attackers. Not a good showing for them. 

President Trump has pardoned General Michael Flynn

 

General Michael Flynn. DIA photo. 

President Donald Trump has given General Michael Flynn a pardon. Fox News. General Flynn was arrested and charged for lying to the FBI about talking to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn was fired for it and plead guilty for the charges. However, it was later revealed that there was a plot against Flynn by the FBI who planned to get him fired and prosecuted by entrapping him into a lie. The case was to be dropped by the prosecution after the release of this evidence but Judge Emmet Sullivan refused to allow it. 

My Comment:

I think this is long overdue. General Flynn was the target of a campaign to remove him from his office as National Security Advisor. Once the information was released about what the FBI had done he should have been pardoned. Of course I don't think anyone was expecting the unprecedented actions that Judge Emmet Sullivan took to prevent the charges from being dropped. 

However, even if the plot hadn't existed I don't think Flynn should have been charged. Though he wasn't completely honest with the FBI it was likely either a good faith mistake, a problem with his memory or nothing important. His contacts with Ambassador Kislyak were all above the board and he did absolutely nothing wrong with his contacts with them. 

Flynn had his life destroyed by the FBI. He was left in limbo for years with no idea when or even if he would have to serve his sentence. And he also lost much of his money due to the massive legal fees he was racking up. He was right to fight in the end but he paid a heavy price for doing so. 

I think Flynn's biggest mistake is the fact that he trusted the FBI. He should have never of done so. The one thing that I learned in my criminal justice classes back in college is that you never talk to a cop without a lawyer present. And that goes double for the FBI. Unlike a normal cop it's a crime to lie to the FBI and people make all kinds of mistakes, white lies and other untrue things in every single conversation. Talking to them at all was a mistake but it was almost a fatal one for him to do so without his attorney. 

I think it was unforgivable to try and target General Flynn this way and it did massive damage to President Trump's first term. Flynn was an America-First foreign policy expert and unlike H.R. McMaster and John Bolton he actually agreed with President Trump's foreign policy. Once Flynn was gone Trump was undermined by McMaster and Bolton for every foreign policy move he made. They were much worse then Flynn was and though President Trump was still successful in foreign policy the other men gave him bad advice and undermined him. 

I think that this was the point. The FBI was trying to undermine President Trump's foreign policy goals and took away one of the few advisors that ended up being worth a damn. Trump didn't have too much of a choice when it came to firing Flynn and that is entirely due to the FBI. They wanted Flynn gone because an America first hurts their bottom line. 

Flynn is now free and I think he might have a role in President Trump's 2nd term (either in 2020 or 2024). Everyone knows that Flynn was screwed and if he is recommended for a high level post he will likely be confirmed. He is a competent and honorable man and he deserves a 2nd chance. 

  

Almost no Trump supporters believe that Joe Biden won the election.

 

Supporters of President Trump rally in Georgia. CNBC/Reuters. 

Only 3% of President Trump supporters believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election. CNBC. The CNBC survey also found that 73% of Trump supporters believe that President Trump won the election with 24% not sure. Only 3% of Trump voters say that he should concede while 31% wanted President Trump to fight in court. 66% want President Trump to never concede to Biden. 81% of Trump voters said that they would not give Joe Biden a chance as president with only 19% of them saying they would. As a sign for potential trouble for the Republicans 72% of Trump voters said that if the President left the GOP they would follow him. 

My Comment:

Ignore the partisan hackery from the actual article itself. The 2020 election is in no way decided yet and will not be until either Joe Biden or Donald Trump concede. Acting like Biden has won is wishful thinking at best and enemy action at worse. We probably won't know until we get a ruling by the Supreme Court and that is still weeks away as the court cases are only beginning to trickle in. Normally I wouldn't link to an article this biased but the survey data itself was too useful to not use CNBC as a source. 

And it's utterly ridiculous to blame the survey results on President Trump. People have eyes and ears and they know what they see. I knew right away on election night that something non-kosher was going on when several states stopped their count all at once. And once they started again it was clear that they were only going to find Biden votes. 

I certainly believe that President Trump most likely won the 2020 election. Given that all the data pre-election pointed to a win for Trump, outside of the polling of course, it's unprecedented that Biden would somehow come from behind and win. Especially since he spent almost no effort campaigning and had his supporters outnumbered by Trump supporters in most of his appearances. 

And there is substantial evidence for voter fraud (just like there is every year). People voting in multiple states, the dead voting, people realizing that their ballots got counted even though they didn't vote and so on and so forth. There are affidavits out there accusing the Democrats of this but it seems as though only Trump supporters have seen this evidence. And that's not even getting into the more serious charges of ballot stuffing and computer shenanigan's. 

What would it take to convince me that Joe Biden actually did win the election? A full voter audit in all 50 states. Not just a recount but an independent audit that matched up signatures to ballots and actually tossed out bad votes. If such an audit happened and Biden was shown to be a winner I wouldn't be happy but I would accept the results. 

But it seems very clear that the Democrats have no interest in auditing the votes. Not even in places where President Trump won in a landslide including Florida and Ohio. This shows to me that they have something to hide and also know that the GOP didn't commit widespread voter fraud in 2020 (that isn't to say that they haven't committed voter fraud in the past, just not in this cycle). 

I do think that President Trump has a pathway to victory still. It doesn't matter too much if the lower courts reject his arguments, he just has to get it to the Supreme Court who will be the ones to decide the election. I think it's plausible at least that a sympathetic Court could rule in his favor, most likely on a 5-4 basis. I know Roberts will not vote in his favor but I think the other five conservative justices will. 

The problem we now face is that no matter who wins the election, the other half of the country will not view the win as legitimate. Winning through voter fraud is obviously illegitimate on its face and having the Supreme Court decide the election, even after evidence of widespread voter fraud, is hardly any better. 

Whoever wins in 2020 will have to realize that they don't really have a mandate. People are going to be furious regardless and it would be best to treat the Presidency as a caretaker role. Doing otherwise seems like a recipe for insurrection and violence as people no longer believe that they can change things with elections. 

Apple's chief of security indicted in concealed carry bribery case.

 

Apple Park, the Apple HQ. CNBC/Getty.

Apple's Chief of Security, Thomas Moyer, has been indicted in a concealed carry bribery case. CNBC. Moyer had allegedly promised the Santa Clara Sherriff's department $70,000 worth of Ipads in order to release four concealed carry permits for Apple employees'. The charges are based on a 2019 investigation into the Santa Clara Sherriff's department who are accused of using CCW permits for political bribes and donations. CCW permits in California require applicants to show good cause and complete a firearms course but ultimately the sheriff is in charge of who gets a permit or not. A local news investigation showed that people that donated to Sherriff's political campaign were 14 times more likely to be approved. Four people were charged in the scheme last summer. 

My Comment:

This is why CCW's should always be shall issue not may issue. Having the sheriff's approve gun permits politicizes the process and allowed this kind of corruption to sink in. If California had saner gun laws then this kind of corruption would be impossible. 

I work in security and if my company wanted me to get a CCW permit it would be trivial. I would take a class, send in my application and then I would get approved. At most the company would have to pay for the class but there is no question that my application would be approved since Wisconsin is a shall issue state. They wouldn't bribe anyone because there would be no reason to do so. 

And it goes to show that there is a two tiered system for gun rights in California. You have to be rich, at least in this county, in order to get permits. Apple has billions of dollars so sending a sheriffs department 200 Ipads is nothing for them. But for a regular guy that wants a gun permit? Forget it. You will never get it. Unless you pay up there is no way to get a permit through regular means. 

It is funny that this effort failed for Apple though. Their security chief got indicted and their four employees still don't have a gun permit. It seems likely that they were just caught in the middle between the DA's office and the Sherriff's Department but it's pretty hilarious that they got screwed. I don't believe for a second that these charges were filed because the DA has a problem with may issue gun permits or corruption, it's just a personality conflict between them and the Sherriff's office. If it wasn't for that this corruption wouldn't have come to light. 

I also have to say that Apple seems like the kind of company that would support tighter gun laws and it seems like they found out first hand that these laws will screw them over. They know that even though the laws they support makes their job more difficult, it's not a problem for them since until now they could easily bribe public officials and make sure their security has CCW permits.  

This is the kind of world that the left wants to create. Big companies will be able to flaunt whatever laws they want as long as they grease the right paws. But normal folks? You won't have any rights because your life isn't worth anything. Your right to defend yourself is not important but it is very important that companies like Apple have access to rights that no normal person would have. 

Coronavirus vaccine could be available as soon as December 1th.

 

A healthcare worker. Reuters. 

The chief scientific advisor for Operation Warp Speed, America's vaccine effort, says that the vaccine could be available as soon as December 11th. Reuters. The FDA is scheduled to review Pfizer's vaccine on December 10th and if approved vaccination efforts could begin by the next day or two. Moderna's vaccine will reviewed later in the month. The states will receive doses based on their population and will be in charge of distributing them. It is expected that front line healthcare workers and the most vulnerable population will get the vaccine first. If the vaccines are widely used America could be back to normal by May. 

My Comment:

Just a quick update since I have already covered the vaccine quite a bit. But I figured that this is a major development and one that is welcome. If it turns out to be true then people will probably have access to the vaccine in just a couple of weeks. That will be a major victory in the fight against the virus. 

I don't think this means that everyone will get the vaccine right away. For one thing the Pfizer vaccine is the more difficult one to distribute due to it's extreme temperature requirements. The Moderna vaccine is the one that is a lot easier to distribute so I think the first wave of vaccinations will be somewhat limited. 

Another problem is that the states are going to be in charge of distribution. This won't be a problem in most states but I have zero faith in the blue states to actually administer this virus. States like New York and California have massively screwed up the response to the Coronavirus and there is also a corruption issue. It's going to majorly complicate things. 

Will people actually take the vaccine? I don't think they will have any problems with the first wave of health care workers and vulnerable people. But after that first wave I think there is going to be a lot of resistance. Some people are anti-vax in the first place but with a pair of new vaccines with a lot of known unknowns people taking the vaccine could be a major problem. 

I personally will take the vaccine, though it doesn't sound like I will have much of a choice. The rumor mill at work says it's not going to be optional if you want to keep your job. That kind of limits my options. Regardless, I am sick of this virus and am willing to take the risk just so we can try and get back to normal. 

Homicide rates are massively increasing in 2020 despite a major drop in robbery and rape.

 

Detroit Police investigate the scene of a homicide. The Washington Post.

Homicides and assaults have seen a major uptick in America even as a major drop is occurring in robbery and rapes. The Washington Post. Homicides have increased 28% and assault by 9% over the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Most big cities have seen a drop in robbery and rapes with 73% of big cities seeing a drop in robberies and 86% seeing a drop in rape cases. But many big cities are seeing massive increases in homicides. The causes for this are unknown but many police blame the "Ferguson effect" where police are less willing to make arrests and investigate crimes due to fear of public backlash. The Coronavirus pandemic is also likely a factor as the virus has caused budgets to be slashed and has kept many youth out of school. Bail reform is also being blamed as violent criminals are no longer being held in many major cities and have committed crimes while waiting for trial. 

My Comment:

One of my time killing hobbies is to listen to the police scanner for Green Bay Wisconsin, which is near where I live. Though Green Bay is a fairly sleepy smaller city, it too has seen a major uptick in criminal activity. For awhile there it seemed like there was a shooting every night, which is fairly shocking for a town that didn't use to have much in the way of violence. 

Things have calmed down a bit and it is due to the police. They have gone out and investigated who was committing these crimes and they arrested some of them. The rest have gone to ground as they know that they could be arrested if they continue to try and shoot people. The police here formed a task force and actually did their jobs. 

But I don't see that happening in the rest of the United States. People in Northeast Wisconsin support the police and generally don't give credence to the claims of police brutality given by Black Lives Matter and other activist groups. We did have a minor riot during the George Floyd unpleasantness but it was fairly pathetic. One gas station was looted and someone through a piece of metal at a police cruiser but that was it. And most people here were disgusted with even that. 

In the real big cities though? I can't imagine the cops being proactive. Why on earth would they? If they actually go out and try and arrest someone and they don't want to cooperate you have to use force and if you use force and there is someone there with a cell phone then Black Lives Matter will show up and cost you your job, no matter how justified the use of force is. Cops are still out there doing their jobs but there is no chance of anyone taking any risks in this environment so that means proactive policing is off the table. 

Hell, even the hippy-dippy community policing that my professors had a hard on for during my college days is impossible in this environment. How are you supposed to connect with the community when there are activists and rioters terrorizing the community? Much like people won't testify against the mafia because you end up in the river with cement shoes if you do, people won't help the police now in these big cities because if they do then BLM or Antifa will show up and make your lives miserable.  

In short, neither the old school "broken windows" policing where cops crack down on small crimes in order to stop big ones, or the new school "community policing" where the cops try and make a genuine connection with the people they serve is going to work in this environment. The result is predictable, a major uptick in homicide and violent crime. Things like bail reform, which just seems like comic book levels of evil to me, are not helping things. 

It's clear that the Ferguson effect isn't the only thing going on though. It's also pretty clear that the Coronavirus is screwing everything up as well. It's causing a lot of anger and financial distress and that will obviously lead to violence. Having the kids be out of school is getting them into trouble as well. And with many people either out of work or simply working for home, people have a lot of free time to get into trouble. 

I think the elephant in the room though is that much of this violence is gang related and that has to do with America's drug trade. Much of this is basically warfare where gangs are trying to keep hold of their territories or expand them. Plus the inevitable cycle of revenge that happens when gangs war with each other. The problems above made this situation worse but it was here before 2020 and I haven't ever heard a good solution on how to fix it. Hell, we can't even be honest about who those gang members are, let alone have a real discussion about the causes and effects of the violence, due to the culture of political correctness we now have. 

The good news is that robbery and rape are down across the board. This may seem counterintuitive but it makes sense to me. There are little chances to rob someone if people are for the most part staying at home and are avoiding people when they are out. And rape is mostly a social crime that is fairly hard to commit when everyone's social lives have been destroyed. These crimes were trending down from their highs in the 1990's regardless but the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this drop. I am guessing that we will see a spike in both once the big cities finally let their people out from the lockdowns but I am not expecting an explosion like we are seeing with homicides and assaults. 

I do think that crime is going to be a major issue going forward. I do have to say that it's pretty funny to see an article from the Washington Post whining about the crime rate when the media has been bashing police for years now. If there was anything I learned from my years in college it's that there aren't any easy answers for crime and criminal justice. The damage that has been done in 2020 is going to be extremely hard to fix and a lot more deaths are going to happen along the way... 

Federal agencies are telling workers that they could receive the Coronavirus vaccine in as little as eight weeks.

 

Electron microscope image of  SARS-CoV-2 virus. NIAID.

Five federal agencies have told their workers that they could begin to receive Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccine against the Coronavirus in as little as eight weeks. CNBC. Federal workers are expected to be the 2nd in line after critical health care workers. Workers who are older then 70 or have underlying health conditions might get their vaccination even earlier then that. The timing will depend on how fast the FDA approves the two vaccinations for use, with both companies filling for approval today, with a failure to approve obviously changing the timetable. The five agencies listed by the source include the Department of Defense, State, Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service and the Veterans Health Administration. The FDA process is expected to take a few weeks and it is expected that the first doses will be given in about a month. 

My Comment:

The timetable here is encouraging. The article mentions that these federal agencies will receive their vaccines after medical workers and the countries most vulnerable people. If that is the case it means that those people will be protected by January, which will be a huge boon to the country.

I do have to caution though, that only the Bureau of Prisons confirmed this report. The source was anonymous which is always worth raising a red flag. And it's also possible that the source was being honest but a lot could change in the next eight weeks to say the least. But since the Bureau of Prisons did confirm some of the story I do think it's probably legit. 

I think the timetable is correct. I know that both Pfizer and Moderna actually have a large stockpile of the vaccine already, thanks to operation Warp Speed. Those doses are bought and paid for and only have to be transported to wherever they are going to be administered. That's a minor problem with the Pfizer vaccine as it requires cold storage but it should be done fairly quickly. 

I do think that the priorities are correct here. The first people that should get the vaccine are those who are most vulnerable. Health care workers are obviously at a higher risk of contracting the disease since they are on the front lines. After that are people who are elderly or have a weekend immune system since they are about the only people who actually die from the virus. Then it should be people who are critical workers who help keep America going and that includes workers with the Federal Government. And after that it should be the general population.

I do say that on a personal level this timeline is a bit disappointing. I'm a worker in a critical industry and I was hoping to get my vaccination before the year was out but I don't think that's likely now. I certainly agree that health care workers and the most vulnerable people should get the vaccine first but I am eager to return to some semblance of a normal life.  

I don't think there is any real question now that both vaccines will be approved. From what I have seen they appear to be effective and at least appear safe. I do have reservations but given the absolute stupidity of circumstances I am more then ready to have the vaccine be administered. 

As for the timeline if this report is correct and there are no major setbacks I think it plays out like this. One month for health car workers and the most vulnerable, eight weeks for critical workers in the Federal government and probably twelve to sixteen for everyone else. Plus I have to note that's just when each phase starts, it will take a long time to get everyone vaccinated. 

Regardless, this is a positive story. I am hoping that if we can keep to the schedule Coronavirus will be under control by late spring/early summer or maybe even before then. With the large number of active infections and the advent of a vaccine I don't think the virus will be able to survive much longer. It needs fresh hosts to live and it looks like one way or another there won't be many people to infect in a reasonably short period of time. 

Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell lays out case for widespread election fraud.

 

Rudy Giuliani. Palácio do Planalto.

At a press conference today Trump campaign lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell laid out the case that massive voter fraud occurred in the 2020 election. Breitbart. The lawyers argued that the 2020 election was so flawed that the results should be overturned. These flaws included the following incidents:

1. Observers in Pennsylvania were prevented from observing whether or not ballots were signed and those ballots can no longer be re-counted as the envelopes have been discarded. 

2. Democrats in Pennsylvania were allowed to "cure" defective ballots while Republicans were not able to do so as they followed State law. 

3. Voters in Pittsburg filed provisional ballots and were told they had already voted. Allegedly the Democrats filled out these ballots and had hoped these voters would not have shown up. 

4. An affidavit was filed that claimed that an official was told to not reject defective ballots and to backdate ballots received after election day.

5. 60 witnesses in Michigan say that a large number of ballots were produced for Joe Biden and then counted two or three times each. This is thought to have given Biden 60,000 to 100,000 votes in Michigan. 

6. 100,000 absentee ballots in Wisconsin were alleged to have been sent without being properly applied for. 

7. In some Michigan districts there were more voters then residents in the districts. 

8. Smartmatic vote counting machines. The company has connections to foreign governments, counted votes overseas and caused statistical anomalies that are best explained by voter fraud. 

My Comment:

It's hard to understand how difficult it was to find a round up of what was said at this press conference. Very few news outlets even covered the substance of the conference, and instead focused on Rudy Giuliani's hair as if that is relevant in anyway. Breitbart is the only source that I found that had a quick round up of the conference and it's allegations. Fox News had an article as well but it left out many of the more damning allegations and Fox News has shown quite a bit of bias against the President lately. 

What are my thoughts on this? If the allegations are true then it's utterly damning for the Democrats. The allegations would explain why President Trump lost despite his massive turnout for campaign events, the huge wins in local, state and congressional elections and the landslide wins in bellwether states like Florida and Ohio that Republicans managed. 

The one thing that is lacking is iron clad proof of fraud. I think the affidavits are a start but we need more witness statements and an accurate recount and audit of all the votes. Without those it won't be enough to convince the American people that this election was stolen. I think there is a strong circumstantial case that fraud happened and that it happened on a scale that affected the election, but what we want is a smoking gun and that hasn't been revealed yet. 

Another problem is that even if widespread voter fraud is proven in court it might not be enough to win the election. The strongest cases for a recount flip are in Michigan and Wisconsin but if that is all that happens President Trump still comes up short in a 259-279 loss to Joe Biden. He would also need to flip at least one of the following, Pennsylvania, Arizona or Georgia or a state that isn't currently in the news like Minnesota or Virginia.   

The biggest problem is the media though. They are not taking evidence of voter fraud seriously. The strongest evidence yet has been provided and they are either completely ignoring it or they are making fun of Rudy Giuliani's hair dye. This is the media not doing their job for ideological reasons and it is in fact hurting their case. If Giuliani's claims can be debunked they should actually learn what those claims are. But we all know that won't happen as I am convinced that Joe Biden could go onto the news tomorrow and say "Me and Kamala rigged the election, Donald Trump actually won by six million votes" and the media would not cover it. 

Do I think that President Trump can pull the country back from the brink and win the election? I'm not sure. He's got an uphill battle to say the least. Proving voter fraud isn't even the hard part, it's getting the courts to agree that he was the rightful winner. Though I think the legal case will eventually be strong enough to prove that he should have won it's very possible that the Supreme Court won't vote that way or that it will never make it to that point. I also fear that enough threats of violence could occur, like we saw with the Wayne County officials in Michigan, that the courts may decide to rule against Trump just to avoid violence (since we all know it's not going to be Republicans rioting if the election doesn't go their way). 

But with that said, President Trump has proven one thing over the past four years. He is a fighter and people that have predicted his political demise have been proven wrong again and again. I'm not going to count the man out and as far as I am concerned this election won't be called until either he or Biden resigns or the Supreme Court makes a ruling... 

New reports of panic buying due to fears of Coronavirus lockdowns.

 

An empty toilet paper shelf in Spokane Washington. New York Post/KREM.

Panic buying is returning as new Coronavirus cases have increased. New York Post. There has been a run on essentials like toilet paper, sanitizer, food and others in many states. Cases and deaths have increased recently and despite good news about vaccines, some people are nervous. Though stocks have increased since this springs panic buy, people are afraid of a 2nd wave. Part of what is driving this wave of panic buying is fear of stores running out of supplies again. Toilet paper is again one of the most wanted products. 

My Comment:

I haven't gone to the store yet this week so I can't comment either way on if this panic buy is happening here locally. When I went shopping last week there wasn't really any shortages I noticed. There was plenty of toilet paper and I didn't notice any shortages of meat and canned goods like there was last spring. I was able to get everything I wanted which has been the status quo for months now. 

I wonder if that is because Wisconsin is not really a blue state. Even though our governor Tony Evers is a Democrat he has been pretty neutered by our Republican legislators. There isn't really any fear of a 2nd lockdown here in my state. But that certainly isn't the case for most of the states mentioned in the New York Post article, including Washington, Virginia and Minnesota. 

Of course reporting on panic buying helps drive it. I haven't seen too many stories about it but I am guessing that every story that covers this helps make the problem worse. I'm aware I am contributing to the problem but I think it's an important story regardless. 

I do think that the whole thing is pretty stupid. Hording toilet paper was always dumb as it's not like demand went up so much that we would have had a major natural shortage. There was a bit from everyone suddenly taking all their bathroom breaks at home instead of at work but I think supplies were high enough that it wouldn't have mattered if people hadn't panicked. 

Indeed, I don't think this 2nd wave will amount to much either. First of all, I can't imagine that everyone ran through their horded supplies yet. I know I still have the toilet paper that I got before the panic buy last spring and I'm not anywhere near close to running out. Plus whatever natural shortage from people staying home is already baked into the cake, there won't be a new problem there. If we run out again it's going to be because of people panicking. 

I think our food supplies are in even better shape. A major cause on the run on meat was because many workers at America's food production industry were infected. There were many cases and plants had to shut down. 

I don't see that happening again. I am guessing that most of the plants that shut down are either at or near herd immunity. With so many people who have already had it and with reinfections not being proven and at the very least aren't widespread, I doubt that these plants will have a big enough problem that they have to shut down. I know turnover can be high so there might be some problems but I am guessing that this isn't going to be problem in the 2nd wave. 

But if the problem is panic buying it's not going to matter if the logistical problems have been solved. If people believe that supplies are running low then it's going to happen again. It's dumb but I think it could happen. 

I don't think I am going to do anything different though. Way back in January when I first heard of the Coronavirus I decided I was going to buy a little extra supplies each time I went to the store. I still have most, not all, of the packaged and canned goods I bought. I am not going to run out of food for quite some time even if the stores completely run out. That's not going to happen regardless but even if there is a 2nd panic buy I will be fine. 

Moderna reports Coronavirus vaccine that is 95% effective.

 

File photo of Coronavirus vaccines. Reuters.

Moderna reports that they have developed a Coronavirus vaccine that was 95% effective in a clinical trial. Reuters. Along with Pfizer's vaccine the United States could have more then 60 million doses of both before the end of the year and 1 billion by the end of next year. In the Moderna trial there were 95 cases of the virus in the study and only five of those were among people that had the vaccine and none of those cases were severe. The Morderna vaccine has a major advantage over the Pfizer's in that it does not require cold storage to be effective. Morderna is part of President Trump's Warp Speed program and already has many doses of the vaccine ready. Most side effects of the vaccine were minor and included aches and pains. Both the Morderna and Pfizer vaccine will be provided free of charge regardless of insurance assuming that emergency use is granted.

My Comment:

This is hugely positive news in the fight against the Coronavirus. A 2nd vaccine that is even more effective then the first one will go a long way to stop the virus and bringing America to some semblance of normalcy. And it seems like people might begin receiving the vaccine as soon as December, or even sooner. 

Even better is the fact that Moderna's vaccine appears to be easier to deal with logistically. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine it doesn't have to be stored at extremely low temperatures. This was going to be a huge problem with the Pfizer vaccine as many rural hospitals did not have the cold storage needed to deploy the vaccine. That problem is academic now as I am guessing the Pfizer vaccine will be deployed in areas that have access to cold storage and the Moderna vaccine will be deployed everywhere else. This means that our biggest obstacle for deploying the vaccine has melted away. 

There are some issues that remain though, most notably that some of the side effects were severe enough that people could miss work. It sounds like some of the aches and pains were pretty terrible and a lot of people had fatigue but as someone who had a bad reaction to a flu shot this year, not wholly unexpected. I do worry about long term effects but at this point it might be worth the risk. 

Adding into the good news though is it looks like we will be able to distribute this vaccine very fast. Moderna, through operation Warp Speed, has millions of doses ready so as soon as they get approval they can start giving people the vaccine. That could happen as soon as this week. I am guessing that the first priority will be health care workers with other critical workers getting it after that. 

I fully expect to be one of those people that gets the vaccine sooner rather then later. My company has made it pretty clear that it's a question of when, not if, our workers will be vaccinated. Though I do have lingering doubts about these vaccines I am more then ready to take the risk just so I don't have to worry about catching the virus anymore. And as a critical worker in an industry that needs to operate if the country wants food I also understand that I probably have a duty to as well, even if there is some danger to be had. If I get some illness 20 years in the future so be it if it means my company stays open and America continues to be fed. 

Regardless I am more then ready for this crap to be over with and a vaccine is probably our only way out. Yes, herd immunity will happen eventually but it's also pretty clear that many of our Democratic governors and other leadership will take any excuse to keep everything closed down. A vaccine will stop their efforts in their tracks and will finally allow some return to normalcy. 

Of course another worry I have is that I still might get sick before I can get the vaccine. I have been exposed to at least three people that ended up testing positive for the virus and the latest was just last week (I actually just found out about that just minutes before I saw the headline about the vaccine). I would be furious and extremely disappointed if I had made it through this entire pandemic without getting sick (as far as I know) only to catch it right before vaccines become available...

Top al-Qaeda official killed in Iran by Israel's Mossad.

 

File photo of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. US government photo.

A top al-Qaeda leader was killed in Iran by Israel's Mossad group on behest of the United States. The Hill. Two Israeli agents shot and killed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, along with his daughter, who was Osama Bin Laden's son's former wife. The shooting occurred August 7th, which was the anniversary of the 1998 Embassy Bombings in Africa. The United States supported the mission by providing information to the Israelis. Iran had denied the death was Abdullah and though rumors were flying for months that he had been killed. 

My Comment:

This isn't a new story but it's one that has flown under the radar a bit due to election news. Killing a high ranking al-Qaeda official should be bigger news but the American news media has pretty much given up on actually trying to inform people. Plus it's another terrorist that was killed under President Trump, and that is something the media would ever give him credit for. Even The Hill, which is a more conservative outlet, didn't mention President Trump once. 

Part of it might be the fact that the major terror attack Abdullah is responsible for is the 1998 Embassy bombings. Though those bombings were major they were overshadowed a few years later by 9/11. Abdallah was never as big of a figure as Osama Bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri so his death isn't going to grab the headlines. 

Iran is probably furious about this incident. My guess is that Abdullah was under Iran's protection under the assumed identity of Habib Daoud. But even if he wasn't under their protection it's still hugely embarrassing for them. Iran hates Israel and seeing them kill someone right under their noses has to be a major loss of face. Which is why they are denying that Abdullah was the one who was killed. 

As for Israel it's one of the few cases where Mossad actually did something. Mossad tends to get blamed for everything among anti-Semites of all political and religious stripes but for once they were the ones who were responsible. 

I have to give it to Mossad's Kidon unit, this was a tough operation. They had a little help from the United States, who gave them the location of Abdullah, but the shooting itself was done by Kidon. Killing someone in the middle of Tehran and getting away with it is no small feet and no matter what your feelings on this incident you have to be impressed. 

Tens of thousands of people show up in support of President Trump in Washington DC at the Stop the Steal rally.

 

Trump supporters rally in Washington DC. Fox News/AP.

Tens of thousands of people have shown up in support of President Trump in Washington DC to protest widespread allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Fox News. President Trump himself showed up to the rally and waved to his supporters from his motorcade. On Twitter, President Trump said he was going to continue to contest the election and thanked his supporters. Major networks have called the race for Joe Biden despite widespread allegations of voter fraud and despite that many states have not finished counting votes. The event was largely peaceful, with only a few arrest, mostly concentrated among Antifa and other counter protesters. 

AMAZING! Can hear you all from the West Wing Colonnade. A beautiful day in Washington, D.C. THANK YOU, PATRIOTS!! #MAGA🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/RJJ8bvYlfr

— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) November 14, 2020

11/14/2020 - Washington, D.C.#MarchForTrump #MAGA🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/07KbzbjZvf

— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) November 14, 2020

My Comment:

First of all, apologies for using Fox News as a source. Their article was almost as terrible as the NPR one I found as well. They were slightly more fair then the NPR article in terms of crowd size but they both repeated the false narrative that there is no evidence of voter fraud. There is in fact a massive amount of evidence, some circumstantial and some a lot more solid, that there were false votes and votes were changed in this election. I believe the affidavit count is in the triple digits now and there are a large number of videos showing the corruption. The question isn't "did this happen or not", it's "how much of an effect did this have". 

Unfortunately even the most conservative big network, Fox News, won't even consider that this election was rigged. That isn't because of journalism standards, we all know that if this was happening in a foreign country or if it was Joe Biden alleging voter fraud, it would be the top story. It just goes to show how biased the media actually is. If they were saying something like "there are widespread reports of voter fraud but we don't actually know how much of an effect it had on the election and how many of those reports are real" (which is the standard I am using) it might be defensible but that is not at all what the news networks are doing. 

It's also telling that the media is focusing on the Coronavirus and the presence of the Proud Boys. It's a tacit admission that the crowd size was huge and unprecedented. By focusing on Coronavirus, which most of the country stopped caring about months ago, and the Proud Boys, which are once again slandered as being "white supremacist's" even though they are led by a black Hispanic person, the media is trying to put the focus on anything else. And, as always, they didn't yell about the Coronavirus when it was Joe Biden supporters celebrating his "win" or rioting in the streets this summer... 

It's my belief that there was in fact widespread voter fraud throughout the United States. That is the most plausible explanation for many of the discrepancies found in the country when it comes to voting. It makes zero sense that the Democrats were destroyed at the local level, losing control of many state legislatures, and lost many seats in Congress, while at the same time having a major lead against President Trump. Outside of the Presidential race and the Senate (which is still undecided due to Senate races occurring in the contested states of Georgia, Michigan and Arizona), this was a red wave election.

The strongest argument as evidence of voter fraud is right in front of your face. Tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of people showed up to support President Trump today. They did that for a candidate that the media says lost the election. The President had packed houses every time he had an event while Joe Biden could hardly break 100 people. Yet somehow we are supposed to believe that Joe Biden was the most popular Presidential candidate in history with 78 million votes? Give me a break! 

Speaking of Joe Biden, if he does somehow manage to end up being President, this rally should be a huge red flag for him. Far from having a mandate he is going to have to deal with an electorate that is utterly furious with him and the Democratic Party. I am guessing that if he decides to have any events at all that Trump supporters will come out in force, much like they did with his limited campaign stops. He will face massive resistance to every single one of his policy proposals and will be unlikely to get anything done. And that's assuming that a civil war is avoided, no sure thing in these trying times. 

But I continue to believe that President Trump will win in the end. Even though the media will never admit it, he does have a decent chance of winning in court. Will it be enough to change the outcome of the election? Possibly. It's going to depend on what votes get thrown out and where. But I think people that are counting President Trump out are foolish at best and delusional at worst. It may be an uphill battle but it is one that can be won. 

And even if President Trump loses, it's not like it's the end of the world. As I said above, Joe Biden has no mandate and wasn't able to win all three branches of government. SCOTUS will keep him in check and his worst plans like stacking the courts or banning firearms won't happen. It's also very likely that the Democrats will lose their tenuous grip on the house in 2022, along with more senate losses since that always happens to incumbents (and Biden or Harris, whoever is President at that point, will be extremely unpopular. I still say Joe Biden will be dead in a year or so regardless if he's president or not, just look at the man). And President Trump will almost certainly run in 2024 and will likely win in a landslide against Kamala Harris, who wasn't elected by anyone. It will be a slog to get to that point though but in the end, win or lose, President Trump will win in the end.  

Editor's note: issues.

 Not much going on today news wise so I thought I would give an update on some problems I have had with Blogger lately. You are probably not aware of this but Blogger did a major update awhile back and it appears to have screwed a few things up. I have gotten used to it and some of the more major glitches have been fixed but I have had a few lingering problems. 

The most obvious and one you probably have seen has been with formatting. A lot of the time images and text don't stay where I put them after I use HTML to insert things like tweets or instagram posts. Most of the time I catch this when it happens but others I miss it and only see it after the post has been up for several days and it's no longer worth fixing. Other times it happens just because it feels like it and I don't catch it because I am not looking for it. So if you see off centered text or images it's Blogger's fault not mine. 

I have considered moving my blog in the past but it would be a very complicated endeavor and I wouldn't even know where to go. I know wordpress is a thing but I have heard that they have had problems recently as well. Plus migrating the site would be difficult at best and beyond my capabilities at worst. I'm not a tech guy and I really had to self teach myself just to get my current blog working. 

Plus, I have adsense on this blog and I don't know how it would work if I changed websites. I'd assume I'd be able to keep my account and wouldn't have to start over again but you never know. I guess I'm just not certain if moving is worth it just because of a few glitches. 

Another thing I have considered is buying hosting. It would be relatively cheap and might help get my blog more exposure as getting rid of the .blogspot. might make my site look more professional and could avoid it getting eaten by filters, allowing it to spread more virally. But at this point the income I make from my blog would not be enough to offset the cost of hosting and I don't want to lose money on this blog. 

All and all though I think this will remain status quo ante. If I do decide to change things up I will of course let everyone know. Blogger may be a mess right now but it's not unusable but please be patient if you see any more weird formatting errors on my site. It's not me, it's Blogger itself! 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky hospitalized with Coronavirus.

 

File photo of President Volodymyr Zelensky. NBC News/Reuters. 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has been hospitalized with Coronavirus. Reuters. Zelensky was diagnosed earlier in the week and had been working from home. Zelensky's staff said it was to protect people from being infected and for better conditions for the president. Three members of Zelensky's staff also tested positive, including his top aide, the finance minster and the defense secretary. Ukraine has seen a spike of cases in the past few months and has had a total of 500,000 cases. 

My Comment:

Whenever a world leader comes down with the Coronavirus it's big news. And when that world leader has to go to the hospital it's even bigger news. I have always liked Zelensky as a leader and I am pulling for the man. He's been a decent President for Ukraine, which has had a tough go of it lately. 

Zelensky is probably not at high risk. He is pretty young for a world leader at 42 and almost everyone that age survives. Unlike President Trump who was in his 70's when he got infected, there isn't a realistic chance of a bad outcome here. But it's also not impossible, which is why this is a big story. 

I don't know how important it is that Zelensky has been hospitalized. It could be just what his government says it is, a precaution and an effort to keep other people safe. But it's also possible that he is sicker than people think. It's not a good sign that he is in the hospital and it might mean that he will have to undergo treatment, just like President Trump did. 

Ukraine is smack dab in the middle of the virus's second wave. They are seeing an explosion of cases, like most countries in the northern hemisphere. It's not surprising that Zelensky has gotten sick when so many of his countrymen and women have gotten sick as well. 

It's also concerning that Zelensky's staff got sick as well. Especially since the defense secretary was one of them. Though the Ukraine conflict has mostly fallen into the background, there are still embers that could spark up. I'm afraid that the rebels might sense some weakness from the government of Ukraine and may try to start up the war again. 

Finally, I doubt that President Zelensky will be the last world leader to catch the Coronavirus. With a vaccine still a ways off I think it's very possible that another world leader will get sick. I doubt anyone will die unless there is a world leader in poor health out there, but I do think that this is a story I will probably have to write again in another context. 

Several wounded in a bombing in Saudi Arabia targeting Remembrance Day event at a cemetery.

 

Saudi police block off the scene of the attack. BBC/Getty.

Several people were wounded in a bombing in Saudi Arabia targeting a Remembrance Day event at a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah. BBC. The bombing caused at least three injuries, including a Greek diplomatic security officer, a British citizen and a Saudi security officer. The event was commemorating the end of World War I and was targeted with a improvised explosive device. The attack comes after a global uptick in Islamic terrorism. It is possible that French diplomats were the primary targets of the attack after the reigniting of the Charlie Hebdo Mohammad cartoons controversy. The attack comes after another recent attack where a Saudi guard was stabbed at a French Consulate. 

#ArabieSaoudite Tentative d'attentat ce matin au cimetière des non-musulmans à #Jeddah. Lors de la cérémonie du #11Novembre. En présence du Consul Général de France, 🇮🇪, 🇬🇧...& expatriés français. Des blessés...
15j après attaque au couteau au Consulat, la France encore visée !? pic.twitter.com/whjBGlLdad

— Clarence Rodriguez (@Clarencewoman) November 11, 2020

My Comment:

First of all attacking a Remembrance Day/Veterans Day event is utterly disgusting. War dead should be honored no matter who they are and attacking an event honoring the dead is just beyond the pale. There could never be any excuse for launching an attack on this kind of event. 

It's also disgusting to attack a cemetery as well. Call me a sentimentalist but you should let the dead rest. I know some Muslims have problems with cemeteries in general but I just find it horrible that someone would disturb the dead. 

I think there could be follow up attacks if the terrorist(s) responsible for this attack aren't caught quickly. It's not that hard to plant a bomb and it's possible that the bombmaker was able to make more than one bomb. If they have they could launch further attacks and a smaller bomb like this is a lot harder to defend against. 

Thankfully they are also less likely to kill anyone. Only three or four people have been injured in this attack (details are scarce) and nobody was killed. This attack seemed to use a small bomb without a lot of power. My guess is that any follow ups will be the same way. 

There does seem to be an uptick in terror attacks recently. The Charlie Hebdo controversy seems to be driving some of it, but it does seem like ISIS and other terror groups are making a bit of a comeback. Like I said yesterday they have a foothold in Africa and they may be resurging in the Middle East as well. And it's clear that lone wolf attackers are coming back into vogue again as well. 

Thankfully, most of these attacks have been small, outside of the massive massacre in Africa. It's mostly mass stabbings and a few minor bombings like this one. Though Islamic terrorism does seem to be increasing it's still clear that it's not anywhere near the threat it once was.  

ISIS beheads 50 people in Mozambique

 

The ruins of a village torched by ISIS affiliated militants. BBC. 

ISIS affiliated militants have beheaded 50 people in Mozambique, the latest atrocity in a country where the terror group is making a resurgence. BBC. The militants also beheaded people in another village in Northern Mozambique. The group has used poverty and unemployment as recruitment tools and have been trying to establish Islamic rule in the gas rich Cabo Delgado province in the north. The gunmen attacked the villages, fired shots and set fires and when they captured people trying to flee the militants they beheaded them. The group also abducted several woman from one of the villages.

My Comment:

Though ISIS has been defeated in the Middle East, they are having a bit of resurgence in Africa. Mozambique is the most notable example and the militants there have committed several major attacks, with this atrocity being the latest. 

This attack was especially brutal, even by the standards of ISIS. Killing 50 people at just one village via beheading seems like some kind of record. ISIS certainly has a record of mass killings like this but I can't remember an incident where they killed 50 people via beheading before. I could be wrong of course, as unfortunately ISIS has committed so many terror attacks and mass killings that it's very hard to keep them all straight. 

I am somewhat worried that ISIS could use Mozambique as a base to launch attacks outside the borders of Africa. The northern province of Cabo Delgado has a lot of natural resources including natural gas and minerals. If these ISIS affiliated militants could take over those industries and use the profits to launch larger scale attacks. 

They have, of course, done this before. During the ISIS apex of the last decade, ISIS was using more conventional industries, most notably oil production, to fund their attacks and even had set up a rudimentary government. And it's not like there will be a shortage of customers for natural gas even if prices are pretty low now. 

On the other hand, it's important to not overstate the threat that ISIS now provides. The terror groups is a shell of what it once was. Even if we do see a resurgence of the terror group operating out of Mozambique, it's very unlikely we will see the monthly and almost weekly attacks we saw in 2015-2016. There may be new attacks but I doubt we will see the kind of horror we saw before. 

I do wonder what people are going to do about ISIS in Africa though. I don't think there is any desire for an international response to ISIS and their attacks there. And it doesn't look like the government of Mozambique is capable of fighting ISIS alone. Perhaps there will be an African response but as far as a European or American one I don't see it happening in a large scale. 

Armenia signs peace deal with Azerbaijan.

 

Armenians protest the peace deal in Yerevan. The Guardian/AP.

Armenia has signed a peace deal with Azerbaijan, which will end the war between the two countries. The Guardian. Armenia's Prime Minster signed the deal with the governments of Azerbaijan and Russia. Azerbaijan had taken back much of the territory they lost to Armenia during their war in the 1990's. The Azerbaijani's were focused on taking back parts of the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh region and took the 2nd largest city there, Shusha. The Armenian people appear to be furious with the peace deal and have started major protests. Armenia lost some of their territory outside of the disputed region and had to open a roadway that connected two pieces of Azerbaijan territory. Russia will deploy more than 1000 peacekeepers to help enforce the deal. 

My Comment:

I'm far from an expert on this conflict but it sure looks like Armenia lost this war. The deal that was signed by Armenia's Prime Minster was very favorable for Azerbaijan and they lost quite a bit of territory. The fact that their ally, Russia, brokered the deal shows how poor the Armenian's position actually is. 

As expected the Armenian people aren't happy with this deal. I don't think they realized that their forces appear to have lost the war. Plus their ally Russia isn't having any of this and wants the war to end. They aren't going to be able to continue the war without the support of the government. It's possible that this is bad news for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, but time will tell what happens. It might cost him his job but for now it seems his position is still secure. 

I think this peace deal is for real though. I know that at least three cease fires, including one brokered by the Untied States, have fallen apart. But I don't think this will happen this time. The Armenian government is calling it quits so there isn't really a way to continue the war. They have lost the will to fight so unless the Azerbaijani's decide to continue it the war should end. Since they accomplished most of their goals and got a bunch of territory back I don't know why they would continue the fight. 

I will say that this conflict was almost totally ignored due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the continuing riots and the US election. That was probably a mistake as this was a major war that could have spiraled out of control. Armenia is a Russian ally and Azerbaijan is an ally of Turkey and if things had gone bad the war could have drawn in those two countries and with it NATO and the United States. Thankfully the worse case scenario was never likely and never came to pass. 

Hopefully this peace deal will hold. 2020 has been enough of a mess, having yet another war pop off was not a good thing and I sincerely hope that this one is finally over. Around 4000 people have died in this conflict and that is far too many.