This item comes from our New World Order friends at the UN, so you know that it must be high in salt, and steaming hot with cosmopolitan cholesterol:
  https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/05/12/u-n-officials-coronavirus-lockdowns-could-trigger-famine-in-dozens-of-countries/
  https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-05-11/more-than-a-billion-people-escaped-poverty-in-the-last-20-years-the-coronavirus-could-erase-those-gains

“The economic devastation the pandemic wreaks on the ultra-poor could ultimately kill more people than the virus itself. The United Nations predicts that a global recession will reverse a three-decade trend in rising living standards and plunge as many as 420 million people into extreme poverty, defined as earning less than $2 a day. As for the 734 million people already there, the economic tsunami will make it harder for them to ever climb out. “I feel like we’re watching a slow-motion train wreck as it moves through the world’s most fragile countries,” said Nancy Lindborg, president of the nonprofit U.S. Institute of Peace and former head of the Ebola task force at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Hunger is already rising in the poorest parts of the world, where lockdowns and social distancing measures have erased incomes and put even basic food items out of reach. In Guatemala, villagers are begging for food along highways by waving pieces of white cloth at passing drivers. In Colombia, the hungriest hang red flags from their homes in hope of donations. Recent phone surveys in places as disparate as Senegal and rural China suggest that large swaths of society have lost their livelihoods and, as a result, are eating less.The U.N. predicts the coronavirus could push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. World Vision, an international Christian aid organization, warns that 30 million children are at risk of dying.

     Will sleepy Trump be moved to finally act on Big Tech when his ego is hit, when his beloved Twitter gets hit?
  https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/11/tech/twitter-coronavirus-misinformation/index.html

“Twitter said Monday it plans to put labels and warning messages on some tweets that contain disputed or misleading information related to Covid-19, even if it's tweeted by President Donald Trump. Twitter (TWTR) announced in March that it would remove Covid-19 tweets that could cause a "direct risk to people's health or well-being." Starting Monday, it will use labels and warning messages "to provide additional explanations or clarifications in situations where the risks of harm associated with a Tweet are less severe but where people may still be confused or misled by the content." Trump, possibly Twitter's most prolific user, will also be subject to the rules, according to Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of site integrity. "These labels will apply to anyone sharing misleading information that meets the requirements of our policy, including world leaders," Roth wrote in a tweet Monday in response to a question about how the policy would apply to Trump and other elected officials. At a White House briefing in April, Trump dangerously suggested ingesting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus. Trump has also promoted unproven drug therapies for the virus. For Twitter, the hard part arguably isn't introducing the policy, but implementing it consistently. Twitter announced last summer that it would label tweets from world leaders that broke its rules. But a month after Twitter announced the policy, the company said tweets in which the president used racist language to attack four progressive Democratic congresswoman were not against its rules — a conclusion apparently contradicted by Twitter's written policies.”

     When weak little Aussie wanted to find out what China got up to regarding corona, the Chinese panda snapped back, threatening sacred trade. But, the US is coming to the rescue of this ageing, damsel in distress:
  https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/we-back-our-aussie-mates-us-congress-members-slam-china-threats-20200511-p54rrx.html

“A bipartisan group of US Congress members has blasted China for threatening economic retaliation against Australia, following the Morrison government's call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to Australia's US Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos, the 27 senators and House of Representatives members said that China had made "deeply disturbing" threats to punish Australia for seeking an international inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. "This incident is part of a broader and concerning pattern from the Chinese government," the politicians said in the letter. "As we continue to confront this deadly disease and its consequences, we will be faced with many tough decisions, including those that may arise from the Chinese government’s continued lack of cooperation and transparency. "No matter the external pressure or coercion, we will always have Australia’s back, just as Australia has always had ours."

     They said that there were no no-go areas in France, as diversity and multiculturalism were so beautiful. Now there are riots there, corona lockdown riots:
  https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15977/france-no-go-zones-riots

“A few months ago, a police officer, Noam Anouar, who infiltrated Islamist circles... stated that no-go zones in France are now foreign enclaves on French territory. "The gangs operating there," he wrote, "have formed a parallel economy based on drug trafficking. They consider themselves at war with France and with Western civilization. They act in cooperation with Islamist organizations, and define acts of predation and rampage as raids against infidels". He noted that reclaiming these areas today would be complicated, costly, and involve calling in the army. For years, successive French governments have chosen a policy of "willful blindness": they simply behave as if they do not see what is going on. They do not even try to find solutions. Saturday, April 18, 11 pm. Villeneuve-la-Garenne, a small town in the northern suburbs of Paris. A young man rides a motorcycle at high speed and hits the door of a police car. He breaks his leg. He is sent to the hospital. He does not have a driver's license but does have a long criminal history. He was sentenced several times by the courts for drug trafficking, robbery with violence and sexual assault. As soon as news of the accident is released, hostile messages about the police circulate on social media; and in a dozen cities in France, riots break out. The riots are continue for five days in a row. A police station in Strasbourg is attacked and set on fire. A school is nearly destroyed a few miles from Villeneuve-la-Garenne.

     It seems that many people, or at least a sizeable number, are dying in lockdown:
  https://summit.news/2020/05/11/thousands-of-people-are-dying-at-home-due-to-the-lockdown/

“A Guardian analysis has found that there have been thousands of excess deaths of people at home in the UK due to the lockdown. “The data shows 8,196 more deaths at home in England, Wales and Scotland compared with the five-year average for this time of year, including 6,546 non-Covid deaths,” reports the newspaper. “It also indicates a drop in non-Covid deaths in hospital, however, leading experts to conclude that many who would ordinarily have been admitted to a ward and died there are instead dying at home.” According to Jason Oke, a statistician with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, one explanation for the numbers is that, “People are dying of other causes that would not have happened under normal conditions – and are collateral damage of the lockdown.” Another analysis suggests there could have already been around 10,000 excess deaths in the UK compared with previous years.”

     You have doubts? Then read on, this time from India, to show that the problem is “global,” not just globalism, and not purely racial either. It is complicated indeed.
  https://www.opindia.com/2020/05/bihar-a-minor-hindu-boy-sacrificed-to-make-a-new-mosque-in-the-area-powerful-and-influential-police-apathy-forces-family-to-relocate/
  https://www.opindia.com/2019/06/dara-hua-musalman-here-is-a-list-of-50-hate-crimes-that-busts-the-narrative/
  https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3083927/tuberculosis-crisis-india-disease-kills-most-people-world

     And from Germany, in the “fair is foul and foul is fair” department:
  https://www.facebook.com/flowingnews/posts/159127512262305

     Is this bug thing ever going to end? Maybe not. There has been a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in the home of the Wuhan flu, Wuhan, in the last few days, but the commo authorities are doing what they do best; keeping relatively tight-lipped about the problem. It sounds familiar. And, lockdown measures are back:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLvKAZRCKFQ

     And, with the crazed open borders crowd is just busting to let ‘em in, expect more of the same.
  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/11/coronavirus-expert-michael-osterholm-warns-virus-spread-far-from-over/3108333001/

     This sums up Europe in a nutshell; native Europeans rot in lockdown, while illegal migrants do what illegal migrants do:
  https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16013/european-lockdown-illegal-immigrants

“While Europe is experiencing an economic shock without precedent, and tens of millions of Europeans have lost their livelihoods, migrants in Europe illegally are being showered with free housing and healthcare. The actual number of illegal immigrants in France is unknown but was estimated to be between 300,000 and 400,000 in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center. Considering the waves of mass migration since then, the number is probably well above a half-million. Britain has up to 1.2 million illegal immigrants, a quarter of all those that have unlawfully entered Europe, according to the Pew Research Center.... The UK's leniency appears to have sparked another wave of illegal immigration. Since the coronavirus lockdown began on March 23, nearly 900 people have illegally crossed the English Channel from France, according to Migration Watch UK. "There is great discontent among the [German] population because everyone who arrives here immediately has many or even higher rights and rights to benefits or medical care than someone who has worked here for their entire life." — Interior Minister of Saarland, Klaus Bouillon (CDU), interview with Die Welt. "Muslim countries currently have 300 million males under the age of 15. This is not a forecast, but already a reality. Scientists like Gunnar Heinsohn assume that a maximum of 100 million can obtain a position in the society of their home country. The remaining 200 million will try to emigrate or otherwise fight for their place." — Anabel Schunke, political commentator, German blog Die Achse des Guten.

     The joys of Centrelink … like mother’s milk …in Bangladesh, or wherever it is now that people are starving … maybe Australia … soon …
  https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/unemployment-hangover-2024-013804603.html

“Some forecasts of the unemployment rate have reached as high as 15.1 per cent – but getting this figure down to pre-coronavirus level won’t be in reach for another four years, a Deloitte economist has said. According to Deloitte Access Economics partner Chris Richardson, Australia will have to “champion a new round of much-needed economic reforms” if it is to address the major shortfall in national income even after the virus crisis is over. Deloitte estimates the federal government’s budget deficit will hit $143.1 billion in the 2019-20 financial year, well undercutting the government’s own forecast of a $5 billion surplus from its December mid-year review. But fixing the budget won’t lie in raising taxes: it will be on boosting the economy. “Our defence against the coronavirus has been world-leading. But just beating back the virus isn’t enough,” Richardson said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently said that flattening the unemployment curve would be Australia’s next priority. The jobless rate is expected to hit 10 per cent or even higher under forecasts by both the Grattan Institute and the governor of the Reserve Bank. But unemployment goes down much faster than it comes back up, Richardson pointed out. “The ‘mission accomplished’ signs can’t be put up until unemployment is back at 5%. On our forecasts, that doesn’t happen until late 2024. “We’re years away from returning unemployment to the 5 per cent rate it was at when this crisis hit.”

     This information should be used against all those who have blind faith in the wonders of the World Health Organization:
  https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3931126
  https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/05/10/report-china-pressured-who-to-cover-up-coronavirus-outbreak/

“The World Health Organization has dismissed as “false allegations” a media report that it withheld information about the new coronavirus following pressure from China. The U.N. agency said in a statement late Saturday that a German magazine’s report about a telephone conversation between WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 21 was “unfounded and untrue.” Weekly Der Spiegel reported that Xi asked Tedros during the call to hold back information about human-to-human transmission of the virus and delay declaring a pandemic. The magazine quoted Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, BND, which declined to comment Sunday. Der Spiegel also claimed that the BND concluded up to six weeks of time to fight the outbreak had been lost due to China’s information policy. The U.N. agency said Tedros and Xi “have never spoken by phone” and added that “such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO’s and the world’s efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.” It said that China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus on Jan. 20. WHO officials issued a statement two days later saying there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan, but more investigation was necessary. The global body declared COVID-19 a pandemic on Feb. 11. U.S. President Donald Trump has been among the strongest critics of WHO’s handling of the pandemic, accusing it of deference to China and ceasing payments to the agency.”

     Elon’s grammar needs a bit of work, but his heart is in the right place, expressing his understanding of the anti-globalist philosophy:
  https://summit.news/2020/05/08/elon-musk-says-he-sympathizes-with-anti-globalist-movement/

“During his appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, Elon Musk said he sympathized with the anti-globalization movement because “we don’t ever want everywhere to be the same.” The context of the conversation was how civilizations rise and fall and are negatively affected by hive mind thinking, a concept Musk referred to as the “mind virus.” “I do think that the globalization that we have at the memesphere – there’s not enough isolation between countries or regions. If there’s a mind virus, that mind virus can infect too much of the world,” said Musk. “I actually sort of sympathize with the anti-globalization people because we don’t ever want everywhere to be the same for sure and we need some kind of mind viral immunity,” he remarked, adding, “That’s a bit concerning.” The Tesla founder clarified that he was talking about a concept that “happens right now” and not in the future, suggesting he may have been referring to the coronavirus panic. “When I’m talking about the mind virus, I’m talking about a concept that infects people’s minds,” said Musk, describing it as a “wrongheaded idea that goes viral in an idea sense.” As we previously highlighted, Musk has become a target of the establishment after he called for the coronavirus lockdown to be lifted. The Tesla founder asserted at the beginning of March that the panic behind COVID-19 was “dumb.” He briefly discussed the issue elsewhere in the Rogan interview, asserting that the mortality rate of coronavirus turned out to be vastly lower than health authorities initially claimed.”

     I very much like the idea of the voluntary abandonment of modern weapons and for soldiers to resort to fist fights and throwing huge rocks at each other. For one thing, it is cheap, and second, nothing brings home the satisfaction of defeating an opponent in hand to hand combat … witness the September 2021 boxing match to be held between Halfthor and Eddie Hall to settle differences. We see it in movies, but it really is the manly thing to do: go primal:
  https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/indian-and-chinese-troops-clash-fistfight-disputed-border

“Dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a cross-border clash involving fistfights and stone-throwing at a remote but strategically important mountain pass near Tibet, the Indian Army said Sunday according to the Straits Times and BBC. There have been long-running border tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, with a bitter war fought over India's north-eastern-most state of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962. The two countries have competing claims over their shared 3,400 kilometre (2,100 mile) border. Sometimes stand-offs involve chest-bumping, pushing and shoving, and throwing stones at each other, BBC South Asia Editor Anbarasan Ethirajan reports. The latest tense face-off took place near the Naku La sector in Sikkim, more than 5,000 meters (16,400ft) above sea level in the Himalayas. "Aggressive behaviour by the two sides resulted in minor injuries to troops. It was stone-throwing and arguments that ended in a fistfight," Indian Army Eastern Command spokesman Mandeep Hooda told AFP. The "stand-off" on Saturday at Naku La sector near the 4,572m Nathu La crossing in the north-eastern state of Sikkim - which borders Bhutan, Nepal and China - was later resolved after "dialogue and interaction" at a local level, Hooda said. "Temporary and short duration face-offs between border-guarding troops do occur as boundaries are not resolved," he added. The violent clash is the first between the two countries since 2017, when there was a brawl between Chinese and Indian soldiers near the northwest Indian region of Ladakh. Though both countries send out patrols that often engage in physical stand-offs, no bullet has been fired over the border in the last four decades.”

     The authorities are now telling us to get ready for the second wave of the bug plague, with one big wit I heard on the radio saying that the second wave of the 1918 pandemic was much worse that the first, so , does this mean yet another lockdown, or do we put our feet in the water, then swim, lock downing the golden oldies, and pretty soon I will be one of them, or at least I feel and look that way. Well, get ready for this:
  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8304227/Riot-police-clash-hundreds-anti-lockdown-protesters-Berlin.html

“Riot police clashed with hundreds of protesters in Berlin yesterday during a demonstration against coronavirus lockdown in Germany. Despite the central government easing lockdown on Wednesday, infected cases have begun to rise in Germany again, with some states saying they will not lift measures if the numbers continue to spike. Overall infections rose by 1,251 cases yesterday with 147 new deaths. In Berlin, hundreds of protesters swarmed Alexanderplatz, defying the government's limit of 50 people for outside gatherings, clashing with riot officers and shouting 'Wir sind das Volk!' ['We are the people!'] and 'Freiheit!' ['Freedom!']. Across the country, over 3,000 people were reported to have descended on Munich and thousands more flocked to Stuttgart, incensed by the government's management of the pandemic.”

     I do not agree with everything at this site, but there is some good writing, especially attacking neo-liberalism and conservativism, with some quotes of interest to follow, on the weaknesses of conservativism:
  http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2020/05/10/conservatives-are-finally-rising-up/

“For decades, nationalists have argued about what it will take for the average American conservative to rise up. The answer was when FOX News told him to spread the coronavirus in his community. If nothing else, the coronavirus should settle this question once and for all. Nationalists have never been able to connect with these people because of their orientation toward individualism and materialism and their ideological frame which is liberalism. They simply don’t share our core values and beliefs. Conservatives only have an extremely weak sense of racial or ethnic identity. They have a national identity which is based on liberalism. Their whole belief system is built upon an edifice of individualism and selfishness. Why is the Coronavirus Tea Party springing up around the country now, but not before? It is because conservatives and libertarians have been personally impacted by the virus. As recently as February, conservatives weren’t rising up in the streets. Over the past twenty years, countless black-on-white crimes have occurred … and they slept. Tens of millions of illegal aliens have poured into the country … and they slept. American culture has gone in the toilet … and they slept. … Confederate monuments were torn down all over the South … and they slept. Trump betrayed all his campaign promises except for the tax cuts and the stock market boom … and they slept. They lack a conception of the common good. …

     I should be offered work in advertising for the delicious meat industry, with such brilliant takes, as in this title. But, it seems to be true; not only did meat, according to evolution, if you believe it (I don’t), aid in the evolution of the modern human brain, but today meat is still yielding benefits psychologically:
  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8270125/Eating-meat-improves-mental-health-study-claims.html

“People with a plant-based diet were twice as likely to take prescription drugs for mental illness and nearly three times as likely to contemplate suicide. The report, which looked at more than 160,000 people, also found that a shocking one in three vegetarians suffer from depression or anxiety. Researchers reviewed 18 studies examining the relationship between mental health and eating meat, involving a total of 160,257 participants. They concluded that vegetarians and vegans had 'significantly' higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety and self-harm. The researchers suggest that avoiding meat may be a 'behavioural marker' indicating people already with poor mental health. This is a suggestion that requires more research to back it up, the researchers say. University of Alabama researchers write in the study: 'Those who avoided meat consumption had significantly higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety, and/or self-harm behaviours. 'Our study does not support avoiding meat consumption for overall psychological health benefits.' Dr Edward Archer, from the University of Alabama and one of the study's authors, said: 'While the risks and benefits of vegan and vegetarian diets have been debated for centuries, our results show that meat eaters have better psychological health. 'These findings have implications when defining what constitutes a 'healthy diet'. Mental health may need to be emphasised when evaluating the benefits and risks of particular dietary patterns.' Echoing the report's findings, Aseem Malhotra, an NHS Consultant Cardiologist, said in a tweet: 'In general, if you want to avoid increased risk of depression, anxiety and self-harm behaviour then do eat meat. 'If you're vegan or vegetarian for ethical reasons, then please personally invest extra in strategies to protect your mental health.' The study, entitled 'Meat and Mental Health: A systematic review of meat abstention and depression, anxiety and related phenomena', is published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.”

     A great piece published in The Australian by “the Mocker,” putting the boots into the Lefties who attacked poor old Captain Cook, on his anniversary too. Shame on these new class elites, who collect high pay from the tax payers’ pockets.  
  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/the-mocker-as-if-coronavirus-isnt-enough-spare-us-the-virus-of-cultural-commissars/news-story/eb09532e766e48209bc96d5a37baf722

“Was ever a great man more maligned than James Cook? He was a legend in the fields of navigation, cartography, exploration, and leadership, yet mere mention of his name these days invokes accusations of imperialism, genocide, and cultural hegemony. So dastardly and numerous are the crimes against his person, it is hard to say which one is the cruellest, whether it is ending up a historical pariah, or being murdered, disembowelled, broiled and returned to his crew in bits, or having Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons as his biographer. Whatever the case, we cannot deny that on April 29, 1770 Cook arrived on this continent, an event that would eventually lead to the founding of one of the most successful, harmonious, and multiracial democracies the world has known. Understandably, many indigenous Australians do not regard Cook’s landing as cause for a celebration. Neither do Greens politicians, student activists, left-wing academics, or many other misery merchants who, despite their purported abhorrence of colonisation, choose to remain on this land. Their opposition was always expected. But as it turned out, most commemorations were cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions. Given Cook had been denied that, was it unreasonable to expect his critics, especially well remunerated officials, to refrain from denigrating him on that special day? Sadly, it was. “Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror,” tweeted Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, Dr Annaliese van Diemen. “Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID-19 or Cook 1770?” … By tweeting so, van Diemen joins a long list of officials who, despite holding impressive qualifications, have made a dill of themselves on social media. As to why she slandered Cook, look no further than what she tweeted in 2015, a year before she was employed by the Department of Health and Human Services. “The system was created by white men for white men,” she said. You can see where this is going. Cook is the embodiment of white patriarchy and privilege (forget that he was a self-made man who came from humble beginnings), which automatically warrants punitive revisionism and nullifying of all his achievements. For her target audience, van Diemen’s historical howlers are of minor importance. With her cheap iconoclastic shot, she has publicly validated her credentials as the great white woman who weeps for the wretched, as well as affirming her self-loathing.”

     Nothing has changed much; the economic elites are still pinning their hopes, indeed their lives on the immigration economy created in the post-world War II period. This is not a real nation, for it explicitly aims to dissolve the identity created by Anglo-Australia prior to the war, and given a few more ecological/biological shocks, it should all fall apart, beautifully:
  https://amp.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-dependence-on-immigration-faces-its-biggest-economic-test-20200501-p54oxx.html
  https://amp.smh.com.au/politics/federal/more-important-than-ever-victoria-backs-china-s-infrastructure-push-20200501-p54p1b.html

“Australia's dependence on immigration to grow the economy is about to be sorely tested. One of the secret ingredients to Australia's unparalleled run of economic growth since the country's last recession has been strong population growth. While local mums have played their part in swelling the number of locals, the heavy lifting has been done by people from nations such as China, India, Britain, New Zealand and the Philippines who have decided to call Australia home. Over the past decade, the nation's permanent population has grown by 3.7 million to more than 25 million. Of that increase, 60 per cent was due to net migration. That extra 2.2 million people have been an economic powerhouse, requiring homes, cars, food and every day goods and services while also contributing fresh skills to the jobs market. But it has come at a price, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Be it via higher house prices or over-crowded schools, all levels of government have struggled to keep up with the demands of a growing population while reaping the economic benefits of that population.”

     Whooaha! Dr Fauci has a past doesn’t he … ?
  https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741

“Dr. Anthony Fauci is an adviser to President Donald Trump and something of an American folk hero for his steady, calm leadership during the pandemic crisis. At least one poll shows that Americans trust Fauci more than Trump on the coronavirus pandemic—and few scientists are portrayed on TV by Brad Pitt. But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses. In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million. Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release. SARS-CoV-2 , the virus now causing a global pandemic, is believed to have originated in bats. U.S. intelligence, after originally asserting that the coronavirus had occurred naturally, conceded last month that the pandemic may have originated in a leak from the Wuhan lab. (At this point most scientists say it's possible—but not likely—that the pandemic virus was engineered or manipulated.) Dr. Fauci did not respond to Newsweek's requests for comment. NIH responded with a statement that said in part: "Most emerging human viruses come from wildlife, and these represent a significant threat to public health and biosecurity in the US and globally, as demonstrated by the SARS epidemic of 2002-03, and the current COVID-19 pandemic.... scientific research indicates that there is no evidence that suggests the virus was created in a laboratory."

     Reading the article to be discussed here I was reminded for the first time in what, 40 years, of a high school debate I was in “We should rape the desert.” I was leader of the “No!’ team. Basically, we argued that our opponents assumed that desert regions are of no natural and ecological significance, But, that is false, for destroying such regions by pollution can come back and bite us on the bum. We won the debate, mainly because the other side was full of dopes. But, now change the problem to deal instead with outer space, and the moon. Why not mine the moon, and/or turn it into a giant trash bin, say for nuclear waste? Or, use it to test nuclear weapons of mass destruction?
  https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2020/may/05/trump-mining-moon-us-artemis-accords

“The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new US-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, according to people familiar with the proposed pact. The agreement would be the latest effort to cultivate allies around Nasa’s plan to put humans and space stations on the moon within the next decade, and comes as the civilian space agency plays a growing role in implementing American foreign policy. The draft pact has not been formally shared with US allies yet. The Trump administration and other spacefaring countries see the moon as a key strategic asset in outer space. The moon also has value for long-term scientific research that could enable future missions to Mars – activities that fall under a regime of international space law widely viewed as outdated.

     Living alone in my shed, like a post-apocalyptic survivor of the collapse of the West, I spend a lot of time talking to rats, as such future survivors will not. Rather, short of food, facing the Grim Reaper of starvation, everything that walks or crawls with meat will be eaten, including the ever-lovable cockroaches. But today I speak on rats, who are given a bad press because of the multitude of diseases they carry;
  https://amp.9news.com.au/article/2a628d6b-9f6f-4866-b736-7fe61c1fddeb

“In 2018, infectious disease experts at the University of Hong Kong came across an unusual patient. The 56-year-old man, who had undergone a liver transplant, was showing abnormal liver functions with no obvious cause. Tests found that his immune system was responding to hepatitis E – but they couldn't actually find the human strain of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) in his blood. Hepatitis E is a liver disease that can also cause fever, jaundice and an enlarged liver. The virus comes in four species, which circulate in different animals; at the time, only one of these four was known to infect humans. With tests for that human strain of HEV negative, the researchers redesigned the diagnostic test, ran it again – and found, for the first time in history, rat hepatitis E in a human. "Suddenly, we have a virus that can jump from street rats to humans," Dr Siddharth Sridhar, a microbiologist and one of the HKU researchers who made the discovery, said. It was such an unusual and unprecedented infection that the team wondered if it was a "one-off incident, one patient who was in the wrong place at the wrong time"