And in OTHER news
 

...because other stuff is still happening, a little, outside of Coronaville.

The Venezuelan navy rammed a German cruise ship in international waters, probably in an attempt at piracy.

What what what?

Yeah they did!

And, hilariously, they LOST. (No word on whether the navy boat was swamped or capsized.)

This happened Monday. In unrelated news, on Wednesday, the US announced it would deploy anti-drug Navy ships near Venezuela.

Of note, Venezuela has one industry (oil).

In very related news, the price of oil entirely collapsed two weeks ago.

Which price war is visible at the pump. CA prices look like ten years ago.

Baraboo wins...

No kidding!

We just paid $1.75 / gal.

Since all California burns the formula the L.A. Valley needs, we can either murmur jealously, or gas up in Vegas on the way back. That's even before eighty-one cents tax.

Canada is one of many countries switching from paper to plastics to produce their currency for better security and longer life. One thing it's not good for is de-virusing in the microwave.

The very opposite of cold cash.

Former Representative and present convict Wm. Jefferson, take note... had you lived a couple thousand miles north of Louisiana... currency mutilation, at the worst.

And if the virus doesn't git ya...


..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/52533585

BigV beat you to it. Who'd 've thunk it?

Dictators throughout the world are taking advantage of the pandemic. For example, the Prime Minister of Hungry has all but declared himself a dictator. He can now rule by decree with no limit on how long his new powers remain. The uprising in India against laws that intentionally target Muslims has been quashed. India's Hindu government used a March 15 meeting of Muslims to incite more hatred of Muslims. Accusing Muslims of infecting 1000 people.

Azerbaijan's president is using this pandemic to selectively 'socially isolate' all political opposition. Same in Togo and Serbia. Cambodia's new powers permit unlimited surveillance of private citizens. Citizens must now justify why they are going out and where - to get permission. Zimbabwe is using 'fake news' lies to suppress news about government corruption. Thailand's Prime Minister says "health over liberty". And then has stifled information necessary to be an informed and healthy public. A Thailand artist was arrested for simply complaining that nobody was available to take his temperature at the airport. Bolivia's president can now unilaterally decide what news stories are unacceptable.

El Salvador has arrested 2000 people for violating social distancing rule. Putting them in crowded cells. At least eight journalists in Turkey have been arrested for stories relabeled as 'misinformation'. Uganda is raiding shelters for gays and transgender people. Philippines' Duterte has ordered the army to shoot anyone who violates social distancing. Fortunately the army has decided to not shot. Knowing that the opposition cannot campaign in Poland, the ruling party will conduct elections in May. Guinea's president Conde has advised his nation to inhale methanol and drink hot water to stay healthy. The Chinese quietly rounded up democracy leaders in Hong Kong.

84 countries have declared a 'state of emergency' giving many autocrats more power. With so much concentration on one story, how many have heard any of this?

Its a good time to be a despot.

Maybe we could just give him something to eat.

OTHER NEWS.

noted

Who recognizes the ref "strictly from Hungary?"

The Americas have long been home for democracies. The exceptions being Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Recently add Honduras, El Salvador, and Bolivia to that list. President of El Salvador even brought gun toting soldiers into their Congress, took the Speaker's seat, and ordered Congress to vote what he wanted.

The Electoral College has always been a good idea. Its critics forget to discuss its one major weakness. Must those electors vote for whom they are pledged? Or can they subvert what the people want by voting for someone else? Nobody has bothered to ask after all these centuries. And so Chiafalo v Washington is now in the Supreme Court to answer a question that could have made Bush v Gore a sidelight in history.

We know people who want to wreck shit would love to subvert elections. Since that is how extremists subvert the will of moderates - the patriots.

Inspector General for the Department of HHS in April provided a factual report that said that hospitals were struggling to obtain Covid-19 tests, personal protective equipment, and supplies as routine as toilet paper. As expected, someone with a 30 second attention span immediate sees an enemy.

Inspector Generals work to advance mankind and the nation. But a dictator only wants them to praise him. So he is continuing what he always does. He fired the Inspector General for the Defense Department. Both Congressional parties demanded to know why someone with a 30 second attention spam fired Mr Atkinson. Mr Atkinson said The Don fired him because he The Don, a scumbag, refuses to answer Congressional inquiries. So much like another dictator that he approves of in El Salvador.

Because he aspired to be what UG likes, 14 IG positions are now vacant. Many other possitions are filled by Trump friends because he refused to submit nominations to Congress. A mafia boss hates people who work for Americans. Apparently he also wants to 'wreck shit'.

That 30 second attention span had no idea that Ms Grimm (HHS Inspector General) had issued a report until reporters asked about it A 30 second attention span cannot read beyond a few sentences. Being a wacko extremist, he got angry. Immediately demanded the "his" name (Ms Grimm). On 1 May he ordered a replacement.

Of course, Fox News said this was good. Just like communist news services (ie Pravada) would do.

'Inspector General' was originally created because a 'not as corrupt; president (Nixon) made it necessary. Reagan demanded and all Inspector Generals resign when he took office. Then reneged when Congress (both parties) represented interests of this nation.

Dictators are not only taking advantage of current events in other nations.

And so Steven King, representing the entire NW corner of Iowa, has publicly asked why white supremacy was an offensive term? His views of White Supremacy have been long known. He is up for reelection this November. Since he is a right wing extremist with the approval of Fox News, UG, Laura Ingraham, and others, then he may win reelection. Especially since so many are using Covid-19 to hype a "Me-me-me" agenda about protecting their rights at the expense of all others. Resulting in so little time to learn other news.

One would think a loss of market for soybean and other farm products, directly traceable to Trump (and his extremist supporters) would create an election uprising. Unfortunately so much news is trumped by Covid-19 stories and The Don's daily lies.