China Could Soon Sink U.S. in South China Sea; U.S., Chinese Warships Enter South China Sea as Tensions Rise Over Oil Dispute

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By Asia Time. . .The USS America, a new amphibious assault ship, is now patrolling in the South China Sea with another US cruiser, a US destroyer and an Australian destroyer.

They are operating near where a Chinese research vessel backed by Chinese Coast Guard ships is in a standoff with Malaysian ships. The Malaysians object to the Chinese being inside their Exclusive Economic Zone, which China claims as its own, along with most of the South China Sea.

Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, stated: “To bring this much combat capability together here in the South China Sea truly signals to our allies and partners in the region that we are deeply committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

One wonders how much backup they have? Perhaps a submarine or two nearby. But air support? The USS America has some F35s and helicopters, but it is no aircraft carrier. . .

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) simply has far more ships in the South China Sea and close by. Estimates for the region range from five to ten Chinese warships for each US Navy ship. And the oft-presumed superior American capability does not even things up. (Read more from “China Could Soon Sink U.S. in South China Sea” HERE)

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U.S., Chinese warships enter South China Sea as tensions rise over oil dispute

By New York Post. A months-long standoff between Chinese and Malaysian vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea over oil exploration has drawn US, Chinese and Australian warships, according to reports.

The high-stakes drama began in December when Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas contracted a ship to explore waters in the country’s extended continental shelf that are also claimed by China and Vietnam, according to Bloomberg News.

Those two countries dispatched ships to shadow the Malaysian vessel.

On April 16, the Chinese surveyor Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered the fray while accompanied by a coast guard ship sent by Beijing, prompting the US and Australia to deploy warships to the area, Reuters reported. (Read more from “U.S., Chinese warships enter South China Sea as tensions rise over oil dispute” HERE)

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REVEALED: FBI Used Left-Wing Conspiracy Theory to Spy on Trump Campaign Adviser; Russia Investigation – Declassify Records, Public Has a Right to the Whole Truth; Trump Calls FBI Investigators in Russia Probe ‘Human Scum’ (VIDEO)

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By Breitbart. Newly declassified documents show that in order to build its dubious case of Russian collusion to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, James Comey’s FBI utilized the misleading Democratic Party talking point that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had the Republican Party platform gutted so as to “not provide defensive weapons to Ukraine.”

Last Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released a trove of documents from the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump’s campaign, including a less redacted version of Comey’s FISA warrant applications to spy on Page, who served as a tangential adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The declassified sections underscore that in order to obtain four successive warrants to spy on Page, the FBI relied heavily on the Christopher Steele dossier alleging debunked Russian collision charges. The dossier was produced by Fusion GPS, which was paid for its anti-Trump work by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

One section shows just how thin the FBI’s arguments to the FISA court were in a bid to build a background narrative alleging Russian collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. This narrative was successfully utilized by the FBI to obtain four successive warrants to spy on Page. Comey personally signed three of the four warrant applications.

The disclosure reveals that the FISA warrant cites a “July 2016 article in an identified news organization” claiming that Trump’s campaign “worked behind the scenes to make sure” the GOP “platform would not call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all [the Republican Party’s] foreign policy leaders.” (Read more from “Revealed: FBI Used Left-Wing Conspiracy Theory to Spy on Trump Campaign Adviser” HERE)

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David Bossie: Russia Investigation – Declassify Records, Public Has a Right to the Whole Truth

By Fox News. Newly declassified footnotes from the Department of Justice Inspector General’s inflammatory report shed new light on the FBI’s disturbing handling of the Steele dossier, the campaign opposition research file against then-candidate Donald Trump.

The footnotes show the FBI was warned that some of the information compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele could have been part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

The report issued in December by Inspector General Michael Horowitz details how Steele put together his thoroughly debunked Russian dossier in the summer of 2016 and weaponized it for political gain. That dossier became the basis for surveillance against the Trump campaign. Horowitz ultimately found 17 “errors or omissions” in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance applications against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

The significant disclosure about the footnotes goes straight to one of the central questions of this four-year-long disgrace. Since the FBI was aware of the Russian disinformation campaign as it pertained to Steele’s work and knew Steele was working on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, why did they plow forward with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and the abusive FISA warrants targeting Page? (Read more from “David Bossie: Russia Investigation – Declassify Records, Public Has a Right to the Whole Truth” HERE)

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Trump Calls FBI Investigators in Russia Probe ‘Human Scum’

By The Hill. President Trump on Sunday lashed out at FBI leadership over the origins of the investigation into Russia’s election interference, calling investigators who led the probe “human scum.”

Trump made the remarks during a White House briefing after being asked about a pair of his former associates who were sentenced to prison following charges stemming from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Asked whether he’d pardon Paul Manafort and Roger Stone so they wouldn’t be exposed to the coronavirus while in prison, Trump said, “You’ll find out.”

Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, was sentenced to prison last year following crimes uncovered by Mueller’s investigation. Stone, a longtime adviser to Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison in February for lying to Congress and witness tampering.

(Read more from “Trump Calls FBI Investigators in Russia Probe ‘Human Scum'” HERE)

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Pandemic Stretches Trump Image as Gutsy Decision-Maker to the Breaking Point

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By Washington Examiner. President Trump awoke Thursday morning to newspapers in Georgia reporting he had thrown plans for reopening its economy into “disarray,” as his efforts to balance getting the coronavirus under control with the need to get people back to work begin to raise questions about his decisiveness.

Trump has sought to cultivate an image as a confident, strong leader. Georgia is a state he carried in 2016 and hopes to win again in November. His presidential campaign four years ago was premised on his managerial prowess. As he deals with the biggest crisis of his presidency, supporters and critics alike are wondering whether he will follow his gut, which seems inclined to get an economy halted by widespread lockdowns moving again, or the advice of medical experts who counsel continued social distancing as the only way to curb the spread of the coronavirus. . .

These competing instincts came into focus as Trump disavowed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s efforts to reopen the state’s businesses. “I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree — strongly — with his decision to open certain facilities,” Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. “It’s just too soon. I think it’s too soon.”

But he also conveyed a sense of indecision: “I want him to do what he thinks is right,” Trump said of Kemp Wednesday. “But I disagree with him on what he’s doing.” . . .

The confusion was heightened by reports that Trump had initially held a supportive phone call with Kemp about his plans, and that experts on the federal coronavirus task force, led by Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci, changed his mind (White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied this Thursday night). Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican ally of the president, has also expressed concern that Georgia was moving too fast and tweeted in support of the White House. Trump emphasized that Kemp’s actions “are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia.” (Read more from “Pandemic Stretches Trump Image as Gutsy Decision-Maker to the Breaking Point” HERE)

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Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity

By Fox News. President Trump and public health officials argued on Thursday that higher temperatures and humidity, as well as direct exposure to sunlight, quickly kills the coronavirus, leading to hopes that the threat of the contagion could drastically recede during the summer months.

Bill Bryan, the head of the science and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, said that solar light along with high temperatures and humidity have a “powerful effect” of creating environments less favorable for the virus to survive.

A chart released by during the White House coronavirus task force by the DHS showed that the novel coronavirus dies within two minutes in hot summer humidity while on surfaces and a minute and a half while in the air.

“Coronavirus dies at a much more rapid pace when exposed to sunlight and humidity,” Bryan said during the White House briefing. “The virus dies the quickest in direct sunlight. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds.”

Bryan, however, warned that the results from a DHS study were still in the nascent stages and cautioned Americans to continue practicing social distancing and other hygiene measures outlined by the federal government. (Read more from “Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity” HERE)

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Supreme Court Rules Green Card Holding Immigrant Subject to Deportation

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The Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision against a permanent immigrant resident subject to deportation for multiple crimes.

In a 5-4 decision split along ideological lines on Thursday, the high court issued a ruling to broaden the scope of crimes that make immigrants, including green card holders, ineligible to have their deportation orders canceled.

The case, Barton v. Barr, involved the U.S. government ordering Jamaican immigrant Andre Martello Barton to be deported in 2016 for multiple crimes in Georgia, including firearms violations, drug crimes, and aggravated assault offenses. Barton, a permanent resident who holds a green card, applied for a cancellation of removal, which the attorney general is authorized to grant under U.S. law so long as an immigrant meets certain eligibility requirements.

One such requirement demands that immigrants reside within the United States for at least seven years after being granted any form of legal status. However, the residency requirement is subject to “stop-time rule,” which halts time accrued within the country should an immigrant commit a crime, making them “inadmissible.” The law was part of the immigration package signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. At the time, Clinton lauded the package as legislation that “strengthens the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system — without punishing those living in the United States legally.” . . .

“Removal is particularly difficult when it involves someone such as Barton who has spent most of his life in the United States,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the court’s majority opinion. “Congress made a choice, however, to authorize removal of noncitizens — even lawful permanent residents — who have committed certain serious crimes … the immigration laws enacted by Congress do not allow cancellation of removal when a lawful permanent resident has amassed a criminal record of this kind.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Rules Green Card Holding Immigrant Subject to Deportation” HERE)

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How China Could Have Made COVID-19 While Hiding Its Origin

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The coronavirus, COVID-19, which originated in China and is responsible for the global pandemic, has a unique structural feature that none of its closest viral relatives yet identified have, a furin polybasic cleavage site.

Cleavage sites similar to that found in COVID-19 are present in some naturally-occurring coronaviruses, but in completely separate evolutionary pathways from COVID-19.

It has also been demonstrated that such coronavirus cleavage sites can be modified by genetic engineering to alter viral pathogenicity, sometimes increasing it.

For example, in a 2011 study, using site-directed mutagenesis, a non-infective influenza virus was transformed into a pathogenic one by the replacement of two native amino acids in its cleavage site with two new basic amino acids.

Scientists in China have used site-directed mutagenesis to alter the cleavage site of an infectious bronchitis virus by introducing basic amino acids, thereby increasing its pathogenicity and resulting in a “gain of function” such that the new virus was capable of infecting the brain producing “severe encephalitis.”

An alternative method for introducing a polybasic cleavage site and producing a pathogenic virus from a naturally-occurring non-pathogenic one is by a technique called “reassortment” or mixing two or more viruses in a host animal or cell culture system from which a new virus emerges through a natural recombination process.

The scientific “conventional wisdom” claims that COVID-19 is a naturally-occurring bat beta-coronavirus that “jumped” from animals to humans presumably in the Wuhan Seafood Market, an assertion with which the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organisation wholeheartedly agree.

There is also general, if unproven, agreement within the scientific community that the closest relative to COVID-19, and perhaps the strain from which it evolved, is another bat beta-coronavirus named RaTG13.

But RaTG13 does not have COVID-19’s furin polybasic cleavage site nor do any of the other close relatives that have been so far identified.

One of the main reasons we do not yet know the origin of COVID-19 is because China has not opened its research files and databases for inspection, sources containing information about the vast number of coronaviruses they have isolated and the experiments conducted on them.

One example is RaBtCoV/4991 (GenBank KP876546), which is one of the many bat coronaviruses isolated from an abandoned mineshaft in Yunnan Province, often mentioned as a potential starting point for a human disease outbreak.

Although isolated in 2013, RaBtCoV/4991 has never been fully sequenced or practically studied at all, even though, according to one source, the RaBtCoV/4991 short sequence is a 100 per cent match for RaTG13 and SNU01, the viral isolate from the first COVID-19 patient in South Korea.

Applying the bioengineering techniques of recombination, site-directed mutagenesis and reassortment, CoVid-19 could have been created through the introduction of a furin polybasic cleavage site onto an appropriate coronavirus “backbone” from the catalogue of isolated strains in Chinese laboratories.

China also has animal models to test the ability of such new viruses to infect humans.

It is only the lack of candour by the Chinese government that prevents the world from knowing the true origin of COVID-19. (For more from the author of “How China Could Have Made COVID-19 While Hiding Its Origin” please click HERE)

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Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, who previously worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and conducted basic and clinical research in the pharmaceutical industry. His email address is [email protected].

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Vietnam Alleged to Have Hacked Chinese Organizations in Charge of COVID-19 Response

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Hackers working on behalf of the Vietnamese government attempted to break into Chinese organizations heading up the country’s coronavirus response, according to infosec outfit FireEye.

APT32, a hacking group previously linked to the Vietnamese government, tried to access the personal and professional email addresses of staff at China’s Ministry of Emergency Management and the government of Wuhan, where it is believed the pandemic started, according to a report released by FireEye yesterday.

Between January and April, APT32 sent Chinese officials phishing emails that contained a tracking link claiming to direct the reader to a report on office equipment bids. When clicked, the link would report back to the hackers, indicating that they the trigger-happy user was vulnerable to malware. . .

Tensions between Vietnam and China are high, as the former nation this week protested the latter’s extension of its domestic administration units to cover disputed islands in the South China Sea. (Read more from “Vietnam Alleged to Have Hacked Chinese Organizations in Charge of COVID-19 Response” HERE)

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Bernie Sanders’ Press Secretary Hints That Biden May Be Replaced as the Nominee

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Briahna Joy Gray has spent the past year waging war on behalf of Bernie Sanders—and now she’s shifted her focus to attacking Joe Biden. At a moment when Democrats are calling for unity around the former vice president, Gray is an outlier, someone her critics accuse of inadvertently aiding Donald Trump now that Sanders is out of the Democratic-primary race. . .

Gray: The Democratic Party would like us to believe that’s the case, and they behaved that way even before Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race. But we are, in fact, still in a Democratic-primary season. Biden is only the presumptive nominee. . .

And there’s all kinds of whispers and rumors about whether or not something might happen at the convention, which might mean Joe Biden isn’t even the nominee.

Green: Are you talking about the Tara Reade allegations?

[Emma] Gray: There’s a lot of reasons why Democrats might want to substitute a different person for Joe Biden as the nominee. The Tara Reade allegation has been handled abysmally by the press. If anyone looks at this closely, then they will see reason for concern.

(Read more from “Bernie Sanders’ Press Secretary Hints That Biden May Be Replaced as the Nominee” HERE)

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Dems Plan Censure of Lawmaker for Praising President Trump

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A Democratic Michigan state lawmaker who credited President Donald Trump with saving her life because he promoted a treatment for COVID-19 is now facing censure from her own party for praising the president and criticizing the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. . .

When State Rep. Karen Whitsett (D) began suffering from scary symptoms like shortness of breath after falling ill with the coronavirus, she asked her doctor to prescribe hydroxychloroquine because she saw President Trump tout the drug as a possible treatment. Whitsett says it saved her life.

The Detroit Democrat even went to the White House to meet with the president and to personally thank him. She told President Trump that were it not for him talking about the drug to the American people, “I wouldn’t be here today.”

Yet, the Democrats aren’t just angry that Whitsett praised President Trump. She also dared to criticize Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying the governor’s widely-criticized stay-at-home orders hurt the poor who cannot afford to stock up on groceries on a weekly basis in accordance with Whitmer’s dictates.

(Read more from “Dems Plan Censure of Lawmaker for Praising President Trump” HERE)

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Eerie: Chinese Journalist Who Disappeared for Weeks After Reporting on the Cover-Up Resurfaces in Video PRAISING Police; U.S. Scientists Not Allowed Into China to Investigate Coronavirus Origins

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By The Blaze. A Chinese citizen journalist who went missing for nearly two months after exposing the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan has resurfaced in a video praising police for its “civil” and “legal” treatment of him.

Li Zehua, 25, was one of several citizen journalists who went missing in Wuhan after refusing to stay silent about the virus. He was previously last seen on Feb. 26 when he documented his own arrest. After being cut off on the road by a white SUV, Li uploaded a video of him calling a friend to explain the situation and then later started a livestream that ended when two agents entered his apartment.

In the new video, uploaded Wednesday, Li claims that he was arrested by police and subsequently forced to quarantine for several weeks due to his possible exposure to the virus by visiting “sensitive epidemic areas,” according to a translation of the video by the Guardian. . .

“Throughout the whole time, the police acted civilly and legally, making sure I had rest and food. They really cared about me,” he said, adding that he was finally released on March 28 and since then has been spending time with his family. (Read more from “Eerie: Chinese Journalist Who Disappeared for Weeks After Reporting on the Coronavirus Cover-Up Resurfaces in Video PRAISING Police” HERE)

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U.S. Scientists Not Allowed Into China to Investigate Coronavirus Origins, Mike Pompeo Says

By Newsweek. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused China of not allowing American scientists to visit the country and investigate the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, delivering yet another attack on Beijing’s handling of the crisis.

Pompeo told Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday that China is not allowing “the transparency and openness we need” regarding the pandemic, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has now spread worldwide.

Pompeo has been among the most vocal critics of China over COVID-19, echoing President Donald Trump’s attacks on Beijing and peddling a conspiracy theory suggesting the virus’ may have originated in a scientific research lab in Wuhan. There is currently no evidence to support the theory, but this has not stopped Pompeo and Trump from alluding to it.

Pompeo told host Laura Ingraham: “Even today, the Chinese government hasn’t permitted American scientists to go into China, to go into not only the Wuhan lab but wherever it needs to go to learn about this virus, to learn about its origins.” (Read more from “U.S. Scientists Not Allowed Into China to Investigate Coronavirus Origins, Mike Pompeo Says” HERE)

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Pelosi: Next Stimulus Will ‘Enable the American People to Vote by Mail’; Pelosi Accuses McConnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds

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By Breitbart. Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said a “chunk of money” will be designated in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to enable the American people to vote by mail. . .

She added, “No matter what the president says, it cannot be denied. But it takes us to the next step. They have also told us 24/7 the Russians are still at work trying to undermine our election. That is why we have to have an important chunk of money in this next bill that will enable us to protect the integrity of our elections, as well as enable the American people to vote by mail, especially at this time of a health danger in going to the polls.”

She concluded, “This is the lifeblood of our democracy, the vote. So here we are trying to protect the lives of American people, the livelihoods of the American people, and also the life of our democracy. That is what we are going to do in the next bill as well.” (Read more from “Pelosi: Next Stimulus Will ‘Enable the American People to Vote by Mail’” HERE)

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Pelosi Accuses McConnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds

By Fox News. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back hard against ongoing criticism from Republicans that she was responsible for the Paycheck Protection Program running out of money and for holding up legislation to replenish the popular small business loan program.

“I want to correct that record,” Pelosi said Thursday on the House floor, “because nothing could be further from the truth.”

“To say we delayed this, no, you delayed this,” Pelosi said, directing her ire at the Republicans and singling out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Pelosi spoke on the House floor before a vote on a bipartisan $484 billion package to replenish the small business loan program that ran dry last week and to direct $100 billion for hospitals and testing. The relief package passed the Senate Tuesday by a voice vote.

Pelosi took aim at McConnell, R-Ky., for initially blocking money for hospitals that Democrats wanted and for recently saying he’ll resist additional funding for state and local governments whose tax coffers are running dry during the pandemic. (Read more from “Pelosi Accuses Mcconnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds” HERE)

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