Today's News: May 27, 2020

World News

Thousands Take Streets in Ecuador Against Coronavirus Budget Cuts

Breitbart – Thousands of people across cities in Ecuador defied Chinese coronavirus social distancing advice on Monday to protest against economic cuts passed by President Lenin Moreno aimed at tackling the crisis.

Last week, Moreno announced aggressive public spending cuts including the closure of state companies and embassies around the world. The move infuriated leftist trade unions, who complain that they are paying for the austerity rather than Ecuador’s elite.

He also confirmed the liquidation of the TAME airline, a state-run carrier that has lost over $400 million in the last five years. Public sector working hours have been reduced by 25 percent and civil servants are facing a hefty 16 percent pay cut. Around 150,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the lockdown. The government claims the current cost to the economy stands at $8 billion.

Around 2,000 people marched in the capital Quito, waving flags and banners and shouting anti-government slogans calling for a restoration of the education budget and opposition to police repression. Demonstrations also took place in other major cities, including Guayaquil, the epicenter of Ecuador’s coronavirus outbreak, where union leaders claimed that hundreds marched through the city.

“If the coronavirus doesn’t kill us, the government will,” one trader union leader in Guayaquil told Reuters news agency.

Italy: 96% of Coronavirus Fatalities Had Other Chronic Illnesses

Breitbart – The overwhelming majority of deaths with coronavirus in Italy have occurred in the presence of two or more serious chronic illnesses, according to a report from the country’s national health authority (ISS).

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Arizona Poll: Biden 47, Trump 45 — Voters Blame POTUS More than China for Pandemic

Breitbart – A newly-released Arizona poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden holds a slim lead over President Donald Trump for November’s presidential election in the swing state.

Epstein Lawyer: ‘It Was Homicide, But I Don’t Know Who Killed Him’

Infowars – Jeffrey Epstein’s lead attorney says that he knows the billionaire pedophile was murdered in prison, but does not know who the killer/s is/are, noting that Epstein was ‘upbeat and excited’ about going to the courts in an attempt to clear his name.

Epstein’s lawyer David Schoen made the comments in a Discovery documentary series about the disgraced multi-millionaire, revealing that the financier was preparing to reveal key information at trial.

Schoen is adamant that Epstein was not suicidal, noting “At one point a prison psychiatrist came in and asked me to leave so she could talk to Epstein on his own. They talked for five minutes and he seemed relaxed. He was smiling as she left.”

“He had plans to really fight this case. He’d made arrangements to hire me.” Schoen added.

In the three part documentary, titled Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?, Schoen also said he was very concerned about Nicholas Tartaglione, a huge former cop, charged with four murders, who was initially sharing a cell with Epstein during his first alleged suicide attempt.

“The first incident that happened which the newspapers reported as a possible suicide attempt, Epstein didn’t want to discuss any further. He told the prison officers he couldn’t remember what happened, he didn’t want to answer any more questions,” Schoen said.

“Look, he was in a dangerous situation. He’s a very wealthy guy accused of sex offences stuck in with a guy accused of four murders.” the lawyer added.

“First of all he shouldn’t have been locked up in the general population, that’s reprehensible… He’d have guys who watch the nightly news on the prison TV and say to him, $70 million mansion, huh?” Schoen proclaimed.

“I’ve been through this with other clients and I told him to keep him an eye on this and tell me if anyone was extorting him.” the lawyer said.

Schoen also said that he was disappointed that Epstein’s ‘powerful friends’ kept their distance after his arrest.

No 4th of July Parades in Washington D.C., Mayor Says

Sputnik – The US capital’s city government will not allow Fourth of July parades during phase one of the economic reopening, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.

“We will not be issuing any permits for parades in Phase One of recovery plan”, Bowser said during a press briefing on Tuesday when asked whether parade activities will be suspended during Independence Day.

The US capital expects to start a gradual reopening of the economy beginning 29 May, Bowser added, assuming the COVID-19 case count does not spike again. This will include easing of limitations for restaurants and some other businesses, she added.

The New York Times reported earlier in the month that President Donald Trump wanted to hold a “Salute to America” parade on 4th July. The US president reportedly promised that all attendees would be six feet apart.

On Thursday, several Democratic lawmakers sent a letter calling on the Pentagon to ignore Trump’s instructions.

“Members of Congress representing the national capital region strongly oppose Trump’s plans to hold another large military parade in Washington DC on July Fourth as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the area hard”, Congressman Donald Beyer said in a tweet with a letter to Defence Secretary Mark Esper attached.

Science & Technology

Donald Trump Threatens Regulation or Shutdown of Social Media Companies

Breitbart- President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned social media companies to stop silencing conservatives on their platforms or face a stiff penalty.

“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices,” he wrote. “We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.”

The president said that despite attempts by tech companies to stop him from winning in 2016, he still won but warned that the companies would try again in 2020.

“We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that happen again,” he wrote.

Trump commented on social media companies after Twitter on Tuesday branded one of his tweets warning about vote-by-mail fraud with a fact check.

“Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win,” Trump wrote. “Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!”

COVID Symptoms of Power: Tech Billionaires Harvest Humanity

Mercola – ill Gates, Eric Schmidt and other billionaires are cashing in big from the COVID-19 pandemic, in a variety of different ways

The COVID-19 pandemic is being used to usher in highly controversial changes that are unmistakably totalitarian-building, including the private take-over of government through public-private partnerships

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is partnering with Gates to reinvent the state’s post-COVID reality, with an emphasis on permanently integrating technology into every aspect of civic life

New York is also partnering with Google. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is leading a new panel to plan the state’s technological infrastructure

Partners in Health — the group selected by Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing — is funded by Gates and one of the richest men in the world, George Soros. Chelsey Clinton sits is on the board of trustees, and one of its co-founders, Jim Kim, is also president of the World Bank

Twitter Slaps ‘Fact Check’ Censor On Trump Tweet About ‘Rigged Election’

Inowars – President Trump warned Tuesday that the election will be ‘rigged’ by Democrats using the pandemic to justify mail-in voting, and Twitter slapped a ‘fact check’ label on the post.

“There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent,” Trump tweeted.

“This will be a Rigged Election. No way!” the president proclaimed.

Trump cited California’s governor Gavin Newsom signing an executive order to ensure all voters will receive mail ballots for the election in November.

“Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged and even illegally printed out and fraudulently signed,” Trump urged.

Lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to block the move by The Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and the California Republican Party.

They contend that the move to an all mail in vote system is unconstitutional.

Trump declared that Democrats will use the opportunity to lobby people into giving them their votes.

“That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote,” he asserted.

Trump’s tweet was subsequently ‘fact checked’ by Twitter, with the company putting a warning label below it stating “Get the facts about mail-in ballots,” with a link to a page that states “Trump falsely claimed that mail-in ballots would lead to ‘a Rigged Election.’ However, fact-checkers say there is no evidence that mail-in ballots are linked to voter fraud.”

Health

Covid-19, HIV Use Same Tactics to Evade Immune Systems – Chinese Researchers

RT – In rather worrying news, researchers in China are warning that similar characteristics and tactics used by both HIV and SARS-CoV-2 could mean that humanity will have to adapt to life with the coronavirus, perhaps indefinitely.

Both viruses remove markers, known as the major histocompatibility complex or MHC for short, on the surface of cells used by our immune systems to identify and kill infections. Think of these markers like a special forces team marking a target with a laser before a precision airstrike.

The researchers, led by virologist Zhang Hui at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, collected killer T cells, immune cells produced by people after they have overcome an infection, from five recovered Covid-19 patients.

What Is Coconut Sugar? Here’s The Deal On This Cane Sugar Alternative

MBG – What is coconut sugar?

Made from the sap of the coconut palm tree, coconut sugar resembles brown, granulated sugar. For the most part, it tastes similar to brown sugar too—it’s sweet for sure but has more of a caramel taste than a coconutty one. The brown color indicates the coconut sugar is unrefined and unprocessed, unlike white cane sugar. Some research suggests coconut sugar could be a more nutritious choice when it comes to sweeteners, and some argue the sugar can fit into certain food plans, like the paleo or ketogenic diet.

“Coconut sugar is a natural sugar made from coconut palm sap,” says dietitian-nutritionist Dana K. Monsees, M.S., CNS, LDN. “It’s also referred to as coconut palm sugar or coconut palm sap in liquid form.” Technically, it’s quite similar to white sugar. “Calorie for calorie and gram for gram, coconut sugar is equivalent to classic white table sugar (15 calories, 4 grams sugar per teaspoon),” says registered dietitian Danielle Fineberg, M.S., R.D.

Is coconut sugar better than traditional sugar?

If the two are almost nutritionally identical, what’s the potential upside to using one over the other? “In the refining process of white sugar, it is stripped from all of its vitamins and minerals,” Fineberg explains. “Coconut sugar does not go through as rigorous a refining process; therefore, it contains trace amounts of minerals. That being said, you would need to eat a lot of sugar to receive any measurable benefits from those minerals.” Some of the minerals you will find in coconut sugar—albeit, in small amounts—include iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium, along with short-chain fatty acids.

The nutritional stats don’t seem to indicate much of a difference between coconut sugar and regular cane sugar, but are their benefits on any other level? “Coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index (GI) than cane sugar or even maple sugar,” says New York City–based holistic nurse practitioner Victoria Albina, N.P., MPH. “Foods with a lower GI are more slowly absorbed, thereby reducing the health-damaging insulin spike.”

To Albina’s point, research indicates that the GI value of coconut sugar is 35 ± 4, while white cane sugar (sucrose) is 65 ± 4. Researchers believe this lower value may make coconut sugar a more appealing option for people with diabetes or those seeking out a sweetener that doesn’t drastically affect their glucose levels. However, additional research is necessary.

Beyond the nutritional numbers, coconut sugar may be a preferable choice for some for other reasons. “Coconut sugar is an alternative to cane sugar, tends to not be genetically modified, and is usually not bleached,” Albina says. “Another benefit to coconut sugar is that it is a more environmentally sustainable choice than palm sugar or cane sugar.”