By Ethel C. Fenig

While presidential wannabe Senator Bernie Sanders (supposedly an Independent from Vermont but really a socialist/communist who caucuses with and is allowed to run as a Democrat for president), Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (also a socialist-communist Democrat-NY) and others rhapsodize about “free” government health care for all, they neglect to mention some harsh realities of such a system that the New York Times (accidentally?) let slip Friday. 

U.K. Backs Off Medical Rationing Plan as Coronavirus Rages

LONDON — Denying lifesaving care to conserve public resources is nothing new for Britain’s National Health Service.

In expensive treatments for cancer and other diseases, the health service officially limits what it will spend to postpone a death: 30,000 pounds, or about $37,000, for each year of full “quality” life provided to a patient.

In the case of a pandemic, the public guidance from health officials for more than a decade has been that doctors should prepare to withhold scarce resources from the weakest patients in order to save more of the strong, especially with the use of life-sustaining ventilators.

Yet now that a pandemic has finally arrived, the health authorities this week balked at spelling out exactly how to make those agonizing choices, evidently for fear of a public uproar.

Wait!  What?  It is more important “to conserve public resources” than “to postpone a death”; a year of “full ‘quality’ life shouldn’t cost more than $37,000”?  What defines quality?  Does confinement to a wheelchair for an otherwise fairly healthy 75 year old reduce life quality if afflicted by Wuhan coronavirus? 

“Everyone matters equally, but this does not mean that everyone is treated the same,” the health department declared in ethical guidance formulated after the H1N1, or swine flu, pandemic in 2009.

Oh.  As George Orwell wrote over 70 years ago in his satire on Communism, Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Advocates for the aged warn that older but physically healthy patients may suffer unfairly if doctors use age as a stand-in for resilience, and that decision-making may vary from one hospital to another. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity or other health risks might all be counted differently.

Ethicists warn that the poor would probably suffer disproportionately because they are more likely to have pre-existing health problems.

Undoubtedly the almost 56 year old Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will be treated more equally than other British citizens, public resources be damned, during his (hopefully) short stay in the ICU after he was hospitalized in intensive care for Wuhan coronavirus.

What about the other middle-aged coronavirus sufferers in England? Or older ones?  Does the country have enough public resources to avoid extreme medical care rationing?  And what about those who need other medical care in the time of a pandemic?  Even a month and a half ago British doctors warned:

“We barely coped with a standard winter – which helpfully had an early flu spike, so everything didn’t hit at once – the idea that we can cope with a pandemic is nonsense.”

[One doctor] explained his own hospital plans included cancelling elective operations for things like hip and knee surgeries while taking over theatres and recovery areas to put ventilated patients adding the trust would “drop staffing ratios as low as we dare”.

Paging Senator Sanders, Rep Ocasio-Cortez for answers.  

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/04/socialized_medicine_in_action_in_great_britain.html#ixzz6IvQaqxp8

Tens of millions of face masks that could have been used to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were destroyed in Belgium starting in 2015. The reason? They needed more room for migrants.

Maggie De Block, who is both Minister of Social Affairs and Health as well as for Asylum and Migration, has acknowledged that face masks were indeed destroyed, but she claimed that this was because they had already passed their expiration date and were no longer in usable condition.

But Marc Caekebeke, an Army adjutant who had been in charge of the stockpile, says that this is only partially true, according to a report by SCEPTR. The main reason they were destroyed was to make more facilities available for incoming migrants.

“That is not correct,” Caekebeke said in response to De Block’s assertion, according to a report by DeMorgen. “The warehouses were dry and closed. The boxes were not affected. The stock was in excellent condition.”

Virologist Marc Van Ranst acknowledged that the expiration date on the masks had passed, but explained that the date “mainly applies to the rubber band. We could indeed no longer have used them in hospitals, but they would have been very useful for the police, among others, today.”

63 million masks were ordered destroyed by the Belgian authorities between 2015 and 2018.

What is perhaps most striking, however, is the reason why the masks were destroyed. Caekebeke claims it was because they needed the warehouses where the masks were being stored to house migrants. According to the SCEPTR report, he explained:

It’s true that they were past their date. I believe the first masks that were destroyed in 2015 had an expiration date in 2010. The last pieces destroyed in 2018 had expired in 2015. But I think the main reason was lack of space. In 2015, the government decided that the Red Cross should use some of the buildings to receive refugees. More room had to be made. I certainly do not want to use this as a stone to throw at the aid organization or anyone else.

Even at the time, some wondered why a better use couldn’t be found for the masks other than simply throwing them away. Caekebeke recalls that a high-ranking physician had commented, “Why don’t we give these masks to Africa? They can always use something like that.”

The struggle over masks and other medical equipment has become a free-for-all as governments around the world scramble to obtain the limited supplies for themselves. Belgium in particular has a severe mask shortage. De Block was ordering masks for migrant centers in February while still telling the public that they weren’t necessary. De Block placed an emergency order for masks from Turkey last month which was paid for but then never delivered, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.

voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/belgium-face-masks-destroyed-to-make-room-for-migrants/

A 31-year-old African migrant was arrested by Dachau police officers for sexually assaulting and threatening a 15-year-old German girl last week, but the assault sparked further outrage after the Munich police department posted a stock photo of a white male to describe the crime.

According to the police report, the teenage girl said the African male first spoke to her at the Dachau train station at 10 p.m on a train headed for Munich.

After becoming uncomfortable with the encounter, she fled to another part of the train, prompting the Eritrean male to follow her. After sitting next to her, he began stroking her legs and tried to kiss her in her genital area.

She tried to flee again, but he grabbed her and reached under her T-shirt and pants.

She struggled free again, but he told her at the Röhrmoos S-Bahn stop that she should get out with him and threatened her. He then tried to grab her arm and took her cell phone.

When she refused to go with him, he threw her cell phone back on the train and fled from the scene. The girl then ran to another part of the train where another man helped her.

The good Samaritan got out with the 15-year-old at the Vierkirchen station and informed the police what occurred. In the vicinity of the Röhrmoos train station, Dauchau police officers apprehended the 31-year-old Eritrean suspect who lives in the Dachau district.

The federal police are investigating the Eritrean for sexual harassment and threats. The 15-year-old girl identified the suspect by sight after he was in custody.

Social media users express outrage of Munich police using white male in “symbolic” photo

The Munich police report and a subsequent post from Bavaria’s police department on Twitter sparked outrage from social media users over the police department’s choice of a photo.

One Twitter user said the photo simply did not reflect reality and police should have simply used a photo of an empty train. “It would clearly have been better to show another picture without people – maybe an empty wagon inside or a train outside. This “symbolic” image does not correspond to the long-term reality of sexual assault in the country and has misleading framing,” Twitter user @3epnm wrote.
 “Very nice photo illustrating harassment of a woman by someone from Eritrea!” wrote another user. 
 Daniela N. wrote, “Something is wrong with this stock image. But I can’t figure out what”. Some users pointed to the outrage that would have followed if the police chosen a stock photo of a black male for a crime perpetrated by a white male. “Clear case of racist whitefacing,” wrote one Twitter user. “I am missing diversity in the stock photo they chose,” wrote @Joe_Mei.

In response to the comments posted on Twitter regarding police using a white male for its crime report, the Bavarian police commented on the thread, saying they would discuss the matter internally.”Thank you for the numerous comments. We will discuss your comments and opinions internally,” the Bavarian police department commented.

rmx.news/article/article/african-migrant-sexually-assaults-german-teenager-munich-police-use-symbol-photo-of-white-male

Some migrants to Germany express gratitude for all they have received from the German government despite illegally entering the country and imposing themselves on the German Taxpayer.

Olaf Latzel (52 y/o) is a campaigner for the faith. The pastor of the St. Martini parish always has a crowded church for his controversial Sunday sermons. During the Corona crisis, at least 10,000 followers switch to his digital church services via telephone or Internet.

But especially in the left-wing scene the evangelical man of God is a source of controversy. For five weeks he has been massively stalked and attacked. Latzel: “Unknown persons have scratched my car on all sides. The display case and the church door have been smeared with left-wing symbols and hate slogans.” At the beginning of March, 50 leftist protesters disrupted a church service. They handed out fake forms in front of the church for an immediate leaving of the church. Latzel: “Many parishioners were afraid, felt threatened.”

And the terror continued. A full 10-liter yogurt bucket was thrown against the church door. A prankster ordered a car in the pastor’s name from a VW dealership. Especially bad: at Latzel’s digital live church services unknown hackers try to smuggle hate slogans and porn sites onto the homepage.

The preacher: “I wonder what would happen if our church was actually a mosque? We are defencelessly at the mercy of these hostilities. The police come quickly. But all proceedings have been dropped so far.”

https://www.bild.de/regional/bremen/bremen-aktuell/latzel-beschimpft-und-gestalkt-hass-attacken-auf-martini-pastor-69823986.bild.html?fbclid=IwAR3MD1JYuclU3SoO8HNNaH6T2giyiIgbEggC1hTeyH1MEPscJ2urCEcemwQ

Berlin’s Left-wing Mayor and Interior Secretary have both accused the Trump administration of “piracy” for allegedly “confiscating” 200.000 N95 masks ordered for Berlin police from 3M in China. When called out by the conservative opposition, the entire story turned out to be Fake News.

Berlin’s Interior Secretary Andreas Geisel confirmed his anti-American allegations to Left-wing Tagesspiegel newspaper, which ran with the story without waiting for independent confirmation or checking with US authorities.

“We regard this as an act of international piracy,” Geisel said.

“This is not how you treat your Transatlantic partners,” Geisel added while accusing Trump of employing “Wild West” methods.

Berlin’s Left wing-mayor Michael Müller then chimed in on the anti-American Trump-bashing, claiming “The US President’s actions are far from solidarity and responsibility. They are inhuman and unacceptable.”

Police commissioner Barbara Slowik told the Tagesspiegel they had ordered 400,000 N95 masks from a US manufacturer, 200,000 of which she claimed had been “confiscated” at Bangkok airport. “We have to assume this is a result of US export restrictions.”

City council leader Burkard Dregger (CDU) questioned the allegations, calling them “deliberately misleading”.

“The USA has no power to confiscate protective gear in a foreign country. The Senate is seeking a scapegoat to the pin the blame on for their own failure to stockpile enough protective equipment,” Dregger said.

The outrageous claim then began to fall apart almost immediately.

On Friday evening, manufacturer 3M told press agency dpa, they had “no record of an order for 3M masks from China by the Berlin police,” and “no indication that any 3M products were confiscated.” The White House similarly stated the US had not “confiscated” any PPE destined for abroad.

On Saturday, the Berlin Interior Department had to admit the order had been placed with the 3M affiliate in Germany, of which 200.000 masks had merely been delayed in Bangkok. The reason was unclear. The US government was not involved.

The Berlin Mayor or Interior secretary have yet to apologize. The US embassy protested on Twitter:

This isn’t the first time the German Left has tried to weaponize their hatred for Donald Trump during the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic.

In Mid-March, Angela Merkel’s flagship newspaper WELT accused President Donald Trump of trying to buy up German biotech company CureVac and secure a possible coronavirus serum “exclusively for the USA” – a story that turned out to be wholly fabricated.

US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has been vocal in protesting rampant anti-Americanism in German Media, and erected a statue of Ronald Reagan on the roof of the Berlin embassy when the Left-wing government refused to grant a site in the city. The Left-wing Berlin government also refused landing rights to US Air Force veterans commemorating the 70^th anniversary of the Berlin Blockade in June 2019, after the 90-year old-vets had flown their vintage aircraft across the Atlantic for the event.

voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/fake-news-leftist-berlin-mayor-falsely-accuses-trump-of-piracy-over-botched-order-of-n95-masks/

A top German intelligence official who earned the moniker “Mr. Hezbollah” has urged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, as well as the global community, to not let up on pressure targeting international and domestic terrorism.Gerhard Conrad, who formerly worked for the Federal Intelligence Service in the Arab world, told the paper Welt am Sonntag last week that the pressure must continue on terrorism structures, adding that “the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic on the stability of the countries concerned worldwide deserve special attention.”

His name is probably an alias due to his work as a top spy for the federal republic.Conrad earned the moniker “Mr. Hezbollah” within German intelligence circles because of his talks to secure prisoner swaps with the Lebanon-based Shi’ite terrorist group. He retired from espionage in November but continues training programs for intelligence officials.The two terrorist groups Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaida view the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to attack targets. In its al-Naba newsletter in mid-March, ISIS called on its terrorists to carry out attacks. Western countries, however, have not followed Conrad’s advice. France announced that it will withdraw stationed soldiers in Iraq. The German government is shaving its numbers of soldiers in Iraq.Conrad told the German paper that “The virus crisis poses a threat to the stability and security of many countries.”

The virus could weaken security structures and lead to strengthened terrorist networks, he added.Merkel has faced intense pressure from the US and Israel to ban the entire terrorist entity Hezbollah in Germany, where 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate. She has refused to outlaw the Lebanese Shi’ite entity within the borders of Germany.The former security coordinator for late chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government, Bernd Schmidbauer, told the paper: “I will write to Angela Merkel in the next few days and ask her to step up the activities of the security authorities.”Schmidbauer called for a change of strategy to conform the foreign security service to the coronavirus crisis. “All information related to the pandemic is now extremely important for Germany,” he said, adding that “the danger from extremists and terrorists who want to exploit such a situation for their own purposes is particularly great.”He cited the dangers of “networks in the Maghreb countries and in the Middle East. In addition, the virus crisis could result in a new wave of refugees to Europe.”Conrad said there should also be a focus on “disinformation campaigns” carried out by states in connection with the deadly virus.Germany’s domestic intelligence agency told the paper that one of its “priorities” is to monitor the coronavirus in its designated assignment areas. Conrad was accused of dropping his mediator’s neutrality in 2008 when he sealed a deal gaining the release of the bodies of two IDF reservists, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, for the freedom of five terrorists, including the child-murderer Samir Kuntar.The Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange process was also a controversial process for Conrad. Fox News reported in late 2009 that an Israeli source close to the Netanyahu government and the Schalit negotiations said that Conrad “seems to be more favorable to Hamas, possibly because of Germany’s economic ties with Iran, known to be Hamas’s financial and ideological backer.”In 2011, Schalit gained his freedom from his Hamas captors in exchange for Israel releasing 1,027 terrorists and prisoners.

https://www.jpost.com/International/German-spy-Mr-Hezbollah-urges-ongoing-pressure-on-terror-networks-623690

Christian Easter is cancelled in Germany, but the Muslim Ramadan is to take place as planned – so far. For example with a large-scale celebration, where about 50,000 Muslims will gather in Dortmund for three weeks to celebrate. Europe’s major Ramadan event in Europe with 50.000 visitors (!) will take place in the Westphalia Halls in Dortmund. Despite allegedly great dangers because of Corona virus and despite the fact that the churches were urged shortly before to cancel the Easter festival. And they have been intimidated, with very few notable exceptions. At least this is what the city of Dortmund said a few weeks ago.And up to the hour the festival is eagerly advertised, but a request to the organizer, who continues to announce the event, whether the event should continue, has remained unanswered so far. Also the city of Dortmund has received a press request from the internet portal PP, as soon as we get more information here, we will publish it here! The only concession to the contact and curfew, allegedly implemented for our safety, that the municipality has made so far: the whole thing does not take place in the open air, but in the halls.

philosophia-perennis.com/2020/04/05/corona-vorbei-ramadan-veranstaltung-mit-50-000-teilnehmern-in-dortmund-wird-nicht-abgesagt/