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Tuesday, 5 May 2020

Global headlines - 4 May, 2020

News Links, May 5, 2020

GM Korea to cut output of key SUV as virus hits U.S. exports: document
Payday Lenders Are Charging Up to 780% Interest Amid Coronavirus Panic

## Airline death spiral ##

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##

## Energy/resources ##
Oil flows spell deep depression

• Coronavirus
Japan sending Fujifilm's flu drug favipiravir to over 40 countries for Covid-19 trials
Chinese researchers said Fujifilm's flu drug favipiravir (Avigan) was "clearly effective" in treating Covid-19.
Total coronavirus cases in Brazil rise above 100,000

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
North Korea defectors criticised over speculation Kim was ill or dead
Anatomy of a fake news campaign: Media spreads lie from US govt-funded Korean outlet that Kim Jong-un died
Corporate media outlets spread fake news claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had died. The lie originated with a Seoul-based website funded by the US government's regime-change arm the NED.
Cellphone monitoring is spreading with the coronavirus. So is an uneasy tolerance of surveillance.
Assange's U.S. extradition case to resume in September, London court rules

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
As Death Toll Increases Blame China Campaign Intensifies
The Trump administration will continue its efforts to blame China for the novel Coronavirus because the epidemic situation in U.S. will soon become worse.
OPCW Insiders Denounce Latest Syria Report
With America meddling in the affairs of countries around the world, it's impossible to overlook the irony. -- RF

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Normal Was Killing Us
But rest assured that governments will spare no effort or expense in a desperate attempt to bring back the old normal. -- RF
For a growing number of Chinese like Tang, hit by job losses, furloughs and salary cuts, the consumer economy has begun to spin in reverse. They are no longer buying - they are selling.
COVID-19: Complicit in Millions of Deaths Since 1945, UK Govt Won't Face Justice Over Virus
Britain's unwritten constitution is still permeated by the medieval concept of Crown immunity. It deems ministers can't break the law and act not as persons but agents of the Crown.
City ends face-mask rule for shoppers after store employees are threatened
The mayor of an Oklahoma city amended an emergency declaration requiring customers to wear face masks while inside businesses after store employees were threatened with violence.
Americans need to sit up and pay attention to what's going on here because the U.S. Treasury has committed $75 billion of taxpayers' money to support this program under the illusion that it's going to mom and pop operations on a typical Main Street in America.
And finally...


News Links, May 4, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
European Banks Reveal Scale & Complexity of Crisis. Shares Hammered Back to 1987 Level
They haven't gotten over Financial Crisis 1 and the Euro Debt Crisis. Now there's a new crisis. Deutsche Bank's CEO going on TV to soothe nerves didn't help matters.
Why Assets Will Crash
This is how it happens that boats that were once worth tens of thousands of dollars are set adrift by owners who can no longer afford to pay slip fees.


## Airline death spiral ##
Every added layer of cost becomes an additional drag on the system. -- RF
What could go wrong? As it turns out, pretty much everything.
Seriously, would it be OK for people from Venezuela (or any other country) to try the same thing in the US in order to "liberate Americans from Trump's rule"? Of course not, because that would be a matter for Americans to decide. -- RF
Trump's threat to Iran has a hollow ring
Ongoing anti-Tehran rhetoric looks to be a distraction from the failure to tackle Covid-19 competently
Groundhog Day: Juan Guaidó Is Trying to Overthrow the Venezuelan Government Again
One year since his audacious coup attempt failed spectacularly, Guaidó is once again trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro.

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Amazon, Target, Instacart workers stage U.S. protests on May Day

## Energy/resources ##
Chevron Doesn't Plan To Exit Venezuela
Don't wait until the last minute. -- RF
The number of reported coronavirus cases at a Tyson Food plant in Indiana soared to nearly 900 this week as fears of a potential collapse in the meat and agriculture supply chains amid the coronavirus pandemic.

## Environment/health ##
A new study by researchers from the Martin Luther Universitat in Halle-Wittenberg made the shocking discovery that delivery drones will use 10 times more energy than standard delivery vans.
• Coronavirus

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
India makes government tracing app mandatory for all workers
In stigmatized city, calls grow to abolish term 'Wuhan virus'
Residents here who have for decades suffered the stigma of having a disease named after their city are urging politicians to stop saying the "Wuhan virus" in the current pandemic.
Almost a fifth of UK homes with children go hungry in lockdown
New data shows families go without as parents lose income, meal voucher scheme is beset with problems and food banks can't cope

## US ##
There is also a backlog so numbers would be higher
• Coronavirus
Health official says US missed some chances to slow virus
The U.S. government was slow to understand how much coronavirus was spreading from Europe, which helped drive the acceleration of outbreaks across the nation, a top health official said Friday.

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