Source: Business Insider

Sweden's prime minister has ordered an inquiry into the country's decision not to impose a coronavirus lockdown after the country suffered thousands more deaths than its closest neighbours.

"We have thousands of dead," Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven said at a press conference on Wednesday, while admitting that the country's handling had exposed Sweden's "shortcomings," The Times of London reported.

"Now the question is how Sweden should change, not if."

Unlike most other European countries, including its closest neighbours, Sweden did not implement strict, wholesale lockdown measures in response to the pandemic. Instead, the country has largely allowed businesses and hospitality to remain open and students to attend school.



Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-opens-inquiry-into-coronavirus-strategy-of-no-lockdown-2020-7?r=US&IR=T

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Please raise your hand if you predicted this.

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Looks like Phil knows how to bust his chops.


https://twitter.com/PhilArballo2020/status/1276019496822509568

Source: NBC News

There is no evidence yet that the wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. sparked COVID-19 outbreaks in the more than three weeks since they began, according to a study published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Rather, as the protests went on, people who were not participating increasingly stayed at home, possibly counteracting any effects the large gatherings may have had on the spread of the virus, the researchers concluded.

The paper, which was posted online and is not yet peer reviewed, looked at data from 315 cities across the country. Of those, 281 cities had protests and 34 did not.In
...
New York City, health officials have not seen a recent spike in emergency room visits or hospitalizations, according to a statement from Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the city’s health commissioner. Still, she added: "Staying inside is the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you do go out, our message is to wear face coverings; be diligent about washing hands; and certainly, when at all possible, maintain 6 feet of distance from your fellow New Yorkers.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/black-lives-matter-protests-haven-t-led-covid-19-spikes-n1232045

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The vast majority of protestors did in fact wear masks, which probably helped keep the numbers down, unlike my maskless Republican neighbors here in Orange County, CA, which is seeing a huge spike in Covid-19 cases despite little if any BLM protests in the county. Compare that to New York, which had large protests yet no spike.

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1272239081444040705

The Atlanta Police Officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks has been terminated, Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos tells CNN.

A second Atlanta police officer involved in the Rayshard Brooks case has been placed on administrative duty.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-06-13-20/index.html

Trump pulls back a young woman towards him on stage and forces her to kiss him:

https://twitter.com/vjheath/status/1271869319257812992

This is a story from 2014, that shows what happens to cops who intervene:

In Buffalo, New York a former police officer is fighting for her pension after being fired from the city's police department for interfering with another officer she claims was abusing an arrested suspect. Cariol Horne was fired from the force in 2006 and charged with obstructing another cop during an arrest over a domestic dispute, ABC 7 reported last week. 

Horne claims that fellow Buffalo officer Gregory Kwiatkowski was abusing a suspect who had already been placed under arrest in handcuffs. "He was handcuffed in the front and he was sideways and being punched in the face by Gregory Kwiatkowski," explained Horne. Horne said she intervened when she saw Kwiatowski begin to choke the man. "I'm like, 'Greg! You're choking him,' because I thought whatever happened in the house he was still upset about so when he didn't stop choking him I just grabbed his arm from around Neal Mack's neck," said Horne.

ABC reported that Kwiatkowski then turned and punched Horne in the face. She said she needed the bridge of her nose replaced after the blow. The obstruction charge against Horne stated that she "jump[ed] on officer Kwiatkowski's back and/or [struck] him with her hands." However, in his own testimony, Kwiatkowski said, "she never got on top of me."
...
Meanwhile, ABC noted that Kwiatkowski later was forced into retirement following two separate incidents, one in which he punched another officer while off duty, another in which he choked a fellow officer while on the clock. In May of this year, he was indicted, along with two other officers, on charges of federal civil rights violations towards black teen suspects.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvaqa3/buffalo-cop-loses-job-and-pension-after-she-intervenes-with-fellow-officer-choking-a-suspect?fbclid=IwAR3Ik-paTlQlkDCbIupajaYr67j9eecKza4LuxvnBolka6UOiz82r3HgpJs


She never got her job back or her pension. Lawmakers are now looking into it, hopefully she'll get her pension for her 19 years of service. https://buffalonews.com/2020/06/09/buffalo-lawmakers-reexamine-police-use-of-force-policy-cariol-hornes-pension/

The United States, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom contain just 7.5% of the world’s population — and two-thirds of its coronavirus death toll. 
...
Last month, the World Bank reported that developing countries make up 85% of the global population but account for just 21% of COVID-19 deaths. In late May, the entire region of West Africa — which has a greater population than the United States — had recorded just 654 COVID-19 deaths, a figure some Western countries were racking up every day.
...
In January, while Trump was assuring Americans that the few known cases would soon fall to zero, Senegal was closing its borders, initiating contact tracing and committing to provide a hospital bed to every COVID-19 patient. In February, as Western European leaders allowed the virus to spread at mass gatherings, Mongolia canceled its national lunar new year celebrations and set up a task force with more than 800 staff members. 

And in March, as the United States distributed meager social benefits and bailed out corporations, the Cook Islands, a small country with incomes roughly on par with Sri Lanka, devised a welfare package worth 11% of its gross domestic product that included cash payments to older adults and a three-month waiver of electricity bills for every household. 
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5edaa785c5b6dc3de7b94546

Source: Associated Press

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was confident New Zealand had halted the spread of the virus but it still must be prepared for more.

Experts say a number of factors have helped New Zealand wipe out the disease. Its isolated location in the South Pacific gave it vital time to see the devastating spread of the virus in other countries. Ardern also acted decisively by imposing a strict lockdown early in the outbreak.

She said her government’s focus will be on the country’s borders, where isolation and quarantine will continue.

Just over 1,500 people contracted the virus in New Zealand, including 22 who died.



Read more: https://apnews.com/9503e13b40d8815e107e9891da1bfdcb

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New Zealand has a competent leader.