Jul 28

Today’s News 28th July 2021

  • Cuba's Embassy In Paris Damaged In Molotov Cocktail Attack
    Cuba’s Embassy In Paris Damaged In Molotov Cocktail Attack

    The Cuban Embassy in Paris has denounced as “terrorism” a Molotov cocktail attack Monday night, which it said caused significant damage.

    Noting that the overnight attack left no injuries to diplomatic staff or bystanders, an official statement pointed the finger at the United States, strangely enough, despite no suspects as yet being apprehended. 

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    The Foreign Ministry of Cuba published photos of what appeared the result of multiple Molotov cocktails thrown at the embassy to its official Twitter account showing the extent of the damage. It said a fire resulted, requiring French firefighters to respond to the scene and put out the blaze.

    Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the “terrorist attack” and went so far as to blame the US government, though perhaps implying ‘indirect’ responsibility related to recent widespread protests in Cuba against food and fuel shortages, and runaway inflation….

    He said the United States’ “continuous campaigns against our country that encourage these behaviors and for calls for violence, with impunity, from its territory”.

    France Cuba Embassy Attack aftermath, via AP

    Below is the full press note (via rush translation) issued by the Cuban Embassy in France: 

    During the night of July 26 to 27, the Embassy of Cuba in France was the object of a terrorist attack perpetrated by two individuals who threw three Molotov cocktails, causing a fire on the facade and the entrance of this Mission. Cuban diplomatic personnel were not injured, but material damage was noted.

    Terrorist acts like this are encouraged by the United States government campaigns against our country by inciting actions using violence. The Cuban Embassy strongly condemns this criminal and terrorist act perpetrated against the Cuban representation and diplomatic personnel credited in France.

    Subsequent photos released of the immediate aftermath of the arson attempt confirmed the building had briefly caught fire as a result of the attack…

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    Havana has also blamed continued and ratcheting American sanctions on the communist-run island for the current destabilization and ruined economy. Officials say US operatives are actively fueling anti-government protests in hopes of imposing regime change. 

    Biden has so far continued Trump’s hardline stance, which has even including banning Cuban-Americans from sending remittances to their relatives on the island. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 07/28/2021 – 02:45

  • Government Adviser Who Warned Of 200,000 COVID Cases A Day Faces Scrutiny After Dramatic Fall In UK Infections
    Government Adviser Who Warned Of 200,000 COVID Cases A Day Faces Scrutiny After Dramatic Fall In UK Infections

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

    Professor Neil Ferguson, the controversial epidemiologist who predicted there would be as many as 200,000 COVID cases a day in the UK if restrictions were lifted, is facing scrutiny after infections continued to drop for the 6th day in a row.

    The day before so-called ‘freedom day’ in England, where most mask mandates and social distancing restrictions were lifted, Ferguson was asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr where the country was heading as a result.

    “It’s very difficult to say for certain, but I think 100,000 cases a day is almost inevitable,” said Ferguson, adding, “The real question is do we get to double that or higher? We could get to 200,000 cases a day.”

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    The professor went on to warn of “major disruption” to the NHS and the interruption of elective surgeries.

    Ferguson is being proven wrong by the statistics once again, which today showed there were 24,950 new coronavirus cases, the sixth consecutive daily fall.

    “Lockdown zealots will attribute this decline to the vaccines, but that begs the question of why they weren’t confident the vaccines would prevent cases from surging when they predicted armageddon last Monday?” asks Toby Young.

    As Christopher Snowdon highlights, the scientists who claimed England’s unlocking represented “a threat to world” are also being proven spectacularly wrong. SAGE government advisers who claimed that relaxing restrictions was “a dangerous and unethical experiment” also face embarrassment.

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    The issue once again begs the question; Why does the government continue to follow advice given by arch-lockdown advocates who have got it wrong time and time again?

    Don’t forget that it was Ferguson who infamously warned that half a million Brits would die without a draconian lockdown, despite the fact that countries like Sweden which didn’t impose lockdown had similar waves and infection rates.

    Not only has Ferguson repeatedly proven himself to be totally unreliable (after having already disgraced himself during the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak), but he infamously betrayed what he really thought about the severity of the pandemic via his own behavior.

    During the first lockdown, when Ferguson himself was predicting up to half a million deaths, the professor took the threat of the virus so seriously, he allowed his mistress to violate the rules by traveling back and forth across London to continue the pair’s sordid affair.

    “It’s OK when we do it!”

    *  *  *

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 07/28/2021 – 02:00

  • Authoritarians Drunk On Power: It Is Time To Recalibrate The Government
    Authoritarians Drunk On Power: It Is Time To Recalibrate The Government

    Authored by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    “The executive power in our government is not the only, perhaps not even the principal, object of my solicitude. The tyranny of the legislature is really the danger most to be feared, and will continue to be so for many years to come. The tyranny of the executive power will come in its turn, but at a more distant period.”

    – Thomas Jefferson, Democracy in America

    It is time to recalibrate the government.

    For years now, we have suffered the injustices, cruelties, corruption and abuse of an entrenched government bureaucracy that has no regard for the Constitution or the rights of the citizenry.

    By “government,” I’m not referring to the highly partisan, two-party bureaucracy of the Republicans and Democrats. Rather, I’m referring to “government” with a capital “G,” the entrenched Deep State that is unaffected by elections, unaltered by populist movements, and has set itself beyond the reach of the law.

    We are overdue for a systemic check on the government’s overreaches and power grabs.

    We have lingered too long in this strange twilight zone where ego trumps justice, propaganda perverts truth, and imperial presidents—empowered to indulge their authoritarian tendencies by legalistic courts, corrupt legislatures and a disinterested, distracted populace—rule by fiat rather than by the rule of law.

    This COVID-19 pandemic has provided the government with the perfect excuse to lay claim to a long laundry list of terrifying lockdown powers (at both the federal and state level) that override the Constitution: the ability to suspend the Constitution, indefinitely detain American citizens, bypass the courts, quarantine whole communities or segments of the population, override the First Amendment by outlawing religious gatherings and assemblies of more than a few people, shut down entire industries and manipulate the economy, muzzle dissidents, reshape financial markets, create a digital currency (and thus further restrict the use of cash), determine who should live or die, and impose health mandates on large segments of the population.

    These kinds of crises tend to bring out the authoritarian tendencies in government.

    That’s no surprise: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    Where we find ourselves now is in the unenviable position of needing to rein in all three branches of government—the Executive, the Judicial, and the Legislative—that have exceeded their authority and grown drunk on power.

    This is exactly the kind of concentrated, absolute power the founders attempted to guard against by establishing a system of checks of balances that separate and shares power between three co-equal branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

    “The system of checks and balances that the Framers envisioned now lacks effective checks and is no longer in balance,” concludes law professor William P. Marshall. “The implications of this are serious. The Framers designed a system of separation of powers to combat government excess and abuse and to curb incompetence. They also believed that, in the absence of an effective separation-of-powers structure, such ills would inevitably follow. Unfortunately, however, power once taken is not easily surrendered.”

    Unadulterated power in any branch of government is a menace to freedom.

    There’s no point debating which political party would be more dangerous with these powers.

    The fact that any individual—or branch of government—of any political persuasion is empowered to act like a dictator is danger enough.

    So what we can do to wrest back control over a runaway government and an imperial presidency?

    It won’t be easy.

    We are the unwitting victims of a system so corrupt that those who stand up for the rule of law and aspire to transparency in government are in the minority.

    This corruption is so vast it spans all branches of government: from the power-hungry agencies under the executive branch and the corporate puppets within the legislative branch to a judiciary that is, more often than not, elitist and biased towards government entities and corporations.

    We are ruled by an elite class of individuals who are completely out of touch with the travails of the average American.

    We are viewed as relatively expendable in the eyes of government: faceless numbers of individuals who serve one purpose, which is to keep the government machine running through our labor and our tax dollars. Those in power aren’t losing any sleep over the indignities we are being made to suffer or the possible risks to our health. All they seem to care about are power and control.

    We are being made to suffer countless abuses at the government’s hands.

    We have little protection against standing armies (domestic and military), invasive surveillance, marauding SWAT teams, an overwhelming government arsenal of assault vehicles and firepower, and a barrage of laws that criminalize everything from vegetable gardens to lemonade stands.

    In the name of national security, we’re being subjected to government agencies such as the NSA, FBI and others listening in on our phone calls, reading our mail, monitoring our emails, and carrying out warrantless “black bag” searches of our homes. Adding to the abuse, we have to deal with surveillance cameras mounted on street corners and in traffic lights, weather satellites co-opted for use as spy cameras from space, and thermal sensory imaging devices that can detect heat and movement through the walls of our homes.

    That doesn’t even begin to touch on the many ways in which our Fourth Amendment rights are trampled upon by militarized police and SWAT teams empowered to act as laws unto themselves.

    In other words, freedom—or what’s left of it—is threatened from every direction.

    The predators of the police state are wreaking havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. The government doesn’t listen to the citizenry, it refuses to abide by the Constitution, which is our rule of law, and it treats the citizenry as a source of funding and little else. Police officers are shooting unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agents—including local police—are being armed to the teeth and encouraged to act like soldiers on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies are fleecing taxpayers. Government technicians are spying on our emails and phone calls. Government contractors are making a killing by waging endless wars abroad.

    In other words, the American police state is alive and well and flourishing.

    Nothing has changed, and nothing will change unless we insist on it.

    We have arrived at the dystopian future depicted in the 2005 film V for Vendetta, which is no future at all.

    Set in the year 2020, V for Vendetta (written and produced by the Wachowskis) provides an eerie glimpse into a parallel universe in which a government-engineered virus wreaks havoc on the world. Capitalizing on the people’s fear, a totalitarian government comes to power that knows all, sees all, controls everything and promises safety and security above all.

    Concentration camps (jails, private prisons and detention facilities) have been established to house political prisoners and others deemed to be enemies of the state. Executions of undesirables (extremists, troublemakers and the like) are common, while other enemies of the state are made to “disappear.” Populist uprisings and protests are met with extreme force. The television networks are controlled by the government with the purpose of perpetuating the regime. And most of the population is hooked into an entertainment mode and are clueless.

    Sounds painfully familiar, doesn’t it?

    As director James McTeighe observed about the tyrannical regime in V for Vendetta, “It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people. I don’t think it’s such a big leap to say things like that can happen when leaders stop listening to the people.”

    Clearly, our leaders have stopped listening to the American people.

    We are—and have been for some time—the unwitting victims of a system so corrupt that those who stand up for the rule of law and aspire to transparency in government are in the minority. This corruption is so vast it spans all branches of government—from the power-hungry agencies under the executive branch and the corporate puppets within the legislative branch to a judiciary that is, more often than not, elitist and biased towards government entities and corporations.

    We are ruled by an elite class of individuals who are completely out of touch with the travails of the average American. We are relatively expendable in the eyes of government—faceless numbers of individuals who serve one purpose, which is to keep the government machine running through our labor and our tax dollars.

    What will it take for the government to start listening to the people again?

    In V for Vendetta, as in my new novel The Erik Blair Diaries, it takes an act of terrorism for the people to finally mobilize and stand up to the government’s tyranny: in Vendetta, V the film’s masked crusader blows up the seat of government, while in Erik Blair, freedom fighters plot to unmask the Deep State.

    These acts of desperation and outright anarchy are what happens when a parasitical government muzzles the citizenry, fences them in, herds them, brands them, whips them into submission, forces them to ante up the sweat of their brows while giving them little in return, and then provides them with little to no outlet for voicing their discontent: people get desperate, citizens lose hope, and lawful, nonviolent resistance gives way to unlawful, violent resistance.

    This way lies madness.

    Then again, this madness may be unavoidable unless we can wrest back control over our runaway government starting at the local level.

    How to do this? It’s not rocket science.

    There is no 10-step plan. If there were a 10-step plan, however, the first step would be as follows: turn off the televisions, tune out the politicians, and do your part to stand up for freedom principles in your own communities.

    Stand up for your own rights, of course, but more importantly, stand up for the rights of those with whom you might disagree. Defend freedom at all costs. Defend justice at all costs. Make no exceptions based on race, religion, creed, politics, immigration status, sexual orientation, etc. Vote like Americans, for a change, not Republicans or Democrats.

    Most of all, use your power—and there is power in our numbers—to nullify anything and everything the government does that undermines the freedom principles on which this nation was founded.

    Don’t play semantics. Don’t justify. Don’t politicize it. If it carries even a whiff of tyranny, oppose it. Demand that your representatives in government cut you a better deal, one that abides by the Constitution and doesn’t just attempt to sidestep it.

    That’s their job: make them do it.

    As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, all freedoms hang together. They fall together, as well.

    The police state does not discriminate. Eventually, we will all suffer the same fate.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 07/28/2021 – 00:00

  • Russia Producing Two New 'Doomsday Planes' As Mobile Command Centers In Event Of Nuclear War
    Russia Producing Two New ‘Doomsday Planes’ As Mobile Command Centers In Event Of Nuclear War

    Meet Russia’s state of the art, currently in development, ‘Doomsday plane’, which is intended to transport the country’s senior political and military leadership in any future instance of a nuclear attack:

    The Russian Air Force and Space Forces will receive two airborne commanding posts based on the Il-96-400M plane, according to Russian government news agency RIA Novosti, citing a source in the country’s defense sector.

    The Il-96-400M is the modernized version of the Il-96 long-haul, wide-body civilian jetliner. An Il-96 variant currently operates as President Vladimir Putin’s primary means of travel by air, similar to that of the United States’ Air Force One.

    Currently the Ilyushin-80 serves as the country’s doomsday plane – a modified Il-86 – and is from the soviet era, acting as a mobile command post outfitted advanced radio equipment designed to maintain military communications between the top brass and units below in any imagined apocalyptic scenario.

    Interestingly these aircraft, with much of the equipment aboard deemed classified, don’t have windows outside of the cockpit in order to prevent passengers from being blinded by any nuclear detonation, also to mitigate radiation fallout.

    Russian Aerospace Forces operate four available Il-80 air command posts. “The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two air command posts based on the Il-96-400M. One is in production,” RIA Novosti said this week. According to the new reporting, a third new airplane based on the in development upgraded version is expected after the first pair are produced. 

    Also according to Russian media reporting, the newly built aircraft “will have a much longer range, have the ability to refuel mid-air and be even able to communicate with submarines within a 6,000km radius.”

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    Among its most vital roles other than evacuating the Russian president and top commanders, the aircraft will be specially equipped to communicate nuclear launch orders and codes to strategic aviation and submarines, or anywhere nuke-capable missile launchers are located. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 23:40

  • Labelling Anti-Lockdown Protestors "Anarchists" Is Wrong: Law Professor
    Labelling Anti-Lockdown Protestors “Anarchists” Is Wrong: Law Professor

    Authored by Daniel Teng via The Epoch Times,

    One law professor says describing protestors as “anarchists” is incorrect, and instead, the thousands-strong rallies on the weekend was a “reminder” to political leaders that they were accountable to the public, not just health officials.

    On July 24, thousands of people took the streets of Sydney and Melbourne as part of the “World Wide Rally for Freedom” event, many of whom were protesting against government restrictions and lockdowns in response to COVID-19.

    While previous rallies had garnered just a few hundred attendees, the weekend protest saw the numbers spike dramatically.

    “Many people who are suffering under the current restrictions have been driven to protest on the streets because there are few other ways for them to be heard,” Peter Kurti, director of the Culture, Prosperity and Civil Society Program at the Centre for Independent Studies said.

    “There may well have been conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers in the crowd, together with those looking for a fight. But the majority of people seem to have been protesting to highlight the enormous costs—financial, emotional, and social—imposed by the lockdown,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Protesters march along Broadway and George St towards Sydney Town Hall during the ‘World Wide Rally For Freedom’ anti-lockdown rally at Hyde Park in Sydney on July 24, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

    “The protest may well have been ‘unlawful’ because the public health orders restrict gatherings; but the practice of civil disobedience, long established in liberal democracies, is very different from ‘anarchy’ which rejects the very notion of social order bound by norms and laws,” he added.

    “Citizens have the right to protest against laws perceived as unjust; doing so does not make them anarchists.”

    Greater Sydney is undergoing a five-week lockdown due to an outbreak of the Delta variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

    Five million residents remain in lockdown and cannot leave their homes except for four reasons.

    Last week, construction sites were shut down as well, forcing around 250,000 tradespeople to stop work, and costing the economy around $1.4 billion a week.

    In response to rumours of a possible follow-up protest circulating online, New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Mick Fuller was blunt: “Can I just put this warning out now to everyone? We will be heavily policing that event.”

    “The community has spoken about that behaviour. The premier has spoken about that behaviour, and it won’t be tolerated again,” he told reporters.

    “There are no organisers that we can take to the Supreme Court to stop the protests happening, which means they’re a bunch of anarchists,” he added.

    NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was disgusted and heartbroken by the protestors saying they showed “utter contempt for their fellow citizens.” Victorian Premier Dan Andrews described them as “selfish.”

    Kurti said these premiers assumed Australians preferred a policy of “zero transmission” and eradication of the virus, resulting in support for lockdowns.

    “However, many do not share this view and are angry that livelihoods and lives have been so severely curtailed,” he said. “Defiance of political and legal authority, in the form of open protest, is a reminder that all political leaders remain accountable to the electorate—and not just at the ballot box.”

    “The language used by Andrews and Berejiklian indicates they see that public health edicts must be obeyed, and to call these edicts into question, amounts to both a legal and a moral failure on the part of the protesters.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 23:20

  • Two-Thirds Of Indians Have Been Exposed To COVID-19
    Two-Thirds Of Indians Have Been Exposed To COVID-19

    The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released the results of its fourth seroprevalence study which was conducted across 21 states in June and July with 36,227 people participating, including 7,252 healthcare workers. It found that 67.6 percent of people over six years of age, some two-thirds of India’s population, have Sars-CoV-2 antibodies.

    However, as Statista’s Niall McCarthy notes, despite that high percentage, at least 400 million people across the country remain at risk of infection and officials warned against relaxing Covid-19 protocols.

    Infographic: Two-Thirds Of Indians Have Been Exposed To Covid-19 | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Among different age groups, the highest level of antibodies were observed in the 45-60 year bracket at 77.6 percent, followed by over 60s at 76.7 percent. Elsewhere, 61.6 percent of respondents aged between 18 and 44 had antibodies, as did 57.2 percent of younger Indians aged between 6 and 9.

    The survey also explored seroprevalence among healthcare workers, finding that 85 percent have been exposed to the virus.

    India has reported 31 million cases of Covid-19 and 400,000 deaths so far. Despite being hit hard in recent months and cases peaking at 380,000, they are now falling steadily and averaging around 40,000 a day. ICRM chief Dr. Balram Bhargava said that “the fourth sero survey shows there is a ray of hope, but there is no room for complacency. We must maintain Covid-appropriate behavior.”

    When the results of the third seroprevalence survey were published in February, only 21 percent of people in India had Covid-19 antibodies.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 23:00

  • Border Patrol Apprehends 20,000 Illegal Aliens In 1 Week In Busiest Sector
    Border Patrol Apprehends 20,000 Illegal Aliens In 1 Week In Busiest Sector

    Authored by Charlotte Cuthbertson via The Epoch Times,

    South Texas’s Rio Grande Valley has been the busiest border sector for illegal alien crossings for years. But last week a sudden spike in numbers saw Border Patrol apprehend more than 20,000 illegal immigrants in one week.

    “It’s the hottest part of the summer and apprehensions are skyrocketing!” Border Patrol Chief for the sector Brian Hastings wrote on Twitter on July 25.

    Hastings said the number of large groups has increased, with a record-breaking 298 in one group encountered in La Grulla last week.

    “Within this group, a subject exhibiting COVID-19 related symptoms was transported to the hospital. At the hospital, the migrant tested positive for COVID-19,” a press release from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated.

    The most recent large groups have mostly contained citizens from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, according to CBP.

    Border Patrol processing facilities in the region are once again overwhelmed and illegal immigrants are staying overnight on buses outside the facilities due to overcrowding, according to a source in the Rio Grande Valley.

    In the Del Rio Sector, which has become the second-busiest for Border Patrol apprehensions, illegal immigrants are sleeping outside between the Rio Grande and the border fence as the agency struggles to find transport and space to put them.

    On the morning of July 25, agents were dealing with around 350 illegal immigrants who had crossed within the last 18 hours—mostly Haitians, but also Cubans, Colombians, and a couple from Ghana.

    Several Haitians told The Epoch Times they had arrived across the river at 3 p.m. the day prior and slept outside while waiting for transport. A couple from Ghana said they crossed at 3 a.m. and slept in a nearby tree-covered area.

    A group of more than 350 illegal immigrants wait for Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Del Rio, Texas, on July 25, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

    Meanwhile, between the two sectors, in the city of Laredo—where busloads of illegal immigrants from the Rio Grande Valley are being sent—officials have sued the Biden administration to stop the transport of more illegal immigrants into the city.

    Laredo officials say in the complaint that they were recently advised that Border Patrol intends to double the number of illegal immigrants brought to Laredo from the Rio Grande Valley—from about 150 individuals to 300 per day.

    By June, Border Patrol had apprehended more than 1 million illegal immigrants along the almost 2,000-mile southwest border. Each month this year has seen an increase in apprehensions, with no sign of it dropping off as the focus from headquarters is on speeding up the processing.

    Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said in late June that agents had detected, but not captured, a further 250,000 illegal immigrants so far this fiscal year.

    Title 42—which is the public health emergency measure allowing Border Patrol to quickly turn back to Mexico some single adults—is largely seen as the remaining vestige of border control. The measure is expected to be removed imminently and Border Patrol is bracing for an even bigger influx as single adults would then need to be placed through a much longer process under Title 8 immigration proceedings and likely many will be released into the United States.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 22:40

  • France Lashes Out At Iran – "Risks Jeopardizing" Stalled Nuclear Talks
    France Lashes Out At Iran – “Risks Jeopardizing” Stalled Nuclear Talks

    Despite recently being seen as among the most supportive JCPOA signatories who want to see a completed nuclear deal, France is now accusing Iran of needlessly dragging out indirect negotiations with the US in Vienna. The talks have remained stalled ahead of the seventh round of talks, which the Iranian side said would resume after Iran’s president-elect Ibrahim Raisi takes office on August 3rd.

    France’s foreign ministry laid blame for the long stall at Tehran’s feet, however, saying “If it continues on this path, not only will it continue to delay when an agreement to lift sanctions can be reached, but it risks jeopardizing the very possibility of concluding the Vienna talks and restoring the JCPOA.”

    AFP via Getty Images

    There haven’t been talks since June 20th, and in the meantime the Biden administration is reportedly mulling slapping yet more sanctions on Iran. The Monday statement is sure to be met with exasperation among Iranian officials, given they’ve consistently blamed Washington for refusing to drop Trump-era sanctions which continue to decimate the Iranian economy.

    “There is not much left to sanction in Iran’s economy,” one US official told the Wall Street Journal. last week. “Iran’s oil sales to China is the prize.” Indeed Chinese buyers are what’s keeping Iran’s oil sector barely afloat.

    The Biden administration appears to be holding this “threat” above Tehran’s head if things don’t go well in Vienna, per the WSJ:

    One plan being drafted would choke off Iran’s swelling crude-oil sales to China, the country’s main client, through fresh sanctions targeting the shipping networks that help export an estimated one million barrels a day and bring critical revenue to Iran, the officials said.

    The new steps would take place if nuclear talks fail, the officials said. The plan would involve the aggressive enforcement of current sanctions already banning dealings with Iran’s oil and shipping industry through new designations or legal actions, the officials said. In the past, the U.S. has, for instance, sanctioned the captain of a Syria-bound Iranian crude tanker and obtained the seizure of fuel cargoes Tehran was sending to Venezuela.

    While it’s widely believed the Vienna negotiations will continue after hardline cleric Ibrahim Raisi takes office, it will certainly complicate things, especially entering an environment of accusations and denunciations, and one in which Washington still hasn’t budged on sanctions relief.

    Raisi is seen as close to the Ayatollah – the latter who is supportive of the talks so long as they don’t “drag on” – which ironically is the very thing Macron is now accusing Tehran of causing.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 22:20

  • Here Comes China's "National Team" To Bailout Markets
    Here Comes China’s “National Team” To Bailout Markets

    Earlier today we said that with Chinese stocks suffering historic losses, HK’s tech sector imploding..

    … and liquidation fears spreading to other, more serious products such as bonds and FX, it was only a matter of time before China’s “National Team”, i.e., the local plunge protection team, came out in full force to preserve confidence in centrally planned markets.

    Well, just a few hours later, we learned that sure enough, the local Chinese bat signal summoning the plunge protectors has been activated with local press Securities Daily reporting that “the plunge is unsustainable” and will gradually stabilize. And since the media is merely a propaganda outlet to local state and central planners, it is telegraphing what will come next: a massive ramp in Chinese stocks.

    Here is Bloomberg’s Simon Flint with more:

    China’s state media has fired the first salvos at stock sellers, including articles in Wednesday’s Securities Journal and in the Securities Daily. The latter suggests that the recent plunge in China’s stock market is unsustainable. However, Chinese stocks remain at risk and the yuan under pressure in the absence of such reassurance from the authorities. More substantively, this week’s likely Chinese Politburo meeting looms even larger.

    If the agenda-setting body can persuade markets that the regulatory bombardment won’t broaden further, or can offer the promise of macro-loosening to offset the impact — the rot may stop. Of course, a belated appearance by the “national team” to support markets — as a follow-up to Wednesday’s media blitz — could also help.

    • The Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF continued to decline overnight — it’s slide since July 22 is worth ~9.3% in yuan terms — versus the 7.8% selloff in the CSI300 index it is designed to track.
    • Tuesday saw an outflow of $0.6b through the Northbound corridor — although this was a mere -0.9 standard deviation event after Monday’s 1-year record outflows (-2.5 standard deviations, by way of comparison).

    Opinion is divided on the overall macro-economic impact — which should dictate the extent the shock permeates overall risk markets. Bloomberg Economics remains relatively sanguine. However, a number of others are starting to count the macroeconomic cost. Goldman Sachs, in a July 27 note, imply that the 7.8% drop in the stock market since the close on July 22 will shave ~15bps from GDP growth. This will presumably be larger if uncertainty about the risks of a broadening of the crackdown are not quickly assuaged.

    And sure enough it appears that the plunge protectors are already in, with Hang Seng surging 1.7%, Meituan which just suffered its biggest drop in history is up 12% – its biggest gain since March 2020, shares of techedu New Oriental Shares surging 15%, and tech giants Alibaba and Tencent are both up more than 1% and rising fast.

    In short, expect a “remarkable” and “completely unexpected” meltup as the National Team steps in first, and then the BTFD reflex kicks in, the same reflex which as we detailed earlier…

    … means that it now takes a record 2.6 days in the US for even a violent market dip to be fully bought. Surely China can’t be far behind.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 22:01

  • Obama-Era Drone Program Whistleblower Given Stiff Prison Sentence Under Biden DOJ
    Obama-Era Drone Program Whistleblower Given Stiff Prison Sentence Under Biden DOJ

    A former Air Force intelligence analyst turned whistleblower who leaked America’s drone secrets to the press was sentenced to 45 months behind bars in an Alexandria, VA federal court on Tuesday.

    33-year old Daniel Hale is now widely understood to be the leaker of classified info to Intercept journalist Jeremy Scahill, who wrote a series of reports on the Obama administration’s secretive drone program and the mounting civilian casualties – as well as the flimsy and dubious legal justifications offered based on ‘war on terror’ rationale. 

    Daniel Hale at a demonstration against drone warfare, via Roots Action

    “I came to believe that the policy of drone assassination was being used to mislead the public,” Hale wrote in an eleven page letter to the court. 

    He described that even within his first days of being deployed to Afghanistan, he personally witnessed civilians being taken out by US drones in what amounts to ‘guilt by association’ policies. A major turning point which set Hale on the path to becoming a whistleblower was described in the letter to the court, recounted in Business Insider as follows:

    It was back in 2012, and Hale found himself watching a car being driven by a suspected bomb-maker from Jalalabad head toward Pakistan. Hale’s superiors were “alarmed” and feared that the suspect was trying to escape across the border, prompting the car to be targeted with a drone strike. 

    “It was a windy and clouded afternoon when one of the suspects had been discovered heading east at a high rate of speed,” Hale wrote. “A drone strike was our only chance and already it began lining up to take the shot.”

    But the payload missed the target, and the car “continued on ahead after narrowly avoiding destruction” before stopping. A man emerged and looked shocked he was still alive. To Hale’s surprise, a woman also stepped out and rushed to the trunk.

    It turns out the couple’s two young children had been traveling in the back of the car, and the mother was trying desperately to get to them from behind the damaged car. The 3-year old and 5-year old were later found the next day in a dumpster. 

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    The tragic account continues: 

    “The eldest was found dead due to unspecified wounds caused by shrapnel that pierced her body. Her younger sister was alive but severely dehydrated,” Hale said, going on to describe his distress over his commanding officer being more disgusted with the children being left in the dumpster than with the fact they had “errantly fired on a man and his family, having killed one of his daughters.”

    In issuing the sentence the Bush-appointed judge appeared to sympathize with Hale’s motivations for the leaks, but still said “You’re not facing prison for speaking out about the drone program injuring and killing innocent persons… You could have been a whistleblower and garnered all this attention without leaking any of these documents, frankly.”

    Federal prosecutors had actually been pushing for a sentence of over nine years. It demonstrates that the Biden administration is going after leakers of classified information just as fiercely as prior administrations. 

    One key line in the Business Insider report strongly suggests Biden is set to continue ramping up his war on both whistleblowers and the press: “The hefty sentence the Biden Justice Department sought for Hale signals that, while the new administration’s appointees are eager to make peace with journalists and news outlets, prosecutors will continue to throw the book at the men and women who leak information to the media.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 22:00

  • Gov. Newsom Panics, Pulls Kids From Summer Camp After Maskless Photo Of Son Surfaces
    Gov. Newsom Panics, Pulls Kids From Summer Camp After Maskless Photo Of Son Surfaces

    California Governor Gavin Newsom pulled his children from a summer camp after photos surfaced of his son attending without a mask while indoors – in clear violation of Newsom’s own guidance.

    And while the camp explicitly tells parents “Masks will not be enforced,” Newsom – who’s facing a recall – is playing it off like he had no idea.

    “The Newsoms were concerned to see unvaccinated children unmasked indoors at a camp their children began attending yesterday. Their kids will no longer be attending the camp,” said communications director, Erin Mellon, in a statement to Fox News.

    Oh but wait…

    A parent sent the following literature from the camp to Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) – a group which recently filed a lawsuit against Newsom over masking requirements in classrooms.

    A waiver form for kids to participate in camp sporting activities reads: “Masks will not be enforced. Please know that your child is more than welcome to wear a mask during camp.”

    Newsom’s current guidance for children aged 2-11 is that masks should be worn during “camps for youth, youth sports and other youth activities, including theater and music performances and band. Updated CDC guidance is forthcoming for youth settings.”

    California officials announced July 9 that students and teachers returning to the classroom this year will also be required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. 

    “We’re going to start with a requirement K through 12 that the year begins with masks,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said at the time. “At the outset of the new year, students should be able to walk into school without worrying about whether they will feel different or singled out for being vaccinated or unvaccinated — treating all kids the same will support a calm and supportive school environment.” –Fox News

    More: 

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    The incident is reminiscent of the French Laundry episode – in which Newsom apologized after he was caught dining with lobbyists and top brass from the California Medical Association last year against his own lockdown mandate.

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 21:40

  • Powell vs. Greenspan: Who's Right? "Hands-Off" Or "Hands-On" Policy To Confront Cyclical Inflation
    Powell vs. Greenspan: Who’s Right? “Hands-Off” Or “Hands-On” Policy To Confront Cyclical Inflation

    Submitted by Joseph Carson, former chief economist at Alliance Bernstein

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in 2021 faces a similar challenge that former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan faced in 1994. Fast growth as the economy re-opened triggered substantial cyclical inflation pressures, somewhat similar to 1994 when headwinds from tight credit and balance sheets strains faded. Yet, Powell’s policy response to the inflation challenges has been markedly different than Greenspan’s.

    Powell has employed a “hands-off” approach, maintaining the overly accommodative monetary policy stance, thinking the inflation surge will prove to be temporary. The inflation results for all of 2021 are not in, but consumer price inflation in the first six months (3.6%) exceeded what occurred in the twelve months of 1994 (2.6%).

    In 1994, Greenspan used a “hands-on” approach, quickly and rapidly tightening monetary policy, arguing that letting the pipeline inflation pressures go unchecked was too risky. In 1994, pipeline inflation pressures measured by the producer price index of core intermediate materials rose 5.2%. In the first six months of 2021, those prices have increased 14.7%, nearly three times faster.

    Greenspan’s preemptive policy was successful as pipeline pressures never percolated to the consumer level. The headline and core CPI ended 1994, advancing 2.6%, some 20 to 50 basis points below the inflation rates of 1993.

    Powell acknowledges that the uptick in 2021 inflation rates has been far more significant than the Fed expected. Yet, Powell takes comfort in that longer-term market inflation expectations remain well-anchored, and the drop in long bond yields shows little market fear of sustained inflation.

    But people’s spending behavior shows that inflation expectations are on the rise. A 10% increase in used car and truck prices in early 2021 did not deter buyers as prices rose an additional 20% in Q2. Nor has a record climb in house prices stopped people from buying. Aren’t these examples of a rise in inflation expectations?

    The recent bond market rally is puzzling. But it is worth noting that in 1994 a surprising drop in ten-year bond yields (over 50 basis points) occurred in the middle of the Fed’s tightening cycle. Back then, analysts and investors viewed a significant increase in business inventories as a sign that demand was peaking and the Fed tightening cycle would soon be over. That proved to be a big mistake.

    Greenspan said the inventory build is intentional as sharp increases in order backlogs forced firms to buildup stock levels to protect future production schedules. Following that assessment of the inventory situation and growth outlook, Greenspan delivered an additional boost of 175 basis points in the federal funds rate over the next six months, sending 10-year bond yields surging higher by over 100 basis points. The 1994 bond market reversal shows that not all bond market rallies are an accurate predictor of the future.

    At the press conference following the April 27-28 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Powell stated that “the economy is a long way from our goals,” and it’s not time to begin discussing the process of even talking about tapering asset purchases. Three months later, press reports say that the Powell-led Fed is accelerating the tapering discussions at the July 27-28 FOMC meeting. If Powell can reverse course on asset purchases in three months, he could flip on interest rate policy quickly as well.

    A “hands-off” policy is a short-term friend to finance until it isn’t, whereas a “hands-on” is a long-term friend as it attempts to limit the scale of the inflation cycle. Greenspan’s “hands-on” policy worked, and early results indicate Powell’s “hands-off” isn’t. How long will it take before investors realize Powell will eventually need to follow Greenspan’s plan?

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 21:20

  • Orange Juice Futures Soar Amid 'Frost Threats' In Brazil 
    Orange Juice Futures Soar Amid ‘Frost Threats’ In Brazil 

    Brazil’s top growing regions for coffee, sugar, and oranges are expected to see another round of frost later this week. A cold snap last week sent coffee futures to a seven-year high. Now orange juice futures are skyrocketing. 

    Brazil is the world’s leading orange juice producer. There are concerns about widespread frost Friday and Saturday in the southernmost regions of south Minas Gerais state could damage citrus trees. 

    Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc, told Bloomberg that frost later this week “would damage some trees” in the Minas Gerais state. Below are Friday morning forecast temperatures hovering around freezing. 

    Widespread frost concerns could tighten supplies and is the reason why orange juice futures are up more than 4.50% Tuesday afternoon, hitting levels not seen since December 2018. 

    Meanwhile, coffee and sugar futures have moved higher in recent days on the low temperatures. These crops have also been impacted by severe drought. 

    Another cold snap could easily send orange juice, coffee, and sugar prices higher, adding to the already extreme food prices.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 21:00

  • Arizona Senate Issues Fresh Subpoena For 2020 Election Audit
    Arizona Senate Issues Fresh Subpoena For 2020 Election Audit

    Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

    Arizona senators on Monday issued a new subpoena to the state’s largest county for materials related to the 2020 election.

    Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and Arizona Senate Judiciary Chairman Warren Petersen ordered Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors to hand over ballot envelopes or ballot envelope images, voter records, and routers or router images.

    The Republican-controlled board was also commanded to provide all findings concerning any systems breach that took place within six months of the Nov. 3, 2020, election, as well as all usernames and passwords for machines used in the election.

    And the board was also told to appear at the Arizona State Capitol for a hearing on Aug. 2.

    Failure to comply may constitute contempt of the legislature, the board was told.

    A board spokesman told news outlets that the county “has already provided everything competent auditors would need to confirm the accuracy and security of the 2020 election.”

    “The board will review the materials requested with our legal team and respond in the coming days,” he added.

    Contractors hired by the GOP-controlled state Senate have been conducting an audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County since April. The county submitted the nearly 2.1 million ballots cast in the election, as well as 385 tabulators and other items.

    Those were ordered by subpoenas issued late last year.

    But officials also refused to provide some of the subpoenaed items, despite a judge ruling the subpoenas lawful after the county claimed they were overbroad and outside the scope of the Arizona Senate’s authority.

    County officials said in May they could not hand over routers or router images because doing so would pose a security risk.

    Arizona senators initially threatened to issue a fresh subpoena then. It’s not clear what took so long.

    The Arizona Senate in February, before the judge ruled on the matter, voted on a resolution to hold the county in contempt. One Republican, state Sen. Paul Boyer, sided with Democrats, preventing the resolution from passing.

    Republicans control the Senate, 16–14.

    Boyer recently came out in opposition to the audit, after previously supporting it.

    So did another Republican, Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

    “I wanted to review our election processes and see what, if anything, could be improved. Sadly, it’s now become clear that the audit has been botched,” Ugenti-Rita said on Twitter.

    She was booed off the stage over the weekend at a conservative event after her shift.

    Boyer and Ugenti-Rita have not responded to requests for comment.

    Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican who still backs the audit, told The Epoch Times that she thinks the breakaway Republicans will eventually support the review again.

    “I believe both of those colleagues of mine and Democrats will see all of the data points for what they will show and will eventually get on to the right side of history,” she said.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 20:40

  • "Really Alarming" – Megadrought Pushes Two Major US Lakes To Record-Low Water Levels
    “Really Alarming” – Megadrought Pushes Two Major US Lakes To Record-Low Water Levels

    Water levels in Utah’s Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell have dropped to their lowest levels ever recorded. This summer’s extreme drought and compounding heat waves have triggered a water crisis in the Western half of the U.S. 

    The U.S. Geological Survey announced Utah’s Great Salt Lake saw water levels drop an inch below the previous record low of 4,191.4 feet above sea level in1963. 

    As shown below, Great Salt Lake’s water level has been declining over the last few decades, but recently, the megadrought has accelerated the decline. 

    According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 99% of Utah is under “extreme” drought conditions. About 70% of the state is experiencing “exceptional” drought. 

    “It’s already concerning that Great Salt Lake has been on a slow decline, but the drought has accelerated that decline,” said Candice Hasenyager, deputy director of the Utah Division of Water Resources. “It’s really alarming.” There’s still more room for the lake to drop even further through summer. 

    Meanwhile, Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., has dropped to 3,554 feet in elevation or 33% capacity — the lowest in over half a century since it was filled. 

    The lake is a crucial holding tank for outflow from the Colorado River Upper Basin States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

    Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, told Cronkite News that increasing demand for water across seven U.S. and two Mexican states “that rely on the Colorado River had not declined fast enough to match the reduced supply. 

    If Powell falls even further, hydroelectric turbines will cease to run. The lake supplies water to up to 30 million people and irrigation of 5 million acres. 

    Suppose water levels continue to decline in both the Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell. In that case, it could trigger the first-ever water shortage declaration that would affect surrounding communities. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 20:20

  • Hundreds Of San Francisco Bars To Require Proof Of Vaccination Or Negative COVID-19 Test
    Hundreds Of San Francisco Bars To Require Proof Of Vaccination Or Negative COVID-19 Test

    Authored by Ivan Pentchoukov via The Epoch Times,

    A group representing nearly 500 bars in San Francisco has said that patrons who want to drink inside will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

    The San Francisco Bar Owner Alliance told NBC News that its members will begin implementing the rule on July 29. The group polled its members prior to making the announcement and 85 percent said they support the move, the network reported.

    The group leaves the matter of enforcing the rule to individual owners.

    “We believe we are obligated to protect our workers and their families, and to offer safe space for customers to relax and socialize,” the group said in a statement, according to NBC.

    The announcement was made public the same day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom required state and healthcare employees be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. A similar mandate is in place in New York City.

    “As the state’s largest employer, we are leading by example and requiring all state and health care workers to show proof of vaccination or be tested regularly, and we are encouraging local governments and businesses to do the same,” Newsom said in a statement.

    Private and government entities are grappling with the prospect of re-imposing some lockdown or other mitigation measures as cases of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus are again on the rise. The CCP virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, is the pathogen that causes the COVID-19 disease.

    The delta variant of the virus became dominant in the United States in early July, coinciding with early reports that the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine diminished over time.

    More than 21 million California residents are now fully vaccinated against the CCP virus, according to data from the state.

    “California has administered more vaccines than any other state, with 75 percent of those eligible having gotten at least one dose, and we were weeks ahead of meeting President Biden’s 70 percent goal,” Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said in a statement.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 20:00

  • Ether Trading Volume Growth Beat Bitcoin's In H1 For The First Time
    Ether Trading Volume Growth Beat Bitcoin’s In H1 For The First Time

    Two months ago, just days after the latest crypto wave peaked, Goldman – which recently formed an internal cryptocurrency trading team – initiated on the crypto space with a provocative angle: the investment bank said that whereas bitcoin was a one trick pony whose glory was set to fade, it was ethereum which it called the “amazon of information” that is the rising star in the crypto space – something we first suggested back in 2017 –  and repeated its bullish Ether stance a few weeks later when it made the following observation:

    Within the crypto space, Ether currently looks like the cryptocurrency with the highest real use potential as Ethereum, the platform on which it is the native digital currency, is the most popular development platform for smart contract applications. We would therefore not be surprised if in coming years Ether, or some other cryptocurrency with more real use, overtakes Bitcoin as the dominant digital store of value.

    It appears that the general public is now agreeing, and according to Bloomberg citing a report published today by CoinBase, trading volume of Ether grew faster than that of Bitcoin in the first half of the year, and in the month of May, total ETH trading volume was tied with that of bitcoin for the first time ever.

    Looking at data from 20 major exchanges worldwide, Coinbase found that Bitcoin’s trading volume for the period reached $2.1 trillion, up 489% from $356 billion over the first half of last year. Total ETH volume, meanwhile, reached $1.4 trillion, up 1,461% from $92 billion in H1 2020. This was the first sustained period of time ever for Ether’s trading pace to exceed Bitcoin’s, according to Coinbase.

    Both Bitcoin and Ethereum jumped this week amid a furious short squeeze, in part catalyzed by expectations that Amazon would soon offer crypto payment services, after sinking in May after Elon Musk shunned bitcoin on concerns about its environmental impact and a regulatory crackdown in China.

    Unlike bitcoin, which is mostly used for peer-to-peer payments and as a store of value,  Ethereum has been at the center of a new crop of apps allowing for peer-to-peer lending, borrowing and trading. It is also facing an upgrade due around Aug. 4 that will reduce the amount of outstanding tokens by destroying some of them every time it’s used to fuel transactions, which will spur even more price gains once the current accumulation period ends.

     

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 19:40

  • "An Excuse To Get To Be Racist": 'White Fragility' Author Issues Warning On The Dangers Of The Comedy
    “An Excuse To Get To Be Racist”: ‘White Fragility’ Author Issues Warning On The Dangers Of The Comedy

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Mark Twain once said that “A sense of humor is the one thing no one will admit to not having.” Twain observation came to mind this week when Robin DiAngelo warned that “Comedy is . . . an excuse to get to be racist.” It appears that DiAngelo is moving from “White Fragility” to white comedy. The remarks of the author of the book “White Fragility” were carried on the Wisconsin-based non-profit Mythinformed. DiAngelo singled out “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” as racist entertainment. For free speech advocates, the comments are concerning given the crackdown in other countries on comedians.

    DiAngelo explained how comedy is a dangerous gateway for racism:

    “Comedy is, I think, an excuse to get to be racist, right? I think TV shows like ‘Family Guy’ and ‘South Park’ and maybe a little bit ‘The Simpsons’ allowed White people to be racist self-consciously. Like, ‘I know I’m being racist and therefore it doesn’t count and it’s OK.’ I don’t think it’s benign to do it in a joking way. And there is a concept in comedy called punching up, not down. So if you want to punch up, there are very different power dynamics and it doesn’t hurt in the same way. It doesn’t invoke a deep, deep centuries-long history of oppression when you poke fun at say, White people. But it’s very, very different when you poke fun at people of color.”

    Thus, comedians would be allowed to “puke fun at say White People,” but not people of color.

    Notably, years ago, it was the Bush family condemning shows like The Simpson and Family Guy. The media widely panned them for the criticism and reminded them that this was just a comedy show.

    Such suggestions have become effective commands in other countries. We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in Europe (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). We have seen comedians targeted with such court orders under this expanding and worrisome trend. ( here and here and here).  Scotland and other countries are adopting even broader rules that could eviscerate comedic entertainment.

    We previously discussed one case where comedian Guy Earle has been called before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for violating the human rights of a lesbian couple by trading insulting comments at a nightclub.

    Canada is now facing a major ruling in the case of another comedian. A Quebec comedian, Mike Ward, is known for his irreverent and often insulting comedic stylings. In 2010, he mocked a younger singer named Jeremy Gabriel (known as “Petit Jeremy”) who was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic disorder that can affect facial bone structure and severe deafness. Ward joked about trying to drown him as well as mocking his appearance. It was distasteful but the audience laughed and Ward followed up by saying “I didn’t know how far I could go with that joke. At one point I said to myself, you’re going too far, they’re going to stop laughing. But no, you didn’t.”

    Gabriel later sued and the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal ruled against Ward for having “exceeded the limits of freedom of expression” and discriminating on the basis of disability. The comedian appealed and lost before the Court of Appeal. The court gave cursory recognition of the obvious free speech dangers but insisted that its “intention is not to restrict creativity or censor artists’ opinions” but “comedians, like any citizen, are responsible for the consequences of their words when they cross certain lines.”

    The question is whether those lines should apply to any citizens or whether such distasteful or cruel comments are still protected. Ward was mocking a fellow celebrity and in the United States his jokes are protected.

    He is now appealing to the Canadian Supreme Court and comedians from around the world have rallied to his defense.

    I would not wish to have to choose between the comedic stylings of DiAngelo and Ward. Instead, we can recognize that they both have free speech protections in voicing their views even if others find the unintentionally laughable or decidedly not funny.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 19:20

  • Two Koreas Exchange Letters, Agree To "Recover Trust" In Potential Opening For Biden
    Two Koreas Exchange Letters, Agree To “Recover Trust” In Potential Opening For Biden

    By Trump’s last year in office it seemed whatever positive rapport and communications window he had built up with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was being lost as momentum toward potential nuclear talks stalled and ground to a halt.

    And as yet there’s been no signs of movement toward any sort of opening under the Biden administration, however, on Tuesday a fresh development may suggest a breakthrough could be on the horizon as the North and South’s leaders have exchanged letters pledging they will “restore relations”. 

    April 2018 signing pf a joint ‘denuclearization’ statement at the border village of Panmunjom, via AP.

    Strongly suggesting the letters contain more than just surface rhetoric and vague promises, it’s also being reported that the sides have reopened military hotlines after a year ago Kim detonated a liaison office meant to symbolize the direct communications. The hotline had been established in 2018 as part of efforts at preventing the outbreak of war based on potential ‘misunderstandings’.

    As Bloomberg summarizes, North Korean state media is confirming major efforts at “recovering mutual trust” underway:

    The two Koreas released what appeared to be coordinated statements Tuesday calling for reconciliation on the peninsula, with state media in Pyongyang saying that they agreed “to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust.”

    The effort to thaw relations came on the 68th anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, a conflict that has never formally stopped. Last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s openness to talks during a visit to Seoul in which she met with South Korean officials, including Moon.

    Moon’s office has said that letters have been exchanged with Kim since April as part of efforts to revive the positive atmosphere of the prior unprecedented Trump-Kim summits.

    “South Korea’s military also said it planned later Tuesday to restore its regular communications with northern forces,” Bloomberg continued in its reporting. “They’ll exchange information twice a day, at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., including details about illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea, the South Korean military said in a statement.”

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    State-run KCNA broadcast Tuesday that “The whole Korean nation desires to see the north-south relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible.”

    The last short-lived ‘high point’ in Moon-Kim relations was in the April 2018 historic meeting at Panmunjom on the border, when before cameras the two leaders briefly walked across the border, each into the other’s country, and held “frank talks” over denuclearization. At the time they signed a pledge affirming a path toward denuclearization of the peninsula – but all of this would ultimately prove brief and merely symbolic, not developing into anything concrete.

    The past couple years have seen a return to the type of trading of barbs, warnings and insults commonplace during much of the past official six decades of the ‘state of war’ between the two. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 07/27/2021 – 19:00

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