Monday, September 21, 2020

Donald Trump : Maxwell

What does Ghislaine Maxwell have on Donald Trump?

Covid Lockdowns in Four More Areas of Wales as Cases Rise

THE GUARDIAN: Stricter rules from Tuesday in Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent

About a quarter of the Welsh population will be subject to local lockdowns after sharp rises in Covid-19 cases triggered restrictions in four new areas.

Strict limits on travel and socialising will come into force from 6pm on Tuesday across Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent in south Wales.

Lockdowns are already in place in Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf and the Welsh government made it clear that other local restrictions or even a national lockdown could be brought in.

No lockdown has been imposed in Cardiff but three of the areas now restricted have borders with the Welsh capital and many people from the lockdown areas travel there every day for work and education.

Announcing what he called “genuinely extraordinary” measures, the Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said the rise of coronavirus cases in the four new areas had been “worrying and rapid”. » | Steven Morris | Monday, September 21, 2020

No 10 Denies Reports Boris Johnson Went on Secret Italy Trip

THE GUARDIAN: Minister also rejects airport’s statement PM flew into Perugia in past fortnight

One of Boris Johnson’s ministers has denied a report in the Italian media that the UK prime minister made a secret trip to the country less than a fortnight ago, a claim Downing Street has also rejected as “completely untrue”.

Asked if Johnson had landed in Perugia in the past two weeks, which the Umbrian airport said had happened in a statement, Grant Shapps, the transport minister, told Sky News: “Not that I’m aware of. I think it’s mistaken, as far as I’m aware.”

reported on the alleged trip after the Barcelona footballer Luis Suárez flew into Perugia on 17 September. The airport put out a press release saying that as well as Suárez, Johnson had also arrived there in recent days. » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Monday, September 21, 2020

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Taiwan: China's Next Target? | DW Analysis

Despite China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour both at home and abroad, Beijing’s open threat to take control of Taiwan by force is receiving comparatively little attention – leaving this flourishing liberal democracy uniquely isolated and vulnerable. The threat may be far more imminent than many imagine. According to Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu “the Chinese authoritarian leaders may find Taiwan as a convenient scapegoat. Therefore, Taiwan needs to be doubly concerned about a possible Chinese use of force against us.”

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Look Back at Her Life

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer, the court announced. She was 87.

Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.


Trump Says He Can Negotiate a Third Term Because He's Entitled to It

At a rally last weekend, Donald Trump mentioned that he might try to "negotiate" a third term as president because he says that he is "entitled" to it. While the negotiation part is absolutely ridiculous, the part about being entitled says a lot about the state of the President's psyche. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains the President's rantings and what they mean.

Thailand: Anti-Government Protest in Bangkok Draws Massive Crowd | DW News

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters are rallying in the streets of Thailand's capital Bangkok to demand democratic reforms. The student-led demonstrations are calling for the prime minister's resignation and changes in tough laws against criticizing the monarchy. Organizers say tens of thousands have turned out. That would make it the biggest protest since a 2014 coup when now-prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha took power. Authorities have warned against holding demonstrations amid fears that the coronavirus could spread rapidly among participants.

Coronavirus Protesters in London 'May Get Arrested', Police Warn

THE GUARDIAN: Officers try to disperse crowds after ‘outbreaks of violence’ at protest against restrictions
Protesters “may get arrested” if they defy orders to leave a demonstration in central London against coronavirus restrictions and mass vaccinations, the Met police has warned.

More than a thousand people are estimated to have joined the central London rally, among them 5G conspiracy theorists, coronavirus sceptics and “anti-vaxxers”.

Sections got into scuffles with police – some officers, with their batons drawn, were pushed back by crowds on the margins of the demo.

In a statement issued at 3pm on Saturday, the Met said it would take enforcement action to disperse the Resist and Act for Freedom rally following “outbreaks of violence towards officers”. » | Aaron Walawalkar and Damien Gayle | Saturday, September 19, 2020

Most Americans Think Trump Has Given Up Trying to Handle the Pandemic

According to the latest round of polling, a majority of Americans believe that the President has simply given up trying to actually manage and handle the pandemic. This isn't a good sign for the President who is in a tight race to retain his office. If the people believe that you have given up on them, they are far more likely to give up on you, as Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains.

England-wide Covid Lockdown Needed 'Sooner Rather Than Later', Says Former Adviser

THE GUARDIAN: Prof Neil Ferguson says new rules should be imposed to minimise deaths in ‘perfect storm’ second wave

The epidemiologist whose modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy has warned that new coronavirus restrictions will be needed in England “sooner rather than later” if the government is to prevent the disease surging again.

Prof Neil Ferguson – who resigned from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – said the country was facing a “perfect storm” following the easing of controls over the summer. » | Nicola Slawson | Saturday, September 19, 2020

Is There a Global Movement behind Donald Trump?

Is Donald Trump backed by international support aimed at nothing short but the merger of corporate and state power?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court’s Feminist Icon, Is Dead at 87

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg’s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions earned her late-life rock stardom.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation’s unlikely cultural icon, died at her home in Washington on Friday. She was 87.

The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said.

By the time two small tumors were found in one of her lungs in December 2018, during a follow-up scan for broken ribs suffered in a recent fall, Justice Ginsburg had beaten colon cancer in 1999 and early-stage pancreatic cancer 10 years later. She received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery in 2014.

Barely five feet tall and weighing 100 pounds, Justice Ginsburg drew comments for years on her fragile appearance. But she was tough, working out regularly with a trainer, who published a book about his famous client’s challenging exercise regime. » | Linda Greenhouse | Friday, September 18, 2020

Outcry as Super-rich Trump Donor Given Permission to Avoid Canada Quarantine

THE GUARDIAN: Billionaire Liz Uihlein landed in Toronto in August and did not have to follow mandatory 14-day coronavirus self-isolation rules

A billionaire backer of Donald Trump who has been outspoken in her criticism of coronavirus restrictions was granted an exemption to a mandatory quarantine when she visited Canada by private jet.

Liz Uihlein, the head of Wisconsin-based packaging company Uline, landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on 25 August to visit one of the company’s warehouses, according to a report by CBC News.

Under the Quarantine Act, visitors to Canada are required to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival to the country. Failure to comply with restrictions carry a maximum penalty of up to $750,000 in fines and/or imprisonment for six months.

But neither Uihlein, nor her two travelling companions, were required to quarantine. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Friday, September 18, 2020

Trump's October Surprise Could Be Explosive! (w/ Dr Trita Parsi)

Mike Pompeo is planning an October surprise. What surprise? Declaring an ‘election’ war on someone? Is the plan to start a conflict with Iran? Pompeo is said to be claiming to start UN sanctions which don’t exist, but why should reality affect an election war?

Dr. Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joined Thom to discuss what Pompeo is up to.


Friday, September 18, 2020

Opinion: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

THE NEW YORK TIMES: How much longer are we going to allow its platform to foment hatred and undermine democracy?

For years, Myanmar’s military used Facebook to incite hatred and genocidal violence against the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority group, leading to mass death and displacement. It took until 2018 for Facebook to admit to and apologize for its failure to act.

Two years later, the platform is, yet again, sowing the seeds for genocidal violence. This time it’s in Ethiopia, where the recent assassination of Hachalu Hundessa, a singer and political activist from the country’s Oromo ethnic group, led to violence in its capital city, Addis Ababa. This bloodshed was, according to Vice News, “supercharged by the almost-instant and widespread sharing of hate speech and incitement to violence on Facebook, which whipped up people’s anger.” This follows a similar incident in 2019, where disinformation shared on Facebook helped catapult violencethat claimed 86 lives in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

Facebook has been incredibly lucrative for its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks among the wealthiest men in the world. But it’s been a disaster for the world itself, a powerful vector for paranoia, propaganda and conspiracy-theorizing as well as authoritarian crackdowns and vicious attacks on the free press. Wherever it goes, chaos and destabilization follow. » | Jamelle Bouie, Opinion columnist | Friday, September 18, 2020

Scaramucci: Trump Has Sycophants Who Are Willing to Lie for Him

Former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci reacts to a stunning rebuke from former coronavirus task force member Olivia Troye of Trump's response to the pandemic.

Trump Again Says Virus Will Disappear, Discusses 'Herd Mentality' | Morning Joe | MSNBC

During a town hall on Tuesday, President Trump again said the coronavirus will disappear over time, even without a vaccine, and he predicted 'herd mentality' would develop. The panel discusses. Aired on 09/16/2020.

Thursday, September 17, 2020

America First: US Leads in Coronavirus Infections and Deaths | Covid-19 Special

In regards to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide it is 'America First' in total cases and deaths. Experts point to the US' lack of pandemic preparatio and the political division over prevention measures.The pandemic is also magnifiying existing social problems and inequalities in the US. Statistics show that black Americans are more likely to die from the virus than whites. With case numbers gradually falling once again can the US ward off another spike of COVID-19 infections and deaths that fall disproportionately on its most vulnerable?

Bob Woodward Induced a Confession of the Greatest Lie in American History Says Steve Schmidt | MSNBC

Founder of the Lincoln Project Steve Schmidt reacts to the number of taped interviews released by journalist Bob Woodward showing just how much the president downplayed the coronavirus while knowing how deadly it really was. Aired on 09/16/2020.

Former Model Alleges Sexual Assault by Donald Trump: 'I Feel Sick, Violated'

Amy Dorris alleges she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump in 1997, when she was 24. Speaking publicly about the alleged incident for the first time, the former model claims Trump grabbed her as she came out of the bathroom of his VIP box at the US Open tennis event, forced his tongue down her throat and held her in a grip from which she could not escape. Trump's lawyers said he denied in the strongest possible terms having ever harassed, abused or behaved improperly toward Dorris


Read the article HERE»