Russian police arrested more than 5,000 people on Sunday at protests to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Protests took place in multiple Russian cities, from Siberia and Russia's far east to St Petersburg and the capital, Moscow, in the biggest show of public dissent in Russia in years.
Read more at:
Alexei Navalny: More than 5,000 arrested across Russia as tens of thousands protest | Euronews
1/31/21
AstraZeneca Covid Vaccination Age Limitation: Germany recommends AstraZeneca COVID vaccine only for people under 65
Germany will review the order of its coronavirus vaccine priority list following a recommendation from its vaccine authority not to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to individuals 65 and older.
"We will now have to review the order of vaccination [because] of the age limitations of the AstraZeneca vaccine," said health minister Jens Spahn, according to AFP.
Read more at: Germany recommends AstraZeneca COVID vaccine only for people under 65 | Euronews
"We will now have to review the order of vaccination [because] of the age limitations of the AstraZeneca vaccine," said health minister Jens Spahn, according to AFP.
Read more at: Germany recommends AstraZeneca COVID vaccine only for people under 65 | Euronews
U.S. economy contracted an estimated 3.5% in 2020, worst drop since WW2
The U.S. economy contracted 3.5 per cent in 2020, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, the worst economic freeze since the end of the Second World War.
The report estimated that the nation's gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — slowed sharply in the October-December quarter after a record 33.4 per cent surge in the July-September quarter. That gain had followed a record-shattering annual plunge of 31.4 per cent in the April-June quarter.
The economy grew at a four per cent annual rate in the final three months of 2020.
Read more at:U.S. economy contracted an estimated 3.5% in 2020, worst drop since WW2 | CBC News
The report estimated that the nation's gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — slowed sharply in the October-December quarter after a record 33.4 per cent surge in the July-September quarter. That gain had followed a record-shattering annual plunge of 31.4 per cent in the April-June quarter.
The economy grew at a four per cent annual rate in the final three months of 2020.
Read more at:U.S. economy contracted an estimated 3.5% in 2020, worst drop since WW2 | CBC News
China Coronavirus vaccine as diplomatic weapon: China uses coronavirus vaccine to expand influence - Opinion
If the pandemic weren't so serious —deadly serious, in fact — it would actually be funny to watch all of the missteps and made-up figures the government has issued. A walk through the Serbian capital almost gives one the impression that everything is just fine, that COVID-19 sidestepped Serbia on its way elsewhere. Cafes and restaurants are open for business. People continue to crowd into local shopping malls. Most of them seem to have forgotten their masks. And those wearing them are doing so incorrectly, with their noses fully exposed.
The Russian and Chinese vaccines do not have regulatory approval in Western countries. And that's why the difficulties the EU and Washington are that much harder to take. These delays will cost lives, and governments across Europe are under pressure to deliver for their citizens.
Read more at:
Opinion: China uses coronavirus vaccine to expand influence | Opinion | DW | 30.01.2021
The Russian and Chinese vaccines do not have regulatory approval in Western countries. And that's why the difficulties the EU and Washington are that much harder to take. These delays will cost lives, and governments across Europe are under pressure to deliver for their citizens.
Afgghanistan: Foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond May deadline - NATO sources - by Rupam Jain, Charlotte Greenfield
International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban’s deal with the United States, four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding full withdrawal.
The administration of then-President Donald Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban early last year calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in return for the insurgents fulfilling certain security guarantees.
Read more at: Exclusive: Foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond May deadline - NATO sources | Reuters
The administration of then-President Donald Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban early last year calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in return for the insurgents fulfilling certain security guarantees.
Read more at: Exclusive: Foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond May deadline - NATO sources | Reuters
1/30/21
Turkey - respiratory warning: Follow measures not to risk 3rd peak in Turkey: Expert - byYesim Sert Karaaslan
Dr. Afsin Emre Kayipmaz, a member of Turkey's Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, said people should continue to follow measures especially during the winter months and noted there has been an increase in coronavirus infections in Turkey in the past four days.
Kayipmaz told Anadolu Agency that lockdown measures in the last couple of months are a major factor in reducing cases and deaths.
Read more at: Follow measures not to risk 3rd peak in Turkey: Expert
Kayipmaz told Anadolu Agency that lockdown measures in the last couple of months are a major factor in reducing cases and deaths.
Read more at: Follow measures not to risk 3rd peak in Turkey: Expert
EU Coronavirus Spike: Portugal and Spain under pressure with huge Covid spike - by Elena Sánchez Nicolás
Portugal and Spain are struggling to control a massive surge in new coronavirus cases, amid fears over vaccines delays and fast-spreading Covid-19 mutations. The worsening epidemiological situation triggered the Portugese government to close the border with Spain for two weeks on Thursday (28 January).
Read more at: https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/150759
Read more at: https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/150759
The Netherlands: New Economic Theory: Could Amsterdam's New Economic Theory Replace Capitalism? - by Ciara Nugent
In April 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19, Amsterdam’s city government announced it would recover from the crisis, and avoid future ones, by embracing the theory of “doughnut economics.” Laid out by British economist Kate Raworth in a 2017 book, the theory argues that 20th century economic thinking is not equipped to deal with the 21st century reality of a planet teetering on the edge of climate breakdown. Instead of equating a growing GDP with a successful society, our goal should be to fit all of human life into what Raworth calls the “sweet spot” between the “social foundation,” where everyone has what they need to live a good life, and the “environmental ceiling.” By and large, people in rich countries are living above the environmental ceiling. Those in poorer countries often fall below the social foundation. The space in between: that’s the doughnut.
Amsterdam’s ambition is to bring all 872,000 residents inside the doughnut, ensuring everyone has access to a good quality of life, but without putting more pressure on the planet than is sustainable. Guided by Raworth’s organization, the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), the city is introducing massive infrastructure projects, employment schemes and new policies for government contracts to that end. Meanwhile, some 400 local people and organizations have set up a network called the Amsterdam Doughnut Coalition—managed by Drouin— to run their own programs at a grassroots level.
Now, Amsterdam is grappling with what the doughnut would look like on the ground. Marieke van Doorninck, the deputy mayor for sustainability and urban planning, says the pandemic added urgency that helped the city get behind a bold new strategy. “Kate had already told us what to do. COVID showed us the way to do it,” she says. “I think in the darkest times, it’s easiest to imagine another world.”
Read more at: Could Amsterdam's New Economic Theory Replace Capitalism? | Time
Amsterdam’s ambition is to bring all 872,000 residents inside the doughnut, ensuring everyone has access to a good quality of life, but without putting more pressure on the planet than is sustainable. Guided by Raworth’s organization, the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), the city is introducing massive infrastructure projects, employment schemes and new policies for government contracts to that end. Meanwhile, some 400 local people and organizations have set up a network called the Amsterdam Doughnut Coalition—managed by Drouin— to run their own programs at a grassroots level.
Now, Amsterdam is grappling with what the doughnut would look like on the ground. Marieke van Doorninck, the deputy mayor for sustainability and urban planning, says the pandemic added urgency that helped the city get behind a bold new strategy. “Kate had already told us what to do. COVID showed us the way to do it,” she says. “I think in the darkest times, it’s easiest to imagine another world.”
Read more at: Could Amsterdam's New Economic Theory Replace Capitalism? | Time
USA: Ted Cruz under scrutiny: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes in hard on Ted Cruz and GOP: ‘you almost had me murdered’ - by Walter Einenke
On Thursday, responding the the stock trading mobile app Robinhood blocking retail investors from buying surging stocks like GameStop, AMC, Bed Bath & Beyond, BlackBerry, and Nokia, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for an investigation into the transparent manipulation of the stock market by hedge funds. On Twitter she wrote, “This is unacceptable. We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit. As a member of the Financial Services Cmte [sic], I’d support a hearing if necessary.”
The always craven and opportunistic political Renfield Sen. Ted Cruz decided to retweet Ocasio-Cortez’s statement and add “Fully agree.” Blech! Rep. Ocasio-Cortez isn’t going to allow this disingenuous piece of human detritus play pretend Mother Theresa, so she replied: “I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out. Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.” Boom.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes in hard on Ted Cruz and GOP: ‘you almost had me murdered’
The always craven and opportunistic political Renfield Sen. Ted Cruz decided to retweet Ocasio-Cortez’s statement and add “Fully agree.” Blech! Rep. Ocasio-Cortez isn’t going to allow this disingenuous piece of human detritus play pretend Mother Theresa, so she replied: “I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out. Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.” Boom.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes in hard on Ted Cruz and GOP: ‘you almost had me murdered’
European Rail: A rail renaissance for Europe – by Lena Donat
The climate crisis is forcing us to rethink the way we travel and transport goods. The European Union can only reach its climate-neutrality target if transport emissions drop.
We cannot go back to pre-pandemic transport patterns; rather, we should use the dislocation to reinvent mobility in Europe. Luckily, we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Rail is the cleanest and most reliable means of long-distance transport and we can build on the railway network constructed over two centuries in Europe, turning rail again into the backbone of a sustainable system.
Read more at: A rail renaissance for Europe – Lena Donat
We cannot go back to pre-pandemic transport patterns; rather, we should use the dislocation to reinvent mobility in Europe. Luckily, we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Rail is the cleanest and most reliable means of long-distance transport and we can build on the railway network constructed over two centuries in Europe, turning rail again into the backbone of a sustainable system.
Read more at: A rail renaissance for Europe – Lena Donat
1/29/21
USA: Trump-inspired big donors plan their own campaigns - by Alex Isenstadt
Gary Rabine has plowed cash into the pro-Donald Trump organization Turning Point USA, shelled out thousands of dollars to the former president’s reelection campaign and raised big bucks with Donald Trump Jr.
Now, Rabine is striking out on his own — and plotting a run for Illinois governor.
Read more at: Trump-inspired big donors plan their own campaigns - POLITICO
Now, Rabine is striking out on his own — and plotting a run for Illinois governor.
Read more at: Trump-inspired big donors plan their own campaigns - POLITICO
EU approves AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is now authorised across the EU. This follows the granting of a conditional marketing authorisation by the European Commission on 29 January 2021.
EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people from 18 years of age. This is the third COVID-19 vaccine that EMA has recommended for authorisation.
EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has thoroughly assessed the data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and recommended by consensus a formal conditional marketing authorisation be granted by the European Commission. This will assure EU citizens that the vaccine meets EU standards and puts in place the safeguards, controls and obligations to underpin EU-wide vaccination campaigns.
Read more at: EU approves AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine | News | DW | 29.01.2021
EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people from 18 years of age. This is the third COVID-19 vaccine that EMA has recommended for authorisation.
EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has thoroughly assessed the data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and recommended by consensus a formal conditional marketing authorisation be granted by the European Commission. This will assure EU citizens that the vaccine meets EU standards and puts in place the safeguards, controls and obligations to underpin EU-wide vaccination campaigns.
Read more at: EU approves AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine | News | DW | 29.01.2021
Global Privacy Regulations: Hot Spots to Watch in 2021 - by Jessica Wilburn and Dr. Tobias Schelinski
When it comes to data privacy law, change is the only constant. The global pandemic unleashed a new set of risks related to data privacy that companies will have to confront in 2021. But despite the COVID chaos, data privacy regulations around the world are becoming more strict, more prolific, and more stringently enforced.
In the coming year, we predict that organizations, especially those with global operations, may find that a single, comprehensive approach to data privacy in order to operate in this increasingly complex environment, the better and most risk-averse approach.
What are the biggest questions being asked in the privacy community? What else does the future hold? Dr. Tobias Schelinski, German partner at the international law firm Taylor-Wessing, and Jessica Wilburn, Data Privacy Officer and Senior Counsel at NAVEX Global, offer global perspectives and bold predictions around the trend toward complexity around data privacy laws.
Read more at: Global Privacy Regulations: Hot Spots to Watch in 2021 | NAVEX Global - JDSupra
In the coming year, we predict that organizations, especially those with global operations, may find that a single, comprehensive approach to data privacy in order to operate in this increasingly complex environment, the better and most risk-averse approach.
What are the biggest questions being asked in the privacy community? What else does the future hold? Dr. Tobias Schelinski, German partner at the international law firm Taylor-Wessing, and Jessica Wilburn, Data Privacy Officer and Senior Counsel at NAVEX Global, offer global perspectives and bold predictions around the trend toward complexity around data privacy laws.
Read more at: Global Privacy Regulations: Hot Spots to Watch in 2021 | NAVEX Global - JDSupra
QAnon: The Making of QAnon: A Crowdsourced Conspiracy
Once again, this dangerous and eclectic conspiracy is in the spotlight. It has come a long way since its birth on a forum barely three years ago.
On October 28, 2017, an anonymous user browsing the /pol/ section of 4chan, a notorious alt-right imageboard, saw a post that read, “Hillary Clinton will be arrested between 7:45 AM — 8:30 AM EST on Monday — the morning on Oct 30, 2017,” and decided to respond. This user would later adopt the name “Q Clearance Patriot” (soon shortened to “Q”). Q hinted that they were a military officer in President Trump’s inner circle; their writings — almost 5,000 posts to date — gave birth to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Most accounts of QAnon present this first “Q drop”, as Q’s posts are known by their acolytes, as the starting point of the Q movement. This is mistaken for two reasons. One is trivial: Q first gained an audience with a different set of drops, because their earliest efforts sank without a trace and weren’t rediscovered by anyone on 4chan until November 11 that same year. The other is deeply significant: Q’s origins can’t be divorced from the culture of /pol/, which was a rich slurry of racism, anti-Semitism, and (especially relevant here) right-wing conspiracy theories.
Therefore, QAnon was both an outgrowth and an evolution of /pol/ culture: not only were many of Q’s claims already popular on /pol/, but Q borrowed key themes and ideas from predecessors. The key to understanding the roots of Q is to understand the culture of /pol/.
Read complete rreport at: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/01/07/the-making-of-qanon-a-crowdsourced-conspiracy/
1/28/21
U.S. Economy Slows Sharply As Pandemic Resurges - by Scott Horsley
The nation's economic engine slowed considerably in recent months, as it faced off against a winter wave of coronavirus infections.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the nation's gross domestic product grew just under 1% in October, November and December — a marked downshift from the three previous months. On an annualized basis, the economy grew 4% in the fourth quarter.
GDP was 2.5% smaller at the end of the year than when it began. Economic activity plunged last March and April when the pandemic took hold. The economy staged a partial comeback in the summer and early fall, only to falter in the last three months of the year.
Read more at: U.S. Economy Slows Sharply As Pandemic Resurges : NPR
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the nation's gross domestic product grew just under 1% in October, November and December — a marked downshift from the three previous months. On an annualized basis, the economy grew 4% in the fourth quarter.
GDP was 2.5% smaller at the end of the year than when it began. Economic activity plunged last March and April when the pandemic took hold. The economy staged a partial comeback in the summer and early fall, only to falter in the last three months of the year.
Read more at: U.S. Economy Slows Sharply As Pandemic Resurges : NPR
The EU's vaccine strategy - the key points
The European Commission, on behalf of member states, has sealed deals with six companies for up to 2.3 billion vaccine doses. The BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are so far the only jabs authorised in the EU, but the vaccine jointly developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca is expected to be approved on Friday (29 January) by the European Medical Agency (EMA).
With two doses per person needed for both authorised vaccines, the EU could vaccinate at least 380 million people - covering approximately 80 percent of the European population.
Read more at: https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/150747
With two doses per person needed for both authorised vaccines, the EU could vaccinate at least 380 million people - covering approximately 80 percent of the European population.
Read more at: https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/150747
Russia: Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - Opinion - by the WP Editorial Board
Vladimir Putin is frequently portrayed as one of the architects of a 21st-century model of autocracy that is gaining strength globally, even as democracy stumbles in the United States and elsewhere. Events in Russia on Saturday belied that narrative. Tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities defied freezing temperatures and riot police to join raucous protests against the Putin regime. While the Russian dictator isn’t likely to be toppled soon, the unrest revealed the rotten foundations of his rule — and the opportunity that offers to democratic adversaries.
Mr. Putin’s weakness was revealed thanks to the ingenuity and stunning courage of Alexei Navalny, who survived a poisoning attack by Mr. Putin’s agents in August and then returned to the country just over a week ago to take on his nemesis frontally. As expected, the 44-year-old activist was swiftly arrested. But Mr. Putin surely did not anticipate what came next: Mr. Navalny’s call for demonstrations, coupled with his release of an extraordinary, 112-minute video documenting Mr. Putin’s corruption, including the Versailles-scale palace he has secretly constructed on the shores of the Black Sea. By Monday, the video had accumulated more than 89 million views on YouTube — and thousands of Russians who had never before protested against Mr. Putin had taken to the streets.
Read more at: Opinion | Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - The Washington Post
Mr. Putin’s weakness was revealed thanks to the ingenuity and stunning courage of Alexei Navalny, who survived a poisoning attack by Mr. Putin’s agents in August and then returned to the country just over a week ago to take on his nemesis frontally. As expected, the 44-year-old activist was swiftly arrested. But Mr. Putin surely did not anticipate what came next: Mr. Navalny’s call for demonstrations, coupled with his release of an extraordinary, 112-minute video documenting Mr. Putin’s corruption, including the Versailles-scale palace he has secretly constructed on the shores of the Black Sea. By Monday, the video had accumulated more than 89 million views on YouTube — and thousands of Russians who had never before protested against Mr. Putin had taken to the streets.
Read more at: Opinion | Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - The Washington Post
EU: Personal Privacy Day
Today the EU celebrates "Privacy Data Day". All residents and visitors to the EU should be aware that the EU observes strict personal privacy laws. If you are on the territory of the EU you are not required to agree to any cookies, which many, if not all websites request, when checking out a website. In case your access is denied, as a result of you not accepting the cookie request, you can report that to: https://edps.europa.eu/.../our-role-supervisor/complaints_en
Please pass this on to friends and family members. Foreign tourists to the EU, also enjoy the same personal privacy privileges as local residents.
Read more at: EU-Digest
Read more at: EU-Digest
1/27/21
New Cold War ? Xi of China warns Davos forum against 'new Cold War' - by Eve Szeftel
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned global leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum Monday against starting a "new Cold War" while he championed multilateralism. Representing the only major economy to record economic growth last year, Xi presented himself as the defender of multilateralism, as he did at the same forum four years ago when Donald Trump was about to assume the United States presidency.
Without naming the US, Xi seemed to have a message for Trump's successor Joe Biden, who entered the White House just a few days ago, but who is not addressing the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
To build small cliques or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others... will only push the world into division," Xi told the world's political and economic elite as the Biden administration plans to revitalize global alliances to counter China's growing influence.
Note EU-Digest: Cold war = weapons industry profits - hopefully we in the West don't go on that dangerous route again.
Read more at: Xi warns Davos forum against 'new Cold War' - Business - The Jakarta Post
Without naming the US, Xi seemed to have a message for Trump's successor Joe Biden, who entered the White House just a few days ago, but who is not addressing the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
To build small cliques or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others... will only push the world into division," Xi told the world's political and economic elite as the Biden administration plans to revitalize global alliances to counter China's growing influence.
Note EU-Digest: Cold war = weapons industry profits - hopefully we in the West don't go on that dangerous route again.
Read more at: Xi warns Davos forum against 'new Cold War' - Business - The Jakarta Post
Covid-19 vaccines: Less Than 1% of People Experienced Side Effects From Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine, CDC Says - by Alexa Lardieri
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that 0.03%, or 1,266, of the more than 4 million people who have received the first dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine experienced adverse events.
Of the recipients with side effects, 108 were identified for further review as severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis – a life-threatening allergic reaction that the CDC says can occur after a vaccination, although rarely. It typically occurs within minutes to hours.
Read more at: Less Than 1% of People Experienced Side Effects From Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine, CDC Says | Health News | US News
Of the recipients with side effects, 108 were identified for further review as severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis – a life-threatening allergic reaction that the CDC says can occur after a vaccination, although rarely. It typically occurs within minutes to hours.
Read more at: Less Than 1% of People Experienced Side Effects From Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine, CDC Says | Health News | US News
USA - The U.S. needs a democracy overhaul. Here’s what Biden’s first step should be
Since loosing reelection, President Trump has failed to overturn the results. But his post-election tantrum, not to mention his behavior before now, has magnified legitimate concerns about weaknesses in the nation’s democratic institutions. Mr. Trump lost the electoral college by a secure margin. What if he hadn’t? What will happen when a wanton president, an out-of-control state legislature or a hyper-partisan congressional majority sees a riper opportunity, based on a cockamamie legal theory or bad-faith execution of its duties, to reject the will of the voters?
In short, Mr. Trump and a disturbing number of Republican officials have made obsolete the old assumptions that each major party will play fair, that electoral results will reflect the will of the majority and that each side will willingly turn over power when defeated at the polls. The nation needs a top-to-bottom review of how it conducts elections, counts votes and assures the public of the democracy’s health, so that it resists those who want to restrict voting, trash legitimate ballots and leverage positions of trust to upend valid results. Among President-elect Joe Biden’s first acts should be to convene a high-level commission to recommend a democracy overhaul.
Read more Opinion | The U.S. needs a democracy overhaul. Here’s what Biden’s first step should be. - The Washington Post
In short, Mr. Trump and a disturbing number of Republican officials have made obsolete the old assumptions that each major party will play fair, that electoral results will reflect the will of the majority and that each side will willingly turn over power when defeated at the polls. The nation needs a top-to-bottom review of how it conducts elections, counts votes and assures the public of the democracy’s health, so that it resists those who want to restrict voting, trash legitimate ballots and leverage positions of trust to upend valid results. Among President-elect Joe Biden’s first acts should be to convene a high-level commission to recommend a democracy overhaul.
Read more Opinion | The U.S. needs a democracy overhaul. Here’s what Biden’s first step should be. - The Washington Post
The Netherlands: Curfew maintained despite riots
A strong police presence in various cities in the Netherlands seemed Tuesday evening to have prevented further unrest, after three nights of violent riots that have rocked the country since the establishment of a curfew on Saturday.
Note EU-Digest:The mob behavior instigated by Trump symphatisers on January 6,in Washington, has unfortunately inspired some of the US's western allies populist derelicts in France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands to do the same. Hopefully EU countries will not take this threat for granted and deal with it in a forceful matter.
Read more at: Netherlands | Curfew maintained despite riots - Inspired Traveler - Latest News
Note EU-Digest:The mob behavior instigated by Trump symphatisers on January 6,in Washington, has unfortunately inspired some of the US's western allies populist derelicts in France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands to do the same. Hopefully EU countries will not take this threat for granted and deal with it in a forceful matter.
Read more at: Netherlands | Curfew maintained despite riots - Inspired Traveler - Latest News
1/26/21
EU Vaccine sales and distribution: EU begins to clamp down on vaccine exports as supplies fall short - by Michael Le Page
The European Union has taken a first step towards clamping down on the export of coronavirus vaccines after pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca told the bloc it would deliver far fewer doses than expected in the next months. The EU hasn’t stopped manufacturers from selling to outside nations, including the UK, but has taken a step towards this by requiring vaccine manufacturers to give notice before exporting.
“In the future, all companies producing vaccines against covid-19 in the EU will have to provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries,” said Stella Kyriakides, the EU commissioner for health, on 25 January. “Humanitarian deliveries are, of course, not affected by this. The European Union will take any action required to protect its citizens and rights.”
Even before it was clear whether any vaccine would work, many countries signed deals with vaccine-makers to provide set numbers of doses by certain dates. As part of these, countries paid in advance for the preparation of manufacturing facilities.
?
AstraZeneca was meant to deliver 80 million doses of its vaccine to the EU by the end of March. The EU hasn’t yet approved this vaccine, but is expected to do so soon.
Last week, AstraZeneca told the EU that it would only be able to deliver 31 million doses. According to Reuters, this is because the EU doses are being made at a vaccine factory in Belgium run by a company called Novasep that has faced production problems.
Read more at: "EU begins to clamp down on vaccine exports as supplies fall short | New Scientist
“In the future, all companies producing vaccines against covid-19 in the EU will have to provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries,” said Stella Kyriakides, the EU commissioner for health, on 25 January. “Humanitarian deliveries are, of course, not affected by this. The European Union will take any action required to protect its citizens and rights.”
Even before it was clear whether any vaccine would work, many countries signed deals with vaccine-makers to provide set numbers of doses by certain dates. As part of these, countries paid in advance for the preparation of manufacturing facilities.
?
AstraZeneca was meant to deliver 80 million doses of its vaccine to the EU by the end of March. The EU hasn’t yet approved this vaccine, but is expected to do so soon.
Last week, AstraZeneca told the EU that it would only be able to deliver 31 million doses. According to Reuters, this is because the EU doses are being made at a vaccine factory in Belgium run by a company called Novasep that has faced production problems.
Read more at: "EU begins to clamp down on vaccine exports as supplies fall short | New Scientist
The Netherlands shaken by third night of riots over Covid curfew
A third night of rioting has shaken the Netherlands as protesters rampaged through towns and cities around the country after government introduced a night-time curfew.
More than 180 people were arrested on Monday in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where shops were vandalised and looted and the mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, issued an emergency decree giving police broader powers of arrest.
“These people are shameless thieves, I cannot say otherwise,” Aboutaleb said.But trouble also flared in smaller centres around the country such as Den Bosch, Zwolle, Amersfoort, Alkmaar, Hoorn, Gouda – where several cars were set on fire – and Haarlem, where police were attacked with stones.
Read more at: Netherlands shaken by third night of riots over Covid curfew | Netherlands | The Guardian
More than 180 people were arrested on Monday in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where shops were vandalised and looted and the mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, issued an emergency decree giving police broader powers of arrest.
“These people are shameless thieves, I cannot say otherwise,” Aboutaleb said.But trouble also flared in smaller centres around the country such as Den Bosch, Zwolle, Amersfoort, Alkmaar, Hoorn, Gouda – where several cars were set on fire – and Haarlem, where police were attacked with stones.
Read more at: Netherlands shaken by third night of riots over Covid curfew | Netherlands | The Guardian
USA: Congress must expel its coup plotters, then somehow find truth, reconciliation, or U.S. is doomed - by Will Bunch
If tradition holds (and who knows about that anymore), on a cold night this February Joe Biden will motorcade from his new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue up Capitol Hill, and a new House sergeant-at-arms will proclaim, “Madame Speaker, the president of the United States!” In front of that so-familiar flag, the 46th president will ask a joint session of Congress for unprecedented, bipartisan help in facing the worst domestic crises since FDR and the Great Depression — a race to vaccinate millions of Americans as thousands die daily, amid food lines of the many unable to work.
Yet as Biden looks out over the House chamber, he will see staring back at him the blank faces of 147 lawmakers who just days earlier had voted to suspend not just the basic tenets of U.S. democracy but the very notion of rational truth in voting to halt the certification of the Democrat’s election, on utterly unfounded voter fraud claims. And arguably that’s not the worst of it.
Read more at: https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/congress-expel-members-who-aided-insurrection-20210114.html
Yet as Biden looks out over the House chamber, he will see staring back at him the blank faces of 147 lawmakers who just days earlier had voted to suspend not just the basic tenets of U.S. democracy but the very notion of rational truth in voting to halt the certification of the Democrat’s election, on utterly unfounded voter fraud claims. And arguably that’s not the worst of it.
Read more at: https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/congress-expel-members-who-aided-insurrection-20210114.html
EU-Russia Relations: Why Russia politics threaten European security - by Mark Galeotti
Arguments over the plight of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Saturday's (23 January) street protests across Russia demonstrate that there is no such thing as purely domestic politics, and may have serious implications for Europe.
Navalny, poisoned by Russian security officers in August, had been recuperating in Berlin until his return on 17 January. His prompt arrest on questionable charges triggered major nationwide protests this past Saturday, but what was no doubt originally envisaged by the Kremlin as a purely domestic act of repression has become an international concern.
The Kremlin had made it clear that its immediate response to the protests is it to try and outlast them.
Read more at: Why Russia politics threaten European security
Navalny, poisoned by Russian security officers in August, had been recuperating in Berlin until his return on 17 January. His prompt arrest on questionable charges triggered major nationwide protests this past Saturday, but what was no doubt originally envisaged by the Kremlin as a purely domestic act of repression has become an international concern.
The Kremlin had made it clear that its immediate response to the protests is it to try and outlast them.
Read more at: Why Russia politics threaten European security
EU adds new 'dark red' zone to travel-restrictions map - by Elena Sánchez Nicolá
The new recommendation, which member states are expected to approve in the next few weeks, would redefine the infection maps that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) prepares weekly to coordinate coronavirus travel restrictions.
From now on, EU regions will be divided into green, orange, red, and new 'dark red' zones, according to Covid-19 infection rates.
According to the commission, the new dark red category has been introduced to indicate "areas where the virus is circulating at very high levels, including because of more infectious variants of concern".
Read more at:EU adds new 'dark red' zone to travel-restrictions map
From now on, EU regions will be divided into green, orange, red, and new 'dark red' zones, according to Covid-19 infection rates.
According to the commission, the new dark red category has been introduced to indicate "areas where the virus is circulating at very high levels, including because of more infectious variants of concern".
Read more at:EU adds new 'dark red' zone to travel-restrictions map
1/25/21
Pfizer Vaccine: Caution needed in using mRNA-based vaccines to prevent unknown risks including death - by Liu Caiyu
The large-scale use of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines including those produced by Pfizer and Moderna may contain unknown risks, Chinese experts warned, and called for the cautious use of such vaccines following the death of a patient in the US.
A Beijing-based immunologist, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Monday that some components in mRNA vaccines, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), have not been used in vaccine production before, and it is no surprise to see allergic reactions in some people. The liposome physical properties of the vaccine also carry the risk of causing abnormal immune function disorders.
He called on suspension of the use of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines on the elderly and people with underlying diseases, as this new technology has not proven to be safe in large-scale use. Previously, Norway reported the deaths of 23 elderly Norwegian people who received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. All the deaths occurred in frail, elderly patients in nursing homes. All were over 80 years old and some of them over 90, Norwegian media NRK reported.
Read more at:Caution needed in using mRNA-based vaccines to prevent unknown risks including death - Global Times
A Beijing-based immunologist, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Monday that some components in mRNA vaccines, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), have not been used in vaccine production before, and it is no surprise to see allergic reactions in some people. The liposome physical properties of the vaccine also carry the risk of causing abnormal immune function disorders.
He called on suspension of the use of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines on the elderly and people with underlying diseases, as this new technology has not proven to be safe in large-scale use. Previously, Norway reported the deaths of 23 elderly Norwegian people who received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. All the deaths occurred in frail, elderly patients in nursing homes. All were over 80 years old and some of them over 90, Norwegian media NRK reported.
Read more at:Caution needed in using mRNA-based vaccines to prevent unknown risks including death - Global Times
Covid-19 Vaccine: Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary Put Trust in Russian, Chinese Vaccines - by Hamdi Firat Buyuk, Danijel Kovacevic, and Milica Stojanovic
While the majority of countries in Central and Southeast Europe have brokered deals to obtain Western-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are keeping their options open and also obtaining Chinese and Russian vaccines – despite concerns about their reliability.
Some health experts have warned that the effectiveness of these vaccines is still not fully researched, and note that their delivery dates are also still uncertain.
“Unfortunately, Turkey could not purchase a vaccine in which all three phases of research had been completed. Furthermore, there are no plans to bring [Western] Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines [to Turkey],” Emrah Altindis, a Turkish professor of Biology at Boston College, wrote on Twitter.
Turkey said earlier that it would purchase 50 million doses of China’s CoronaVac vaccine, which is still in third of phase of research. After various delays, only 3 million doses arrived on December 31. So far, Turkey has vaccinated 1.2 million of its more than 82 million citizens.
Note EU-Digest: At a press conference in Beijing a state taskforce announced the vaccine had exceeded World Health Organization standards and would help establish effective immunity in China.
Health officials said vulnerable groups would be prioritised ahead of the general population. Key groups have already been receiving vaccines under emergency approvals, including about a million receiving the Sinopharm vaccine.
Read more at: Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary Put Trust in Russian, Chinese Vaccines | Balkan Insight
Some health experts have warned that the effectiveness of these vaccines is still not fully researched, and note that their delivery dates are also still uncertain.
“Unfortunately, Turkey could not purchase a vaccine in which all three phases of research had been completed. Furthermore, there are no plans to bring [Western] Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines [to Turkey],” Emrah Altindis, a Turkish professor of Biology at Boston College, wrote on Twitter.
Turkey said earlier that it would purchase 50 million doses of China’s CoronaVac vaccine, which is still in third of phase of research. After various delays, only 3 million doses arrived on December 31. So far, Turkey has vaccinated 1.2 million of its more than 82 million citizens.
Note EU-Digest: At a press conference in Beijing a state taskforce announced the vaccine had exceeded World Health Organization standards and would help establish effective immunity in China.
Health officials said vulnerable groups would be prioritised ahead of the general population. Key groups have already been receiving vaccines under emergency approvals, including about a million receiving the Sinopharm vaccine.
Read more at: Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary Put Trust in Russian, Chinese Vaccines | Balkan Insight
The EU's vaccine 'non-diplomacy' – International relations
Faced with a another wave of infections, Europe is again struggling to get a grip on the Covid-19 pandemic. At the moment, the efforts of containing the virus currently focus on getting as many people vaccinated as possible as quickly as possible. And Eastern Partnership countries are no exception to that rule. But while the EU works around the clock to register and deliver the vaccines produced by six Western companies, neither the Chinese (Sinovac Biotech) nor the Russian vaccine (Sputnik-V) are on the European officials' immunisation menu. And that may be a luxury most Eastern Partnership countries currently can’t afford.
Some, like the political elites in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, do criticise the Russian cure. They are suspicious of Sputnik-V for both its alleged inefficiency and the propaganda campaign pursued by Russian foreign policy. The memory of the 2020 disinformation campaigns while supposedly aiding Italy or Serbia are still fresh.
However, the refusal of even examining the possibility of importing the Sputnik-V has fuelled the internal animosities between government and the pro-Russian opposition in Ukraine. The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba highlighted the propagandistic costs that come with the Russian vaccine. China’s propaganda however isn’t bothering Kyiv, which is willing to purchase the Chinese vaccine as well as Western ones.
In Belarus and Armenia, on the other hand, there’s hardly any scepticism towards the Russian vaccine and already arranged the imports or are in advanced bilateral negotiations. And across the region, there’s less scepticism towards China. The latter seems to act much more subtly, raising minimum noise and negative perceptions for its anti-Covid-19 cure. As long as Eastern Partnership countries cannot receive the vaccine from Western pharmaceutical companies, they will be signing up for the Chinese vaccine, if not the Russian one.
Read more at: The EU's vaccine 'non-diplomacy' – International relations | IPS Journal
Some, like the political elites in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, do criticise the Russian cure. They are suspicious of Sputnik-V for both its alleged inefficiency and the propaganda campaign pursued by Russian foreign policy. The memory of the 2020 disinformation campaigns while supposedly aiding Italy or Serbia are still fresh.
However, the refusal of even examining the possibility of importing the Sputnik-V has fuelled the internal animosities between government and the pro-Russian opposition in Ukraine. The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba highlighted the propagandistic costs that come with the Russian vaccine. China’s propaganda however isn’t bothering Kyiv, which is willing to purchase the Chinese vaccine as well as Western ones.
In Belarus and Armenia, on the other hand, there’s hardly any scepticism towards the Russian vaccine and already arranged the imports or are in advanced bilateral negotiations. And across the region, there’s less scepticism towards China. The latter seems to act much more subtly, raising minimum noise and negative perceptions for its anti-Covid-19 cure. As long as Eastern Partnership countries cannot receive the vaccine from Western pharmaceutical companies, they will be signing up for the Chinese vaccine, if not the Russian one.
Read more at: The EU's vaccine 'non-diplomacy' – International relations | IPS Journal
US FDA releases detailed data on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine- by Noah Manska
Pfizer’s experimental coronavirus vaccine is highly effective and poses no safety risks that would prevent it from being cleared for emergency use, Food and Drug Administration scientists said Tuesday.
FDA staffers detailed their findings in a 53-page report ahead of a Thursday meeting at which the agency’s vaccine advisory committee will consider Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization, which could pave the way for millions of high-risk Americans to be inoculated by the end of the year.
Read more at: FDA releases detailed data on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
FDA staffers detailed their findings in a 53-page report ahead of a Thursday meeting at which the agency’s vaccine advisory committee will consider Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization, which could pave the way for millions of high-risk Americans to be inoculated by the end of the year.
Read more at: FDA releases detailed data on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
EU - Russia Relations: holds off on fresh sanctions over Russia′s arrest of Navalny
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday decided to hold off on slapping new sanctions on Moscow in response to the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
The talks came two days after a police crackdown on Navalny's supporters in which more than 3,500 people were detained during demonstrations that attracted tens of thousands of people.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc's 27 members had condemned the mass arrests and agreed that Navalny's detention was "completely unacceptable." But ministers ultimately decided imposing fresh sanctions was "premature," according to one diplomat cited by AFP.
Read more at: EU holds off on fresh sanctions over Russia′s arrest of Navalny | News | DW | 25.01.2021
The talks came two days after a police crackdown on Navalny's supporters in which more than 3,500 people were detained during demonstrations that attracted tens of thousands of people.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc's 27 members had condemned the mass arrests and agreed that Navalny's detention was "completely unacceptable." But ministers ultimately decided imposing fresh sanctions was "premature," according to one diplomat cited by AFP.
Read more at: EU holds off on fresh sanctions over Russia′s arrest of Navalny | News | DW | 25.01.2021
EU: Europe’s ‘long-Covid’ economic frailty exposed – by Adam Tooze
The attention of the European public is with good reason focused on the pandemic and the need to accelerate the rollout of the vaccines. But other risks lurk ahead.
Since last summer a bubble of complacency has surrounded the European Union’s recovery package and the vision it holds out of a greener future. Europe’s constructive response to the crisis contrasts pleasingly with the dark political drama played out on the other side of the Atlantic. But 2021 may bring disillusionment, as the frailty of Europe’s economic position is once again exposed.
Read more at: Europe’s ‘long-Covid’ economic frailty – Adam Tooze
Since last summer a bubble of complacency has surrounded the European Union’s recovery package and the vision it holds out of a greener future. Europe’s constructive response to the crisis contrasts pleasingly with the dark political drama played out on the other side of the Atlantic. But 2021 may bring disillusionment, as the frailty of Europe’s economic position is once again exposed.
Read more at: Europe’s ‘long-Covid’ economic frailty – Adam Tooze
1/24/21
The Netherlands: Russians in NL protest against Navalny arrest in The Hague and Amsterdam
Dozens of Russian nationals and other supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny took part in demonstrations in calling for his release from jail in Amsterdam and The Hague on Saturday. Carrying placards in Russian and English calling for freedom for Navalny and all political prisoners,
They gathered outside the Russian embassy in The Hague and on Museumplein in Amsterdam.
Read more at: Russians in NL protest against Navalny arrest in The Hague and Amsterdam - DutchNews.nl
They gathered outside the Russian embassy in The Hague and on Museumplein in Amsterdam.
Read more at: Russians in NL protest against Navalny arrest in The Hague and Amsterdam - DutchNews.nl
The Netherlands: Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown rioters in two cities
Authorities on Sunday used water cannon and dogs in a square in central Amsterdam, where hundreds of people gathered during the curfew that began on Saturday, public television NOS reported. Videos showed police spraying people grouped against a wall of the Van Gogh Museum.
Read more at: Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown rioters in two cities | Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera
Read more at: Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown rioters in two cities | Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera
USA: Covid-19 - another Biden inheritance from Donald Trump: : US tops 25 million coronavirus cases
More than 25 million cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed across the United States. Experts say the true number is likely to be higher. More than 417,500 in the US have died with the virus.
The daily number of deaths has exceeded 4,000 in recent weeks - including on Wednesday when Joe Biden was sworn into office.
President Biden signed a raft of new measures last week, including boosting vaccinations and testing.
Read more at: Covid-19: US tops 25 million coronavirus cases - BBC News
The daily number of deaths has exceeded 4,000 in recent weeks - including on Wednesday when Joe Biden was sworn into office.
President Biden signed a raft of new measures last week, including boosting vaccinations and testing.
Read more at: Covid-19: US tops 25 million coronavirus cases - BBC News
EU-US transatlantic ties still troubled for Biden: experts - by Graham Allison
US-EU relations will be boosted, but it does not mean that the transatlantic ties will return to the good old days. It is also unclear whether the future improvement of US-EU ties will boost the likelihood of them teaming up against China. There have been many frictions between the US and the EU over the past four years. Against this backdrop, Europe will be reluctant to become an instrument of the US to contain China. The most progress the EU has made in recent years is its pursuit of strategic autonomy, which signals that Europe is unwilling to blindly follow the US.
Read more at: EU-US transatlantic ties still troubled for Biden: experts - Global Times
Read more at: EU-US transatlantic ties still troubled for Biden: experts - Global Times
Covid -19 vaccine: Chinese and Russian vaccines in high demand as world scrambles for doses- by Christian Shepherd and Max Seddon
Chinese and Russian manufacturers are seeing growing appetite from foreign buyers for their Covid-19 vaccines as the international scramble for jabs intensifies, despite lingering concerns over incomplete trial data and the rigour of domestic approval processes.
Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has agreed to sell its Sputnik V vaccine to countries including Algeria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, while the two leading Chinese manufacturers, Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech, have signed deals with more than a dozen countries including Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia and Hungary.
Read more at: Chinese and Russian vaccines in high demand as world scrambles for doses | Financial Times
Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has agreed to sell its Sputnik V vaccine to countries including Algeria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, while the two leading Chinese manufacturers, Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech, have signed deals with more than a dozen countries including Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia and Hungary.
Read more at: Chinese and Russian vaccines in high demand as world scrambles for doses | Financial Times
1/23/21
From Britain with Love: The nightmarish end to Donald Trump’s presidency - by Edward Luce
Ninety minutes before rioters stormed Capitol Hill, US president Donald Trump addressed many of the same people using unequivocally inciteful language. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness,” Mr Trump said. “You have to show strength.” His personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also called on the crowd to conduct “trial by combat”.
A mob made up of “Make America Great Again” protesters, Proud Boys and other far-right groups took them at their word. Desecration followed. Four years after Mr Trump warned of “American carnage” in his inaugural address, he got what he wanted. The scenes of insurrectionists, some of them armed, ransacking Congress will go down in infamy in American democracy.
Nobody should feign surprise. Mr Trump has been vowing to “take back control” since before he took office. During the build-up to last year’s presidential election, Mr Trump repeatedly predicted it would be the most corrupt in US history. Since losing, he has broadcast that falsehood ever more loudly.
Read more at: The nightmarish end to Donald Trump’s presidency | Financial Times
A mob made up of “Make America Great Again” protesters, Proud Boys and other far-right groups took them at their word. Desecration followed. Four years after Mr Trump warned of “American carnage” in his inaugural address, he got what he wanted. The scenes of insurrectionists, some of them armed, ransacking Congress will go down in infamy in American democracy.
Nobody should feign surprise. Mr Trump has been vowing to “take back control” since before he took office. During the build-up to last year’s presidential election, Mr Trump repeatedly predicted it would be the most corrupt in US history. Since losing, he has broadcast that falsehood ever more loudly.
Read more at: The nightmarish end to Donald Trump’s presidency | Financial Times
Canada-US Relations: How political symbolism brought down Keystone XL- by Aaron Wherry
The new president of the United States described his inauguration on Wednesday as a moment to move forward. But moving forward properly requires a reckoning with the past. In Joe Biden's case, that reckoning came for the Keystone XL pipeline.
The project's fate seemed to be sealed years ago, but it haunts us still. And now, with strident words from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney about a trade war, it could haunt Canadian politics indefinitely.
Read more at: How political symbolism brought down Keystone XL | CBC News
The project's fate seemed to be sealed years ago, but it haunts us still. And now, with strident words from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney about a trade war, it could haunt Canadian politics indefinitely.
Read more at: How political symbolism brought down Keystone XL | CBC News
The Netherlands: Everything you need to know about the curfew in the Netherlands
The curfew will be in effect from 9pm on January 23 until (at least) 4.30am on February 10. During these hours, members of the public will be expected to stay at home.
The Dutch government hopes that implementing a curfew will (significantly) reduce the number of social gatherings. The Outbreak Management Team said it would be particularly effective in preventing young people from attending / holding parties or meeting one another on the streets. Acting Prime Minister Mark Rutte hopes it will stop people from visiting the homes of family members and friends.
Read more at: Everything you need to know about the curfew in the Netherlands
The Dutch government hopes that implementing a curfew will (significantly) reduce the number of social gatherings. The Outbreak Management Team said it would be particularly effective in preventing young people from attending / holding parties or meeting one another on the streets. Acting Prime Minister Mark Rutte hopes it will stop people from visiting the homes of family members and friends.
Read more at: Everything you need to know about the curfew in the Netherlands
USA: Trump Impeachment Trial to Begin Week of Feb. 8: Schumer – by Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the schedule Friday evening after reaching an agreement with Republicans, who had pushed for a delay to give Trump a chance to organize his legal team and prepare a defense on the sole charge of incitement of insurrection.
The February start date also allows the Senate more time to confirm President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominations and consider his proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief package — top priorities of the new White House agenda that could become stalled during trial proceedings.
Read more at: Trump Impeachment Trial to Begin Week of Feb. 8: Schumer – NBC 6 South Florida
The February start date also allows the Senate more time to confirm President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominations and consider his proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief package — top priorities of the new White House agenda that could become stalled during trial proceedings.
Read more at: Trump Impeachment Trial to Begin Week of Feb. 8: Schumer – NBC 6 South Florida
1/22/21
Suriname: Oil Majors Are Eyeing A Suriname Offshore Boom - by Felicity Bradstock
Majors are eying Suriname as the next big oil player. With recent success in neighbouring Guyana, Suriname offers hope for low-cost oil exploration and production going into 2021. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Apache are all showing interest in the South American state, hoping Suriname will provide oil for as little as $30 to $40 a barrel thanks to lower production costs. This is well below the average US production cost of almost $50 per barrel.
After years of political unrest, Suriname is eager to make a name for itself in the oil world and encourage economic stability and growth. The hard-hit economy has been further hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the new government looking at the country’s oil potential to drag them out of economic disaster.
Read more at: Oil Majors Are Eyeing A Suriname Offshore Boom | OilPrice.com
After years of political unrest, Suriname is eager to make a name for itself in the oil world and encourage economic stability and growth. The hard-hit economy has been further hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the new government looking at the country’s oil potential to drag them out of economic disaster.
Read more at: Oil Majors Are Eyeing A Suriname Offshore Boom | OilPrice.com
Migrant Caravan Poll: By 2-to-1 Margin, US Voters Want Migrant Caravan Stopped at the Border
With another caravan of migrants from Honduras heading north toward the United States, Americans overwhelmingly want the caravan stopped at the U.S. border.
By 2-to-1 Margin, Voters Want Migrant Caravan Stopped at the Border - Rasmussen Reports®
By 2-to-1 Margin, Voters Want Migrant Caravan Stopped at the Border - Rasmussen Reports®
USA: Donald Trump leaves office as a diminished force in the Republican Party
Donald Trump could have spent his final weeks in office boasting about his Republican administration's achievements and trying to solidify his status as the most significant voice in the party and possible front-runner for the presidential nomination in four years.
Instead, the 45th president of the United States focused on fuelling conspiracy theories in a futile attempt to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Read more at: Donald Trump leaves office as a diminished force in the Republican Party | CBC News
Instead, the 45th president of the United States focused on fuelling conspiracy theories in a futile attempt to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Read more at: Donald Trump leaves office as a diminished force in the Republican Party | CBC News
Turkey: Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye
olitical violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance with his nationalist partner appears under growing strain amid a combination of domestic and external pressures.
Read more at: More:Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance with his nationalist partner appears under growing strain amid a combination of domestic and external pressures.
Read more at: More:Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
USA: Biden to sign order to increase pandemic-related food aid - by Steve Holland
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign two executive orders aimed at speeding pandemic stimulus checks to families who need it most and increasing food aid for children who normally rely on school meals as a main source for nutrition.
Read more at: Biden to sign order to increase pandemic-related food aid | Reuters
Read more at: Biden to sign order to increase pandemic-related food aid | Reuters
1/21/21
USA: Wall Street: Why US investors are now betting on water
Municipal companies and utilities could also stand to profit from water futures, the CME argues. In California where water is scarce, water prices often soar overnight because of wildfires or droughts.
Costs for the next six months can be estimated only roughly, as Nasdaq Senior Manager Patrick Wolf told Bloomberg. He's in charge of the futures in California, the United States' largest water market.
Read more at: Why US investors are now betting on water | Business| Economy and finance news from a German perspective | DW | 21.01.2021
Costs for the next six months can be estimated only roughly, as Nasdaq Senior Manager Patrick Wolf told Bloomberg. He's in charge of the futures in California, the United States' largest water market.
Read more at: Why US investors are now betting on water | Business| Economy and finance news from a German perspective | DW | 21.01.2021
USA - Covid-19 vaccinations: Donald Trump's coronavirus vaccination plan was non-existent, reports say - by Alex Roberts
White House sources told CNN the vaccine plan would have to start from "square one" Latest reports indicate that the US death toll of the co the coronavirus could reach 500.000 people by the end of February.
Joe Biden has had to inherit a non-existent coronavirus vaccination plan from Donald Trump, according to reports in the USA.
Read more at: Donald Trump's coronavirus vaccination plan was non-existent, reports say | JOE.co.uk
Joe Biden has had to inherit a non-existent coronavirus vaccination plan from Donald Trump, according to reports in the USA.
Read more at: Donald Trump's coronavirus vaccination plan was non-existent, reports say | JOE.co.uk
The Netherlands: MP's approve 9 p.m. curfew in the Netherland starting Saturday
A majority of the members of parliament in the Netherlands voted in favor of a curfew from 9 p.m. through 4:30 a.m. The curfew will begin at 9 p.m on Saturday a half-hour later than what was proposed by the outgoing prime minister, Mark Rutte.
The issue was up for debate on Thursday in Parliament as it was considered a controversial policy that should not be enacted by a caretaker Cabinet two months before the general election. The vote took place just after 6:30 p.m., over eight hours after hearings on the curfew started. Exiting coalition party D66 submitted a motion several hours into the debate to shift the start of the curfew back from 8:30 p.m., as Rutte proposed. That won the support from the outgoing prime minister's VVD party, and the other coalition parties of CDA and Christen Unie. Additionally, Labour (PvdA), the Socialist Party (SP) and 50Plus voted in favor, representing a combined total of 101 seats in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament.
Read more at: MP's approve 9 p.m. curfew in the Netherland starting Saturday | NL Times
The issue was up for debate on Thursday in Parliament as it was considered a controversial policy that should not be enacted by a caretaker Cabinet two months before the general election. The vote took place just after 6:30 p.m., over eight hours after hearings on the curfew started. Exiting coalition party D66 submitted a motion several hours into the debate to shift the start of the curfew back from 8:30 p.m., as Rutte proposed. That won the support from the outgoing prime minister's VVD party, and the other coalition parties of CDA and Christen Unie. Additionally, Labour (PvdA), the Socialist Party (SP) and 50Plus voted in favor, representing a combined total of 101 seats in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament.
Read more at: MP's approve 9 p.m. curfew in the Netherland starting Saturday | NL Times
Coronavirus: Hungary first in EU to approve Russian vaccine-by Nick Thorpe
Hungary has become the first country in the European Union to give preliminary approval to the Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff confirmed both the Russian jab and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been given the green light by the health authorities.
Read more at: Coronavirus: Hungary first in EU to approve Russian vaccine - BBC News
On Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff confirmed both the Russian jab and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been given the green light by the health authorities.
Read more at: Coronavirus: Hungary first in EU to approve Russian vaccine - BBC News
Finland: Helsinki to spend 1 million euros on recruiting doctors
The Social Services and Healthcare division of the city of Helsinki has announced plans to outsource the recruitment of medical staff.
In a meeting on Tuesday, social services elected to issue a tender for recruitment services to cope with the growing demand for staff at health centres and hospitals in the city. The decision was approved by legislators the same day.
Helsingin Sanomat reports that while the exact sum allocated for recruitment services is not known, the proposal grants the director of the division authority to procure services that exceed a million euros if require
Read more at: Helsinki to spend 1 million euros on recruiting doctors
In a meeting on Tuesday, social services elected to issue a tender for recruitment services to cope with the growing demand for staff at health centres and hospitals in the city. The decision was approved by legislators the same day.
Helsingin Sanomat reports that while the exact sum allocated for recruitment services is not known, the proposal grants the director of the division authority to procure services that exceed a million euros if require
Read more at: Helsinki to spend 1 million euros on recruiting doctors
The ABC of Covid-19 Vaccines: Covid vaccine differences? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna
The three Covid-19 vaccines are from Pfizer-BioNTech, the University of Oxford and Astra-Zeneca and Moderna.
The Pfizer, Oxford and Moderna vaccines each require two doses and you are not fully vaccinated until you've had both shots.
But there are many differences between them.
READ MORE AT: Covid vaccine differences? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna - BBC News
The Pfizer, Oxford and Moderna vaccines each require two doses and you are not fully vaccinated until you've had both shots.
But there are many differences between them.
READ MORE AT: Covid vaccine differences? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna - BBC News
QAnon - the party is over: 'No plan, no Q, nothing': QAnon followers reel as Biden inaugurated - by Joseph Menn, Elizabeth Culliford, Katie Paul, Carrie Monahan
For three years, adherents of the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory awaited a so-called Great Awakening, scouring anonymous web postings from a shadowy “Q” figure and parsing statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump, whom they believed to be their champion.
In one Telegram channel with more than 18,400 members, QAnon believers were split between those still urging others to ‘trust the plan’ and those saying they felt betrayed. “It’s obvious now we’ve been had. No plan, no Q, nothing,” wrote one user.
In one of the most jarring apparent reversals on Wednesday, Watkins a QAnon leader, appeared to admit defeat, posting: “We have a new president sworn in and it is our responsibility as citizens to respect the Constitution regardless of whether or not we agree with the specifics.”
Read more at: 'No plan, no Q, nothing': QAnon followers reel as Biden inaugurated | Reuters
In one Telegram channel with more than 18,400 members, QAnon believers were split between those still urging others to ‘trust the plan’ and those saying they felt betrayed. “It’s obvious now we’ve been had. No plan, no Q, nothing,” wrote one user.
In one of the most jarring apparent reversals on Wednesday, Watkins a QAnon leader, appeared to admit defeat, posting: “We have a new president sworn in and it is our responsibility as citizens to respect the Constitution regardless of whether or not we agree with the specifics.”
Read more at: 'No plan, no Q, nothing': QAnon followers reel as Biden inaugurated | Reuters
1/20/21
EU Parliament pressing for inquiry into Frontex-by Nikolaj Nielsen
MEPs in the European Parliament are pushing to open an inquiry into the EU's border agency Frontex as the negotiations on mandate and scope continue.
"We aspire to do it in two weeks, but maybe it is ambitious given the difficulties for bilateral negotiations, also with the current circumstances of Covid," said Spanish far-left MEP Sira Rego.
Read more at: EU Parliament pressing for inquiry into Frontex
"We aspire to do it in two weeks, but maybe it is ambitious given the difficulties for bilateral negotiations, also with the current circumstances of Covid," said Spanish far-left MEP Sira Rego.
Read more at: EU Parliament pressing for inquiry into Frontex
EU-US Relations: EU calls on Biden to form ‘new transatlantic pact’ - by Alexandra Brzozowski
Hours before Joe Biden was to be sworn in as the next US president on Wednesday (20 January), EU leaders extended the invitation to cooperate more closely but also warned that four years of the Trump administration had changed the nature of transatlantic ties.
“This new dawn in America is the moment we’ve been awaiting for so long,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament plenary in Brussels, hailing Biden’s arrival as “resounding proof that, once again, after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”
Read more at: EU calls on Biden to form ‘new transatlantic pact’ – EURACTIV.com
“This new dawn in America is the moment we’ve been awaiting for so long,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament plenary in Brussels, hailing Biden’s arrival as “resounding proof that, once again, after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”
Read more at: EU calls on Biden to form ‘new transatlantic pact’ – EURACTIV.com
USA: Inauguration Day 2021 live: Latest updates and schedule as Biden and Harris sworn in
Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris joined him to be officially sworn in as vice president.
Mr Biden and Ms Harris were joined by their predecessors, George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to represent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump, who broke precedent by not attending their inauguration.
Mr Trump’s last act in office was to offer pardons or clemency to 143 people, including his former adviser Steve Bannon and rapper Lil Wayne.
Read more at: Inauguration Day 2021 live: Latest updates and schedule as Biden and Harris sworn in | The Independent
Mr Biden and Ms Harris were joined by their predecessors, George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to represent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump, who broke precedent by not attending their inauguration.
Mr Trump’s last act in office was to offer pardons or clemency to 143 people, including his former adviser Steve Bannon and rapper Lil Wayne.
Read more at: Inauguration Day 2021 live: Latest updates and schedule as Biden and Harris sworn in | The Independent
EU-US Relations under Trump: How did US President Donald Trump impact Europe during his four years in office? - Alice Tidey
It was a disastrous time in which Trump berated the EU. Did not want to shake hands with Angela Merkel, became close buddies with Putin and called Kim Yong-un a great leader and applouded Populist European leaders.
Read more at: How did US President Donald Trump impact Europe during his four years in office? | Euronews
Read more at: How did US President Donald Trump impact Europe during his four years in office? | Euronews
US News Media Poll: Most Voters Say News Media Have Too Much Influence Over Government
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters say the news media have too much power and influence over government decisions, while 10% say the media don’t have enough power and 31% say the media have about the right amount of power.
Read more at: Most Voters Say News Media Have Too Much Influence Over Government - Rasmussen Reports®
Read more at: Most Voters Say News Media Have Too Much Influence Over Government - Rasmussen Reports®
1/19/21
USA: Biden to block Trump's proposal to lift US travel restrictions on Europe - by Jessica Glenza
Joe Biden’s administration plans to retain coronavirus travel restrictions on much of Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil, aides to the president-elect said, shortly after the White House announced plans to lift the measures on 26 January.
Donald Trump signed an executive order late on Monday, ending the travel restrictions that he imposed in March 2020, and instead requiring that travelers present proof of a negative Covid-19 test to enter the US.
Read more: Biden to block Trump's proposal to lift US travel restrictions on Europe | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Donald Trump signed an executive order late on Monday, ending the travel restrictions that he imposed in March 2020, and instead requiring that travelers present proof of a negative Covid-19 test to enter the US.
Read more: Biden to block Trump's proposal to lift US travel restrictions on Europe | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Car Industry Alternative Energy: Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced
Batteries capable of fully charging in five minutes have been produced in a factory for the first time, marking a significant step towards electric cars becoming as fast to charge as filling up petrol or diesel vehicles.
Electric vehicles are a vital part of action to tackle the climate crisis but running out of charge during a journey is a worry for drivers. The new lithium-ion batteries were developed by the Israeli company StoreDot and manufactured by Eve Energy in China on standard production lines.
Read more at: Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced | Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars | The Guardian
Electric vehicles are a vital part of action to tackle the climate crisis but running out of charge during a journey is a worry for drivers. The new lithium-ion batteries were developed by the Israeli company StoreDot and manufactured by Eve Energy in China on standard production lines.
Read more at: Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced | Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars | The Guardian
Coronavirus vaccine: Scientists racing to understand new COVID-19 variants and whether they will derail vaccination efforts
Multiple new coronavirus variants have been discovered across several continents, from Europe to Africa to South America. Confirmed cases keep popping up in dozens of countries, Canada included.
Scientists are now racing to understand these sets of mutations, all while concerns are growing over their ability to infect people more easily or, in some cases, potentially evade the army of antibodies we create after being infected or vaccinated.
Read more at: Scientists racing to understand new COVID-19 variants and whether they will derail vaccination efforts | CBC News
Scientists are now racing to understand these sets of mutations, all while concerns are growing over their ability to infect people more easily or, in some cases, potentially evade the army of antibodies we create after being infected or vaccinated.
Read more at: Scientists racing to understand new COVID-19 variants and whether they will derail vaccination efforts | CBC News
U.S. Senate Republican leader McConnell says Trump 'provoked' Jan. 6 riot
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, of provoking the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,” McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor.
Read more at: U.S. Senate Republican leader McConnell says Trump 'provoked' Jan. 6 riot | Reuters
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,” McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor.
Read more at: U.S. Senate Republican leader McConnell says Trump 'provoked' Jan. 6 riot | Reuters
1/18/21
The Netherlands: Dutch outgoing Rutte government criticized for chaotic start of vaccination program - local city health centers still in the dark when elderly will be vaccinated
The Dutch government continues to come under heavy criticism from lawmakers and the Public over their chaotic handling of the COVID-19 vaccination plan.
Local city health care center when called by people, young and old, are not able to give answers as to the schedules or details (dates) when the vacinations.
Read more at: EU-Digest
Local city health care center when called by people, young and old, are not able to give answers as to the schedules or details (dates) when the vacinations.
Read more at: EU-Digest
Global Economy: China Is the Only Major Economy to Report Economic Growth for 2020 - by Grace Zhu and Bingyan Wang
China’s economy expanded by 2.3% in 2020, roaring back from a historic contraction in the early months of the year to become the only major world economy to grow in what was a pandemic-ravaged year.
China’s ability to expand, even as the world struggled to control a deadly virus that has killed more than two million people, underscores the country’s success in largely taming the coronavirus within its borders and further cements its place as the dominant economy in Asia.
Note EU-Digest: On Monday, China reported a year-on-year increase of 6.5% for the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 2.3% increase for all of 2020, surpassing analysts' forecasts and making China the the only major economy to log positive growth in 2020.Fortune magazine predicts that financial experts believe that China's economy will overtake that of the US somewhere between 2026 and 2029.
Read more at: China Is the Only Major Economy to Report Economic Growth for 2020 - WSJ
China’s ability to expand, even as the world struggled to control a deadly virus that has killed more than two million people, underscores the country’s success in largely taming the coronavirus within its borders and further cements its place as the dominant economy in Asia.
Note EU-Digest: On Monday, China reported a year-on-year increase of 6.5% for the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 2.3% increase for all of 2020, surpassing analysts' forecasts and making China the the only major economy to log positive growth in 2020.Fortune magazine predicts that financial experts believe that China's economy will overtake that of the US somewhere between 2026 and 2029.
Read more at: China Is the Only Major Economy to Report Economic Growth for 2020 - WSJ
USA: Trump to Leave White House for Mar-a-Lago Before Biden Inauguration- by Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder,
President Donald Trump will reportedly leave the White House and fly to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida hours before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, breaking with tradition and skipping his successor's ceremony.
Several current White House staff members, including personal assistant Nick Luna are expected to keep working for Trump or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Members of Trump's family are also expected to relocate to Florida, which was a frequent destination for the president during his administration.
But some neighbors of the Palm Beach resort have made it clear that they do not want Trump hanging around. Still, nothing is preventing the president from moving to the resort.
Read more at: Report: Trump to Leave White House for Mar-a-Lago Before Biden Inauguration | America 2020 | US News
Several current White House staff members, including personal assistant Nick Luna are expected to keep working for Trump or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Members of Trump's family are also expected to relocate to Florida, which was a frequent destination for the president during his administration.
But some neighbors of the Palm Beach resort have made it clear that they do not want Trump hanging around. Still, nothing is preventing the president from moving to the resort.
Read more at: Report: Trump to Leave White House for Mar-a-Lago Before Biden Inauguration | America 2020 | US News
Vaccination against COVID-19 re: allergic reactions: Experts offer reassurance
The authors, led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, conducted a detailed review of issues relating to allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
They conclude that reactions to vaccines are rare, and that even people with known food or medication allergies are safe to receive the vaccine under the right circumstances.
Read more at: COVID-19 vaccine allergic reactions: Experts offer reassurance
They conclude that reactions to vaccines are rare, and that even people with known food or medication allergies are safe to receive the vaccine under the right circumstances.
Read more at: COVID-19 vaccine allergic reactions: Experts offer reassurance
Russia: Alexei Navalny: Poisoned Putin critic Navalny detained for 30 days
Russia's most prominent opposition figure has been arrested and detained for 30 days, after returning to Moscow for the first time since he was poisoned last year.
Mr Navalny, 44, said a court ruling from a police station was a mockery, urging people to stage street protests.
Mr Navalny has described the embezzlement charges as politically motivated.
US and European leaders have led calls for his release.
Mr Navalny was almost killed in an attack involving the nerve agent Novichok last August, which he blamed on the Kremlin. Moscow has denied involvement. The opposition politician's allegations have however been backed up by reports from investigative journalists.
Read more at: Alexei Navalny: Poisoned Putin critic Navalny detained for 30 days - BBC News
Mr Navalny, 44, said a court ruling from a police station was a mockery, urging people to stage street protests.
Mr Navalny has described the embezzlement charges as politically motivated.
US and European leaders have led calls for his release.
Mr Navalny was almost killed in an attack involving the nerve agent Novichok last August, which he blamed on the Kremlin. Moscow has denied involvement. The opposition politician's allegations have however been backed up by reports from investigative journalists.
Read more at: Alexei Navalny: Poisoned Putin critic Navalny detained for 30 days - BBC News
1/17/21
EU: Commission at odds with Parliament over GM crop authorisations – by Natasha Foote
The EU executive looks set to press ahead with a “new approach” to genetically modified (GM) crop authorisations in the wake of persistent lack of political support for the technology in the European Parliament.
In December, MEPs voted for a further five objections against authorisations of GM crops for use as food and feed in the EU, including one GM soybean and four GM maize varieties. This has brought the overall number of objections to GM crop authorisations to 51 in five years.
Read more at: Commission at odds with Parliament over GM crop authorisations – EURACTIV.com
In December, MEPs voted for a further five objections against authorisations of GM crops for use as food and feed in the EU, including one GM soybean and four GM maize varieties. This has brought the overall number of objections to GM crop authorisations to 51 in five years.
Read more at: Commission at odds with Parliament over GM crop authorisations – EURACTIV.com
EU-Russia Relations: Can EU keep Navalny safe as he 'defies' Putin? - by Andrew Rettman
EU diplomacy might help keep Russian opposition hero Alexei Navalny safe when he "defies" Russian president Vladimir Putin by going home this weekend.
"I think it's unlikely he [Navalny] would be arrested at the airport, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was," Vladimir Ashurkov, a Russian émigré living in London who is a close associate of Navalny's, told EUobserver on Thursday (14 January).
Russia has already prepared two warrants for Navalny's arrest on bogus charges - parole violation and embezzlement, Ashurkov said.
"If they tried before, there's nothing to stop them from doing it in the future," Ashurkov also said on the risk to Navalny's life, after Putin's spy service, the FSB, poisoned Navalny last year.
Read more at: Can EU keep Navalny safe as he 'defies' Putin?
"I think it's unlikely he [Navalny] would be arrested at the airport, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was," Vladimir Ashurkov, a Russian émigré living in London who is a close associate of Navalny's, told EUobserver on Thursday (14 January).
Russia has already prepared two warrants for Navalny's arrest on bogus charges - parole violation and embezzlement, Ashurkov said.
"If they tried before, there's nothing to stop them from doing it in the future," Ashurkov also said on the risk to Navalny's life, after Putin's spy service, the FSB, poisoned Navalny last year.
Read more at: Can EU keep Navalny safe as he 'defies' Putin?
Turkey: Canan Kaftancioglu, a shining new Turkish political star , has Turkey′s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatening rivals with jail
Left-wing CHP leader Canan Kaftancioglu inflicted a humiliating defeat on Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in 2019. Now the Turkish president wants revenge in court.
Canan Kaftancioglu is a rising political star in Turkey. The popularity ratings of this 48-year-old doctor-turned-politician from the Black Sea region are among the highest in the country.
She had always stood out in the social democratic Republican People's Party (CHP) with her left-wing views, and at the beginning of 2018 she was elected Istanbul's provincial president.
But Kaftancioglu real breakthrough came a good year later after she masterminded one of the most successful election campaigns in Turkish history. This was the campaign of Ekrem Imamoglu, a relatively unknown local, in Istanbul's mayoral elections of March 2019. Few people expected this newcomer to win against the ruling AKP's candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Read more at: Turkey′s Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens rivals with jail | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 17.01.2021
Canan Kaftancioglu is a rising political star in Turkey. The popularity ratings of this 48-year-old doctor-turned-politician from the Black Sea region are among the highest in the country.
She had always stood out in the social democratic Republican People's Party (CHP) with her left-wing views, and at the beginning of 2018 she was elected Istanbul's provincial president.
But Kaftancioglu real breakthrough came a good year later after she masterminded one of the most successful election campaigns in Turkish history. This was the campaign of Ekrem Imamoglu, a relatively unknown local, in Istanbul's mayoral elections of March 2019. Few people expected this newcomer to win against the ruling AKP's candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Read more at: Turkey′s Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens rivals with jail | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 17.01.2021
The Netherlands: Riot police used water cannon to break up illegal anti-Rutte Government demo in Amsterdam
Riot police used water cannon and horses to break up an illegal demonstration on Amsterdam’s Museumplein on Sunday afternoon. The demonstration had been called by a group calling itself Nederland in Verzet (the Netherlands resists) but had been banned by mayor Femke Halsema because of fears that coronavirus measures would not be kept.
Read more at: Riot police used water cannon to break up illegal demo in Amsterdam - DutchNews.nl
Read more at: Riot police used water cannon to break up illegal demo in Amsterdam - DutchNews.nl
EU-Btritain Relations: High Speed Rail Eurostar in 'critical condition' after collapse in travel between UK and France
Eurostar, the train operator that runs services through the Channel Tunnel, is in 'a very critical' state after a collapse in travel between Britain and the European continent, a top French rail executive warned on Friday.
Until recently a symbol of easy high-speed rail travel in Europe, Eurostar has been crippled by the coronavirus crisis, with its special platforms and facilities in Paris, London and Brussels now eerily quiet.
The group is currently running just one service a day between Paris and London, a far cry from the time before Covid-19 when it would operate two trains an hour during peak times.
Read more at The Local
Until recently a symbol of easy high-speed rail travel in Europe, Eurostar has been crippled by the coronavirus crisis, with its special platforms and facilities in Paris, London and Brussels now eerily quiet.
The group is currently running just one service a day between Paris and London, a far cry from the time before Covid-19 when it would operate two trains an hour during peak times.
Read more at The Local
1/16/21
The Netherlands: "If we reelect Mark Rutte "the Dutch political Houdini" we don't deserve any better" - by Johan Fretz
The self induced fall of the Rutte III cabinet took place in such a slow motion that its impact was spread out over a week. That was precisely Rutte's intention: if you move more slowly towards the ground, the impact will be less hard. Even in his own fall, Rutte remained the merciless strategist. If there was no other option, then only with as little damage to himself as possible.
Earlier this week, he had put on the table a sample of genuine “Rutlet logic”. Before the Christmas holidays, he had pretended that he thought it was all so intense and had to deal with it first. Now, after the holidays, he said that stepping down was a thing of the past. He may have thought we were all stupid and blame him: he has never been punished for anything in ten years. But the dynamics suddenly changed rapidly.
Lodewijk Asscher of thr PVDA labor party, the only one who had said aloud since the beginning that he felt shame and regret about his part in the benefits affair, still resigned. As is so often the case, it is the politicians who prefer integrity over power who pay the highest price, even though Asscher's choice was very justified and inevitable.
In looking back on his years in The Hague, he will have to reflect on the fact that he and his party entered Rutte II so indiscriminately, a cabinet that aimed to develop the public sector and human scale and in which it was established from the outset that such accidents would happen. That is why support for Asscher has crumbled so quickly in recent weeks: the affair reminded many voters how angry they were about this fatal government participation.
Even after Asscher's departure, Rutte continued to stop the fall of his cabinet behind the scenes. After all, it was not necessary from his VVD party viewpoint, and he undoubtedly felt strengthened by the voters behind the forty polled seats, who don't give a damn. But on Friday, Rutte solemnly said at the press conference: “We had to take responsibility,” as if it came from his deep inside. Those who listened more closely heard his cunning again: "Of course, it is always my ultimate responsibility in the end." In other words, I, the Good Samaritan, now fall for other people's sins, but have clean hands myself.What Typical Rutte B.S.
Political reality and public pressure can force a cabinet's resignation, but what they clearly cannot enforce is an inner realization in those responsible that they have failed morally. Mark Rutte does not resign out of regret or shame. He resigns because he had no other option. In doing so he devalues the symbolic value of the fall, which if it had been sincere could have contributed to the healing and the initial restoration of trust in the institutions.
Now our political Houdini PM has again freed himself from the chains underwater and has escaped from the steel box. On March 17 last year, he happily emerges, with that tirelessly cheerful grin that for ten years has kept others from seeing his brutal politics of hollowing out and reckoning behind it. Do we deserve better? If we re-elect him or not ?
Read more in the original Dutch version of "Het Parool" from where this translated version came: Als we Rutte opnieuw herverkiezen, verdienen we niet beter | Het Parool
Earlier this week, he had put on the table a sample of genuine “Rutlet logic”. Before the Christmas holidays, he had pretended that he thought it was all so intense and had to deal with it first. Now, after the holidays, he said that stepping down was a thing of the past. He may have thought we were all stupid and blame him: he has never been punished for anything in ten years. But the dynamics suddenly changed rapidly.
Lodewijk Asscher of thr PVDA labor party, the only one who had said aloud since the beginning that he felt shame and regret about his part in the benefits affair, still resigned. As is so often the case, it is the politicians who prefer integrity over power who pay the highest price, even though Asscher's choice was very justified and inevitable.
In looking back on his years in The Hague, he will have to reflect on the fact that he and his party entered Rutte II so indiscriminately, a cabinet that aimed to develop the public sector and human scale and in which it was established from the outset that such accidents would happen. That is why support for Asscher has crumbled so quickly in recent weeks: the affair reminded many voters how angry they were about this fatal government participation.
Even after Asscher's departure, Rutte continued to stop the fall of his cabinet behind the scenes. After all, it was not necessary from his VVD party viewpoint, and he undoubtedly felt strengthened by the voters behind the forty polled seats, who don't give a damn. But on Friday, Rutte solemnly said at the press conference: “We had to take responsibility,” as if it came from his deep inside. Those who listened more closely heard his cunning again: "Of course, it is always my ultimate responsibility in the end." In other words, I, the Good Samaritan, now fall for other people's sins, but have clean hands myself.What Typical Rutte B.S.
Political reality and public pressure can force a cabinet's resignation, but what they clearly cannot enforce is an inner realization in those responsible that they have failed morally. Mark Rutte does not resign out of regret or shame. He resigns because he had no other option. In doing so he devalues the symbolic value of the fall, which if it had been sincere could have contributed to the healing and the initial restoration of trust in the institutions.
Now our political Houdini PM has again freed himself from the chains underwater and has escaped from the steel box. On March 17 last year, he happily emerges, with that tirelessly cheerful grin that for ten years has kept others from seeing his brutal politics of hollowing out and reckoning behind it. Do we deserve better? If we re-elect him or not ?
Read more in the original Dutch version of "Het Parool" from where this translated version came: Als we Rutte opnieuw herverkiezen, verdienen we niet beter | Het Parool
Germany: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party chooses new leader
Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right party on Saturday chose Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader — sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor.
Laschet defeated Friedrich Merz, a conservative and one-time Merkel rival, at an online convention of the Christian Democratic Union. Laschet won 521 votes to Merz's 466. A third candidate, prominent legislator Norbert Roettgen, was eliminated in a first round of voting.
Saturday's vote isn't the final word on who will run as the centre-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's Sept. 26 election, but Laschet will either run for chancellor or will have a big say in who does.
Read more at: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party chooses new leader | CBC News
Laschet defeated Friedrich Merz, a conservative and one-time Merkel rival, at an online convention of the Christian Democratic Union. Laschet won 521 votes to Merz's 466. A third candidate, prominent legislator Norbert Roettgen, was eliminated in a first round of voting.
Saturday's vote isn't the final word on who will run as the centre-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's Sept. 26 election, but Laschet will either run for chancellor or will have a big say in who does.
Read more at: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party chooses new leader | CBC News
USA: History-maker Kamala Harris will wield real power as vice-president
When Kamala Harris raises her right hand and takes the oath of office on Wednesday she will realize a multitude of historic firsts – becoming America’s first female, first Black and first south Asian American vice-president.
Exactly two weeks after a deadly attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, and a week after the president’s second impeachment, it will be a barrier-breaking moment for millions of women across the US and the world that it is hoped will signal a distinct shift away from the chaos and racist rhetoric of the previous administration.
Read more at: History-maker Kamala Harris will wield real power as vice-president | Kamala Harris | The Guardian
Exactly two weeks after a deadly attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, and a week after the president’s second impeachment, it will be a barrier-breaking moment for millions of women across the US and the world that it is hoped will signal a distinct shift away from the chaos and racist rhetoric of the previous administration.
Read more at: History-maker Kamala Harris will wield real power as vice-president | Kamala Harris | The Guardian
1/15/21
The Netherlands: Dutch government quits over 'colossal stain' of tax subsidy scandal - by Stephanie van den Berg
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government resigned on Friday, accepting responsibility for wrongful accusations of fraud by the tax authorities that drove thousands of families to financial ruin, often on the basis of ethnicity.
Read more at: Dutch government quits over 'colossal stain' of tax subsidy scandal | Reuters
Read more at: Dutch government quits over 'colossal stain' of tax subsidy scandal | Reuters
USA - Poll: Only 28% Think U.S. Winning Against Coronavirus
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 28% of American Adults say America is winning the war against COVID-19. Fifty-three percent (53%) say the U.S. is not winning against the coronavirus and 19% are not sure.
Read more at: Only 28% Think U.S. Winning Against Coronavirus - Rasmussen Reports®
Read more at: Only 28% Think U.S. Winning Against Coronavirus - Rasmussen Reports®
Netherlands Imposes Compulsory Rapid Tests for Citizens of UK, Ireland & South Africa
Africa or the United Kingdom will be obliged to present a proof of a negative result of the rapid Coronavirus test, before departure, the Netherland’s government has announced through a statement.
Read more at: Netherlands Imposes Compulsory Rapid Tests for Citizens of UK, Ireland & South Africa - SchengenVisaInfo.com
Read more at: Netherlands Imposes Compulsory Rapid Tests for Citizens of UK, Ireland & South Africa - SchengenVisaInfo.com
Covid - will vaccinations work with different variants of Covid: How worrying are the UK, South Africa, and Brazil coronavirus variants? - by Michelle Roberts
New variants of coronavirus are emerging that are more infectious than the original one that started the pandemic.
Scientists are urgently studying these mutated versions to understand what threat they pose.
The current vaccines were designed around earlier variants, but scientists are confident that they should still work against the new ones, although perhaps not quite as well.
Lab studies are underway to check this.
Vaccines train the body to attack several parts of the virus, however, not just these sections of the spike protein.
Variants could emerge in the future that are more different again.
Read more: .Covid: How worrying are the UK, South Africa, and Brazil coronavirus variants? - BBC News
Scientists are urgently studying these mutated versions to understand what threat they pose.
The current vaccines were designed around earlier variants, but scientists are confident that they should still work against the new ones, although perhaps not quite as well.
Lab studies are underway to check this.
Vaccines train the body to attack several parts of the virus, however, not just these sections of the spike protein.
Variants could emerge in the future that are more different again.
Read more: .Covid: How worrying are the UK, South Africa, and Brazil coronavirus variants? - BBC News
1/14/21
EU-China Deal: How should Biden respond to the EU-China deal? - by Jeff Rathke,
The United States has been transfixed by President Trump’s efforts since Nov. 3 to overturn the results of the presidential election, but America’s friends and adversaries alike are moving to position themselves for the Biden administration.
This will constrain the 46th president's room for maneuver — an example is the agreement in principle between the European Union (EU) and China on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), concluded in the last days of 2020. The successful push to conclude the CAI (largely led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel) took many by surprise, because just a few months earlier it was foundering on concerns about China’s international assertiveness and doubts in Europe about the wisdom of tying the EU’s fate more closely to Beijing. Washington should resist the temptation to try to scupper the deal by exploiting divisions in Europe; instead, it should develop a positive agenda with the EU that focuses on achievable priorities in an effective China approach.
Read more at How should Biden respond to the EU-China deal? | TheHill
This will constrain the 46th president's room for maneuver — an example is the agreement in principle between the European Union (EU) and China on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), concluded in the last days of 2020. The successful push to conclude the CAI (largely led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel) took many by surprise, because just a few months earlier it was foundering on concerns about China’s international assertiveness and doubts in Europe about the wisdom of tying the EU’s fate more closely to Beijing. Washington should resist the temptation to try to scupper the deal by exploiting divisions in Europe; instead, it should develop a positive agenda with the EU that focuses on achievable priorities in an effective China approach.
Read more at How should Biden respond to the EU-China deal? | TheHill
Conspiracy Theories: Europe is not immune from America’s political madness - by Gideon Rachman
A crowd of far-right activists break through police lines. Cheering and waving flags, they prepare to storm the legislature. In Washington DC, last week, the mob broke through. In Berlin, last August, they were stopped on the steps of the Reichstag. If the demonstrators had broken into the building, they would have found some walls still adorned with carefully preserved graffiti from when the Reichstag was sacked by Russian troops, in 1945.
Germany’s near-miss over the summer, the “gilets jaunes” demonstrations in France and the passions aroused in Britain by Brexit and Covid-19 — all underline the same point. Europeans cannot assume that they are immune to the political passions that have engulfed America. Many of the elements that destabilised the US are also present in Europe — in particular, the spread of conspiracy theories, online radicalisation and extremist political movements.
The crucial missing element is Donald Trump. The fact that America’s conspiracy-theorist in chief is also president makes the country’s situation uniquely dangerous. It was Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the election that motivated crackpots from all over America to descend on the nation’s capital and storm Congress.
But it would be a mistake for Europeans to believe that the absence of a Trump figure makes them safe from dangerous political unrest — particularly given the economic distress and social dislocation caused by Covid-19. The Reichstag crowds were smaller than those that attacked the Capitol. But they represented a wide cross-section of groups, with the far-right mingling with anti-vaxxers and believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory that is rampant in America (and holds that Mr Trump is leading an effort to defeat a global conspiracy led by paedophiles)
Opinion polls taken afterwards suggested that 9 per cent of the German population supported the Reichstag rioters. This is a narrower base than the far-right enjoys in America, where polls immediately after the storming of Congress suggested nearly half of Republican voters approved — which would be 20-25 per cent of Americans. (Later polls suggested less support.
Support for the political extremes is closer to 25 per cent in the former East Germany. Officials in Angela Merkel’s government worry that the military, intelligence services and police have been penetrated by the far-right, and some elite military units have been disbanded because of links to political extremism. There have also been several deadly terrorist attacks by far-right extremists.
Read full report at: Europe is not immune from America’s political madness | Financial Times
Germany’s near-miss over the summer, the “gilets jaunes” demonstrations in France and the passions aroused in Britain by Brexit and Covid-19 — all underline the same point. Europeans cannot assume that they are immune to the political passions that have engulfed America. Many of the elements that destabilised the US are also present in Europe — in particular, the spread of conspiracy theories, online radicalisation and extremist political movements.
The crucial missing element is Donald Trump. The fact that America’s conspiracy-theorist in chief is also president makes the country’s situation uniquely dangerous. It was Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the election that motivated crackpots from all over America to descend on the nation’s capital and storm Congress.
But it would be a mistake for Europeans to believe that the absence of a Trump figure makes them safe from dangerous political unrest — particularly given the economic distress and social dislocation caused by Covid-19. The Reichstag crowds were smaller than those that attacked the Capitol. But they represented a wide cross-section of groups, with the far-right mingling with anti-vaxxers and believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory that is rampant in America (and holds that Mr Trump is leading an effort to defeat a global conspiracy led by paedophiles)
Opinion polls taken afterwards suggested that 9 per cent of the German population supported the Reichstag rioters. This is a narrower base than the far-right enjoys in America, where polls immediately after the storming of Congress suggested nearly half of Republican voters approved — which would be 20-25 per cent of Americans. (Later polls suggested less support.
Support for the political extremes is closer to 25 per cent in the former East Germany. Officials in Angela Merkel’s government worry that the military, intelligence services and police have been penetrated by the far-right, and some elite military units have been disbanded because of links to political extremism. There have also been several deadly terrorist attacks by far-right extremists.
Read full report at: Europe is not immune from America’s political madness | Financial Times
USA: Ripe for Fascism: A Post-Coup d’Trump Autopsy of American Democracy - by Nolan Higdon – Mickey Huff
For the past few years, the corporate/establishment news media oft analyzed Donald Trump’s presidency in an historical vacuum, ignoring the decades-long, bipartisan embrace of neoliberalism that helped bring about his successful candidacy while focusing sensationally on his cult of reality TV personality. Such bread and circus tunnel vision misses the bigger picture. Trump, even with all his faults, is a symptom of a much larger pattern brought on by increased privatization of the public sphere, especially in the realms of education and media, which go back over half a century, particularly the past forty years. With the continued degradation of these key pillars of our society, our civic and information literacy has suffered greatly at a time when the world has become more complex, and our country more unequal. As a consequence, we have become more partisan, more divided, and more estranged from one another as a society. We argued this in our book, United States of Distraction, and unfortunately our thesis continues to ring true.
Most legacy media outlets sought to persuade voters to choose Joe Biden for president because “democracy is on the ballot” and once Trump was out of office, things would return to normal, we could all go back to “brunch.” However, this analysis overlooks the crucial realities of how we got here and, as Lau Tzu might suggest, where we have been and are heading. The “return to normal” rhetoric distracts from the reality of American democracy: it is in such an emaciated state that a more adept and sophisticated version of Trump could easily come to power. It was our infatuation with what passes for “normal” that brought about this historical moment. The Democracy Index rates the U.S. as a “flawed democracy,” which means that the elections are free and fair, basic civil liberties are respected, but there are underlying issues (e.g. the erosion of the free press and suppression of opposition political parties and viewpoints). Prior to Trump, scholars noted that the U.S. was an oligarchy, not a democratic republic. However, rudimentary corporate news media narratives concerning the so-called “coup” at the U.S. Capital January 6th leave out crucial realities that can easily lead audiences to glean that Donald Trump and his followers single handedly undermined the American democratic experiment. To be clear, Trump as a person and as a symbol has been responsible for the proliferation of dangerous and disgusting attitudes and behaviors in the U.S. However, we have been heading here for decades. To alter where we are heading, we need to confront certain realties that media narratives distract attention from on a ritual basis.
The first reality is that we have to focus our energies on helping citizens discern fact from fiction. Trump’s behavior is unequivocally reckless, but his rhetoric would have been unsuccessful sans a significant population whose material decline, after 50 years of neoliberal policies, became susceptible to the fake news that permeates the internet. Indeed, their behavior illuminates a rarely discussed aspect of so-called fake news: it is particularly dangerous when it leads people to believe they must take aggressive actions they deem are morally justified. For example, the people at the Capitol would be heroes if there was actually well-sourced, demonstrable factual evidence that 2020 election was stolen. So too would the individual who shot up the restaurant in Pizzagate, to expose a pedophilia ring. In both cases, individuals showed concern for children and democracy, but reacted to false or incomplete information. That is to say, someone is not necessarily a bad person for engaging with fake news, but it can lead them to engage in horrific behavior. We saw this from left leaning voters as well. When it came to Russiagate, the Democrats repeatedly red-baited with the baseless and disproven claims that the Russians aided Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, colluded with Trump’s 2016 campaign, shut down a Vermont power plant, put a bounty on U.S. soldiers, hacked the Democratic Party’s emails in 2016, and released Hunter Biden’s computer. People who engage with fake news are not bad people, but too often lack the skills to evaluate and analyze content critically.
Read more at: Ripe for Fascism: A Post-Coup d’Trump Autopsy of American Democracy - CounterPunch.org
Most legacy media outlets sought to persuade voters to choose Joe Biden for president because “democracy is on the ballot” and once Trump was out of office, things would return to normal, we could all go back to “brunch.” However, this analysis overlooks the crucial realities of how we got here and, as Lau Tzu might suggest, where we have been and are heading. The “return to normal” rhetoric distracts from the reality of American democracy: it is in such an emaciated state that a more adept and sophisticated version of Trump could easily come to power. It was our infatuation with what passes for “normal” that brought about this historical moment. The Democracy Index rates the U.S. as a “flawed democracy,” which means that the elections are free and fair, basic civil liberties are respected, but there are underlying issues (e.g. the erosion of the free press and suppression of opposition political parties and viewpoints). Prior to Trump, scholars noted that the U.S. was an oligarchy, not a democratic republic. However, rudimentary corporate news media narratives concerning the so-called “coup” at the U.S. Capital January 6th leave out crucial realities that can easily lead audiences to glean that Donald Trump and his followers single handedly undermined the American democratic experiment. To be clear, Trump as a person and as a symbol has been responsible for the proliferation of dangerous and disgusting attitudes and behaviors in the U.S. However, we have been heading here for decades. To alter where we are heading, we need to confront certain realties that media narratives distract attention from on a ritual basis.
The first reality is that we have to focus our energies on helping citizens discern fact from fiction. Trump’s behavior is unequivocally reckless, but his rhetoric would have been unsuccessful sans a significant population whose material decline, after 50 years of neoliberal policies, became susceptible to the fake news that permeates the internet. Indeed, their behavior illuminates a rarely discussed aspect of so-called fake news: it is particularly dangerous when it leads people to believe they must take aggressive actions they deem are morally justified. For example, the people at the Capitol would be heroes if there was actually well-sourced, demonstrable factual evidence that 2020 election was stolen. So too would the individual who shot up the restaurant in Pizzagate, to expose a pedophilia ring. In both cases, individuals showed concern for children and democracy, but reacted to false or incomplete information. That is to say, someone is not necessarily a bad person for engaging with fake news, but it can lead them to engage in horrific behavior. We saw this from left leaning voters as well. When it came to Russiagate, the Democrats repeatedly red-baited with the baseless and disproven claims that the Russians aided Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, colluded with Trump’s 2016 campaign, shut down a Vermont power plant, put a bounty on U.S. soldiers, hacked the Democratic Party’s emails in 2016, and released Hunter Biden’s computer. People who engage with fake news are not bad people, but too often lack the skills to evaluate and analyze content critically.
Read more at: Ripe for Fascism: A Post-Coup d’Trump Autopsy of American Democracy - CounterPunch.org
The Netherlands: Shell cuts 900 jobs in the Netherlands as part of global restructuring
Shell is cutting some 900 jobs in the Netherlands as part of its earlier announced global reorganisation, website Nu.nl and the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday. The job losses, which do not include people working at petrol stations, will cut the company’s workforce in the Netherlands by some 10%, Nu.nl said.
Read more at: Shell cuts 900 jobs in the Netherlands as part of global restructuring - DutchNews.nl
Read more at: Shell cuts 900 jobs in the Netherlands as part of global restructuring - DutchNews.nl
USA: Republicans ride the Trump train — down to the democracy-rattling end
Fewer than five per cent of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach Donald Trump, a president now accused of the gravest charge laid against any American commander-in-chief: inciting an insurrection.
It's too soon to conclude the Senate will once again spare Trump conviction and punishment, as it did during his first impeachment trial last February, because Wednesday's developments point to some trouble spots for him.
Read more at: Republicans ride the Trump train — down to the democracy-rattling end | CBC News
It's too soon to conclude the Senate will once again spare Trump conviction and punishment, as it did during his first impeachment trial last February, because Wednesday's developments point to some trouble spots for him.
Read more at: Republicans ride the Trump train — down to the democracy-rattling end | CBC News
1/13/21
EU-US Relations: Pompeo scraps Europe trip after EU leader calls Trump 'political pyromaniac - by Julian Borger
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has cancelled a trip to Europe at the last minute after some European politicians and officials were publicly critical of Donald Trump’s role in last week’s storming of the Capitol.
The official reason for the cancellation of the trip, originally to Brussels and Luxembourg, was the need to coordinate with a transition team from the incoming Biden administration, but it comes after the unprecedented attack on American democracy that stunned many world leaders and US allies.
The Luxembourg leg of the trip was called off on Monday after its foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, called Trump “criminal” for inciting the attack.
Asselborn described the outgoing US president to RTL radio as a “political pyromaniac who must be brought before a court”.
Reuters and Fox News both quoted diplomatic sources as saying it was Luxembourg that had called off the meeting, a devastating snub from a tiny country for a secretary of state who continually claims to have restored “swagger” to the state department.
Read more at: + Pompeo scraps Europe trip after EU leader calls Trump 'political pyromaniac' | US foreign policy | The Guardian
The official reason for the cancellation of the trip, originally to Brussels and Luxembourg, was the need to coordinate with a transition team from the incoming Biden administration, but it comes after the unprecedented attack on American democracy that stunned many world leaders and US allies.
The Luxembourg leg of the trip was called off on Monday after its foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, called Trump “criminal” for inciting the attack.
Asselborn described the outgoing US president to RTL radio as a “political pyromaniac who must be brought before a court”.
Reuters and Fox News both quoted diplomatic sources as saying it was Luxembourg that had called off the meeting, a devastating snub from a tiny country for a secretary of state who continually claims to have restored “swagger” to the state department.
Read more at: + Pompeo scraps Europe trip after EU leader calls Trump 'political pyromaniac' | US foreign policy | The Guardian
USA: Donald Trump impeached for second time over Capitol Hill riots
impeached twice after the US House of Representatives found him guilty of inciting last week's deadly riot at the Capitol.
The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on Thursday (AEDT) with just a week remaining until the end of his presidency and the start of the Biden administration.
Ten Republicans crossed the aisle to vote to impeach Trump for the "incitement of insurrection", a contrast to December 2019 when all House Republicans voted against impeaching Trump over his dealings with Ukraine. Advertisement
Read more at: Donald Trump impeached for second time over Capitol Hill riots
The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on Thursday (AEDT) with just a week remaining until the end of his presidency and the start of the Biden administration.
Ten Republicans crossed the aisle to vote to impeach Trump for the "incitement of insurrection", a contrast to December 2019 when all House Republicans voted against impeaching Trump over his dealings with Ukraine. Advertisement
Read more at: Donald Trump impeached for second time over Capitol Hill riots
US Economy: Analysis: Wall Street brushes off political turmoil, looks to economic rebound
Wall Street, despite major social and political problems still upbeat about US Economy.
Read more at: Analysis: Wall Street brushes off political turmoil, looks to economic rebound | Reuters
Read more at: Analysis: Wall Street brushes off political turmoil, looks to economic rebound | Reuters
USA: What saved American democracy? – By Bo Rothstein
Democracy is a fragile form of government. History has shown democracies can be undermined in several ways. It can happen quickly, as in a coup, but democracies can also erode more slowly, as is now taking place in Poland and Hungary.
Based on research on how democracies have collapsed, political science has highlighted what to be especially wary about. If political leaders do not unequivocally take a stand against political violence, do not respect the democratic rights of their opponents and refrain from promising to respect an election result that goes against them, then democracy is in danger.
During his election campaign and even more during his time as president, Donald Trump undoubtedly violated these three principles. His many false claims that the election was rigged, and that he actually won, his support for his Republican party colleagues’ efforts to impede minority turnout and his incitement to the mob that forcibly broke into Congress on January 6th were clear examples.
Read more at: What saved American democracy? – Bo Rothstein
Based on research on how democracies have collapsed, political science has highlighted what to be especially wary about. If political leaders do not unequivocally take a stand against political violence, do not respect the democratic rights of their opponents and refrain from promising to respect an election result that goes against them, then democracy is in danger.
During his election campaign and even more during his time as president, Donald Trump undoubtedly violated these three principles. His many false claims that the election was rigged, and that he actually won, his support for his Republican party colleagues’ efforts to impede minority turnout and his incitement to the mob that forcibly broke into Congress on January 6th were clear examples.
Read more at: What saved American democracy? – Bo Rothstein
1/12/21
US Senate′s Mitch McConnell believes Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses
US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pleased about the Democratic effort to impeach outgoing President Donald Trump, believing it will make it easier to purge him from the party, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
McConnell told associates that he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, sources close to him told the US newspaper.
Trump faces a second impeachment in the US House of Representatives over his alleged role in inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol building last week in a mob attack to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Read more at: US Senate′s Mitch McConnell believes Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses — report | News | DW | 12.01.2021
McConnell told associates that he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, sources close to him told the US newspaper.
Trump faces a second impeachment in the US House of Representatives over his alleged role in inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol building last week in a mob attack to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Read more at: US Senate′s Mitch McConnell believes Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses — report | News | DW | 12.01.2021
Freedom of expression: France, Germany express concern over Trump's ban from Twitter
Despite international condemnation for US President Donald Trump's role in inciting the mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, leaders from France and Germany have opposed the move of social media platforms—in particular the President's favourite, Twitter—to evict him from their platforms.
Read more at: France, Germany express concern over Trump's ban from Twitter - The Week
Read more at: France, Germany express concern over Trump's ban from Twitter - The Week
Human Rights: Article 10: Freedom of expression
Article 10 protects your right to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference.
This includes the right to express your views aloud (for example through public protest and demonstrations, or through: published articles, books or leaflets, television, or radiobroadcasting, works of art, the internet and social media).
The law also protects your freedom to receive information from other people by, for example, being part of an audience or reading a magazine.
Read more at: Article 10: Freedom of expression | Equality and Human Rights Commission
This includes the right to express your views aloud (for example through public protest and demonstrations, or through: published articles, books or leaflets, television, or radiobroadcasting, works of art, the internet and social media).
The law also protects your freedom to receive information from other people by, for example, being part of an audience or reading a magazine.
Read more at: Article 10: Freedom of expression | Equality and Human Rights Commission
USA - the demise of the US political system: How American Politics Became So Ineffective - "leading to the presentTrump debacle"
The campaign is under way to succeed the president, who is retiring after a single wretched term. Voters are angrier than ever—at politicians, at compromisers, at the establishment. Congress and the White House seem incapable of working together on anything, even when their interests align. With lawmaking at a standstill, the president’s use of executive orders and regulatory discretion has reached a level that Congress views as dictatorial—not that Congress can do anything about it, except file lawsuits that the divided Supreme Court, its three vacancies unfilled, has been unable to resolve.
Political disintegration plagues Congress, too. House Republicans barely managed to elect a speaker last year. Congress did agree in the fall on a budget framework intended to keep the government open through the election—a signal accomplishment, by today’s low standards—but by April, hard-line conservatives had revoked the deal, thereby humiliating the new speaker and potentially causing another shutdown crisis this fall. As of this writing, it’s not clear whether the hard-liners will push to the brink, but the bigger point is this: If they do, there is not much that party leaders can do about it.
And here is the still bigger point: The very term party leaders has become an anachronism. Although Capitol Hill and the campaign trail are miles apart, the breakdown in order in both places reflects the underlying reality that there no longer is any such thing as a party leader. There are only individual actors, pursuing their own political interests and ideological missions willy-nilly, like excited gas molecules in an overheated balloon.
Note EU-Digest: "this story dates back several years, but it certainly showed an ongoing crumbling of the US political system which has led to the situation the US is in today. But beware, this is not a question of returning to the status quo. It is a call for urgent change".
Read more at:How American Politics Became So Ineffective - The Atlantic
Political disintegration plagues Congress, too. House Republicans barely managed to elect a speaker last year. Congress did agree in the fall on a budget framework intended to keep the government open through the election—a signal accomplishment, by today’s low standards—but by April, hard-line conservatives had revoked the deal, thereby humiliating the new speaker and potentially causing another shutdown crisis this fall. As of this writing, it’s not clear whether the hard-liners will push to the brink, but the bigger point is this: If they do, there is not much that party leaders can do about it.
And here is the still bigger point: The very term party leaders has become an anachronism. Although Capitol Hill and the campaign trail are miles apart, the breakdown in order in both places reflects the underlying reality that there no longer is any such thing as a party leader. There are only individual actors, pursuing their own political interests and ideological missions willy-nilly, like excited gas molecules in an overheated balloon.
Note EU-Digest: "this story dates back several years, but it certainly showed an ongoing crumbling of the US political system which has led to the situation the US is in today. But beware, this is not a question of returning to the status quo. It is a call for urgent change".
Read more at:How American Politics Became So Ineffective - The Atlantic
USA in crises: Trump supporters planning armed protests ahead of Biden inauguration, FBI warns
The FBI has warned of possible armed protests across the US as Trump supporters and far-right groups call for demonstrations before Joe Biden is sworn in as president.
There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration.
Security will be tight for the event after a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress.
Read more at: Trump supporters planning armed protests ahead of Biden inauguration, FBI warns - BBC News
There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration.
Security will be tight for the event after a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress.
Read more at: Trump supporters planning armed protests ahead of Biden inauguration, FBI warns - BBC News
1/11/21
British and Netherlands Relations: Meet the Brexiles who have swapped the UK for the Netherlands to escape Brexit
Britain might be out of the EU, but many Remainers have upped sticks and are now starting a new life in a member state. We meet the Brexpats in the Netherlands and find out what made them leave Brexit Britain behind.
Read more at DutchNews.nl: Meet the Brexiles who have swapped the UK for the Netherlands to escape Brexit - DutchNews.nl
Read more at DutchNews.nl: Meet the Brexiles who have swapped the UK for the Netherlands to escape Brexit - DutchNews.nl
Vaccines - a more effective approach: Pfizer, Moderna mRNA Vaccines Could Vanquish Covid Today, Cancer Tomorrow -by Andreas Kluth
The most promising Covid vaccines use nucleic acids called messenger RNA, or mRNA. One vaccine comes from the German firm BioNTech SE and its U.S. partner Pfizer Inc. The other is from the U.S. company Moderna Inc. (its original spelling was ModeRNA, its ticker is MRNA). Another is on the way from CureVac NV, also based in Germany.
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Ordinary vaccines tend to be inactivated or weakened viruses which, when injected into the body, stimulate an immune response that can later protect against the live pathogen. But the process of making such vaccines requires various chemicals and cell cultures. This takes time and provides opportunities for contamination.
mRNA vaccines don’t have these problems. They instruct the body itself to make the offending proteins — in this case, the ones that wrap around the viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2. The immune system then homes in on these antigens, practicing for the day when the same proteins show up with the coronavirus attached.
Therein lies mRNA’s bigger promise: It can tell our cells to make whatever protein we want. That includes the antigens of many other diseases besides Covid-19.
Read more at: Pfizer, Moderna mRNA Vaccines Could Vanquish Covid Today, Cancer Tomorrow - Bloomberg
Ordinary vaccines tend to be inactivated or weakened viruses which, when injected into the body, stimulate an immune response that can later protect against the live pathogen. But the process of making such vaccines requires various chemicals and cell cultures. This takes time and provides opportunities for contamination.
mRNA vaccines don’t have these problems. They instruct the body itself to make the offending proteins — in this case, the ones that wrap around the viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2. The immune system then homes in on these antigens, practicing for the day when the same proteins show up with the coronavirus attached.
Therein lies mRNA’s bigger promise: It can tell our cells to make whatever protein we want. That includes the antigens of many other diseases besides Covid-19.
Read more at: Pfizer, Moderna mRNA Vaccines Could Vanquish Covid Today, Cancer Tomorrow - Bloomberg
Spain: Paralysed by snowstorm, Spain sends out Covid-19 vaccine and food convoys
The Spanish government will send convoys carrying the Covid-19 vaccine and food supplies on Sunday to areas cut off by Storm Filomena, which brought the heaviest snowfall in decades across central Spain and killed four people
Forecasters warned of dangerous conditions in the coming days, with temperatures expected to fall to up to -10°C (14F) next week and the prospect of snow turning to ice and damaged trees falling.
Read more at: Paralysed by snowstorm, Spain sends out Covid-19 vaccine and food convoys
Forecasters warned of dangerous conditions in the coming days, with temperatures expected to fall to up to -10°C (14F) next week and the prospect of snow turning to ice and damaged trees falling.
Read more at: Paralysed by snowstorm, Spain sends out Covid-19 vaccine and food convoys
USA: Schwarzenegger's warning highlights danger of US 'spinning out of control'
Former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has issued a powerful condemnation of the Capitol assault and of his fellow Republicans who have enabled President Trump.
The Hollywood actor was born in Europe just after World War 2. He warned that he's seen firsthand in Germany and Austria"how things can spin out of control"
Read more at: Schwarzenegger's warning highlights danger of US 'spinning out of control' | Euronews
The Hollywood actor was born in Europe just after World War 2. He warned that he's seen firsthand in Germany and Austria"how things can spin out of control"
Read more at: Schwarzenegger's warning highlights danger of US 'spinning out of control' | Euronews
Politics and Corporate Funding Don't Mix: Goldman, JPMorgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley Pause Contributions - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. plan to pause all political contributions, joining a growing list of companies changing or reviewing their donation policies in the aftermath of riots at the Capitol in the past week.
Goldman is still formulating its measures that will probably curtail future political giving to the elected leaders who fought to overturn the 2020 result. A representative for the firm confirmed the plan. JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said it’s planning a six-month suspension to both Republicans and Democrats. Citigroup said it intends to temporarily stop all political contributions in the current quarter.
Read more at: Goldman, JPMorgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley Pause Contributions - Bloomberg
Goldman is still formulating its measures that will probably curtail future political giving to the elected leaders who fought to overturn the 2020 result. A representative for the firm confirmed the plan. JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said it’s planning a six-month suspension to both Republicans and Democrats. Citigroup said it intends to temporarily stop all political contributions in the current quarter.
Read more at: Goldman, JPMorgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley Pause Contributions - Bloomberg
1/10/21
EU: Dutch government criticized for late start to vaccinations
The Dutch government came under heavy criticism from lawmakers Tuesday over a COVID-19 vaccination plan that has the first shots set to be administered on Wednesday, making the Netherlands the last European Union nation to begin vaccinations.
Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/europe-netherlands-geert-wilders-coronavirus-pandemic-ursula-von-der-leyen-cafb2adf3f30f1aa6f760b30e60d8efc
Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/europe-netherlands-geert-wilders-coronavirus-pandemic-ursula-von-der-leyen-cafb2adf3f30f1aa6f760b30e60d8efc
QAnon - Qonspiracy Theories: She was deep into it': Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol riot, was devoted conspiracy theorist
The QAnon conspiracy theory, although lurid in its claims about the torture of children, is very much a political movement, not just a personal delusion, experts say.
“The people that went to the Capitol weren’t just trying to save Trump, they were trying to stop the coming multiracial democracy” which they believed would institute “a radical leftist globalist agenda”, Joan Donovan, the research director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, said.
Read more at: 'She was deep into it': Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol riot, was devoted conspiracy theorist | US Capitol breach | The Guardian
“The people that went to the Capitol weren’t just trying to save Trump, they were trying to stop the coming multiracial democracy” which they believed would institute “a radical leftist globalist agenda”, Joan Donovan, the research director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, said.
Read more at: 'She was deep into it': Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol riot, was devoted conspiracy theorist | US Capitol breach | The Guardian
USA: The Things Trump Got Right - by David Frum
In his single term as president, George H. W. Bush negotiated the peaceful reunification of Germany. He liberated Kuwait while losing few American lives. He signed legislation to end acid rain. He did a budget deal that reduced federal deficits, enacted the Americans With Disabilities Act, and successfully resolved the collapse of the savings-and-loan industry.
To say the least, Donald Trump is not a president in the league of Bush, Carter, or even Taft. Few presidents have left office with so little accomplished, impeached and disgraced. Trump took a lot of credit for the economic growth of his first three years, but the economy was already growing strongly when he took office. Pick a measure, almost any measure, and the trajectory of his first three years was identical to that of Barack Obama’s final three years: unemployment, manufacturing, wages, you name it. And whereas Obama passed a successful economy to Trump, Trump bequeaths a wreck to his successor.
Read more at: The Things Trump Got Right - The Atlantic
To say the least, Donald Trump is not a president in the league of Bush, Carter, or even Taft. Few presidents have left office with so little accomplished, impeached and disgraced. Trump took a lot of credit for the economic growth of his first three years, but the economy was already growing strongly when he took office. Pick a measure, almost any measure, and the trajectory of his first three years was identical to that of Barack Obama’s final three years: unemployment, manufacturing, wages, you name it. And whereas Obama passed a successful economy to Trump, Trump bequeaths a wreck to his successor.
Read more at: The Things Trump Got Right - The Atlantic
1/9/21
USA: Biden plans stimulus aid worth trillions, pushes $2,000 cheques
United States President-elect Joe Biden plans to roll out an economic stimulus package worth trillions of dollars on Thursday that includes relief for unemployed Americans and rent forbearance for tenants.
The president-elect said Friday’s dismal jobs report — which saw the economy shed 140,000 jobs in December — makes it clear that Americans need more immediate and direct relief from the coronavirus pandemic and that taking action now will help the economy even with deficit financing.
Biden, a Democrat, said the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress in December was a very important step, but amounted to just a “down payment” on broader efforts needed to help Americans. The package included $600 cheques, but Biden wants the amount increased to $2,000
Read more at: Biden plans stimulus aid worth trillions, pushes $2,000 cheques | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera
The president-elect said Friday’s dismal jobs report — which saw the economy shed 140,000 jobs in December — makes it clear that Americans need more immediate and direct relief from the coronavirus pandemic and that taking action now will help the economy even with deficit financing.
Biden, a Democrat, said the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress in December was a very important step, but amounted to just a “down payment” on broader efforts needed to help Americans. The package included $600 cheques, but Biden wants the amount increased to $2,000
Read more at: Biden plans stimulus aid worth trillions, pushes $2,000 cheques | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera
The Netherlands - coronavirus vaccinations: more action required by Rutte Government to speed-up vaccination process and prioritise the vulnerable elderly
The rising number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands coupled with the new threat from mutant variants, makes it more urgent to vaccinate the oldest and most vulnerable, experts say.
Vaccine supplies are now coming into the Netherlands, and doctors say they need to get them into many more arms. So far Prime Minister Mark Rutte has not been very clear explaining how he plans to speed-up the vaccine rollout or give a precise schedule on the plan of action.
More than 60 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in the Netherlands have been among residents at the elder care homes and those aged 70 and older, according to an epidemiology update. More hands-on action is needed urgently.
Read more at: EU-Digest
Vaccine supplies are now coming into the Netherlands, and doctors say they need to get them into many more arms. So far Prime Minister Mark Rutte has not been very clear explaining how he plans to speed-up the vaccine rollout or give a precise schedule on the plan of action.
More than 60 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in the Netherlands have been among residents at the elder care homes and those aged 70 and older, according to an epidemiology update. More hands-on action is needed urgently.
Read more at: EU-Digest
EU: Lawmakers call for tougher EU disinformation laws in wake of US riots organized by Pro-Trump supporters like QAnon - by Samuel Stolton and Philipp Grüll
In Brussels, MEPs have been quick to condemn the role that social media platforms have played in mobilising a community capable of carrying out the violent scenes that hit Washington, with the dissemination of conspiratorial material running rife across platforms.
“The riots in Washington have in large part been fuelled by online conspiracy theories so successful they have completely subverted the trust of many Americans in basic democratic institutions,” said Kris Peeters a Belgian centre-right MEP, who led an initiative report on the Digital Services Act and fundamental rights last year.
Alex Agius Saliba, a socialist MEP who led a text last year on the Digital Services Act for the Parliament’s internal market committee, said the EU’s landmark law needs to look more closely at the spread of false content.Note: organisations like QAnon and similar populist. ultra right wing conspiracy theorists.
Read more at: Lawmakers call for tougher EU disinformation laws in wake of US riots – EURACTIV.com
“The riots in Washington have in large part been fuelled by online conspiracy theories so successful they have completely subverted the trust of many Americans in basic democratic institutions,” said Kris Peeters a Belgian centre-right MEP, who led an initiative report on the Digital Services Act and fundamental rights last year.
Alex Agius Saliba, a socialist MEP who led a text last year on the Digital Services Act for the Parliament’s internal market committee, said the EU’s landmark law needs to look more closely at the spread of false content.Note: organisations like QAnon and similar populist. ultra right wing conspiracy theorists.
Read more at: Lawmakers call for tougher EU disinformation laws in wake of US riots – EURACTIV.com
Conspiracy Theorists QAnon: EBay Says It Will Pull QAnon Merchandise From Its Site -dangers also exist in Europe
Products promoting the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon will no longer be permitted on eBay’s site, the company said on Friday evening, after rioters carrying markers of the group stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
A search on eBay currently reveals about 4,000 products, including hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers tied to QAnon, which, among other theories, asserts that President Trump is being undermined by a cult of Satan worshippers. For instance, there’s a pack of stickers selling for $22 that has a Q emblazoned on the front and is advertised as a way to show support for the president’s failed 2020 re-election bid. Its seller policy prohibits “listings that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination.”
QAnon has also been operating in Europe under different names and is very active when it comes to controversial issues, in promoting dangerous and radical rightwing and populist solutions to solve a variety of issues.
Read more at: EBay Says It Will Pull QAnon Merchandise From Its Site
A search on eBay currently reveals about 4,000 products, including hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers tied to QAnon, which, among other theories, asserts that President Trump is being undermined by a cult of Satan worshippers. For instance, there’s a pack of stickers selling for $22 that has a Q emblazoned on the front and is advertised as a way to show support for the president’s failed 2020 re-election bid. Its seller policy prohibits “listings that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination.”
QAnon has also been operating in Europe under different names and is very active when it comes to controversial issues, in promoting dangerous and radical rightwing and populist solutions to solve a variety of issues.
Read more at: EBay Says It Will Pull QAnon Merchandise From Its Site
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