Friday, July 24, 2020
Headlines for July 24, 2020
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for July 24, 2020
*U.K. 'Actively Avoided' Investigating Russian Interference, Lawmakers Find
One lawmaker used the phrase “actively avoided”; the report does not say that.
*‘No One’ Protected British Democracy From Russia, U.K. Report Concludes
"Russia has mounted a prolonged, sophisticated campaign to undermine Britain’s democracy and corrupt its politics, while successive British governments have looked the other way, according to a long-delayed report released on Tuesday by a British parliamentary committee."
Sounds ominous. Proof? There are Russian oligarchs living in London. And? "These people, the report said, “played a role, wittingly or unwittingly, in the extension of Russian influence which is often linked to promoting the nefarious interests of the Russian state.” Specifically? Crickets.
Then the article throws in the death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko and the attempted murders of Sergei Skripal. What does this have to do with "protecting British democracy"? Nothing whatsoever.
The whole report is filled with proof statements like “it has been widely reported that…”. Sorry, that’s not proof of anything!
"Among the report’s most politically salient conclusions might be about a Russian influence campaign during the Scottish independence referendum."
*Russia report claims Moscow meddled in Scottish independence vote
"There has been credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook
influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014."
“Open source” here means that the people making the claims had no access to, e.g., Twitter account information which would show that people tweeting certain things had any connection to Russia whatsoever, even a Russia-based IP address. It’s all just inference.
Footnote takes us to a report by Ben Nimmo of the Atlantic Council:
which tells us: "Pro-Russian internet trolls fueled claims that Scotland’s independence referendum in 2014 was rigged, and amplified demands for a revote."
"However, it is not possible to determine from open sources whether some or all of the accounts are independent actors, or linked to Russian information operations." One of the accounts, @w_nicht posted it six times in 90 minutes (OMG!). "@w_nicht’s posts include repeated attacks on Ukraine, and defenses (and denials) of Russia’s actions there — common themes of the Kremlin’s propaganda outlets and of the troll factory."
British Parliament says government failed to investigate possible Russian election interference
“Sensitive government documents relating to the U.K.-U.S. Free Trade Agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 General Election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a written statement to Parliament.
The foreign secretary added, “It is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 General Election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked Government documents.”
So wasn’t the government also trying to interfere in the election by hiding those same documents?
*Why is Xi Jinping pitting China against the world?
*How the Cold War Between China and U.S. Is Intensifying
Subhead: In defense, trade, technology, media and diplomacy, among other areas, the rancor between the Trump administration and China’s ruling Communist Party is worsening.
Classic “both sidesism”. In the list the NYT provides of various incidents, every one is a US provocation except these — suppression of democracy in Hong Kong, & repression of Uighurs. What do those two have in common? Neither has anything to do with the US. In other words, even those two are actually US provocations.
1) The Coronavirus and anti-Chinese Racism. "Mr. Trump and his subordinates have blamed China for spreading the coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. They have repeatedly described the virus in racist and stigmatizing terms, calling it the Wuhan virus, China virus and Kung Flu."
2) A severe test on trade ties. Trump "decreed a series of punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, and China retaliated."
3) Showdown in the South China Sea. "The Trump administration has increasingly challenged China’s assertions of sovereignty and control over much of the South China Sea, including vital maritime shipping lanes." And that's not just verbal challenges.
4) A widening battle over technology. The Trump White House has escalated the accusations further by seeking an international blacklisting of Huawei. Our first story on the U.S. assault on Huawei, “The FBI, CIA and NSA say American citizens shouldn't use Huawei phones”, was in February 2018! And of course well before that was Obama’s “pivot to Asia”.
5) Expulsions of journalists and other media workers. "Accusing China’s state-run media outlets of fomenting propaganda, the Trump administration sharply limited the number of Chinese citizens who could work for Chinese news organizations in the United States."
6) Expulsions of students. "The Trump administration has taken steps to cancel the visas of thousands of Chinese graduate students and researchers in the United States who have direct ties to universities affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army,"
Not included because this article was 3 days old (!) - Closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston.7) Suppression of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong. "Last November, Mr. Trump, with bipartisan support, signed legislation that could penalize Chinese and Hong Kong officials who suppress dissent by democracy advocates in Hong Kong"
8) Repression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. This month the Trump administration imposed sanctions on a number of Chinese officials, including a senior member of the Communist Party, over human rights abuses by China in the Xinjiang region against the country’s largely Muslim Uighur minority.
Gordon Chang reacts to Houston consulate order: China is 'deliberately stoking racial tensions'
“there are stories that this consulate had links with protest groups in the United States providing financial and logistical support. That’s unconfirmed," he added. "But, what is confirmed is that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Communist Party's global ties have been engaged in a malicious disinformation campaign, deliberately stoking racial tensions in the U.S.
"And, U.S. Customs has seized items coming from China this year that would be very handy for protesters," Chang noted.
#FakeNewsByOmission
Bolivia's elections have been suspended for the third time by the electoral authorities appointed by the coup President. The new date for elections will be October 18th. (Reuters only). Election was originally scheduled for May. The ruling party is also trying to ban the MAS party from the election entirely. By the way, under the Constitution elections were supposed to be held within 90 days of when Añez took office, which was on Nov. 10, so the elections should have been held no later than February 8.
Ecuador has banned the party of former President Rafael Correa from taking part in the next election (February 2021). No coverage found.
*Coronavirus: Protein treatment trial 'a breakthrough'
It would be if interferon weren't something that's been used in Cuba since day one of the pandemic with great efficacy. Here's an article from February 29 (!) describing how Cuba was already sending its medicine to Mexico to help them treat patients: https://themazatlanpost.com/2020/02/29/cuban-treatment-against-coronavirus-will-arrive-in-mexico/
*Intel agency believes Chinese Communist Party considering retaliatory consulate closure
Right on top of things!
