Thursday 28 May 2020

Global headlines - 27 May, 2020

News Links, May 28, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
World economic prospects darken, rebound delayed: Reuters poll
Asian century began in May 2020
Region has emerged as an economic zone as closely integrated as the European Union
But remember that each of these "solutions" adds its own new cost. -- RF

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
EU Foreign Policy Chief Calls for Rapprochement with Russia and End of "American-led System"
A recent address by the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borell, hints at a new pro-Asian political order on the continent as Germany gets ready to lead the 27-nation bloc. But, is it just a ploy to check Chinese hegemony?
Israel, Pressed By US, Blocks First Big Chinese Deal

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Hong Kong police fire pepper pellets as protests flare in financial heart
COVID-19 is Laying Bare How Big Ag is Taking America's Small Farmers to Slaughter
As the door for greater consolidation across industries opens wider, entrenched transnational food interests are feeling the heat from American farmers and ranchers to curb their monopolistic dreams.

## Environment/health ##
'The human fingerprint is everywhere': Met Office's alarming warning on climate
Exclusively compiled data from centre's supercomputer shows alarming climate trajectory
Car tyres polluting huge swathes of seas and rivers, contaminating more than previously thought, say scientists
Microplastics from vehicle wheels could be damaging untold miles of waterways, experts find
Corals Turn Bright Neon in Last-Ditch Effort to Survive
• Coronavirus
Game changer: British regulator says 'COPCOV' hydroxychloroquine trial paused
An international hydroxychloroquine trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's pharmaceutical regulator said on Wednesday, less than a week after the trial started, amid fresh  safety concerns over the drug.
Game changer: Fauci: Hydroxychloroquine ineffective as COVID-19 treatment

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Twitter fact-checks Trump tweet for the first time
All that criticism of other governments for restricting internet content... -- RF
Hell Hath No Fury Like A Federal Law Enforcement Agency That Keeps Finding Some Way To Break Into IPhones

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
COVID-19: China Rises in Ranks of US-Accused Hackers
As America's new Enemy No. 1, China is now the frontrunner in the "bad guy" sweepstakes.

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Re-Opening the Economy Won't Fix What's Broken
Re-opening a fragile, brittle, bankrupt, hopelessly perverse and corrupt "normal" won't fix what's broken.
It will be net energy decline, not the coronavirus, that will deliver the coup de grĂ¢ce to the current system. It will also kill many more people than the virus. -- RF
China's Cash-Strapped Millennials Embrace a New Trend: Thrift
Many young Chinese developed lavish spending habits during an era of rapid economic growth. Now, they're learning to cut back.

## US ##
"Germ-Ridden Masses" – How America's Wealthy Elite Describe the Rest of Us
Increasingly, journalists at establishment publications come from and represent the one percent that they claim to be holding to account.
Texas Economy Could Lose $24B If Oil Prices Stay In The $30s
The Trump administration is trying to isolate China and cut it out of global trade to the maximum extent possible. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. -- RF
• Coronavirus


Tuesday, May 26, 2020


News Links, May 27, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Singapore cuts 2020 economic forecasts for the third time on coronavirus concerns
It Starts: The Corporate Mega-Bailout Bonanza in Europe, Germany on Top

## War on cash/cashless society/cryptocurrencies ##
Prison for buying bitcoin? Proposed law could see Russians serving time for using cryptocurrencies
As I've said, governments will either ban cryptocurrencies or take control of them. Keep watching. -- RF

## Airline death spiral ##
US Air Passenger Traffic over Memorial Day Weekend Down 87%, Amid Signs of Slow Recovery
Airlines don't expect a quick recovery back to "normal" either. Based on their decisions about aircraft in their fleets, they expect this to drag out for years.
Chile's Latam Airlines Group hires PJT Partners to restructure debt: report
LATAM becomes largest airline yet driven to bankruptcy by coronavirus

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
U.S. B-1 Lancers Continue Their "World Tour" With First Ever Mission Over Sweden
All things considered, the Indians have spiffier hats. -- RF
Outgoing US Envoy Underscores Split Between US, German Interests
German MP: US envoy issues threats like he's representing a hostile power
Shale drillers were collectively unprofitable even when oil prices were twice today's levels, and are drowning in red ink with WTI at $30 per barrel.
U.S. drilling industry says offshore ban would crush jobs, government revenues


## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
Behind Trump's push to blame China
Trump administration mounts global campaign against China that harks to false WMD claims made before US invasion of Iraq
NYT Writeup Of U.S. War On Afghanistan Ignores U.S. Atrocities

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
An Economy That Cannot Allow Stocks to Decline Is Too Fragile To Survive

## China ##
Hong Kong demand for VPNs surges on heels of China's plan for national security laws
Yes, it's awful. But it's also the model society secretly wanted by the West. The IoT and the cashless society will be tools to monitor and control the populace. -- RF
China shuts down WeChat social media account claiming 'US making dead bodies into hamburgers'
China has shut a virulent anti-US WeChat account for spreading fake news and stoking xenophobia, as Beijing moves to rein in misinformation on social media

## UK ##
Congress will 'probably' have to pass another coronavirus stimulus bill, Mitch McConnell says
Banks Get Payout From Equifax Hack While Consumers Still Wait For Compensation
• Coronavirus
The bleak milestone the U.S. is about to hit — 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 — is far above the number of deaths seen from the pandemic in any other country.

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