Russia, China Make First NKorea Visit Since Pandemic
North Korean media reported on Wednesday that officials from both Russia and China have sent delegations to the country to be present at the recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War’s armistice in 1953.
Russia’s delegation, led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was welcomed at the airport in Pyongyang on Tuesday evening. The Chinese delegation arrived on Wednesday.
The PRC's delegation will be led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP’s) Politburo. The delegations are believed to be the first in North Korea since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Pro-establishment narrative
The visit to North Korea by China and Russia is an attempt to rebuke the US. A chance to show a tripartite stand against the US-led international order is a primary motivation. These powers are playing a dangerous game in trusting North Korea, known for its unpredictable hostility and potential to escalate tension.
Establishment-critical narrative
The visits by Beijing and Moscow to Pyongyang show unity in the face of American aggression, just like 70 years ago. China will continue to strive for a peaceful and stable society and will continue to repel forces that continue to prohibit such a mission.
Nerd narrative
There is a 13% chance that North Korea and South Korea will be recognized as a unified sovereign state by 2045, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
UNESCO: Smartphones Should be Banned in Schools
A new UNESCO report released on Tuesday has recommended banning smartphones in schools globally to enhance critical thinking and improve learning.
The report found that smartphones had a detrimental impact on children’s emotional stability and educational performance, and that a ban is essential to protect students from online bullying.
Digital technology as a whole, including artificial intelligence, should never take precedence over an in-person, teacher-led instruction system of teaching, the report added.
Narrative A
Educators, school administration, and parents must heed UNESCO’s call to ban smartphones in schools as they are extremely detrimental to children’s learning, social skills, and mental health. The mere presence of a smartphone is enough to reduce a child’s cognitive capacity. These gadgets are not just becoming a distraction for students and wasting their time, they are forcing teachers to change their focus from education to discipline.
Narrative B
Banning smartphones entirely from schools is dangerous, as it could make it difficult for students to contact their parents in emergencies, including in cases of physical bullying. Instead of an outright ban, children must be taught how to use their smartphones responsibly. Absolute restrictions may or may not limit distractions, but responsible usage will make personal technology an unparalleled teaching tool.
Mediterranean Wildfires Kill Dozens
Deadly wildfires burning in at least nine countries across the Mediterranean have so far claimed the lives of dozens of people as thousands of firefighters continue to bring the infernos under control.
In Algeria, wildfires reportedly destroyed at least 15 provinces, killing at least 34 people — including ten soldiers — and displacing more than 1.5K residents.
On Tuesday, six people were killed by extreme weather in Italy, as deadly storms battered the northern parts of the country and wildfires erupted in Sicily, and blistering heat descended on the south.
Narrative A
While wildfires are a regular feature of summer in Mediterranean Europe, the frequency and intensity of the blazes this year are exceptional thanks to human-induced climate change — which is making heatwaves more likely and more severe. As the earth heats up, year by year, the risk of fire will only increase. These apocalyptic scenes are just the beginning of scenes we will see throughout the region.
Narrative B
Such unprecedented wildfires highlight the need to rethink how landscapes can be managed to protect people and sustain ecosystems when the Mediterranean climate is rapidly changing. Rather than wasting time blaming climate change, developed nations, or policy failures, the focus must shift to better forest management and formulating customized preventative measures to shrink the wildfires' scope as much as possible.
Nerd narrative
There's a 49% chance that wildfires will destroy a total exceeding 10Mha of global tree cover by the end of 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Japan: Population Declines by Record 800K
Data released by the government of Japan on Wednesday shows that the country's population declined at its fastest-ever pace in 2022, with the number of Japanese citizens contracting by around 800K, a record number.
This was the first time that Japan's population fell in all 47 prefectures of the country since their demographic surveys began in 1968. A record low number of births — around 772K — and record high deaths — at 1.57M — sank the number of Japanese citizens to around 122.4M.
The latest data also showed that the number of foreign nationals in Japan climbed to just under 3M, with their number increasing in every prefecture. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates that foreign nationals will account for 10.2% of the population by 2067.
Narrative A
Japan, once the poster child for population decline, is now just one of many developed countries that are facing population collapse thanks to shrinking fertility rates. Indeed, underpopulation, not overpopulation, is becoming the most pressing demographic threat to humanity. This will force countries like Japan — a harbinger of what the rest of the world will face — to adopt higher taxes, push back the retirement age, and face an intractable economic decline.
Narrative B
A declining population is not a one-way ticket to economic collapse, as dire predictions with regard to population trends fail to reflect reality. People in developed countries like Japan without children are simply making tradeoffs, as a declining birth rate is offset by a meteoric rise in life expectancy. A shift away from a mindset of endless growth and toward quality of life will have a beneficial impact on the environment and our well-being. There's no need to panic, as this time of change will bring as many opportunities as challenges.
Nerd narrative
There's a 65% chance that any country will have a total fertility rate below 0.5 by the year 2053, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Zelenskyy Slams Corruption As Lawmaker Probed for Luxury Trip
Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a rebuke to his country's public servants that are engaged in corruption on Tuesday — warning them that "there will not be any of you" in his nightly address.
Zelenskyy said: "No one will forgive MPs, judges, military commissars or any other officials for putting themselves in opposition to the state...For any public official, this is a betrayal of state principles, a betrayal of the interests of society."
"Every law that is needed to strengthen the position of our troops must be adopted," he added. "If you are working for Ukraine, you are needed by Ukraine. If not, you are not."
Pro-establishment narrative
Zelenskyy understands that if Ukraine is to join NATO or the EU, it has to clamp down on its problem of corruption that existed long before the war with Russia. He is rightly taking steps to eradicate this problem and should be commended for taking Ukraine in the right direction.
Establishment-critical narrative
Despite Zelenskyy's public pronouncements, he himself has been at the center of corruption allegations to the tune of several hundred million dollars. How can he be taken seriously on corruption if he's also involved?
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that Ukraine will join the European Union before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
NatWest CEO Resigns Over 'Serious Error' in Farage Row
Alison Rose, the CEO of British bank NatWest, has resigned after admitting to a "serious error of judgment" in discussing the closure of former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage’s accounts at the institution's subsidiary, Coutts, with a BBC reporter.
Information Minister John Edwards will now investigate Rose's disclosure. Some anonymous shareholders have also suggested that the bank’s long-serving chair, Howard Davies, should also step down.
Though Coutts originally cited commercial reasons for Farage's account closure, the bank’s internal report into why his accounts were closed revealed that Farage's politics "were at odds with [their] position as an inclusive organization."
Conservative narrative
While the breaking news surrounding Nigel Farage is a cause for hope, the banking establishment is still de-banking political outsiders without just cause and needs to be held to account. Barclays, for example, still has yet to reopen the Christian group Core Issues Trust (CIT) despite having compensated them over $25K for wrongfully terminating their account. These banks are becoming more emboldened by the day, stripping anyone who dares not conform to the mainstream narrative.
Progressive narrative
Banks certainly do prop up some ideologies over others, but not the ones conservatives complain about. The corporate world is only just starting to support marginalized communities who, in the past, had no access to the world's wealth. These self-proclaimed progressive institutions have funded racist politicians for decades, but thankfully, movements like Black Lives Matter have encouraged them to start backing the downtrodden rather than the rich and powerful.
US Dept. of Education Investigating Harvard's Legacy Policy
In the wake of last month’s SCOTUS decision striking down race-based admissions at US universities, the US Dept. of Education (DOE) is investigating whether Harvard is racially discriminating against non-White students by favoring applicants with ties to donors and alumni.
The Boston-based non-profit Lawyers for Civil Rights claims that Harvard’s use of so-called legacy admissions policies is discriminatory since 70% of donor-related and legacy applicants — who are six times more likely to be admitted — are White.
Earlier this month, a complaint was filed on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England which claims that 28% of Harvard’s Class of 2019 had a parent or other relative who graduated from the university.
Left narrative
While SCOTUS ruled against admissions policies aimed at uplifting marginalized Black and Latino students, the conservative court made sure to keep affirmative action in place for White people. Prestigious universities perpetuate intergenerational cycles of wealth and inhibit upward mobility by favoring the wealthy — and predominantly White — children of alumni. Biden is 100% right to call for an investigation into legacy admissions that discriminate against minority students.
Right narrative
After losing its mind over a court ruling that ended racism in college admissions, the woke left is trying to claim that legacy admissions are somehow racist. Biden is now calling for an investigation into the so-called racist policy that benefits wealthy applicants. However, there’s one problem — Biden has used his position as a Senator, Vice President, and President to get his unqualified family members into elite institutions. It's easy for powerful Democrats to oppose policies that will still advantage them.
Guiliani Admits to Making False Statements
In response to a lawsuit against him, Rudy Giuliani — who was once former Pres. Trump’s lawyer — in a filing Tuesday conceded he made false statements accusing two Georgia election workers of counting extra votes to rig the 2020 presidential election.
Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who were vote counters at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, filed suit against Giuliani in December 2021, accusing him of defaming them.
Although Giuliani made the concession, the filing said he wouldn’t admit to the “truth of the allegations” against him from the plaintiffs.
Pro-Trump narrative
Giuliani hasn’t done anything wrong, and this filing was made just to move the case along — hopefully leading to a dismissal. Giuliani had a First Amendment right to make the claims he made, and even if they were false, the plaintiffs are going to have to prove that his words hurt them, which will put the onus on the plaintiffs to show clear-cut evidence.
Democratic narrative
Giuliani can spin this filing any way he wants, but the facts show that his and Trump’s comments were always dubious and now he’s joining the list of Trump allies who are finally deciding to stop defending the indefensible. The defamatory statements against Freeman and Moss caused real-world harm, and Giuliani must be held fully accountable.
Congressional UFO Hearing: US Aware of 'Non-Human' Activity, Witness Says
On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee heard testimony from former intelligence officer David Grusch, who earlier this year claimed that the US has concealed evidence of "extraterrestrial technology" from Congress and the public and was currently in possession of alien craft.
Also testifying were two former fighter pilots who claimed to have encountered unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). David Fravor — who recorded the 2004 "Tic Tac" UAP video — and Ryan Graves claimed that pilots who come forward with UAP claims face serious stigma.
Grusch claims that in 2019, while working at the National Reconnaissance Office, he was asked to identify classified programs of interest to a UAP task force. He claims to have uncovered "multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering" programs that he was denied access to.
Pro-establishment narrative
While these supposedly bombshell claims will reignite our fascination with UFOs, Grusch's story is entirely predictable, with his claims being as specious as all prior UFO whistleblowers. An appealing narrative of a brave truthteller coming forward with evidence of a shadowy government plot cannot hide the absolute dearth of evidence to back it up. For the sake of a good story, Congress suspended its disbelief to hear tired tales of little green men, with the hearing being just as anticlimactic as every other UFO story.
Establishment-critical narrative
Once ridiculed, UFO claims are being taken seriously by elected representatives, and perhaps it would be wise to heed their new concerns. If the Pentagon is hiding a shred of information from Congress, it would be a breach of the trust of the American public. Despite their repeated denials, there has been a startling lack of transparency, with both parties bearing down on the Three Letter Agencies to finally come clean about what they know. For the sake of government integrity, we must take these allegations with respect and seriousness.
Nerd narrative
There's a 25% chance that conclusive evidence for extraterrestrial life, past or present, will be discovered in the solar system by 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Hunter Biden Plea Falls Apart
Hunter Biden's plea deal on two misdemeanor tax crimes — failing to pay more than $100K in taxes on his $1.5M-plus income in both 2017 and 2018 — has fallen apart after presiding judge Maryellen Noreika raised concerns over language in the agreement regarding not prosecuting Hunter for tax crimes in the future.
Noreika was referring to other possible crimes, including violations related to representing foreign governments. The rejected deal would have also not prosecuted Hunter for possessing an illegal firearm as long as he relinquished all weapons and remained sober for two years.
Noreika also threatened Hunter Biden's legal team with sanctions after one of his lawyers allegedly "misrepresented... who she worked for" to remove filings from GOP Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) from the public docket. Smith had urged the judge to consider whistleblower materials from two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents before deciding on the plea deal.
Republican narrative
Hunter Biden and his father, the most powerful politician in the world, should never have been given a plea deal due to the countless crimes they've committed together. Pres. Biden has helped cover up his son's illicit drug usage, solicitation of prostitutes, and international money laundering schemes with countries such as Ukraine and China. Given that the president just sent cluster bombs to Ukraine, it's more important than ever to take off the kid gloves and investigate every detail of their million-dollar sellout of America.
Democratic narrative
Hunter Biden is just the latest child of a Democratic president who Republicans like to ruthlessly attack. They mocked year-old Chelsea Clinton, year-old Malia Obama, and now Hunter Biden — a man recovering from drug addiction who happens to be the son of a politician. Interestingly, however, the GOP was never up in arms over Donald Trump's Daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner's nefarious foreign business dealings while he was president. This is just another example of political theater for the GOP to use ahead of the election.