Kim Gets A Visitor, Israel’s Conflict Shift, And Betting On A Loss
A detailed recount mixed with meme comedy to mark our times at Week 24 of 2024 featuring source material from Star Trek Lower Decks, No. 7 West Mars Street, and Hailey’s On It!
The Greatest Political Drama On Earth - Debate Prep
Concerning the election campaign, after Joe Biden’s record-breaking star power fundraiser featuring George Clooney and Barack Obama last weekend, the president launched a $50 million ad campaign portraying his opponent as an “unhinged” felon. The convicted felon Donald Trump, when not calling his opponent “Joe Bride” during a speech in Milwaukee just days after calling it “terrible,” or wanting to stay in his own hotel in Chicago for the Republican convention, faced a legal loss on Tuesday after New York’s top court declined to hear his gag order appeal. Meanwhile, close ally Roger Stone was caught on tape by independent journalist Lauren Windsor discussing what the campaign will do to challenge the election results in November through “lawyers, judges, and technology,” and could be the evidence that disqualifies Judge Aileen Cannon from continuing her delay with the classified documents case. Both campaigns also agreed on rules proposed by CNN for next week’s first presidential debate, which includes no opening statements, no notes, no live audience, and muted microphones which pundits see as mostly advantages to Biden. The independent RFK Jr. might be disappointed after he failed to meet CNN’s requirement on ballot access, which the candidate denies he has not reached the requirement despite rebuttals by state officials. On Thursday, Judge Cannon rejected recommendations by 2 fellow judges to step aside from the case, while RFK Jr. threatened to jail CNN hosts and executives for not allowing him to join the debate as Biden won the coin toss to select which side of the podium and when to deliver his closing remarks. In the political donations field, Trump’s campaign is quickly eroding Biden’s advantage in cash as his conviction served as a rally-round effect for small-dollar and large-dollar donors, and Biden’s campaign got a major boost after former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg donated $20 million in support for the Democrat’s campaign. Hilariously, as Trump’s campaign claims to be receiving more money, his Truth Social stock was down by 50% since his conviction.
In smaller races, Michigan Republican primary congressional candidate Anthony Hudson was heavily criticized after sharing a TikTok video featuring a fake AI-generated voice of Martin Luther King Jr endorsing Hudson as a candidate, former NBA player and Minnesota GOP candidate Royce White was in hot water after claiming to podcast host David Pakman that concerns over his campaign spending in a strip club was for food only, while former Trump whistleblower during the first impeachment Yevgeny Vindman won his primary in Virginia.
A federal judge started this week in American politics by temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ students, Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore issued a blanket pardon to 175,000 marijuana convictions in a sweeping order marking the country’s most far-reaching pardoning order that forgives decades of low-level marijuana possession charges, while New Jersey’s Attorney General charged Democratic power broker George Norcross with racketeering charges over government-issued tax credits. By Tuesday, Biden announced plans to waive penalties for undocumented spouses of US citizens, benefiting hundreds of thousands to apply for legal residency. Inside Capitol Hill, the House Ethics Committee is further investigating several complaints over Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz over alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, while a Senate Republican blocked a bill to ban bump stocks after the Supreme Court ruled against the Trump-era ban last week. In a blur between church and state, Louisiana became the first US state to order every classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Then on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Trump-era tax provision on offshore earnings, which some observers viewed as an effort to preemptively block Congress from creating a wealth tax. By Friday, not only did the Court rarely do the right thing by upholding a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims by taking the guns away from people under restraining orders, but Steve Bannon made a desperate attempt to appeal his jail sentencing by requesting the Supreme Court to handle the issue. While in Nevada, a judge dismissed criminal charges against six Republicans who participated in the fake electors scheme, the state attorneys general have said they would appeal the case.
The Most Cathartic Democratic Election Ever - Bet On It!
Nigel Farage’s return to the political scene only got bigger this week, starting with Reform’s 25-page “contract” announcement instead of a manifesto, while the former UKIP leader said he is aiming to be a credible candidate to take over as PM come the next general election after 2024. At the same time, the party’s parliamentary candidate in Kemi Badenoch’s constituency has resigned after social media posts were unearthed that contained racial slurs and misogynistic comments. During Friday’s interview with Nick Robinson from the BBC, Farage claimed the West provoked the Ukraine war but still blamed the ultimate responsibility on Putin. The comments generated outrage among the other political parties, with both Sunak and Starmee condemning the statement.
For the Tories, the bad news keeps on coming. On the same Tuesday an MRP poll showed the Tories are looking forward to its worst defeat in political history, one of the biggest donors for the Conservative Party back in the 2019 election has announced he is endorsing Labour. Then Wednesday’s YouGov poll showed even heavier losses by the Conservative Party if the election is held tomorrow, with half of the cabinet at risk of losing their jobs including the PM himself. Meanwhile, a police officer working as Sunak’s close protection team was arrested over alleged bets on the timing of the general election days before the PM’s announcement. Hours later on Wednesday, a second Tory party member was investigated by the Gambling Commission for similar allegations of election betting. That particular member, Laura Saunders is a candidate running in the Bristol North West constituency and is married to the party's director of campaigns. Somehow, as the betting news rumbled on, the Conservative Party's Twitter page released an attack ad on Labour featuring a roulette claiming the opposition party’s policies will only end in more tax and debt. The post was deleted after wide online mockery, while more names were warned to be named given the knowledge that election date bets had suddenly surged a day before the PM made his July 4 announcement. In more physically embarrassing news for the Conservative Party leaders, Sunak and David Cameron tried to feed sheep during a farm visit that resulted in the animals running away from them. On Thursday, another humiliation for the PM as former Tory minister Chris Skidmore said he would vote Labour for the first time, citing Sunak's decision to "side with climate deniers and to deliberately politicize the energy transition." We learned more about party political donations this Friday, and in the second week of campaigning, the Tories raised less than £300,000 in donations while Labour received £4.4 million.
In other political party news regarding the UK election, Scotland’s SNP announced its manifesto this week, promising a majority in the Scottish Parliament will trigger independence talks. The Irish republican party Sinn Féin and the Workers Party of Britain also announced their manifestoes on Wednesday. Meanwhile, parliamentary candidate and businessman Steve Endacott ran in the election as the first AI lawmaker in the country’s history by showing off an interactive AI avatar named “AI Steve,” which is available any time of the day throughout the year to discuss policy with voters. On Thursday night, BBC Question Time Leaders Special saw four party leaders being grilled by voters on various issues. Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats was interrogated over his party’s broken promises and defended his campaigning antics, Rishi Sunak was grilled over NHS waiting lists and whether he is “embarrassed” to be leader of the Conservative Party, Labour’s Keir Starmer was challenged on his support of former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s election manifesto in the 2019 election, while SNP leader John Swinney admitted it's been a "turbulent time" in response to questions over the recent scandals plaguing his party.
Ukraine/Russia War Watch - Putin’s North Korea Trip
This week saw Russia’s Vladimir Putin visiting the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un inside the DPRK for a two-day visit, it comes as Western countries are worried that both countries have been relying more on each other since the Ukraine war. Before they met, Putin pledged to cooperate with North Korea in strengthening the resistance of both regimes against Western sanctions. During Putin’s first visit to the country in more than 20 years, Kim lavishly hosted a parade for the other dictator, pledged to “unconditionally” support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, and both parties signed a strategic partnership pact to come to each other’s aid if attacked. The next day, Putin visited Vietnam despite protests by the US, in which both parties discussed forming a new “security architecture” in Asia.
In related news, NATO’s outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday a record 23 out of 32 member nations have hit their defense spending target amid the war in Ukraine. Stoltenberg also told BBC News that China should face consequences for supporting Russia’s war effort, saying “This cannot work in the long run.” NATO’s new Secretary-General was poised to be Mark Rutte after the Netherlands PM promised Hungary’s leader Victor Orban he would not deploy Hungarian forces into Ukraine, and his rival dropped out days later. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Russia is scouring China for second-hand machine tools that were needed to make weapons, which is seen as a covert bid to dodge sanctions as the Kremlin seeks “whatever it can get.” The US also boosted its Ukraine defense effort by pausing exports to its allies and redirecting the sale of Patriot missile batteries to the war-torn nation. On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia sees a desperate need for “comprehensive” security talks with Ukraine directly on the agenda, as Putin warned South Korea from arming Ukraine after the Kim meeting which pissed off North Korea’s southern counterpart. By the weekend, Russia launched another massive attack on the Ukrainian power grid, the eighth time in three months.
Israel/Hamas War Watch - Tactical Shift
Major developments on Monday as Reuters reported Benjamin Netanyahu has disbanded the six-member Israeli war cabinet, widely expected after the departure of centrist former general Benny Gantz weeks ago. The IDF’s daily pause also took effect that day, with the temporary peace holding during that time. In further pressure on Israel, the US plans to dismantle its failing temporary aid pier in Gaza early, which might pressure Israeli forces to open more land routes to allow more humanitarian aid. Hezbollah might also worry the Israeli government after it released drone surveillance footage which if true, would undermine the difficulty in intercepting attacks by the extremist group in Lebanon. But what did Netanyahu do? The Israeli PM released a video criticizing Biden for withholding larger bombs from being sent to help its war effort, Axios then reported the White House canceled a video meeting with Netanyahu on Iran that was supposed to be held on Thursday. At the same time, Israel claimed its Rafah attack is near completion, a significant milestone and potential shift in the war to a less-intensive phase if the IDF did not approve a plan for an “offensive” in Lebanon as the conflict against Hezbollah intensifies.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned of a “war without rules” if Israel launches a full-scale invasion against the Lebanese militia, adding that Cyprus will be a target. Then on Thursday, we learned more about how the Lebanon conflict is displacing vulnerable Syrian refugee communities, as well as an emerging rift inside the Netanyahu administration with the news that the IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in an interview that “Hamas cannot be destroyed. Hamas is an idea. Those who think it can be made to disappear are wrong.” By Friday, Israeli forces shelled tent camps for displaced Palestinians in Rafah killed at least 25 people, we learned more about the influential official in Netanyahu’s coalition Bezalel Smotrich’s plans to cement control of the West Bank, while US officials have made puzzling responses to Netanyahu’s criticism of his closest ally. In Gaza City, at least two Israeli airstrikes claimed to be targeting “Hamas military infrastructure” have resulted in multiple deaths. More appallingly, footage of Israeli soldiers strapping an injured Palestinian man to the bonnet of a military jeep after an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank circulated online before being confirmed by the IDF, which said an investigation would take place.
Here is some necessary journalism on what’s happening inside Gaza just this week. The AP reported: The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. AP documents 60 who lost dozens or more; the BBC paints the scene in Gaza as 'A slow death': Gazans live alongside rotting rubbish and rodents; the Financial Times wrote about The bank heists of Gaza; the New York Times published a story on When the Only Escape From War in Gaza Is to Buy a Way Out, while the Guardian reported on how the IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants.
Postscripts To The Memeables: Some Headlines, Some Importance, Some Snark
Dateline Beijing, China:
After the EU decided to raise tariffs on Chinese EVs by up to 38%, Beijing retaliated the move by announcing an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork exports by the European Union, accusing European countries of “overcapacity” and subsidies echoing similar sentiments from Western leaders against China.
In related foreign policy news concerning China, the first visit by a Chinese premier to Australia in several years was slightly overshadowed by an apparent attempt by officials to block the view of a formerly detained Australian journalist from the signing ceremony and protests by anti-China groups. During the visit, Premier Li Qiang agreed to properly “manage differences” with his Aussie counterparts and visited a lithium refiner on the last day of his trip. Beijing also offered pandas to thaw ties between the two countries as part of China’s so-called “panda diplomacy.” After departing Australia, Li visited Malaysia and met with the country’s leader Anwar Ibrahim, who called President Xi of China an “outstanding leader,” and in a recent interview with the SCMP claimed a neutral stance on US-China tensions while defending his sympathy with Hamas. Both countries deepened ties with a renewed economic pact, while Ibrahim expressed his desire to join the BRICS alliance dominated by “global south” countries. Meanwhile, on the South China Sea, Beijing and Manila continued to trade blame after the Philippines was accused of a ship collision amidst increasing territorial tensions. Chinese state media released footage of coastguard officers encircling before boarding a boat from the Phillippines, while the Philippines accused China of using bladed weapons saying “Only pirates do this.” The US and China held informal nuclear talks for the first time in five years, with the Chinese delegation assuring their American counterparts that they would not resort to nuclear threats concerning Taiwan.
Dateline Bangkok, Thailand:
Thailand took a “monumental step forward” as the country’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of passing a marriage equality bill, making this country the first Southeast Asian and ASEAN nation to legalize gay marriage. Thailand now officially joins Taiwan as the only two places in Asia where same-sex marriage is legal.
On the same Tuesday, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted bail after he was officially indicted for allegedly insulting the monarch, which is considered a crime in Thailand.
Dateline Planet Earth:
This week, many parts of the world felt the burn as summer approaches. Most of the US experienced record-breaking heat temperatures thanks to a meteorological phenomenon called a “heat dome,” Saudi officials say thousands of people have died under intense heat during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, Hong Kong recorded a record-breaking 34 degrees Celsius on the day of the summer solstice, while India has seen a record peak demand for power for the north as the heatwave persists. In China’s case, as agricultural authorities and farmers in central China worry about “total crop failure” after a weeks-long drought, heavy rains led to flooding and landslides that have killed at least 9 in the southern province of Guangdong.
In other environmental news, Storm Alberto claimed several lives in Mexico as the hurricane also damaged Texas, Singapore is struggling to clean up its beaches after an oil spill, while youth activists reached a historic settlement with the state of Hawaii which would legally require the state’s transport department to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the main focus turned towards Just Stop Oil, a controversial environmental activist group that first sprayed Stonehenge with orange paint on Wednesday, then they targeted a private airfield in England which the group claimed was “where Taylor Swift's jet landed hours earlier.” However, local police say Taylor Swift’s plane did not land at the airfield activists have vandalized.
All The News That’s Unfit To Meme
HKFP: Tuition fees for Hong Kong’s public universities to rise
Bloomberg: Hong Kong to Allow Trading During Typhoons From September
Reuters: Hong Kongers embrace politics in UK, but some still fear Beijing | Reuters
NYT: Spicy Noodles and Pickled Fish: Chinese Eateries Move Into Hong Kong - The New York Times
WaPo: China cultivated high-rolling crime families before turning on them - The Washington Post
HKFP: Death penalty for Taiwan independence advocates among China's punishment guidelines
Reuters: In China, AI transformed Ukrainian YouTuber into a Russian | Reuters
FT: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi claims ‘tectonic shift’ after Modi election upset
AP: South Korean soldiers fire warning shots after North Korean troops intrude for 2nd time this month
NYT: North Korea Has Lost ‘Many’ Troops to Mines in DMZ, South Says - The New York Times
SCMP: Malaysia prepares to join Brics pending ‘final results’ from South Africa
Economist: Javier Milei has turned Argentina into a libertarian laboratory
BBC: Canada lists Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity
WaPo: Iran signals a major boost in nuclear enrichment at key site - The Washington Post
DW: Iran overturns death penalty for rapper Toomaj Salehi
Reuters: Sudan's cemeteries swell with fresh graves as hunger and disease spread
BBC: Namibia LGBTQ rights: Gay sex laws ruled unconstitutional by high court
Al Jazeera: Kenya police use tear gas, water cannon as hundreds protest over tax hikes
Guardian: Jews ‘questioning their future in France’ amid fears about rise in extremism
NBC: Boys accused of raping 12-year-old Jewish girl, in an act of antisemitism in France
Sky: Kylian Mbappe urges young people to vote against rising 'extremes' in France | World News
Economist: A hard-right 28-year-old could soon be France’s prime minister
BBC: Greek coastguard threw migrants overboard to their deaths, witnesses say
FT: Birth rates in rich countries halve to hit record low
Guardian: Global spending on nuclear weapons up 13% in record rise
FT: Boeing chief questioned on safety failures and whistleblower practices
Bloomberg: Nvidia (NVDA) Tops Microsoft (MSFT) to Become World’s Most Valuable Company - Bloomberg
WaPo: TikTok argues government is ‘unmoored from reality’ over potential ban - The Washington Post
Verge: US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel - The Verge
Reuters: Exclusive: Biden to ban US sales of Kaspersky software over ties to Russia, source says | Reuters
SCMP: Hong Kong’s Yuen Kwok-yung shares his journey to becoming top disease expert in new book
NYT: Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms - The New York Times
Space.com: China selects 4th batch of astronaut candidates as part of 2030 moon landing goal | Space
SCMP: China-France satellite launched to monitor most powerful explosions in space
New Scientist: Is an old NASA probe about to redraw the frontier of the solar system? | New Scientist
Guardian: Astronomers detect sudden awakening of black hole 1m times mass of sun
Your Weekly Dose Of Outstanding Journalism
Economist: War and AI
New Yorker: How Will Nanomachines Change the World? | The New Yorker
Atlantic: Anthony Fauci: The First Three Months of the Pandemic - The Atlantic
Foreign Affairs: David Petraeus: Israel's War of Regime Change Is Repeating America's Mistakes
Bulwark: This Is Why You’re Exhausted by Politics
WSJ: The Hostages Next Door: Inside a Notable Gaza Family’s Dark Secret - WSJ
FT: The race against time to defeat mosquito-borne diseases
Economist: Britain’s Conservatives are losing as they governed. Meekly
AP: The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. AP documents 60 who lost dozens or more
BBC: 'A slow death': Gazans live alongside rotting rubbish and rodents
NYT: When the Only Escape From War in Gaza Is to Buy a Way Out - The New York Times
Economist: Sun Machines | The Economist
WSJ: At $25 Each, Cigarettes Are Turning Gaza Aid Trucks Into Targets - WSJ
New Yorker: Ecuador’s Risky War on Narcos | The New Yorker
Foreign Affairs: A Foreign Policy for the World as It Is: Biden and the Search for a New American Strategy
NYT: Opinion | American Leaders Should Stop Debasing Themselves on Israel - The New York Times
Atlantic: Trump world seems worried - The Atlantic
FP: U.S. Anti-Disinformation Video Games Are a Dodgy Proposition
BBC: 'I don't believe in peace now,' released Gaza hostage says
Economist: Is a Palestinian state a fantasy?
NYT: Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Matter - The New York Times
Guardian: ‘You asked me questions I’ve never asked myself’: Keir Starmer’s most personal interview yet
Video Highlights From All Sides
Journalism Monitor: The Profession’s Progress This Week
HKFP: Hongkongers' trust in news rises even as security laws 'intensify' challenges to journalism – study
Reuters: Australia's Albanese tells China's Li journalist incident 'unacceptable' | Reuters
WaPo: Incoming Post editor tied to self-described ‘thief’ who claimed role in his reporting
Semafor: The Washington Post looks to remake its identity | Semafor
CNN: Jeff Bezos breaks his silence about turmoil at The Washington Post | CNN Business
WaPo: Robert Winnett will not join The Post as editor
New Statesman: The Washington Post drama reveals the myth of Americanisation - New Statesman
NBC: The deceptive Biden G7 video was quickly debunked, but it kept going viral anyway
WaPo: A new Fox poll has Biden up. Fox’s prime-time hosts didn’t mention it. - The Washington Post
WSJ: Russia Sets Hearing as It Moves Toward Trial of Falsely Accused WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich
NYT: 'A Big Step Back': In Ukraine, Concerns Mount Over Narrowing Press Freedoms
Conversation: BBC Question Time: analysis of guests over nine years suggests an overuse of rightwing voices
FT: Telegraph warns £278mn loans to Barclay family companies may never be repaid
Barrons: RSF Warns Of Possible 'Abusive Use' Of Revised Niger Law | Barron's
Al Jazeera: Most news consumers suspicious of AI in journalism, survey shows | Technology News | Al Jazeera