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Standard Life Aberdeen warns on Brexit and says the economy could be scarred by coronavirus – Evening Standard

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Asset management giant Standard Life Aberdeen today warned the economy could be scarred and that Brexit remains a deep uncertainty.

The City stalwart said that coronavirus could cause a long term loss of output, labour market scarring and lower real interest rates.

The company said: "The COVID-19 pandemic and associated shutdowns of economic activity have precipitated significant negative growth shocks across the world. However, the contraction phase of the crisis has also been comparatively short-lived and we anticipate an element of recovery as restrictions are lifted.

"Nevertheless, the long-term consequences of the crisis will be profound, including a longer-term loss of output, labour market scarring, lower real interest rates, and an altered balance between monetary and fiscal policy. In addition, the Brexit process remains in transition and remains a further source of uncertainty."

Despite the warnings the company maintained its half year dividend.

The company will pay out a dividend of 7.3p, the same as this time last year. It is one of few FTSE 100 companies to have not slashed or canned its dividend payout due to coronavirus.

Over the first six months this year the company's fee revenue took a hit. Revenue came in at 706 million, down from 815 million in the same period 2019.

The firm remained active during lockdown and said that despite remote working it still managed to launch 18 new funds during the period.

Assets under management also fell over the period from 544.6 billion to 511.8 billion.

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Standard Life Aberdeen warns on Brexit and says the economy could be scarred by coronavirus - Evening Standard

Concerns raised over transport of perishable Irish goods post-Brexit – Agriland

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Concerns have been raised over the risk of delays in transporting perishable goods from Ireland to other EU countries post-Brexit.

Fianna Fil TD James Browne raised the issue in the Dil last week, saying that while there is a strong agreement with fellow EU countries on ensuring our [Irish] goods, once they arrive in the continent, can continue onwards quickly, he is concerned of what will happen in the UK which, to a large extent, is out of the states hands.

Deputy Browne said that perishable items, such as meat and fish that need to be transported to the Paris markets are no good if there is a delay in getting them there.

One truck driver told me that nobody buys turkeys on St. Stephens Day, so if perishable products do not get to market on time, they are no good.

Deputy Browne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney what position discussions are in with his UK counterpart on the issue of border checks on trucks originating in Ireland, arriving in the UK from Rosslare Europort, but which plan to travel onwards to another country within the EU.

Minister Coveney said that ensuring the UK land-bridge remains an effective route to market for Irish and other EU traders has been a key priority for the government in the context of Brexit.

The UKs accession to the common transit convention is a key step. It is important to recognise that the UK government has decided to be part of that convention in an effort to be helpful, Minister Coveney said.

This allows EU goods to transit through the UK without undergoing full customs export and import formalities on entry and exit.

There remains a risk of substantial delays on parts of the land-bridge route between the UK and France, for example: Dover to Calais; the Eurotunnel; and possibly Holyhead. While we can work to address these at the EU end, there is little we can do to mitigate the impact on Irish traders arising from queues in the UK.

Minister Coveney said a commitment has been secured from countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands that when goods arrive from the UK on Irish trucks, these trucks will enter the green lane and will not be treated the same as UK trucks arriving.

This is because the Irish trucks will be coming from another part of the single market and re-entering the single market, Coveney continued.

The minister acknowledged that any blockage is likely to be in the UK, where he does not envisage a situation that Irish trucks will be allowed to skip the queue when there is significant traffic to get on ships.

Deputy Browne stressed the potential of Rosslare Europort, which is ideally located and is the quickest sea route from Ireland to the continent and must be priority given the security it offers for getting Irish foods to Europe on time.

Minister Coveney said that shipping companies have been looking at potential direct routes from Dublin and Rosslare to the single market and various ports on the EU mainland.

However, without doubt, the fastest way to get fresh and chilled goods to market quickly if the land-bridge can be used efficiently and without significant blockages in queuing systems is to drive across the UK and use shorter ferry routes, Minister Coveney added.

Brexit Boost: UK to regain former greatness after giving up fleet to join Europe – Daily Express

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Paul Lines told Express.co.uk that during his 45 years as a fisherman he has only seen the demise of the British sector. However, Mr Lines stated that following Brexit the UK can return to its former glory and replace their European competition as the dominant force in the industry.

Mr Lines said: "Britain stands to regain some of its former greatness.

"I have been in fishing for 45 years and all I have ever seen is the demise of fishing, I have seen half of our fleet cut up.

"I have seen days where the sea comes in and restricts what you do.

"I have seen quotas fall to the point where we have got one vessel left.

READ MORE:EU warning: European fishing to be 'devastated' if UK chooses no deal

"What we have got left we struggle to get a living from."

He added: "We gave it all away to be part of Europe, now we want it back.

"We want to see their boats cut up, we want to see their new modern fleet gone because we want that.

"As a country we have got to have that, if we are going to survive on our own, we have got to have everything that we can bring to play to make money."

Mr Lines also warned UK fishermen will still struggle to compete with those in the European Union even after taking back control of the country's waters.

The fisherman statedthat currently the UK hashardly any rights to fish in their own waters and so the Government needs a firm strategy regarding how to progress the fishing industry after Brexit.

Mr Lines said: "On January 2, when community waters will become British waters out to two hundred miles or the median line, that is when the transition period ends, and we start to take control and redevelop our fishing industry.

"Because as it is at the moment, we have hardly got any right to fish in what we will call our own waters.

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"We have got no vessel and that is where the Government needs a firm strategy on how they intend to make use of this.

"Because you can have all you like, if you do not have infrastructure or boats to catch the fish then the whole marketplace will be Europes Im afraid.

"Whether people like to think it or not we are not a nation of fishing, but the continent is, and they have got all the markets."

In June 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. The UK officially left the European Union at the end of January this year.

Britain is currently in a transition period until the end of 2020 with the EU while the Government negotiates a free trade deal with the bloc.

Brexit Boost: UK to regain former greatness after giving up fleet to join Europe - Daily Express

Shares of Tencent plunge after Trump’s executive order on TikTok and WeChat – CNBC

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

President Donald J. Trump stops to talk to reporters as he walks to board Marine One and depart from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington on July 31, 2020.

Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images)

Shares of Hong Kong-listedTencentplunged 5.04% on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trumpissued executive orders targeting Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok.

WeChatis owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, while short-video-sharing app TikTok's parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing.

Other Chinese technology companies were not spared, and many of them closed the trading day lower.

Shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation in Hong Kong plunged 8.7%.Smartphone maker Xiaomi's stock fell 3.02%, while Hong Kong-listed shares of telecommunications firm ZTEdeclined 2.58%. Chinese tech juggernaut Alibaba also saw its shares in Hong Kong declining 3.04%.

The Hang Seng Tech index, whichtracks the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong that pass the screening criteria, also fell 2.51% to close at 7,386.66. In mainland China, the Nasdaq-style start-up board Chinext slipped 2.065% on the day to about 3,059.87.

Trump on Thursday issued executive orders banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firms Tencent and ByteDance. The ban will take effectin 45 days andcould attract retaliation from Beijing.

The repercussions of Trump's order on Tencent may ring beyond just WeChat,China's most popular messaging app. The Chinese tech juggernaut is also a titan in the video gaming space, with stakes in companies such as Activision Blizzard and Riot Games (the firm behind "League of Legends").

The latest development comes as tensions between Beijing and Washington ratchet up, with both sides imposing retaliatory measures on each other, such as the closure of consulates in Houston stateside and the Chinese city of Chengdu.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this week that theTrump administration wants to see"untrusted" Chinese appslike WeChat and TikTok removed from U.S. app stores.

Pompeo detailed a new five-pronged "Clean Network" effort aimed at curbing potential national security risks and said because those apps have parent companies based in China, there were "significant threats to personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for Chinese Communist Party content censorship."

Meanwhile, Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok's business in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand within the next three weeks, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline.

CNBC's Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this report.

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Shares of Tencent plunge after Trump's executive order on TikTok and WeChat - CNBC

Trump Loses Bid to Add Fourth Debate with Biden in Early September – Voice of America

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection campaign on Thursday lost its bid to add a fourth debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in early September.

In rejecting the request, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it remains committed to the current schedule of three 90-minute debates beginning in late September.

It would only add a fourth debate, or move an existing debate to earlier in the month, if both sides in the campaign for the November 3 election agreed to it, it said.

Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had asked for either a fourth debate in the first week of September or for the first debate to be moved up from September 29 because voters in some states would already be able to cast votes before then.

The commission said voters will have a choice whether to watch a debate before casting a ballot, adding voters "are under no compulsion to return their ballots before the debates."

Trump, a Republican, is trailing Biden in most national opinion polls.

The battleground state of North Carolina is scheduled to begin sending out mail-in ballots to registered voters who requested them on September 4, with several other states to follow in September. A massive surge in mail-in voting is expected because of fears the coronavirus may spread at public polling places.

In a response to the commission, Giuliani said the campaign was "disappointed" by the rejection and still believed Americans deserve to see the candidates "compare their records and visions for the United States before actual voting begins.

The Biden campaign said it was pleased Trump had accepted the commission invitation to debate.

"As we have said for months, the commission will determine the dates and times of the debates, and Joe Biden will be there," Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said.

The commission has organized three debates and one vice presidential debate during each presidential campaign since 2000. The presidential debates are set for September 29 in Ohio, October 15 in Florida and October 22 in Tennessee.

Trumps economic comeback is becoming a slowdown and likely a stall-out – POLITICO

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

And while Trump has promised a big jobs number on Friday, the unemployment rate is likely to stay above 10 percent, a daunting figure for any incumbent president and higher than the worst level of the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.

The Covid crisis that slammed the U.S. in March and shuttered much of the economy wiped out tens of millions of jobs, erasing gains from the last decade and digging a hole that may take years to escape. And the pace of hiring slowed in recent weeks amid a rise in Covid cases in many states and deep uncertainty among employers about whether and when to bring back laid off or furloughed workers.

The economy has largely gone sideways since mid-June, as the re-intensification of the virus has forced about half the nations states to either backtrack or pause their business reopenings, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics. It is critical that lawmakers agree to another substantial fiscal rescue package before Congress goes away on its August recess for the fragile economy to avoid backsliding into recession.

Some analysts even suspect that July could show little to no job gains. Others believe the real hit from the latest Covid flareups may not show up until the August employment numbers come out in early September. Either way, economic data suggest hiring is slowing down.

I expect no change in total employment and an increase to 11.5 percent in the unemployment rate, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at financial consulting firm RSM U.S. The array of alternative data that we now have at hand all imply U.S. household consumption, hiring and the economy started to stall in mid to late June.

Brusuelas said another round of fiscal aid is absolutely critical to the economy. If the talks fail, the political sector is creating the conditions for at best a double dip recession or much longer downturn than would occur otherwise.

As of now, prospects for a deal out of Congress seem dim. Members left town this week with no agreement and the White House is now talking about trying to push through executive orders to extend further economic relief measures including a controversial effort to unilaterally expand enhanced jobless benefits that expired at the end of last month.

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Democrats want those benefits maintained at an extra $600 per week while Republicans initially offered an additional $200 per week, or 70 percent of a persons previous salary. Despite job gains in recent months, more than 32 million Americans received some type of unemployment insurance in the week ended July 18, a figure that represents about 20 percent of the entire American labor force.

The concern among economists is that if the rate of rehiring really does slow down, the absence of extra relief measures will further erode consumer confidence and spending and then make employers even less likely to hire, given the drop in demand.

Thats the kind of self-reinforcing cycle that could turn the current recovery into a double-dip recession. And a poor jobs report on Friday could finally start to dent a remarkably resilient stock market that has regained most of the ground lost after Covid hit the U.S., partly due to extraordinary interventions by the U.S. Federal Reserve to provide easy credit and the multiple economic aid packages from Congress.

If the number surprises on the downside and the unemployment rate doesnt dip below 11 percent then we could see a market pullback on the news, Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network, said in a note to clients. After economic indicators mostly improved in May and June as states began to reopen, some have begun to slide back down in ways that are likely to give employers pause about adding back significant numbers of workers.

Consumer confidence as measured by the Conference Board sank in July to a reading of 92.6, above the crisis-low of 85.7 but well below the 132.6 hit in February, a near 20-year high.

The out-of-control pandemic has also further spooked consumers, particularly baby boomers in their 50s-70s who are particularly fearful for their health, said Zandi. Businesses are also reluctant to meaningfully expand their operations given the over-the-top uncertainty created by the pandemic. The economy is unlikely to go anywhere fast until the pandemic is over; that is, there is an effective vaccine that is widely distributed and adopted.

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Trumps economic comeback is becoming a slowdown and likely a stall-out - POLITICO

Donald Trump says hes done fantastic job on coronavirus in interview with Cleveland radio show – cleveland.com

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

CLEVELAND, Ohio Republican President Donald Trump in a Thursday interview with a Cleveland radio station shirked responsibility for the current status of the coronavirus pandemic, instead blaming China and the governors across the country.

During a roughly 40-minute interview on Geraldo in Cleveland hosted by Geraldo Rivera on WTAM, Trump assessed the job he was doing as fantastic, saying that if he is re-elected, things will go back to normal quickly. Thats as coronavirus cases and deaths remain elevated in states across the country, including Ohio.

Trump didnt say if he would do anything differently, but said governors run their states, blamed China for letting the virus escape its borders and assessed his performance as fantastic.

We shouldnt have lost one person. This should have been stopped by China, Trump said. They stopped it from going into China and they didnt stop it from going into Europe and the rest of the world. Its one of those things thats just terrible. They should have never let it come out of China. They stopped it going into China but they didnt stop it from going out into the world.

Trump didnt address Ohio specifically throughout the interview except to briefly say Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, was doing a good job as governor. But the disease has surged across the state starting at the beginning of July.

In all likelihood, the state will hit 100,000 cases easily within the next week. More than 3,500 Ohioans have died at a clip of 25 daily over the last three weeks.

The country as a whole is approaching 5 million cases. More than 159,000 people have died from coronavirus complications. The United States accounts for more than 20% of the reported deaths worldwide, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Trump said other countries were lying about their coronavirus figures.

We see whats happening by satellite, Trump said. They dont report.

Trump said he expected things to rapidly get better by the Nov. 3 election, including the possibility of a vaccine. Trump said he wasnt rushing a vaccine to help his re-election prospects.

Trump is visiting Ohio today. The president is flying into Cleveland where he will be greeted by DeWine, who canceled his Thursday coronavirus briefing to make the trip to Cleveland. Trump will then head to Clyde to visit the Whirlpool factory and give remarks. Later this evening, Trump will be in Bratenahl for a fundraiser.

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Donald Trump says hes done fantastic job on coronavirus in interview with Cleveland radio show - cleveland.com

The Story Behind TIME’s ‘Plague Election’ Donald Trump Cover – TIME

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

For the cover of the Aug. 17, 2020 issue of TIME, longtime collaborator Tim OBrien revisited his award-winning series depicting the mounting troubles facing President Trump. The new cover is the fourth installment and the first to depart the Oval Office, painting Trump at sea surrounded by COVID-19, as the White House recedes from view. It accompanies a cover story by TIME national correspondent Molly Ball on the ways the pandemic is transforming the 2020 election.

For the past year, Ive been pondering one more cover in the series, but there was always a new intervening controversy, scandal, social upheaval, or norm-crushing tweet to change the story, says OBrien, a Brooklyn artist who has been creating TIME covers for more than 30 years.

The first three covers in the series featured Trump inside the Oval Office as rainstorms gathered inside: Nothing to See Here (Feb. 27, 2017), Stormy (April 23, 2018) and In Deep (Sept. 3, 2018). The Stormy cover was named 2018 Cover of the Year by AdWeek and received a Gold medal from the Art Directors Club.

The rising water as a metaphor for chaos in the Trump White House could only end two ways, adds OBrien, who has painted more TIME covers (32 and counting) than any artist in the past 50 years. So he survives only to be in the surging waves surrounded by coronavirus, each one a little bomb.

OBriens work has appeared in publications around the world, as well as on several U.S. postage stamps including the popular Hunger Games trilogy. Two of his TIME magazine covers one with Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and the other with the Grand Old Populists, both published in 1996 reside in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

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Trump’s dream of a ‘V’ recovery is hanging in the balance of stimulus talks – CNBC

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

As the White House has continued to push a narrative of a sharp recovery after a history-making recession, the economic data in large part has not been cooperating.

Jobs numbers of late are showing progress but pointing to at best a gradual recovery. The sharp uptick in coronavirus cases appears to be have ebbed but not by enough to generate confidence to get activities anywhere close to normal again.

And perhaps most importantly, a persistent inability of Congress and the White House to agree on more rescue funding threatens to push those still reeling from virus-related impacts further down the ladder.

"Dreams of a V-shaped recovery are long gone," Beth Ann Bovino, U.S. chief economist at S&P Global, said in a note. "The economic cycle feels more like we are riding a wave fueled by COVID-19 with only quarantines, federal stimulus, and advances from the medical community keeping our personal health and economic recovery afloat."

Bovino estimated a 30%-35% chance of a "wipeout" that could see "this fragile recovery falling back into recession."

That runs counter to the message from President Donald Trump's economic team.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow has touted the potential of a V-shaped recovery no fewer than four times over the past month, either on CNBC or elsewhere. As recently as last week, he told CNN the "V-shaped recovery is in place."

Economists generally do see a sharp snapback in activity for the third quarter after Q2's stunning 32.9% drop in GDP as measured if the current pace kept up for four quarters.

Still, the ability to keep up a gain that could exceed 20% for the July through September period is being called into question.

"With virus fears on the rise, jobs being lost and incomes squeezed, the second phase of the recovery will be more challenging," wrote James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. "In the absence of a timely and substantial fiscal package we should be braced for the threat of weaker employment and spending numbers, which will provide a major test for financial market optimism on the 'V' shaped recovery."

To be sure, some of the high-frequency data has been looking better.

Jefferies tracks a variety of these markers, such as retail foot traffic, public transportation use and employee hours at small businesses, and found that activity has resumed to 60.5% of the normal pace as measured by 2019 data points, which is the highest level of the pandemic recovery.

Markets also continue to look through the present circumstances and are pricing in a return to strength in the U.S. economy.

"The resurgence in COVID-19 infections and the upturn in unemployment claims raises the question of our call for a V-shaped economic recovery. While the deterioration in progress against the pandemic is saddening, we remain convinced the recovery will not be materially altered," wrote Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

"We never thought the V-shaped recovery would be characterized by straight lines and a lack of hiccups given the vast unknowns and forecasting complexity surrounding the virus. Rather, our outlook is based simply on the realities of math and the direction of travel," Shalett said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell last week said the recovery is largely dependent on the virus.

However, economists also think that the political calculus and how that translates into more rescue funding also will be critical.

"Given our crazy politics, which are particularly crazy given the election, there is a nonzero probability they fall short," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said regarding the relief negotiations. "Depending on how short will determine whether the economy will gain some traction or slide into a depression."

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Trump's dream of a 'V' recovery is hanging in the balance of stimulus talks - CNBC

Trump says he’s in favor of plan to give $25 billion more to struggling airline industry – CNBC

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed support for a plan to provide another $25 billion in federal aid to U.S. airlines, which have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bipartisan support is building for the additional aid for one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus. U.S. airlines have warned more than 70,000 of their workers that their jobs are at risk when the current round of aid expires in the fall.

More than a dozen Republican senators earlier Wednesday said theybacked the extension of aid for U.S. carriers to support their payrolls while travel demand remains limited because of the virus, causing mounting financial losses.The new proposal, which comes as Congress wrestles with how to put togetheranother national coronavirus reliefpackage, already has support from the majority of the House.

"I think it's very important that we keep the airlines going," Trump said in a White House press briefing when asked whether he supported the proposal for the extension of the aid. "We don't want to lose our airlines. If they're looking at that, whether they're Republican or Democrat, I'd be certainly in favor. We can't lose our transportation system."

Congress set aside $25 billion to U.S. passenger carriers in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March on the condition that they wouldn't cut jobs through Sept. 30. The new proposal would extend those protections through the end of March 2021.

Airline shares gained in postmarket trading after Trump's comments withAmerican Airlinesup close to 6% while United Airlinesand Delta Air Lineseach trading more than 3% higher.

Trump says he's in favor of plan to give $25 billion more to struggling airline industry - CNBC

Instagram Displayed Negative Related Hashtags For Biden, But Hid Them For Trump – BuzzFeed News

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

A technical error caused a number of hashtags to not show related hashtags. We've disabled this feature while we investigate.

Posted on August 5, 2020, at 12:17 p.m. ET

For at least the last two months, a key Instagram feature, which algorithmically pushes users toward supposedly related content, has been treating hashtags associated with President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in very different ways. Searches for Biden also return a variety of pro-Trump messages, while searches for Trump-related topics only returned the specific hashtags, like #MAGA or #Trump which means searches for Biden-related hashtags also return counter-messaging, while those for Trump do not.

Earlier this week, a search on Instagram for #JoeBiden would have surfaced nearly 390,000 posts tagged with the former vice presidents name along with related hashtags selected by the platforms algorithm. Users searching Instagram for #JoeBiden might also see results for #joebiden2020, as well as pro-Trump hashtags like #trump2020landslide and #democratsdestroyamerica.

A similar search for #DonaldTrump on the platform, however, provided a totally different experience. Besides showing 7 million posts tagged with the presidents name, Instagram did not present any related hashtags that would have pushed users toward different content or promoted alternative viewpoints.

The difference between these two results, which an Instagram spokesperson told BuzzFeed News was a bug, prevented hashtags including #Trump and #MAGA from being associated with potentially negative content. Meanwhile, Instagram hashtags associated with the Democratic presidential candidate #JoeBiden and #Biden, for example were presented alongside content that included overtly pro-Trump content and attacks on the former vice president.

The difference in how the presidential candidates are treated by the platform raises more questions about how prepared Instagram and its parent company Facebook are for a pivotal US presidential election this November. After acknowledging it hadnt done enough to prevent election interference during the 2016 presidential race, Facebook has invested heavily in security and get-out-the-vote initiatives for 2020, an election that CEO Mark Zuckerberg said will be unlike any other.

The Instagram bug, which was first noticed by the Tech Transparency Project, a nonpartisan tech watchdog group, suggests that hashtags associated with the two main presidential candidates have been treated differently since at least June. In most cases, algorithmically derived related hashtags are displayed to people who search for or click on a given hashtag, pointing them to more content that Instagram believes they might be interested in.

What weve seen with the related hashtags with Biden is that there is so much vitriol, that it appears to be benefitting President Trump, said Katie Paul, a director with the Tech Transparency Project. The fact that related hashtags didnt surface for many Trump-related phrases also removes any possibility that negative hashtags could be associated with his name or campaign slogans, she added.

Instagram spokesperson Raki Wane described the issue as a bug on Tuesday. She pointed out that thousands of hashtags including #artofdrinks and #menshair had also been prevented from populating with related hashtags. She did not explain why the issue affected Trump hashtags and not those associated with Biden, or how long the problem had persisted.

A technical error caused a number of hashtags to not show related hashtags, Wane said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. We've disabled this feature while we investigate.

Hashtags, which are used regularly on Instagram posts, allow users to group posts into easily searchable categories that can also be followed as one would an account on the platform.

Instagram removed its "Related Hashtags" feature after it said a bug caused related hashtags to appear on some content but not others. These photos show what the feature looked like before and after it was removed.

An examination by BuzzFeed News found that Instagram prevented related hashtags from populating for #Trump, which had been used on 14.6 million posts; #Trump2020, which had 2.5 million posts; and #MAGA, which had 5.6 million posts. Meanwhile, the hashtag #JoeBiden, which has been used on 390,000 posts, appeared alongside negative hashtags including #creepyjoebiden and #neverbiden, as well as seemingly pro-Biden content like #joebidenforpresident.

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign declined to comment.

While Instagram shielded many Trump-focused hashtags from surfacing related content, some lesser-used hashtags, including #MAGA2020, which has been placed on 373,000 posts, did bring up related hashtags, among them #trumpderangementsyndrome. Some Democrat-related hashtags, including #democrats and #pelosi, were also prevented from showing related hashtags, although #NancyPelosi did have related hashtags including #clintonbodycount and #qdrops, two taglines associated with known conspiracy theories.

Reached for comment, a Trump campaign spokesperson used the bug as an opportunity to lambaste social media platforms for alleged anti-conservative bias.

Social media companies biases consistently make the strongest arguments for the Presidents Executive Order on Section 230 reform, said Ken Farnaso, a Trump 2020 deputy national press secretary, referring to the presidents push to end a law that gives internet companies legal immunity for what users post to their platforms. Its preposterous that Silicon Valley, the bastion of diversity and liberalism, is terrified of intellectual diversity and conservative voices.

It can lead to a tipping of scales in terms of equitable discourse.

Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars who studies disinformation, said Instagrams admission of a bug shows the company understands its suggestion algorithm impacts the content people consume. Related hashtags have also been used to spread conspiracy theories on the platform, and has been gamed by bad actors and foreign trolls.

This feature doesnt just benignly increase engagement, she said of related hashtags. It can lead to a tipping of scales in terms of equitable discourse.

Instagram is believed to have been the target of foreign influence campaigns in the past. In 2018, third-party researchers compiled two reports for the Senate outlining the yearslong campaigns used by Russias Internet Research Agency to spread disinformation and sow discord.

Instagram was perhaps the most effective platform for the Internet Research Agency, one of the reports explained, and is likely to be a key battleground on an ongoing basis.

While Facebook and Instagram have ramped up investment to protect against election interference and check for disinformation, researchers like Jankowicz believe theres still more to be done. She advocated for more human review, particularly around political hashtags.

In times of crisis or volatile times ahead of an election, this stuff should be going under constant human review, she said. It shouldnt be left up to a computer code to direct peoples consumption during a time like this.

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Instagram Displayed Negative Related Hashtags For Biden, But Hid Them For Trump - BuzzFeed News

Celtic begin 10-in-a-row quest with immortality and beating Rangers to the punch on their mind – iNews

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Glasgow Celtic embark on the new campaign with eyes on a gargantuan prize immortality.

Neil Lennons men will go all out for an unprecedented 10th league title in a row. Such a feat has never been achieved in Scotland. Lennon was in his first residency as manager at Parkhead when he delivered the 2011-12 title and the Celts have been top of the tree ever since. Come kick-off against Hamilton on Sunday, the Hoops will have reigned supreme in Scotland for more than 3300 days.

Celtic have basked in the shine of nine once before. Jock Stein reached nine-in-a-row in a halcyon period between 1966 and 1974. Back then dominance domestically was eclipsed by efforts aboard. In 1967 Steins brand of pure, beautiful, inventive football saw Celtic become the first British club to win the European Cup defeating Inter Milan in the heat of Lisbon. By winning Europes top prize the Lisbon Lions gained god-like status. And many supporters believe the current crop of players are on the verge of similar veneration.

Against a backdrop of a world gripped in a health and economic crisis, more than 50,000 season tickets have been snapped up. The season ticket waiting list has swelled to 17,000 names. Such fervour is striking considering the season starts behind closed doors. And no refunds will be offered for games with the crowd excluded.

So while the fans of yesteryear watched Billy McNeill and Jimmy Johnstone from terraces, this generation will initially watch from tablets. Season ticket holders must make do with a digital pass to Paradise. Laura Dewar is one supporter who had no hesitation renewing her season ticket despite not knowing when shell be allowed to walk up London Road and into her seat.

I was always going to renew, she says. No questions. Celtic is a club founded on charity and continues to support the local community. So I am always willing to support them.

We are watching history in the making. Winning 10-in-a-row is up there with winning the European Cup. It will be the most significant achievement by Celtic in my lifetime.

The Green Brigade, Celtics most ardent support, were singing about 10-in-a-row as early as 2016. Then the sequence of success stood at five titles. Is the quest for consecutive championships an obsession?

Obsession is the wrong word, says Dewar. Its about being the first in history to achieve the 10. To me its more of a challenge, players are put on the park to win the game and ultimately the season. Winning becomes the obsession.

City rivals Rangers won nine-in-a-row between 1989 and 1997 only to be stopped by a Celtic side inspired by Henrik Larsson. Dewar remembers that era well: Celtic where awful for too long during my high school days. I was at a predominantly Rangers supporting school, so it was sweet when we stopped them winning the 10.

Fellow supporter Jez Stewart, 53, shudders at that period of Rangers dominance as the Ibrox men walked away with the top prize each May: I remember Celtic didnt win a trophy of any kind for five or six years. During this era the only satisfaction we got was when Rangers failed. There was a song we used to sing: You think youre great, youve only done eight, youll never do nine-in-a-row.

But Rangers did reach nine and I just remember the nerves and fear around them going for the 10. But when we stopped them it was such a relief and a great joy. This time its Celtic going for the 10. But its not really about the number. Its about doing something that our rivals havent.

Derek Kirwan, 51, has been a season ticket holder at Celtic for 33 years: Ten-in-a-row is the holy grail. But its purely about rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. If Celtic make it, Neil Lennon will be held almost in as high esteem as Jock Stein.

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Celtic begin 10-in-a-row quest with immortality and beating Rangers to the punch on their mind - iNews

Darth Vader and Hitman coming to PlayStation VR – Metro.co.uk

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Last nights State of Play confirmed a PSVR release for the episodic Vader Immortal series and a VR mode for Hitman 3.

Despite Sony advertising its latest State of Play as being PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR focused, there was surprisingly very little of the latter, with much more on upcoming PlayStation 5 games than was expected.

What VR news we did get, though, is still interesting. Firstly, the once Oculus exclusive Vader Immortal series will be making the jump to PlayStation very soon.

Set in the Star Wars universe, Vader Immortal puts you in control of a smuggler who is unlucky enough to be captured by Darth Vader, who seeks to use you to retrieve an artefact that will grant him immortality.

We reviewed the first episode in the series when it released last year and were very impressed with its production values and lightsaber combat. All three episodes will now be available on PlayStation VR from 25 August.

The other announcement was related to Hitman, revealing that not only will the upcoming Hitman 3 have a VR mode but that the option will be added to both the previous games as well.

A snippet of first person gameplay was shown, where Agent 47 follows a target into a toilet before pulling out some wire to choke them.

The games are known for providing players with many options for dealing with targets, avoiding guards, and escaping, but according to developer Io Interactive everything in all three games will be playable in VR.

As for the PlayStation 5 news, we got our first look at Bugsnax gameplay, an in-depth demonstration of Godfall, and some completely new announcements, like multiplayer game Hood: Outlaws & Legends.

Its rumoured that another PlayStation event is planned for this month and could finally reveal the PS5s price and release date.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Hitman 3 is more serious, lets you import previous games content

MORE: PS5 backwards compatibility works for all PS4 games claims source

MORE: More black PS5 DualSense controller images surface but are they fake?

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

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Darth Vader and Hitman coming to PlayStation VR - Metro.co.uk

Koepka unbothered by pressure of making history at PGA – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The weight of history would be a burden to most. A roadblock on the path to immortality.

For Brooks Koepka, though, it's nothing more than the wind at his back.

I don't view it as either one, Koepka said at TPC Harding Park when asked if the topic about his quest for three straight PGA Championships was a help or hindrance. I've already dealt with it at the U.S. Open going into Pebble. I feel like I know how to handle it and I played pretty well there.

"I just got beat.

Sure enough, Koepka arrived at Pebble Beach last June looking to become the first player to win three straight U.S. Opens since Willie Anderson did so from 1903-05. He entered the final round four shots back of Gary Woodland, but Koepka was unfazed by the enormity of the moment. He birdied four of his first five holes that Sunday and looked like he would indeed become just the fourth golfer since 1882 to win the same major three consecutive years in a row.

But Koepka couldn't get the putts to drop on the back nine, and eventually finished three shots behind Woodland, his quest for U.S. Open history sinking to the bottom of Stillwater Cove.

It's a familiar feeling for Koepka this week, who arrives at TPC Harding Park again with a chance to join that club. After tearing about Bellerive Country Club in 2018 and surviving a back-nine stumble at Bethpage Black last year, the four-time major champion has the opportunity to become the first golfer to win three straight PGA Championships since Walter Hagen won four in a row from 1924-27.

Koepka's game has been a work in progress all year. He's battled a left knee issue that required a stem cell treatment in the fall, and has struggled to find the consistent excellence he enjoyed the past two seasons. But after leading the field in stroke gained, tee to green two weeks ago at the 3M Championship, and leading the field in strokes gained, approach last week at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Koepka appears to be rounding into form just in time for another assault on the history books.

My game feels like it's in really, really good shape right now, Koepka said. I like the way I'm hitting it, and feels -- putting it really, really well. Every day is a lot more comfortable. I'm excited. This is a big-boy golf course. Got to hit it straight and put it in the fairway. It's going to be quite long.

"I think it kind of plays into my hands.

The list of golfers who have tried and failed to win a third consecutive major title is a who's who of Hall of Famers that includes Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Nick Faldo.

Woods won consecutive PGA Championships in 1999 and 2000, and did so again in 2006 and 2007. He won the British Open in 2005 and 2006, and triumphed in back-to-back Masters in 2001 and 2002. Woods missed the cut in three of his four tries at a three-peat and didn't play in the 2008 PGA due to a knee injury.

Hagen Anderson and Peter Thomson are the only three golfers to successfully win three consecutive majors since 1882,alist Koepka hopes to join with an impressive showing at Glory's Last First Chance.

[RELATED: What does Tiger's Harding Park history say about PGA hopes?],

Koepka, like Woods and Nicklaus, saves his best for the game's biggest stages. Four of his seven career wins have been major titles, and he said prior to the 2019 PGA Championship that he feels winning majors is easier because he really only has to play better than a handful of his competitors.

When most people would wilt, Koepka thrives, dominating the best in the world without appearing to break much a sweat. Winning majors is difficult. It's a test only the best are born to pass.

One Koepka thoroughly relishes acing.

It's fun, he said about the setup at the PGA Championship. I love it. I love the fact that it's probably the toughest test of golf you're going to play all year with -- setup-wise and then mentally it's exhausting. I enjoy when it gets tough. I enjoy when things get complicated. You can really -- there's always disaster lurking, I think it is something I enjoy, where every shot really means something.

Every shot will have the added weight of history on it this week for Koepka. That weight would bother most, but to Brooks Koepka it's nothing major.

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Will this be the summer of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi? | ESPNcricinfo.com – ESPNcricinfo

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

A decade ago, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir lit up an overcast English summer, heirs apparent to some of the most exhilarating fast-bowling pairings you could think of. They bowled Australia out for 88, beating for the first time in 15 years an opponent they didn't know how to beat, before turning their focus to England, against whom Amir was Player of the Series despite Pakistan losing it 3-1, and despite - well, you know what. They combined for 53 wickets across six Tests over that delirious English summer. They were 27 and 18, and they were the future.

Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah will have watched those two run riot, either at the time or in the years since. They were ten and seven at the time, watching their heroes flourish in the country Pakistan's bowlers have found to be the most fertile breeding ground for their skills. A place where, among other things, a mixture of colonial grievance, stylistic conflict and simmering mutual resentment have combined to birth some of the most celebrated moments in Pakistan's history.

Blue-eyed Fazal Mahmood on a crackling transistor radio would begin it all with a 12-wicket haul at The Oval in 1954, setting benchmarks for Pakistan's quicks. Many failed to live up to that standard, but it wasn't a coincidence that plenty who went on to earn immortality could trace it back to an England tour. Open-chested Imran Khan, who tormented David Gower on English pitches and Ian Botham in English courthouses, learned the basics of his trade entirely in the English university and county system. A bit of guidance from Sarfraz Nawaz didn't hurt, and it was Nawaz's discovery of reverse swing that took cricket from the back pages to being a matter for the English courts in the first place. Wasim Akram enjoyed the privilege of having both Khan's ear and his backing on his first English tour in 1987, where he would finish below only his mentor on the wickets chart as Pakistan won a series there for the first time.

Five years on, Akram had accumulated half a decade of English county experience and he teamed up with Waqar Younis to clean up again, the pair combining for 43 England wickets in another series victory. They would go on to become a byword for the ideal fast-bowling partnership, and after several false dawns, years of Umar Gul hopefulness and Mohammad Sami hopelessness, it appeared Amir and Asif were finally the next logical step in that cycle. Their performance in 2010 would be an inspiration, and then, crushingly, provide a cautionary tale. In other words, it would be a welcome to Pakistan cricket.

It might have been hard to believe then, but those depressing days of the spot-fixing scandal would eventually lead to where Naseem and Afridi stand now. Afridi is yet to hit 21, and will lead an attack once spearheaded by the names above it who it still feels sacrilegious to compare him to. Seventeen-year-old Naseem likely lies in wait as first-change. They might not have got their opportunities quite so soon, especially if Amir had not retired from Test cricket so prematurely, or even if Asif, lost to the game forever, had gone on to fulfil the promise their talent foreshadowed.

England, make no mistake, is where these young men's destinies lie, where their careers, should Pakistan's history be any guide, will be forged. For all the acrimony, for all the accusations, both true and libellous, that Pakistan have felt aggrieved by, England has been perhaps the most generously rewarding place in the world for its most prized skill: fast bowling. It has turned anonymous chancers into household names, extended exposure to players who might otherwise have been severely underrated, and since the late 1960s, offered lucrative county contracts to players who financial pragmatism might have otherwise forced out of the game. It may have been a bully, but it has also been benefactor.

Even with cricket's freshly aligned priorities, the shifts of power from the English and Australian antipodes to the subcontinent, the value of excelling in England is higher for Pakistan than it has arguably ever been. Deprived of cricket's most reliable cash cow - bilateral cricket against India - and locked out of the IPL, proving oneself in England remains a Pakistani cricketer's one big chance to be heard beyond their echo chamber, and a chance at earning a fraction of the income contemporaries around the world have the luxury of taking for granted.

Pakistan's fast bowling has struggled on tours of Australia, and to a lesser extent, South Africa, and that does little for their value in the eyes of those who might hand them a lucrative T20 contract. The country's fast bowlers average just over 40 in Australia, almost five runs worse than anywhere else they have played. That number is an indifferent 34 in South Africa. In England, it stands at 30.28, which means they have been more successful there than in any other country away, except Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

The divide between performances in England and in Australia has widened into a chasm in the past decade, with Pakistan's quicks managing a wicket every 27.89 runs in England, the best of anywhere they have played more than five Test matches. In eight Tests down under, meanwhile, the price of each wicket has been 47.05 runs, over 11 more than second worst. (Their third-worst record is in South Africa, with a wicket every 34.18 runs.)

As the wickets have come, county contracts have followed. Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Abbas and Faheem Ashraf have all had the chance to hone their skills in the County Championship, and those are just the fast bowlers. Azhar Ali and Babar Azam were drafted in for Somerset, and several others have played in the T20 Blast.

Selective historical and statistical precedent may suggest fate holds something special in store for Naseem and Afridi. Their selection in the side and the elevated responsibility they look set to be given despite their youth isn't a gimmick, it is a reflection of the status in which Pakistan cricket holds them. You could almost see Afridi transition from boy to man on a brutally unforgiving tour of Australia last year, where, forced into being the team's leader, he ended up being the only one to maintain the standards Pakistan had hoped of their fast bowling contingent, finishing with five wickets at 36.80 even as Australia amassed record-breaking totals.

Naseem, who would play just the first of those two Tests, would experience the worst either cricket or life had to offer, making his debut the day after the death of his mother 11,000 km away, and dismissing David Warner for his first Test wicket, only for it to be called a no-ball (he would not be deprived, however, making Warner his first Test wicket later). He would follow that up with a blitz of a home summer, becoming the youngest fast bowler to take a Test five-for, against Sri Lanka in Karachi, and the youngest to take a hat-trick, against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi a few months later.

So, should they excel in England, let no one who only pays attention to cricket when it's played in a handful of nations tell you they were a bolt from the blue. With the coronavirus pandemic and the crowd-free venues in which the series will be played, the setting is such as never quite seen before in England. But if Afridi and Naseem manage to summon up the spirit of legends gone by, there will be many in Pakistan rejoicing at the return of something they have always recognised. "We've seen this happen before," they might wistfully whisper to ten- and seven-year old kids who finally realise those tales were true after all.

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Joleon Lescott has it completely wrong about Wolves – and Nuno proved it – Birmingham Live

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

After 378 days, 29 games and 15 wins, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux season is over.

Their mammoth home campaign ended in exactly the same fashion as it started back in July 2019. A home win in the Europa League, with Rui Patricio keeping a clean sheet.

Aside from that, the nights could have scarcely been more different. Exchange Irish minnows Crusaders, for the Greek champions Olympiakos. Instead of a first-leg lead in the second round of qualifying, Wolves booked their place in the final eight of a major European competition. And that is forgetting the 30,000 fans that were forced to watch from behind their furniture, rather than bathed in sunlight on the terraces.

Following the win, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, ensured his entire squad gave their home stadium a proper send off, before they depart to Germany for the final-leg of their marathon.

The Portuguese demanded his entire playing and coaching staff returned to the centre circle, where he impressed upon his players, that they were not to waste this opportunity.

The images were captured live by BT Sport, as Wolves moved one step closer to history.

However, as fans watched Nuno hold court, former Wolves defender and pundit Joleon Lescott, attempted to put a negative on proceedings.

Its the most important signing they can make this summer, he said about the head coach's imminent contract negotations.

He probably needs a lot of players to stay, I hate to say that and think about that. This could potentially be some of their top players final game at Molineux in a Wolves shirt.

In recent weeks, Raul Jimenez has been extensively linked with Manchester United, while Adama Traore is reportedly a target for champions Liverpool.

But a simple look at the images told a completely different story. Whether it was 17-year-old Christian Marques, in his first senior squad, Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho, with 208 Portugal caps between them or Barcelona graduate Traore - every player, was hanging off every word.

This doesn't look like a team, or a squad, that is ready to give up on this club or the manager, that has taken them to the precipice of immortality in Wolverhampton.

There may be outgoings, but in Nuno, Wolves have a man that has built a family of players that have been willing to fight for the badge, in a season longer than any other.

In three games, it may be even more historical.

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Joleon Lescott has it completely wrong about Wolves - and Nuno proved it - Birmingham Live

Between Paul and Marx: The Good Life and a Pandemic – Atlantic Highlands Herald

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

I was recently ministering to a friend in his 80s. He was upset about being in his apartment for months on end because of his susceptibility to COVID-19. He was also concerned about the high number of people who have died in this country from the virus. We talked about life, death, pandemics, and the future.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article for this column about the almost invincible Angel of Death. I thought that if Karl Marx had read my article, he would say, I am right! When those Christians go through crises, they always revert to pie in the sky. Heaven, as I said, is the opium of the working class.

But people have always wondered what will happen after they draw their final breath. Poets have often written about the concept of eternity, and placed it in the hearts and minds of the people. I thought of the Apostle Paul, who wrote that if only for this life we have placed our hope in Jesus, we are to be pitied more than anyone else. In my mind, I participated in a discussion between St. Paul, a Jewish rabbi, and Karl Marx, who knew the Torah well because both of his grandfathers were rabbis. I thought that Paul would argue that the good life happens here and in the next life when we are faithful to the God who has granted us both, while Marx would counter that there is no such thing as eternity and the good life can only happen on this earth.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament talk frequently about the good life. God promised to bless the people who honor him with long life here on earth, and the blessings of God will be in the fields and in the homes. Abraham, the father of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, was a pilgrim here on this earth. While he wandered, he was seeking a country beyond this world whose foundation was laid by God.

COVID 19 has taken over 100,000 lives and that is a tragic number. Among the dead, there were beloved grandmothers and grandfathers, beloved mothers and fathers, beloved brothers and sisters, beloved sons and daughters, and beloved friends and neighbors. That horrific number must be seen in contrast with the number of people who prevailed against the pandemic and recovered. It made me think that I graduated from the 8th grade in 1965 with 32 classmates and 27 of us are still alive today. That is the good life. My mother, her brother, and her sister had 10 children altogether, and 7 of those cousins are still alive and doing well. That is the good life. In fact, even the statistic that the group most susceptible to COVID-19 is people over 60 is intriguing. Living into your 60s, 70s, and even 80s is a relatively new situation for Americans. It was only during the middle of the 20th century that the average life expectancy jumped about 20 years and living that long became expected. That is the good life.

In talking with friends and colleagues, one hears various phraseswe are susceptible, we are invincible, we are seeking immortality. My octogenarian friendis very aware that he is susceptible because his primary care doctor refuses to see him in person and the specialists who will see him only allow him in the office after multiple preliminary checks. The young people who are partying with few precautions on the beaches, in bars, and at private parties think that they are invincible. They believe that this virus that has taken so many lives will surely not touch them.

Ecclesiastes says, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. The fact that we strive for eternity is not wrong, but in meantime we should fully enjoy the blessings that the Lord has given to us here on this earth when everything is well and when we are going through crises such as this pandemic.

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Freedom and justice for ALL | Other Opinions – Aitkin Independent Age

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

A quote from Heather Mac Donald, Capital is accumulated effort and innovation, the sum of human achievement and imagination. Its creationist the aim of civilization. But civilization is everywhere and at all times vulnerable to the darkest human impulses. Government exists to rein in those impulses so that the individual initiative can flourish. Americas founders understood the fragility of civil peace and the danger of the lustful, vengeful mob. (Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College. May/June 2020)

The darkest human impulses are in need of the rule of law combined with a fair hearing and a determination of justice. Countries where this does not exist are places of anarchy, or places of dictatorship. Those seem to be two extremes. For an individual to flourish there needs to be freedom to pursue desires and dreams within boundaries of the rule of law. Without boundaries of decency and respect for the rights of one another and respect for people and the law no one will be free to be creative and develop individual initiative.

There are many countries that have a thumb on freedom. Some for religious reasons, some for political reasons, some for selfish reasons, and some for a variety of other reasons. When freedom to be a creative individual is held up as a good thing, usually people will surprise us with their creativity innovate, build and pursue a goal. In developing nations (we used to call them third world countries) infrastructure and economic systems are very primitive or nonexistent. Yet, when people are given freedom within the boundaries of laws that respect others and the property of others, they are amazingly entrepreneurial in working toward a better world for all.

The atmosphere or environment for society as a whole to be civil and for individuals to thrive is one that must include laws and moral boundaries that protect people and property and yet leave room for freedom and liberty. As Heather Mac Donald talks about the darkest human impulses, I am reminded of why we need laws and law enforcement.

Murder, stealing, rape, vandalism, disrespect of differing beliefs, of country, of other human beings, of private property, of the list could be long. Without confronting and reforming or removing from society those who would harm others, destroy private property and break laws, a society will be crippled and anarchy or authoritarianism (dictators) will reign to the detriment of freedom, liberty and justice for all.

In the United States we believe that all people are created equal. How true, it reflects what the Bible says about how we people are not inferior to one another or superior to one another. We also believe that all people are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

These truths must be protected from the darkest human impulses with laws and law enforcement and justice for all.

The environment in a nation determines if people will have the opportunity to flourish. Injustices need to be addressed and corrected within the boundaries of a due process of justice, respect for all people as equals, respect for private property and respect for all.

The ebb and flow of this process is what will make a nation great. Without it, a free and just society cannot exist.

Dallas Kurt Smith is a pastor (semi-retired) in Aitkin and Baxter.

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Freedom and justice for ALL | Other Opinions - Aitkin Independent Age

Girl Hides Audition From Dad, Finds Her ‘Freedom In Singing’ Watch What Happens Next – Talent Recap

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Imen Siar performed on this years season of Britains Got Talent, taking the next big step in what she hopes will be a lifelong singing career. The 21-year-old singer spoke on how she hopes the platform will help her prove her talent to her dad.

This years season of Britains Got Talent brought out the best of our emotions, with countless stories that touched our hearts. One contestant that we fell in love with from the minute she began to sing was 21-year-old singer, Imen Siar.

Siar spoke on her passion to inspire girls within the Muslim community as well as, as many young girls as possible headscarf or no head scarf. The singer also spoke on keeping her hidden talent a secret from her deeply religious father, in case hed disapprove.

RELATED: ROMANCE AND SHOCK: WATCH SAME-SEX FILIPINO DANCING ACT RIP EACH OTHERS DRESS MID PERFORMANCE

Thankfully, Imen stunned the judges with her rendition of Alessia Caras Scars To Your Beautiful on the show and in particular, Simon Cowell.

Dad thought I was at work but I couldnt lie. As soon as the audition was over, I called to explain. Thankfully, he was happy and said he trusted me to make the right decisions. He cant wait to see me on the show, Imen said according to The Mirror, after her performance on the show.

RELATED: 77-YEAR-OLD ROCKSTAR DRUMMER LEAVES SIMON COWELL SPEECHLESS ON BRITAINS GOT TALENT

Fans took to Twitter quickly after her audition aired, flooding the platform with heartfelt messages.

Wow she sung that so beautifully, I love that song so much, wrote one user.

Imen Siar is such an amazing singer, so soft and smooth but powerful. I want to download her song on Spotify as it inspires me 4 yeses made me so happy! tweeted another.

RELATED: SIMON COWELL DOUBTS INDIAN BOLLYWOOD DANCERS BUT WATCH THEM SHUT HIM UP

Whilst were not certain who will be taking to the stage at the semi-finals later this year on the show, Siar has a good chance of performing once again for that all-important winners title.

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Masks to freedom: Wearing masks will bring back freedom – The Milpitas Beat

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Few things bother Americans more than infringements on their Freedom.Freedom is the God-given right of Americans: go spend a day at the beach, go shopping, go to the movie theater, go to work, or go visit ones family.But all these have changed with the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

First, people are told that they have to stay at home or Shelter-in-Place. Then they are told that they have to wear masks.Shelter-in-Place means you are not allowed to leave the house and do those things that you are supposed to be free to do.This restriction absolutely infringes upon your freedom of movement and freedom of assembly.

Masking is even more personal you have to wear this cloth or filter material that covers half your face.Its definitely uncomfortable.This makes it much harder to breathe, especially in hot weather, when walking or exercising.Some argue that you would breathe in the bad carbon dioxide that you exhale, which is unhealthy.If you wear glasses, it fogs up the lens in seconds.In addition, masks are getting expensive, as the prices have risen and most stores have a hard time stocking enough of them.And on top of that, how could a democratic government tell Americans what to wear?What kind of country has this become?

President Trump has called COVID many names its from China, its just a flu, its a hoax by liberals or Democrats to help Biden.For months, he has steadfastly refused to wear a mask.So why did he finally put on a mask himself when visiting the Walter Reed Hospital?

The truth of the matter is that the COVID virus is very different and extremely contagious: it can be transmitted by people carrying the virus without any symptoms.It is airborne, meaning that it can transmit invisibly in midair.Weve all heard of washing our hands for 30 seconds, or maintaining 6-feet social distancing.But it turns out the most important thing everyone can do to stop the transmission of this dangerous and often deadly virus is wearing a mask.

In places like Hong Kong, where the population density is very high with 7.5 million people living in skyscrapers similar to the ones in Manhattan most people use public transportation daily, and social distancing basically is difficult.Many people probably do wash their hands, but certainly not everyone.And yet, since February, there have been only 6 confirmed deaths linked to COVID in Hong Kong.That literally is less than one in a million.Compare this to the latest hot spots far less dense or populous in America: Hot Springs, Arkansass rate is over 21,500 deaths per million; while many small Texas towns such as Scurry, Crockett, Anderson, and Val Verde have an equivalent rate of over 15,000 deaths per million.

How is that possible?

The biggest difference is that 99% of Hong Kong residents wear masks.They wear masks outdoors, while riding buses and subway trains, and they wear masks indoors, at malls and at work.Aside from themask-wearing, life has actually been quite normal in Hong Kong throughout this time without the government ordering Shelter-in-Place.

Goldman Sachs recently released a study showing that mandatory mask-wearing by every American can save the United States GDP by 5%, because if everyone wears a mask, less Shelter-in-Place restrictions would be necessary, allowing the American economy to be reopened.1Meanwhile, another fascinating story has emerged: at a Missouri hair salon, where two stylists, unbeknownst to themselves, contracted the COVID virus, neither their coworkers nor their 139 clients were infected, simply because everyone was wearing masks despite their close proximity.2

Based on what we have learned in the last few months, not wearing masks is not about freedom; its really inconsiderate, reckless, and deadly.Wearing masks is the fastest path to reopening our economy and bringing our freedoms back. While different politicians are still dithering over whether or not to mandate mask-wearing, its time to put factually-based statistics and science above politics.

Just wear masks and let us get back to our daily freedoms.

1 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wearing-a-mask-to-halt-the-spread-of-coronavirus-has-a-big-impact-on-us-economic-growthand-goldman-has-done-the-math-2020-06-30

2 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wearing-a-mask-to-halt-the-spread-of-coronavirus-has-a-big-impact-on-us-economic-growthand-goldman-has-done-the-math-2020-06-30

Otto Lee

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