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Taiwan fails to report Chinese military drone flown around the island amidst drills, tensions rise prior to Pelosi visit
After the Japanese Defense Ministry spotted an armed reconnaissance drone of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) flying above waters to the east side of the island of Taiwan on Monday, Taiwan media reported that the PLA aircraft went and made a full circle flight around the island of Taiwan for the first time. Chinese mainland analysts said on Wednesday that Taiwan's defense authority's failure to report the drone's activity exposed the island's defense vulnerabilities against drones, a great vulnerability the PLA can abuse in a possible cross-Straits conflict. A TB-001 drone of the PLA flew to the eastern side of the island of Taiwan, crossed the Bashi Channel and continued to fly along the alleged median line of the Taiwan Straits, marking that the drone made a clockwise circle around the island on Monday, the first day of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drills, media on the island reported on Tuesday.
https://www.sott.net/article/470399-Taiwan-fails-to-report-Chinese-military-drone-flown-around-the-island-amidst-drills-tensions-rise-prior-to-Pelosi-visit

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"I've delivered": New disclosures demolish President Biden's denials on Hunter dealings
New disclosures are demolishing the continued denials of President Biden that he had no knowledge and nothing to do with his son's business interests. The emails (reviewed by Fox and The Daily Mail) include exchanges with at least 14 of Hunter Biden's business associates while Joe Biden was vice president. They cast further doubt on the president's repeated claims that he had no knowledge of his son's foreign business dealings. In one almost plaintive email, Hunter actually complains to an associate that he had delivered on everything that was demanded of him in getting access to his father and the White House. President Biden and the White House continue to repeat his denial from the campaign trail in 2019: "I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings." These denials have continued even after an audiotape surfaced showing President Biden leaving a message for Hunter specifically discussing coverage of those dealings. Some of us have written for two years...
https://www.sott.net/article/470400-I-ve-delivered-New-disclosures-demolish-President-Bidens-denials-on-Hunter-dealings

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None dare call it a recession lest the Democrats lose the mid-term elections
When all you have left is managing narratives, managing narratives becomes a full time job. This is where The Davos Crowd is today - just before the next Fed rate hike and just over three months out from the US mid-term elections. It doesn't matter the subject anymore, everything is managed, massaged, wheedled or cajoled into a convenient definition which serves some aspect of the Davos agenda. Last week it was blaming Russia for the West's financial problems - food and energy shortages forcing the ECB to raise rates. This week we're going to be redefining a 'recession' and shifting the blame for it to the Federal Reserve. Treasury Secretary cum Vice President Janet Yellen prepped the stage last week, using her gravitas (*snort*) to proclaim that she "doesn't see a recession" on the horizon. Now the O'Biden administration is redefining recession away from the technical definition of two straight quarters of negative GDP growth.
https://www.sott.net/article/470401-None-dare-call-it-a-recession-lest-the-Democrats-lose-the-mid-term-elections

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Russia and Turkey to discuss 'military-technical cooperation' - Kremlin
Military-technical cooperation will be on the agenda when Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meet in Sochi. This was the response by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday, when asked about Erdogan's revelation that Moscow had an eye on Turkey's Bayraktar combat drones, which are currently supplied to Ukraine. Multiple Turkish outlets reported on Tuesday that Erdogan had told his party leadership about Putin's interest in Turkey's military drone industry. The Russian leader reportedly raised the subject of cooperation with Baykar Makina, the makers of Bayraktar, at the July 19 meeting in Tehran. Asked about it, Peskov did not offer specifics. "Military-technical cooperation between the two countries is constantly on the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters. "The very fact that our interaction is developing in such a sensitive area indicates that, in general, the whole range of our relations is at a very high level."...
https://www.sott.net/article/470402-Russia-and-Turkey-to-discuss-military-technical-cooperation-Kremlin

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Indonesia foot and mouth outbreak cues NZ, Australia to call for border closures & restrictions
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia could cost thousands of New Zealand jobs, as her nation and neighbouring Australia stepped up border biosecurity restrictions. "While not a threat to humans, it would devastate our national herd. Essentially, all animals that are of cloven hoof are at risk," Ardern told reporters in Wellington. Ardern warned that the disease, first detected in Indonesia in April, has the potential to threaten up to 100,000 jobs in New Zealand's agriculture sector. Comment: Nothing has been detected in New Zealand yet, and Ardern's rhetoris seems a little over excited.
https://www.sott.net/article/470403-Indonesia-foot-and-mouth-outbreak-cues-NZ-Australia-to-call-for-border-closures-restrictions

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Indonesia foot and mouth outbreak cues NZ, Australia to call for border closures & restrictions
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia could cost thousands of New Zealand jobs, as her nation and neighbouring Australia stepped up border biosecurity restrictions. "While not a threat to humans, it would devastate our national herd. Essentially, all animals that are of cloven hoof are at risk," Ardern told reporters in Wellington. Ardern warned that the disease, first detected in Indonesia in April, has the potential to threaten up to 100,000 jobs in New Zealand's agriculture sector. Comment: It hasn't been detected in New Zealand yet, it has barely spread through Indonesia; Ardern's rhetoric seems a little over excited.
https://www.sott.net/article/470403-Indonesia-foot-and-mouth-outbreak-cues-NZ-Australia-to-call-for-border-closures-restrictions

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Warsaw mulls cutting down on Christmas lights
The Warsaw city administration is mulling the idea of limiting the number of decorative lights this Christmas or even turning them off completely to encourage Poles to save energy, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski. "We want to symbolically show the people of Warsaw that energy needs to be saved," Trzaskowski told Radia ZET, adding that this would not solve the energy crunch, but would demonstrate that Poland is serious about saving energy. The festive lighting is usually placed along the Royal Route, which features many of the city's historic landmarks, including several palaces and churches.
https://www.sott.net/article/470404-Warsaw-mulls-cutting-down-on-Christmas-lights

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Denier-in-chief: Joe Biden really did meet with at least 14 of Hunter's business associates while vice president
President Biden met with at least 14 of Hunter Biden's business associates while he was vice president in the Obama White House, casting further doubt on the president's repeated claims that he had no knowledge of his son's foreign business dealings. "I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings," Biden said in 2019. But the president met with at least 14 of Hunter's business associates from the U.S., Mexico, Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan over the course of his vice presidency, a Fox News Digital review found.
https://www.sott.net/article/470405-Denier-in-chief-Joe-Biden-really-did-meet-with-at-least-14-of-Hunters-business-associates-while-vice-president

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Police admit wrong to warn activist against being 'untoward about pedophiles'
A British police force, already in special measures over its long-term failures to protect people, has admitted to have not acted in a "wholly proportionate" manner after officers visited a feminist campaigner at home for being "untoward about paedophiles". On Sunday, British YouTuber and feminist campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, said that two police officers from the Wiltshire force came to her home to relay that there had been a complaint levied against her for one of her videos, saying: "Somebody's phoned up because one of your videos you're being untoward about paedophiles." According to Keen, the officer admitted that he had not even watched the video in question, yet, because someone had been offended, they recorded it as a "hate crime". Keen said that the officer was unable to tell her if it was in fact recorded as a crime or the controversial "non-crime hate incident" category.
https://www.sott.net/article/470406-Police-admit-wrong-to-warn-activist-against-being-untoward-about-pedophiles

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Cincinnati federal judge blocks Air Force, Air National Guard globally from discharging religious vaccine refusers
A federal judge in Cincinnati on Wednesday blocked the Biden administration for the foreseeable future from enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate globally on any servicemembers in the Air Force, Space Force and Air National Guard who requested religious exemptions. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland's preliminary injunction stops the military from discharging or disciplining servicemembers in this local lawsuit that now has an international impact on the military and class-action status as it heads toward trial. Judge McFarland has criticized the Air Force, writing that they sweepingly rejected each exemption request and failed to carefully consider the merits of each. "Members face the same injury: violation of their constitutional freedom by defendants' clear policy of discrimination religious accommodation requests," he wrote two weeks ago when he issued the temporary injunction. Doster v. Kendall comes down to this: Do the rights of those defending our country to...
https://www.sott.net/article/470407-Cincinnati-federal-judge-blocks-Air-Force-Air-National-Guard-globally-from-discharging-religious-vaccine-refusers

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Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz defaults on debt, fails to make payments on Eurobonds
Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz has defaulted on its foreign debt, the firm announced on Tuesday. Naftogaz was unable to make payments on Eurobonds before a grace period expired, the company said a statement on Telegram, adding that it "has not received consent from the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine to make the necessary payments". The Ukrainian government earlier prohibited payments, due on July 19, on its Eurobonds maturing in 2022 and 2024, citing the country's need to accumulate natural gas in sufficient quantities before the upcoming heating season.
https://www.sott.net/article/470408-Ukrainian-energy-giant-Naftogaz-defaults-on-debt-fails-to-make-payments-on-Eurobonds

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How Mario Draghi broke Italy
Mario Draghi's defenestration has left the Italian — and indeed international — establishment reeling in horror. This is not surprising. When he was nominated as Italy's prime minister at the beginning of last year, Europe's political and economic elites welcomed his arrival as a miracle. Virtually every party in the Italian parliament — including the two formerly "populist" parties that won the elections in 2018, the Five Star Movement and the League — offered their support. The tone of the discussion was captured well by the powerful governor of the Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca (PD), who compared Draghi to "Christ" himself. Everyone agreed: a Draghi government would be a blessing for the country, a final opportunity to redeem its sins and "make Italy great again". Draghi, they said, simply by virtue of his "charisma", "competence", "intelligence" and "international clout", would keep bond markets at bay, enact much-needed reforms, and relaunch Italy's stagnant economy.
https://www.sott.net/article/470409-How-Mario-Draghi-broke-Italy

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British vlogger added to UK's anti-Russia sanctions list in governments latest move to silence dissent
A British citizen who video blogs pro-Kremlin material from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine has been added to a UK government sanctions list. Comment: The blatant propaganda spin on this report should be clear from the first line, because we never read of a 'pro-Westminster' reporter. Graham Phillips, who has been accused of being a conduit for pro-Russian propaganda, is one of 42 new designations added to the UK's Russia sanctions list. Other additions include Russia's minister and deputy minister of justice and two nephews of the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was himself placed under sanctions by Britain in March. Phillips - the first UK citizen to be added to the growing sanctions list - has long been a controversial figure, receiving medals from the Russian state for his reporting. He has consistently toed the Russian line on the war, suggesting in recent weeks that Ukraine is run by Nazis and that the massacre of Ukrainians in Bucha was staged.
https://www.sott.net/article/470410-British-vlogger-added-to-UKs-anti-Russia-sanctions-list-in-governments-latest-move-to-silence-dissent

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Say it ain't Joe: 75% of Democrats want someone other than Biden in 2024, poll shows
Three-quarters of self-described Democrats or Democratic-leaning voters want the party to pick someone other than President Biden as their standard-bearer in 2024 — and nearly a quarter of them say they don't believe Biden can win a second term, according to a new poll. The CNN survey released Tuesday found that 32% of Dems say they don't want Biden to be re-elected president. Another 24% said they didn't believe he could defeat a Republican candidate in 2024, while 19% gave unspecified other reasons for their opposition to the current commander-in-chief. Antipathy toward Biden is particularly strong among Democrats under age 45, 82% of whom say they don't want him to try for a second term. The president's numbers aren't much better among older Democrats either, with just 31% of those age 45 and up saying they want another Biden campaign. At the beginning of this year, the same poll showed Democrats were basically divided on the prospect of the president seeking reelection, with...
https://www.sott.net/article/470411-Say-it-aint-Joe-75-of-Democrats-want-someone-other-than-Biden-in-2024-poll-shows

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FDA officials warn of brain swelling, vision loss in minors using puberty blockers
Puberty blockers, known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) substances, received a warning from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials earlier this month, saying the drug could cause brain swelling, loss of vision, and serious risks for children injecting the hormone. Officials said a plausible association between using puberty blockers and pseudotumor cerebri, which displays symptoms similar to a brain tumor, was identified in six young girls between the ages of 5 and 12. "Five were undergoing treatment for central precocious puberty and one for transgender care," FDA officials report. "The onset of pseudotumor cerebri symptoms ranged from three to 240 days after GnRH agonist initiation."
https://www.sott.net/article/470412-FDA-officials-warn-of-brain-swelling-vision-loss-in-minors-using-puberty-blockers

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Sign of the times: McDonald's raises price of a cheeseburger in the UK for the first time in 14 years
McDonald's hiked the price of its cheeseburger in the U.K. for the first time in 14 years as cost pressures bite. The fast-food chain confirmed Wednesday that the iconic burger was one among a number of items facing price increases across its U.K. restaurant network. The cost of a cheeseburger has risen 20% from 99 pence ($1.19) to £1.19.
https://www.sott.net/article/470413-Sign-of-the-times-McDonalds-raises-price-of-a-cheeseburger-in-the-UK-for-the-first-time-in-14-years

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Cod help us! Half of Britain's fish and chip shops could close due to soaring prices
Half of Britain's 10,500 fish and chip shops could close due to rocketing costs. As many as 5,000 face being battered by crippling tariffs and the soaring prices of ingredients, government figures reveal. The combination means the price of a fish and chip supper could rise from an average £8.50 to £11.50.
https://www.sott.net/article/470414-Cod-help-us-Half-of-Britains-fish-and-chip-shops-could-close-due-to-soaring-prices

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Police struggle to crack homicides with liberal prosecutors draining 'snitch pool'
People are increasingly getting away with murder in America's big cities, with police saying they are no longer able to roll low-level offenders to get them to snitch on big targets. Law enforcement sources say the criminal justice reform movement sweeping states, combined with policies of liberal prosecutors, leave them with fewer cooperating witnesses whom they need to crack homicide and other serious criminal cases. "Criminal justice reform is crushing investigations. I apprehended individuals on something minor, and they wanted to make a deal because they didn't want to go to jail. Now we don't have the snitch pool of low-level offenders willing to talk about bigger fish. It's huge and it's such a simple concept," said Paul Beakman, a former police officer and former president of the Fraternal Order of Police Western New York Lodge 103.
https://www.sott.net/article/470415-Police-struggle-to-crack-homicides-with-liberal-prosecutors-draining-snitch-pool

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Has the lab leak been proven false?
Has the lab leak been proven false? That's the impression you'd get reading yesterday's BBC article, which deals with two new studies on Covid origins. The article quotes one scientist as saying, "We're now as sure as we can be, based on the fragmentary evidence we do have, that this was a spillover event that happened in the market." And it quotes another as saying the new studies would "correct the false record that the virus came from a lab". On Twitter, a third scientist claimed the studies provide "conclusive evidence that SARS-CoV-2 emerged via at least 2 zoonotic spillovers". She went on to say that it's now "100% clear the pandemic originated at Huanan market", dismissing what she called "speculative bullshit about a lab leak".
https://www.sott.net/article/470416-Has-the-lab-leak-been-proven-false

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This is what Saudi Arabia's 100-mile long emission-free smart city could look like
The Line is part of Saudi's controversial Neom mega-city project. In 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed the country's plans to build The Line, a smart linear city that will be constructed vertically, have no roads or cars and run purely on renewable energy. Now, the Saudi government has released image renders of what The Line could look like once it's done. The city was designed to only be 200 meters (656 feet) wide, but 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall and 170 kilometers (105 miles) long. It will house multiple communities encased in a glass facade running along the coast and will eventually be able to accommodate up to 9 million residents. The Line's designers envision a city wherein facilities are just a five-minute walk away from people and where residents can organically bump into each other as they go about their daily errands. While it will have no roads and won't be able to accommodate cars, it will have a high-speed rail for end-to-end transit that will take...
https://www.sott.net/article/470417-This-is-what-Saudi-Arabias-100-mile-long-emission-free-smart-city-could-look-like

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Mount Raung in East Java erupts
Mount Raung in East Java suddenly erupted on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 17:19 western Indonesian time or WIB, spewing ash clouds as high as 1,500 meters above the peak to the west and northwest direction. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) official Oktory Prambada said the eruption was not caused by magma movement activity. "It happened in 540 seconds," he said to Tempo on Thursday, July 28, 2022 According to him, the ash column was not dense which indicated that the eruption occurred only on the surface, and it was considered a small eruption. "It's just a release of energy or degassing," he added.
https://www.sott.net/article/470418-Mount-Raung-in-East-Java-erupts