RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/July 2021

July 2021
Priti Patel's Home office set up a fake website, aimed at migrants, which contains misleading information. Retired general tells the military to overthrow the Democratic Progressive government and surrender Taiwan to the People's Dictatorship Republic of China [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bosnian-serbs-defy-international-envoys-decree-against-genocide-denial-2021-07-30/ The Republika Srpska's parliament unanimously adopted amendments to its criminal law introducing 5-year jail terms for people who "disparage or label" Bosnian Serbs as genocidal or aggressive in their actions during the Yugoslav Wars. This measure is in response to national efforts to ban denial of the Bosnian Genocide.] Tech giant Amazon has been fined a record €746 million ($885 million, £637 million) by a court in Luxembourg for breaching data privacy regulations. This is the largest fine ever given out by a European court for breaches of GDPR. Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett, the head of the Irish Defence Forces has said that climate change [https://www.thejournal.ie/climate-change-security-risk-to-ireland-mark-mellett-5507407-Jul2021/ is the single biggest threat to the country. He cites the recent forest fires in Howth, Co. Dublin as an example.] In recent weeks, an activist group calling itself "Dallas Justice Now" has been sending flyers and vague doxxing threats to rich, white Dallas households about a "college pledge" that has naturally been going viral in right-wing circles/news media. However, investigations into the organization suggest DJN itself may be an elaborate hoax. In the strange twist from the heirs of Thatcher, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/sheffield-forgemasters-nationalised-after-takeover-ministry-of-defence a Conservative government through the Ministry of Defence have nationalised a steel mill for £2.6 million for defence reasons. ]  The world faces an onslaught of coastal flooding starting in the mid-2030s due to a "wobble" in the moon's orbit, a natural occurrence that was first recorded in 1728 Donald Trump raised $75 million to "Stop the Steal" and has spent $0 on it, not even donating to the GOP-led audit in Arizona Police are telling new "Shotspotter" app to fake evidence from gunshot-detecting AI. And people still wonder why we want to hold the police accountable. Florida-Man is at it again! Man attempts to walk several thousand miles across ocean in strange device. Speaking at the “Worldwide Rally for Freedom” in Trafalgar Square, former nurse and full-time nutjob, Kate Shemirani, compared doctors and nurses of the NHS to Nazis, and suggested they should be hanged. At least eight people killed in Khuzestan, Iran as the state cracks down on protests against water shortages 21-year-old Ohio incel arrested and charged with a hate crime for planning a mass shooting at university sororities. Left-wing Labour MP Dawn Butler has been temporarily suspended from the House of Commons, for using unparliamentary language by calling the prime minister a liar. Convicted fraudster and far-right pundit Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has been convicted of libel against 16 year old Syrian refugee and ordered to pay him damages of £100 000, and the legal costs of £500 000. Kentaro Kobayashi, the creative director of the Olympics' opening ceremony, is fired one day before the ceremony is due to take place for having made jokes about the Holocaust. A municipal council decided to investigate if a theater troupe that does a witch act are actual witches promoting occultism, sorcery and Satan worship. (source in Polish) [https://www.theroot.com/texas-senate-passes-bill-to-remove-required-lessons-on-1847313111 The Texas Senate voted 18-4 to pass Senate Bill 3, which drops requirements for teachers to include lessons on Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony, the history of Native Americans, the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights-related figures and documents in their curriculums. The bill is currently stalled in the House]. Also: the bill drops the requirement that schools teach why slavery and the KKK were morally wrong. Billionaire takes penis extension to space. Met Office issues first ever extreme heat warning amid sweltering conditions Police destroy 1,069 Bitcoin miners with big ass steamroller and charged the operators with stealing electricity On the 17th, Northern Ireland recorded its hottest ever day recorded with temperatures reaching 31.2°C (88.2°F) in the townland of Ballywatticock, Co. Down. Update: On the 22nd, the city of Armagh beat that at 31.4°C (88.5°F). [https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1016031822/pro-democracy-protests-continue-in-eswatini-africas-last-absolute-monarchy eSwatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, has been wracked with protests over the fact that King Mswati III and his 15 wives live in opulence while more than two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line. 40 people have died in police crackdowns so far, and the king has called the protests "Satanic"]. A right wing "crypto millionaire," capitalizing on the disdain American conservatives have for "liberal" Silicon Valley and the mainstream media, launched a US$500 "Freedom Phone" targeting the MAGA crowd that claims to allow America's "patriots" to take "back control" of their lives from the tech oligarchy. The phone, which has virtually no published technical specifications, appears to be a cheap Chinese-made Android knockoff, is almost certainly full of security bugs, and is a scam. GB News is in private crisis talks after suspending a presenter after he took the knee on air, and an executive has left the company board. GB News has literally hit rock bottom, after the viewer ratings occasionally hitting zero. Over 60 dead, dozens missing as severe floods strike Europe. UPDATE: At least 120 dead. With hundreds unaccounted for, the number will probably keep on rising for the next days. Protest against trans-inclusive spa sees collusion between far-right disinformation spreaders and gender critical narratives Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro hospitalised after suffering from ‘chronic’ hiccups over the last 10 days SDLP MP Colum Eastwood has used his to reveal the name of British paratrooper “Soldier F” who allegedly murdered two unarmed men during Bloody Sunday in 1972. Death Valley has broken its own record for recording the hottest temperature on Earth, at 130°F (54.4°C), in less than a year. ‘Freedom!’ Thousands of Cubans take to the streets to demand the end of dictatorship amid huge economic downturn. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57788220 A statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee has been removed from Charlottesville, Virginia. Attempts to remove the statue in August 2017 led to the "Unite the Right" march at which anti-racism protester Heather Heyer was murdered.] Murdoch's attempt to create a conservative Google News copycat called Knewz, is killed-off after only 18 months. Study on American religious affiliation in 2020 shows a decrease in the number of white evangelicals, and the stabilization of the growth rate of the religious unaffiliated. The shares of the religious unaffiliated has also increased in both parties Saudi Arabia plans to launch a new digital 'news' platform in the USA. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has upheld eight complaints about RTÉ's "God is a Rapist" sketch after complainers said that the sketch in question mocks the Catholic faith. [https://www.npr.org/2021/07/06/1013351597/israels-new-government-dealt-a-setback-with-defeat-of-controversial-citizenship- Israel's controversial law that bars Palestinians from earning residency in Israel through marriage failed a renewal vote in the Knesset as multiple members of PM Bennett's governing coalition refused to endorse it. Netanyahu and his Likud Party also voted against the renewal in an effort to undermine the new government]. Haiti's President, Jovenel Moise has been assassinated, during an armed attack on his private residence. Famous Dutch crime reporter Peter R. De Vries (notable for tracking down ) gets shot in the head in broad daylight. De Vries survives the shot (for now). Two suspects have been arrested, the shooter likely included. Update: De Vries died of his injuries 9 days after the shooting. US troops quietly leave Bagram airbase in the early hours of the morning.... and Afghan forces seem to be collapsing in a replay of Vietnam 1975. Something about land war, Asia, and don't do it.....  Justin Trudeau has announced that Mary Simon, a Québécois-born Inuk leader and former diplomat has been chosen to become Canada's next governor general, replacing Julie Payette. She would be Canada's first indigenous governor general. [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/world/europe/france-climate-change-constitution.html The dipshits in the French Senate have voted against a referendum that would enshrine the fight against climate change in the French constitution. Right-wingers whine about this potentially harming commerce for about the twenty quadrillionth time. This comes as Emmanuel Macron is pressured by environmentalists to do literally anything drastic to curtail the warming climate.] WTF and what is the point!? The British government has send a notice to the UN stating that from the 28th September 2021, after 111 years the official country code for vehicles is changing from GB to UK. The main sugar manufacturer in the UK, British Sugar is taking the government to court over the new post-Brexit tariff regime on sugar claiming it is in effect a subsidy to its rival the US-owned Tate & Lyle. This is the first time such court action is happening, and it should be noted that Tate & Lyle is a major Tory party donor and supporter of Brexit. The recent freak heatwave in western Canada is now linked to nearly 500 deaths. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/03/officials-florida-accelerate-plans-demolish-unstable-remains-condo-tower-ahead-potential-tropical-storm/ Florida now moves to demolish the last remaining parts of the Surfside condominium building ahead of tropical cyclone Elsa. The rescue operation has been suspended until this is complete.]. [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/4/cuba-evacuates-70000-as-elsa-continues-its-approach Cuba is evacuating 70,000 Cubans as tropical cyclone Elsa creeps up upon the Cuban coast. At least 4 people across the Caribbean are known to have perished in this storm.]. The UK's fourth-largest grocer Morrison's have provisionally agreed to be taken over by a private investment company Fortress for $8.7 billion, however, one of the supporting companies of the takeover is linked to the Koch brothers. Russia has signed a new law changing the PGI law on champagne meaning that champagne can be only made in Russia and that French champagne can only be described as “sparkling wine”. In return, the owner of champagne makers Moët & Chandon and Dom Perignon, popular with the Russian nouveau riche have said they are stopping exports to the country. Hidalgo has become the third state in México to nullify the penalties for elective abortion. The Gulf of Mexico briefly caught fire after an undersea gas pipeline belonging to state-owned company Petróleos Mexicanos burst. The heat-wave in Canada (and in Siberia, Russia) defies all worst-case climate models, proving how serious climate change is, for the umpteenth time. By a 6-3 vote, [https://www.npr.org/2021/07/01/998758022/the-supreme-court-upheld-upholds-arizona-measures-that-restrict-voting the US Supreme Court has upheld voting restrictions in Arizona, effectively overturning most of what remains of the Voting Rights Act. In his majority opinion, Justice Alito wrote that, "the mere fact that there is some disparity in impact does not necessarily mean that a system is not equally open".] Two separate trials against former soldiers accused of murder have been dropped, including a Bloody Sunday trial which was crucial in the Good Friday Agreement. Bill Cosby is freed from prison after the Pennsylvania supreme court finds that the government broke a prior agreement not to prosecute him in exchange for his waiver of Fifth Amendment rights in a civil case. It is an egregious slander of the women who were raped by him. More than 100 people dead, in Canada's heatwave, which has seen three consecutive days of record highs, peaking at 49.6°C (121°F) at the end of June. Lytton, B.C. where the highest temperature was recorded, has been destroyed by wildfires.