Tag: United States

Trump in Hot Water Over ‘White Power’ Tweet

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In the wake of a massive backlash, US President Trump deleted a Twitter video he posted on Sunday featuring a supporter chanting “white power” at anti-Trump protestors. 

Someone one the scene took the video during Trump’s campaign visit to “The Villages,” a retirement community in Florida. The Republican president retweeted the video at 7:30 a.m. on June 28. In the first seconds of the clip, a man driving a gulf buggy emblazoned with “Trump 2020” and “America First” signs can be heard screaming “white power” at a counter-protestor holding a “Make America Sane” placard. 

Trump captioned the video, originally posted by an unidentified user, “thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe [Biden] is shot. See you soon!!!”

The tweet comes at a time when the United States’ explosive Black Lives Matter protests and movement has massive momentum, and racial tensions in America are running high in the wake of George Floyd’s death.  

Trump’s implied endorsement of a white supremacist slogan triggered an overwhelming wave of negative backlash and by 11:00 a.m. the video was deleted from Trump’s twitter feed. 

American response

People from both sides of America’s political divide united in their criticism of the tweet. Black Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott labelled the tweet “indefensible,” telling CNN, “he [Trump] should not have retweeted.”

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded on Twitter on June 28 saying, “Today the President shared a video of people shouting ‘white power’ and said they were ‘great.’ Just like he did after Charlottesville” — a reference to a 2017 Trump tweet where he referred to neo-Nazis as “very fine people.”   

“We’re in a battle for the soul of the nation — and the President has picked a side. But make no mistake: it’s a battle we will win,” he added. 

Biden followed up those comments on Monday declaring, “white supremacy should be rooted out and relegated to the pages of history — not promoted by the President of the United States.” 

The White House responded to the incendiary tweet with a statement that failed to apologize, instead claiming Trump did not hear the “white power” comment. 

“President Trump is a big fan of The Villages. He did not hear the one statement made on the video,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.  

“What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters.” 

Health Secretary Alex Azar also jumped to the president’s defense during a CNN interview saying that although he had not seen the tweet in question, “obviously neither the President, his administration nor I would do anything to be supportive of white supremacy or anything that would support discrimination of any kind.”

Read also: US Sees New COVID-19 Peak, Trump Aims to Cut Testing

US Shale Pioneer ‘Chesapeake’ Files for Bankruptcy

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On Sunday, June 28, Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it appears to be buckling under the weight of its enormous debts. The company was one the pioneers that led to the boom in US shale gas extraction, or “fracking,” that helped make the US the third largest producer of oil.

Chesapeake Energy has pioneered a concept where expensive gas extraction is fueled by taking on high debts to finance the purchases and maintenance of gas fields. It purchased gas fields in New Mexico, Texas, North and South Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1989, Chesapeake transitioned from traditional oil extraction to the more environmentally controversial and expensive shale gas extraction, which started a national trend.

At its height Chesapeake had a valuation of $37 billion and became one of the giants in the burgeoning US shale gas industry.

But the global financial crisis and its fallout provided a first shock to Chesapeake’s model that has now led to a valuation of only $115 million. Because so many small-scale producers followed Chesapeake’s example, the market had become flooded with expensive but plentiful US petroleum products.

Shale gas

In February, US government statements on the US shale gas industry focused on a major milestone on its horizon: The United States was about to become a net exporter of crude oil after a century of dependence on foreign oil, primarily from the Middle East and Venezuela. But those reports proved to be incorrect. Oil prices collapsed as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe.

Instead of boosting US exports to unparalleled heights, the US started to overflow with its own surplus as international oil demand plummeted. With the key hub for its benchmark WTI crude located far inland, its oil had few places to go when futures expired in May, sending the price of WTI crude below zero for the first time in history.

While painful voluntary and involuntary production cuts in the US have relieved some of the pressure on its storage facilities, many experts predict that the shale gas industry is unlikely to recover from the devastating shock to the system anytime soon. It is likely demand will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, when US shale gas extraction could recover.

With shale gas extraction now at its lowest point in a decade, the industry appears to be back where it started, only now it is saddled with billions in debt.

For low-cost oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa, the US decline has led to a significant increase in market share. This is likely to change the global oil market for years to come.

COVID-19 Pandemic Reaches Highest Daily Increase in Cases

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On Sunday, June 21, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called COVID-19 “the challenge and opportunity of our time” as the pandemic reaches a new phase. The world appears to be caught in the first wave of the pandemic, with cases still increasing daily. Countries reported 183,000 new cases on June 21, marking the largest daily increase since the emergence of the virus in 2019.

Growing cases

Brazil appears to be the worst-hit country currently. Its government’s much-criticized COVID-19 response led to a disastrous 55,000 new cases to add to its caseload of one million patients. Brazil has reported 49,976 COVID-19-related deaths. Brazilians took to the streets to protest President Jair Bolsanaro, as he appeared to bolster support of the military as tensions mount in the capital, Brasilia.

On the African continent, recorded cases reached 306,567 according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The African CDC also reported 146,212 recoveries amid a total death toll of 8,115 as the continent’s disparate regions face different phases of the epidemic. North African countries have achieved relative success through strict containment measures, keeping the total regional caseload at around 81,500.

In Southern Africa several nations are still facing the initial wave of infections with 101,700 recorded cases while West Africa has seen 62,400, East Africa reported 31,400, and Central Africa recorded 29,500. Africa’s young population appears to be keeping death tolls relatively low but, like in many places across the world, much remains unclear about the scale of unreported cases.

Socioeconomic impact

While Africa’s youthful population might be more resilient against the virus, the socioeconomic consequences of the global crisis are prompting a renewed call for solidarity in the pandemic’s aftermath. The president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, joined forces with Ghebreyesus to launch a “Solidarity Call to Action.”

Only by working together, the statement says, can we ensure a fair and equitable response to the economic aftermath of the crisis. The WHO’s June 1 call to action urges governments to avoid international competition over vaccines and economic support in order to mitigate the long-term effects of the pandemic that has claimed almost half a million lives in less than a year.

Urging an “open and collaborative” approach

Governments and researchers should “promote innovation, remove barriers, and facilitate open sharing of knowledge, intellectual property and data,” according to a WHO statement, as international frictions have emerged over the distribution of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine.

The WHO hopes to encourage a spirit of “open and collaborative approaches” to ensure an “equitable distribution and access to products needed for COVID-19.”

Some commercial companies working on vaccines are pressuring governments to outbid each other to receive “first access” to an eventual vaccine.

The US and EU are already buying up hundreds of millions of doses of yet unproven drugs, causing many to many fear the crisis will further exacerbate global inequalities.

Desperate need for unity

Calls for the development of a “People’s Vaccine” through global cooperation appear to have resulted in little, despite the concept’s broad support by many current and former world leaders.

The new “Solidarity Call to Action” appears to attempt to refocus the global pharmaceutical industry and its government funders to prioritize global stability and a common humanity over political decisions that lead to competition over vaccine access.

The Call to Action has received formal support from a variety of WHO member states across the world, but the future will tell if any true collaboration will materialize.

“The world is in desperate need of national unity and global solidarity. The politicization of the pandemic has exacerbated it,” Dr Tedros said on Monday, June 22, “…the greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself, it’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership.”

Egypt Claims Right to Intervene in Libya

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced on Saturday Egypt’s intentions to intervene within its troubled neighbor’s borders if the Libyan conflict moves further east. The call comes in response to repeated advances by the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) that is making gains against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA).

After being besieged in the country’s capital Tripoli for a year, GNA forces have enjoyed new momentum after a significant military intervention by Turkey. In exchange for drilling rights in Libyan waters and influence in Tripoli, Turkey has changed the Libyan war with an influx of drones, military hardware, and mercenaries.

Escalation

In response to the GNA’s newfound military advantage, the LNA has acquired Russian MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets to counter the increasing use of drones against the military bases and air defenses of the Eastern faction led by Khalifa Haftar. But the Tripoli-based government is pressing its current military advantage to push further east, reducing Haftar’s sphere of influence in Libya.

Turkish-backed GNA forces are now advancing on Sirte, located roughly halfway between Tripoli and the LNA’s capital in Benghazi. El-Sisi said on June 20 that any further military movements towards Sirte and the Jufra district below it are a “red line.” With combatants nearing Egypt’s borders, they bring the chaos of irregular fighting between militias that has defined the Libyan conflict since its onset.

Egyptian response

Egypt, el-Sisi declared, will consider direct military intervention within Libya’s borders if fighting moves further east. The Benghazi-based LNA government expressed support for Egypt’s intentions as it issued a statement calling on the United Nations in Libya to increase efforts to enforce the weapons embargo that has become an embargo in name only as more and more advanced weaponry enters the Libyan theater of war.

Without a ceasefire in place, the eastern Libyan government could invite an Egyptian response, according to el-Sisi. “Any military intervention by Egypt will be according to the principles of international law,” the Egyptian leader stated. But the Western-based GNA called the Egyptian statement a “declaration of war.”

International reception

On Sunday the United States released a statement in response to el-Sisi’s remarks. “The United States strongly opposes military escalation in Libya – on all sides,” a National Security Council (NSC) statement said, urging “parties to commit to a ceasefire and resume negotiations immediately.”

As the Egyptian military mobilizes for a possible intervention on its western borders, the NSC hopes to steer progress through the ongoing negotiations between both sides. “We must build on progress made through the UN’s 5+5 talks, the Cairo Initiative, and the Berlin process,” the Council stated on the matter.

If an Egyptian incursion into Libya’s eastern districts would occur, it could pit several US allies against each other. France, Qatar, Egypt, the UAE and Turkey all have strong military ties to the US, and an escalation away from proxy war and towards direct military deployment could see US and European weaponry on both sides being used in what amounts to another dark page in Libya’s recent history.

Has Saudi-Arabia Won the Oil Price War?

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Riyadh will likely celebrate in receipt of a new report by investment bank JP Morgan Chase. “Saudi Arabia will come out on top in the fight for market share as non-OPEC and U.S. production fades,” Christyan Malek, a managing director at JP Morgan Chase told Reuters. The report predicts that Saudi Arabia’s share of the oil market will be the highest since the 1980s.

It appears Saudi Arabia has increased its market share because of a decline in higher-cost oil production around the world, a development unimaginable even a year ago. The development will be much-needed positive news for most OPEC countries who have collectively seen a dramatic drop in government revenue because of a historic drop in oil prices.

Amid low oil prices, investment in the development of new fields drops and higher-cost oil production such as American shale gas or oil produced from Canadian tar-sands is no longer profitable. Because of the massive global scale of oil production, even a temporary dip in investment or bankruptcies of competitors can give low-cost producers an advantage for the foreseeable future.

Oil price war

Saudi Arabia and Russia together drove down oil prices by refusing to curb production even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove down demand to unprecedented levels. The combination of high production levels and dropping demand meant oil prices crashed to hit an absolute first: They fell to negative $40 as the expiration date for oil futures approached with no buyers for the actual crude.

While low oil prices are extremely painful for the state budgets of both Russia and Saudi Arabia, for countries where oil is produced at a much higher cost, like in the US shale gas industry, such low prices are potentially lethal.

Large-scale state-owned oil producers such as Saudi Arabia’s Aramco can dial back production without too much long-term damage, but for smaller producers that depend on a few wells or fields, closing down wells can mean buckling under debt and going bankrupt.

Saudi market share

By keeping production high while demand was dropping, Saudi Arabia directly influenced global oil prices. Media reported on the decision to continue high production levels as a price war between Russia and the Saudis continued until both countries agreed on production cuts in April.

However, both countries ultimately stood to benefit much more from a drop in production in the US than any fathomable end-game of a Russo-Saudi dispute could have realized. This begs the question if their “disagreement” was ever the real underlying motivation.

Russia and Saudi Arabia were both declining in market share as the US enjoyed its “shale gas revolution” over the last decade, with no end in sight. Although Russia likely has unexplored oil and gas reserves, the Saudi reserves have little way to go but down.

Their gamble to continue oil production and even send cheap crude to the already overflowing US oil market appears to have paid off in the long-run.

US shale gas decline

The victims of the geopolitical plays to influence oil prices will be those working in the US shale gas industry. While environmental groups will likely cheer the decline of shale gas, or “fracking,” millions of Americans are employed in the industry, working-class people who have been part of the essential workforce that has kept America running throughout the first wave of the pandemic.

Adopting a Green New Deal would more than offset these jobs with new positions in industries that support a healthy environment and provide good working conditions. However, hope for such a legislative move runs thin amid entrenched partisan tensions.

The international supermajors have already written off previously cherished gas assets in a sign of the time, yet the fate of Chesapeake Energy, one of the US shale gas pioneers, could signal what World Oil called “the end of an era.”

Because of the absence of available credit that saved many smaller oil firms during the last oil crash in 2015-2016, many smaller companies are now facing bankruptcies. The continued uncertainty over the future value of oil assets makes mergers and acquisition a risky game.

Between January and May, 18 oil and gas firms filed for bankruptcy protection in North America with more expected as “lower for longer” becomes the expectation.

The Saudi-led OPEC bloc has now promised to extend production cuts with an additional one-month voluntary cut, which is enough to prevent a new crash in oil prices, but likely not enough to help US producers.

Israel’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Law to Legalize Settlements

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On Wednesday, June 10, the Israeli Supreme Court decided to block its 2007 Settlement Regulation Law, intended to legalize settlement houses built on privately-owned Palestinian land. By a vote of eight to one, the country’s highest court ended the measure that had been frozen since its introduction in 2017.

Blocked law

The measure would have legalized roughly 4,000 buildings constructed on land owned by Palesinians but was blocked because it “unequally infringes on the property rights of Palestinian residents while giving preference to the proprietary interests of Israeli settlers,” Chief Justice Esther Hayut stated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party called the ruling “unfortunate,” saying the law that was ruled unconstitutional was in fact “an important law for settlement activity and its future.”

But the ruling could become null and void within a month, Likud-aligned newspaper Israel Hayom revealed on June 10 in an article titled “Home stretch: Sovereignty to bring good tidings to homeowners in Judea and Samaria.”

Annexation plans proceeding

According to the newspaper, some 100,000 settlers will soon be able to “complete the transfer of ownership rights.” Settlers will be able to freely register their currently illegal properties at Israel’s Land Registration Office, if or when Israel breaks with international law and annexes parts of the West Bank in July.

On Sunday, June 7, Netanyahu met with settlers to discuss his annexation plans. He told settlers that the plans are going ahead as intended.

Settlers in the West Bank are pushing Netanyahu to produce an even broader annexation plan as they strenuously oppose the formation of a Palestinian state, even if that state would only consist of some disparate fragments of land surrounded by newly conquered Israeli territory.

Netanyahu reassured settlers by saying that even if such a state established itself diplomatically, through the “Trump peace plan,” he would not recognize or treat the independent state as such.

Green light

Meanwhile, the US and Israel are both avoiding responsibility for giving the “green light” for the move, which is blatantly illegal under international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

At his meeting with settlers on Monday, Netanyahu stated that he has not yet received the green light from the US, but statements from the US ambassador to Israel contradict the need for any such signal.

David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel had earlier said: “We are not declaring sovereignty – the government of Israel has to declare sovereignty. And then we’re prepared to recognise it… So, you have to go first,” indicating that the international speculation over a “green light” appears to be nothing but a distraction from the planned invasion of Palestinian territory in the West Bank.

David Alhayani, head of the Settlement Council that represents settlers on occupied Palestinian land, stated that Trump is supporting annexation plans in order to help him win the November presidential elections in the United States. “The only thing they are concerned about regarding the plan is promoting their own interests ahead of the upcoming election,” Alhayani stressed.

In another green light to the Israeli annexation plans, Germany’s foreign minister has arrived in Jerusalem in order to “discourage” Israel. However, the diplomat has already indicated that his country’s “fierce opposition” does not mean he offers any threats or repercussions for Israel if they do decide to invade the West Bank.

Activism and Economic Activity Amid a Growing COVID-19 Crisis

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There are currently seven million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, 400,000 have died, and new cases are still on the rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the global COVID-19 crisis is “worsening,” yet life appears to return to normal at a lighting pace.

Many citizens who have faced long coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions are either waiting for their country to reopen or already seeing some elements of normalcy. Even though COVID-19 remains a global threat, economic and societal pressures are pushing people back onto the street.

Return to ‘normal’

In Europe, life seems to be returning to normal, with the EU planning to reopen its internal Schengen borders in time for summer vacations. Famous museums like the Prado museum in Madrid, the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, and the Versailles museum in Paris have once again opened their doors to visitors.

The Bundesliga has returned and even family entertainment venues like theme parks are reopening. Tourists are again free to visit Rome’s Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, after which they are free to have some food or cold drinks in local bars and restaurants. Germany bars have been packed with patrons and Amsterdam’s famous Vondelpark saw an impromptu “mini-festival.”

Cyprus is so eager to again receive tourists that it is offering to pay for anyone’s COVID-19 treatment if they test positive upon arrival.

The US has seen no sign of effective containment as the country is preparing to confirm it’s two-millionth COVID-19 case, yet California bars are set to reopen on Friday, June 12.

Protesting racism

Hundreds of thousands of people in America’s largest cities have protested institutional racism in the United States over the past week, with protests now spreading to smaller towns. The brutal death of George Floyd in police custody has reignited the debate over the country’s ingrained and persistent racism.

The blatant case of police brutality has even sparked outrage worldwide, with large demonstrations across the globe. In Europe, thousands packed the streets of Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, and Warsaw while smaller cities also saw significant demonstrations.

In Asia, protesters in cities like Tokyo, Jakarta, Seoul, Sydney, and Brisbane came out in a display of solidarity with US protests while highlighting local injustices, such as West Papua’s struggle for independence and the Philippine anti-drug war that has become a slaughter of impoverished locals.

Even in Brazil, where the local COVID-19 epidemic is rapidly accelerating, most large cities saw protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in opposition to the Brazilian government’s COVID-19 response.

WHO warnings

When listening to the analysis of the WHO, both large-scale protests and the reopening of tourist attractions seems unimaginable.

WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his opening remarks during a June 8 media briefing said “the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening.”

On Sunday, June 7, “more than 136,000 cases were reported, the most in a single day so far,” he underlined.

Ten countries in the Americas and Central Asia currently account for three-quarters of all new cases, with fears of increasing numbers in Africa and Eastern Europe. But the WHO has expressed concern over the emergence of large protests. While Ghebreyesus stated that the WHO “fully supports equality and the global movement against racism,” he urged for “active surveillance to ensure the virus does not rebound.”

The world appears to have reached a “new normal” where some countries are resuming many parts of daily life while others continue to struggle with large local outbreaks. The patchwork of different approaches, preventive measures, and exit strategies mean that many countries base their policies on the local situation, even as the global problem grows.

While all sectors of the economy will cheer a return to normal, once international travel reemerges we could be reminded, once again, of the consequences of our interconnected global society.

Iranian FM: US Deports Jailed Iranian Professor

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced today that the US has deported Iranian Professor Sirous Asgari, recently acquitted of stealing trade secrets, back to Iran. 

The 59-year-old scientist is now back in Iran with his family, according to an Instagram post by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.  

“Hello friends. Good news. Dr. Sirous Asgari is in the air on a flight back to Iran. Congratulations to his wife and family,” the foreign minister said.

US authorities detained Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor, in April 2016 on charges of fraud and stealing trade secrets, in contravention of US sanctions. The professor maintained he was only in the US to visit his two daughters. The court acquitted Asgari on all charges in November, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him shortly after his release and held Asgari at a facility in Louisiana.  

The father of three contracted COVID-19 during his detention at the ICE facility, Winn Correctional Center, which authorities used to justify the delay in his deportation. Asgari was highly critical of the US authorities’ response to the center’s COVID-19 outbreak, and told the Guardian conditions were unclean and “inhumane.”

“It makes sense to send me to the hospital as soon as possible. I don’t trust them at all,” he said in an interview amid coughing fits on April 28. “If something happens, they are not fast responders … I prefer to leave this dirty place.”

The news of Asgari’s long-awaited deportation from the US comes after Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday “Mr. Sirous Asgari’s case has been closed,” and he would soon be returning to Iran. 

“Security of the Iranian inmates in the U.S. and Europe, whom we considered being taken as hostages, is very important for us,” the spokesman said. 

Prisoner Swap in the Cards 

Asgari’s return potentially paves the way for a rare prisoner swap deal between bitter enemies the US and Iran. 

On May 10, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei released a statement saying Iran was ready to move ahead with a prisoner swap deal, but had not received a response from Washington.  

“We have announced that we are ready without any preconditions to exchange all prisoners and we are prepared to discuss the issue but Americans have not responded yet,” Rabiei said in a statement circulating among the Iranian government website and state news outlets. 

The likely US candidate if a swap does occur would be US Navy veteran Michael White, who is currently on furlough but has been imprisoned in Iran since 2018. The three other US citizens known to be jailed in Iran are father and son Siamak Namazi and Baquer Namazi and US-Iranian conservationist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship. 

The last prisoner swap to take place between the two foes occurred in December 2019 when US Ph.D. student Xiuye Wang was returned in exchange for Iranian stem cell scientist Masoud Soleimani.  

Read also: Hardline, Ex-Tehran Mayor Qalibaf Becomes Iran’s New Parliamentary Speaker

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