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populated areas across the country, including in Beirut.

A July report by the ALMA Research and Education Center found that the group has at least 28 missile launching sites, command and control infrastructure, missile assembly sites, rocket fuel storage sites and missile bunkers next to high schools, clinics, hospitals, golf clubs and soccer fields as well as the Iranian Embassy and the Lebanese Ministry of Defense.

Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, also accused Hezbollah and Iran of using Beirut Port to transfer weapons using commercial companies.

"Israel discovered that Iran and its Quds Force have been exploiting civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut," Danon said. "The Iranian regime is transferring weapons in various ways. They use commercial companies, mainly from Europe, to support Hezbollah and develop its missile program. Unfortunately, the Port of Beirut has become Hezbollah's port.”

Lebanon was already in the midst of an unprecedented calamity, on the brink of collapse due to a severe economic crisis, when the explosion took place – and Hezbollah is not immune to that.

Israeli officials have warned that should another war with the terror group break out, it would “send Lebanon back to the Stone Age” as the country’s infrastructure is used by Hezbollah. Unfortunately on Tuesday, residents of Beirut got a taste of just that. And not from war, but from a catastrophic failure and mismanagement by the ruling class.

With the country falling off an economic cliff and temperatures rising – and not just meteorologically – opposition to Hezbollah’s grip on the country is also growing.

Following the deadly explosion, will the Lebanese street once again rise up and force the political leadership to force Hezbollah to finally move their arsenals away from civilian centers? Or will Hezbollah’s grip on the country only tighten?

With such mismanagement of handling the dangerous and explosive material, as well as organized crime which is run from the port, it was a disaster waiting to happen. A disaster that Lebanon could not afford.

e emotionally loaded references to suicide.

The good news on the scrapping of plans to reform the country’s Gender Recognition Act of 2004, which would have allowed individuals to change their sex on demand without a medical certificate, has taken something of a knock, though, with the latest claims that Boris is getting cold feet after advice from fiancee Carrie. 

That aside, though – yes, once the debate has become more public, notably with the JK Rowling affair, common sense has started to reassert itself.

Kenwood and Holly Village, Highgate:

As with nearly all reports from North Korea, this is hearsay – but not surprising:

The number of people fleeing from North Korea is increasing again and homeless children begging for money are seen even near Pyongyang amid protracted sanctions and the coronavirus lockdown.

According to a source on Monday, North Koreans are gripped by fears of a severer famine than in the 1990s.

The source, who has been to Pyongyang recently, said many homeless children can be seen at Kalli railway station, a gateway to the capital. "Their presence is becoming a problem as they move around in groups begging and stealing."

Homeless people are sporadically rounded up and forced into labor at a makeshift facility nearby, and when homeless children are discharged from the facility they hang out near the station.

"Many people are traveling in groups to scavenge food despite travel restrictions amid the lockdown," the source added. Some college students from provinces are reportedly making a living through prostitution near Pyongyang.

We've heard similar recent reports.

Grim times…

dding-left: 40px”>Back in 1784, the philosopher Immanuel Kant defined the Enlightenment as a collective emergence from self-imposed immaturity. All that is needed, he declared, is for people to have the freedom to make public use of their own reason in all matters. More than two centuries later, it seems we are still struggling to come of age.

Of course, as Williams acknowledges, this isn't just about the current pandemic. We already have a considerable number of restrictions on our behaviour, from seat belts in cars and speed restrictions to the ban on smoking in pubs. It's inevitable in a modern society. The pandemic lockdown, though, is testing our reliance on such restrictions way above and beyond the normal – to breaking point, perhaps. I notice in shops now, for instance, that the supposed requirement for face-masks in being widely ignored. Is that a sign of gross irresponsibility, or an indication that people are beginning to make their own decisions and are sick of being told what to do when they know their chances of catching or passing on the virus are minimal by now? I wear one out of courtesy, really, but I can't say I'm outraged by those who don't bother.

ves to be undermined and “problematized” whenever possible. Postmodern theory does so mischievously and irreverently—even as it leaves nothing in reason’s place. The idea of objective truth—even if it is viewed as always somewhat beyond our reach—is abandoned. All we have are narratives, stories, whose meaning is entirely provisional, and can in turn be subverted or problematized.  […]

There is no such thing as persuasion in this paradigm, because persuasion assumes an equal relationship between two people based on reason. And there is no reason and no equality. There is only power. This is the point of telling students, for example, to “check their privilege” before opening their mouths on campus. You have to measure the power dynamic between you and the other person first of all; you do this by quickly noting your interlocutor’s place in the system of oppression, and your own, before any dialogue can occur. And if your interlocutor is lower down in the matrix of identity, your job is to defer and to listen. That’s partly why diversity at the New York Times, say, has nothing to do with a diversity of ideas. Within critical theory, the very concept of a “diversity of ideas” is a function of oppression. What matters is a diversity of identities that can all express the same idea: that liberalism is a con-job. Which is why almost every NYT op-ed now and almost every left-leaning magazine reads exactly alike. […]

The rhetorical trap of critical theory is that it has coopted the cause of inclusion and forced liberals onto the defensive. But liberals have nothing to be defensive about. What’s so encouraging about this book is that it has confidence in its own arguments, and is as dedicated to actual social justice, achieved through liberal means, as it is scornful of the postmodern ideologues who have coopted and corrupted otherwise noble causes.

ularly like bunches of strangers, and I work nights and from home.”

Yelizaveta and Peter, 25 years old. Hermits for one year and a half. “It is convenient for us to live like this and not to work.”

Eugene, 30 years old. Hermit for three years and a half. “Due to [an] unconventional world perception since my childhood, [there came a point where it became impossible to be part of conventional society], and I had to leave. And I have no regrets about this.”

Kristina, 29 years old. Hermit for two years. “I don’t work and I live as I want.”

Olga, 27 years old. Hermit for three years. “I like to work as a freelancer: to [do] cosplays of my favorite characters, as well as reviews of video games.”
[All images © Natalia Ershova]

The unlovely Unite boss Len McCluskey, still complaining about Labour's antisemitism payout, is now threatening to withdraw the union's financial support.

Len McCluskey, the left-wing leader of Unite, has warned that it would be “a mistake” for Labour to take its financial contributions “for granted” following the decision to pay damages to antisemitism whistleblowers.

Mr McCluskey, in an interview with The Observer, stated that there was “no doubt” that the Unite executive would seek a review of its funding of the party.

He claimed that much of the six-figure damages that had been awarded to the seven whistleblowers who spoke to the BBC’s Panorama in July 2019 had come from Unite funds.

“It’s an abuse of members’ money,” said Mr McCluskey, a key supporter for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

McCluskey should know a thing or two about abusing members’ money: he's being doing it himself for long enough. From Private Eye:

Rather than spending Unite members’ money on fighting to save jobs as Covid-19 leads to mass unemployment, Len McCluskey gives every appearance of throwing it at fat-cat lawyers.

A letter from Carter-Ruck to the Labour party’s solicitors Martin Howe & Co, seen by the Eye, reveals that the pricey law firm was acting for Jeremy Corbyn, his director of communications Seumas Milne and Jennie Formby, Labour’s general secretary under Corbyn (and McCluskey’s former lover).

How could the trio afford solicitors reputed to charge £500 an hour? The letter sent on 21 July, as Labour prepared to settle libel claims brought by Panorama’s John Ware and seven Labour whistleblowers, offers a clue. Carter-Fuck told Labour’s lawyers its clients were “supported by Unite”.

No expense spared for Len's pals – and from union funds, it seems. Though in the end it didn't do them any good.

And it's not the first time:

Late last year the former Labour MP Anna Turley sued Unite and the alt-left “news” site Skwawkbox for falsely accusing her of joining the union on a “fraudulent basis”. The judge awarded her punitive damages and estimated costs of at least £1.5m. Skwawkbox’s editor revealed that Unite was meeting his bills too.

t diplomatic pleasantries. While significant areas of friction remain, China and Russia are now working hand-in-glove in many key areas, including in defense. The U.S. intelligence community’s “Worldwide Threat Assessment” last year led with the statement: “China and Russia are more aligned than at any point since the mid-1950s.” The assessment did not identify the Middle East as an area of major alignment between China and its Russian partner, but it should have. Together, they are searching for ways to loosen the bonds between Washington and its allies and to strengthen anti-American forces in the region, which are led by Iran….

Another fact that Americans tend to miss is that China’s economic size and strategic advantages position it as the senior partner in the relationship—meaning that Xi Jinping, not Putin, calls the shots. It is Russia’s job to intervene militarily in the Middle East and, thereby, to take the heat from the Americans. Meanwhile, China benefits from Russia’s “destabilizing” activities….

It's a long piece, but worth a read.

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