WARNING: The European Central Bank is Preparing to Launch a Digital Euro

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, just posted this on her Twitter feed:

We’ve started exploring the possibility of launching a digital euro. As Europeans are increasingly turning to digital in the ways they spend, save and invest, we should be prepared to issue a digital euro, if needed. I’m also keen to hear your views on it https://t.co/0ZuU2ZZgCp pic.twitter.com/CoY5sN7Yoz

— Christine Lagarde (@Lagarde) November 1, 2020

This is an extremely dangerous step.

It is the first step in the direction of abolishing physical currency.

Once physical currency is abolished, the government that has gone totally digital with its money will be able to see every transaction made by its citizens. Privacy in transactions will be gone. It is then only a small step to control what can and can not be purchased.

A government-controlled digital currency is one of the most dangerous threats to liberty in our age.

https://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2020/11/warning-european-central-bank-is.html

Michigan Governor: Up To Six Months In Prison If Businesses Don’t Surveil Customers For Contact Tracing

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is requiring restaurants, barbershops, tattoo parlors, recreational facilities, and entertainment establishments to record the names, contact information, and visit times of all customers to “aid with contact tracing.” Any establishment that does not comply is threatened with a maximum $200 fine, a misdemeanor charge punishable with up to six months in prison, and a $1,000 civil fine for violating the state’s emergency orders.

The order, announced Friday, comes as Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration began backtracking on the state’s latest reopening plan and tightening COVID-19 restrictions, citing rising hospitalizations and deaths. Other states including New York have implemented similar contact tracing rules, requiring restaurants to record diners’ information in the case of an outbreak.

In addition to scaling back the number of people at gatherings at indoor venues from 500 to 50, the order also advised against shouting and screaming at events, claiming that cheering could spread the virus in the air 30 times more than speaking. The newly announced restrictions also emphasized and extended the use of face masks, including on children as young as 2 years old at daycare, school, or “similar indoor settings.”

Earlier in the year, Whitmer signed an executive order threatening a misdemeanor charge and $500 fine for anyone wouldn’t wear a face mask in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces.

Whitmer and her administration have received criticism for her handling of the coronavirus after she signed an executive order similar to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ordering nursing homes and assisted living centers to readmit infected patients into facilities filled with vulnerable people.

“A long-term care facility must not prohibit admission or readmission of a resident based on COVID-19 testing requirements or results in a manner that is inconsistent with this order,” Whitmer’s May executive order reads. The elderly are by far the majority of those who have died with the virus present in their bodies.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/01/michigan-governor-up-to-six-months-in-prison-if-businesses-dont-surveil-customers-for-contact-tracing/

PA Gov. Tom Wolf tells residents it may take ‘a few days’ to count their votes

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is telling voters in his state it may take a few days to accurately count the votes for the presidential election in a new ad scheduled to air from Election Day through the end of the week.

“These are unprecedented times. Because of the coronavirus, there were millions of votes cast by mail so it may take longer than usual to count every vote,” he says in the ad, funded by a voter advocacy group, The Voter Project. “Folks in our election offices – your neighbors, family and friends are working hard ensuring every single vote is counted.”

Pennsylvania state law prohibits the counting of ballots before Election Day. Officials in Pennsylvania say they hope to have all votes counted by November 6, but a recent Supreme Court case requiring ballots received after Election Day to be segregated has raised concerns that the results may take longer.

President Trump, however, is demanding a result on election night. “It would be very, very proper and very nice if a winner were declared on November 3rd, instead of counting ballots for two weeks, which is totally inappropriate, and I don’t believe that that’s by our laws,” Trump said last week.

‘The Election should end on November 3rd., not weeks later!’ he tweeted Friday.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1322294301183782912

https://saraacarter.com/pa-gov-tom-wolf-tells-residents-it-may-take-a-few-days-to-count-their-votes/

Bangladesh Group Gives Government 24 Hours To Shutter French Embassy In Dhaka

On November 2nd, Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to shut down the Embassy of France in Dhaka.

Junaid Babunagari, secretary general of the organization, issued the ultimatum after calling off their march and siege program near Malibag-Mouchak flyover of Shantinagar.

Prior to that, a rally of several hundreds of Hefazat leaders and activists, who gathered in front of the national mosque Baitul Mukarram, started marching to lay siege on the French embassy in Dhaka.

The rally was called off after the rally crossed Bijoy Nagar intersection, following a police barricade.

“Showing respect to the duty of law enforcement officials, journalists, and the emotion of the participating Muslim brothers, we are stopping here today,” Junaid Babunagari said while addressing the rally from a pick-up van.

He also warned:

“We will not stop here in our next program. We will go to the embassy and destroy it if our demands are not met.

“[French president] Emmanuel Macron should beg for forgiveness. We will not return home until the government presses home the demands. Statues made in the name of sculptures should be taken down,” he added.

Before the march began, Junaid Babunagari demanded introducing capital punishment for anyone found guilty of insulting Prophet Muhammad in Bangladesh.

He also demanded that the Bangladesh government sever all diplomatic ties with France in protest of the display of a caricature of Prophet Muhammad.

He also urged all the Muslim majority countries as well as OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) affiliated countries to cut all the diplomatic ties with France.

“France insulted our Prophet (pbuh). We ask everyone to boycott French products. Keep French products under your feet,” he added.

More than 20 European Muslim organizations have called on French President Emmanuel Macron to end his “divisive rhetoric”, as the fallout between France and the Muslim world continues.

In an open letter published on October 31st, the organizations from several countries including the Netherlands, Finland and Italy said the French leader has failed to provide “strong moral leadership” following the killing of a teacher and three worshippers in a church in Nice.

“Maligning Islam and your own Muslim citizens, closing mainstream mosques, Muslim and humanitarian rights organizations, and using this as an opportunity to stir up further hatred, has given further encouragement to racists and violent extremists,” the signatories said, urging Macron to rethink what they called his “unilateral assault on Muslims, Islam and Prophet Muhammad”.

“The moral high ground that we invite you to, is to reject hatred, marginalization and divisive rhetoric, and use your leadership to bring people together.”

https://southfront.org/bangladesh-group-gives-government-24-hours-to-shutter-french-embassy-in-dhaka/

Two Major Mall Landlords File Bankruptcy Amid Retail "Carnage"

While the Wall Street crowd has since moved on from shorting malls, aka the "Big Short 2.0", in some distinct cases with massive profits, to shorting hotels which as we first presented here earlier this year has emerged as the "Big Short 3.0" trade, this weekend we got a vivid reminder of what Bloomberg dubbed "carnage" among mall tenants when two major mall landlords filed for bankruptcy this weekend, following their constantly growing list of bankrupt clients into Chapter 11 protection.

Two mall REITs, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and CBL & Associates Properties filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday, citing pandemic-induced pressures on their tenants and, by implication, themselves. Together the two REITs account for 87 million square feet of real estate across the U.S., according to court filings.

CBL, based in Chattanooga, counts 107 properties in 26 states in its portfolio, including enclosed malls, outlets and open-air retail centers…

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/two-major-mall-landlords-file-bankruptcy-amid-retail-carnage

"We're Not Guinea Pigs!" - Brazilians Protest São Paulo Governor's Mandatory Vaccination Push

Western media outlets like the NYT would have their readers believe that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a madman reviled by his own people, while attributing his historic electorial victory to some kind of fluke, or (even worse) judicial 'meddling' to keep corrupt ex-president Lula from winning another term.

The reality, of course, is that Bolsonaro, like President Trump, has a devoted core following who would back him over virtually any challenger. And despite all those reports about Brazil's 'collapsing' health-care system, more than 300 demonstrators gathered on the main commercial throughway in São Paulo to protest State Governor João Doria's push for mandatory vaccinations using a vaccine developed by China's Sinovac.

The governor has previously backed making immunizations mandatory once vaccines are available to all. The chief justice of Brazil's Supreme Court has said the court will ultimately decide on the issue, though, as Reuters pointed out, a number of vaccines are already obligatory in Brazil, including Hepatitis B, which is given to every newborn.

Tens of thousands of residents in the city have already received the Sinovac vaccine as the company continues with Stage 3 trials in the area. The program seemed to have infuriated the protesters, as they waved signs claiming "we're not guinea pigs!" Reuters reported that the "tightly packed" protesters,

“We’re against the authoritarian Chinese ambassador João Doria, who would now make the vaccine compulsory against our wishes,” protestor Andre Petros said.

"This doesn’t happen anywhere in the world, not even in China."

Brazil has the third-largest outbreak in the world, with 5.5 million confirmed cases.

Brazil’s federal health ministry announced last month it would buy 46 million doses of the vaccine, contingent on regulatory approval, in a deal supported by state governors. But a day later right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro said that Brazil would not buy the vaccine.

The Brazilian federal health ministry announced last month it would buy 46 million doses of the vaccine, contingent on regulatory approval, in a deal supported by state governors, but one day later, Bolsonaro stepped up to trash the deal.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/78414/were-not-guinea-pigs–brazilians-protest-s%C3%A3o-paulo-governors-mandatory-vaccination.html

Why Is Europe Courting Revolution?

All eyes remain on the U.S. election, and on fathoming its consequences. But in the shadow of ‘The Election’, there are other ‘moving parts’: Germany just offered Washington ‘a sweetheart deal’ in which, Europe – with Germany leading – accepts to leverage America’s full-spectrum strategy of isolating and weakening Russia and China. And in return it is asking the U.S. to acquiesce to German leadership of a ‘power-political’, European entity that is raised to parity with the U.S. That, bluntly, is to say, Germany is angling for ‘superpower’ status, atop an EU ‘empire’ for the new era. Putin recognised such a possibility (Germany aspiring to be a superpower) during his recent speech to Valdai.

But the other ‘moving parts’ to this bid are very much in motion, too: Firstly, Germany’s ploy is contingent on their hopes for a Biden win, which may, or may not, occur. And then, too, President Macron seeks for himself, and for France, the leadership of Europe – with this latter – to an extent – being contingent on a ‘no deal’ Brexit taking place at the end of the year, that would further weaken a dis-animated and fading Merkel. France rather, plots the ‘Great Reset’ of Europe: A regulatory and values enforced ‘space’, underpinned by a common fiscal and debt regime that would rebuild France’s economic infrastructure.

All this raises many questions: Should Trump win, he can be expected to puncture any German (or French) aspiration to drain away some of America’s power, however nicely the German FM wraps it, as the U.S. not so much losing power, but as gaining “a strong partner on equal terms”. Huh!

The idea that Europe can leverage this partnership through sweet-talking Germany’s commitment “to the West as a system of values”, which is “at risk in its entirety”, and which, only Germany and the U.S. together can keep strong – does seem a bit of a daydream. Even when sugar-wrapped with “defending against the unmistakable Russian thirst for power, and Chinese ambitions for global supremacy”. Firstly, there is still Trump, and secondly —

China and Russia clearly see the game. Yet European leaders seem to expect that the former will continue as if nothing is awry. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer seems to think so (she is both Defence Minister, and Chair of the CDU, Merkel’s own party). In terms of containing “China’s aggressively controlled state capitalism”, she suggests creating a European trade sphere that is open only to those who want to strengthen and support the liberal, rules-based order – and to which other states must ‘submit’ (Macron’s words). These are the bones to how Brussels proposes to achieve ‘strategic autonomy’ (Charles Michel’s term).

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/02/why-is-europe-courting-revolution/

Nasdaq Tumbles Into Red, Erases Overnight Gains, Bonds Bid

A lack of comprehension at the overnight panic-bid has been complemented by a lack of comprehension for the down-draft in Nasdaq since the US equity market opened.

Small Caps were outperforming out of the gate relative to mega-cap tech but the entire market is rolling over now…

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nasdaq-tumbles-red-erases-overnight-gains-bonds-bid

Belarus Protests Continue, As Lukashenko Realizes Importance Of Propaganda Campaign

The Belarus state will always be committed to interfaith peace in Belarus, it will not give it up to anyone, President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky Benjamin, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.

“We will not give the interfaith world that we have developed to anyone. We will always be committed to it,” Lukashenko said. He was quoted by the state agency BelTA.

He added that Belarus greatly appreciates the confessional world that has been formed in a quarter of a century.

“Maybe it sounds immodest, but I am proud of it that it happened in the years when I had to serve our country. I really appreciate it, it is deeply personal,” Lukashenko admitted.

According to BelTA, 25 religious denominations are registered in Belarus.

As of the beginning of the year, there are 3,563 religious organizations operating in the country, including 3,389 communities and 174 organizations of general confessional significance (religious associations, monasteries, missions, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and theological educational institutions).

The President also touched upon the topic of the pandemic. He noted that the consequences of the spread of coronavirus infection have seriously affected the economy of both the state and the church.

“The parishes have become a little poorer, because fewer people come, although we have never closed churches and will not close them, because any trouble – go and pray that the Lord will help. What does it mean to close churches in trouble? Yes, we did not close churches during the war. Therefore, we will never do this. This is the business of every person: he wants to pray, let him go and pray – alone, together, with his family. In this regard, we are ready to enter the situation, we need to work out this issue in the government – if the church needs to be supported in these difficult times must be supported,” summed up Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko appears to have noticed what transpired in Ukraine and is approaching the church in order to preserve the status quo, he also evidently knows the importance of an effective propaganda campaign.

Protests continued in Belarus on November 1st.

They faced “repression” according to media reports.

It was the 13th Sunday in a row that anti-government protesters gathered since Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won a “contested election.”

The opposition has rejected the outcome as fraudulent and considers its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to be the actual winner of the vote.

Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva reported that tens of thousands of people swept through the capital, Minsk, in the most recent protest, while Human rights group Visana put the figure at 20,000.

Photo and video footage shared on the messaging app Telegram showed streets lined with uniformed people in riot gear facing protesters.

Visana said more than 240 detentions took place, including of journalists on the scene.

Ahead of the march, security forces had already cordoned off several central squares, closed several metro stations and in some cases, mobile internet disruption was reported.

https://southfront.org/belarus-protests-continue-as-lukashenko-realizes-importance-of-propaganda-campaign/

Russia’s ‘Sausage King’ killed with crossbow while in sauna with woman

A Russian oligarch nicknamed the “Sausage King” was killed by a crossbow Monday when two masked men attacked the meat magnate and a woman in a sauna at his countryside estate outside Moscow, according to reports.

Vladimir Marugov was found dead in the sauna after his partner fled through a window in the outdoor hut and notified police about the attack some 25 miles west of the capital, the Moscow Times reported.

The assailants tied up Marugov and the woman and demanded money before killing him with the crossbow, according to Reuters.

They left behind the murder weapon before taking off in a car, which was later found in the nearby village of Istra, where affluent Russians have country homes known as dachas.

Russia’s Investigative Committee — the country’s equivalent of the FBI — did not name the victim, but he was identified by local media as Marugov, the owner of the Ozyorsky and Meat Empire sausage factories, the BBC reported.

Since last year, he had been involved in a highly publicized property rights dispute with his ex-wife, poet Tatyana Marugova, almost five years after their divorce, according to the Moscow Times.

It was not yet clear who was behind the attack and an investigation has been launched.

https://nypost.com/2020/11/02/russias-sausage-king-killed-with-crossbow-while-in-sauna-with-woman/

Man leaps to his death from Manhattan skyscraper

A man jumped to his death from a Manhattan skyscraper Monday morning, officials said.

The man, whose name or age was not immediately known, was found on a 10th-floor balcony at 390 Madison Ave., a 32-floor building in Midtown, according to the FNDY and NYPD.

EMS pronounced the man dead just before 10:25 a.m., officials said.

https://nypost.com/2020/11/02/man-leaps-to-his-death-from-manhattan-skyscraper/

Freedom of Speech on the Internet is all but Extinct: Facebook’s New “Free Speech Court” Is Anything but Independent

Freedom of speech on the Internet is all but extinct

Days away from the most polarized electoral contest in American history, social media companies like Facebook have vowed to censor any voices which they and their partners in the federal government consider inconvenient. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is ready to implement election information strategies that have been in the works for years.

Company spokesman Andy Stone told the WSJ that the social media giant will be applying the “lessons” learned from previous elections in accordance with the designs of “hired experts” and vague references to “new teams,” who are leveraging their “experience across different areas to prepare for various scenarios.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s de facto monopoly over online peer-to-peer communication tools has given Facebook an inordinate amount of influence over the political narratives at both national and regional levels, which it has shown a willingness exercise with topics like the Philippines and Palestine.

Last week, the company took a major step in solidifying its grip over the content purveyed on its platform with the official launch of the Facebook Oversight board. A body that is to function like a ‘Supreme Court’ for chat rooms, if you will, with the power to review any decisions regarding post removals or deplatforming and to make policy recommendations. Members have been drawn from “law experts… rights advocates” and journalists from around the world. The oversight board currently boasts 20 members.

Four members – two of which have extensive experience in the U.S. judicial system – serve as the board’s co-chairs and were handpicked by Facebook, according to The Guardian. Other board members include former Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is also a co-chair and is perhaps only remembered outside of Denmark for her selfie faux pas at Mandela’s funeral in 2013 when she was photographed taking a group photo with Barack Obama and David Cameron during the commemoration.

Judges of little character

Thorning-Schmidt’s insensitive moment at the laying-in-state of one of the most significant figures of the 20th century may be less damning to her presence on a social media oversight board than the tax-evasion scandal involving her husband – a British MP –, which ended up costing her re-election. When confronted over the accusations, she retorted that if her intention had really been to evade taxes, she would have done so “much more elegantly.” Despite these questionable instances and her reputation as an “extravagant” woman with expensive tastes, Thorning-Schmidt remains among the least objectionable figures on the oversight board.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/wealthy-socialite-israeli-government-censor-facebook-new-free-speech-court/5728235

Netanyahu Urged to Block Appointment of Racist Likud Activist to Top Zionist Post

Jewish leaders say appointment of Jacques Kupfer at World Zionist Organization is 'unacceptable,' request a criminal investigation against him

Leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block the appointment of a Likud activist, notorious for his racist views, to a high-ranking position in the World Zionist Organization.

They also requested that Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit launch a criminal investigation against the activist, World Likud movement co-chairman Jacques Kupfer, for incitement to racism and violence.

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-netanyahu-urged-to-block-appointment-of-racist-likud-activist-to-top-zionist-post-1.9282697

Mark Zuckerberg: ‘There Is a Risk of Civil Unrest Across the Country’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on a recent conference call with analysts that he believes there could be “civil unrest” across the country following the presidential election.

ZDNet reports that during a conference call with analysts, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the social media giant plants to post notices at the top of users’ news feeds on November 3 discrediting claims by either U.S. presidential candidate that they have won the election if the site deems the announcement premature.

Zuckerberg stated: “If any candidate or campaign tries to declare victory before the final results are called, we will put a notification to the top of People’s Facebook and Instagram feed letting them know the results aren’t final yet and we’ll put an informational label on the candidate’s post.”

Zuckerberg added that Facebook was taking the initiative as “There is a risk of civil unrest across the country, and given this, companies like ours need to go well beyond what we’ve done before.”

Discussing Facebook’s various efforts around the election, Zuckerberg stated that the site “helped 4.4 million people register [to vote] exceeding the goal that we set for ourselves this summer.”

Facebook has also paused all new political ads on its site for this week, Zuckerberg commented on this stating: “We’re doing this because while I generally believe that the best antidote to bad speech is more speech, in the final days of an election, there may simply not be enough time to contest new claims.”

Breitbart News recently reported that Facebook revealed in a blog post that a number of political ads were “improperly” restricted due to a technical error as the company attempted to prevent new political ads from being posted ahead of the November 3 election. Facebook stated that “technical flaws” caused a number of ads to be “paused improperly.”

Facebook stated that it has “implemented changes to fix these issues” and most of the advertisements were now running without any issues. Facebook stopped accepting new ads related to political issues on Tuesday and stated that it would allow pre-existing ads to run during that period but would block any adjustments to the ads’ content or design.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/11/02/mark-zuckerberg-there-is-a-risk-of-civil-unrest-across-the-country/

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