Biden Administration Claims Cuban Anti-Communist Protests Are About ‘Rising COVID Cases/Deaths’

President Joe Biden’s administration responded to protests in Cuba against the Communist regime on Sunday by issuing a statement through a minor official commending protests “about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages.”

On Sunday, protests broke out in Havana and several other Cuban cities, during which people chanted “Freedom!” and “Down with the dictatorship!” while marching against Communist Party institutions. The New York Times noted that while the demonstrations were triggered by “food and medicine shortages,” they also “openly protested against the Communist government” for the first time in nearly 30 years. Some activists called it the largest spontaneous popular protest since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, with protesters openly denouncing the regime of Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Julie Chung, Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said via Twitter that Cubans were exercising “their right to peaceful assembly” to protest COVID and “medicine shortages.”

The administration’s statement ignored democracy and freedom altogether.

Cubans do not have the “right to peaceful assembly”; like many rights in the Cuban Constitution, it exists only in theory.

The Biden administration’s attempt to spin the protests as a demonstration about COVID-19 mirrors the rhetoric of the 2020 presidential election, during which Democrats charged that the Trump administration had failed on the pandemic.

It could also be an effort to defend the Obama administration’s “normalization” policy toward Cuba, in which then-Vice President Biden participated, which restored full diplomatic relations with the regime but failed to demand democratic reforms or progress on human rights.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/07/11/biden-administration-claims-cuban-anti-communist-protests-are-about-rising-covid-cases-deaths/

Lieberman Urges Bill Clinton to Unite Dems on Israel, Tell Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ Members to ‘Cut It Out’

Sunday on New York WABC 770 AM radio’s “The Cats Roundtable,” former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the 2000 Democratic Party vice presidential nominee, called on former President Bill Clinton to play the part of uniter with the party when it comes to Israel.

Lieberman noted that members of the so-called “Squad” within the Democratic Party are anti-Israel, which he said differs from the “reflexively pro-Israel” Democratic Party of the past.

“I witnessed in my lifetime a real flip in American political party reflexes toward Israel,” Lieberman advised. “When I was a kid growing up, in my household, there was a tremendous devotion to President Truman because he recognized the state of Israel 11 minutes after it declared its independence. … The Democratic Party, for a lot of generations, was the reflexively pro-Israel party. The Republicans were not anti-Israel. … Now that has changed. And the Republican Party … is pro-Israel. The Democrats are mostly that way, but now there is a whole new group coming up. Part of it is the so-called Squad.”

He continued, “Suddenly, [Democrats view] Israel as the wrong party in the Middle East. And people try to punish Israel. … It’s the time for the majority in the Democratic Party — who I’m confident are still pro-Israel — to stand up and say to the loud minority who are anti-Israel, ‘Cut it out! It’s wrong for our party. It’s wrong for our country. And it’s wrong for the world. Israel is our ally. We could trust him to always be with us. We should be with them.'”

Host John Catsimatidis asked if Clinton could bring the party together on Israel.

“I think he can,” Lieberman replied. “That would be a great thing because President Clinton has such a broad base of support in the party… The Clintons are still like a first family of the Democratic Party.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/07/11/lieberman-urges-bill-clinton-to-unite-dems-on-israel-tell-anti-israel-squad-members-to-cut-it-out/

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Power returns after major outage in eastern Sydney

Power has returned after more than 43,000 households and businesses lost service across eastern Sydney today.

The power loss started this morning and affected residents in Coogee, Randwick, Maroubra, Botany, Banksmeadow, Eastgardens and their surrounding suburbs.

It comes as the city copes with lockdown and stay at home orders, forcing thousands of people to work from home.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-power-outage-ausgrid-website-crashes/82674013-2a60-438a-a589-7bf89a0acc67