Merkel Tells Europe to Prepare For Brexit Deal Not Materialising

Progress of Brexit talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union is “to put it cautiously, very limited”, Germany’s Angela Merkel told her national Parliament today.

Germany took over the rotating presidency of the European Council on Wednesday, and German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel was asked for an update during a Parliamentary questions and answers session, during which she revealed her advice that European nations should step up preparations for no deal. The United Kingdom left the European Union at the end of January but continues to be subjected to the bloc’s rules and regulations until the end of 2020 unless an extension is agreed — a further betrayal of the Brexit project.

Per wires service Reuters, Dr Merkel told Parliamentarians that while talks were ongoing, their failing remains a possibility. She said: “Progress in talks is, to put it cautiously, very limited… We have agreed with Britain to speed up the talks in order to seal a deal in the autumn that must be ratified by the end of the year,” she said. But Germany and the EU “must be prepared … for the possibility that a deal doesn’t materialise.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan Calls for ANOTHER Extension to Brexit https://t.co/Zu7bgU67nS

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 1, 2020

The comments come after claims that Germany was warning European states to prepare for no-deal Brexit in mid-June, with a briefing document stating the positions of London and Brussels are too far apart to reconcile in the time available.

The European Union had continued on its original position of wishing to keep the United Kingdom as close to Brussels as possible, with the fewest possible changes — if Brexit couldn’t be avoided altogether. That approach has collided badly with the British position that if certain tests are not met, then Brexit cannot truly be said to have been done.

Among the areas of contention are fishing rules — Brussels wants to continue to control Britain’s territorial waters, which greatly benefits EU fishermen at the expense of Britons, Brexiteers claim — and trade rules.

June 30th — yesterday — had previously been frequently cited as the final day on which an outline Brexit deal could have been agreed on as it was the deadline for extending talks beyond the end of 2020. Given the date passed with hardly any comment from either side, and went unremarked in the press, it appears to be the case that comments by the UK Government earlier in the month that they would not be taking an extension were in earnest.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/01/merkel-tells-europe-to-prepare-for-brexit-deal-not-materialising/

House Speaker Pelosi Calls For 'Immediate' Sanctions on Russia Over 'Taliban Bounties' Reports

Earlier, the Democratic Senator Bob Menendez formally requested to impose sanctions on Russian top officials, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, over the unconfirmed allegations that Russia offered reward money to Taliban-linked militants to assassinate US soldiers.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an MSNBC interview that the United States must impose sanctions against Russia "immediately" over the claims that Moscow offered "bounties" to Taliban-linked militants so that they kill US troops.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202007011079770753-house-speaker-pelosi-calls-for-immediate-sanctions-on-russia-over-taliban-bounties-reports/

==

USMCA, a major Trump policy win, quietly begins July 1 as virus, economy, unrest dominate headlines==

The White House has long touted the deal as a superior replacement for NAFTA

The Trump administration's USMCA deal goes into effect Wednesday – marking a quiet start for a major policy victory for the president that in recents months has been overshadowed by the recent social-justice protests and the months-long coronavirus pandemic that has slowed the U.S. economy.

The trade deal, officially titled the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is President Trump's response to the decades' old deal among the three countries that he campaigned in 2016 on replacing.

The deal is a result of more than two years of negotiation between the respective leaders of the countries. The new deal will affect more than $1 trillion a year in trade between among them.

Canada and Mexico are the two countries that receive the most U.S. exports annually. The United States imports more from its two continental neighbors than anywhere aside from China.

Trump complained during his 2016 campaign that the U.S. was getting financially clobbered under the Clinton-era agreement.

He called NAFTA during the campaign "the worst trade deal" in the history of the country.

Specifics of the deal, which the administration boasts will create hundreds of thousands of new American jobs, include rules that increase the difficulty of moving cars and car parts across national borders duty-free. The new deal stipulates that 75% of a vehicle's component parts need to be produced in North America to avoid tariffs, and 40% need to be manufactured by workers earning at least $16 an hour.

"When I ran for president, I made a solemn promise to the American people that I would end the job-killing failure called the North American Free Trade Agreement and replace it with a better deal for our workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses," Trump said Wednesday in an official White House statement. "Today, with NAFTA ending forever and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement entering into full force, our grateful Nation pays tribute to America’s workers and celebrates their ability to overcome decades of bad deals and failed policies."

The USMCA also accounts for areas of trade that were not nearly as well developed in 1994, when NAFTA went into effect. The USMCA bans the creation of "data-localization requirements," which would limit the amount of traffic that can move from a data center in one country to servers in other nations. The deal additionally nixes tariffs being placed on data transfers.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/trump-administrations-usmca-goes-effect-today

America's First All-PPE Retail Store Opens In Maryland

Like many small businesses, Chris McCormick's advertising firm imploded during the pandemic-induced economic crash. He had to act quickly, and reinvent his business model during lockdowns as he furloughed all his employees.

McCormick began making personal protective equipment (PPE) in March. Before he knew it, orders for PPE, including shields and face coverings, were red hot as confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths exploded across the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.

Three months later, his newly reinvented company has more than 100 employees and just recently opened up a retail brick and mortar store inside Columbia Mall, called Shield Pals.

Shield Pals, according to WBFF Fox45, is America's first all-PPE retail store.

We’re thrilled to announce our first #PPE retail location opening at The Mall In Columbia in Columbia, Maryland! https://t.co/9Ah3aSb9HW

— Shield Pals (@ShieldPals) June 13, 2020

He came up with the idea after watching his young son sleep during the virus crisis:

"I was thinking how terrifying it would be to have to take him to the hospital, then quickly reversing that in looking at it from his perspective. How terrifying it would be to see people during an already anxious experience, and you can't see the faces of doctors and nurses treating you," said McCormick.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/americas-first-all-ppe-retail-store-opens-maryland

The Guardian Promotes Petition to Remove Racist Image of St. Michael Stomping Out the Devil Because It’s Racist

Please stop.

The Guardian is promoting a petition to remove the the design of St. Michael stomping out the devil on the order of St. Michael and St. George medal.

It’s racist.

Blacks may be offended because the image of the devel is a dragon with a dark human face.

The Liberal.ie reported:

The UK’s Guardian newspaper is promoting a petition to change the design of an insignia on a British honour which depicts the victory of the Archangel St. Michael over Satan as it is reminiscent of the death of convicted criminal George Floyd.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/guardian-promotes-petition-remove-racist-image-st-michael-stomping-devil-racist/

The New Normal: Extremes of Neofeudalism, Incompetence, Authoritarianism and Relocalization

The pendulum swung to an extreme of globalization, financialization, centralization and monopoly, all of which created extreme systemic fragility.

Here's what to expect in the rapidly evolving New Normal: extremes become even more extreme as the status quo attempts to force compliance with its last-ditch schemes to preserve what was always unsustainable while painting a happy face on the stock market, the one thing they can push higher as the global economy unravels.

Mark, Jesse and I discuss this dynamic in Salon #10: Remember when Maximum Pessimism and Irrational Exuberance were mutually exclusive? (54 minutes): realistic pessimism is lashed to the mast with the irrational exuberance of stock market soothsayers, central bank cheerleaders and the organs of propaganda (Wall Street) and control of the narratives (social media and search monopolies).

Cognitive dissonance? Yes. Schizophrenia? Sure. Crazy-making? Undoubtedly. So the default "solution" is petty Authoritarianism to ensure we only see approved narratives, that we focus on the happy-happy signal of the glorious stock market (best rally ever!), that we pay higher taxes without complaint, and so on.

And of course, buy, buy, buy and borrow, borrow, borrow, lest the flimsy house of cards collapse.

As I explain in my book Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform, the only possible output of central bank monetary stimulus is financialization, and the only possible output of financialization is unprecedented wealth and income inequality.

As Max Keiser, Stacy Herbert and I discuss in Fractals of Incompetence (15:30), the problem with pushing extremes is the system is incompetent at every level, from school boards to the Federal Reserve. Rather than solve problems, our institutions have devolved into mechanisms to protect clerisy / insiders from transparency and accountability.

In the New Normal, systemic incompetence isn't going to magically transform into competence, it's going to reach new extremes of incompetence and self-serving hubris.

My term for servitude via debt and taxes is neofeudalism, and neofeudalism is the default setting of the New Normal as the super-wealthy can buy even more of the nation's assets thanks to the Federal Reserve's free money for financiers, leaving the peasantry the owners of debt rather than assets.

The only way to escape neofeudal servitude is to figure out some way to live on a fraction of what the conventional lifestyle requires, i.e. radical frugality. Radical frugality will also be a permanent part of the New Normal, either voluntary or imposed by circumstances.

The silver lining in all this is the potential to relocalize essential elements of our economy, a subject Richard and I discuss in The New Normal (37 minutes). The pendulum swung to an extreme of globalization, financialization, centralization and monopoly, all of which created extreme systemic fragility.

In the New Normal, the pendulum will finally start moving away from globalization, financialization, centralization and monopoly to decentralized, relocalized economic activity, which is the core dynamic in doing more with less and regaining agency.

The New Normal has yet to fully impact the global financial system, which is still in the eye of the hurricane, magnificently confident that the Federal Reserve's money-printing is the most powerful force in the Universe. The stock market's hubris is begging the gods for retribution, and we may not have to wait too long for the karmic hammer to crush the hubris and the irrational exuberance, as Adam, Mike, John and I discuss in Three major risks the markets are not pricing in yet (39 minutes).

The winds are picking up, and the flimsy shacks of the Fed and Wall Street are no match for the real world.

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-new-normal-extremes-of-neofeudalism.html

'The Rabbi Has No Body': Tape Reveals How Ally of Convicted Sex Offender Tried to Whitewash His Acts

According to a recording obtained by Haaretz, Rabbi Moshe Dror Tzanani said that if Rabbi Eliezer Berland ever touched a female follower, it was justified because it was not sexual

Moshe Dror Tzanani, a senior rabbi in Rabbi Eliezer Berland’s Shuvu Banim Hasidic community, has been recorded trying to explain away the accusations of sexual assault for which Berland was imprisoned.

The recording, obtained by Haaretz, was made in the summer of 2016 – just a few months before Berland was convicted in a plea deal of assault and indecent acts against women. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, of which he served 10.

Berland is once again under arrest; the police suspect him of fraud, tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and exploiting his followers. Shuvu Banim is an extremist sect of the Bratslav Hasidim and Tzanani is considered Berland’s most likely successor.

The recording concerns an incident that was not included in the evidence used to convict Berland. In the defense brief submitted in a civil lawsuit filed against him by the person who exposed the Berland affair, Tzanani said he never justified Berland’s actions.

Two people are heard in the conversation: Tzanani and a man whose name has not yet been released. In the recording, the second man can be heard saying that a relative of his – now in her 20s – was sexually harassed when she met with Berland.

“A few years ago, she met with the rabbi; it was in Betar. She went into [the room with him] and the rabbi touched her,” the man said. “He put his hands under her blouse and groped. He gave her a kiss on the mouth and told her that, with this, he was correcting the sin of slander. She said she felt that this wasn’t anything impure, but it confused her a lot.”

The young woman’s relative told Tzanani that she did not attribute great importance to the incident at the time, but Berland's arrest caused her feelings to resurface.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-tape-reveals-how-ally-of-rabbi-convicted-of-sexual-assault-tried-to-justify-his-acts-1.8959593

Now Even The COMMON COLD Is Being Counted As A Positive COVID-19 Result, CDC Says

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is essentially setting policy across the country, endlessly putting out a stream of so-called facts (that they then revise or rescind).

Their latest update on COVID-19, posted on Tuesday, is a real doozy. Here’s what the CDC said in a section headlined: What do your results mean?

“A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold.”

That’s right, because COVID-19 is a coronavirus (like the common cold), your positive test means you have COVID-19 (or the common cold).

Coronaviruses (CoV) — called that because they have spikes around a central ball that looks like the sun — are part of a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from a cold to more severe diseases, including COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2), and others such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

SARS -CoV-2 is also known as a novel coronavirus (nCoV) because it is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

Many of the symptoms from coronaviruses are similar: upper respiratory infection, fever, coughing, sneezing. While MERS and SARS can be serious — and SARS-CoV-2 as well, at least for the elderly and others with co-morbidities — most are treatable and nearly all people afflicted recover.

So why would the CDC equate COVID-19 with the common cold?

J.B. Neiman, a managing partner and general counsel of a Texas-based health care company that owns 13 free-standing clinics, has an idea. He told former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who has been on the forefront of covering the facts behind COVID-19, that the bottom line is money.

Neiman told Berenson he has “heard several stories of how discharge planners are being pressured to put Covid as primary diagnosis — as that pays significantly better. Hospitals want to avoid the discussion but if they don’t they risk another shutdown. This may be an explanation for why there is a gap in hospital executives saying they have plenty of capacity and the increasing number of Covid hospitalizations. You open up your hospitals for normal medical care and you test everyone of those patients — the result is higher percentage of patients who have Covid — now.”

The mainstream media is breathlessly reporting a spike in new infections (even though we’re all wearing masks, so how’d that happen?).

But virtually no one is reporting that deaths from the virus are way down.

On June 27, there were 623 deaths attributed to COVID-19, according to OurWorldInData.com. Two days later, the death toll in the U.S. was 265.

By comparison, 4,928 people died in the U.S. on the peak day, April 16. Deaths have been declining steadily, at least until June 26, when the toll reached 2,437 (the website notes that “some states added probable deaths” on that date). The deaths rose again to 1,270 on Tuesday, but at least one COVID watchdog said there was again a reason for that rise.

“That ‘spike’ yesterday includes more than 600 backdated NYC cases, most from three weeks or more ago. In reality deaths dropped again week over week (about 25%),” Berenson wrote on Twitter.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/now-even-common-cold-counted-positive-covid-19-result-cdc-says/

U.S. Seeks to Recover Approximately $96 Million Traceable to Funds Allegedly Misappropriated from Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-seeks-recover-approximately-96-million-traceable-funds-allegedly-misappropriated-malaysian

Massachusetts man charged with child pornography offenses

BOSTON – A suburban Boston man was arrested Wednesday and charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, and the Bourne, Massachusetts, Police Department.

Bryan C. Mileikis, 33, of Bourne, Massachusetts, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Mileikis made an initial appearance via videoconference in federal court July 1.

According to the charging documents, on June 11, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mileikis’ home and seized an iPhone belonging to Mileikis. A forensic examination of the phone revealed images and videos depicting child pornography.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, acting special agent in charge of HSI Boston; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Division; and Bourne Chief of Police Dennis Woodside made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2019, more than 3,500 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/massachusetts-man-charged-child-pornography-offenses#wcm-survey-target-id

Criminal Complaint Reveals Disturbing Abuse By Youth Basketball Coach

MINNEAPOLIS — A former youth basketball coach from Brooklyn Center has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Aaron Hjermstad, 41, was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually abusing a child he coached. He was arrested last week after a warrant was issued June 25. Hjermstad was also charged in a separate case, June 10, with second-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually abusing another youth athlete he coached.

Bail has been set at $500,000.

According to the criminal complaint, on June 10, 2020, Brooklyn Center police received a report of sexual child abuse committed by Hjermstad. The 14-year-old boy informed his mother that three years earlier, Hjermstad assaulted him while he was staying at Hjermstad’s house in Brooklyn Center.

The victim was interviewed at CornerHouse where he said that Hjermstad was his basketball coach while he was in fifth and sixth grade, during which time the victim stayed at his house “four to five times.” The victim continued, stating that the last time he was at Hjermstad’s home, he awoke to Hjermstad sexually abusing him, the complaint says. The incidences occurred from Aug. 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018 when the victim was between 10 and 12-years-old.

In the case Hjermstad was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and soliciting a child, the criminal complaint states that on March 5, 2020, Brooklyn Center Police received a report from a 12-year-old boy that he had been propositioned by his coach, Hjermstad while he was staying over his house Feb. 28, 2020.

The victim was interviewed by CornerHouse, where he described an incident in which Hjermstad sexually abused him, and also, inappropriately interacted with him between Oct. 1, 2019 – Nov. 6, 2019. The victim stated that these interactions happened while the victim was staying over the coach’s home, and also mentioned that his brother was sleeping in another room when Hjermstad sexually abused him, the complaint says.

WARNING: Details in complaint as graphic in nature

Aaron Hjermstad Criminal Complaint, June 29 (PDF)

https://www.hennepinattorney.org/-/media/Attorney/NEWS/2020/Aaron-Hjermstad-Criminal-Complaint.ashx

Aaron Hjermstad Criminal Complaint, June 10 (PDF)

https://www.hennepinattorney.org/-/media/Attorney/NEWS/2020/March-5-2020-Hjermstad-Criminal-Complaint.ashx

https://breaking911.com/criminal-complaint-reveals-disturbing-abuse-by-youth-basketball-coach/

Antifa Rioters Threaten a 'Rude Awakening' for the 'Pigs' Who Finally Broke Up CHOP Antifastan

On Wednesday morning, Seattle police finally removed the anarchist and antifa rebels/protesters from the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) Occupied Protest (CHOP), which Todd Herman cleverly dubbed “antifastan.” Yet as the police went about restoring order to the six-block area unlawfully seized in the wake of the George Floyd protests, the police department reported a rather unnerving sight. It appears armed militants were patrolling the area in cars stripped of license plates.

“Officers are investigating several vehicles circling the area of today’s operation. Police have observed individuals in the vehicles with firearms/armor. The vehicles also appear to be operating without visible license plates,” the Seattle Police Department tweeted.

Andy Ngo, a victim of antifa violence and editor-at-large at The Post Millennial, condemned these “terrorist tactics.”

All the same, the restoration of law and order in Seattle’s Capitol Hill district is worth celebrating. In fact, Ngo had to suspend his disbelief to report the final return of police on Wednesday. Last Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) announced that she would break up CHOP after two shootings the previous weekend, one of which tragically claimed the life of a 19-year-old black man. Yet she only sent city workers, not police, in to break up the lawless occupation, and her efforts failed. After another black man, this time a 16-year-old boy, tragically lost his life in a shooting this Monday, it appears she finally did what was necessary to get the job done.

“Breaking: The Seattle Police are retaking the Capitol Hill neighborhood that was taken captive by BLM and antifa militants for more than three weeks,” Ngo tweeted. He emphasized, “This is no joke,” sharing a picture of police on bicycles rolling into the area. The journalist added that “CHAZ was retaken by police in a matter of minutes.”

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2020/07/01/armed-militants-patrol-as-seattle-police-break-up-chop-antifastan-n596009

What To Know About Pfizer's Coronavirus Vaccine – Clinical Trial Shows Significant Immune System Response

The vaccine is known as BNT162b1 and is being developed in conjunction with BioNTech SE

The results are based on the first 45 people enrolled in the clinical trial since late April

The company said those who received the vaccine produced more antibodies than someone who had recovered from a coronavirus infection

Preliminary results from a clinical trial of the BNT162b1 messenger RNA vaccine indicate the vaccine triggers a significant immune response in recipients, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) announced Wednesday.

The vaccine is among 150 currently under evaluation worldwide. Though there is no guarantee a safe and effective vaccine ever will be developed, several candidates have been labeled promising.

“We are encouraged by the clinical data of BNT162b1, one of four mRNA constructs we are evaluating clinically, and for which we have positive, preliminary, topline findings,” Pfizer Senior Vice President and head of Vaccine Research and Development Kathrin U. Jansen said in a press release.

The phase 1/2 U.S. clinical trial began enrolling 7,600 participants at the end of April. The first batch of 45 subjects were broken into three groups: 24 individuals who received the vaccine in two doses, 21 days apart; 12 subjects who received a single, higher dose of the vaccine, and a third group that was given a placebo.

Those who received the vaccine, whether one dose or two, had more antibodies in their blood after 21 days than people who had recovered from coronavirus infections, the companies said.

Adverse reactions included a low-grade fever, primarily after the second dose, and pain at the injection site.

A global phase 2b/3 safety and efficacy trial was expected to begin later this month and involve as many as 30,000 healthy participants.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they expect to have 100 million doses on hand by the end of 2020, and more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021 to distribute worldwide.

Moderna’s mRNA-1273 also has shown promising preliminary results, and Johnson & Johnson has accelerated its trials of Ad26.COV2-S, which involves recombinant RNA. Novavax ( NVAX ) has said NVX-CoV2373 showed promise in preclinical trials.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told a Senate panel Tuesday his agency will not be pressured to approve an ineffective or dangerous vaccine. He said any vaccine will need to meet certain standards and will need to prevent the disease or lessen the severity in at least half of those who receive it.

Pfizer traded 3.21% higher Tuesday at $33.75 while BioNTech closed 3.9% lower at $64.14.

https://www.ibtimes.com/what-know-about-pfizers-coronavirus-vaccine-clinical-trial-shows-significant-immune-3004020

NYT Targets Mount Rushmore: Indigenous Land, KKK Ties, Slave Owner Presidents

The New York Times has set its sights on Mount Rushmore as protesters demand the removal of historic monuments in the name of racial justice, citing its location on “Indigenous land,” the sculptor’s purported ties to white supremacy, and two of its subjects’ slave ownership.

“Mount Rushmore was built on land that belonged to the Lakota tribe and sculpted by a man who had strong bonds with the Ku Klux Klan. It features the faces of 2 U.S. presidents who were slaveholders,” the New York Times wrote, linking to a news article detailing complaints against American landmark:

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/07/01/nyt-targets-mount-rushmore-built-on-indigenous-land-features-slave-holding-presidents/

>>9816933

breathing CO2 depletes your oxygen levels and makes you susceptible to secondary infection

Good idea dumbass