RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
October 25 to October 31, 2020 "A mystery wrapped in an enigma wearing a black mask." That's one way to describe antifa, the elusive force fomenting anarchic chaos in urban unrest nationwide this year -- from Portland to, most recently, Philadelphia. But that black mask slips as Mark Hemingway of RealClearInvestigations delves into the historical roots of this movement -- one President Trump calls an organized terror group and Joe Biden dismisses as an "idea." Hemingway reports: - Antifa's racial and ethnic makeup is uncertain, but significant numbers are white. Arrest records suggest many are itinerant or marginally employed.
- Unlike leftists, its adherents are not seeking power to build a utopia. They are skeptical of state power, hence their clashes with cops and anyone else they see as enemies.
- At protests, armed antifa stalwarts coordinate their actions on the ground to evade cops and do maximum damage.
- Portland journalist: "They communicate in large Signal chat rooms, an encrypted peer-to-peer app. They also use hand signals, they have walkie-talkie devices, and scouts who watch where the police are and provide real time updates."
- Antifa connect their movement to obscure 20th century left-wing groups that opposed Hitler, Mussolini and General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
- Today protesters invoke the leftist slogan of that war, "No pasarán" ("They shall not pass").
- A particular hero is the abolitionist John Brown.
- Antifa's modern incarnation, centered in the Pacific Northwest, features loosely organized radicals, including ex-Weather Underground members and anti-racist skateboard punks.
- Seminal force: a group of punk rockers called the Minnesota Baldies, who in 1987 formed the Anti-Racist Action Network to clash with racists on the punk scene.
- Today the Torch Antifa Network, with "autonomous organizing bodies," is the closest thing to an antifa organization.
In a RealClearInvestigations exclusive, Paul Sperry reports that at least one Senate committee is investigating whether Joe Biden's son Hunter violated federal laws by failing to register as a foreign agent while promoting the interests of foreign business partners in Washington, including brokering meetings with his father and other government officials. Highlights: - Some of Hunter's foreign business was transacted during the Obama-Biden administration. It opened investigations into at least six Trump campaign advisers for alleged violations of the rarely enforced Foreign Agents Registration Act -- but not into Hunter.
- That's "a double standard, 100%," said a former assistant FBI director.
- Newly discovered April 2015 emails show Hunter Biden appearing to help an executive at the Ukrainian energy firm that had placed him on its board, Burisma, to meet with and lobby his father, who was then vice president.
- Chinese nationals with ties to the communist government in Beijing offered to pay Hunter millions of dollars to make "introductions alone" with influential U.S. parties, according to other emails leaked from Hunter's abandoned laptop.
- Joe Biden was included as a silent partner in a proposed 2017 partnership, according to another partner in the deal, Tony Bobulinski, who has turned over evidence to the FBI.
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Trump-Russia/2020 Election News Trump Sparks a Rise of 'Patriot Churches' Washington Post
The Polarized Politics of Neighborhood Hub Nextdoor Vox
Feds Got Spy Warrant on Hunter Biden Chinese Associate Daily Caller
Hunter Biden's Partner Bobulinski on Meetings with Joe New York Post
How Trump Maneuvered Out of Trouble in Chicago New York Times
Olga in Cyprus Behind Parts of Dossier Wall Street Journal
Glenn Greenwald's Resignation From The Intercept, Matt Taibbi
"Silence equals violence," the Black Lives Matter slogan goes. But in China, that motto takes on ironic tones: It implicates BLM's prominent American corporate supporters who do business there and stay quiet about Chinese repression. In RealClearInvestigations, Richard Bernstein examines the seemingly hypocritical stances of the likes of Apple, Disney, Nike, the NBA and other American corporate giants with high profiles in China after the death of George Floyd in May: - At home, Apple has pledged $100 million to a "Racial Equity and Justice Initiative," but it has repeatedly curbed its business in China in ways pro-democracy activists say have enabled Chinese repression.
- At home, the Walt Disney Co. has pledged $5 million to social justice organizations, but it has expressed no concern about the mass incarceration of Uighurs, though some of the filming for Disney's "Mulan" took place in Xinjiang, the province where abuses are alleged.
- At home, Nike also pledged money in the fight against "systemic racism," yet it has been accused of ignoring forced Uighur labor at factories in its China supply chain.
- Some argue Chinese society would be even more repressive without its ties to foreign businesses. But human rights experts see a middle way -- something between open criticism and meek acquiescence.
Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Since Trump Took Office, His Firm Got $2.5M From Feds
Washington Post
While refusing to dig into credible claims that Hunter Biden profited off his father's name and Joe Biden was in on the scheme, mainstream outlets continue to scour President Trump's finances, with mixed results. This article reports that "since Trump took office, his company has been paid at least $2.5 million by the U.S. government," largely for room and board for secret service and staff members at his Florida retreat, Mar-a-Lago, and other properties owned by his company. While arguing that the president his enriching himself indirectly to the tune of $600,000 to $700,000 per year, the Post fails to reference its previous report that in 2019 alone Trump's businesses had $446 million in revenue. It also ignores the fact that Trump has given away all but $1 per year of his $400,000 annual salary as president - including $100,000 per year to federal agencies. Gov. Cuomo Reaped $6.2M From 347 State Vendors
Forbes
While New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and national progressives decry corporate money in politics, Governor Andrew Cuomo has been collecting campaign cash from state contractors. This article reports that auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found 347 state vendors that gave $6.2 million in political donations to Cuomo over a six-year period (2014-2019). Meanwhile, these companies reaped $7 billion in state payments. These donations represented the equivalent of more than half of the current cash on hand - $11.9 million - in the governor's campaign committee as of Dec. 31. Since 1940, individuals and entities negotiating or working under federal contracts have been prohibited from giving political cash to federal candidates, parties, or committees. In New York, however, this political patronage is perfectly legal. California: Housing for the Homeless a Menace to Fire Departments
Los Angeles Times
An unofficial community of nonprofits and small businesses that provide low-cost communal living for people who would likely be homeless without it are coming under increased scrutiny from Los Angeles fire officials. The fire department's inspections have led to criminal investigations against prominent figures in homeless services. Homeowner groups say the facilities - which cater to the aged, disabled, mentally ill and recovering alcoholics and typically place six to more than a dozen tenants in single-family homes - are bringing dangerous people into their neighborhoods. Social services advocates raise concerns over the quality of services provided and unscrupulous behavior, such as taking advantage of clients with few other options. Economist Magazine Got Huawei Cash as It Covered the Tech Company
Washington Free Beacon
The Economist magazine provided sympathetic coverage of the Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies - which is widely considered a national security risk - without disclosing the publication's lucrative business relationship with the firm that spanned nearly a decade, this article reports. Huawei commissioned The Economist's business consulting division to advance its policy agendas and deflect cybersecurity concerns raised by Western governments. The influential British magazine produced reports on a wide range of subjects - including a report on broadband access in the United Kingdom that Huawei credits for influencing British policy. The publication has also run numerous Huawei advertisements, and its editors have cohosted several global forums with the company, helping the tech firm boost its public image. Algorithm Blocked Kidney Transplants to Black Patients
Wired
Racial politics appear to have prevented some African Americans from receiving the treatment they required. This article reports that an algorithm designed to assess the gravity of kidney disease - a standard calculation used to convert a blood test for a person's level of the waste product creatinine into a measure of kidney function - assigned black people healthier scores than others. The equation factors in a person's age and sex, but black patients get their score boosted by an additional 15.9 percent. How come? Turns out the researchers who created the formula in 2009 added the "race correction" to smooth out statistical differences between the small number of black patients and others in their data. But that project and subsequent studies have not explained why the correlation between creatinine and kidney function looked different in black patients, or the role of factors proven to affect creatinine levels such as diet. A person's race is a social category, not a physiological one ,and it doesn't make sense to use it to interpret blood tests differently. Unless, of course, one is viewing everything through the lens of race. Coronavirus Investigations Police Pin Rise in Murders on Covid New York Times
The Bizarre Publishing Ring That Linked 5G to Coronavirus Vice
Rare Chilean Tree That Could Help Stop the Pandemic Atlantic
How Virus Politics Divided a Town in Wisconsin's North New York Times |
