Comment: See also:

'Absolutely terrified" Democrats demand emergency investigation into Durham probe

Comment: Biden's number is 'up'. Very, very soon there will be no one left in the US to vote, except...
Conservative commentators saw his flub as further evidence that the former vice president isn't all there mentally:

See also:

• Trump: People 'in the dark shadows' are controlling Joe Biden
• 'Big, fat shots in the ass': Trump again suggests Biden is on energizing DRUGS
• Biden is everything the Democrats are: Notes from the edge of the narrative matrix

Comment: RT reports on Lavrov's comments:

Washington's reasoning behind bringing back the UN sanctions against Iran looks "funny," as the majority of UN Security Council members - 13 out of 15 - do not support activating the 'snapback' mechanism, the Russian Foreign Minister said, in an exclusive interview with the Al Arabiya news channel.

The council "clearly stated that there is no legal position or moral reasons for anything close to the snapback and all the statements to the contrary are null and void," he reminded his audience. The 'snapback' issue leaves Washington at loggerheads with even its closest allies.

Earlier on Sunday, the three European signatories to the Iran deal - Germany, France and the UK - stated the return of the sanctions will have no legal effect whatsoever.

However, the Trump administration continues to insist Washington now has the authority to target any country breaching the "re-imposed" sanctions. For Lavrov, this is telling, in terms of understanding the quality of US diplomacy.

"The Americans lost any talent in diplomacy, unfortunately; they used to have excellent experts, [but] now what they're doing in foreign policy is to put a demand on the table, whether they're discussing Iran or anything else."

If their counterpart disagrees and refuses to toe the line, "they put an ultimatum, they give a deadline and then they impose sanctions, then they make the sanctions extra-territorial." Regrettably, the European Union also "is engaging in the same tricks more and more," Lavrov noted.

"I can only remind them that they should respect the hierarchy of the American administration, because their boss, President Trump, has personally signed an official decree withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA," Lavrov added sarcastically.

Sanctions aside, Washington is also busy trying to prevent the lifting of the UN arms embargo on Iran, set to expire on October 18. This endeavor doesn't make much sense either, the Russian minister commented. "There is no such thing as an arms embargo against Iran," he clarified. The UN Security Council reiterated the embargo will end on that date, and "there would be no limitations whatsoever after the expiration of this timeframe."

See also:

• What War Was Trump Trying to Stop by Killing Iranian General Soleimani?
• Trump reaps the whirlwind with China/Iran mega deal

Comment: See also:

• Assange's trial and detention is a travesty of justice
• UN envoy says Assange showing signs of "torture", British govt should release him immediately
• Assange accuser is FBI asset and convicted child molester

Comment: It's worth first noting that the need to take any coronavirus vaccine is likely completely unnecessary for everyone, even the minuscule percentage of people at risk.

That said, the situation reflects the state of the world quite aptly, because, while Russia developed its vaccine in record time, the West is halting their coronavirus vaccine trials amidst 'serious concerns' - except in the developing world where they're willing to experiment on the populace like disposable guinea pigs - and polls of the public show that they (quite rightly) don't trust the West's attempts at a vaccine nor are a large majority willing to - voluntarily - take it.

See also:

• Compelling Evidence That SARS-CoV-2 Was Man-Made
• Engdahl: The warp speed push for coronavirus vaccines
• Russia produces first batch of COVID-19 vaccine, 500 million doses available by January

And check out SOTT radio's:

• Objective:Health - Operation 'Warped' Speed - These People Are Crazy!
• Objective:Health - Deconstructing the Covid Narrative with Investigative Journalist Rosemary Frei
• Objective:Health - The Ultimate Insanity of the Covid Lockdown - Interview with Sott.net Editor Joe Quinn

Comment: Meanwhile, Navalny gets sillier by the day (maybe it's a novichok symptom?). First he claims that Novichok was found "in and on" his body. Never mind that no one who came in contact with him showed any symptoms whatsoever. He's also demanding that the clothes he was wearing when he fell ill be sent to him in Germany. He calls the clothing a "very important" and "crucial piece of evidence." He claims that a criminal investigation hasn't been launched, and a 30-day deadline has expired, therefore he wants his clothes back.

"I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me," the 44-year-old politician and corruption investigator wrote.

But Russian police say the inquiry is still ongoing. Evidence has already been illegally secreted out of Russia, destroying its usefulness in any investigation and muddying the chain of custody.

Here's what's probably going on here. There never was any novichok. Thus there is no novichok on the clothes. But if they are sent to Navalny, the clothes will be sent to the same military lab that tested his blood. Novichok will then be miraculously found on the clothes. It's no wonder Russia will not allow additional evidence of the case to be allowed out of the country.

See also:

• A tale of two bottles: Navalny poison slowest-acting weapon in assassination history
• The Pevchikh plot: Navalny's bottle, London witness flees scene of crime, and Berlin too
• Germans now claim God poisoned Navalny - that's the god out of the machine
• Brain poisoning by Russian nerve agent - Alexey Navalny infects German chancellery

Comment: The Democrats' relationship with the likes of BLM and Antifa is a jackals' wedding (copulate once, then tear each other apart). They provide cover for the radicals for their own ends, not realizing or caring that they will be eaten. And the radicals accept such tactical support, not realizing or caring that the Dems are just using them, and are more than willing to discard them when they have outlived their usefulness. Both are reprehensible (much like the CIA's relationship with Islamic terrorists in Libya and Syria).

Here's Cuomo's and De Blasio's responses:

"I understand the politics, but when you try to manipulate and distort government agencies to play politics, which is what the Trump administration has done from day one ... this is more of the same," Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters. "The president can't supersede the law and say I'm going to make those funds basically discretionary funds, which is what he would have to do."

"If they actually do this, we will challenge it legally, and they will lose once again," he added.
...
"I was out in Elmhurst Queens this morning, I saw peace, tranquility, I saw people going about their business, people excited that it's the first day of school - I saw anything but anarchy. This is just another one of President Trump's games," De Blasio said at his daily news conference. "It's insulting to the people of New York City and his effort to withhold our funding is unconstitutional."

"Nothing to see here, folks!"

Comment: UN member states pulled together to defy Washington:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in a letter quoted by the Associated Press that "there would appear to be uncertainty" regarding US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Saturday announcement of restoration of "virtually all" UN sanctions against Iran.

Guterres noted in the letter that "the Security Council has taken no action subsequent to the receipt of the letter of the US secretary of state, neither have any of its members or its president."

However, even Washington's own NATO allies the UK, France and Germany have strongly opposed the move in a letter to the UN Security Council cited by AFP, saying that "any decision or action taken with a view to re-installing [the sanctions] would be incapable of legal effect."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhan commented on Washington's bluster:

"America is approaching a certain defeat in its sanctions move ... It faced defeat and negative response from the international community. We will never yield to US pressure and Iran will give a crushing response to America's bullying," the Iranian leader said on Sunday. The fact that Washington's European partners have reacted negatively to the unilateral move shows that "American pressure in the political and legal sectors has failed," he added.

He also reminded the US that its circle of allies may be shrinking more rapidly than it understands:

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Iranian envoy to the United Nations, issued a scathing retort to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement late on Saturday that Washington intends to reintroduce most of the UN sanctions against Tehran lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA) was aimed at placing restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. It was signed by Iran, the US, Russia, China, the UK, Germany and France.

Noting that the United States is no longer a signatory, the Iranian diplomat argued that Washington's claim of "snapback" sanctions under the JCPOA is "null & void." In a tweet, he described the US' self-declared 'deadline' for triggering the sanctions as "illegal & false," noting that by acting alone Washington was "swimming against [international] currents" and risking "more isolation" on the global stage.

Iran's defiance has not left it unscathed:

The Iranian rial hit a fresh low against the US dollar on Sunday, shortly after Washington unilaterally restored sweeping sanctions on Tehran, despite opposition from the international community and its own allies.

The dollar was selling for as much as 273,000 rials on the unofficial market, according to Iranian foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. Iran's currency dropped by two percent against the US dollar in 24 hours - the second time in a week it has reached new lows. The rial has lost nearly half its value this year, and has depreciated most significantly since June.

The Iranian economy lost the bulk of its revenues when the US turned up the heat on its "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic, after it withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal in 2018. The Trump administration has been trying to choke off Iranian oil sector, ending waivers for buyers of Iranian crude and threatening to sanction anyone who makes such purchases.

• Netanyahu "pleased" as Trump announces "crippling" new sanctions on Iran
• Art of the Iranian Deal: Iran Goes for Maximum Counter-Pressure Against US, Calls Trump's Bluff
• Not working: Failure of 'maximum pressure' in Iran
• Sanctions on Iran more like a demonstration of US weakness, rather than strength