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83% of UK department stores closed since their collapse began in 2016

Emma Simpson
BBC
Sat, 28 Aug 2021 13:43 UTC
debenhams
© Getty
The UK has lost 83% of its main department stores in the five years since the collapse of the BHS chain.

The figure highlights the extent of the upheaval in the High Street as the Covid pandemic sped up changes in shopping habits.


Comment: The relatively harmless coronavirus didn't contribute to this, government restrictions enforced by threats of arrest and fines did.


The data, compiled by commercial property information firm CoStar Group, also reveals that more than two-thirds of these shops remain unoccupied.

Comment: It's true that online shopping and a variety of other factors have contributed to the decline in department stores, but evidence for the long suffering economy can be seen in everything from the rise of slum landlords to soaring unemployment, and, in some areas, even life expectancy has begun to decline:

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Brick Wall

Court orders Poland, Latvia to provide aid to migrants on Belarus border


Deutsche Welle
Sat, 28 Aug 2021 13:42 UTC
Poland border migrants

The European Court of Human Rights says both Latvia and Poland must provide care for the migrants
Dozens of Iraqi Kurds and Afghans have sought the help of the European Court of Human Rights over asylum claims. The EU has blamed Belarus for the recent build up of migrants on its border.


Comment: Rather curious that this is suddenly an issue just following Belarus' pivot to Russia: Bribe money? EU gives countries bordering Belarus 'handout' to deal with 'flood' of refugees fleeing through Eastern European nation


The European Court of Human Rights says both Latvia and Poland must provide care for the migrants

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday requested that Poland and Latvia provide aid for dozens of Afghan and Iraqi migrants stranded on the EU border with Belarus.


Comment: Migrants must be allowed in and catered to whilst actual EU citizens aren't allowed to go to hospitals, cafes or supermarkets without showing injection IDs.


A group of migrants has been stuck on the borders of the two EU countries for around 14 days, with security forces preventing them from entering and making asylum claims.

Comment: This manufactured issue is capable of serving numerous agendas: it smears Belarus, it enables the entry of even more migrants into Europe, along with establishing another route in, and it puts additional pressure on Poland that has defied the nefarious LGBT and migrant policies; there are likely other ways this serves the establishment, too.

In their attitude towards Russia, Poland and Latvia have certainly shown their allegiance to the West, however the countries and their citizens are now going to get a real chance to experience what it's like to be a part of the EU behemoth; and one suspects that the little money thrown to the leaders and bureaucrats won't placate the citizens who have to suffer a flood of migrants: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis

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Attention

Lockdowns, panic buying, low supply: Beef prices surge to unprecedented levels

Jon Condon
Beef Central
Wed, 25 Aug 2021 16:44 UTC
australian beef

AUSTRALIAN beef exporters are riding a surge in demand and price for lean manufacturing beef - most typically used to produce hamburgers.
As Beef Central's home page dashboard graph shows, quotes for 90CL cow meat destined for the US market have hit a 20-month high, reported on Friday at 825.6c/kg in Aussie currency terms. That's up another 34c/kg over the past month, and continues an almost unbroken price rise sequence since the start of the year.

It's part of the reason why some export processor grids are currently offering an unprecedented 655c/kg carcase weight for heavy cows in Queensland, and as much as 680c/kg in southern states.

Trade sources spoken to for this report suggest that similar equivalent prices are being seen for meat trade into other trim markets, especially Japan, Korea and China.

Comment: Whether it be avoidable and man-made crises or natural disasters and outbreaks, it seems the food supply as a whole, not just beef, is under threat, with even major suppliers warning of probable food shortages to occur starting this year. As we can see above and in the links below, for some, they've already started; they've just yet to bite:

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Info

China bans celebrity rankings in bid to 'rectify chaos in the fan community'

Helen Davidson
The Guardian
Fri, 27 Aug 2021 06:51 UTC
chinese celebrities
© VCG/Getty Images
China has cracked down on celebrity rankings in a bid to ‘clean up’ fan culture.
Authorities increase regulation of fame and fan culture that they say will tackle online bullying and protect children.

Chinese authorities have banned online lists ranking celebrities by popularity, as regulators continue a drive to "clean up" fame and fandom culture.

According to regulations published in state media, all existing lists that rank Chinese stars must also be removed from the internet.

Comment: See also: CIA turned our celebrities into 'sissy pants', says Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

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Question

Homophobia in black men is caused by white supremacy, says very strange New York Times writer

Eddie Scarry
The Federalist
Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:01 UTC
Charles Blow
I'm starting to think we should be doing less to suppress ideas rooted in critical race theory and instead let them all expose themselves for how stupid they and the people who spread them really are.

Charles Blow, the forever columnist-in-training of the New York Times, is an excellent example. Blow wrote Wednesday on a few recent incidents of prominent black men who mocked, belittled, and disparaged other black men who are gay.

"Let me say first that the country has quickly evolved on the acceptance of gayness, and that includes an evolution among Black people," he said. "But, as acceptance and visibility rise, the minority who feel threatened by gay people has grown louder. They talk in apocalyptic terms about a 'gay agenda' destined to recruit throngs to a gay 'lifestyle.'"

Comment: Literally every problem that exists in the black community, or any other minority community for that matter, is the fault of white people and the ephemeral 'white supremacy'. Therefore nothing is ever a minority's fault and there is no responsibility, either on the individual or collective level, to work any of these problems out. Every effort must be focused towards 'dismantling the patriarchy' and absolutely no time or energy should be put toward actual problem solving. Utopia awaits.

See also:

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Handcuffs

NYC's Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Jeffrey Epstein, killed himself to 'temporarily' close

Larry Celona and Ben Feuerherd
New York Post
Fri, 27 Aug 2021 00:35 UTC
Metropolitan Correctional Center
© Christopher Sadowski
The Metropolitan Correctional Center at 150 Park Row in lower Manhattan currently houses 233 inmates.
The notorious Lower Manhattan federal lockup where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself is scheduled to close — at least temporarily — amid horrid conditions and numerous allegations of corruption against jail guards, officials said Thursday.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center will shutter to address security and infrastructure issues.

It's unclear when the closure of the facility — which has a typical population of 600 inmates — will happen or how long it will last.

Most of the 233 inmates housed there currently will be transferred to the federal facility in Brooklyn.

The move to close the embattled jail comes weeks after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco's tour there.

"In an effort to address the issues at MCC NY as quickly and efficiently as possible, the Department has decided to close the MCC, at least temporarily, until those issues have been resolved," the Justice Department said in a statement.
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Bad Guys

And you thought "Road Warrior" was dystopian. How about Australia now?

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:00 UTC
mad max
© MOVIESTORE COLLECTION REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Remember this classic scene?


Comment: See also:

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Attention

Fire tears through Chinese skyscraper as debris falls onto streets below


RT
Fri, 27 Aug 2021 13:37 UTC
fire skyscraper
© Twitter / @y6u8c2Nzh9NLXpl
More than 30 fire trucks have been called to a blaze at a high-rise building in the Chinese city of Dalian. No causalities have been reported, although footage appears to show the inferno engulfing the residential bloc.

On Friday, fire tore through a high-rise building in Dalian, northeastern China. Chinese media reports suggest there are no causalities and that there is no reason to believe that anyone is trapped inside.

At least 30 fire trucks and 100 firefighters are at the scene, according to media reports. The building's power and gas supplies have been turned off to aid rescue operations.

Comment: See also:

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Fire

Huge fire and explosion at industrial estate in UK's Leamington Spa


RT
Fri, 27 Aug 2021 10:59 UTC
leamington spa explosion
A massive blaze has broken out in the British town of Leamington Spa, with reports of an explosion at an industrial estate triggering the fire, which has sent black clouds billowing up above the regency town.

Black smoke engulfed the upmarket Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa on Friday after a fire broke out at a commercial premises. There are no reports of anyone being injured yet, although medical teams are on the scene.

In a tweet, the county's police department warned people within a 70-metre radius of the site to keep their windows and doors closed. Properties on Juno Drive, a residential road near an industrial estate on the outskirts of the town, were in the process of being evacuated, the police said.

Comment: Fires and explosions at industrial sites appear to be occurring with an increasing frequency:

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Newspaper

Iraqi militias claim attack on eight US convoys, follows deal where limited US contingent will STAY in country

Ilya Tsukanov8
Sputnik
Thu, 26 Aug 2021 19:07 UTC
iraq attack
© Twitter / @IbrahimDSY1
Baghdad-allied Shia militias in Iraq have expressed dissatisfaction with the government's recently-signed US forces agreement, which allows for a limited contingent of US troops to stay in the country, and have insisted that all US personnel, including trainers and elements of the US Air Force, leave the country immediately.

Shia militias targeted as many as eight US logistics convoys in a single day, Sabereen News, an outlet affiliated with the militias, has alleged.
The spate of suspected attacks was reported to have taken place Tuesday, with convoys targeted in the Nasiriyah and Samawah areas in southeastern Iraq, with two more attacked in al-Diwaniyah, capital of the southeastern province of al-Qadisiyyah. Two improvised explosive device attacks were reported in Babil province, with a US Army logistics convoy targeted in Baghdad's Yusufiyah district, more vehicles attacked in al-Taji and two other convoys struck in al-Muthana and Dhi Qar provinces.

Comment: See also:

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