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U.S. Targets Putin’s Daughters, Russian Banks In New Round Of Sanctions

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With the Russian invasion of Ukraine now in its sixth week, the White House has continued to remain on the financial offensive by announcing additional sanctions that will target Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, 36-year-old Mariya Putina and 35-year-old Katerina Tikhonova, and toughen penalties against Russian banks.

In addition to Putina and Tikhonova, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and daughters, along with members of Russia’s Security Council — which include current prime minister Mikhail Mishustin and former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev — will be targeted.

“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people. Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin’s war on Ukraine.”

The sanction will cut the group of people listed off from the U.S. financial system, along with freezing their assets they hold in the U.S. If this is the first time you’re learning that Putin has multiple daughters, that shouldn’t come as a surprise given how he operates.

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As Business Insider notes, the 69-year-old president has never acknowledged his children publicly, and much about the family affairs continue to remain a mystery. Putin had both daughters with his ex-wife, former flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, who he was married to for three decades.

Meanwhile, full-blocking sanctions will be placed against Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank. The sanction will freeze any of the banks’ assets that touch the U.S. financial system, and prohibit any American citizen from doing business with the institutions.

As the press release states, Sberbank holds around one-third of the overall Russian banking sector’s assets — making it a critical component to the now-floundering economy — while Alfa Bank is the fourth-largest bank in Russia overall.

The ruble’s value currently sits at 0.012 USD (experiencing the worst fall of any major currency in the first quarter of 2022) while the Institute of International Finance stated the crisis will wipe out 15 years of economic development. Gross domestic product is projected to shrink 9.6% this year and 1.5% in 2023, interrupting what was looking like the start of significant progress in 2021.

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Biden is also expected to sign a new executive order that will include a prohibition on new investment in Russia by Americans no matter where they’re located, while sanctions on major Russian state-owned enterprises will be in effect too. The U.S. won’t be alone in furthering penalties, with European allies expected to announce their own sanctions.

President Joe Biden has been vocal about intensifying sanctions following his statement that Putin has committed war crimes and should be put on trial, with hundreds of Ukrainian civilians being tortured and killed by Russian troops in Bucha last weekend. “I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha,” Biden said on Twitter.

Russia has continued to call its invasion of Ukraine a “special operation” and denied that any civilians have been harmed. Overall civilian death tolls have been both hard to find and unreliable, though U.N. and Ukrainian sources have numbers anywhere between over 1,000 to 7,000.

Still, despite Biden’s verbal attacks against Putin and the new enforcements, the U.S. continues to reject the proposition of instituting a no-fly zone over Ukraine, while any military personnel involvement remains out of the question.

New Report Details Gruesome Russian War Crimes In Ukraine 

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Human Rights Watch released a new report detailing a multitude of war crimes committed by Russia within the first weeks of its invasion of Ukraine. The report was published Sunday, and cited the US accusing Russia of war crimes, and Kyiv accusing Moscow of genocide. 

Human Right Watch is a non-governmental organization known for providing updates, resources, and publicity for human rights violations throughout the world. The report detailed instances of war crimes between February 27th and March 14th; including repeated cases of rape, summary execution, unlawful violence, and general threats against innocent citizens. 

10 individuals provided personal accounts of what it’s like to be living in Ukraine territories that have been overtaken by Russia. One witness told the Human Rights Watch that Russian forces in Bucha forced five residents to kneel on the side of the road before shooting them each in the back of the head. 

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Another witness described how she was the victim of rape by a Russian soldier who raped her multiple times in a school in Kharkiv, where she was seeking shelter with her family. She claimed that the man cut her face, neck, and hair with a knife as well. 

“The incidents cited amount to unspeakable, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians,” said Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Last month, the Biden administration determined that Russian forces have committed multiple war crimes in Ukraine, and labeled president Vladimir Putin as a war criminal. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Russia of Genocide on Sunday. 

“Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities.”

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“We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don’t want to be subdued by the policy of the Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century. So this is the torture of the whole nation,” Zelensky added.

This Sunday images surfaced online of the violence occurring in Bucha specifically. Images of bodies on the street caused an uproar online, including one image of a person who was tied up with their arms behind their back before they were killed. 

The Russian defense ministry has casually dismissed these images as “fakes staged by the Kiev regime for the Western media.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the images “horrific.”

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that civilians are targeted and killed. And it just underlines the importance that this war must end. And that is President Putin’s responsibility, to stop the war.”

Russia has pulled its troops from cities and towns near Kyiv, and it’s believed the nation will be repositioning its invasion to focus on eastern Ukraine.

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Russia Blocks Google News, Citing “Unreliable Information”

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Russia’s communication, information technology, and mass media regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked Google News, accusing them of promoting “unreliable information” in regards to the invasion of Ukraine according to Russian news agency Interfax.

The request to block Google comes from the Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov’s Office, regulators said. The release also referred to the invasion as a “special military operation,” a familiar phrase that the Kremlin has used every single time in regards to the conflict in an attempt to demilitarize themselves.

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Google also recognized the blocking. “We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end,” Google said in a statement. “We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible.”

The blocking comes after the introduction of Google’s new policy, which says that it would not help websites, apps, and YouTube users sell ads alongside content that dismisses, exploits, or condones the conflict that has now reach its second month. The company expanded on their ruling, citing examples of content that implies “victims are responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim blaming.”

Previously, Google paused all commercial activity in Russia, with includes Google ads, new Cloud sign ups, and payment functionality for the majority of their service. The tech company has also taken a number of steps to aid Ukrainians under siege, from rolling out a rapid Air Raid Alerts system for Android phones in the country to providing services for refugees.

Over the last couple weeks, Russia has accused Google and YouTube of “terrorist activities,” claiming that the services were threatening the lives and health of Russian citizens. Roskomnadzor stated that YouTube users were using adverts with calls to shut down railway communications between Russia and ally Belarus.

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Other U.S. tech companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have seen their usage blocked after Twitter and Facebook removed Russian state media RT and Sputnik from their platforms. Russia additionally accused Meta — the parent of Facebook and Instagram — of inciting hatred and propaganda, moving to label them as an extremist organization.

The Kremlin — which has always been an extremely restrictive regime when it comes to communications and freedom of speech — has proceeded to intensify their efforts of controlling media by passing a law that carries a punishment of up to 15 years in prison for anyone who is found to be spreading false information on the Russian military.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, University of New South Wales’ associate Professor in regulation and governance Rob Nicholls said Google proved a serious enough threat to Russia for them to block it entirely. “Google’s prohibition on content that exploits, dismisses or condones the conflict in Ukraine would have been an issue for Moscow. However, blocking access is a significant step.”

“It’s likely that similar geoblocking will be extended to other large networks as Moscow tries to control the narrative of the conflict. It’s hard to portray the conflict as a “special operation” when Google News provides access to NATO’s Russian casualty estimates.”

With Google News gone, citizens have one less credible news source that can provide them with information that isn’t affected by Vladimir Putin’s censorship. The chokehold has worked, with many Russians having little to no awareness of the war whatsoever, making pushback from inside the country harder to achieve.

Ukraine Rejects Surrendering Port City Of Mariupol To Russia In Exchange For Safe Passage For Ukrainians 

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This Monday Russia demanded Ukrainians to stop fighting and surrender the port city of Mariupol in exchange for safe passage out of town for citizens. This demand came hours after Russian forces bombed an art school in the port city which was sheltering 400 people.

Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev stated that his forces would allow two corridors of citizens out of Mariupol, heading either east toward Russia, or west to other parts of Ukraine. Residents of the port city were given until 5 a.m. on Monday to respond to the offer; Russia didn’t make any statement about what action it would take if Ukrainians refused. 

“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told the news.

Mariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also rejected the offer, saying he “didn’t need to wait until morning to respond and curse at the Russians,” according to the news agency Interfax Ukraine.

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The Russian Ministry of Defense said “authorities in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with bandits,” Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Previous attempts to allow residents to evacuate Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have been either only partly successful, or failed completely due to continuous violence and conflict throughout the nation. 

Speaking in a video address early Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “about 400 civilians were taking shelter at the art school when it was struck by a Russian bomb. They are under the rubble, and we don’t know how many of them have survived,” he said. 

“But we know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we already have downed.”

Three weeks after Russia initially invaded, Western government and analysts are claiming the conflict is moving to be a war of attrition, as Russian forces are launching long-range missiles at Ukraine cities and military bases. Ukraine forces have responded by cutting their supply lines. 

“Moscow cannot hope to rule the country, given Ukrainians’ enmity toward the Russian forces,” Zelenskyy said Monday.

The strike on the art school marks the second time within a week that Russian forces attacked a public building where Mariupol residents have taken shelter. On Wednesday, a bomb hit a theater where it was believed more than 1,000 people were sheltering. Ukrainian officials have not been able to provide an update on the search of the theater since Friday, where it was reported that at least 130 people were rescued, and another 1,300 were trapped by the rubble. 

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Officials have stated that food, water, and electricity has been very scarce in Mariupol, and the constant fighting has kept out humanitarian convoys. The city has essentially been under attack for three weeks, and has seen some of the most amounts of violence throughout the entire invasion. 

City officials said at least 2,300 people have died, with some buried in mass graves. 

“The block-by-block fighting in Mariupol itself is costing the Russian military time, initiative, and combat power. Russia failed in its initial campaign to take the capital of Kyiv and other major cities quickly,”  the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a briefing.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said “Ukrainian resistance means Putin’s forces on the ground are essentially stalled. It’s had the effect of him moving his forces into a woodchipper.”

According to AP journalists, “Six more people were killed Sunday by shelling in the densely populated Podil district, not far from the center of capital Kyiv. The attack there devastated a shopping center, leaving a flattened ruin still smoldering Monday morning in the midst of high-rise towers. The force of the explosion shattered every window in the high-rise next door and twisted their metal frames.”

The UN has confirmed 902 civilian deaths in the war, but claims the actual total is likely much larger. Nearly 3.4 million people have fled the Ukraine, at least 115 children have been killed and 148 have been injured so far.

Russia Requesting Military And Economic Aid From China, According To US Officials

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According to US officials, Russia has asked China for military and economic assistance, including drones, as a part of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The official’s declined to state what exactly China’s response was to the request, but it is known that they did respond.

The news of the request was brought up to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. Sullivan explained to the media afterwards that providing Russia with support from China would be a “concern.”  

“We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia. It is a concern of ours. And we have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions,” Sullivan said.

Russia continued its attack to western Ukraine this weekend, firing off missiles near the city of Lviv, and hitting a large military base close to the Polish border. The blasts reportedly killed dozens of people. 

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China claims that it was not asked by Russia for military aid or any other type of assistance. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US, said in a statement, “I’ve never heard of that. The Ukraine situation is indeed disconcerting, China has and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

“The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control. … China calls for exercising utmost restraint and preventing a massive humanitarian crisis.”

Beijing is currently trying to strike a neutral tone regarding the international conflict. Chinese domestic media coverage has, however, promoted Russian disinformation campaigns and described the war as a “special military operation. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki and other US officials have been critical of Beijing’s response overall. 

“Beijing has seemingly endorsed false Russian claims that the US is developing chemical weapons in Ukraine.”

“Our assessment right now is that China is abiding by the requirements that have been put in place, but we would continue to encourage any country to think a lot about what place they want to — what role they want to play — in history as we all look back,” Psaki said Wednesday.

Sullivan said that the “US has made it clear to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale efforts to give the Kremlin a workaround to US sanctions.”

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“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world. While the US believes China, in fact, was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something, they may not have understood the full extent of it. Because it’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others,” Sullivan explained. 

Sullivan also expressed to the media this weekend that while the “Biden administration is concerned about the possibility of escalation with respect to Putin’s nuclear posture, we have not seen anything that would require us to change our nuclear posture at this time.” 

“We are watching this extremely closely, and obviously, the escalation risk with a nuclear power is severe, and it is a different kind of conflict than other conflicts the American people have seen over the years,” he said, before explaining the administration’s decision to reject Poland’s offer to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine through the US and German air base. 

“The President listened to the assessment of his intelligence community, he listened to the advice of his military commanders, he consulted his NATO allies, and he ultimately determined that the risk-benefit analysis of flying planes from NATO bases into contested airspace over Ukraine did not make sense, was not something that he would authorize.

The US is focused on providing other anti-air systems that could help the Ukrainians make progress in terms of dealing with the threat that is coming from the air from the Russian side,” Sullivan explained.

The national security adviser also reiterated that Russia “would pay a severe price if they chose to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. Russia’s accusations against Ukraine preparing to deploy chemical weapons is a tell, a tell that they themselves may be preparing to do so and then trying to pin the blame on someone else– that’s a classic page out of the Russian playbook.”

Russia And Ukraine Conflict Update: Ukraine Rejects Moscow’s Offer Of Safe Housing For Citizens

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Moscow announced this week that they would provide corridors for residents of Ukraine’s two main cities if they decided to flee to Russia or Belarus; a move that Ukraine called an “immoral stunt to exploit the suffering under Russian bombardment.” 

Russian and Ukrainian delegations assembled for a third round of talks when the announcement was made. The two previous rounds of delegation didn’t offer many solutions for citizens besides a pledge to open up routes for humanitarian access. 

“In a few minutes, we will start talking to representatives of a country that seriously believes large-scale violence against civilians is an argument. Prove that this is not the case,” Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said.

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A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the move “completely immoral, Russia is trying to use people’s suffering to create a television picture. They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine.”

The United Nations refugee agency stated that more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have now fled their home country to seek safe housing in Central Europe. A multitude of international sanctions has also isolated Russia from global commerce. 

Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas. Prices of oil spiked above $139 a barrel this Monday, the closest the nation has come in nearly 14 years to reaching the all-time high of $147. Investment banks say that the prices could even approach $200 this year is Russian supply continues to dwindle. 

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces say that Russian forces “were beginning to accumulate resources for the storming of Kyiv,” which is a city of more than 3 million people. So far 2,000 citizens have been evacuated from Irpin, a suburb in Kyiv that has been enduring heavy attacks. 

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In a speech to the nation late on Sunday, Zelenskiy described one family “cut down as they tried to escape Irpin on Sunday, Russians responsible for such atrocities will never be forgiven. For you there will be no peaceful place on this earth, except for the grave.”

Ukraine also said on Monday its forces had “retaken control of the town of Chuhuiv in the northeast, a site of heavy fighting for days, and of the strategic Mykolayiv airport in the south.”

The United Nations has called for safe passage for all people who are cut off from lifesaving aid across Ukraine. One psychiatric hospital near Kyiv has been running out of water and medicine with 670 patients trapped inside. The WHO said at least 6 people have been confirmed killed within nine attacks on health care facilities since the start of the conflict. 

Moscow has acknowledged that nearly 500 of their soldiers have been killed, but Western countries and Ukraine said that number is actually likely to be in the thousands. Russian authorities, however, have imposed a near total media blackout on non-official information, making it nearly impossible to verify the actual amount of deaths. 

Evacuation efforts have been stalled in multiple areas around Ukraine due to safety concerns, but ideally leaders will be able to continue to provide aid and refuge through the UN.

Sanctions, Ongoing Russian Invasion Could Affect Americans Through Gas, Food Price Rises

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A situation that’s been boiling for months has finally reached a climax. Early Thursday morning local time, Russia attacked several major Ukraine cities through air bombardments and forces on the ground. According to capital Kyiv, fatalities already include dozens of troops and civilians, signaling a long and costly fight to come. While Americans are thousands of miles away, experts believe the Kremlin’s global-changing offensive will impact an already struggling U.S. economy.

Speaking to NBC News, food marketing and consumer behavior analyst Phil Lempert explained that while the U.S. does not import Russian wheat — which is one of the country’s biggest exports — Americans could still see further shortages and increases in food and gas, which have already risen due to COVID-19-induced inflation and supply chain shortages.

“However, if a war does break out and other countries stop importing from them and shift to importing from the U.S., prices will go up (as following demand) and we could see some shortages.”

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In 2021, the U.S. imported 12 million to 26 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products per month from Russia, while the number of oil being imported that spring was the highest in a decade. A November 2021 estimate by the Energy Information Agency, the most recent monthly data available, pegged around 17.8 million barrels.

Thanks to the high amount of trading, Russia became the second-largest exporter of oil for the U.S. in August. Following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, brent crude oil prices rose to $100. The last time oil prices jumped to the triple digits was back in 2014. Meanwhile, the current average gas price in the U.S. sits at $3.535, up from $3.513 a week ago and $3.3 in January.

Also speaking to NBC News was RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas, who stated that while Russia is essentially “a giant gas station,” the country is mineral-rich and provides 45.6% of palladium used to create microchips and nickels. “So yes, the average American household is going to bear some of the burden of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But the effect, for now, will be indirect,” Brusuelas said.

Continued price rises would be an unfortunate impact on a population that an AP-NORC poll revealed doesn’t have vested interest in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Just 26% of the 1,289 participants said the U.S. should be playing a major role in the conflict, while 56% said the role should be minor. 20% said the U.S. should have no role at all.

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However, while the majority of citizens may not be interested in a large role, there is still growing concern over Russia’s global influence and the threat they pose to the U.S. 53% are now “very or extremely concerned” about Russian influence, which is up from 43% in August 2021. President Joe Biden has reiterated that the U.S. has no plans to send troops into the conflict, instead relying on sanctions — which will target Putin’s inner circle and large financial institutions — as a weapon.

The United States won’t be the only country facing recoil from interventions against Russia actions. A Qatar energy official explained that neither his country, nor any other country, will be able to replace Russian gas supplies to Europe with liquified natural gas (LNG) if exports are stopped. Additionally, Europe receives 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil from Russia, which accounts for 17% of the world’s natural gas, along with 12% of its oil.

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America Retaliates Against Iraq

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The last six months of 2019 has seen an increase in the war in Iraq, with Iran-backed Shiite militias bombarding American military contractors as well as American troops. Following the sad news that one of our citizens has been killed, the United States has retaliated, launching five airstrikes in both Iraq and Syria that has seen 25 people dead and dozens more injured.

The attack has left the militia commanders promising revenge with Baghdad’s Green Zone seeing thousands of protestors marching through the strongly guarded area before breaking into the American Embassy’s compound – all the while chanting “Death to America” and “down, down USA.”

Riots erupted at the funeral of the 25 fighters of Iran backed Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, resulting in the protests and the US Embassy being torched. Photos have since been released of the insides showing how much damage had been caused.

Although the protest and subsequent siege finished the next day – commanders of PMF asked their supporters to stand down, stating “you have delivered your message” – it appears to have sparked an increase in violence between Iran and America. Fortunately no American personnel were injured in the siege.

The actions have also led to a war of words between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Trump with Trump announcing that Iran was “fully responsible” for the storming of the embassy. Trump also confirmed that Iran “will pay a very big price” for any loss of life as well as all the damages, stating “this is not a warning, this is a threat.”

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However Iran has responded by claiming America “can’t do a damn thing.”

With President Trump announcing last year that he wanted to avoid any acts of war in the Middle East this action must go against all his policies. When Iran shot down an American drone in June Trump ordered a retaliatory airstrike, which he subsequently cancelled. However this time the airstrikes were approved, showing the world that any attacks on Americans working or serving in Iraq will not be acceptable.

However experts believe that the airstrikes will not serve as a “deterrent” as they believe that the militias were aiming for such a response.

American fighter bombers were targeting Kata’ib Hezbollah who is seen as the most dominant of the militias. Backed by Iran, the predominantly Shiite groups have been put together under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to fight against ISIS. However Kata’ib Hezbollah, whose commander is considered one of the most powerful men, currently has over 5,000 troops as well as an undisclosed amount of civilian contractors who are training security forces in Iraq to prevent a jihadist comeback. Yet the militia are also working to send the American forces home, leaving Iran to keep their influence in Iraq.

It is also worth noting that Iraq has suffered months of demonstrations, mostly of a violent nature, which has led to the resignation of Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq’s Prime Minister. The resignation has resulted in a major power struggle within the country.

Iran backed militias in Iraq have seemingly become one of the main targets of the demonstrations, due to their increased power, however it appears that Kata’ib Hezbollah have orchestrated a gamble to provoke America into airstrikes which would deflect any passion remaining in the country to be deflected towards anti-American anger.

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However with Iraq now working without a full government they are also struggling to control the violence that keeps fluctuating throughout the country. Yet they now find themselves in a position where they are keen to keep public anger against America under control whilst still maintaining the American influence that counteracts Iran.

However Iran is also suffering thanks to economic sanctions imposed by the United States so it would seem logical that they would want to make costly retaliations to the recent American decision by Trump’s administration.

President Trump imposed strict sanctions on Iran shortly after they withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal so it can be difficult to see how Iran could be prevented from further attacks on our military both in Iraq as well as across the Middle East.

Arranging talks between Iran and America could be the first tentative step however unless there is a potential renegotiation on the nuclear deal or discussions on the conflicts in Syria or Yemen, tensions will continue to run high.

However Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal – as well as the subsequent portrayal of Iran as the main cause of tensions in the Middle East – could see Trump’s administration struggling to get any discussions going.

And with 750 American soldiers being deployed to the Middle East with a further 3,000 being prepared for potential deployments it seems that 2020 could be witness to further Iranian provocations ensuring the United States would be drawn into further battles with the country.

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Celebrities Comment on Culture at 2020 Golden Globes

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Last night’s Golden Globes ceremony offered a number of insights into the world of American culture as the event reflected the complex dynamic between technology, entertainment, and politics. 

As a likely consequence of fears about the impact of streaming services on the movie-going audience, Netflix won just two prizes despite holding 34 nominations, and director Sam Mendes, who won the Globe for best director, said that he hoped his prize for the World War I epic “1917” would mean that “people will turn up and see this on the big screen, the way it was intended.” Mendes’s comments mirror remarks made by Martin Scorcese, director of the acclaimed “The Irishman,” who asked audiences to watch his film in theaters if possible, despite the film being made possible thanks to a considerable investment from Netflix. As people increasingly abandon theaters for the convenience offered by mobile devices, directors fear that the cinematic experience afforded by a night at the movies faces extinction, as evidenced by their negative commentary on the nature of streaming services as well as the relative paucity of prizes award to Netflix and similar services.

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The timing of the ceremony coincided with a number of significant political events, which celebrities unsurprisingly took the opportunity to offer their personal views on. In particular, climate change took center stage last night, as actors used their platform to draw attention to the wildfires currently devastating Australia and the world’s relative lack of action in the face of catastrophic global warming. Russell Crowe was not able to attend the ceremony as he was in Australia with his family, so Jennifer Aniston, who spoke on his behalf, pleaded with the world “to act” in the midst of this crisis in order to “respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is.” Joaqin Phoenix, too, addressed climate change while accepting his award for his performance in “Joker,” saying, “it’s really nice that so many people have sent their well wishes to Australia but we have to do more than that,” adding “we don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards.”

Coincidentally, the show took place the night before the first day of Harvey Weinstein’s trial; while nobody mentioned Weinstein by name, some celebrities addressed the problem of sexual misconduct and the value of speaking truth to power. Michelle Williams, who won the award for best actress in a limited series or TV movie for “Fosse/Verdon,” urged women to vote in their own self-interest in order to gain political power, saying “as women and as girls, things can happen to our bodies that our not our choice.” 

The new threat of war with Iran also became a subject for commentary during the show, as several actors and actresses expressed their opposition to the conflict and to President Donald Trump more generally. Patricia Arquette, while accepting an award for her role in “The Act,” criticized the president directly, saying that historians will characterize that night as “a country on the brink of war… and a president tweeting out a threat of 52 bombs including cultural sites.” She concluded by saying, “while I love my kids so much, I beg of us all to give them a better world.”

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Last night’s ceremony functioned not just as a recognition for the talent featured in the entertainment world, but of the overall atmosphere of despair clouding the American public consciousness. This was perhaps best captured by Ricky Gervais’s nihilistic opening monologue, during which he repeatedly told the audience that he didn’t care, despite preemptively accusing his celebrity peers of hypocrisy for their political activism as they’ve done work for companies with questionable ethics like Apple and Amazon, and concluding his monologue by urging the audience to “donate to Australia.” Gervais went so far as to say, “if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech; you’re in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing of the real world.” Such a scathing and nihilistic attitude is a consequence of the fatigue many of us feel in response to the extremity of recent political events, and as this fatigue continues, it is sure to manifest ever-more prominently in American culture.

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Promising Progress Made In US-China Trade War Negotiations

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A new easing of trade tariffs between the US and China has sparked fresh hope that an end to the trade war between the countries could now be in sight.

Since Donald Trump was elected President, discussions with China’s Xi Jinping have remained tense. However, new revelations that some tariffs are to be rolled back has led analysts to predict real potential for growth in the coming months.

The stock market has also responded enthusiastically, and there has also been unprecedented steps by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase their global growth forecasts, should a deal to ease trade tensions come to fruition.

Although the details are yet to be finalised, it has been revealed that the deal will reintroduce the movement of US agricultural goods to China alongside a reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports entering the US. There are also suggestions that US poultry imports could also start flowing back into China.

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The first phase of the deal relies on the US rolling back tariffs on over $350bn of Chinese imports. If this is achieved, Xi Jinping will make the historic journey to the US to sign a partial trade deal with Donald Trump. Such progress is unprecedented and there has been excitement from investors, leading to a surge in stock markets and an all-time weekly high for the S&P 500.

Less than six months ago, further tensions were added as China announced new tariffs on $60bn of US imports, after warnings from Donald Trump against adding further fuel to the fire were ignored. Currently, China’s tariffs affect US imports of soybeans, beef, pork seafood, vegetables, liquefied natural gas, whiskey and ethanol. They range between 5% to 25%. The US currently levies a 15% duty on a range of Chinese imports, from meat through to musical instruments. According to Wikipedia, in 2018, over 1,300 categories of Chinese imports were listed for tariffs, including aircraft parts, batteries, flat-panel televisions, medical devices, satellites, and various weapons. In September, it was announced that China has implemented a 5% levy on US crude oil, the first time fuel had been affected by the ongoing trade battle.

Trump has long believed that China has been operating unfair trade practices which have significantly disadvantaged the US economy. He also accused them of intellectual property theft. The objective of the tariffs was to help boost sales to US companies by making imports more expensive. As overseas imports can often be much cheaper to produce, consumers have increasingly shifted towards the cheaper options, even if it takes a little longer for them to arrive. By focusing on making US products and companies more attractive to consumers, he hoped to give the economy a much needed boost.

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Unfortunately, this objective has not been easy to achieve, nor has it been supported by a wide range of industry experts. The reality is that the ongoing trade war is continuing to not only impact politics but wider businesses and consumers too. And whilst the intention may have been to encourage more sales towards American businesses, the tariffs could in fact have the opposite effect and prevent those same businesses from expanding their operations overseas to lucrative international markets.

With Singles Day fast approaching, this is likely to be the next major event impacted by the ongoing trade war. Similar to Black Friday in the US, Singles Day is a huge sale event which takes place on the Alibaba shopping platform. Most popular with young Chinese people, the event takes place on November 11th, chosen because the number 1 is thought to closely resemble a single person alone. Also known as ‘Guanggun Jie’, analysts have suggested that the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China could affect sales of US products on Singles Day, mainly driven by the loyalty of Chinese consumers, who could actively avoid purchasing products from US companies in retaliation for the way China has been treated.

This viewpoint is reflected in the findings of a recent survey by AlixPartners has revealed that 70% of respondents felt the trade war was influencing their purchasing decisions. Interestingly, over 50% stated that their national loyalty was preventing them from purchasing American brands, suggesting that these brands could see sales adversely affected on Singles Day due to the trade war struggles.

Although the future is still somewhat uncertain, the potential olive branches which are being presented by both parties are being taken as a positive sign that we could be entering a new phase of arrangements between China and the US. Any positive steps towards a renewed deal could not only help to reignite the flow of products between the two countries, but help to stabilize the stock market and provide an optimism across the wider global economy too.