Former McDonald's Restaurants in Russia Open With New Name
More than a dozen McDonald's restaurants reopened in Moscow on Sun. under new Russian ownership and a new name: Vkusno & tochka, which translates as "Tasty and that's it."
The American fast-food giant closed its Russian restaurants in March and divested from Russia in May after declaring business was "no longer tenable" amid the Ukraine war. McDonald's left Russia 32-yrs after opening its first restaurant in the country in the Soviet Union on Pushkin Square on Jan. 31, 1990.
The restaurants no longer serve Big Macs but the ingredients in the substitute 'Grandee' burger are the same, according to Vkusno & tochka's quality manager, Alexander Merkulov. On opening, a double cheeseburger cost 129 roubles ($2.31) compared with approx. 160 under McDonald's, and a fish burger retailed at 169 roubles, compared with around 190 previously.
Pro-Russia narrative
Families who may have thought they were saying goodbye to affordable fast-food in Russia are now enjoying a delicious cheap menu offered by a Russian-run business. Alexander Govor's intervention is good news for consumers as well as employees, who will be kept on for at least two years under the sale plan. Govor also plans to develop new restaurant locations, expanding the new brand beyond the achievements established by McDonald's.
Anti-Russia narrative
The presence of the golden arch took on a meaning beyond a meal when the first McDonald's restaurant opened in Moscow's Pushkin Square - it was a sign of the thaw of Cold War tensions. The company's exit from Russia is perhaps the most visible sign of the exodus of nearly 1k foreign companies from the Russian market since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the reversal of amiable diplomatic relations between Russia and the West.
Nerd narrative
There is a 92% chance that Russia will be the world's most sanctioned country by Feb. 22, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Jan. 6 Hearings: Day 2
The Jan. 6 Committee held its second hearing on Mon., with presentations focused on the origins and progression of Trump's claims of election fraud.
The hearing included video footage of a deposition given by former Trump campaign strategist Jason Miller, who said an "intoxicated" Rudy Giuliani helped convinced Trump to declare victory on election night before all ballots were counted.
Video evidence also revealed that members of Trump's inner circle, including campaign manager Bill Stepien, daughter Ivanka Trump, and former AG Bill Barr, distanced themselves from the former president's claims of election fraud in their respective depositions.
Right narrative
No one cares about the Jan. 6 hearings. New polls show that more than half of Americans believe Trump wasn't at fault for the Jan. 6 riots, compared to less than 40% who approve of Biden's presidency. Democrats and RINOs are trying to distract Americans from their policy failures with these hearings, but it won't work.
Left narrative
The fact that even Trump's loyal campaign aides were telling him to cool it with the fraud claims shows how delusional these election conspiracy theories were. Trump's aides told him the truth on and even before election night, but he ignored them. Now, thanks to the Jan. 6 Committee, every American gets to hear their truthful inside knowledge.
Nerd narrative
There's a 12% chance that Donald Trump will be jailed before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Day 111 Roundup: Mass Grave Discovered Outside Kyiv; 5 Reported Dead in Ukrainian Shelling
On Mon., Ukrainian authorities said they've discovered the bodies of seven civilians in a new mass grave in the village of Myrotske, near Bucha, in the regional outskirts of Kyiv. The victims were found with "gunshot wounds and hands tied behind their backs," according to a statement from Ukraine's prosecutor general's office.
Officials in Ukraine said they've uncovered the bodies of 1,316 people, many in mass graves, since the withdrawal of Russian forces from the region at the end of March. Igor Klimenko, the national police chief, also stated that criminal investigations into the deaths of more than 12k Ukrainians included some found in mass graves. He didn't specify how many were civilians as opposed to military.
Elsewhere, pro-Russia media on Mon. reported that at least 5 civilians were killed and 22 injured in Ukrainian artillery strikes on the city of Donetsk, held by pro-Russia separatists since 2014. Russian news agencies reported that shells struck a market and a maternity hospital, triggering a fire and prompting staff to take patients to the basement.
Pro-establishment narrative
The horrors of Bucha shocked the world after the withdrawal of Russian forces. These latest mass graves are further evidence of widespread Russian atrocities and war crimes committed in the course of this brutal invasion.
Establishment-critical narrative
While nothing excuses the horrors of Bucha or other war crimes allegedly committed by Russia, Ukraine also faces credible accusations of breaking the Geneva Conventions in their treatment of Russian prisoners of war, which include allegations of point-blank executions. Both sides must be held fully accountable.
Nerd narrative
There's a 21% chance that Ukraine will have de facto control of at least 90% of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts by January 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Stocks Sink into Bear Market Amidst Crypto Crash
All the major US stock indexes dropped dramatically on Mon. as inflation fears intensified. The S&P 500 entered bear market territory - a decline of over 20% from its Jan. highs - after slumping nearly 4% on the day.
The declines appear to have been triggered by Friday's higher-than-expected report on consumer price inflation, which showed that it's rising rather than retreating as some analysts had predicted.
The Federal Reserve Bank acts to lower inflation mainly by raising interest rates, which helps to cool off the economy by slowing growth. Some analysts and investors fear that the Fed may have waited too long to act to curb rising prices and that a recession now seems inevitable.
Narrative A
Additional steeper interest rate hikes are on the way, and that's bad news for stock prices because it's not just inflation that is hurting businesses. As prices rise and consumers get nervous, businesses will start to cut prices to clear inventory. This will only drive the price of stocks lower as investors see lower profits in the future.
Narrative B
US equities have declined so much, so quickly that they have already priced in the worst-case scenario - the risk of a recession. But a recession isn't inevitable given the current market tailwinds like a strong consumer, the COVID recovery, and policy stimulus in China. Now is the time to diversify and allocate assets back into growth sectors.
Cynical narrative
Inflation is bad news for consumers and savers alike, but it's good news for the irresponsible governments that have racked up decades of unsustainable debt and now need to inflate their way out of it. Central banks aren't too eager to check inflation and will take on more debt and print more money rather than raise rates to where they should be.
Microsoft Pledges to Respect Activision Blizzard Unionization Efforts
Microsoft has committed itself to a "neutral approach" toward unionizing employees at Activision Blizzard King (ABK), a video game company it's acquiring for $69B.
Under the agreement, employees will no longer need to petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election to unionize. Instead, the process of unionizing will be expedited and overseen by a neutral third party.
The neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), initiated Mon., comes after the CWA expressed concerns about the takeover. However, group Pres. Chris Shelton said the agreement resolved their doubts.
Narrative A
This new deal will give a much-needed voice to Activision employees. The video game industry and major tech companies have been slow to organize, but this deal marks a significant step forward in protecting workers' rights and collectivizing employee power.
Narrative B
This agreement is great PR for Microsoft. It also isn't as risky a move for the company as it would be for an organization like Amazon, which employs hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers. Microsoft employs largely well-compensated, white-collar workers who are unlikely to unionize.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that less than 13% of Americans will be represented by a labor union in 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
SCOTUS: Double Jeopardy Not Applicable to Federal and Tribal Courts
SCOTUS ruled 6-3 on Mon. that Native Americans prosecuted in some tribal courts can be tried for the same incident in federal courts, which can result in harsher sentences.
The case involved a Navajo Nation member, Merle Denezpi, who pleaded guilty to assault and battery in a Court for Indian Offenses (CFR), and was sentenced to 140 days in the Ute Reservation.
He was then prosecuted again in US federal court on the charge of aggravated sexual abuse and sentenced to 30 yrs in prison.
Establishment-critical narrative
This ruling couldn't be more wrong. The CFR isn't a tribal court but an extension of the federal government through the Department of the Interior. In a false claim of protecting tribal sovereignty, Denezpi has been prosecuted twice for the same crime.
Pro-establishment narrative
SCOTUS is merely upholding the law and ensuring fair punishment. There is a clear distinction between the tribal courts and federal courts, without which defendants would be protected under the Double Jeopardy clause and allowed to escape appropriate sentences.
Hollywood Pledges to Control Onscreen Gun Violence
In the aftermath of recent mass shootings, roughly 200 Hollywood creatives have signed a pledge promising to portray guns responsibly onscreen.
Released by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the letter asks Hollywood not to eliminate guns and gun violence but to be "mindful" of their depiction of onscreen weapons.
It also promises to limit the number of scenes portraying both guns and children, along with scenes of adults properly locking their guns away.
Pro-establishment narrative
This is an important step in the right direction. Film and media are often a direct source of inspiration for gun violence, and Hollywood has a basic moral responsibility not to romanticize something that so often leads to tragic consequences in real life.
Establishment-critical narrative
Labeling filmmakers, actors, and producers "responsible" won't end gun violence. Every country has violent movies, yet none are dealing with mass shootings on a scale even close to the US. Of course Hollywood should stop romanticizing violence, but celebrity virtue signaling won't make any real difference; the only thing that will is drastic changes in policy and gun legislation.
79 Reportedly Killed in Latest Burkina Faso Jihadist Attack
On Tues., the government of Burkina Faso reported that 79 bodies have been recovered so far following a weekend attack by suspected Islamist militants on the village of Seytenga in the northern province of Seno.
The supposed act of revenge followed the killing of 11 gendarmes in the same area on Thurs., which led to a military operation in which the army reported that 40 jihadists were killed.
The latest attack is the bloodiest in the landlocked West African nation since the military ousted elected Pres. Roch Marc Christian Kabore in Jan., blaming him for the surge in jihadist attacks.
Pro-establishment narrative
The Islamist threat continues to destabilize the Sahel. For years, however, Washington has warned that jihadists are also targeting West Africa. Various coups in recent years have hampered the efforts of European states such as France, but also the US, to get the situation under control by militarily supporting local governments. The coup in Burkina Faso is just one of the latest sad examples.
Establishment-critical narrative
The deteriorating security crisis in West Africa is primarily the result of the West's decade-long political and military interference under the guise of fighting terrorism. And it's no coincidence that anti-European and especially anti-French sentiment is on the rise. There is hope for the region only when it's no longer possible for the West to pursue its geopolitical interests unchallenged by pretending to "help."
SpaceX Launch Site Undergoes Rigorous Environmental Review
After months of review, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has found SpaceX's planned Starship rocket launch from South Texas to have "no significant impact" on the environment.
However, the comprehensive federal ruling includes more than 75 actions the company must take to ensure the surrounding area near Brownsville, Texas, isn't harmed by Starship takeoffs.
Among its prescribed actions, SpaceX must enlist a "qualified biologist" to monitor the impact on local wildlife, warn the public ahead of launches, and clean up shrapnel in "sensitive habitats."
Republican narrative
The burdensome environmental reviews brought back by the Biden admin. only serve to drastically slow down approvals on some of America's most important endeavors. Trump tried to cut back on the bureaucratic red tape and woke policies for good reason.
Democratic narrative
Biden understands the importance of climate change and social justice, and any measure to protect our Earth and vulnerable communities is the right decision, even if it is a meticulous process. Bringing back these rules will expedite projects over time by ensuring they're done right the first time.
Cuba: Nearly 400 Sanctioned Over Anti-Govt. Protests
Cuba has sanctioned 381 people over last July's anti-government protests, with 297 people reportedly sentenced to 5-25 years of prison for crimes of sedition, public disorder, assault, or robbery.
Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in protest of rising food costs, medical shortages, and harsh socio-economic conditions that worsened during COVID.
Unauthorized public gatherings are illegal in Cuba, and security forces detained 1.3K protesters, leaving one dead and dozens injured.
Pro-establishment narrative
The Cuban regime is trying to intimidate and threaten anybody who dares to speak out with mass detentions, sham trials, and unjust sentencing. The US rightly stands with the brave Cubans who have opposed 62 years of repression. The communist regime must be held accountable.
Establishment-critical narrative
This is yet another example of the US attempting to undermine the Cuban government. The US has continuously tried to destabilize Cuba but to no avail. It hasn't worked for 60 years, doesn't work now, and won't work in the future.
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