News of the World

[kyonides]

MSC Grandiosa: First Mediterranean cruise launches after five-month pause
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53802045

The MSC Grandiosa will stop at three Italian ports and the Maltese capital Valletta in a seven-day voyage.
Operator MSC Cruises, say all passengers and crew have been tested for coronavirus before boarding.
It comes as virus cases continue to rise around Italy, with more than 600 reported by authorities yesterday.

It does sound dangerous indeed, especially because we're talking about places that include rooms that aren't as spacious as they might be during a pandemic. And we all already know what happened to several cruisers at the beginning of this dark chapter of our history.

Belarus: Mass protest eclipses defiant Belarus leader's rally
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53795871
Even after Lukashenko asked Putin to back him in his claim to stay in power in Belarus, his fellow countrymen and women strongly disagree with his handling of the crisis. Thousands of protesters filled up Minsk so to say to make him release the people that still are in prison who were arrested for complaining against their government. Meanwhile Lukashenko called them rats. He also pretended to gather his supporters to defend their country and its independence.

Trump says universal mail-in voting would be 'catastrophic'
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53795876
Donald Trump stated that voting system would make US a laughing stock. Democrats and even Taylor Swift attacked Trump for the USPS policies. Congress Speaker Nancy Pelosi is considering recalling Congress early to discuss the changes and their impacts. They didn't mention any concern for voting fraud except for the incumbent president. He managed to blame Dems for not reaching a deal on USPS funding.

Dublin: A woman was pushed into the water after racial abuse
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53794831

Gardaí (Irish police) are investigating an "alleged racially motivated incident" after a woman was pushed into the Royal Canal in Dublin.
A video, which was widely shared on social media, showed two boys pushing the woman into the canal.
RTÉ said Xuedan Xiong, who lives in Castleknock, pulled herself out of the water and was helped by onlookers.
She had challenged a group of young people about racial discrimination, RTÉ said. She was not injured.

Well, yes, racism or this time sinophobia is on the rise for sure.  

Thai protests: Thousands gather in Bangkok to demand reforms
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53798826
Do you want to criticize Thai monarchy? Well, you gotta make sure you're not currently living in Thailand. Otherwise you'd end up living not at a luxurious hotel but in prison itself. Yes, they'll treat you like scum for it.

Beware of Dropshippers!
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53759932
Most of the time it's a real scam! Many dropshippers dare to sell knockoffs at a higher price than a Chinese company would. BBC also warns you that there are several reports of products never reaching your homes or mail boxes.

Forget about MetalRenard's favorite ramen
BBC wants you to learn about the forgotten Japanese cuisine!
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200810...us-cuisine
Why are we asking you to ignore his delicious meals? Well, BBC interviewed some locals that told them about unknown dishes like kombu! One of them even dare to say they think it's the secret to live a long life.
So if you ever visit or live in Japan, grab some kombu tsukudani or kombu kamaboko. People seem to keep praising its umami flavor.

Ronald Koeman: Barcelona could pick Netherlands manager to replace Quique Setien
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53801207
It looks like Setien's disastrous elimination in the Champions League or Messi's pressure might make the Barca authorities to kick Setien out any time soon.

Israel and UAE launch direct phone links after historic accord
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53798832

The countries' foreign ministers called each other and "exchanged greetings following the historic peace accord", a statement said.
The US-brokered deal was announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
It is only the third Israeli-Arab peace treaty in the Middle East.
The international community has mostly welcomed the move, although Palestinians, Iran and Turkey have denounced it.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel has agreed to suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

And I thought Palestinians would rejoice a bit after learning about this event.

Mauritius oil spill: Wrecked MV Wakashio breaks up
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53797009
First it spilled oil into the sea and now it breaks.

The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July with 4,000 tonnes of the fuel, causing an ecological emergency.
Most of the fuel had already been pumped out, officials said, but on Saturday the ship's condition worsened.
Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and popular with tourists.

Kyonides's Open Editorial

Open Editorial!?

Calling BBC right wing seems to be, err, an exaggeration. They're obviously leaning to the left every so often. I don't even remember the last time they supported any right or centered right policy or measure. On the contrary, they keep hitting Trump and his allies hard, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team. Check this out https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/BBC/ just in case you still think BBC is right leaning at all.

We shouldn't forget the pandemic is hitting all of us quite hard so it's not amazing to notice some scent of extremism in every other opinion or article available out there. Surges in cases and lockdowns are taking a huge toll on people everywhere. In Costa Rica even the Health Minister is absent for his father is either severely ill or deceased depending on the news media that's reporting his situation.

Of course, everybody's entitled to their opinions for this is a democracy after all. Unless people visiting us are living in China or North Korea or Iran just to name a few of them.

Keeping an entirely objective viewpoint intact is a huge feat indeed. Sadly, people end up choosing a group or party or the like. It doesn't matter if it's on purpose or they were forced to take action because they felt their rights or believes were under constant attack or they were simply ignored by the rest of the world.

World peace... How many times have we heard about it so far? Thousands? Millions of times? No matter what age we're talking about, war or clashes between parties or tribes or nations or empires always take place. We're selfish after all. Do we want peace? Of course we do! OK, some people like Xi Jinping or Korea's leader seem to prefer a direct path to supremacy or mass control instead.

The more people try to unite as a single race the more they end up learning how different every culture is. We can ignore our differences... for the time being but sooner or later we'll recall they do exist. Yes, conflicts should arise right after that happens like it might happen even before this pandemic ends this year or in 2022...

I do think we should be careful about hoping world peace is achievable under modern circumstances. History has shown us that forgiving and ignoring other people's flaws just for the sake of convenience or temporarily peace or (un)common political goals is dangerous.

What makes me laugh is the unforeseen irony here. After I read MetalRenard's opinion, which I respect it but I just can't share it, I found something eye catching concerning Japan. Honestly, I'd have expected the news article were speaking about Russia or China or North Korea or even Iran or Venezuela itself. Nope, it was about an unofficial movement growing stronger in Japan. It was connected to Lt. Hiroo Onoda and even the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe! They, the Nippon Kaigi are in favor of war practically. They wanna trash the constitution that commands them to be peaceful, they wanna build a strong army... and even powerful politicians are involved! Probably they can't make drastic changes in a short period of time, but that doesn't stop them from trying. They still believe their country should be proud of it past, including the WWII chapter except for its capitulation. This group only cares about imperialism.

Why on earth is this happening in Japan? That's because General MacArthur and others let some Japanese leaders stay alive, including Onoda and Nobusuke Kishi. The latter even founded the incumbent party ruling Japan nowadays. His daughter married Shintaro Abe, the incumbent PM's father.

As a summary finding the way to achieve world peace seems to be a far dream at best. Let's hope the day comes when a true peace can be shared with peoples all around the world. Though selfishness has to be crushed in the process.

Where's my source? It's right here. I'm sorry but I'm still looking for its English translation or its original article.