Month: January 2021

Authored by Jennifer Oliver O’Connell via RedState.com,

As one of our RedState diarists Dana Pico mused,

“There are times that I wonder if today’s Democrats see George Orwell’s 1984 not as a warning but a model of good government.”

In celebration of a 2020 that desperately needs to come to an end, here is a list of the Top 10 Worst Mayors in the nation. These mayors most definitely use Orwell’s 1984 as their policies and procedures manual, if not their Bible.

It comes as no surprise that all 10 of the mayors on the list are Democrat (something about that political party), and that five of the 10 are mayors of West Coast cities (something about the Pacific Ocean).

Several of the mayors have overseen a mass exodus of people from their cities, and even their state in a 10-month period. But most of all, every one of these mayors stand out as abject failures of governance, with constituents that literally despise them.

Without further adieu, here is the Top 10 Worst Mayor’s list for 2020:

10. Michael Hancock (Denver)

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock could have stayed under the radar and never made it to the Top 10 on this list. But thanks to his Holiday Hypocrisy, he landed firmly in the final spot.

My colleague, Scott Hounsell wrote:

“According to the news report, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock was spotted leaving the state to go spend Thanksgiving with his daughter in Mississippi.  The Mayor’s office said that the Mayor had canceled his big holiday dinner this year, but “traveled alone” (aside from the whole public transportation and flying from a crowded airport thing).

“His flight allegedly also took off 30 minutes after he posted this little gem to his Twitter account:”

Pass the potatoes, not COVID.

🏘️Stay home as much as you can, especially if you’re sick.
💻Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners.
❌Avoid travel, if you can.
🍲Order your holiday meal from a local eatery.
🎁Shop online with a small business for #BlackFriday. pic.twitter.com/acQpWs2Ism

— Michael B. Hancock 🎄 (@MayorHancock) November 25, 2020

Local investigative reporter Nicole Vap dropped the hammer, exposing Mayor Hancock’s hypocrisy of not only telling others to stay at home, but hopping a flight from Colorado to Mississippi without so much as an eyelash blink.

BREAKING: After telling people to avoid travel this thanksgiving Denver Mayor Michael takes off from DIA to travel to visit family. #9news https://t.co/kfN0SiY8rz

— Nicole Vap (@nicolevap) November 25, 2020

Of course he did! Lockdown for thee, but not for me! pic.twitter.com/XNhTLeaVJ1

— Justin Case (@neverame2er) November 25, 2020

Hancock was “deeply regretful” about his decision, saying he led with his heart and not his head.

When do they ever lead, let alone actually use their head to do so? Asking for a friend.

9. Sam Liccardo (San Jose)

Our first Coastie Mayor enters the fray. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, like Hancock of Denver, probably could have avoided this list too; but, when you dictate to people that they are required to follow certain behavior, you better make sure you’re dictating to yourself.

Liccardo decided the City of San Jose needed to be scolded and reminded…

Cases are spiking, in part because we’re letting our guard (and masks) down with family & friends. Let’s cancel the big gatherings this year and focus on keeping each other safe https://t.co/oHFXb6DZ82

— Sam Liccardo (@sliccardo) November 25, 2020

Another plug for local journalism, as I reported:

“San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (Democrat-Duh), ignored his own protocols and had Thanksgiving with family members outside of his own household.

“ ‘The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has learned Liccardo celebrated with his elderly parents at their Saratoga home with an unknown number of other guests. While the mayor’s staff did confirm the dinner took place, they have not disclosed how many other people attended, how many different households were present, and whether any of those in attendance wore masks while not eating.’ ”

So much for Liccardo avoiding the big gatherings and keeping people safe. The San Jose Mayor assumed because he wasn’t Governor Gavin Newsom, that no one would be watching. Dude, we’re all stuck at home—you know we’re watching.

Your voice is now irrelevant. Please step down. YOU are the danger.

— Comfort Food (@ComfortFood8) December 3, 2020

8. Steve Adler (Austin)

Austin Mayor Steve Adler has been a zealot for COVID rules and mask compliance. His Twitter profile shows he is the perfect poster child for mask adherents:

Tweets by MayorAdler

Between criticisms of Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Adler makes sure to post statistics from the County Department of Health and information on how YOU can stop the spread. While he was gaslighting his constituents pretending to be “all in it together”, Adler was posting his crumbs of wisdom from a vacation home in… wait for it… Cabo San Lucas.

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. It’s just our household in our home today, trying new traditions& connecting virtually with our daughters and family. It’s hard being physically distanced but there’s still so much to be thankful for this year: https://t.co/hRjTaGpGSo pic.twitter.com/1hbUbpycBa

— Mayor Adler | 😷wear a mask. (@MayorAdler) November 26, 2020

Kira Davis unveiled this stunning hypocrisy:

“Adler agreed, and just ahead of Thanksgiving he posted a video to his Facebook page once again encouraging Austinites to stay home, avoid travel and forgo Thanksgiving with family in the name of safety. He suggested that Austin may have to close again if people did not comply.

“What he did not disclose is that he sent the message from his family timeshare in Cabo San Lucas.

“In case you’re not a big geography fan…that’s in Mexico.

“In an exclusive report, The Statesman reveals that recently Adler hosted an outdoor wedding for his daughter with at least 20 guests.

Even after being exposed, Adler had the unmitigated gall to post this to his Twitter account:

If you participated in high-risk Thanksgiving activities (indoor gatherings, travel, or crowded gatherings) get tested at least 3-5 days after the event AND stay home for 7 days after gathering or traveling. If you test positive, follow @Auspublichealth guidelines.
4/4

— Mayor Adler | 😷wear a mask. (@MayorAdler) December 1, 2020

Is this a fake account or is he that tone deaf?

— Remove Judge Brodman (@RemoveBrodman) December 4, 2020

Maybe if he paid more attention to the home fires, he wouldn’t get called out by the Governor of Texas for the city’s crime problem.

7. London Breed (San Francisco)

Our second Coastie in the running for the Top 10 sweepstakes. Besides the most pretentious name this side of Stockton, the San Francisco mayor’s woke governance has seen an exponential increase in homelessness, drug use and public nudity on the streets, not to mention dodging fecal matter on all the major thoroughfares.

Breed has also overseen the exodus of several Silicon Valley heavyweights, including Palantir’s Alex Karp, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Yet, like Governor Gavin Newsom, and another mayoral entry, Breed targets churches as vectors of COVID spread, and complains that Newsom’s replacement of Senator Kamala Harris with someone who isn’t a Black female is a slap in the face.

Mayor Breed slapped her own constituents in the face when, on the heels of Newsom’s infamous visit, Breed also dined at the pricey French Laundry. As Jen Van Laar reported, Breed

“attended the 60th birthday party of socialite Goretti Lo Lui at the exclusive restaurant – in the very same private dining room Newsom’s party occupied.

“Breed’s spokesperson, Jeff Cretan, described the party as ‘a small family birthday dinner,’ comprised of eight people, but there’s no word on who the other attendees were and how many households were represented.”

San Francisco is full of champagne elitists, but even they are getting fed up. These elected officials are constantly saying “we” must sacrifice our time with family and friends in order to stop the spread, without that sacrifice extending in their direction. Breed was still playing this game at the Christmas holidays:

I know it’s hard not to gather in person with loved ones during the holidays. There are bright times ahead but fighting this pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint. As you make your choices this season, think about what you can do to help us get through these coming weeks & months. https://t.co/sFRTwYV9N9

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) December 23, 2020

And like many in the rest of the state, very few are playing along.

You have tried to justify your non science based lockdown, stating cases are down. Wrong. All services closed yet % + is up & cases are all concentrated in 1-2 districts ages 18-29. Gee, I WONDER how the virus is spreading. Private parties much? Thx for punishing the rest of us.

— DJ Angry (@msjrenae) December 23, 2020

6. Jacob Frey (Minneapolis)

Now to the frozen tundra of the Upper Midwest. Had it not been for the death of George Floyd, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could have fallen into woke obscurity as another pajama boy running a major city into the ground.

Thanks to Black Lives Matter’s and Antifa’s violent “protests” over the death of George Floyd, Frey is doing a horrible job of rebuilding from the ruins, especially with no federal funds to assist that. You broke it, you pay for it.

Frey and the Minneapolis City Council led the rallying cry to defund the police after the Floyd-inspired violence, where Frey allowed rioters to burn down the police headquarters.

Frey and the Council got their wish, cutting 8 million from the police budget. But that “Monkey’s Paw” grant came with a huge surge in violent crime.

If Frey stays on track, he’ll move up the list come next year.

5. Jenny Durkan (Seattle)

Not only does our third Coastie entry, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, win the mid-slot prize, but she is fighting with Frey and our No. 4 entry for the award of Stupidest Mayor on the Planet.

Seattle has tolerated Antifa violence for years, thinking as long as it was isolated to certain areas, that it was all good in the hood.

When Black Lives Matter decided to up the ante and create an autonomous zone called CHOP, then CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) in the middle of downtown Seattle, Durkan had nothing but high praise for this expression of

“first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society and provide true equity for communities of color is not terrorism – it is patriotism.”

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone #CHAZ is not a lawless wasteland of anarchist insurrection – it is a peaceful expression of our community’s collective grief and their desire to build a better world. Given his track record, it’s not hard to believe that Trump is wrong, yet again.

— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

Durkan used it as a platform to condemn President Trump and praise Seattle, who was on the forefront of “true, meaningful change.”

Seattle is passionate, we demand justice, and I believe we will be at the forefront of true, meaningful change. Nothing will distract our city from the work that needs to be done.

— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

Only after the radicals decided to protest at her house did she decide the protests and CHAZ needed to cease. Things had been going south fairly quickly, with rapes and murders piling up in the autonomous zone, but up to that point, to Durkan it was just one big “block party.”

So what did the good Mayor Durkan do? She laid the blame for the fallout at the feet of her police chief Carmen Best, who happened to be the first woman of color to hold the position. After the Seattle City Council voted to slash Chief Best’s salary in half, Best chose to resign.

My colleague Sister Toldjah wrote,

“The irony here cannot be overstated. In an effort to appease radical “Black Lives Matter” activists, the City Council chose to show their support for diverse black voices by punishing one for expressing her disagreement.”

So much for true equity.

4. Ted Wheeler (Portland)

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Jenny Durkan are almost neck and neck, but the idiot Wheeler gets a higher ranking for being the worse form of a cuck. And that’s saying a lot when you have Minneapolis Mayor Jason Frey and the winner of the No. 1 slot in this mix.

Wheeler decided to march in solidarity with violent protestors back in July, and tolerated his own version of a CHAZ. When President Trump offered to send in the National Guard to help quell the unrest, Wheeler doubled and triple-downed on his hatred for Trump and refused help. Instead he sat back and watched as his citizens’ businesses and the city were destroyed.

Wheeler has had BLM and Antifa mount perpetual protests at his condo building, where rioters actually entered the lobby of the building and occupied it.

It took over 100 days of violence and destruction of property for Wheeler to finally condemn it. Too little, too late.

To those participating in violence, I want to be clear: I denounce your actions. Law enforcement will do everything possible to find you and hold you accountable. We all agree racial justice is past due, but I absolutely denounce the violence and criminal destruction.

— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) November 21, 2020

3. Lori Lightfoot (Chicago)

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was one of the first passengers on the COVID Hypocrisy train. While she tweeted about “Stay Home, Save Lives” and threatened people if they broke the lockdowns and quarantine, she decided she needed a haircut.

I don’t have much time to myself these days, but I felt I needed to make sure everyone knows how I feel about this Stay at Home Order. Which one motivates you the most to stay at home? #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/pDbCdySMQk

— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) March 30, 2020

My colleague Nick Arama documented her excuse:

“ ‘I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye,’ she stated.

“ ‘I’m a person who, I take my personal hygiene very seriously. As I said, I felt like I needed to have a haircut,’ Lightfoot said. ‘I’m not able to do that myself, so I got a haircut. You want to talk more about that?’ “

It’s not her fault she needs her roots done. How dare you question her authority!

Like Durkan, Mayor Lightfoot praised the Summer’s peaceful destructive protestors—until they showed up at her house. Then she banned them, but only from her block.

“To quote Doc Holliday — or at least the Val Kilmer version of him — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “hypocrisy knows no bounds”.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Police Department is under orders from the Mayor’s Office that no protesters are allowed in the area of Logan’s Square where the Mayor lives.”

Lightfoot continues to be a regular passenger on the Hypocrisy Express, leading a celebration rally after Joe Biden declared his victorious win in the presidential election.

While she also continues to ignore weekend murders in Black neighborhoods, and blames them on… COVID.

But Lightfoot is part of the intersectional Left (Black, Lesbian), so in Chicago, at least, she’ll always get a pass.

2. Bill DeBlasio (New York)

This was another almost neck-and-neck call, but Mayor de Bolshevik aka Marxist Mayor Marfan is still forced to take second string.

At the beginning of the “15 days to stop the spread”, Mayor Marfan decided there needed to be a tip line to report New Yorkers who were not observing social distancing.

How do you report places that aren’t enforcing social distancing? It’s simple: just snap a photo and text it to 311-692. #AskMyMayor pic.twitter.com/WQdCcVf1Rl

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 18, 2020

It went over as well could be expected, as my colleague Sister Toldjah reported:

“Here we are just a few days later, and the New York Post is reporting that the text line has been “flooded” with obscene photos, comparisons of de Blasio to Hitler, and links/photos to the reports of him going to the gym as other New York residents were told to hunker down.”

De Bolshevik made a big show of painting a Black Lives Matter street mural in the wake of the George Floyd Summer of unrest, and he spearheaded the successful defunding of the police, while watching crime rates spike out of control as a result.

Marxist Mayor Marfan is a despised man, even by the state’s governor, who is no peach himself. Democrat Max Rose called him the worst Mayor in the history of the country:

“A fellow city Democrat, Rep. Max Rose, was fuming during an interview about the mayor’s performance when he delivered an insult… De Blasio, Rose said, is the worst mayor “in the history of this great country.” ⁦@NYCMayor⁩ ⁦@NYCFirstLady⁩ https://t.co/rEQtec0JBM

— Michael Tammero (@FOXlightMichael) August 9, 2020

Apparently Mayor Marfan continues to double down on that title with pride, pretending to care by beclowning himself with videos about mask usage. While making plans to stiff the Orthodox Jewish community on getting vaccinations, even though he has personally blamed them for the COVID spread in the city.

You look up “Horrible Human” in the dictionary, and de Bolshevik’s photo is more than likely next to it.

You look up “Useless Tool”, and you’ll find a picture of this West Coast treasure who took the No. 1 spot.

1. Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles)

Diarist Katlyn Batts said it best:

“The situation isn’t any better on the west coast either, where Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s approach to the COVID-19 epidemic has only worsened many of the most pressing issues facing the city.

“Homelessness, for example, has long been a major problem facing Los Angeles. Mayor Garcetti has promised to address the issue, but he has come up short time and again in finding a true solution. The city pledged to house 15,000 of its homeless residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has continuously failed to meet that goal.

While Garcetti referred to the homeless population as “horseshit” and has ignored the overflow of human detritus and waste that has filled every street and freeway underpass from Atwater Village to Woodland Hills, he has fixated on ensuring that every COVID-19 diktat spewed by Governor Hair Gel Newsom is enforced, even declaring that “snitches get rewards” to anyone who would report their neighbor for violating the Governor’s “safer at home” orders.

Straight outta the Soviet Union. Democrat/Socialists deserve to Reap what they Sow.. not the rest of us. Perhaps we need a wall around Los Angeles.
‘Snitches Get Rewards’: Garcetti Issues New Rules To Report “Safer At Home” Violators https://t.co/401ykJBZSX

— Rick Dalton (@Rick_PotusPress) April 26, 2020

While cutting off water and power from homes and businesses who refused to adhere to the orders.

However, Mayor Uselessness did show his concern for Angelenos by giving them a discount on parking violations. What a stand up guy!

Unless it comes to any male who was sexually harassed by his Deputy Mayor and advisor Rick Jacobs, that is. Then he doesn’t know anything about it.

What Garcetti never failed to do was miss a moment to be in front of the cameras as the West Coast surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket. He even had his hopes of riding the ticket’s coattails to D.C., where his illusions of grandeur could be fully realized.

BLM-LA helped to burst that bubble. They labeled him a white supremacist, and protested in front of his house in order to tank any chance that Biden would consider him for a cabinet position.

We’ll be outside Mayor Garcetti’s mansion with @BLMLA every day until @JoeBiden commits to keeping this failure out of the White House! Join us tomorrow, Saturday. Remember to use our toolkit https://t.co/tTjJ6nPTc6 #BlockGarcetti pic.twitter.com/NICIQ3P2FB

— garcettiville (@garcettiville) November 28, 2020

The good news is that BLM-LA succeeded, so the rest of the nation has been spared Garcetti’s abject incompetence.

THIS comes after 22 DAYS of consistent protest to #BlockGarcetti from this very Cabinet post. #WhenWeFightWeWin#BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/vFop9v72Vc

— #BlackLivesMatter-LA (@BLMLA) December 15, 2020

The bad news is Los Angeles is still stuck with him.

What a way to be No. 1.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against two Maryland companies and their principals allegedly defrauding more than 1,000 investors in a $28 million Ponzi scheme. 

The SEC first filed the complaint against 1st Million LLC and Smart Partners LLC, and their principals, Dennis Jali, John Frimpong, and Arley Johnson, in August, for defrauding 1,200 investors, many of which were “African immigrants.” 

The complaint said the trio “exploited common ancestry and/or religious affiliations to earn investors’ trust. Many of the investors were health care workers and/or members of churches attended by Jali, Frimpong, and/or Johnson.” 

1st Million LLC Seminar 

Investors were promised by Jali, Frimpong, and Johnson that they were “skilled and licensed traders that would invest in foreign currency exchange and cryptocurrency, “and guaranteed substantial monthly or quarterly returns while simultaneously protecting their principal from market forces,” the complaint read. 

As always, like in any other classic Ponzi scheme, the complaint read:

“Rather than invest money received from these targeted communities and others as promised, Defendants misappropriated investor funds for the personal use of Jali, Frimpong, and Johnson, and to temporarily keep the scheme afloat by making Ponzi payments to earlier investors.” 

According to CBS Baltimore, officials from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland are trying to identify victims who may have lost money. 

CBS Baltimore added more color into the trio’s scheme, indicating they posed as “pastors and attended church events to get investments from churchgoers.” 

Here’s one of the many seminars the fake pastors lured unsuspecting victims from various churches. 

The scheme went on for nearly two years, from August 2017 to May 2019.

A couple of months ago, a Baltimore man was sentenced to 22-years in jail for the largest-ever Ponzi scheme in the state’s history.  

Just imagine if these fools actually invested millions of dollars in Bitcoin back in 2017-19… 

Via South Front,

2020 was a year full of surprises. It marked the advent of a new reality which may, with an equal probability, lead humanity to a new dark age or to a global digital dystopia. In this context, there is little room for a positive scenario of sustainable development that would benefit people in general, as opposed to just a group of select individuals and special interest groups. The heft of shifts in 2020 is comparable to what European citizens felt on the eve of another change of the socio-economic formation in the early 17th and 20th centuries.

The past year began with the assassination of the Iranian military genius General Qasem Soleimani by the United States, and it ended with the murder of the prominent scholar Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by the Israelis. In early January, Iran, expecting another aggressive action from the West, accidently shot down a Ukrainian civil aircraft that had inexplicably altered its course over Tehran without request nor authorization. Around the same time, Turkey confirmed the deployment of its military in Libya, beginning a new phase of confrontation in the region, and Egypt responding with airstrikes and additional shows of force. The situation in Yemen developed rapidly: taking advantage of the Sunni coalition’s moral weakness, Ansar Allah achieved significant progress in forcing the Saudis out of the country in many regions. The state of warfare in northwestern Syria has significantly changed, transforming into the formal delineation of zones of influence of Turkey and the Russian-Iranian-Syrian coalition. This happened amid, and largely due to the weakening of U.S. influence in the region. Ankara is steadily increasing its military presence in the areas under its responsibility and along the contact line. It has taken measures to deter groups linked to Al-Qaeda and other radicals. As a result, the situation in the region is stabilizing, which has allowed Turkey to increasingly exert control over most of Greater Idlib.

ISIS cells remain active in the eastern and southern Syrian regions. Particular processes are taking place in Quneitra and Daraa provinces, where Russian peace initiatives were inconclusive by virtue of the direct destructive influence of Israel in these areas of Syria. In turn, the assassination of Qasem Soleimaniin resulted in a sharp increase in the targeting of American personnel, military and civil infrastructure in Iraq. The U.S. Army was forced to regroup its forces, effectively abandoning a number of its military installations and concentrating available forces at key bases. At the same time, Washington flatly rejected demands from Baghdad for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops and promised to respond with full-fledged sanctions if Iraq continued to raise this issue. Afghanistan remains stable in its instability. Disturbing news comes from Latin America. Confrontation between China and India flared this year, resulting in sporadic border clashes. This situation seems far from over, as both countries have reinforced their military posture along the disputed border. The aggressive actions of the Trump administration against China deepen global crises, which has become obvious not only to specialists but also to the general public. The relationship between the collective West and the Russian Federation was re-enshrined in “the Cold War state”, which seems to have been resurrected once again.

The turbulence of the first quarter of 2020 was overshadowed by a new socio-political process – the corona-crisis, the framework of which integrates various phenomena from the Sars-Cov2 epidemic itself and the subsequent exacerbation of the global economic crisis. The disclosure of substantial social differences that have accumulated in modern capitalist society, lead to a series of incessant protests across the globe. The year 2020 was accompanied by fierce clashes between protesters professing various causes and law enforcement forces in numerous countries. Although on the surface these societal clashes with the state appear disassociated, many share related root causes. A growing, immense wealth inequality, corruption of government at all levels, a lack of any meaningful input into political decision making, and the unmasking of massive censorship via big tech corporations and the main stream media all played a part in igniting societal unrest.

In late 2019 and early 2020 there was little reason for optimistic projections for the near future. However, hardly anyone could anticipate the number of crisis events and developments that had taken place during this year. These phenomena affected every region of the world to some extent.

Nevertheless, Middle East has remained the main source of instability, due to being an arena where global and regional power interests intertwine and clash. The most important line of confrontation is between US and Israel-led forces on the one hand, and Iran and its so called Axis of Resistance. The opposing sides have been locked in an endless spiral of mutual accusations, sanctions, military incidents, and proxy wars, and recently even crossed the threshold into a limited exchange of strikes due to the worsening state of regional confrontation. Russia and Turkey, the latter of which has been distancing itself from Washington due to growing disagreements with “NATO partners” and changes in global trends, also play an important role in the region without directly entering into the confrontation between pro-Israel forces and Iran.

As in the recent years, Syria and Iraq remain the greatest hot-spots. The destruction of ISIS as a terrorist state and the apparent killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not end its existence as a terror group. Many ISIS cells and supporting elements actively use regional instability as a chance to preserve the Khalifate’s legacy. They remain active mainly along the Syria-Iraq border, and along the eastern bank of the Euphrates in Syria. Camps for the temporary displaced and for the families and relatives of ISIS militants on the territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in north-eastern Syria are also breeding grounds for terrorist ideology. Remarkably, these regions are also where there is direct presence of US forces, or, as in the case of SDF camps, presence of forces supported by the US.

The fertile soil for radicalism also consists of the inability to reach a comprehensive diplomatic solution that would end the Syrian conflict in a way acceptable to all parties. Washington is not interesting in stabilizing Syria because even should Assad leave, it would strengthen the Damascus government that would naturally be allied to Russia and Iran. Opposing Iran and supporting Israel became the cornerstone of US policy during the Trump administration. Consequently, Washington is supporting separatist sentiments of the Kurdish SDF leadership and even allowed it to participate in the plunder of Syrian oil wells in US coalition zone of control in which US firms linked to the Pentagon and US intelligence services are participating. US intelligence also aids Israel in its information and psychological warfare operations, as well as military strikes aimed at undermining Syria and Iranian forces located in the country. In spite of propaganda victories, in practice Israeli efforts had limited success in 2020 as Iran continued to strengthen its positions and military capabilities on its ally’s territory. Iran’s success in establishing and supporting a land corridor linking Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iraq, plays an important role. Constant expansion of Iran’s military presence and infrastructure near the town of al-Bukamal, on the border of Iraq and Syria, demonstrates the importance of the project to Tehran. Tel-Aviv claims that Iran is using that corridor to equip pro-Iranian forces in southern Syria and Lebanon with modern weapons.

The Palestinian question is also an important one for Israel’s leadership and its lobby in Washington. The highly touted “deal of the century” turned out to be no more than an offer for the Palestinians to abandon their struggle for statehood. As expected, this initiative did not lead to a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Rather the opposite, it gave an additional stimulus to Palestinian resistance to the demands that were being imposed. At the same time, Trump administration scored a diplomatic success by forcing the UAE and Bahrain to normalize their relations with Israel, and Saudi Arabia to make its collaboration with Israel public. That was a historic victory for US-Israel policy in the Middle East. Public rapprochement of Arab monarchies and Israel strengthened the positions of Iran as the only country which not only declares itself as Palestine’s and Islamic world’s defender, but actually puts words into practice. Saudi Arabia’s leadership will particularly suffer in terms of loss of popularity among its own population, already damaged by the failed war in Yemen and intensifying confrontation with UAE, both of which are already using their neighbor’s weakness to lay a claim to leadership on the Arabian Peninsula.

The list of actors strengthening their positions in the Red Sea includes Russia. In late 2020 it became known that Russia reached an agreement with Sudan on establishing a naval support facility which has every possibility to become a full-blown naval base. This foothold will enable the Russian Navy to increase its presence on key maritime energy supply routes on the Red Sea itself and in the area between Aden and Oman straits. For Russia, which has not had naval infrastructure in that region since USSR’s break-up, it is a significant diplomatic breakthrough. For its part. Sudan’s leadership apparently views Russia’s military presence as a security factor allowing it to balance potential harmful measures by the West.

During all of 2020, Moscow and Beijing continued collaboration on projects in Africa, gradually pushing out traditional post-colonial powers in several key areas. The presence of Russian military specialists in the Central African Republic where they assist the central government in strengthening its forces, escalation of local conflicts, and ensuring the security of Russian economic sectors, is now a universally known fact. Russian diplomacy and specialists are also active in Libya, where UAE and Egypt which support Field Marshal Khaftar, and Turkey which supports the Tripoli government, are clashing. Under the cover of declarations calling for peace and stability, foreign actors are busily carving up Libya’s energy resources. For Egypt there’s also the crucial matter of fighting terrorism and the presence of groups affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood which Cairo sees as a direct threat to national security.

The Sahel and the vicinity of Lake Chad remain areas where terror groups with links to al-Qaeda and ISIS remain highly active. France’s limited military mission in the Sahara-Sahel region has been failure and could not ensure sufficient support for regional forces in order to stabilize the situation. ISIS and Boko-Haram continue to spread chaos in the border areas between Niger, Nigeria, Cameroun, and Chad. In spite of all the efforts by the region’s governments, terrorists continue to control sizable territories and represent a significant threat to regional security. The renewed conflict in Ethiopia is a separate problem, in which the federal government was drawn into a civil war against the National Front for the Liberation of Tigray controlling that province. The ethno-feudal conflict between federal and regional elites threatens to destabilize the entire country if it continues.

The explosive situation in Africa shows that post-colonial European powers and the “Global Policeman” which dominated that continent for decades were not interested in addressing the continent’s actual problem. Foreign actors were mainly focused on extracting resources and ensuring the interests of a narrow group of politicians and entities affiliated with foreign capitals. Now they are forced to compete with the informal China-Russia bloc which will use a different approach that may be a described as follows: Strengthening of regional stability to protect investments in economic projects. Thus it is no surprise that influential actors are gradually losing to new but more constructive forces.

Tensions within European countries have been on the rise during the past several years, due to both the crisis of the contemporary economic paradigm and to specific regional problems such as the migration crises and the failure of multiculturalism policies, with subsequent radicalization of society.

Unpleasant surprises included several countries’ health care and social protection networks’ inability to cope with the large number of COVID-19 patients. Entire systems of governance in a number of European countries proved incapable of coping with rapidly developing crises. This is true particularly for countries of southern Europe, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Among eastern European countries, Hungary’s and Romania’s economies were particularly badly affected. At the same time, Poland’s state institutions and economy showed considerable resilience in the face of crisis. While the Federal Republic of Germany suffered considerable economic damage in the second quarter of 2020, Merkel’s government used the situation to inject huge sums of liquidity into the economy, enhanced Germany’s position within Europe, and moreover Germany’s health care and social protection institutions proved capable and sufficiently resilient.

Coronavirus and subsequent social developments led to the emergence of the so-called “Macron Doctrine” which amounts to an argument that EU must obtain strategic sovereignty. This is consistent with the aims of a significant portion of German national elites. Nevertheless, Berlin officially criticized Macron’s statements and has shown willingness to enter into a strategic partnership with Biden Administration’s United States as a junior partner. However, even FRG’s current leadership understands the dangers of lack of strategic sovereignty in an era of America’s decline as the world policeman. Against the backdrop of a global economic crisis, US-EU relations are ineluctably drifting from a state of partnership to one of competition or even rivalry. In general, the first half of 2020 demonstrated the vital necessity of further development of European institutions.

The second half of 2020 was marked by fierce mass protests in Germany, France, Great Britain, and other European countries. The level of violence employed by both the protesters and law enforcement was unprecedented and is not comparable to the level of violence seen during protests in Russia, Belarus, and even Kirgizstan. Mainstream media did their best to depreciate and conceal the scale of what was happening. If the situation continues to develop in the same vein, there is every chance that in the future, a reality that can be described as a digital concentration camp may form in Europe.

World media, for its part, paid particular attention to the situation in Belarus, where protests have entered their fourth month following the August 9, 2020 presidential elections. Belarusian protests have been characterized by their direction from outside the country and choreographed nature. The command center of protest activities is officially located in Poland. This fact is in and of itself unprecedented in Europe’s contemporary history. Even during Ukraine’s Euromaidan, external forces formally refused to act as puppetmasters.

Belarus’ genuinely existing socio-economic problems have led to a rift within society that is now divided into two irreconcilable camps: proponents of reforms vs. adherents of the current government. Law enforcement forces which are recruited from among President Lukashenko’s supporters, have acted forcefully and occasionally harshly. Still, the number of casualties is far lower than, for example, in protests in France or United States.

Ukraine itself, where Western-backed “democratic forces” have already won, remains the main point of instability in Eastern Europe. The Zelenskiy administration came to power under slogans about the need to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine and rebuild the country. In practice, the new government continued to pursue the policy aimed at maintaining military tension in the region in the interests of its external sponsors and personal enrichment.

For the United States, 2020 turned out to be a watershed year for both domestic and foreign policy. Events of this year were a reflection of Trump Administration’s protectionist foreign policy and a national-oriented approach in domestic and economic policy, which ensured an intense clash with the majority of Washington Establishment acting in the interests of global capital.

In addition to the unresolved traditional problems, America’s problems were made worse by two crises, COVID-19 spread and BLM movement protests. They ensured America’s problems reached a state of critical mass.

One can and should have a critical attitude toward President Trump’s actions, but one should not doubt the sincerity of his efforts to turn the slogan Make America Great Again into reality. One should likewise not doubt that his successor will adhere to other values. Whether it’s Black Lives Matter or Make Global Moneymen Even Stronger, or Russia Must Be Destroyed, or something even more exotic, it will not change the fact America we’ve known in the last half century died in 2020. A telling sign of its death throes is the use of “orange revolution” technologies developed against inconvenient political regimes. This demonstrated that currently the United States is ruled not by national elites but by global investors to whom the interests of ordinary Americans are alien.

This puts the terrifying consequences of COVID-19 in a new light. The disease has struck the most vulnerable layers of US society. According to official statistics, United States has had about 20 million cases and over 330,000 deaths. The vast majority are low-income inhabitants of mega-cities. At the same time, the wealthiest Americans have greatly increased their wealth by exploiting the unfolding crisis for their own personal benefit. The level of polarization of US society has assumed frightening proportions. Conservatives against liberals, blacks against whites, LGBT against traditionalists, everything that used to be within the realm of public debate and peaceful protest has devolved into direct, often violent, clashes. One can observe unprecedented levels of aggression and violence from all sides.

In foreign policy, United States continued to undermine the international security system based on international treaties. There are now signs that one of the last legal bastions of international security, the New START treaty, is under attack. US international behavior has prompted criticism from NATO allies. There are growing differences of opinion on political matters with France and economic ones with Germany. The dialogue with Eastern Mediterranean’s most powerful military actor Turkey periodically showed a sharp clash of interests.

Against that backdrop, United States spent 2020 continuously increasing its military presence in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea basin. Additional US forces and assets were deployed in direct proximity to Russia’s borders. The number of offensive military exercises under US leadership or with US participation has considerably increased.

In the Arctic, the United States is acting as a spoiler, unhappy with the current state of affairs. It aims to extend its control over natural resources in the region, establish permanent presence in other countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) through the use of the so-called “freedom of navigation operations” (FONOPs), and continue to encircle Russia with ballistic missile defense (BMD) sites and platforms.

In view of the urgent and evident US preparations to be able to fight and prevail in a war against a nuclear adversary, by defeating the adversary’s nuclear arsenal through the combination of precision non-nuclear strikes, Arctic becomes a key region in this military planning. The 2020 sortie by a force of US Navy BMD-capable AEGIS destroyers into the Barents Sea, the first such mission since the end of the Cold War over two decades ago, shows the interest United States has in projecting BMD capabilities into regions north of Russia’s coastline, where they might be able to effect boost-phase interceptions of Russian ballistic missiles that would be launched in retaliatory strikes against the United States. US operational planning for the Arctic in all likelihood resembles that for South China Sea, with only a few corrections for climate.

In Latin America, the year of 2020 was marked by the intensification Washington efforts aimed at undermining the political regimes that it considered to be in the opposition to the existing world order.

Venezuela remained one of the main points of the US foreign policy agenda. During the entire year, the government of Nicolas Maduro was experiencing an increasing sanction, political and clandestine pressure. In May, Venezuelan security forces even neutralized a group of US mercenaries that sneaked into the country to stage the coup in the interests of the Washington-controlled opposition and its public leader Juan Guaido. However, despite the recognition of Guaido as the president of Venezuela by the US and its allies, regime-change attempts, and the deep economic crisis, the Maduro government survived.

This case demonstrated that the decisive leadership together having the support of a notable part of the population and working links with alternative global centers of power could allow any country to resist to globalists’ attacks. The US leadership itself claims that instead of surrendering, Venezuela turned itself into a foothold of its geopolitical opponents: China, Russia, Iran and even Hezbollah. While this evaluation of the current situation in Venezuela is at least partly a propaganda exaggeration to demonize the ‘anti-democratic regime’ of Maduro, it highlights parts of the really existing situation.

The turbulence in Bolivia ended in a similar manner, when the right wing government that gained power as a result of the coup in 2019 demonstrated its inability to rule the country and lost power in 2020. The expelled president, Evo Morales, returned to the country and the Movement for Socialism secured their dominant position in Bolivia thanks to the wide-scale support from the indigenous population. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that these developments in Venezuela and Bolivia would allow to reverse the general trend towards the destabilization in South America.

The regional economic and social turbulence is strengthened by the high level of organized crime and the developing global crisis that sharpened the existing contradictions among key global and regional players. This creates conditions for the intensification of existing conflicts. For example, the peace process between the FARC and the federal government is on the brink of the collapse in Colombia. Local sources and media accuse the government and affiliated militias of detentions and killings of leaders of local communities and former FARC members in violation of the existing peace agreement. This violence undermine the fragile peace process and sets conditions for the resumption of the armed struggle by FARC and its supporters. Mexico remains the hub for illegal migration, drug and weapon trafficking just on the border with the United States. Large parts of the country are in the state of chaos and are in fact controlled by violent drug cartels and their mercenaries. Brazil is in the permanent state of political and economic crisis amid the rise of street crime.

These negative tendencies affect almost all states of the region. The deepening global economic crisis and the coronavirus panic add oil to the flame of instability.

Countries of South America are not the only one suffering from the crisis. It also shapes relations between global powers. Outcomes of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and the global economic crisis contributed to the hardening of the standoff between the United States and China.

Washington and Beijing have insoluble contradictions. The main of them is that China has been slowly but steadily winning the race for the economic and technological dominance simultaneously boosting own military capabilities to defend the victory in the case of a military escalation. The sanction, tariff and diplomatic pressure campaign launched by the White House on China since the very start of the Trump Presidency is a result of the understanding of these contradictions by the Trump administration and its efforts to guarantee the leading US position in the face of the global economic recession. The US posture towards the South China Sea issues, the political situation in Hong Kong, human rights issues in Xinjiang, the unprecedented weapon sales to Taiwan, the support of the militarization of Japan and many other questions is a part of the ongoing standoff. Summing up, Washington has been seeking to isolate China through a network of local military alliances and contain its economic expansion through sanction, propaganda and clandestine operations.

The contradictions between Beijing and Washington regarding North Korea and its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are a part of the same chain of events. Despite the public rhetoric, the United States is not interested in the full settlement of the Korea conflict. Such a scenario that may include the reunion of the North and South will remove the formal justification of the US military buildup. This is why the White House opted to not fulfill its part of the deal with the North once again assuring the North Korean leadership that its decision to develop its nuclear and missile programs and further.

Statements of Chinese diplomats and top official demonstrate that Beijing fully understands the position of Washington. At the same time, China has proven that it is not going to abandon its policies aimed at gaining the position of the main leading power in the post-unipolar world. Therefore, the conflict between the sides will continue escalating in the coming years regardless the administration in the White House and the composition of the Senate and Congress. Joe Biden and forces behind his rigged victory in the presidential election will likely turn back from Trump’s national-oriented economic policy and ‘normalize’ relations with China once again reconsidering Russia as Enemy #1. This will not help to remove the insoluble contradictions with China and reverse the trend towards the confrontation. However, the Biden administration with help from mainstream media will likely succeed in hiding this fact from the public by fueling the time-honored anti-Russian hysteria.

As to Russia itself, it ended the year of 2020 in its ordinary manner for the recent years: successful and relatively successful foreign policy actions amid the complicated economic, social and political situation inside the country. The sanction pressure, coronavirus-related restrictions and the global economic crisis slowed down the Russian economy and contributed to the dissatisfaction of the population with internal economic and social policies of the government. The crisis was also used by external actors that carried out a series of provocations and propaganda campaigns aimed at undermining the stability in the country ahead of the legislative election scheduled for September 2021. The trend on the increase of sanction pressure, including tapering large infrastructure projects like the Nord Stream 2, and expansion of public and clandestine destabilization efforts inside Russia was visible during the entire year and will likely increase in 2021. In the event of success, these efforts will not only reverse Russian foreign policy achievements of the previous years, but could also put in danger the existence of the Russian statehood in the current format.

Among the important foreign policy developments of 2020 underreported by mainstream media is the agreement on the creation of a Russian naval facility on the coast of the Red Sea in Sudan. If this project is fully implemented, this will contribute to the rapid growth of Russian influence in Africa. Russian naval forces will also be able to increase their presence in the Red Sea and in the area between the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman. Both of these areas are the core of the current maritime energy supply routes. The new base will also serve as a foothold of Russia in the case of a standoff with naval forces of NATO member states that actively use their military infrastructure in Djibouti to project power in the region. It is expected that the United States (regardless of the administration in the White House) will try to prevent the Russian expansion in the region at any cost. For an active foreign policy of Russia, the creation of the naval facility in Sudan surpasses all public and clandestine actions in Libya in recent years. From the point of view of protecting Russian national interests in the Global Oceans, this step is even more important than the creation of the permanent air and naval bases in Syria.

As well as its counterparts in Washington and Beijing, Moscow contributes notable efforts to the modernization of its military capabilities, with special attention to the strategic nuclear forces and hypersonic weapons. The Russians see their ability to inflict unacceptable damage on a potential enemy among the key factors preventing a full-scale military aggression against them from NATO. The United Sates, China and Russia are in fact now involved in the hypersonic weapon race that also includes the development of means and measures to counter a potential strike with hypersonic weapons.

The new war in Nagorno-Karabakh became an important factor shaping the balance of power in the South Caucasus. The Turkish-Azerbaijani bloc achieved a sweeping victory over Armenian forces and only the involvement of the Russian diplomacy the further deployment of the peacekeepers allowed to put an end to the violence and rescue the vestiges of the self-proclaimed Armenian Republic of Artsakh. Russia successfully played a role of mediator and officially established a military presence on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan for the next 5 years. The new Karabakh war also gave an additional impulse in the Turkish-Azerbaijani economic and military cooperation, while the pro-Western regime in Armenia that expectedly led the Armenian nation to the tragedy is balancing on the brink of collapse.

The Central Asia traditionally remained one of the areas of instability around the world with the permanent threat of militancy and humanitarian crisis. Nonetheless, despite forecasts of some analysis, the year of 2020 did not become the year of the creation of ISIS’ Caliphate 2.0 in the region. An important role in preventing this was played by the Taliban that additionally to securing its military victories over the US-led coalition and the US-backed Kabul government, was fiercely fighting ISIS cells appearing in Afghanistan. The Taliban, which controls a large part of Afghanistan, was also legalized on the international scene by direct talks with the United States. The role of the Taliban will grow and further with the reduction of the US military presence.

While some media already branded the year of 2020 as one of the worst in the modern history, there are no indications that the year of 2021 will be any brighter or the global crises and regional instability will magically disappear by themselves. Instead, most likely 2020 was just a prelude for the upcoming global shocks and the acute standoff for markets and resources in the environment of censorship, legalized total surveillance, violations of human rights under ‘democratic’ and ‘social’ slogans’ and proxy wars.

The instability in Europe will likely be fueled by the increasing cultural-civilizational conflict and the new wave of newcomers that have acute ideological and cultural differences with the European civilization. The influx of newcomers is expected due to demographic factors and the complicated security, social situation in the Middle East and Africa. Europe will likely try to deal with the influx of newcomers by introducing new movement and border restrictions under the brand of fighting coronavirus. Nonetheless, the expected growth of the migration pressure will likely contribute to the negative tendencies that could blow up Europe from inside.

The collapse of the international security system, including key treaties limiting the development and deployment of strategic weapons, indicates that the new detente on the global scene will remain an improbable scenario. Instead, the world will likely move further towards the escalation scenario as at least a part of the current global leadership considers a large war a useful tool to overcome the economic crisis and capture new markets. Russia, with its large territories, rich resources, a relatively low population, seems to be a worthwhile target. At the same time, China will likely exploit the escalating conflict between Moscow and the US-led bloc to even further increase its global positions. In these conditions, many will depend on the new global order and main alliances within it that are appearing from the collapsing unipolar system. The United States has already lost its unconditional dominant role on the international scene, but the so-called multipolar world order has not appeared yet. The format of this new multipolar world will likely have a critical impact on the further developments around the globe and positions of key players involved in the never-ending Big Game.

*  *  *

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Authored by Matt Taibbi via TK News,

The year 2020 will be remembered in the real world for a terrifying pandemic, mass unemployment, a nationwide protest movement, and a historically uninspiring presidential race. The year in media, meanwhile, was marked by grotesque factual scandals, journalist-cheered censorship, and an accelerating newsroom mania for political groupthink that was equal parts frightening and ridiculous.

The tiniest violations of perceived orthodoxies cost jobs. Reporters and editors were whacked en masse in uprisings at the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Wall Street Journal, Vox, the Miami Herald, and countless other places.

Some of the purges were themselves amazing news stories. Reporter Sue Schafer was fired after her paper, the Washington Post, published a 3,000-word expose about a two-year-old incident in which she attended a Halloween party dressed as Megyn Kelly, who herself had been fired from NBC for defending blackface costumes. Schafer, in other words, was fired for dressing in blackface as a satire of blackface costumes, in an incident no one heard of until her own editors decided to make an issue of it. This was one example of what the New Yorker recently exulted as the “expensive and laborious” process of investigative journalism, as practiced in 2020.

…

If in looking at the following list it strikes you to wonder, “Where were the editors?”, it turns out an atmosphere in which even senior New York Times bosses have to be afraid of staff is almost like having no editors at all! Given their importance in preventing the scourge of what the New Yorker called “journalistic individualism,” i.e. reporters allowed to operate outside the “collective interest,” this was really too bad. In honor, then, of that sacred covenant between writers and editors — well, the ones not purged, reassigned, or forced out this year — here’s a shortlist of the most remarkable (and presumably edited) articles of 2020, the year of the woke headline…

Continue reading here.

In the year’s final report published by Goldman’s economists the bank has summarized key global themes that stood out this year and are likely to shape 2021 in a series of charts.

First, here are some of Goldman’s key observations on the global economy:

• The global economy came to a sudden pandemic stop with a peak hit to global GDP in mid-April of 20% that varied significantly in magnitude across economies.
• Unprecedented policy easing and adaptation drove the rapid but partial global recovery in the second half of 2020.  Fiscal easing led to relatively stable real disposable income in most DMs and an actual surge in the US despite a historic collapse in GDP.  Monetary easing stabilized financial markets and brought the most accommodative financial conditions on record.  Targeted policies such as mask wearing mandates and other consumer and business adaptations including surges in e-commerce and work from home lowered the relative impact on economic activity from successive virus waves.
• Relatively low bankruptcies, increased business formations, limited increases in unemployment in Europe and Japan, and sharp declines in unemployment in North America all point to surprisingly limited long-term damage to the supply side of the economy.
• We expect the virus situation to improve sharply in 2021, driven by warmer weather in the Northern hemisphere, rising immunity from natural infections and—most importantly—a successful global vaccination campaign.  Vaccine supply is well below demand at present, but it should become plentiful in DMs in the next several months and in EMs later in the year.  The remaining issues are mostly logistical, but the speed of the rollout in Israel in recent weeks suggests that they are surmountable.
• Slowing virus spread should boost activity in virus-sensitive sectors that account for the bulk of the output gap and the 2020 decline in inflation and drive our 2021 above-consensus global growth forecast of +6.4%

And here are the charts, starting with the Global Sudden Stop, with China becoming the first country to lock down followed promptly by other countries in March…

… leading to a 20% collapse of global GDP in April…

… yet the decline wasn’t uniform and varied in both speed and magnitude across economies.

The collapse reversed rapidly if partially in the second half, thanks to a panicked policy response and behavioral adaptation…

Meanwhile, the historic $20 trillion QE unleashed by global central banks…

… helped push stocks to all time highs while pushing financial conditions to the easiest on record.

Looking ahead, Goldman sees limited supply side damage and improved virus control which drive the bank’s above-consensus 2021 global GDP forecast of +6.4%…

… boosted by a strong business sector which “experienced surprisingly few bankruptcies and elevated business formations”

Adding to its optimistic outlook, Goldman sees the virus spread slowing once the weather warms up in the Northern hemisphere…

… and as natural immunity from infections builds…

… while distribution of plentiful vaccines will further cut down on virus spread…

… benefiting DM countries most and helping drive successful vaccination campaigns…

… with the assumption that logistic issues get resolved, something which Goldman is optimistic about referring to Israel’s “rapid rollout”:

The gradual elimination of covid should boost activity in virus-sensitive and restricted sectors that account for the bulk of the output gap according to Goldman…

… which concludes by putting all of the above together, and predicting a jump in inflation in the coming years.

Via AlMasdarNews.com,

This week ISIS terrorists carried out a devastating attack on a passenger bus that was carrying dozens of Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers and civilians in the eastern region of the country.

On Thursday the Islamic State announced responsibility for the attack that claimed the lives of at least 20 Syrian Army soldiers and eight civilians between the cities of Palmyra (Tadmur) and Deir Ezzor.

The attack, which was carried out on December 30th at 4 P.M. (Damascus Time), was the deadliest single ambush of the year by the Islamic State and one of the few attacks they have carried out in the eastern region of the country recently.

Al Jazeera detailed that a bus “carried soldiers and pro-government fighters who had finished their leave and were on their way back to their base in the desolate, sparsely populated area.”

“Another source said at least 30 soldiers were killed, mostly from the Syrian army’s elite Fourth Brigade, which has a strong presence in the rich oil-producing province since the ISIL, also known as ISIS group fighters were pushed out at the end of 2017,” Al Jazeera added.

In response to the devastating attack by the Islamic State, the Russian Aerospace Forces unleashed a massive barrage of airstrikes over the central and eastern regions of Syria, hitting several terrorist sites in the Badiya Al-Sham region.

Remember when think tanks spent years saying we need to team up with Erdogan rebels in Syria to make progress against ISIS because the Syrian army never fights them? The biggest conflict zone of the decade was dominated by fake news. https://t.co/dcbf7jWrAb

— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) December 31, 2020

According to a field source in the Homs Provinice, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched dozens of strikes on the terrorist positions, inflicting heavy losses within the ISIS ranks.

Furthermore, the Syrian Arab Army also carried out a number of artillery strikes and air raids over the terrorist positions, hitting the ISIS positions in the Homs, Deir Ezzor and Sweida governorates.

The Islamic State has increased their attacks against the Syrian Arab Army in 2020, moving between different governorates to wreak havoc in the Arab Republic.

YouTube stars are regularly bombarded with the question “how much do you earn doing this?”.

Statista’s Martin Armstrong provides this infographic to shed some light on the most lucrative end of the YouTube money list.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Ryan Kaji earned $29.5 million from June 1, 2019 to June 1, 2020, keeping him in the number 1 spot on the Forbes ranking. The special thing about the Texan? He is just nine years old.

Kaji has become famous with videos in which he presents new toys and rates them.

Even younger is Russia-born Anastasia Radzinskaya (known as Nastya and 6 years old), whose videos have generated revenues of $18.5 million.

Authored by Nick Routley via VisualCapitalist.com,

Can you remember a year more life-changing than 2020?

Over a million lives were lost in the pandemic, oil prices turned negative, and protests swept the streets. At the same time, 10 years of technology advancements seemed to happen in mere months—and now vaccinations are rolling out at a record speed.

Below, we round up some of the year’s biggest news events with charts and visualizations.

The Year in Review: 2020 in 20 Visualizations

Graphic #1   ⟩⟩   January 2020 – Australian Bushfires

For some in the Southern Hemisphere who ushered in the new year first, it started on fire.

Reuters assessed the scale of the damage caused by bushfires across Australia. In fact, total burned areas reached 18.6 million hectares (186,000km²) by March, bigger than the total land mass of entire countries like Cuba.

Here’s the damage done in the state of New South Wales alone, compared to previous years:

While bushfires are common in Australia, this year, dry conditions fueled the flames. The fires raged for nearly 80 days, displacing or killing nearly 3 billion animals—a devastating biodiversity loss for the country.

Graphic #2   ⟩⟩   January 2020 – Rising Iran–U.S. Tensions

In early January, a U.S. air strike incinerated the car of General Qassim Suleimani, a security mastermind and one of Iran’s most powerful military strategists. U.S. officials claimed that Iran was planning an “imminent” attack.

In retaliation, Iran fired two rockets at U.S. military bases located in Iraq. No one was killed. As tensions escalated, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to try and restrict President Trump’s use of military power against Iran without approval.

Later, in mid-January, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, responsible for the death of 176 people.

Graphic #3   ⟩⟩   March 2020 – The Spread of the “Novel Coronavirus”

You’ve heard of Patient Zero, but what about Patient 31?

Before February, cases of the still unnamed virus were largely contained within China, with the rest of the world cautiously observing the country’s containment efforts. Slowly, but surely, the virus began to spread beyond China’s borders.

South Korea’s 31st confirmed COVID-19 case—which was behind the rapid spread of the virus to potentially up to 1,160 contacts in the country—served as a warning to the rest of the world of how fast the virus could spread.

» See the full graphic by Reuters

Reuters’ unique graphic explainer uncovers how just one typical day of multiple “normal” interactions had significant super-spreader effects.

Graphic #4   ⟩⟩   March 2020 – The Coronavirus Crash

The S&P 500 erased over a third of its value in under a month—the fastest 30% decline ever recorded on the benchmark index.

As a result, the global tourism industry suffered dramatic losses, with countless cruise ships docked and passenger flights traveling at half-capacity.

This graphic shows the BEACH stocks—booking, entertainment & live events, airlines, cruises & casinos, hotels & resorts—that were most impacted by worldwide travel bans.

While some of these stocks have since recovered, the ongoing impact of COVID-19 is still most widely being felt among companies in these types of industries.

Graphic #5 & 6   ⟩⟩   March 2020 – Lockdown Life Begins

From toilet paper hoarding to limits on gatherings, the pandemic’s immediate effects on our surrounding environment became clear as early as March. As daily life came to a standstill, commuter activity in major cities plummeted throughout the month.

One unintended positive consequence of these shutdowns? Air pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emissions also steeply dropped alongside these restrictions on movement.

Possibly the most well-known diagram of the pandemic is the one that introduced the world to the phrase “flatten the curve”, showing why it was important to prevent and delay the spread of the virus so that large portions of the population aren’t sick at the same time.

Graphic #7   ⟩⟩   April 2020 – Historic U.S. Job Losses

After the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, unemployment figures soon hit historic proportions.

Within a month, 22 million in the U.S. had filed jobless claims.

To put this in perspective, U.S. unemployment levels in 2020 were roughly 10 times higher than previous peak unemployment levels in absolute terms. Or, to look at it another way, this is equivalent to the entire population of Chile or Taiwan.

Graphic #8   ⟩⟩   April 2020 – Stimulus Announced in the U.S.

On March 27, the $2 trillion CARES Act came into law after facing minimal resistance from the House and Senate. We broke down the historic relief package in the Sankey diagram below.

The relief package included $1,200 direct deposits to individuals, over $350 billion in relief for small businesses, and an excess of $100 billion for the U.S. health system.

Graphic #9   ⟩⟩   April 2020 – Oil Prices Go Negative

In another historic event, oil prices went negative for the first time in history. Futures contracts for WTI oil fell to a stunning -$37.63 on April 20th, with producers actually paying traders to take oil off their hands.

Oil has since recovered from this shock, cruising back to more typical price levels.

Graphic #10   ⟩⟩   May 2020 – Black Lives Matter Protests

“I can’t breathe.” These few words sparked the ongoing flames of a significant movement this summer: Black Lives Matter (BLM).

After the killing of George Floyd on May 25, by police, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded over 7,750 BLM-linked demonstrations over a three month span.

The nationwide pattern of civil unrest is well-documented, but there’s been no time like the present to demand change. Though images of burning cars and police clashes dominated the headlines, in the end, 93% of the protests were peaceful.

There’s also been a ripple effect, with thousands of similar rallies reported in countries around the world.

Graphic #11 & 12  ⟩⟩   May 2020 – The World Works from Home

The dramatic shift to staying at home has resulted in a much higher reliance on technology for many people. Nowhere were these trends exemplified more than the rise of video conferencing software Zoom—the platform was used for work, education, and socializing alike.

As monthly users swelled, those who typically take to the skies also declined in a steep fashion. In this graphic from May, we noted that Zoom’s market capitalization had skyrocketed to eclipse the top seven airlines by revenue, combined.

As remote work became the new normal for significant shares of the workforce, unique benefits of this adjusted lifestyle arose, but it didn’t come without its challenges.

Perhaps the most significant lasting change from the COVID-19 pandemic might be the adoption of flexible work, even by firms that resisted the trend in the past.

If many employees continue to work remotely, even part of the time, then that will have a big impact on everything from the commercial office market to the bottom line of SaaS companies that help facilitate remote collaboration among teams.

Graphic #13   ⟩⟩   July 2020 – Tesla becomes World’s Most Valuable Automaker

2020 was a hallmark year for Tesla. In June, it became the most valuable automaker in the world—surpassing the likes of Toyota, Volkswagen, and Honda.

Tesla’s market valuation climbed over 375% since June 2019. While these soaring figures are one factor behind its rise, others include record Model 3 sales, which prompted market euphoria.

But Tesla’s story is far from over.

The company is now worth more than the largest nine automakers combined, and is set to enter the S&P 500 officially on December 21, 2020. Tesla will be the most valuable company to ever enter the index, ranking as the eighth-largest overall.

Graphic #14   ⟩⟩   July 2020 – Big Tech’s Dominance

In many ways, COVID-19 only accentuated differences in market share, earnings, and wealth.

For one, Big Tech’s market cap share of the S&P 500 soared. In the seven years preceding July, the market cap of the six stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet, and Microsoft—grew over 500%. By contrast, the S&P 500 rose just 110%.

At the same time, Big Tech’s concentration reached record levels, with the five largest companies accounting for over 20% of the index’s total value.

Graphic #15   ⟩⟩   August 2020 – Beirut Explosion

While the world grappled with numerous biological and natural disasters, human-error led to a deadly explosion that rocked Beirut’s port. The blast was broadcast around the world in real time as people filmed the fire on their devices.

Using satellite data, NASA and NYT mapped the extent of the damage, which claimed 135 lives and affected 305,000 more.

» See the full interactive explainer by NYT

This explosion was the biggest accident of its kind in modern history, triggered by the exposure of combustible ammonium nitrate—a key ingredient in fertilizers—to an open flame due to poor storage. Beyond the human toll, the financial cost of this explosion is estimated at above $15 billion.

Graphic #16   ⟩⟩   August 2020 – Shortest Bear Market in History Ends

In a stunning reversal, the bear market of 2020 ended on August 18 when the S&P 500 exceeded previous February highs. As trillions of dollars in stimulus response got injected into global economies, markets recovered in record time.

Just two weeks before the shortest bear market in history ended, we published a graphic comparing previous stock crashes—from 1987’s Black Monday to the Nixon Shock of 1973—exposing the duration and intensity of market downturns since 1929.

Graphic #17   ⟩⟩   August 2020 – U.S. Wildfire Season

Reddish-orange skies might seem otherworldly, but this fall, they were a common sight across the West Coast of North America, where air quality reached the “hazardous” category for long stretches of time.

2020 was the most active year on record for wildfires yet, with California and Oregon being particularly hard-hit. While some wildfires are caused by natural occurrences like lightning strikes, an overwhelming majority (85-90%) happen because of human causes such as discarded cigarettes and campfire debris.

This is an unprecedented event. We now have the largest wildfire in [California’s] history, as well as the third largest and the fourth largest and five of the Top 10.

– Noah Diffenbaugh, professor and senior fellow at Stanford University

Graphic #18   ⟩⟩   November 2020 – The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

In 2020, U.S. election spending hit over $13 billion, more than twice the amount spent on the entire 2016 election.

Of this total, congressional spending topped $7 billion, with Democrats spending 64% more than Republican candidates for the House and Senate.

President Biden was the first candidate ever to raise $1 billion, while Trump raised $596 million.

Graphic #19   ⟩⟩   December 2020

COVID-19’s Third Wave

Like history tells us, pandemics come in waves. The third wave of COVID-19 escalated in November, when cases began to surge.

On November 8, the seven-day average of new daily cases hit 100,000 in America. By the end of November, global cases soared to 60 million. Since then, cases have trended upward, leading local governments worldwide to enforce social distancing requirements for the winter holiday season.

The below graphic from Reddit helps show the latest surge in cases in the U.S.:

Graphic #20   ⟩⟩   December 2020 – Global Vaccination Effort Kicks Off

In more recent news, Pfizer made waves when it announced it was rolling out a 95% effective COVID-19 vaccine. Then followed Moderna, at 94.5% in mid-November. As the global vaccination race intensifies, Bloomberg tracks the progress of nine vaccines and 80 publicly disclosed distribution deals representing 7.95 billion vaccination doses.

However, even with viable vaccines, challenges still exist. All around the world, perceptions of vaccine safety have dropped significantly, which may complicate an economic recovery.

On to the Next One

After the wild ride that was 2020, many people are wondering what 2021 will have in store.

In the first half of the year, vaccine distribution will surely take center stage. As well, economic recovery will be in focus as physical businesses resume more typical activity and regions slowly open up travel and tourism again.

Much like the financial crisis of 2008 was an inflection point for the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the course of human history. Chaos can breed opportunity, and even though unemployment spiked to record highs in the U.S., new business applications did as well.

Will things return to “normal”? As the many twists and turns of the past year have demonstrated, our complex, interconnected world is far from static. The next black swan is always just around the corner.