Good morning,
Biden And G7
What a difference a President makes.
American is back at the table was President Biden’s message and the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations emerged largely united at their weekend meeting in Cornwall, England. Unlike President Trump, Biden was a unifying figure in meetings gladly received by his fellow leaders in a World where democratic principles are under siege.
Specifically the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom criticized China and Russia in their closing statement - Beijing over its internal repression, vowing to investigate the pandemic’s origins, and Moscow for using nerve agents and cyberweapons.
Biden - “We are in a contest not with China per se but with autocrats around the world, and whether democracies can compete them in a rapidly changing world,” he said.
Even before the meeting broke up, the Chinese Embassy in London, which had been almost trolling the pronouncements of the Group of 7 nations said “The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone,’’ the Chinese government said in a statement.
There were agreed statements on climate change, vaccines, and economic stimulus.
Division remains over Britains failure to live up to commitments to protect the Northern Ireland Good Friday peace agreement and fears of a trade war with Europe.
Biden now heads to a meeting with NATO, before his meeting with Russia leader Putin midweek.
Putin Interview
The Russian President gave an interview over the weekend softening the ground for his meeting with President Biden this coming Wednesday in Geneva.
I have watched Putin and reported on him for 21 years, and I would say he wasn’t the ‘tough guy’ Putin he uses for domestic audiences, but appeared cordial and diplomatic ahead of the summit, saying while Trump was colourful, he noted Biden’s years of experience in the Senate, and said he would be less impulsive to deal with.
He was asked about Biden’s killer comments, and but the NBC Interviewer used among others, the example of Mikhail Lesin murdered in Washington in 2015. It was a confused question which let Putin escape more pointed examples of killings including opposition members.
Here’s the deal - Biden knows Putin as well as anyone and has met with him before when he was Vice President. There will be no illusions about who is who at that meeting and little chance for a friendly outcome. But maybe that’s ok. Russia and America need to discuss what issues on which they have common interests such as arms control, humanitarian needs in Syria, and climate control.
The rest won’t go well, but Putin won’t react emotionally to American lectures on human rights or meddling in U.S. elections, or Ukraine, or computer hacking of U.S. interests etc. Putin will ‘look surprised, act concerned, and deny everything’ in KGB style. And American Russian relations will remain as bad as ever. Putin needs America as a foe, and that won’t change with a summit meeting.
Israel’s New Government
Israel's 120-member Parlaiment, the Knesset voted to swear in a new government Sunday, ending the historic 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Far-right politician Naftali Bennett, who once worked for Netanyahu, becomes Israel's new prime minister for two years in a coalition agreement that includes eight separate parties and is led by Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid. Lapid will serve as foreign minister and become prime minister after Bennett's two-year stint.
The move relegates Netanyahu, to an opposition figure as he battles corruption charges in an ongoing criminal trial. And the new Government has proposed a new law to limit any Prime Minister to 8 years in power. Netanyahu vowed to fight on “If we have to be in opposition, we will do this standing tall — until we bring down this dangerous government and return to lead the state,” he said.
The only chance to make peace in Israel had to be with the removal of Netanyahu. This may not the the Government of the future, but it brings badly needed change in Israel. But the coalition is razor thin and with very different leaders and interests, and may have a short life.
Iran Election
Elections in Iran have been known to spark wide spread violence and threats to the regime, which orchestrates pretend voting much like in Russia and Belarus and authoritarians Governments everywhere.
This week Iranians will largely boycott a Presidential election, held once every four years in which a candidate is essentially appointed but appears on a ballot. The new favourite for President, looks to be Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's head of judiciary and a hardliner, who is regarded as the frontrunner to succeed not just President Hassan Rouhani but, possibly, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He was part of a special commission involved in the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners and dissidents while serving as deputy prosecutor of Tehran's Islamic Revolution Court.
On Back Story with Dana Lewis, we discuss Raisi and what he will mean to the West, as this man will likely go full throttle on nuclear weapons development, and more.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/8685139
G7 And Covid Origins
The head of the World Health Organization on Saturday urged China to cooperate with an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus after of Group of Seven leaders discussed the causes of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to reporters after participating in parts of the summit by video, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said he hoped there would be better cooperation and transparency when the next phase of the probe into the virus’s origin is under way.
All your questions are answered on the lab leak theory here on this Back Story podcast;
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/8471236
Covid Third Wave
Britain is first in the World as tracking genome changes in Covid, and it’s striking how the India/Delta variant is spreading rapidly and coming soon to your borders where you are. The UK will announce delays in reopening today, as this variant is 90% of all new cases.
The variant is 60% more infectious and twice as likely to put someone in the hospital.
Be healthy and safe! Wear a mask and get vaccinated.
Have a good Monday everyone.
Dana
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nbc-interview-putin-calls-trump-colorful-says-he-can-work-n1270561
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/johnsons-g7-after-all-the-hype-what-was-actually-achieved
https://www.jpost.com/israel-elections/voting-begins-to-confirm-bennett-as-israels-new-prime-minister-670918