The issue of the creation of a BRICS reserve currency has taken on particular significance in recent months after President Putin declared that the creation of such a currency was in the process of discussion. This was followed by a series of statements coming from Russia’s legislative branch on the expediency of creating a new reserve currency — most recently from the Federation Assembly speaker Valentina Matvienko. While the debate on the possibility of creating such a reserve currency is only starting in Russia and more broadly across the global economy, the implications of such a move on the part of the BRICS could have transformational consequences for the global financial system.
Initially, the proposal to create a new reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of BRICS countries was formulated by the Valdai Club back in 2018 — the idea was to create an SDR-type currency basket composed of BRICS countries’ national currencies as well as potentially some of the other currencies of BRICS+ circle economies. The choice of BRICS national currencies was due to the fact that these were the among the most liquid currencies across emerging markets. The name for the new reserve currency — R5 or R5+ — was based on the first letters of the BRICS currencies all of which begin with the letter R (real, ruble, rupee, renminbi, rand). The recent debates concerning the prospects for the creation of a new reserve currency focused more on the risks, fragilities and outright impossibility of the R5 project. Less attention has been accorded to estimating the benefits (including in terms of hard figures) to BRICS economies and EM more generally. There has also been scant attention with respect to the actual modalities of launching the BRICS reserve currency. What is clear at this stage is that the BRICS reserve currency will not be created to replace the national reserve currencies of the BRICS economies — rather it will complement these national currencies and will serve to improve the possibilities for more EM currencies to attain reserve status. Accordingly, the attainment of high trading shares among the BRICS economies is a desirable but not altogether an indispensable condition for launching the new reserve currency. In fact, the new BRICS currency does not have to service all trade transactions among BRICS economies in the very near term. Initially, the new BRICS currency could perform the role of an accounting unit to facilitate transactions in national currencies. In the longer run, the R5 BRICS currency could start to perform the role of settlements/payments as well as the store of value/reserves for the central banks of emerging market economies. Within the composition of the R5 currency basket the share of the Chinese renminbi may be initially set at a relatively high level in order to take advantage of the already advanced reserve status of the Chinese currency. This share may be reduced progressively in stages later on along with the inclusion of new EM national currencies. Outside of the BRICS economies some of the potential candidates that with time could be included into the R5+ currency basket may feature the Singaporean dollar or the UAE’s dirham. One of the potential risks associated with the use of EM currencies in reserves is their high volatility. The basket mechanism of the BRICS reserve currency will allow for reducing some of this volatility via averaging out the exchange rate dynamics of currencies that follow different market trends — if the currencies of Russia, South Africa and Brazil follow the commodity cycle, the opposite is true with respect to commodity importers such as India and China. Importantly, the scope for employing the new reserve currency in the world economy is sizeable given the tremendous potential for de-dollarization. The new BRICS reserve currency can act in concert with the stronger role performed by BRICS national currencies to take on a greater share of the total pie of currency transactions in the world economy. This greater role can be gradually extended from servicing foreign trade transactions to investment flows across the developing world. In line with the original R5 concept developed by Valdai Club in 2018 one of the possible venues for boosting the use of national currencies and the BRICS reserve currency could be the creation of a platform for regional development banks in which BRICS economies are members. Such a platform could develop a portfolio of common/integration projects that may be financed in national currencies. In the end, the launching of a new reserve currency if successful will impart a transformational effect on the international financial system. The Central Banks in the global economy are experiencing a notable shortage of reserve currencies in managing their reserve holdings. In this respect, the emergence of additional reserve currencies from among the EM economies will serve to expand the possibilities for diversifying reserve holdings and reducing the vulnerabilities associated with the dependence on a narrow range of currencies. The R5 project can thus become one of the most important contributions of emerging markets to building a more secure international financial system.
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Steven Tyler, the lead singer of iconic rock band Aerosmith, has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing an underage girl in the 1970’s when he was 25 years old. According to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, the plaintiff, Julia Holcomb, claims she was only 16 when she became the victim of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. In the suit, filed under California’s Child Victims act, Holcomb alleges that Tyler convinced her mother to grant him legal guardianship over her in order to allow the singer to take the 16-year-old on tour with him and subsequently engage in a sexual relationship. The relationship supposedly began in 1973 and lasted for some three years. Although the lawsuit does not actually reference Tyler or anyone else by name, instead identifying the defendants as Doe 1, Doe 2, and so on, Holcomb had previously talked publicly about her relationship with the Aerosmith singer. The lawsuit also directly quotes Tyler’s memoir, in which he stated that he “almost took a teen bride” at one point in his life and that her parents “fell in love” with him so much that they signed a paper for him to have custody over their daughter so that he wouldn’t get arrested if he took her out on tour.
Holcomb alleges that she was “powerless to resist” Tyler’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability” and that he “coerced and persuaded” her into believing their relationship was a “romantic love affair.” The plaintiff further claims that the singer promised her mother he would provide better support to her than she was getting at home and would enroll her in school and give her medical care. Tyler “did not meaningfully follow through on these promises and instead continued to travel with, assault and provide alcohol and drugs to Plaintiff,” the lawsuit claims. In 1975, Holcomb claims she became pregnant with Tyler’s son but ended up getting an abortion after the singer insisted she terminate the pregnancy citing potential damage to the baby after an apartment fire. After the abortion Holcomb says she left Tyler and went back to Portland, where she became a devout Catholic and anti-abortion activist, burying her experiences with Tyler until he wrote about them in his 2011 memoir. Tyler’s legal representatives have yet to release an official statement about the lawsuit. The global economy had a rocky year in 2022. As the worst of COVID-19’s effects on public health receded, the war in Ukraine and China’s tough “zero COVID” curbs injected new chaos into global supply chains. Food and energy prices soared as inflation in many economies hit four-decade highs.
China’s reopening After nearly three years of punishing lockdowns, mass testing and border closures, China earlier this month began the process of unwinding its controversial “zero COVID” policy after rare mass protests. With draconian restrictions inside the country a thing of the past, China’s international borders are set to reopen from January 8. The reopening of the world’s second-largest economy — which has slowed dramatically during the last year — should inject new momentum into the global recovery. A rebound in Chinese consumer demand would give a boost to major exporters such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, while the end of restrictions offers relief to global brands from Apple to Tesla that suffered repeated disruptions under “zero COVID”. At the same time, China’s rapid U-turn away from “zero COVID” carries significant risks. While Beijing has stopped publishing COVID statistics, hospitals across China have been flooded with the sick, while morgues and crematoriums have reported being overwhelmed with the influx of bodies. Some medical experts have estimated that China could see up to 2 million deaths in the coming months. With the virus spreading rapidly among China’s colossal population, some health experts have also expressed concerns about the emergence of new and more dangerous variants. “Barring this very disruptive opening up, I think that the market will do great,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. “I would say once people see the end of the tunnel, so maybe the end of January, the end of the Chinese New Year, I would argue that’s when markets are really going to read a rapid recovery of the Chinese economy,” Garcia-Herrero added. “The other thing to watch is if there’s a major mutation, and mutations can be either less lethal but they could also be more lethal, and I think if the latter happens, and we start seeing closures of borders again, that would be traumatic for investor confidence.” Bankruptcies Despite the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19 and lockdowns, bankruptcies in fact declined in many countries in 2020 and 2021 due to a combination of out-of-court arrangements with creditors and large government stimulus. In the United States, for example, 16,140 businesses filed for bankruptcy in 2021, and 22,391 businesses did so in 2020, compared with 22,910 in 2019. That trend is expected to reverse in 2023 amid rising energy prices and interest rates. Allianz Trade has estimated that bankruptcies globally will rise more than 10 percent in 2022 and 19 percent in 2023, eclipsing pre-pandemic levels. “The COVID pandemic forced many businesses to take on substantial loans, worsening a situation of increasing dependence on cheap loans to make up for the loss of Western competitiveness due to globalisation,” Tziamalis said. “The survival of highly indebted businesses is now called into question as they face a perfect storm of higher interest rates, higher energy prices, more expensive raw materials and less consumption spending by consumers … It is also worth pointing out that the appetite of Western governments for any direct help to the private sector has been curbed by their increased deficits and prioritisation of support for households.” Fraying globalisation Efforts to roll back globalisation accelerated this year and look set to continue apace in 2023. Since its launch under the Trump administration, the US-China trade and tech war has deepened under US President Joe Biden. In August, Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act blocking the export of advanced chips and manufacturing equipment to China — a move aimed at stifling the development of the Chinese semiconductor industry and bolstering self-sufficiency in chip making. The passage of the law was just the latest example of a growing trend away from free trade and economic liberalisation towards protectionism and greater self-sufficiency, especially in critical industries linked to national security. In a speech earlier this month, Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s biggest chip manufacturer, lamented that globalisation and free trade are “almost dead”. “The West, and particularly the US, are increasingly threatened by China’s economic trajectory and respond with economic and military pressure against the emerging superpower,” Tziamalis said. “An outright war over Taiwan is highly unlikely but more expensive imports and slower growth for all countries involved in this trade war are a near certainty.”
At their peak in August, European gas prices topped €345 ($367) MWh, sending household energy bills soaring and fueling a cost-of-living crisis across much of the continent. The current decline in prices is attributed to several factors, including unseasonably warm winter weather in much of north-western Europe, which has helped reduce demand for heating. EU countries agreed last week to set an emergency cap on wholesale gas prices at €180 ($191) per megawatt-hour, which would be triggered if gas futures trade at a higher level for three consecutive days. The measure will take effect on February 15 and is aimed at protecting consumers from gas price hikes. In November, Goldman Sachs predicted a sharp drop in European gas prices in the coming months due to a stabilizing situation with storage levels. However, despite the current decline, gas prices remain several times higher than the long-term average. Prior to spiking to historic highs this year on concerns over Russian energy supplies, TTF gas spot prices were trading in a €10-25 MWh range in the 2017-2019 period. In 2020, the market was hit by Covid-induced demand shock, followed by the exponential price rise this summer.
Randall William Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956 in Santa Monica, California. Randy was youngest of three children, he had a brother named Doug (also known as “Kelle”) and a sister named Kathy. Their mother Delores owned and operated the Musonia Music School where Randy learned much of his guitar basics, and also taught the guitar himself to other students for a period of time. Randy first started playing the guitar at the age of 6, and by the age of 12 he switched to an electric. When he was 14, he started playing in the band called “Violet Fox” together with his brother Kelle. Couple of years later, he formed another band with his friend Kelly Garni initially called “Mach 1”, “Little Women”, and finally – “Quiet Riot”. The band quickly became one of the most popular groups on the Los Angeles club scene, and by late 1976 were signed to CBS/Sony Records. Their albums “Quiet Riot” and “Quiet Riot II” were released only in Japan. In September 1979 Randy was auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne’s new band. Supposedly he walked into the Ozzy’s motel room in Malibu with his 1974 Les Paul and a tiny practice amp and started warming up. Before he could even show off what he’s hot, Ozzy interrupted him and said “‘You’ve got the gig”! Randy recorded only two album with Ozzy – ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ (1980), and ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1981) – and for that short period of time he managed to achieve success that most of the guitarists can only dream about. On March 19, 1982 Randy tragically died as a result of an airplane accident. While the band was heading to a festival in Orlando, during one of their stops, their tour bus driver and ex-commercial pilot Andrew Aycock took Randy and the band’s makeup artist Rachel Youngblood for a flight in a small Beechcraft F35 plane. While attempting to fly closely over the tour bus, one of the plane’s wings clipped the top of the bus, breaking the wing into two parts and sending the plane spiralling out of control. All three passengers were killed in the accidents. The Guitars
Guitar Amps
–1970s Peavey Standard 260 Used with the Quiet Riot. He played it through a cabinet packed with six Altec speakers. The amp is now kept at the Musonia. Supposedly Ozzy would never let Randy use this Peavey, so Greg Leon who took Randy’s place in Quiet Riot lent him a couple of Marshall rigs. – Marshall 1959 After joining Ozzy, Randy switched to Marshall. On stage he would use up to three amps, each played through a set of 1960A and 1960B cabinets, both painted white. Guitar Effects Randy’s effect rig was fairly simple. During the Quiet Riot years he only used a MXR Distortion Plus, and an MXR 10 Band EQ. After joining Ozzy he started using the Crybaby Wah, and couple of more pedals, such as MXR Stereo Chorus, MXR Flanger and Korg Echo. Some of the songs on the Ozzy records were recorded using the AMS DMX 15-80S Digital Delay. Guitar Strings Randy used GHS Boomers .010 or .011 gauge. Guitar Picks Randy used Picato medium thickness picks. The equivalent of these would probably be closest to Dunlop’s .88mm. The global economy had a rocky year in 2022. As the worst of COVID-19’s effects on public health receded, the war in Ukraine and China’s tough “zero COVID” curbs injected new chaos into global supply chains. Food and energy prices soared as inflation in many economies hit four-decade highs. After a tumultuous year, the global economy heads into 2023 in choppy waters. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine continues to roil food and energy markets, while rising interest rates threaten to smother the still-fragile post-pandemic recovery. On the positive side of the ledger, China’s reopening after three years of strict pandemic curbs offers a confidence boost for the global recovery — albeit tempered by fears that the rampant spread of the virus among the country’s 1.4 billion people could give rise to more lethal variants.
Inflation and interest rates Inflation is expected to decline globally in 2023 but nonetheless remain painfully high. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted global inflation will hit 6.5 percent next year, down from 8.8 percent in 2022. Developing economies are expected to have less relief, with inflation projected to only ease to 8.1 percent in 2023. “It’s likely that inflation will remain stubbornly higher than the 2 percent that most Western central banks have set as their benchmark,” Alexander Tziamalis, a senior economics lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. “Energy and raw materials will remain expensive for some time. The partial reversal of globalisation means more expensive imports, shortages of labour in many Western countries leads to more expensive production, and green transition measures to combat the greatest threat our species faces are all leading to higher inflation than we’ve been used to through the 2010s.” Slowing growth and recession While price growth is expected to ease in 2023, economic growth is certain to slow sharply alongside rising interest rates, too. The IMF has estimated that the global economy will grow just 2.7 percent in 2023, down from 3.2 percent in 2022. The OECD has projected a less lofty performance this year of 2.2 percent growth, compared with 3.1 percent in 2022. Many economists are more pessimistic and believe a global recession is likely in 2023, barely three years after the downturn caused by the pandemic. In a column last month, Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, painted a grim picture that was summed up by the article’s unequivocal title: “Why a global recession is inevitable in 2023”. Even if the global economy does not technically fall into recession — broadly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth — the IMF’s chief economist recently warned that 2023 may still feel like one for many people due to the combination of slowing growth, high prices and rising interest rates. “The three largest economies, the US, China and the euro area, will continue to stall,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said in October. “In s This article was inspired by a couple of different events - firstly ongoing conversations I have been having with Pete Thorn about the colour of LEDs for different pedal types, and secondly an odd question I did get from my wife: "Are these colours fashionable'? Well, all this leads to some explaining duties. Looking at my pedal board I see all colours of the rainbow, from black to white. Yeh, white. What's that with JHS? Only white? But for most pedal makers it's about colours. So there must be reason, right?
I simply considered each colour in turn and which pedal I naturally recalled in response - I then extended the range and filled in a few more of the gaps. While there are some colours still open to contest, other colours have long been claimed and rationalised - which you can see quite evidently in much of Mooer’s colour selection - which helps you figure out the original source circuit largely by the colour of the enclosure. All because the question, are the same coulor pedals interchangeble? You would think yes, but a Tubescreamer is not the same as a Nobels ODR-1, both green. And a Boss DS-1 is in a league of it's own. The most interesting point for me is that fire-engine red and standard yellow are both ’Owned’ as such by compressors. My first association for Red is the MXR Dyna Comp, and the first association for standard neutral or pale yellow is the Diamond Pedals Compressor - as replicated by Mooer too. But my Fender The Bends is black. Also interesting is how Ibanez owns both forest and light green shades with its TS808 and TS9 Tubescreamers. The most modern pedal in the visual is the recent Bondi Effects Art Van Delay - which has pretty much laid claim to Hot Pink / Fuscia. Well, let's explain this confusing colour theory by using the Colour Wheel above. RED To me there are two automatic associations that come directly to mind for the colour red - the MXR Dyna Comp is the standout choice, followed by Marshall Distortion pedals en masse for some reason - even though Marshall is most likely readily identified with the colour 'Gold' there are a number of Marshall-based distortions including the brand new Red Mod version (no coincidence) of Catalinbread's Dirty Little Secret. Besides that we have the Amptweaker Tight Rock, Dawner Prince RedRox, JHS Angry Charlie, Mad Professor Mighty Red Distortion, MI Effects Super Crunch Box and Wampler Pinnacle - all sporting RED. Boss also has the red DM-2 Delay - but that is more of Cerise hue, and not the proper bright red. Actually Boss's Looper pedals are all bright red, and as was its second every compact pedal - the SP-1 Spectrum and in fact the VO-1 Vocoder too. I think on balance though my first instincts were correct here, and Red has to be given to the MXR Dyna Comp which just has to be the most readily universally associated pedal in this colourway. ORANGE When I think of the colour Orange I get two immediate references - MXR's Phase 90, and Boss's DS-1, and then when I really apply myself I recall the Ibanez Overdrive - which is actually a Muff-based fuzz rather. JHS also has the Orange Squeezer Compressor, and there are a number of Orange Amp pedal replicas. But Mad Professor's Tiny Orange Phaser and Mooer's Ninety Orange Phaser - kind of underline that this is MXR Phase 90's category to loose. There are actually a number of Boss orange-hued distortion pedals - of which the DS-1 is the most memorable. But the colour orange belongs to the Phaser type of effect specifically from MXR. YELLOW - amber/mustard, deep yellow and pale yellow As per the above visual we're actually dealing with 3 different shades of yellow here. When I just think out 'Yellow' I consider Boss's Over Drive pedals first, then the second edition DOD 250 PreAmp - which actually started off Grey and is still probably more associated with its original colour. And finally the pale yellow Diamond Compressor - which is the one Mooer replicates in its own even paler yellow enclosure. Actually there is also the MXR Distortion+ which we mustn't forget, but as I am more principally a Boss fan - I'm more likely to recall the Boss Over Drives first. The darkest yellow shade - sort of amber / mustard yellow immediately brought to my mind the T-Rex Mud Honey pedal, and perhaps the BJFe Honey Bee Overdrive - while on closer inspection - it's actually definitely the same colour as the Mud Honey. I feel that those 3 yellows are the most likely associations, although some will likely swap with the Boss OD-1 or Diamond Comp Jr for the MXR Distortion+. GREEN - forest green, and light green If you hear mentioned of 'The Green Overdrive' pedal pretty much 99% of you will immediately recall the Ibanez Tube Screamer, while others might think of the Maxon OD-808 or Nobels ODR-1. Checking with Mooer - its own TS808 replica sort of follows the forest green of that pedal. While interestingly Ibanez also lays claim to the lighter green colour - which could in Nashville in particular be more likely associated with the Nobels. Boss's line of Phasers is also green - PH-1 through PH-3 - but the obvious Phaser colour has to be the Orange of the MXR Phase 90. Overall then the ever so ubiquitous Ibanez Tube Screamers win the Green colourway category by a landslide. Update - I forgot to mention MXR's Carbon copy delays which feature a darker green standard version, and lighter green 'Bright' version. Tube Screamers still win though! A further note on Moss Green or Army Green here - which is readily associated with the Green Russian Muff style fuzzes - including EHX's own Green Russian Big Muff Pi. TEAL To my mind only 4 teal pedals spring readily to mind - first Boss's ever-present TR-2 Tremolo, Mad Professor's Little Green Wonder Overdrive, TC Electronic's Petrucci Dreamscape Modulator, and Wampler's Ethereal Delay+Reverb. I feel this category is still up for grabs to a degree, although I personally feel the strongest resonance here with the Boss TR-2 Tremolo. BLUE - mid blue On the colour wheel I selected as reference there was only one shade of blue depicted - a sort of mid basic blue - in fact all the colours here are relatively primary - so we miss out on the lighter and powder blues, sky-blue and more ink-blue, royal-blue and cobalt shades - which Thorpy's brand new Heavy Water pedal sports so well. Boss actually has a number of 'Blue' pedals - Choruses, Compressors, Multi-Overtone, Pitch-Shifters, Sampler/Delays, and Vibrato. It only really has one monikered Blue pedal though in the BD-2 BLUES Driver - which surely has to take the most common blue colour pedal association over the long-term. There is Strymon's BlueSky Reverb, MXR's Blue Box Fuzz and Wampler's blue Ego Compressor - but none of those has triggered quite so many mods and replicas as has Boss's original BD-2 Blues Driver circuit. The Blues Driver is a very slightly unusual mid blue - with a hint of green in it - but the colour plus the name surely cements its position at the head of this category. If considering the lighter blues - then surely the Boss Choruses must be in heavy consideration. PURPLE Much like the Boss blue Blues Driver - Lovepedal has one of its own monikered colourways in the guise of its Purple Plexi Distortion. The name verily matches the colour. Purple is often associated with Jimi Hendrix too - so a number of Hendrix Fuzz and Vibe -derived pedals often feature a purple tone. There is also Way Huge's Purple Platypus - whose colour is actually closer to Violet - but that also has the colour in its moniker - as does Carl Martin's Purple Moon Fuzz N' Vibe. More recently we have REVV's Purple G3 Distortion and Wampler's Pantheon Overdrive - actually Fulltone's Plimsoul is also actually a very dark shade of purple. For me though it's Lovepedal's Purple Plexi which most readily springs to mind here and to which I award winner of this category for now. MAGENTA / GRAPE Difficult to know what to name this category - I see Magenta as being slightly brighter than Grape - for the former the contenders are most likely Strymon's Orbit Flanger and Suhr's Riot Distortion, while the more Grape shade represented here is most definitely matched by Boss's BF Series of Flangers - where I personally have a modded BF-2. Eventide's new Rose Delay pedal would snap into this category too as would JAM Pedals Limited Edition Hendrix-style Fuzz Phrase. Boss BF-2/3 for the win though. HOT PINK / FUSCIA When I think of Pink guitar pedals I most immediately think of the trio of Alexander Pedals Hot Pink Drive, Bondi Effects Art Van Delay, and Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine Modulator. JHS used fo have the Pink Panther Delay which was a more subtle shade of pink, and now renamed the Lucky Cat Delay, While I feel that recent entrant Art Van Delay has somewhat staked a claim with its powerful application of block colour. I feel that this category is still sort of up for grabs - but the Bondi Art Van Delay is a very strong contender here. Other Instant Pedal Colour Associations not on the Wheel/Chart
Final Thoughts
Readers and players alike will have their own personal choices and preferences here depending on what they've been more exposed to. Fans of Boss will probably be closer to my preferences while those with a more stronger association with say MXR or another brand which uses strong colours may more closely associate with those pedals. Being the fuzz fan I am it's also relevant to mention the Dallas Arbiter / Dunlop Fuzz Faces - Red = Germanium, Blue = Silicon convention - which has been taken up by a number of builders - and in no more clear way than with Fulltone's two takes on the Fuzz Face - 69MKII and 70-BC Fuzz. Fuzzes though are still largely a 'minority sport' so that overall they have little chance of being the most impactful in enforcing specific colour associations. Of all the colours above I feel the strongest associations are with Orange = MXR Phaser, and Green = Ibanez Tube Screamer - those are surely shoe-ins for near enough everyone. Other colourways here are more open to influence and interpretation. The US Department of Commerce has labeled the Russian private military company Wagner Group a “military end user,” potentially restricting its access to any technology made with American equipment anywhere in the world. Undersecretary for Industry and Security Alan Estevez called Wagner “one of the most notorious mercenary organizations in the world” in a statement released to Reuters on Wednesday.
Wager has been under US sanctions since 2017, to little effect. Earlier this month, the State Department designated it an “entity of particular concern” with regard to religious freedom in Africa, putting it in the same category as Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In November, the State Department claimed Wagner was seeking to purchase drones from Iran, and labeled the group as part of the Russian defense sector. Commerce’s move falls short of the rumored designation of Wagner as a “terrorist” entity, advocated by some outspoken Democrats in Washington since this summer. Wagner was founded in 2014, and has mainly operated as a security contractor in Africa and the Middle East. More recently, its members have taken part in battles with the Ukrainian military in the Donbass.The group’s boss, Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, gave an ironic reaction to the news on Thursday. “Of course, this will create problems for the repair depot and ammunition supply for the triple-sevens. Oh, and also the HAWK AA. Lovely system, but breaks down a lot, unfortunately,” he said, referring to the M-777 howitzers and Raytheon’s anti-aircraft rockets that the US has supplied to Kiev’s military, with some presumably getting captured. “I hope that we will be able to order [parts] through Poland or the Baltic states, where we have close contacts with the defense ministries,” he added, needling the most anti-Russian NATO members. Prigozhin has trolled the Western media and governments on many occasions, including in November when he “admitted” to meddling in US elections with a movie quote, which most US and EU outlets rushed to report at face value. Twitter owner Elon Musk has confirmed he will stand by his promise to resign as the company’s chief executive, after the platform’s users voted for him to step down, but suggested that finding a successor may take some time.
“I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,” Musk announced in a tweet on Tuesday. CNBC previously reported that Musk was “actively looking, asking, trying to figure out who the candidate pool might actually be.” On Sunday, the billionaire posted an informal poll asking Twitter users if he should step down as head of the company. Some 57.5% of the 17 million respondents voted for Musk to leave his post. On Monday, Musk stated that henceforth only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to voice their opinions in polls about policy changes on the platform. After completing his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, Musk became its majority owner, which means that no one can force him out. However, in recent weeks, the CEO has introduced a number of controversial changes that have caused a massive public backlash. At the same time, the self-styled “free speech absolutist” authorized the release of internal documents in an effort to provide transparency about Twitter’s past decision-making. With striking satin finishes, new pickguard shapes and high-performance spec sheets, these stunning guitars and basses are arguably 2022’s most exciting Fender guitars – so why are they only available in Japan? Today in ‘Japan gets all the best Fender models’ news, Fender Japan has announced the Elemental Series, a range designed to meet the demands of modern players while still retaining a reasonable price tag. To meet that remit, Fender Japan have reworked these Jazzmaster, Telecaster, Stratocaster and Jazz Bass electric guitars and basses from the ground up. Tonally, they come equipped with Modern Modified humbuckers, complete with coil-split via the tone control for the electric guitars. Contemporary playability is ensured by 12”-radius rosewood fingerboards, while the models’ maple necks offer a compound shape that goes from a modern C at lower frets to a D at the dusty end. Crucially, all the guitars also offer a contoured neck heel – the kind you’d normally find only on Fender’s top-end American Ultra Series. Visually, the alder-bodied lineup has also received an overhaul with a gorgeous satin finish, available in two colors: Stone Black and Nimbus White. Given the elemental theme, we can presumably expect fire (red) and water (blue) variations down the line. Lord have mercy. Those finishes are complemented by matching headstocks, plus an all-new pickguard shape that offers a minimalist take on the Fender design staple, just covering the lower horn. Hardware-wise, you’re looking at an Adjusto-Matic bridge with anchored tailpiece on the Jazzmaster; six-saddle hardtail on the Telecaster; while the Stratocaster boasts a two-point Deluxe Synchronized tremolo with (yes!) pop-in arm. The Jazz Bass, meanwhile, features a HiMass Vintage bridge for through-body stringing or top-loading, plus four controls for master volume with push/pull for active/passive; pickup selector; treble boost; and bass boost. Elsewhere, the guitars are equipped with Fender’s staggered tuners and knurled flat-top knobs to further enhance the sleek, modern feel. In brief, these models are absolutely jaw-dropping, and for players of a contemporary persuasion who want that Fender name on the headstock, they tick all the boxes. What’s more, they’re reasonably priced for this kind of spec, with a ¥170,500 price tag, which translates roughly to $1,244, including gigbag. All of which begs the question: why are these guitars only launching in Japan? Progressive players have clamored for Fender models spec’d for this kind of performance, yet the range is a limited series that looks unlikely to make its way to western shores, just like the similarly tricked-out Modern Series.
Fender Japan regularly drops highly limited models – seriously, just check out its remarkable run of desirable releases this year – and we know from our own traffic stats that players are just as excited, if not more so, by these progressive builds than the predominantly vintage-focused western designs. So, as we so often do, we hold out hope that we’ll see these outside of Japan one day. While we wait for Fender US to do the right thing, you can find out more about the Made in Japan Elemental Series over at Fender Japan (opens in new tab). As I sat with my family watching the first half of France vs Morocco, a chant from Moroccan fans rumbled through the stadium.
“Are they saying ‘La ilaha il Allah’?” I asked my husband. “No way – but it sure sounds like it.” They were, in fact, repeating the first half of the Muslim declaration of faith, “There is no God but God,” and a few claps later, the second half: “Muhammad is the messenger of God.” A sort of collective rallying cry to both uplift spirits and express pride in Islam’s central creed among fellow believers. Our scepticism clearly had not caught up with the mesmerising spectacle that was the Atlas Lions. It was the winning streak that at least in this region, we could not look away from – the deeply satisfying underdog narrative of this World Cup, most deliciously for Arabs, Africans, the diaspora in the West, and Muslims collectively, rejoicing at an authentic representation of their lived faith and values on display in the most celebratory way. When some of the players showed the world just how much they love their mothers, many Muslims joked that it was only due to the “mother’s ‘dua’ [prayer]” that they were still hanging on. Others commented that their against-all-odds victories – against Belgium, Spain, Portugal – were a case of feeling more at home at the first World Cup in the Middle East, being in their neck of the woods (or the closest thing to it), and the energy of the fans, that propelled them to keep on keeping on. No one could deny the electrifying Moroccan fandom that to an outsider seemed to pop up in Qatar overnight. And that is the thing about this story in particular – it was as much about the fans as it was about the players. When Morocco beat Portugal last week, a colleague turned to me and asked an important editorial question: “So, the first African team to make it to the semis, or the first Arab team?” My answer did not skip a beat. “Both. All of it. And then some. Their win means whatever you want it to mean, for you.” We decided right there and then that our coverage would not delve into the very real identity ping-pong taking place over who gets to claim Morocco. It is not that these debates are not valid; it is that we simply chose to lean into a moment swirling in optimism and unity. We also chose a different conversation to spotlight: the power of football as a force for social change. I spoke to a few people who were merely supporting Morocco in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, as players and fans regularly waved the Palestinian flag. For them, the following message about Palestinians was enough: “They exist. Their struggle is real and felt beyond their homes. They will not be erased.” It is so much bigger than football. And the ability of the Atlas Lions to connect so many people from different backgrounds around a common desire to believe in miracles, shift the game when no one saw it coming, in a region ignored by football’s big guns (until now) – was a story worth telling, and one the world needed, however fleeting. Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has quit as a special envoy for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) after two decades in the role, the United Nations said on Friday. The star of ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ and ‘Maleficent’ had been an envoy since 2012, carrying out more than 60 field missions for the agency in various parts of the world. This year, she made trips to locations including Yemen, Burkina Faso and Ukraine. Despite ending her cooperation with the UN, Jolie promised that she would keep helping displaced people in a new capacity. “I will continue to do everything in my power in the years to come to support refugees and other displaced people. After 20 years working within the UN system, I feel it is time for me to work differently, engaging directly with refugees and local organizations, and supporting their advocacy for solutions,” the actress said in a joint statement with the UN.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the agency was grateful to the movie star for her “successful” service and “the difference she has made for refugees and people forced to flee.” “I appreciate her desire to shift her engagement and support her decision. I know the refugee cause will remain close to her heart, and I am certain she will bring the same passion and attention to a wider humanitarian portfolio,” Grandi stated. In an Instagram post on her decision, Jolie wrote that the UNHCR was “full of amazing people,” and that she still believed in many things that the United Nations does. However, the actress had recently been critical of the UN. In an article for Time magazine in June, the 47-year-old claimed that “because of the way the UN was set up, it is tipped towards the interests and voice of powerful nations at the expense of those people suffering the most from conflict and persecution whose rights and lives are not treated equally.” “We have to recognize that our systems for preventing conflict and mass human displacement, and defending human rights, are not working,” she insisted, pointing to the fact that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had taken the number of displaced people worldwide to a record of over 100 million. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has issued a response to the recently leaked ‘Twitter Files’, admitting to a host of major mistakes during his time as chief executive, while warning against “centralized control” of the internet by governments and corporations. The tech entrepreneur addressed the leaked internal documents in a Tuesday blog post, acknowledging that Twitter failed to uphold its guiding principles near the end of his tenure, and that he “completely gave up” on his own vision for the site after “activist” investors bought into the company sometime in 2020. Though he did not elaborate on the new investors or how they might have swayed the platform, Dorsey said Twitter’s focus on controlling public dialogue was ultimately one of its greatest errors. He cited the decision to permanently suspend President Donald Trump in the wake of the riot at the US Capitol in January 2021, saying it was “the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society.”“The biggest mistake I made was continuing to invest in building tools for us to manage the public conversation, versus building tools for the people using Twitter to easily manage it for themselves,” he said. “This burdened the company with too much power, and opened us to significant outside pressure (such as advertising budgets). I generally think companies have become far too powerful, and that became completely clear to me with our suspension of Trump’s account.”
Dorsey was reportedly on vacation at the time of the Trump ban and had delegated decision-making to executives Yoel Roth and Vijaya Gadde – as revealed in the Twitter Files – but nonetheless said he bears sole blame for the errors in judgment. “The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and [don’t] solve anything. If you want to blame, direct it at me and my actions, or lack thereof,” he continued, also insisting “there was no ill intent or hidden agendas” behind Twitter’s more contentious decisions and that the company “acted according to the best information we had at the time.” Tuesday’s blog post also included a lengthy section warning of “centralized” power over the internet, stating that social media platforms should remain “resilient to corporate and government control” while suggesting Twitter had failed to do so under his watch. The former CEO, who stepped down from the role in November 2021, went on to say that he welcomes the “fresh reset” brought by Twitter’s new owner, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, expressing hopes that the site will become “uncomfortably transparent.” However, he argued that the Twitter Files should have been released “Wikileaks-style,” or in full, rather than being leaked to select journalists by the site’s new management. Spearheaded by reporters Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss, the documents have been published on a rolling basis with Musk’s blessing, shedding light on a number of controversial decisions made by the company. Five installments have gone public so far, including material surrounding Trump’s suspension, Twitter’s close cooperation with US intelligence agencies, the practice of shadow banning, as well as a site-wide ban on a New York Post report about the foreign business dealings of Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden. An Iranian football player was reported to face a death sentence for "campaigning for women's rights" in his country, as the FIFPRO World Players' Union on Tuesday asked Tehran to lift his penalty."FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women's rights and basic freedom in his country," the union said on Twitter.
"We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment," it added. FIFPRO is a global union for professional football players to defend their rights. Iran has been rocked by protests since mid-September after the custodial death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code. The country has been dealing with protesters in a very hard way to deter them, punishing those who campaigned for women's rights and freedom. Nasr-Azadani, 26, is among them. Iran on Monday executed the second person convicted over the killing of two security personnel in the northeastern city of Mashhad in November amid months-long ongoing protests across the country. Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in public in his hometown Mashhad in the wee hours of Monday on charges of "moharebeh" (waging war against God), judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency said. Last week, Iran executed Mohsen Shikari for "threatening citizens with a cold weapon and injuring a security guard" during protests in the Sattar Khan neighborhood of west Tehran. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Iranian national team refused to sing their national anthem before their match against England to protest Amini's death. Iran were eliminated in the group stage in Qatar 2022 where they played against England, the US, and Wales. The founder and CEO of the ill-fated cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Samuel Bankman-Fried, has been arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the US authorities. He now awaits criminal charges, weeks after his multi-billion-dollar company went bankrupt. The government of the Bahamas issued a statement on Monday night announcing the arrest, noting that the move “followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against [Bankman-Fried] and is likely to request his extradition.”
The US Justice Department later confirmed that the disgraced CEO was in custody, with US attorney Damian Williams saying the arrest was “based on a sealed indictment filed by the [Southern District of New York].” He added that the indictment would be unsealed sometime on Tuesday. A source familiar with the matter told the New York Times that Bankman-Fried’s charges will include money laundering, wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, and securities fraud conspiracy, and noted that he currently is the only FTX executive facing indictment. Prosecutors have reportedly examined whether the crypto exchange broke any laws by transferring money to a separate hedge fund operated and owned by Bankman-Fried before FTX went belly-up in November. Regulators have also looked into how the Bahamas-based exchange ended up with an $8 billion gap on its balance sheet, and whether FTX lent money to the hedge fund, Alameda Research, for risky trades. Bankman-Fried’s arrest comes less than 24 hours ahead of a House Financial Services Committee hearing he planned to attend virtually on Tuesday, where he was meant to testify about FTX’s downfall. California Democrat Maxine Waters, who oversees the committee, said she was “surprised” that he was in custody, and expressed disappointment that lawmakers would not hear his testimony. The FTX founder has denied any suggestions that he defrauded his customers before his company collapsed, instead maintaining that he “screwed up” while managing the large crypto exchange, which was among the world’s largest at its peak. “I made a lot of mistakes. There are things I would give anything to be able to do over again,” he told an audience at an event hosted by the New York Times last month. |
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