News Headlines - 31 October 2020

▽Article on Joe and Hunter Biden Censored By The Intercept - Glenn Greenwald

I am posting here the most recent draft of my article about Joe and Hunter Biden - the last one seen by Intercept editors before telling me that they refuse to publish it absent major structural changes involving the removal of all sections critical of Joe Biden, leaving only a narrow article critiquing media outlets. I will also, in a separate post, publish all communications I had with Intercept editors surrounding this article so you can see the censorship in action and, given the Intercept’s denials, decide for yourselves (this is the kind of transparency responsible journalists provide, and which the Intercept refuses to this day to provide regarding their conduct in the Reality Winner story).

▽China will impose sanctions on Boeing and Lockheed Martin over Taiwan arms sales - CNN

Beijing said Monday that it will impose sanctions on American companies - including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon - that have been involved in selling weapons to Taiwan.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian called on the United States to stop selling arms to the self-governed island and to cut military ties with the government in Taipei.
The sanctions are just the latest escalation in growing tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan. Even though the island has never been controlled by China's ruling Communist Party, Beijing insists it is an integral part of its territory and has threatened to use force if necessary to assert its control.

▽Dai-ichi Life to slash return rate for corporate pension plans : The Asahi Shimbun

A major life insurance company is lowering its estimated rate of return for corporate pension insurance policies, which could lead to other life insurance companies following suit.
Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. announced on Oct. 29 it will lower the estimated rate of return for the defined benefit corporate pension insurance policies it has contracted with about 3,000 companies in Japan, dropping the current 1.25 percent annual rate to 0.25 percent as of October 2021... It is the first time Dai-ichi Life Insurance has lowered its estimated return in 19 years. The move could mean some employees might receive lower pensions depending on what their companies do to offset the lower investment return.

▽Rich residents map escape route from Argentina’s ‘money trap’ | Financial Times

But with a leftist government in Argentina ramping up taxes on the rich while a new conservative administration in neighbouring Uruguay offers tax breaks to newcomers, many wealthy Argentines are choosing to move across the river Plate permanently.
One of the biggest causes of discontent is what many see as a confiscatory tax system. Congress is set to soon debate a one-off “solidarity” tax on Argentines with net assets of more than $3m that officials say could raise up to $4bn.
That is on top of an existing wealth tax that was raised in December to 2.25 per cent - higher than any other country except Spain. It increases the burden on taxpayers even further in what is already one of the world’s most heavily taxed countries.

▽This Halloween's blue moon will bring a rare treat to the skies - CNET

The full moon that will be visible on Oct. 31 is called the blue moon because it's the second full moon of the same month -- following the harvest moon of Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. And in a rare treat, the 2020 Halloween full moon will be visible to the entire world, rather than just parts of it, for the first time since World War II.