With sensitivity to perceived racism growing all the time, how important should intent be when society punishes someone for stepping over the line?

On Wednesday, BBC radio presenter and comedian Danny Baker posted a black-and-white retro photo meme that showed a chimp accompanied by two well-dressed chaperones, with the caption “Royal baby leaves the hospital.”

If we believe that this was a joke mocking the mixed-race origins of the newborn Archie, whose mother Meghan Markle is half black, then there is clear-cut cause for dismissal. Characterizing black people as simians has a long and inglorious history.

But what if we take the furious Baker at his word – that his “mind is not diseased” so he didn’t think of the “possible connotations” and deleted the tweet voluntarily as soon as he was alerted to them.

While he can occasionally be opinionated, Danny Baker is a Corbyn-supporting lifelong left-winger whose 40-year broadcasting career – thousands of hours of unscripted radio chat – had previously managed to skirt a single notable racism controversy. Talking of Occam’s Razor, Baker himself wrote how inconceivable it is that he would voluntarily bring this upon himself for the sake of being edgy.

Some would say that even genuine ignorance is no defense. That a man in the public eye should be more aware of the context and impact on others of what he posts online.

But Baker’s backstory provides its own context, which the many who demanded his sacking simply chose to ignore because it makes condemning him easier.

This is not to exonerate Baker, but simply to point out that punishing language is not the same as punishing murder: there is always a grey area where you are sentencing suspects for thoughtcrime, or perhaps even catching the innocent in the dragnet.

The scandal raises a related question: how tenuous does the link have to be between what is said or written and detectable racism?

For example, could someone really be unaware that Archie is ¼ black? Perhaps only the truly careless. But what if he has a son of his own with a white woman, who is 1/8 black? Can ignorance be forgiven then? What racial proportion does someone have to be before it is acceptable to post chimp memes about them?

Perhaps the easiest approach is to never make any potentially misinterpreted jokes at all – so no animal comparisons or other offensive material. It is one the BBC would approve of with their “zero tolerance” approach to Baker and their own impeccably “safe” content.

But if it had taken this approach, would the corporation have ever commissioned, say Fawlty Towers, with its portrayal of bumbling and easily confused Manuel the Spanish waiter, who is not even played by a Spaniard. Should it even be showing repeats of this sitcom?

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More currently, what about the next time a storm of unflattering epithets – much more aggressive and personal than ‘chimp’ – is unleashed by one of its presenters or guests at Donald Trump? They likely won’t be fired.

Does context enter back into it then? It’s OK to insult white people referring to the color of their skin, for example, but not black people. Maybe it’s OK to mock the powerful, but not the weak? Or is it the other way round, anyone is fair game, but not the royals? Or maybe Prince Philip is a joke, but Queen Elizabeth is not.

Everyone but the perfect moral guardians would agree that the rules can be unfair, and false positives can strike even the most politically correct.

Or should the offended party simply decide whether it finds something racist or sexist or transphobic, and then ensure that the culprit is disgraced? After all, people complained after Baker’s tweet, hence the reaction. But then aren’t we just giving more power to Twitter mobs and their own political biases?

All this would make Danny Baker, or anyone else, think twice about telling that joke, sharing that meme or sending that tweet. Should we celebrate or be afraid? Should we all live like the BBC?

By Igor Ogorodnev

Igor Ogorodnev is a Russian-British journalist, who has worked at RT since 2007 as a correspondent, editor and writer.

Moscow will see through joint projects with Tehran despite mounting pressure from Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said, urging European countries to maintain ties with Iran and abide by the nuclear deal.

The recent decision of Tehran to suspend some of its obligations under the landmark agreement – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – is “understandable,” given the US’ hostile actions against the country, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The move is perfectly legal, as the agreement allows the country walk away from some of its obligations if other signees do not stick to the deal.

At the same time Moscow, warned Tehran against making further steps towards scrapping the deal altogether, while urging “other participating countries” – basically, European ones – to fulfill their obligations.

On Wednesday, Iran reduced its obligations under the deal and vowed to take further steps on uranium enrichment in 60 days if the EU does not act to help its banking and oil sectors. The European Union, however, has already branded Tehran’s move as an “ultimatum” and promised to “assess Iran’s compliance” with the deal.

Russia itself is looking forward to continuing works on joint projects with Iran, including in the nuclear energy sphere, the ministry said. The projects include the ongoing construction of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, as well as refurbishment of the Fordow uranium enrichment plant.

Moscow condemned the new batch of US sanctions against Iran, that targeted its metallurgy sector, urging “other countries” to maintain economic ties and trade with Tehran despite the pressure.

A similar statement was issued by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who called upon the EU to uphold its obligations instead of just pressing the country into compliance with the agreement.

“Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord, the EU should uphold obligations – including normalization of economic ties,” Iran’s top diplomat tweeted.

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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz scolded members of the EU, who are too eager to “cash in” on the bloc’s funds, while having large debts. To fix the union, it needs a new treaty altogether, Kurz believes.

The bold remarks were made by Austria’s chancellor right ahead of the EU leaders summit in Romania, where he is expected to table his proposals. In order to “reserve” the EU, the bloc needs a new fundamental agreement instead of the Lisbon Treaty, Kurz believes.

“Many, above all the younger heads of government, know that we must change the European Union if we want to reserve it,” Kurz told Austrian broadcaster ORF on Thursday. “Various heads of government among the liberals but also within the [conservative] European People’s Party have a similar view to me.”

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Kurz did not elaborate on who these like-minded politicians are exactly, while leaders of the EU countries seem to be quite silent about the prospects of any amendments to the bloc’s treaty. The changes, proposed by Austria’s chancellor include introduction of penalties for countries that have been taking in way too many migrants and have large – and growing – debts, while leeching from the bloc.

“We are talking here about countries that gladly take our money and are fully prepared to cash in,” Kurz stated.

While he did not name any country in particular, the jab appears to be aimed at the southern members of the EU, such as Greece and Italy, as well as Hungary, given earlier statements by Kurz. Austria has recently clashed with all the aforementioned countries over migrant handling, budget, and rule of law issues, respectively.

“We need a new treaty with clear sanctions against member states that increase debt, penalties for countries that do not register illegal migrants and wave them through, as well as tough consequences for violations of the rule of law and liberal democracy,” Kurz said earlier this month.

He has also called for shrinking the European Commission and ending what he called “the travelling circus of the EU Parliament.” Members of the Parliament convene for one week every month in Strasbourg, France and in Brussels for the other three weeks. The moving back and forth costs the union some €114 million ($127.54 million) a year. While Kurz called for closure of the Strasbourg headquarters, the proposal was firmly opposed to in Paris.

Given the cumbersome process of changing the EU treaty, that requires unanimous agreement of all the member states – and even referendums in some countries, it’s quite unlikely that Kurz’s proposals will flesh out anytime soon. In any case, that definitely won’t happen before the upcoming EU Parliament elections, scheduled to take place between May 23 and 26. The elections are expected to be a major success for Eurosceptic parties, opinion polls indicate, and pro-EU forces have already sounded alarms that it might “paralyze” the bloc altogether.

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Iran’s foreign minister has issued a scathing response to the EU’s joint statement on the crumbling nuclear pact, saying the bloc has been bullied by the US “for a year” and needs to uphold its obligations under the deal.

Earlier Thursday, the EU and Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, and the UK issued a joint statement reaffirming their collective commitment to the Iran deal while also strongly hinting that US intrusion on Iran is unwelcome.

That statement came a day after Tehran announced it would suspend some of its commitments under the 2015 deal, a year after the US pulled out of the agreement. Other signatories to the deal have 60 days to negotiate with Iran over its concerns, including that the European members of the deal haven’t done enough to uphold their own end of the deal and protect Iran from US sanctions.

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US President Donald Trump responded to Wednesday’s announcement by introducing a raft of new sanctions on anyone who trades with Iran in iron, steel, copper, aluminum, and related products, escalating the economic blockade of Tehran.

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Former Brazilian President Michel Temer handed himself over to the police after a court ordered his arrest for the second time in two months over corruption allegations.

Footage of Temer entering the office of Brazil’s federal police in Sao Paulo on Thursday was broadcast by local television. The judges had ruled earlier that the 78-year-old politician should return behind bars as his role in the so-called ‘Car Wash’ scandal is being investigated.

The ex-president’s lawyers insisted that the decision was groundless and showed “injustice,” and have already filed an appeal against the arrest warrant.

Prosecutors said they believe that Temer was the leader of a “criminal organization” receiving lavish bribes from the funds allocated to the construction Angra 3 nuclear plant. He was already arrested as part of the same probe on March 21, but the court released him a few days later. Temer has always denied any wrongdoing.

Brazilian media claims that the politician faces investigation on at least ten separate cases, which also deal with money laundering and large-scale fraud at state-owned oil company Petrobras.

Temer’s downfall is made ironic by his role in ousting his predecessor in 2016. President Dilma Rousseff was impeached over claims that she had mishandled state funds as part of ‘Car Wash.’

Her impeachment amounted to a parliamentary coup, backed by a smear campaign in the media owned by a handful of oligarchs, Rousseff told RT in an exclusive interview last year.

“We won the elections four times in a row but, after the fourth time, they decided not to give us even a slightest opportunity to participate in the fifth election,” she explained.

Rousseff’s predecessor, Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva (2003-2011) was also charged with corruption and ordered to jail last year. In his first interview from prison last week, the 73-year-old Lula called the current government a “bunch of lunatics” and “lackeys” of the US.

Brazil was recently declared a “major non-NATO ally” by US President Donald Trump, following a visit by current president Jair Bolsonaro. The conservative Bolsonaro won the election last September after surviving a stabbing at a campaign event.

After Temer chose not to seek re-election, Lula seemed like a strong contender for the presidency, until he was jailed in April and thus disqualified from running.

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Nationalists in Kiev sought to ridicule the Immortal Regiment march by photoshopping Soviet military uniforms on Marvel’s Avengers. The joke was on them, as the soldiers who fought to defeat the Nazis were real-life superheroes.

Millions in Russia and abroad took to the streets with portraits of their relatives who took part in World War II, or the Great Motherland War as it is known in the former Soviet Union. The international action, known as the Immortal Regiment march, began in 2012 and has since become a tradition that follows the military parade on May 9.

Despite the Ukrainian authorities frowning on the practice and preferring to celebrate “Europe Day” instead, the Immortal Regiment march was held on Thursday in Kiev as well, gathering several thousand participants.

But the nationalists in Kiev organized a march of their own on Victory Day, and prepared thoroughly for it by printing out portraits of the characters from cinematic blockbuster ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which is currently breaking world box-office records.

Marvel’s superheroes were photoshopped into Soviet military uniforms of the WWII era, while a Ukrainian twist was also given to their names. The posters carried by dozens of demonstrators in the Ukrainian capital featured Major Starkov, Captain Amerikov, Sergent Hulkov, Doctor Strangenko, Sergant Lokienko, Private Gamora, Partisan Grootenko, among others. The arch-villain Thanos also made an appearance, with the highest possible rank of generalissimo.

The organizers said they wanted to make fun of the Immortal Regiment, but may have inadvertently paid a massive compliment to those who defeated the Nazis. The Avengers stood for good and sacrificed a lot to protect humanity and life itself from unimaginable evil – a description that perfectly fits the soldiers from all over the USSR – including Ukraine – who foiled Hitler’s plans of world domination in WWII.

Another symbol of victory against the Nazis in 1945 – the orange-and-black Saint George ribbons – was under attack in Ukraine as well. Kiev introduced a special law to ban their display in 2017.

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Those seen sporting such symbols are subject to a fine of up to 2500 hryvna (around $100) or a 15-day administrative arrest in case of a repeat violation. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said it detained and charged 13 people for wearing Saint George ribbons on May 9.

Two citizens of Moldova were also denied entry to Ukraine, after the ribbons were discovered on them by vigilant border guards on Wednesday. They will be barred from visiting Ukraine for the next three years.

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The EU is committed to preserving the nuclear deal with Iran and helping the nation dodge US economic sanctions, and will not bend to any ultimatums, top European diplomats say. Earlier, Tehran suspended some of its commitments.

On Wednesday, Tehran announced it will halt disposal of excessive heavy water and uranium, which is one of the key terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement (known as the JCPOA). Unless European signatories deliver on their promises to Iran, it may enact a further rollback in 60 days.

EU members pledged to create a special financial mechanism which would allow business to be done in Iran without being on the radar of the US, which threatens anyone dealing with the country with economic sanctions.

Top EU diplomats said on Thursday they remain committed to the deal but will not bend to any ultimatums.

“We strongly urge Iran to continue to implement its commitments under the JCPoA in full as it has done until now and to refrain from any escalatory steps,” the officials said in a statement.

Iran for its part stressed that it wants to fix the JCPOA and not abandon it.

“Our goal is to strengthen the JCPOA and bring it back on track,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization, said the same day.

Earlier, Tehran clarified that its decision to partially suspend compliance with the JCPOA was in response to the US’ withdrawal and the failure by European signatories to alleviate the damage done by American sanctions.

The deal offered Iran the lifting of sanctions in exchange for placing restrictions on its nuclear industry. Lucrative business deals with European and American companies were expected to follow, boosting Iran’s economy and building trust with the West.

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People from across the world have taken part in annual Immortal Regiment marches, carrying photos of their relatives and commemorating WWII heroes in emotional Victory Day festivities.

Of course, the biggest Immortal Regiment march is always in Moscow (a record one million people, including President Vladimir Putin, marched in the Russian capital in 2018) — but from New York to London, Tokyo and Melbourne, smaller parades are held across the world every year for the May 9 celebration of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

This year, a group of Russians stationed at the Vostok research station in Antarctica even managed to get in on the action, posting photos from the South Pole in fairly chilly -68 degree Celsius weather conditions.

In Berlin, marchers made their way from the Brandenburg Gate to the Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten public park.

Londoners also took to rainy streets on Thursday to celebrate, carrying Russian and Soviet flags along with portraits of family members who fought in the war.

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Memorial marches were also held in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Melbourne, Buenos Aires and Athens, among others.

Russian embassies posted photos of gatherings at the Soviet war memorials in Austria, Malta and Denmark.

… while Russian news channel Vesti captured video from Immortal Regiment marches in Tokyo.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ began as a local event in the Siberian city of Tyumen in 2007 and has since ballooned across Russia and the rest of the world into an annual tradition commemorating those who fought in the war.

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Using the destruction of one of the prime Christian sites in the world as a chance to push your pet environmental agendas is disrespectful to Notre Dame’s heritage. Also, architects, please stop putting fake tiny parks everywhere.

Top French design bureau Vincent Callebaut Architectures has gone viral with its plans to replace the roof of the medieval cathedral with a glass shell filled with solar panels.

Underneath will be a “sustainable” farm capable of producing 21 tons of fruit and vegetables each year, to be given out for free to the homeless. Not coincidentally perhaps, this is at least the third eco-garden proposal that has been made public, while the vast majority of the submitted designs for the planned reconstruction feature a glass roof.

One can picture the unquestioning thought processes percolating through these architectural firms: how can we keep the idea of a church being a beneficial public space alive, while updating it to the present day? What could be more positive than green energy?

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There is one thing: restoring Notre Dame as a cathedral space. One understands that these designers are secular in their worldview even if nominally religious, but why do they so blithely assume that they can take a building away from the Catholics who have maintained it continuously for 800 years, without even asking them, and turn it into something more to their liking? Esoteric as it may be, a cathedral has a function that is spiritual – it should facilitate communion with God – and having a vegetable patch may dilute this purpose. Environmentalism, quasi-religious as it is, does not equal bona fide Christianity.

The architects might think there is something so post-modernly clever and ingeniously practical about their designs, but in fact they are just odd: if a football stadium was damaged in a fire, in a competition to restore it you wouldn’t submit a blueprint to turn it into a shopping center or a theme park just because you don’t like football. The fans still want to watch their team somewhere.

And overused as such examples are, one would imagine if Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, or the Angkor Wat were damaged, the same firm would think twice about even publishing their unsolicited proposals for a glass box with a visitor center and viewing platform, which has happened with at least one of the designs here. Why do you hate your own cultural history that much?

But maybe we are all thinking too narrowly. Maybe we are missing the aesthetic originality these architects are bringing into the world. But what is with the fetish for putting gardens in urban spaces? One assumes that the thinking goes: “A forest in the middle of a stone building – magical!” Though what you get instead is some thin, zoned greenery in a place where it would never naturally appear: not Eden but an inauthentic, inorganic party trick that will cost millions to maintain (could just give that money to the homeless instead of some carrots). And as you might see from its replication in so many near-identical submissions for Paris, this isn’t even some budding idea. This is the prevailing “premium” urban aesthetic from New York’s High Line, to Boris Johnson’s never-to-be Garden Bridge, to dozens of shopping malls and restaurants in any global metropolis.

So, here is the challenge, architects. If you are interested in more than easy clicks, what if instead of suggesting overplayed and soon-to-be-dated airport terminal roofs, you think of something that TRULY captures the spirit and purpose of Notre Dame, but is NOT a shiny brand-new replica of its every architectural evolution. If you can solve that conundrum, it is not just the devout who will be thankful in their prayers.

By Igor Ogorodnev

Igor Ogorodnev is a Russian-British journalist, who has worked at RT since 2007 as a correspondent, editor and writer.

Following two short-range missile launches, North Korea is preparing a long-range launch drill as well, according to Pyongyang’s official news agency.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose again on Thursday, after the US seized a North Korean cargo ship and DPRK carried out two short-range missile tests on its western border, overseen by Kim Jong-un personally.

Following the short-range launches, Kim gave the go-ahead for a long-range strike drill as well, according to North Korean news agency KCNA.

Kim said that “genuine peace and security of the country are guaranteed only by the strong physical force capable of defending its sovereignty,” KCNA reported.

North Korea had suspended nuclear and missile tests last year as part of a diplomatic overture to Washington, but the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam fizzled in February without a deal. In return for specific steps in dismantling its nuclear program, Pyongyang had asked for a partial removal of US sanctions. Trump refused, reportedly at the urging of his national security advisor, John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump has shrugged off the failure of the summit, insisting he still has a good personal relationship with Kim and expressing hope the talks will continue at some point.

“The relationship continues… I know they want to negotiate, they’re talking about negotiating. But I don’t think they’re ready to negotiate,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday morning.

Last month, Kim visited Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, asking him to play an intermediary with Washington, among other things.

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