• Visualizing The Global Demand For Oil (2022-2045F)
  Visualizing The Global Demand For Oil (2022-2045F)

  Economists have been attempting to forecast the point of peak oil—the year when oil demand reaches its maximum level—since the 1970s. Despite increasing warnings regarding climate change, global demand has continued to rise over the last few years and could continue.

  In this graphic, Visual Capitalist partnered with Range ETFs to explore the global oil demand and determine which region will demand the most in 2045.   

  

  Projecting Global Oil Demand

  As per OPEC, Oil demand could be as much as 17% higher by 2045 than it was in 2022. These projections are in millions of oil barrels per day and broken down by oil product.

  

  Oil’s importance in the global economy and its role as a fuel in many nations and industries worldwide contribute to the strength in demand. Additionally, the demand for jet fuel could grow by as much as 60% between 2022 and 2045, as currently, there is no carbon-neutral alternative to kerosene.  

  Who Will Be Using This Oil?

  The forecasts also describe how much of this demand could flow to each region by 2045. Here is how it breaks down: 

  

  Despite significant investments in clean energy, large economies like those in North America, China, and India are forecast to have the most demand in 2045. This would be driven by each region’s need to use oil in transportation, industrial processes, and energy generation.

  The Future of Oil

  Oil’s continued importance as a fuel will likely keep demand growing over the next two decades.

  Investors can take advantage of the growing potential oil demand by gaining exposure to various companies at the forefront of the offshore oil industry through the Range Global Offshore Oil Services Index ETF (OFOS). 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/01/2024 – 02:45

• The Polish-Hungarian Dispute Is Getting Nastier After Sikorski Lied About Szijjarto
  The Polish-Hungarian Dispute Is Getting Nastier After Sikorski Lied About Szijjarto

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

  Polish-Hungarian relations are in crisis over their polar opposite approaches towards Ukraine, which already just ruined their 700-year-old brotherhood at the state-to-state level and continues getting worse. Tensions had been building since the start of Russia’s special operation, but they finally exploded after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized Poland on Saturday for hypocritically attacking his country over its Russian oil imports and radically reshaping the European balance of power.

  

  This was followed by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Teofil Bartoszewski suggesting on Sunday that Hungary should withdraw from the EU and NATO in order to form “a union with Putin”. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto responded to that by doubling down on Orban’s claims that Poland is hypocritical and provocative while also conveying to Warsaw that Budapest’s patience is wearing thin. Readers can learn more about their dispute from this analysis here that was published on Monday.

  It turns out that the Warsaw-based Visegrad Insight published an interview with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski later that same day in which this top diplomat continued his deputy’s attacks against Hungary. He practically mocked Orban for not having any support for his peace mission and then scandalously claimed that Szijjarto initially supported his proposal to hold the next EU Foreign Affairs Council in Ukraine as a compromise between Budapest and Brussels before eventually vetoing it.

  Sikorski’s other attacks against Hungary inclined throwing shade on its East-West balancing act and implying that newfound cooperation with the Chinese police imperils national sovereignty. Szijjarto was once again pressed to respond to these Polish provocations, which he did in two Facebook posts here and here. He accused Sikorski of lying, clarified that Orban’s peace mission was a national initiative unrepresentative of the EU, and expressed hope that Poland will one day return to Central Europe.

  The last part showed that he’s nobly taking the high road by refusing to stoop to Sikorski’s level with lies and smears, which would have amounted to dirtying himself by wrestling with a pig while his Polish counterpart squeals with delight. Poland wants to provoke Hungary into behaving undiplomatically since that could then be spun to discredit the conservative-nationalist opposition that looks to it for guidance on non-Ukrainian-related issues like illegal immigration and still treasures their brotherhood.

  Apart from not wanting to deal a deathblow to this relationship at the people-to-people level among those in Poland who still appreciate it, Hungary also doesn’t want to discredit itself in the eyes of its non-Western partners like Russia and China by acting like a typical European country does nowadays. Those two and others respect that Hungary conducts itself differently than its peers, which is why they’d be hugely disappointed if it was successfully provoked by Poland into behaving just like the rest of them.

  Hungarian diplomacy is sophisticated enough to never sully the state like that, which is why it’s expected that its representatives will continue taking the high road no matter what Poland says or does, even if Sikorski and others get a lot nastier. This’ll likely take the form of them continuing to explain how far astray Poland has gotten from its post-Old Cold War mission of turning their Visegrad Group with Czechia and Slovakia into a third center of influence in Europe alongside the Franco-German axis and Russia.

  Hungary wants to remind Poland that the greater geopolitical good is served by returning to this mission instead of continuing to contribute to continental instability by serving as the Anglo-American Axis’ wedge between the aforementioned traditional power centers. Polish policy won’t change as a result, but Polish patriots will know that Hungary has Poland’s best interests in mind no matter what the ruling liberal-globalist coalition claims, thus keeping their brotherhood alive at the people-to-people level.  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/01/2024 – 02:00

• Kari Lake Wins GOP Senate Primary In Arizona, Setting Up Showdown With Rep. Ruben Gallego
  Kari Lake Wins GOP Senate Primary In Arizona, Setting Up Showdown With Rep. Ruben Gallego

  Authored by Nathan Worcester and Arjun Singh via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  PHEONIX—Kari Lake has won Arizona’s Republican Senate primary, defeating Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Elizabeth Reye.

  “If you think this is a battle between Democrats and Republicans, you’re still sleeping,” Lake said in her victory speech, calling on Trump Republicans, traditional Republicans, “disaffected Democrats,” and others to come together.

  Lake, a former Phoenix-area television news anchor and Republicans’ 2022 gubernatorial nominee, was favored to win the primary with a significant lead in most polls.

  Her victory sets up a general election contest with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who ran unopposed in the Democratic Senate primary.

  During her victory speech, the Iowa-born Lake brandished what she described as an opposition research file on Gallego, calling him extreme and highlighting his Chicago origins.

  Gallego’s victory was called shortly after the polls closed at 7:00 p.m. local time. The Associated Press called Lake’s victory in the primary at 8:44 p.m. local time.

  “It’s official – my opponent is Kari Lake,” Gallego wrote on X shortly after Lake’s victory was projected. “Arizona, the choice is clear: Kari wants to ban abortion. I will always protect abortion rights.”

  As of 9 p.m. local time, Lake had won 53.3 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press, and carried all but two counties in the state. Lamb had 40.7 percent as of that same time, while Reye had 6.1 percent.

  Lake and Gallego are seeking to replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who is not seeking reelection. Sinema was elected as a Democrat in 2018 but left the party after the 2022 midterm elections.

  Matthew Martinez, who leads the legal ballot-chasing effort for conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action, lauded Lake’s win in a speech at her victory party.

  “This is a good victory… but we have to win our general,” Martinez said on stage.

  Senators from Arizona, a battleground state, have often received a spotlight in national politics. The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ran for president in 2000, where he was Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s primary opponent, and in 2008, when he won the nomination but was defeated in the general election by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

  McCain later attracted national prominence for his criticism of candidate Donald Trump in 2016 and, later, during his presidency. McCain succeeded the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), who was the Republican nominee in the 1964 presidential election against President Lyndon Johnson. Goldwater later played a key role in defense policy and is often regarded as a pivotal figure in the conservative movement.

  Arizona’s other senator, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), is named as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

  Most polls show Gallego with a lead over Lake. He has also significantly outraised Lake in terms of campaign contributions. Lake’s candidacy has attracted controversy for her legal challenges to the 2022 gubernatorial election, where she claims she won the race against Gov. Katie Hobbs. She has been endorsed by Trump as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm.

  Earlier on July 30, Gallego and his wife visited the South Phoenix Missionary Baptist Church to drop off their ballots, which were mailed to them ahead of time. In a subsequent press conference, Gallego criticized Lake’s unwillingness to commit to a general election debate hosted by the Arizona Clean Debates Commission.

  “I don’t understand why Kari Lake is afraid of an even, grounded debate,” Gallego said.

  Lake said she didn’t want to work with the debate commission, citing her treatment during the 2022 midterms.

  “We’ve seen how they treated people the last election cycle back in 2022, where people who decided not to do the debate, namely Hobbs, ended up getting her own half-an-hour. That was my problem,” Lake told reporters on July 30.

  She indicated that her campaign would consult with Gallego about a possible debate in another forum.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 23:20

• China Leads The World In Critical Minerals Production
  China Leads The World In Critical Minerals Production

  Demand for critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel is soaring. These raw materials are used in a range of new technologies, from electric cars to wind turbines, which are becoming ever more important as the world moves towards a green transition. Experts forecast that this trend is set to accelerate, with global production of cobalt, graphite and lithium set to increase nearly six-fold between now and 2050 (World Bank).

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, data recently published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that China accounts for around two-thirds of the world’s processing/refining capacity for critical minerals.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  While the extraction of these materials takes place all around the globe, China currently accounts for more than half of the world’s refining of aluminum, lithium and cobalt, around 90 percent of that of rare earth metals and manganese and 100 percent of that of natural graphite. In addition, more than a third of the world’s copper and nickel processing is carried out in China.

  While China is in the lead for critical minerals production, the nation is losing its dominance. For example, the United States and Australia have increased their production of rare earths from 2010 onwards and most recently, Myanmar and Thailand have started to mine far more than before.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 22:55

• Did Jeffrey Epstein & William Barr Attend Interlochen In 1967?
  Did Jeffrey Epstein & William Barr Attend Interlochen In 1967?

  Authored by Nick Bryant via nickbryantnyc.com,

  Interlochen is a prestigious fine arts preparatory school in northern Michigan, and Jeffrey Epstein attended Interlochen “camp” in 1967 as a teenager. But the school disavows that two-time Attorney General William Barr also attended the camp in 1967, despite pictorial evidence that appears to tell a different story. 

  

  At the top of the page, the picture shows teenage Epstein standing in front of his respective lodge at Interlochen in 1967 and a boy who bears an uncanny resemblance to a miniature William Barr kneeling before his respective lodge. In fact, he could be a doppelganger for William Barr if he isn’t William Barr.

  

  Interlochen cannot possibly deny that Epstein attended the camp, because he became a major booster for the school, donating $500,000 that financed construction of the Jeffrey Epstein Scholarship Lodge on the school’s campus. He also held soirees for Interlochen alumni at his New York townhouse, and, of course, he preyed on Interlochen minors. “Jane,” an Interlochen camp alumni, was one of four women who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial. She testified that she met Maxwell and Epstein at Interlochen’s summer camp in the summer of 1994, when she was 13, and they groomed her for sexual abuse that lasted more than five years. 

  On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Two days later Barr seemingly recused himself from all things Epstein. “I’m recused from that matter because one of the law firms that represented Epstein long ago was a firm I subsequently joined for a period of time,” Barr told reporters. Barr was referring to his tenure at Kirkland and Ellis whose Jay Leftkowitz colluded with Assistant US Attorney Ann Marie Villlafana to work out Epstein’s corrupt, “sweetheart” deal in 2007, which landed Epstein in a county jail for 13 months, even though the Justice Department was aware of more than 30 underage victims of Epstein. 

  Barr had additional reasons to recuse himself from all things Epstein in addition to the conflict of interest engendered by his employment at Kirkland and Ellis. Alex Acosta, who oversaw Epstein’s sweetheart deal when he was the US attorney for Southern Florida, served in Donald Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Labor alongside Barr. Moreover, Barr’s father, Donald, was the headmaster Dalton School, one of the most prestigious preparatory schools in the United States, when he hired an extremely unqualified, college dropout, Jeffrey Epstein, to teach math and physics at the school—seven years after the above picture was taken. (Interestingly, Donald Barr would resign from Dalton the same year he hired Epstein.) So, Barr had three solid reasons to recuse himself from all things Epstein. 

  But the day following Barr’s recusal, Tuesday July 9th, 2019, a Justice Department official announced that Barr consulted with career “ethics officials” at the Justice Department, and came to the conclusion that he didn’t have to recuse himself from Epstein’s 2019 prosecution in Manhattan. However, Barr said he would recuse himself from an internal investigation that delved into Epstein’s sweetheart deal in 2008 in which Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in jail and served 13 months, even though the Justice Department had an extensive list of Epstein’s underage victims. Unbelievably, the Department of Justice ultimately ruled that Epstein’s sweetheart deal, which covered up his crimes against numerous underage victims, was “poor judgement.” 

  Throughout the 1980s, Barr bounced between government service and a prestigious Washington law firm. In the wake of the 1988 election, Bush the Elder installed Barr as first assistant attorney general. In 1990, Barr became the deputy attorney general, which is the second most powerful position in the Justice Department. 

  Barr’s boss at the Justice Department was Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, and the Department of Justice under Thorburgh played an integral role in covering up the interstate pedophile network run by Lawrence King of Omaha and Craig Spence of Washington, DC, which is discussed in The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse, and Betrayal. Thornburgh was also a close friend of pedophilic pimp Craig Spence. 

  The “Franklin” child trafficking network was massive, and it required three hijacked grand juries to cover-up: a state grand jury in Nebraska, a federal grand jury in Nebraska, and a federal grand jury in Washington, DC. Thornburgh and Barr were at the helm of the Justice Department when their minions in Nebraska and Washington, DC perpetrated the egregious cover-ups. Thornburgh relinquished his position as attorney general in 1991 to run for the US Senate, and Barr became the attorney general. Barr then put the finishing touches on covering up the Franklin child trafficking network.

  In fact, William Barr specializes in cover-ups. Under his second watch as attorney general, the Epstein child trafficking network was covered up. Despite the Epstein network’s myriad of acknowledged procurers and pimps, Ghislaine Maxwell was the only person to take the fall. And the Justice Department under Merrick Garland went on to facilitate the cover-up.

  So … back to the aforementioned pictures. Barr had three conflicts of interest in the Epstein case that he sidestepped to deftly cover-up Epstein’s child trafficking network. If Epstein and Barr had a friendship or, in the very least, were acquittances dating back to 1967, then he surely would’ve had to recuse himself from all things Epstein. The pictures show that Barr has a doppelganger or Interlochen is lying. 

  You, the reader, decide.

  (The images above were gleaned from the 1967 Interlochen Art Camp directory, and Epstein is on page 63 and the purported picture of Barr is on page 68.) 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 22:30

• Who Funds The US Presidential Campaigns?
  Who Funds The US Presidential Campaigns?

  Campaign financing, whether for supporting or opposing a candidate running for public office, can be costly, even more so when the stakes are who will become the next President of the United States. Data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) collected and analyzed by the nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets shows that for this election cycle, President Joe Biden, potential Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have collected roughly $781 million from a variety of partisan interest groups up until June 30, 2024. Not included: the reported $100 million in funds the Harris campaign raised in just over a day after Biden dropped out of the race.

  While there are bipartisan groups that support more than just one candidate, the chart below, vis Statista’s Florian Zandt, shows only contributions made by organizations or individuals directly supporting either Harris’s or Trump’s election bid. At first glance, it is already apparent that the Trump campaign relies on the funds of so-called super PACs. The prefix super stems from the fact that donations to these committees are not as tightly regulated and can exceed the donor limit of $5,000 per year.

  While, in theory, super PACs are independent and their expenditures “not made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate, or his or her authorized committees or agents, or a political party committee or its agents”, the reality is often different. For example, Make America Great Again Inc spent almost $100 million of its roughly $200 million raised in support of Donald Trump and opposition of his competitors in the Republican primary and incumbent President Joe Biden. The largest donor with $75 million is Thomas Mellon, heir to one of the richest families in the U.S.

  The Biden-Harris campaign, on the other hand, saw the most money raised outside of the official campaign committee come from so-called carey committees. These committees are a mixture of a super PAC and a regular PAC. They hold two accounts, one for unlimited donations and spending and another that adheres to the strict aforementioned caps. Around $148 million out of the $152 million coming from carey committees was raised by Future Forward USA and The Lincoln Project. The former received donations by, for example, a variety of unions and Silicon Valley venture capitalist company Greylock Partners. It has also been accused of receiving large amounts of secret donations towards the end of the 2020 presidential election. The considerably smaller Lincoln Project’s donors include donors like the University of California, Bank of America, Google parent company Alphabet and AT&T. The largest donors, however, are the designer outlet mall company McArthurGlen and Silicon Valley’s Sequoia Capital, the latter of which has also given money to the Trump campaign.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Ever since President Biden announced he would stop campaigning for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic candidate, Republicans have questioned whether Harris could utilize the hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars from the war chest of the Biden reelection campaign. According to many experts, among them the director of the progressive nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice’s Elections & Government Program Daniel I. Weiner and Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard, Harris is cleared to use the funds since she ran on a combined ticket with Joe Biden.

  However, a current President stepping down from his reelection bid and passing the torch to his Vice President has no precedent in U.S. history, so it’s more a question of established practice than a clear legal ruling. According to Stephanopoulos, the FEC is still dealing with official complaints connected to the 2016 election, so there is virtually no chance that any decision barring Harris from utilizing the Biden campaign funds will be made before the election in November.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 22:05

• Doug Casey On 'Your Enemy, The Deep State'
  Doug Casey On ‘Your Enemy, The Deep State’

  Authored by Doug Casey via InternationalMan.com,

  A lot of people would like political solutions to their problems, i.e., getting the government to make other people do what they want. People with any moral sense, however, recognize that can only create more problems.

  Clever players, therefore, use the government as a tool but do so from behind a curtain. They know that it’s more effective, and a lot safer, to pull the puppet’s strings from offstage. Sometimes, they step into the limelight, depending on the circumstances and the depth of their personal narcissism. But they’re all about two things: Power and money. Call them the Deep State.

  Once a country develops an entrenched Deep State, only a revolution or a dictatorship can turn things around. And probably only in a small country.

  

  The American Deep State is a powerful informal network which controls most institutions. You won’t read about it in the news because it controls the news. Politicians won’t talk about it or even admit that it exists. That would be like a mobster discussing murder and robbery on the 6 o’clock news. You could say the Deep State is hidden, but it’s hidden in plain sight.

  The Deep State is involved in almost every negative thing that’s happening right now. It’s essential to know what it’s all about.

  The State

  The Deep State uses and hides behind the State itself.

  Even though the essence of the State is coercion, people have been taught to love and respect it. Most people think of the State in the quaint light of a grade school civics book. They think it has something to do with “We the People” electing a Jimmy Stewart character to represent them. That ideal has always been a pernicious fiction because it idealizes, sanitizes, and legitimizes an intrinsically evil and destructive institution, which is based on force. As Mao once said, political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.

  The Deep State

  The Deep State itself is as old as history. But the term “Deep State” originated in Turkey, which is appropriate since it’s the heir to the totally corrupt Byzantine and Ottoman empires. And in the best Byzantine manner, our Deep State has insinuated itself throughout the fabric of what once was America. Its tendrils reach from Washington down to every part of civil society. Like a metastasized cancer, it can no longer be easily eradicated.

  In many ways, Washington models itself after another city with a Deep State, ancient Rome. Here’s how a Victorian-era freethinker, Winwood Reade, accurately described it:

  “Rome lived upon its principal till ruin stared it in the face. Industry is the only true source of wealth, and there was no industry in Rome. By day the Ostia road was crowded with carts and muleteers, carrying to the great city the silks and spices of the East, the marble of Asia Minor, the timber of the Atlas, the grain of Africa and Egypt; and the carts brought out nothing but loads of dung. That was their return cargo.”

  The Deep State controls the political and economic essence of the US. This is much more than observing that there’s no real difference between the left and right wings of the Demopublican Party. Anyone with any sense (that is, everybody except the average voter) knows that although the Republicans say they believe in economic freedom (but don’t), they definitely don’t believe in social freedom. And the Democrats say they believe in social freedom (but don’t), but they definitely don’t believe in economic freedom.

  Who Is the Deep State?

  The American Deep State is a real but informal structure that has arisen to not just profit from but control the State.

  The Deep State has a life of its own, like the government itself. Within the government, it’s composed of top-echelon employees of a dozen Praetorian agencies, like the FBI, CIA, and NSA…top generals, admirals, and other military operatives…long-term congressmen and senators…and directors of important regulatory agencies.

  But the Deep State is much broader than just the government. It includes the heads of major corporations, all of whom are heavily involved in selling to the State and enabling it. That absolutely includes Silicon Valley, although those guys at least used to have a sense of humor, evidenced by their defunct “Don’t Be Evil” motto.

  It also includes the top people in the Fed, and the heads of the major banks, brokers, and insurers. Add the presidents and many professors at top universities, which act as Deep State recruiting centers… top media figures, of course… and many regulars at things like the WEC, Bohemian Grove, and the Council on Foreign Relations. They epitomize the status quo, held together by power, money, and propaganda.

  Altogether, I’ll guess these people number a couple thousand. You might analogize the structure of the Deep State to a huge pack of dogs. The people I’ve just described are the Top Dogs.

  But there are hundreds of thousands more who aren’t at the nexus but who directly depend on them, have considerable clout, and support the Deep State because it supports them. This includes many of the wealthy, especially those who got that way thanks to their State connections… the 1.5 million people who have top secret clearances (that’s a shocking but accurate number), plus top players in organized crime, especially the illegal drug business, little of which would exist without the State. Plus mid-level types in the police and military, corporations, and non-governmental organizations.

  These are what you might call the Running Dogs.

  Beyond that are the scores and scores of millions who depend on things remaining the way they are, like the 50%-plus of Americans who are net recipients of benefits from the State—the 70 million on Social Security, the 90 million on Medicaid, the 50 million on food stamps, the many millions on hundreds of other programs, the 23 million government employees and most of their families. In fact, let’s include the many millions of average Joes and Janes who are just getting by.

  You might call this level of people, the vast majority of the population, Whipped Dogs. They both love and fear their master; they’ll do as they’re told and roll over on their backs and wet themselves if confronted by a Top Dog or Running Dog who feels they’re out of line. These three types of dogs make up the vast majority of the US population. I trust you aren’t among them. I consider myself a Lone Wolf in this context and hope you are, too. Unfortunately, however, dogs are enemies of wolves and tend to hunt them down.

  The Deep State is destructive, but it’s great for the people in it. And, like any living organism, its prime directive is: Survive! It survives by indoctrinating the fiction that it’s both good and necessary. However, it’s a parasite that promotes the ridiculous notion that everyone can live at the expense of society.

  Is it a conspiracy headed by a man stroking a white cat? I think not. It’s hard enough to get a bunch of friends to agree on what movie to see, much less a bunch of power-hungry miscreants bent on running everyone’s lives. But, on the other hand, the Top Dogs all know each other, went to the same schools, belong to the same clubs, socialize, and, most importantly, have common interests, values, and philosophies.

  The American Deep State rotates around the Washington Beltway. It imports America’s wealth as tax revenue. A lot of that wealth is consumed there by useless mouths. And then, it exports things that reinforce the Deep State, including wars, fiat currency, and destructive policies. This is unsustainable simply because nothing of value can come out of a city full of parasites.

  A SOLUTION?

  Many Americans undoubtedly believe Donald Trump is a solution to what ails the US. They think he’s a maverick who will smash the Deep State. That’s understandable since he’s a cultural conservative. He wants the country to resemble the happy days of yesteryear, when Mom, apple pie, and Chevrolets were more important than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He’s a nationalist, a traditionalist, and business-oriented. That’s all very well. But irrelevant to the Deep State.

  The problem is that Trump will almost necessarily surround himself with Deep State players; they’re really all there is in and around the Washington Beltway, Wall Street, Academia, or the media. He’s not about to abolish government agencies (although he might prune a few) and fire scores of thousands of government employees. His lack of a philosophical core will guarantee that instead of trying to abolish the State (in the manner of Millei or Ron Paul), he’ll just use it in ways he thinks are righteous. The proof of that is the trillions of new government spending and deficits he approved of when he was in power. He’ll spend trillions more if he’s re-elected. And all of it will feed the Deep State.

  On the bright side, if Trump is elected, his rhetoric will be less objectionable than Kamala’s. There will probably be less overtly disastrous legislation enacted, and some regulations will likely be cut back.

  On the not-so-bright side, I’m afraid the Democrats could win come November. They have control of the apparatus of the State, and they absolutely don’t want to give it up. The Deep State will be just fine if Trump wins, of course. But nobody wants to take a chance; there might be some broken rice bowls. He might turn into a loose cannon. So the Deep State, the Establishment, will be even fatter and happier if the Dems take control.

  That’s what they’ll work for. And that’s the way to bet.

  *  *  *

  It’s clear there are some ominous social, political, cultural, and economic trends playing out right now. Many of which seem to point to an unfortunate decline of the West. That’s precisely why legendary speculator Doug Casey and his team just released this free report, which shows you exactly what’s happening and what you can do about it. Click here to download it now.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 21:40

• New Jersey AR-15 Ban Ruled Unconstitutional, But Large Capacity Magazines Still Outlawed
  New Jersey AR-15 Ban Ruled Unconstitutional, But Large Capacity Magazines Still Outlawed

  New Jersey AR-15 fans were handed a big victory on Tuesday, after US District Judge Peter G. Sheridan issued an order declaring that the Colt AR-15 rifle is not an “assault firearm” as defined in the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice Section 2C:39-1, and that doing so is incompatible with recent precedent set by the US Supreme Court.

  

  “The AR-15 Provision of the Assault Firearms Law is unconstitutional under Bruen and Heller as to the Colt AR-15 for use of self-defense within the home,” Sheridan wrote in an accompanying memorandum citing the two cases decided in 2022 and 2008 respectively.

  Under the Heller decision, the right of Americans to own and keep firearms in their homes for lawful self-defense is covered under the 2nd Amendment, while Buren established a history-and-tradition-based test for owning guns.

  According to Sheridan, New Jersey’s AR-15 prohibition therefore cannot stand, as it’s inconsistent with America’s historical tradition of gun regulation by banning an entire class of commonly used firearms that are used for home defense.

  “In this court’s understanding of Supreme Court precedent, a categorical ban on a class of weapons commonly used for self-defense is unlawful,” he wrote.

  That said, Sheridan declined to extend his determination to roughly 60 other guns defined under New Jersey law as “assault firearms,” as the court had only been fully briefed on the AR-15 and none of the other firearms on the restricted list.

  “Given the variety of firearms regulated in the Assault Firearms Law and the nuances that each individual firearm presents, the Court’s analysis of the Assault Firearms Law is limited to the firearm with which the Court has been provided the most information: the AR-15,” he wrote.

  Sheridan also upheld the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines (LCMs) which can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The only way residents can possess them is if they’ve registered an “assault firearm” in line with state law, and use said LCM in connection with sanctioned competitive shooting matches.

  As the Epoch Times notes further, Sheridan argued that the LCM ban is different than the categorical ban on AR-15s because the law doesn’t restrict the number of magazines a person can own, just their capacity. He also reasoned that the “unprecedented rapidity and damage of mass shootings support a nuanced reading” of the historical analogs under the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen.

  He argued that large-capacity detachable magazines can be traced directly to military heritage and brought up the historical analogy of restrictions on Bowie knives.

  “Like these restrictions, the LCM Amendment is precisely that—a restriction responding to safety concerns present in our time,” he wrote, arguing that the burden on New Jersey residents’ right to self-defense is comparable to that imposed by historical laws restricting the way that Bowie knives could be carried and used.

  “As such, these historical analogues provide the basis for the following conclusion: that the State may regulate the permissible capacity of the large capacity magazines.”

  The judge ruled that the LCM ban is constitutional. He issued a 30-day stay on his decision, meaning the AR-15 ban remains temporarily in effect.

  Several of the plaintiffs in the consolidated case have already filed an appeal.

  New Jersey residents Mark Cheeseman and Timothy Connelly (dubbed the Cheeseman plaintiffs in the case) and gun rights advocacy group Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a notice of appeal on July 30.

  FPC said in a statement that the appeal targets “legal deficiencies” in the judge’s opinion and that the motion seeks the “full relief” that was originally requested from the district court, which included a request to overturn the “assault firearm” restriction as it applied to the list of 60-plus guns and ones that are “substantially similar.”

  “Bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ are immoral and unconstitutional. FPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States,” FPC President Brandon Combs said in a July 30 statement.

  New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, one of the defendants in the case, said in a statement posted on social media that he plans to appeal the portion of the ruling that declares the AR-15 ban unconstitutional while praising the other aspects of the ruling.

  “I am disappointed that the district court has held that individuals have a constitutional right to possess the Colt AR-15,” he said, calling such firearms an “instrument designed for warfare.”

  “All New Jerseyans should know that the overwhelming majority of our law remains intact today.”

  Platkin noted that the court upheld the LCM ban and didn’t allow individuals to possess any other guns classified as “assault firearms.”

  He said he remains committed to defending the entirety of New Jersey’s firearm law and looks forward to pressing the state’s arguments on appeal.

  Restrictions on magazine capacity ranging from 10 to 20 rounds of ammunition are in effect in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA).

  Bans of so-called assault weapons have been adopted in nearly a dozen states, according to the USCCA.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 21:15

• Report Finds US Military Lacks Ability To Defeat China, Suggests Cold War Style Defense Spending
  Report Finds US Military Lacks Ability To Defeat China, Suggests Cold War Style Defense Spending

  Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A new congressional report suggests that the U.S. military lacks the required capabilities to preserve the nation’s strategic interests and could lose a potential war against China.

  

  The report, published on July 30 by the Commission on the National Defense Strategy, found that “the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.”

  “The Commission finds that the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the United States and its allies and partners,” the report reads.

  Eric Edelman, who serves as vice chair for the commission, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China’s communist regime was outpacing the United States in military development.

  He said that fact could increase the likelihood of a conflict between the two powers and the likelihood of the United States losing.

  “There is potential for a near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict,” Mr. Edelman said.

  “We found that China is in many ways outpacing the U.S.,” he said. “While we still have the strongest military in the world with the farthest global reach, when we get to 1,000 miles of China’s shore, we start to lose our military dominance and could find ourselves on the losing end of a conflict.”

  To that end, Mr. Edelman underscored that the growing strategic partnerships between China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia were a “major strategic shift” that U.S. defense planners failed to fully account for.

  He said that with those four authoritarian regimes working together against the United States in an unprecedented way, the United States could face a global conflict that would stretch all of its national resources thin.

  “It makes each of those countries potentially stronger militarily, economically, and diplomatically, and potentially can weaken the tools we have at our disposal to deal with them,” Mr. Edelman said.

  “And it makes it more likely that a future conflict, for instance in the Indo-Pacific, would expand across other theaters, and that we would find ourselves in a global war that is on the scale of the Second World War.”

  Therefore, the Commission’s report calls on Congress and the various government departments to “rewrite laws and regulations to remove unnecessary barriers to adopting innovation, budgeting, and procurement” in pursuit of increased deterrence.

  Likewise, the report recommends that the national strategy be radically transformed by moving away from the “bipolar” Cold War strategic model to a “multi-theater model” that accounts for the fact that the United States could face armed conflicts against multiple nation states across the globe simultaneously.

  Time is not on the United States’ side, the report says, and China is likely to increase its hostile behavior in the coming years in an effort to “normalize unlawful behavior” as it pursues “establishing advantageous conditions for future coercion or conflict.”

  The report does not equivocate on the issue. If changes are not made to the national strategic posture, the armed wing of China’s communist rulership, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), will likely surpass the strength of the U.S. military.

  “If these trends continue, the PLA will be a peer, if not superior, military competitor of the United States across domains, a situation the United States has not faced since the height of the Cold War,” the report reads.

  Commission Chair Jane Harman told the committee the United States should synthesize all instruments of its power, including private industries, to propel military innovation and the adoption of new technologies.

  In order to achieve this, the report calls for increasing taxes to expand U.S. defense spending to Cold War levels, which it suggests fell between 4.9 and 16.9 percent of GDP.

  Assuming the United States maintains its 2023 GDP of about $27 trillion, that would mean an annual defense budget of at least $1.3 trillion to as much as $4.5 trillion, though the report says that advances in commercial technologies would reduce the cost burden compared to the Cold War era.

  “We found that the joint force is at the breaking point of maintaining readiness today. Adding more burden without adding resources to rebuild readiness will cause it to break,” Ms. Harman said.

  “We recommend fundamental change in the way the Pentagon and other government agencies do business, the way they incorporate private sector technology, and a full embrace of our partners and allies. Shorthand for this is we recommend using all elements of national power.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 20:50

• Eight Other Times Israel Likely Behind Covert Assassinations In Iran
  Eight Other Times Israel Likely Behind Covert Assassinations In Iran

  Mainstream media headlines both in US and European media often portray as an ‘aggressor’ and ‘terrorist state’ while simultaneously presenting Israel as purely the victim each instance there is escalation.

  But arguably Iran has been somewhat restrained in responding militarily to Israel after having endured covert assassinations of some of its top scientists and military officials stretching back over a decade. This has been a war waged between the shadows: Iran supports several proxies throughout the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah, while Israel has sent intelligence assets and hit squads to strike Iranian officials swiftly and suddenly.

  

  There have also been a series of Israeli sabotage attack targeting Iranian nuclear sites and infrastructure over the past years. Below is a list of assassinations of prominent Iranians which have been linked to Israeli intelligence (and it is believed some covert operations may have been carried out with the help of US intelligence).

  * * *

  Middle East Eye takes a look at the assassinations in Iran that were attributed to Israel. 

  Masoud Alimohammadi

  In January 2010, Masoud Alimohammadi, a professor specialising in particle physics at the University of Tehran, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb that had been attached to a motorcycle near his home.

  He was a supporter of the Iranian opposition movement, which led some to accuse Tehran authorities of carrying out the assassination. 

  However, Tehran’s chief prosecutor blamed the CIA and Mossad, pointing out that Alimohammadi was a nuclear scientist, and the US and its allies were attempting to curb Iran’s nuclear programme. 

  The US State Department described the accusations as “absurd”. 

  Iranian authorities arrested several suspects in his killing, accusing them of working for the Israeli intelligence service.

  Majid Shahriari

  Ten months after the killing of Alimohammadi, another nuclear scientist, Majid Shahriari, was killed in similar circumstances. 

  Shahriari was reportedly a member of the nuclear engineering department of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. 

  A motorcyclist pulled up to Shahriari’s car and attached a bomb, killing him in the explosion. His wife and driver were wounded but survived. 

  Then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the attack was “undoubtedly the hand of the Zionist regime” and its western allies. 

  Shahriari was a colleague of Alimohammadi, Al Jazeera reported at the time. 

  Darioush Rezaeinejad 

  In July 2011, the next scientist to be assassinated in Iran was Darioush Rezaeinejad.

  Two men riding motorcycles fatally shot Rezaeinejad and wounded his wife. An unconfirmed report in an Israeli intelligence publication said that Rezaeinejad had been working on a nuclear detonator.

  Iranian authorities rejected the claims, stating he was merely an academic. 

  An Israeli intelligence source told German publication Der Spiegel that Mossad was behind the attack. Israeli officials did not comment.

  Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam

  Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam was among 17 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) killed during a blast in Tehran in November 2011. 

  Moghaddam had been described as the “architect” of Iran’s missile programme, and was crucial in developing artillery and missile units. Ayatollah Ali Khamanei was among those to attend his funeral. 

  Iran officially described the event as an “accident” during the routine transfer of munitions. 

  A source with close links to Iranian authorities told The Guardian the operation had been carried out by Mossad. Time magazine also cited a western intelligence source as stating that Mossad was responsible. 

  

  Tehran dismissed such reports, with the armed forces chief of staff stating that “the recent incident and blast is not related to Israel or America”. Israel neither confirmed or denied its involvement.

  Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan

  In January 2012, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan became the latest Iranian scientist to be killed.

  A motorcyclist was once again used in the killing, riding up to Roshan’s car and attaching a magnetic bomb that killed the scientist and his driver. 

  Roshan was a professor at a technical university in Tehran and a department supervisor at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

  Then-vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi blamed the attack on Israeli agents. 

  Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah

  The New York Times reported in November 2020 that deputy al-Qaeda leader Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah had been assassinated by Israeli agents in Tehran three months earlier. 

  Abdullah, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was allegedly killed by two Israeli operatives on motorcycles, at the request of the United States. 

  Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza and Abdullah’s daughter, was also killed, according to US intelligence sources who spoke to the New York Times.

  Abdullah had been indicted in the United States for the 1998 bombings of its embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. 

  Iran, Israel and the US did not publicly acknowledge the killing. 

  Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

  Top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was gunned down in Tehran in November 2020. 

  Fakhrizadeh was renowned as the architect of Iran’s military nuclear programme.

  He became the face of Iran’s nuclear ambitions when named in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2015 “final assessment” of open questions about Iran’s nuclear programme and whether it was aimed at developing a nuclear bomb.

  

  According to the New York Times, a Mossad team killed Fakhrizadeh with a computerised machine gun that required no on-site operatives.

  The device weighed around a tonne and was smuggled into Iran in smaller parts and later reassembled.

  Hassan Sayyad Khodaei

  In May 2022, gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a vehicle in Tehran, killing senior Republican Guard officer Hassan Sayyad Khodaei.

  Khodaei was killed by five gunshots, according to Iranian state media. 

  He was a member of the Quds Force, which was responsible for the Republican Guard’s foreign operations. Khodaei reportedly served in Syria. 

  Tehran blamed Israel for the killing and vowed revenge.

  Citing intelligence officials briefed on the matter, the New York Times reported that Israel had informed American officials that it was behind the killing.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 20:25

• 5 Reasons Why You Should Be Prepping Like Crazy Right Now
  5 Reasons Why You Should Be Prepping Like Crazy Right Now

  Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

  A lot of people seem to think that the summer of 2024 is a time to party, but the truth is that this is a time when they should be feverishly preparing for the extremely chaotic times that are ahead of us.  I just don’t know what it is going to take for people to wake up and realize how late it is.  Donald Trump got shot and that shook people up for a few days, but that didn’t last for long.  Then there was a soft coup in the Democratic Party, and that got people fired up for a little bit, but that quickly faded.  Of course there is a small minority that is awake and that understands that we are living in truly historic times, but the vast majority of the population appears to be clueless. 

  

  The following are 5 reasons why you should be prepping like crazy right now…

  #1 As I have been warning for a long time, the results of the election in November will unleash a flood of negative emotion.  Whichever side loses is going to have a massive temper tantrum, and there is a very high risk that we could see widespread violence.  In fact, one recent survey actually discovered that 41 percent of Americans believe that it is likely that there will be a “civil war” within the next five years…

  The possibility that America could face another civil war soon is not too far-fetched for a lot of voters.

  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 41% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the United States is likely to experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years, including 16% who consider such a scenario Very Likely. Forty-nine percent (49%) don’t think another civil war is likely in the next five years, including 20% who say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 10% are not sure.

  #2 Armed conflicts are raging all over the globe.  The war in Ukraine continues to intensify, China has been threatening Taiwan, and the war in the Middle East could potentially escalate to an apocalyptic level by the end of this calendar year.  Meanwhile, riots, revolutions and civil unrest are erupting everywhere you look.  For example, it appears that Venezuela is right on the verge of erupting in flames…

  Venezuela has been engulfed by violent riots as opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia announced he has proof he won Sunday’s disputed election hours after President Nicolas Maduro claimed he’d secured a third term in power.

  Thousands of enraged protesters flooded the streets of the capital and several other cities, chanting ‘Freedom, freedom!’ and ‘This government is going to fall!’ as they set fire to tyres and rubbish and organised barricades to block police vehicles.

  Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds but were forced to recoil from Molotov cocktails and rocks hurled by the oncoming demonstrators, many of whom carried Venezuelan flags.

  #3 The world is facing a long-term food crisis that isn’t going to go away.  Global supplies of food are getting tighter and tighter, and the UN is reporting that hundreds of millions of people did not have enough food to eat last year…

  Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published today by five United Nations specialized agencies.

  #4 Many health experts are warning that it is just a matter of time before the next great global pandemic hits us.  A lot of people are keeping a very close eye on the bird flu, but I am also very concerned about the frightening outbreaks of Mpox that we have been witnessing in Africa.  According to the BBC, the Central African Republic is “the latest country in the region to declare an outbreak of the mpox virus”…

  The Central African Republic has become the latest country in the region to declare an outbreak of the mpox virus.

  Infections have spread to the capital, Bangui, after being restricted to rural areas, health minister Pierre Somse said.

  He also told a local radio station that some families were hiding infected relatives due to stigma, thus increasing the risk to others.

  #5 I am entirely convinced that historic natural disasters will continue to be a major theme during the second half of this year and beyond.  Even here in the United States, there has been quite a bit of highly unusual shaking lately.  If you can believe it, one county in Texas has actually declared a state of emergency because it has been hit by more than 100 significant earthquakes within the past week…

  So many earthquakes have struck the west Texas county of Scurry in the past week – more than 100 at last count – local officials have declared a state of emergency.

  Scurry County Judge Dan Hicks wrote in his Friday declaration of disaster that since the first earthquake, registering magnitude 4.9, was felt the night of July 22, “damage has been found throughout Scurry County in businesses and residences.”

  The county’s buildings can handle a few quakes here and there, but the cumulative effects of so many small ones, punctuated by larger shaking, have become cause for concern.

  Right now, we are only experiencing the very early stages of “the perfect storm” that is now upon us.

  During the months and years that are ahead, things are going to get so much worse.

  I highly recommend stockpiling food and supplies, because it won’t be too long before our world goes absolutely nuts.

  Stocking up doesn’t have to be complicated.  At this point, so many people are buying emergency food that even Costco is stocking it on their shelves…

  It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feed fine — because Costco has an emergency dinner kit, dubbed “the apocalypse bucket” online, that lasts 25 years.

  The Readywise Emergency Food Bucket, which boasts 150 freeze-dried and dehydrated meal servings, has caused a stir on social media. With an online price tag of $79.99, the bucket boasts that it’s more than just food in its product description — it says it provides “readiness in the face of uncertainty.”

  The bucket features 80 entrees and sides, 30 breakfast servings and 40 drink servings that just need water to prepare, for a total of 25,280 calories. The meal options range from teriyaki rice, tomato basil soup and pasta Alfredo to cheesy macaroni and apple cinnamon cereal.

  The good news is that there are now millions of preppers in this country that are preparing for the apocalyptic times that are rapidly approaching.

  The bad news is that the total population of the United States is 333 million.

  When things finally hit the fan, most people will be completely and utterly unprepared, and that truly will be a nightmare scenario.

  *  *  *

  Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 20:00

• Cars, Cows, & Condos: Just How Much Do Olympic Athletes Make For Winning Medals?
  Cars, Cows, & Condos: Just How Much Do Olympic Athletes Make For Winning Medals?

  With the Paris 2024 Olympics well into its first week, medalists – in addition to their medals and all the free condoms they can manage to use – are handed an official Olympics mascot and a “mystery” box containing the official event poster.

  But wait, there’s more!

  

  While the IOC doesn’t hand out prize money for winning medals, several countries hand out all sorts of bonuses, CNBC reports. Here’s a table showing who gets what, from where.

  Measured in US Dollars, gold medalists from Hong Kong, for example, receive $768,000 per medal – followed by Singapore at $745,000 and Indonesia at $300,000. Hong Kong’s massive payout is a 20% jump from the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

  US gold medalists receive just $38,000 per medal in comparison.

  

  There are already several competitors from Hong Kong who have won big payouts.

  This year, the city is slated for hefty pay outs due to an early crop of medals in swimming and fencing. Vivian Kong won Hong Kong’s first medal at the Paris Games, topping the podium in the women’s epee individual event. Fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long also won gold in the men’s individual foil event, while swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle.

  Singapore gives Olympic medalists 1 million Singapore dollars ($745,300) for gold, SG$500,000 for silver and SG$250,000 for bronze. The city-state has only dispensed the top cash bonus to one athlete: Joseph Schooling. The now retired swimmer defeated the United States’ Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Olympics in 2016 to win gold. -CNBC

  Cars, Cows and Apartments

  In addition to, or instead of, cash, sever countries are giving athletes unconventional prizes, such as apartments or cars from both government and private companies. Kazakhstan, for example, is giving $250,000 per gold medal, $150,000 for silver, and $75,000 for bronze – as well as apartments.

  While Malaysia is offering $215,000 for a gold medal ($150k for silver, and $75k for bronze), some private companies are offering luxury-serviced apartments or additional cash. Plus, anyone who gets a podium finish will also receive a “foreign-made car,” according to local media reports citing the country’s Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh.

  South Korean gold medalists receive pensions in addition to the prize money – and can choose either a lifelong monthly pension of a million won (US$762), or a lump sum of 67.2 million won (US$49,000). Silver medalists can receive 35 million won, and a bronze medalist will get 25 million won. Athletes may also receive free drinks and transportation (oh boy!). 

  Hong Kong‘s public transit operator MTR Corporation is giving free lifetime tickets to the city’s medalists.

  Besides 200,000 Polish zloty ($50,374) from the Polish Olympic Committee, Klaudia Zwolińska is also reportedly poised to receive a painting, a holiday voucher, a scholarship and a diamond for claiming silver in the women’s canoe slalom K1 competition.

  Olympians have often been gifted quirky tokens of appreciation.

  A local chain pledged that athletes who represented Malaysia at the Tokyo Games would get free food and teh tarik for life, according to local media. Teh tarik is a hot milk tea beverage that is popular throughout Southeast Asia. -CNBC

  And while Jpaanese table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa was gifted 100 bags of rice after winning silver at Tokyo, Indonesian badminton gold medalists Apriyani Rahayu and Greysia Polii reporetedly received five cows, a meatball restaurant and a new house.

  Unfortunately for athletes from Great Britain, Norway and several other countries, they get nothing aside from their medals and bragging rights.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 19:40

• Green Day Frontman Slammed For Holding Up 'Trump Head' At Concert
  Green Day Frontman Slammed For Holding Up ‘Trump Head’ At Concert

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  During a performance in Washington DC on Sunday, Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman for the band Green Day, was pictured holding aloft a representation of Donald Trump’s head, prompting swift backlash.

  

  The ‘head’ was a plastic Trump mask with ‘idiot’ written on it.

  The image was posted to a fan account on X:

  I’m not a part of the maga agenda #greenday pic.twitter.com/B8JP8bBl62

  — Green Day Inc. (@GreenDayInc) July 30, 2024

  pic.twitter.com/j42sRSrpKl

  — Green Day Inc. (@GreenDayInc) July 30, 2024

  pic.twitter.com/2SgRNyKA1h

  — Green Day Inc. (@GreenDayInc) July 30, 2024

  Considering not even three weeks have passed since an attempt was made to shoot Trump dead, the reaction has been one of disgust.

  Green Day had a concert here in DC last night.

  They decided it’d be a good idea to hold up a severed Trump head.

  Just TWO WEEKS after he was sh*t in the head.

  These people are SICK. pic.twitter.com/Fn7eP4RTFQ

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 30, 2024

  Yes, liberals want to kill their political opponents, as we have recently seen.

  — It’s Chinatown, Jake (@DetectiveJake1) July 31, 2024

  Inciting violence.

  — Disenfranchised (@BostonSweetSox) July 31, 2024

  im a green day fan im going to see them next week in concert. separate art from the artist thats how it should be 100% of the time. i definitely don’t agree with this i think it’s sick

  — Giancarlo Bintarelli 🇮🇹🇮🇹 (@gcbintarelli) July 30, 2024

  As we have previously noted, Green Day have been ‘raging for the machine’ for some time now.

  Armstrong, now aged 51 but still sporting bleached hair as if he is a teenager, often changes the words of the song ‘American Idiot’ from “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda,” to “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”

  Many have pointed out that the original lyrics of American Idiot were embraced by Americans at the time who stood in opposition to the warmongering neocon administration led by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Ironic then that Trump is the only President of the modern era not to have sent Americans to war.

  Armstrong clearly didn’t pay any attention to the reaction Jack Black and his Tenacious D band mate Kyle Gass received after declaring a desire that the shooter had not missed Trump just days afterwards.

  The band were forced to cancel their entire tour and leave Australia in the wake of the comments.

  *  *  *

  Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 19:20

• Russia Holds 3rd Phase Of Tactical Nuclear Drills Same Day Ukraine Receives First F-16s
  Russia Holds 3rd Phase Of Tactical Nuclear Drills Same Day Ukraine Receives First F-16s

  Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday announced it has initiated its third and ‘final’ phase of drills to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. The exercises are being done in conjunction with Belarus, which has since last year played host to Russian tactical nukes, to the alarm and dismay of NATO countries.

  The first stage of nuclear drills occurred in May, and the second with ally Belarus in June, but the timing of this third iteration corresponds with Ukraine on Wednesday finally receiving its first batch of US-made F-16 fighter jets from European allies.

  

  Bloomberg is the first outlet to report the arrival of the F-16s, though Kiev officials didn’t immediately confirm the report. The past days saw several major outlets confirm an initial round of jets were ‘weeks’ away from arriving.

  “The first delivery of F-16 fighter jets from NATO allies has arrived in Ukraine, in a long-awaited move that may boost the war-torn nation’s ability to repel Russian attacks,” Bloomberg writes.

  “The deadline for the transfer of the US-made warplanes was the end of this month and it has been respected, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke under condition of anonymity.” However, officials have said only a “small” number of jets arrived in this first transfer.

  In total Ukraine is expecting at least 79 F-16s to be sent after a more than year long Ukrainian pilot training program. The jets are being transferred from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway. Ukraine still plans to house many of the jets at allied bases outside the war-ravaged country, to prevent them from being immediately attacked by Russian forces.

  This week has seen another important development and confirmation – the US plans to provide and equip the F-16s with advanced weaponry and modern missiles.

  Per reporting in the The Wall Street Journal, this will include air-to-ground AGM-88 HARM missiles, bomb sights, diameter bombs, AMRAAM advanced air-to-air missiles, and AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles.

  Footage of Moscow’s third phase of tactical nuclear drills held on Wednesday in cooperation with Belarusian armed forces…

  🚨 Russia’s military has announced the start of the “third stage” in wider non-strategic nuclear weapon exercises that began in the spring.

  Read more: https://t.co/38J4pBUEt5 pic.twitter.com/86Y5RVfW8u

  — The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  A US official told WSJ: “We are confident that we will be able to supply all of those, at least the critical volumes that they need.”

  Russia, including President Putin himself, has long noted that NATO F-16s are capable of carry tactical nuclear weapons. Russia previously said it will have no choice but to assume each F-16 could be armed with nukes. Putin has warned of “serious consequences” after the Kremlin previously said that NATO bases from which these jets are deployed could come under attack. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 19:00

• Project 2025: The Good, The Bad, & The Frustrating
  Project 2025: The Good, The Bad, & The Frustrating

  Authored by Connor O’Keefe via The Mises Institute,

  Anyone following the 2024 presidential election has undoubtedly heard about the political establishment’s latest villain, Project 2025. This policy agenda — technically named the 2025 Presidential Transition Project — was produced by a group of conservative policy analysts, most of whom are associated with the Heritage Foundation.

  The project centers around a 900-page book meant to provide the next Republican administration to win the White House with a plan and guide for implementing conservative policies at the helm of a federal government staffed with people who almost universally oppose those policies.

  In recent months, Project 2025 has exploded to the forefront of political discourse. Democrats like Kamala Harris are presenting the agenda as an evil scheme concocted by Donald Trump and his allies that is guaranteed to come to fruition, in full, if she loses this election.

  

  Donald Trump has disavowed Project 2025 and made a point to dismiss it as an irrelevant plan that’s unrelated to him and his campaign.

  The rift even reportedly caused project head Paul Dans to resign and Trump’s team to celebrate the “demise of Project 2025.” Yet the Democrats and much of the media are still conflating the Heritage-led project with Donald Trump in an effort to terrify Americans into voting blue.

  For their part, those involved in Project 2025 are leaning into the hysteria, with Heritage president Kevin Roberts, for example, implying on a podcast that the effort represents a second American revolution that “will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

  Despite how prevalent Project 2025 has become in our political discourse, it’s remarkably hard to get trustworthy information about it. Almost all the rhetoric surrounding it either hysterically claims it will impose some kind of fascistic, theocratic quasi-slave state on the American people for a couple years before we’re all killed by climate change, or it’s a bold, tactful playbook that will solve just about all of America’s problems if implemented.

  In truth, Project 2025 does not warrant much hype or dread.

  The predominant 900-page book does contain several fantastic passages and sections.

  But most policy prescriptions presented in the massive volume fall far short of what’s required to address the many problems facing the American people.

  By far the best sections come mainly at the beginning where the authors lay out how the federal government actually works. The numerous White House offices are broken down in great detail, with an emphasis put on explaining which roles can and cannot be appointed by the president, along with how people in the various positions could derail the sitting administration’s policy ambitions. Similar analysis can be found in the later chapters on various executive agencies.

  This effort is clearly a reaction to Trump’s first term when a series of ill-advised appointments and a general lack of institutional understanding doomed most of the Trump team’s objectives from the start. The people behind this project are not only serious about avoiding the same mistakes in a second term but in actively maneuvering around and eliminating the entrenched bureaucratic resistance.

  With its nonspecific language, the opening chapters of Project 2025’s book provide an excellent guide for any presidential team that voters send to the White House on a platform to which the permanent, unelected bureaucracy stands in near-total opposition. This is required knowledge for anyone who is serious about rolling back federal power, and it alone makes Project 2025 a valuable resource in the struggle against the political establishment.

  That said, things start to go downhill as soon as the authors turn to the specific policies they want the next Republican administration to implement. To be clear, there are some very good policies laid out. For example, the authors call for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, abolishing the federal sugar program, and eliminating the Department of Education. There is also a fairly decent chapter on the Federal Reserve, which Jonathan Newman reviewed last week.

  But most of what the authors call for is frustratingly moderate. In almost every single case, the highly publicized plans to cut federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security are, in fact, calls to keep everything those agencies do in place but to move the offices in question to other federal agencies. In other words, the authors of Project 2025 are mostly planning to reorganize, not cut, the federal government.

  There is lip service paid to actual rollbacks of federal power. But typically, the authors quickly dismiss such ambitions as impossible and instead spend most of their time theorizing about how conservatives could steer the federal Leviathan to push their preferred social and cultural values if they took full control of the executive agencies. The authors never explain why rollbacks — which they claim to prefer — would remain impossible if their assumption of a total conservative takeover came true.

  Foreign policy-wise, Project 2025 is much closer to Bush-era neoconservativism than the populist, “America First” brand its advocates and opponents attach to it. Various authors accuse the federal government of being weak on China, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and Russia. A Project 2025 foreign policy can be boiled down to spending more money to act even more aggressively in the Pacific, Middle East, South America and Eastern Europe under the ahistorical assumption that it will get each of these “hostile foreign regimes” to calm down.

  So overall, the policy vision of Project 2025 is much more familiar and moderate than the rhetoric surrounding it would have you expect.

  In theory, it might make sense to pair sweeping institutional changes that create opportunities to later roll back the administrative state with moderate policies that wouldn’t generate a complete freak-out from the progressive left and political establishment. But, as we see today, in reality, the freak-out happens nonetheless.

  And so, if the left and the political establishment are going to call you crazy radicals anyway, why not push for the kinds of sweeping changes that are actually needed to address the many problems we face? For some of the authors behind Project 2025, it could very well be because they do not actually want to cut government spending or roll back Washington’s power.

  But for those who understand that significantly slashing the bloated, corrupt, often malicious federal government is the only way out of many of our national predicaments, Project 2025 remains, in its current form, woefully inadequate.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 18:40

• China Now "Placates" US & NATO With New Drone Export Controls Targeting Putin's War Efforts
  China Now “Placates” US & NATO With New Drone Export Controls Targeting Putin’s War Efforts

  One week after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in China to improve dialogue between the two countries, Beijing announced broader export restrictions on drones and drone parts with potential military applications on Wednesday. In recent months, US and NATO officials have accused China of supporting Russia’s war machine by supplying Moscow with advanced drone technology for the modern battlefield in Ukraine. 

  The South China Morning Post reported that civilian over-the-counter drones, which can be reconfigured for the modern battlefield or used by terrorists, will now face export restrictions. 

  In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce explained that the decision was primarily based on preventing the use of drones in “the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” It noted that laser targeting sensors, infrared imaging equipment, high-precision inertial measurement sensors, and other critical sensors that can easily be mounted on the drone’s payload section will be placed on the export control list. 

  

  “The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies conducting international trade and cooperation of drones in the civilian area [and] oppose civilian drones to be used for non-peaceful means,” the ministry continued. 

  But in what appears to be a jab at mounting US tech sanctions by Washington, DC elites, the ministry also said, “We oppose the imposition of illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals by certain countries using the excuse of [proliferation of weapon-capable] drones.”

  SCMP said the new directive issued today will go into effect on September 1. 

  In recent months, unnamed senior US officials have been quoted by MSM, explaining how Russia has purchased drones and drone parts from Chinese companies that are being used on first and second lines in Ukraine.

  “Our view is that one of the most game-changing moves available to us at this time to support Ukraine is to persuade the PRC (China) to stop helping Russia reconstitute its military-industrial base. Russia would struggle to sustain its war effort without PRC input,” the official told Reuters in mid- April. 

  Goldman Sachs’ John Flood told clients this AM that China’s new directive is a sign that it’s “looking to placate the US and NATO by clamping down on its support for Putin’s war.” 

  Meanwhile, Putin will just go to Iran for drones…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 18:20

• L.A. Officials Reject Newsom Order To Clear Out Homeless Encampments
  L.A. Officials Reject Newsom Order To Clear Out Homeless Encampments

  Via Headline USA,

  Los Angeles officials are pushing back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order this month to start clearing homeless encampments, arguing the effort to clean up the city’s streets won’t work.

  

  “I do not believe that it is ultimately a solution to homelessness,” said Democrat Mayor Karen Bass, according to the Denver Gazette.

  “How are they supposed to pay for their ticket, and what happens when they don’t pay?” she continued. “Does it go into a warrant and give us an excuse to incarcerate somebody?” 

  Los Angeles County Supervisors Chair Lindsey Horvath agreed with Bass, calling the order to clear out homeless camps “unconscionable.” The solution to homelessness is not “arrest,” she insisted. “It is not pushing people from community to community.”

  Horvath also accused Newsom of setting a troubling precedent.

  “The criminalization of homelessness and poverty is dangerous,” she said. “It does not work, and it will not stand in Los Angeles County.”

  Newsom issued the executive order last month after the U.S. Supreme Court released a decision giving local officials more power to remove those illegally living on the streets and camping out in public parks.

  Local governments are not legally obligated to follow Newsom’s order, but failure to do so could result in critical funds potentially being withheld.

  “This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them—and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newson said in a statement. “There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”

  Horvath warned Los Angeles officials would not tolerate a funding cut from Newsom’s government.

  “I don’t think that threatening funding at a time where we’re trying to get more people served and more people housed is a place that anybody wants to be in,” she said.

  California has the largest homeless population in the country, with more than 180,000 people in the state estimated to be living on the streets.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 18:00

• Kamala's "Indian-Caucasian-Jamaican" Birth Certificate Resurfaces As Trump Triggers Race Debate
  Kamala’s “Indian-Caucasian-Jamaican” Birth Certificate Resurfaces As Trump Triggers Race Debate

  Update (1745ET): As expected, the left is now in histrionics after Donald Trump suggested that Kamala Devi Harris might not be black, after he was asked a loaded question by an ABC News journalist Rachel Scott in front of the National Association of Black Journalists.

  To recap, Scott asked Trump if he thinks Harris is ‘only on the ticket because she is a black woman?’ to which Trump replied, accurately, that Harris has identified as an indian-American – which she openly campaigned on.

  “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black.”

  — Donald Trump, when asked at the NABJ convention whether he thinks Kamala Harris is on the Democratic ticket only because she is a Black woman. pic.twitter.com/EP27jmE6rw

  — The Recount (@therecount) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Not only did people start posting receipts…

  Kamala Harris brags about becoming the ‘First Indian Senator in American History’

  So… pic.twitter.com/1ayqSriFTb

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2024

  WATCH: In 2019, Kamala Harris identifies as Indian pic.twitter.com/0NKRkcY8yB

  — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  So when Kamala hits Indian TV, she’s Indian.

  When she rolls up in Atlanta, she’s Black.

  They call this code-switching & it’s damn offensive! pic.twitter.com/GmpeES849m

  — Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  …her birth certificate showing her parents being “Indian-Caucasian” and “Jamaican” has begun to circulate.

  Kamala Harris wants you to believe she is an African American woman…

  If so, then why does her birth certificate not list her as such?

  Her birth certificate identifies her mother as a CAUCASIAN BORN IN INDIA and her father as Jamaican.

  Share to make this go viral! pic.twitter.com/5hKHsfj0p9

  — Carter Hughes (@itscarterhughes) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  We assume the next chapter will be a vigorous debate over the blackness of Jamaicans, when the entire point is that Harris chose to campaign on being an Indian.

  And of course…

  Let the scrubbing commence. https://t.co/HzC3XSGFOO

  — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Meanwhile:

  The Trump campaign is projecting this on the screen above the stage at his rally in Harrisburg PA: pic.twitter.com/ZsGHAZaruk

  — Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *  *  *

  Clips are going viral after Donald Trump sat down for an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists – where he fielded extremely hostile questions from ABC News’ Rachel Scott, and got a rise out of the audience with several answers.

  

  “I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today,” said Scott, who then launched into an attack:

  “You attack Black journalists calling them ‘a loser,’ saying the questions that they asked our quote, ‘stupid and racist.’ You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at Mar a Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you were asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?” Scott continued.

  To which Trump replied: “Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked the question, in such a horrible manner, first question. You don’t even say hello, how are you?”

  “And I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the black population of this country, including employment including opportunity zones with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for black workers and black entrepreneurs,” Trump continued, calling ABC News “a fake news network” – to which the audience could be heard cheering.

  “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” Trump continued to applause.

  WATCH: President Trump FORCEFULLY answers hostile question about “the elephant in the room” at National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago pic.twitter.com/kA7avWGoBZ

  — RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Trump then slammed Kamala Harris for allowing illegal immigrants to flood the country with illegal immigrants.

  WATCH: President Trump hits Kamala Harris for record as “border czar” at National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago pic.twitter.com/pggeLGMpU9

  — RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) July 31, 2024

  When asked “Do you believe Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black woman,” Trump replied that Harris identified as an indian American until several years ago, adding “I’m not sure if she’s indian or black.”

  “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black.”

  — Donald Trump, when asked at the NABJ convention whether he thinks Kamala Harris is on the Democratic ticket only because she is a Black woman. pic.twitter.com/EP27jmE6rw

  — The Recount (@therecount) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Oh.

  Kamala Harris brags about becoming the ‘First Indian Senator in American History’

  So… pic.twitter.com/1ayqSriFTb

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2024

  WATCH: In 2019, Kamala Harris identifies as Indian pic.twitter.com/0NKRkcY8yB

  — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  So when Kamala hits Indian TV, she’s Indian.

  When she rolls up in Atlanta, she’s Black.

  They call this code-switching & it’s damn offensive! pic.twitter.com/GmpeES849m

  — Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsTrump then discussed political lawfare against him – once again slamming ABC for a lack of coverage. When Scott then said she wanted to move on because she had ‘limited time,’ Trump said “you’re the one who held me up for 35 minutes.”

  “Excuse me, you’re the one who held me up for 35 minutes.”

  🎤 drop pic.twitter.com/XbJUucVkKD

  — Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  When asked about running mate JD Vance’s comments about ‘childless cat ladies,’ Trump suggested that Vance is a big fan of families. 

  WATCH: President Trump refuses to take the bait, defends running mate JD Vance at National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago pic.twitter.com/QtWtECSBu2

  — RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) July 31, 2024

  Trump also addressed pardoning the January 6th defendants.

  ABC News’ @rachelvscott: “My question is on those [Jan. 6th] rioters who assaulted officers. Would you pardon those people?”

  Trump: “Oh, absolutely, I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”

  Scott: “They’ve been convicted.” pic.twitter.com/xfNFZtdmAZ

  — The Recount (@therecount) July 31, 2024

  We can’t help but wonder how Kamala Harris would do in a similarly contentious interview.

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 17:48

• US Will 'Certainly' Defend Israel If Attacked By Iran In Wake Of Haniyeh Killing
  US Will ‘Certainly’ Defend Israel If Attacked By Iran In Wake Of Haniyeh Killing

  Update(1855ET): More dangerous escalation coming from the Pentagon, at least in terms of declared ‘commitments’… how many wars or proxy conflicts does Washington want to be in at once? 

  Israel has the US right where it wants them. They attack an enemy and the morons in DC assure them we will bear the brunt of the revenge. Talk about incentive for ISR to wage war on literally everyone around them. What self-respecting country would put itself in this position? https://t.co/caHDgpmQeE

  — Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated Wednesday, just hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s death, “If Israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend Israel.“

  He issued the words aboard the USNS Millinocket during a visit to the Philippines. “You saw us do that in April; you can expect to see us do that again,” he said, in reference to the prior Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in retaliation for the previous Israeli attack on Tehran’s embassy in Damascus.

  * * *

  Update(1550ET): Multiple Iranian officials have told the New York Times in a breaking story that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered retaliation against Israel for the brazen assassination by missile strike of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh which took place on Iranian soil in the early morning hours.

  Officials referenced the “humiliating security failure” and that Iran must once against show “strength against the risk of escalation” in exacting revenge on Israel.

  Khamenei has, according to the report, “issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader” – three Iranian sources who were briefed on the matter said.

  Iran has raised the red flag of revenge over the dome of the Jamkaran Mosque following the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

  Iran’s Supreme Leader has said, ‘It is our duty to take revenge.’

  The United States government claims it was not aware of or involved… pic.twitter.com/yJcTPDC7Ko

  — Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Russia is one among several nations urging calm and raising the alarm over a major regional conflagration:

  Russia warned Wednesday that the assassination in Iran of visiting Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh threatened a full “global conflict” — as the terror group called it “a grave escalation” and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened “harsh punishment” for Israel.

  “We resolutely condemn the attack that led to Mr. Haniyeh’s death,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said soon after Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike while in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president.

  “We believe that such action is aimed against attempts to establish peace in the region, and could significantly destabilize the already tense situation,” he said.

  * * *

  Iran’s Foreign Ministry has issued a fiery statement saying that Washington must also bear responsibility for the Israeli attack which killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the overnight and early morning hours of Wednesday.

  “This terrorist act is not only a flagrant violation of the principles and rules of international law and the United Nations Charter, but also a serious threat to regional and international peace and security,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry statement began.

  “The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes the responsibility of the US government as a supporter and accomplice of the Zionist regime in the continuation of the occupation and genocide of the Palestinians, in committing this heinous act of terrorism,” it added.

  

  The vague language of general ‘support’ to Israel leaves open the question of whether Tehran believes the US had an actual direct operational role in Haniyeh’s killing.

  However, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations issued a more specific denunciation in tandem: “This act could not have occurred without the authorization and intelligence support of the U.S.,” it said in a letter submitted to the UN. According to fresh details of the strike:

  HAMAS SENIOR OFFICIAL AL-HAYYA SAYS A MISSILE HIT HAMAS LEADER ROOM AND ‘STRUCK HIM DIRECTLY‘

  Hours before the accusation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken definitively stated Washington had no involvement in the attack. 

  “This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” Blinken told a regional outlet while on an official trip to Singapore. He had been asked about what he thinks will happen next in the region.

  Iran will more than likely retaliate in a big way, possibly with another wave of drones and missiles on Israel, but this time less telegraphed (compared to the initial April 13 attack, largely intercepted by Israel’s anti-air defenses)…

  This reference to Iran’s territorial integrity is the clearest sign yet that Iran is viewing its response in the same light as its response to Israel’s bombing of its consulate in Damascus in April.

  In other words, it’s going to be a big response. It has to be a big response. https://t.co/UIQX4LxSxR

  — Sam (@sonofnariman) July 31, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The aforementioned UN letter has also called for the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the Hamas chief’s killing. But likely the US and its allies will see this as a legitimate killing of a designated terrorist responsible for the atrocities against Israel on Oct.7.

  Meanwhile as Israel appears to be on an ‘assassination spree’, the body of Hezbollah’s military commander Fuad Shukr (and close advisor to Nasrallah) has been pulled from the rubble in Beirut.

  Regional sources say the death toll from the Tuesday strike on a southern neighborhood of the Lebanese capital has risen to five with at least 70 injured. Among the casualties were women and children.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 17:45

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Blinken, Foreign Ministers "Seriously Concerned" About Indo-Pacific Security
  Blinken, Foreign Ministers “Seriously Concerned” About Indo-Pacific Security

  Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times,

  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top diplomats from Australia, India, and Japan said they are “seriously concerned” about the situation in the South and East China seas and are working on ways to maintain maritime safety and security in the region.

  

  Mr. Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar were in Tokyo on July 29 for a ministerial meeting of the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) partners.

  In a joint statement following their meeting, the four diplomats expressed their concerns about recent Chinese maritime activities, without directly mentioning China.

  “We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the foreign ministers stated.

  “We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea.

  “We also express our serious concern about the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous maneuvers, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”

  In recent months, China’s coast guard and other forces have clashed with Philippine ships seeking to bring supplies to its military personnel stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal. There appears to be an easing of tensions after the Armed Forces of the Philippines successfully transported supplies to the shoal without any incident on July 27, after the two sides reached a provisional agreement on July 21.

  The Quad partners said they are working on multiple initiatives to maintain “the free and open maritime order,” including assisting partners to enhance maritime domain awareness through satellite data, training, and capacity building. They also announced a plan to launch “a Quad maritime legal dialogue” to support their efforts to “uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.”

  Additionally, the Quad partners said they intend to “geographically expand” the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness to the Indian Ocean region. The initiative was launched in 2022 to better track illegal fishing and “dark shipping” in the Indo-Pacific.

  “All countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity, while seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated, competition is managed responsibly, and each country is free from coercion in all its forms and can exercise its agency to determine its own future,” the partners stated.

  ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’

  The four Quad partners held a joint news conference following their meeting, and they spoke of their shared vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

  “We are charting a course for a more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering maritime security,” Mr. Blinken told reporters after the meeting.

  “In practical terms what does this mean? It means strengthening the capacity of partners across the region to know what’s happening in their own waters.”

  The United States will continue to ensure freedom of navigation, overflight, and the unimpeded flow of lawful maritime commerce, he said.

  Mr. Jaishankar said the Quad partners are working together “for a free and open Indo-Pacific, for a rules-based order, and for global good.”

  Asked about the Quad’s concerns about the South and East China seas at a regular briefing on July 29, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian accused the group of “artificially creating tension” and “inciting confrontation” in the region, according to China’s state-run media.

  Mr. Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also met with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Tokyo on July 29. According to a readout of the meeting from the Pentagon, the three officials discussed opportunities to continue expanding trilateral cooperation with South Korea.

  On July 28, Mr. Austin, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara signed a memorandum institutionalizing trilateral security cooperation, including information sharing and trilateral exercises, according to a Pentagon statement. Their shared aim is to bring stability to the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.

  Also on July 28, Mr. Blinken, Mr. Austin, Ms. Kamikawa, and Mr. Kihara held a “2+2” security meeting, where they agreed that China’s foreign policy “seeks to reshape the international order” and that threats from China are “the greatest strategic challenge,” according to a statement. They agreed to further bolster bilateral military cooperation by upgrading the command and control of the U.S. forces in Japan.

  The four U.S. and Japanese officials also emphasized the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait as “an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community.”

  Taiwan, which is under the threat of China’s military, welcomed the support voiced by the Japanese and U.S. officials.

  “As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan will work steadfastly to deepen cooperation with the United States, Japan, and other like-minded nations to jointly safeguard the shared values of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on July 28.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/31/2024 – 02:00

• Are The Olympics A Trial-Run For A 1984-Style Digital-State?
  Are The Olympics A Trial-Run For A 1984-Style Digital-State?

  Authored by Aaron Hertzberg via The Brownstone Institute,

  First-person report of QR Codes, Digital IDs, and police militarization of Paris

  This is a guest post from a friend who is on the ground in Paris reporting what the situation is like.

  The best way to begin might be to say that there are three distinct categories of Olympic games sites that the City of Paris wants to make ultra-safe for visitors and athletes, each with its own unique security challenges. 

  

  First, there are the many official, already-existing sporting venues (stadiums, arenas, tennis courts, aquatic centers, etc.) located throughout Paris and France. These require the least amount of novel security measures, whether in the form of protective perimeters or the (unusual) methods used to maintain them. 

  Included among these is the historic Grand Palais, an architectural jewel from 1900 located at the foot of the Champs-Elysées. A monumentally massive building with a marvelously versatile interior space, it regularly plays host to museum exhibitions of all types, in addition to galas, elaborate fashion shows, concerts, conventions, and even an ice-skating rink. Turning it into an Olympic sporting event site wouldn’t have been very difficult. 

  Second, and complementing these dedicated sporting facilities, are several famous outdoor public monuments and historic landmarks that have been transformed into temporary games sites. 

  These comprise, most notably, the Trocadero and the area next to the Eiffel Tower, the Château de Versailles, the Place de la Concorde, the Alexandre III Bridge, and the expansive lawns in front of the Hôtel des Invalides. 

  Massive amounts of bleachers and facilities for ticketed spectators have been brought in and creatively set up to adapt to the often unusual contours and spatial constraints of these areas. Seeing the obelisk at la Place de la Concorde hidden behind a patchwork of crisscrossing bars and stands was strange indeed. From the outside, the expansive fenced-in area, with giant stands rising out from the emptied-out streets, looks like a curious sort of fairground. 

  Third, and arguably most importantly, there is the Seine River itself, which will be the location of the opening ceremony as well as several aquatic competitions. 

  From a security standpoint, the first category of venues is the most straightforward because entrances and exits are already part of the structures. All that is necessary to guarantee spectator and athlete safety is to set up slightly expanded perimeters around the buildings and flood the access points with staff and security guards so that no one – or anything – dangerous gets through. 

  Think of the Barclays Center on game night. Plenty of space to accommodate the crowds at the entrance waiting to go through security, with minimal disruptions to the immediate surroundings. 

  The second category of event sites, as mentioned above, significantly modify public spaces outdoors; they pose greater security and logistical challenges, as the physical enclosures separating “outside from inside” – separating the ticketed spectators from the unticketed – have to be brought in on trucks and set up. 

  These barriers are made up of hundreds of miles of what are essentially chain link fence units (about 10 feet long and 7 feet high) set into concrete slabs that can be moved around and connected as needed. 

  They wrap around the temporary outdoor sporting event sites in odd, unsightly ways and, notwithstanding the considerable effort to line them up neatly, look to many like human kennels. (Upset Parisians are referring to them as cages.) 

  The last site/category of Olympic events, and the location of the opening ceremony, the Seine River, is the most problematic in terms of security perimeters. 

  In fact, in order to meet the endless safety, commercial, and sanitary needs associated with the many uses to which the river is being put, an unprecedented thing has taken place: for 8 days leading up to the opening ceremony (tomorrow), the Seine and its immediate surroundings have undergone a form of privatization that has kept almost the entirety of the Parisian population off its riverbanks and away from its nearest surrounding streets and bridges. 

  Implementing this shutting down of the river has involved widespread use of the aforementioned chainlink-type moveable fences – thousands of them – along with a novel but not entirely unfamiliar technological device: the QR-coded pass. 

  To help explain what this is looking like on the ground, I’ll attempt to draw a hypothetical analogy with NYC. 

  It’s a highly flawed comparison due to the very different layout and features of the two cities, with the proportions off, but it’s the best I could come up with under pressure to illustrate the point. 

  Imagine that 42nd Street in NYC was the Seine River, and that all of the Avenues slicing through it were Paris’ many bridges connecting the North and South sides of the city. 

  Now picture the sidewalks of 42nd Street as Paris’ Right and Left banks, or riversides, and all the buildings on the North and South sides of 42nd Street, extending down its entire length, like the rows of charming old Parisian apartment buildings you see overlooking the Seine in postcards. 

  Okay, now think of what life would be like in Manhattan if, for 8 days, all of 42nd Street (street, sidewalks, avenues, entire blocks of buildings) was completely off limits to all motorized traffic and most foot and cycle traffic, with only two avenues – one on the East Side (say, 2nd Avenue), and one on the West Side (say, 8th Avenue) – left open to handle all of midtown Manhattan’s North-to-South movements: foot, bicycle, and motorized traffic. 

  On top of these restrictions on 42nd Street, imagine the entire area encompassing 41st and 43rd Streets – cross streets and all – every inch, being cut off to all motorized traffic for 8 days, except for emergency and police vehicles. Buses would be rerouted out of the area. 

  Random pedestrians and cyclists approaching from uptown or downtown could move freely within this outlying area immediately to the north and south of 42nd Street, but they could still not access 42nd Street itself, and as they entered into the outlying pedestrian areas through police checkpoints, they would be subject to random bag searches by a police presence resembling that of an occupying army. 

  Subway service would continue to run uninterrupted through the zone, but would not make any stops on 41st, 42nd and 43rd Streets. All major subway hubs in the area would be completely closed for those 8 days, including MetroNorth and LIRR trains running into and out of Grand Central. 

  Drivers wishing to travel from, say, the Upper East Side to Kip’s Bay might find it faster and easier at rush hour to take the Queensborough Bridge to the Queens Midtown Tunnel, swinging back again into Manhattan, rather than sitting in the bottleneck forming for blocks and blocks along the approach to the 2nd Avenue 42nd Street southbound crossing. 

  Imagine in addition that more than half of the width of 42nd Street sidewalks was completely taken up with metal stands and bleachers in preparation for an opening ceremony parade of slow-moving trucks that would traverse 42nd Street from east to west all the way across. 

  (In Paris, the opening ceremony will feature decked-out boats gliding down the river representing the participating nations, so in addition to the river banks, most of the bridges in the center of Paris are also filled with empty steep metal bleachers. 

  My fanciful comparison with NYC, unfortunately, doesn’t allow the avenues to behave like bridges, but if you can picture the Park Avenue Viaduct over 42nd Street filled with empty seats and benches stacked high and looking down over the street, you can get a sense of how this vitally important public space has been turned into one vast seating area, sitting idle for 8 days.)

  Controlled access to the thousands of residences, businesses, and shops on 42nd Street via the many otherwise closed-off avenues would begin as far away as 41st and 43rd Streets (and sometimes one or two streets farther removed) behind hundreds of feet of the aforementioned chainlink barriers and through select access points guarded by police units 24/7. 

  Entry would be granted only to authorized individuals in possession of a special QR-coded “Games Pass.” 

  The “authorized” individuals allowed to enter this area, on foot or on bicycle only, would be: local residents, owners, or employees of shops and businesses on 42nd Street, and/or tourists and others with valid reasons for needing to be there. 

  The latter reasons would include and be essentially limited to medical appointments, lunch/dinner reservations in restaurants, and the need for guests staying at hotels or Airbnbs within this “secure” perimeter to return to their accommodations. 

  The QR-coded “Games Pass” itself would be issued to applicants only after the successful submission of detailed personal information and supporting documents to the NYPD well in advance of the shutdown period. 

  The NYPD would record all the personal information about who lived and worked within this soon-to-be shut-down perimeter, presumably verify the accuracy of the information provided, and then give, or withhold giving, the green light for issuance of the “Games Pass.”

  For reasons unknown, many employees of small businesses would never get their QR-coded “Games Pass” after correctly providing all necessary personal information to the authorities. 

  (In Paris, this inexplicable failure to issue “Games Passes” to employees whose workplaces were inside the locked-down areas, whether due to human or machine error, initially created much tension between cops and workers at numerous access points, as the latter tried by many means (getting their bosses on the phone, showing proof of employment, providing friendly assurances, etc., often in vain, to justify their right and need to enter the area.)

  On the afternoon of the opening ceremony, the bleachers lining the sidewalks of 42nd Street, along with the rows of stands looking down from the Park Avenue Viaduct, would slowly fill up with the more than 300,000 ticketed spectators allowed to watch the Olympic Parade. 

  No one else in NYC – unless they happened to be lucky enough to live in a building on 42nd Street with a window facing the street – would be allowed to get close enough to the event to see it with their own two eyes. 

  It’s hard to capture the universal exasperation caused by this 8-day near-total shutdown of the Seine River, its upper and lower riverbanks, the buildings all around it, and most of its bridges. 

  The rerouting of motorized traffic and resulting colossal bottlenecks around this central part of the city have been an absolute nightmare to taxis and commuters at rush hour – even after the significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads following the seasonal exodus of Parisians fleeing the city for summer homes and foreign vacation destinations.

  But it’s the restrictions on pedestrian and cyclist movements around the water and riverside areas that have enraged Parisians the most. 

  Hemmed in and funneled through long narrow spaces between sidewalks and empty roads, local residents and visitors to Paris alike are bristling at the intrusive, intimidating metal fences, which are more in line with the types of structures you would see at a detention center or migrant camp than at an international sporting event. 

  It’s hard to overstate how violently these unsightly barriers clash with the otherwise beautiful surroundings they are keeping people out of. 

  All of these restrictions have, not surprisingly, led to a serious dropoff in tourist activities in the area. Restaurants within the cordoned-off “security perimeters” are making 30%-70% less than this time last year. This is the case even in the buffer zones leading up to the river where motorized traffic is prohibited but foot and bicycle access is allowed without restrictions. Terraces and restaurant interiors are empty here too. 

  (Fortunately, the many other stadium/arena/transformed venues around Paris that will be hosting events in the days following the opening ceremony will not cause similar disruptions to neighboring businesses, interrupting traffic flows in the immediate area only for a few hours preceding and following the events. 

  In such spots, the QR-Coded Games Pass will play a less important role, and won’t be needed by local residents or shopkeepers because no shops or businesses open to the public will be located on the same site as the sporting venue. Only visitors/spectators to these sites will have to worry about QR codes and QR-coded tickets.)

  But to return to the river opening ceremony “security” preparations, in order to monitor the hundreds of access points along the North and South banks of the Seine (as well as to monitor the many other Olympic Games venues around the city), 45,000 police and gendarmes have been mobilized, with thousands pouring into Paris from all over France. 

  I spoke with about a dozen such officers stationed at checkpoints all along the river, and I asked them how things were going. Most – in carefully chosen words and professional tones — said it was a shitshow. 

  Interestingly, all the police I happened upon were from other parts of France and most were not at all familiar with Paris and its streets and bridges. So when asked by annoyed locals or confused/lost tourists about how to navigate around the off-limit zones, such officers were often of little to no help. 

  On the two occasions I witnessed local Parisians ask how to get around a closed-off area, the out-of-town police shrugged and apologetically explained how they weren’t from Paris and didn’t know.

  Standing for hours on end at the hundreds of cordoned-off access points, they would repeat calmly and patiently that they were stationed there solely to check passes and make sure unauthorized persons did not get beyond them. It was unreasonable to expect anything more of them, they seemed to be saying. 

  This led me to ask how the actual process of checking the “Games Pass” – their primary responsibility – was unfolding. 

  It turns out that the way things were supposed to happen was that a person in possession of a “Games Pass” seeking access to the restricted area also needed to show police a separate ID, and sometimes further proof of what they claimed to be doing in the area (if they didn’t live or work there), at which the police could cross-check the name with the information called up by the QR-code scanner. 

  But it seems there are not (or at least weren’t as of Monday) enough scanners to go around, and, making matters worse, the scanner screens can’t be read properly on sunny days due to the glare. 

  So in such situations – which also include instances of people not receiving their “Games Pass,” or having lost their paper copy – the police have to “use their best judgment,” and let people through on the basis of simple ID checks and the believability of the person’s story for needing to be in the off-limits area. 

  The police officers I spoke with said a small number of people, like myself, objected to the use of QR-coded passes on principle, saying that it reminded them of the health and vaccine pass nightmares and that hosting an international event was no justification for denying freedom of movement in this way. 

  When I asked what they themselves thought of the kennel-like security restrictions, and if they agreed with any of the freedom of movement concerns raised by angry residents, most seemed to miss the point entirely. They would invariably utter something about the size and scope of the event requiring the extraordinary security measures, that terrorists would be plotting, etc. Almost like a pre-recorded message (though eloquently conveyed). 

  But one cop I spoke to at length raised another issue I hadn’t thought of keeping the entire city away from the Seine for 8 days and nights was also aimed at preventing the newly cleaned river from filling up with human garbage again. 

  The banks of the river in the warm summer months are thronged with revelers all through the evenings, and this leads to tons of junk and pollution ending up in the water. 

  It turns out that 1.4 billion euros went into a massive 6-year river cleanup project, beginning in 2018, to make the Seine safe enough to swim in for the handful of aquatic events set to take place in it this summer. 

  E coli and other bacteria seem to have disappeared (or at least no longer pose a threat to human health) and the number of fish species has made a huge comeback, jumping from 3 to 30 in the last few years due to the significant increase in oxygen in the water. 

  Understandably, the Olympic Games organizers and the City of Paris didn’t want flotsam in the form of empty wine bottles to be seen bobbing up and down between the parade boats on the opening night, so they decided not to take any chances and simply banned everyone from getting within spitting distance of the water. 

  This got me thinking. 

  This whole 8-day Seine shutdown – which in some ways amounts to privatizing the river, making access available to only a fraction of the tax-paying population – could not have been imaginable without the availability of digital passes such as this QR-coded “Games Pass,” which can store and instantly call up huge amounts of pre-vetted personal data. 

  Though there aren’t enough of the scanners to go around, there are enough to just about make it all work. 

  Without such on-the-spot digital data-storage technology, the thousands of local residents and other “authorized” persons needing to access the areas around the river on a daily basis would have to carry around with them at all times: IDs, proof of residence, and proof of employment papers. And they would need to show them all every day to every cop they came across at the checkpoints.

  Police stationed at these checkpoints, in turn, would have to spend endless time cross-checking all these documents, and querying every non-resident about their purpose for being in the area – a mini-interrogation each time a local resident or worker sought to cross an access point. 

  It’s hard to imagine the proposal to shut down the Seine River for over a week being taken seriously even in an informal spitballing session of city counselors (let alone in a national-level ministerial meeting) if it involved local residents living by the river having to produce reams of documentation every time they came back from work or the supermarket. 

  One would hope that such an imaginary discussion, after eliciting groans at the idea of such intrusive on-the-spot background and ID checking by police, would have quickly led to other considerations being raised, such as freedom of movement and the unreasonable obligation to justify one’s presence in public areas.

  So there had to be a way to streamline such an extensively coordinated, large-scale shutdown of a heavily populated urban area requiring such tight control of people and their movements, ideally, without people taking too much notice of the personal intrusions and infringements on certain rights and freedoms. 

  Cue the QR-coded “Games Pass.”

  Had there been no sophisticated QR-coded tools to facilitate such an undertaking, it’s likely the hair-brained and outrageous idea of emptying out and privatizing the center of a major metropolis – with all its attendant civil rights questions – would have been immediately apparent. 

  One wonders if questions over the feasibility and legality/constitutionality of such a proposal were ever brought up in official discussions in 2016. Perhaps, instead, the fascination with the vast organizational and control/surveillance potential of the QR-coded “Games Passes” caused such concerns to be dismissed or downplayed – or eclipsed entirely – once again revealing the dangerous hidden biases of these digital technologies.  

  In my experience, asking proponents of surveillance/control tools like QR-coded “Games Passes” or Health/Vaccine Passports about the totalitarian nature of the use cases that such technologies inevitably give rise to typically elicits ironic eye-rolling and accusations of alarmism, followed by reassurances about the benefits of enhanced security on a limited time scale. 

  In the case of the Paris “Games Pass,” such enthusiasts are also quick to highlight the added bonus of having a cleaned-up river to enjoy going forward. The 100-year ban on swimming on the Seine is set to be lifted after the Summer Games, with the opening up of select swimming areas along the river next summer.

  But those of us who lived for two-plus years under the totalitarian Corona regime, with its QR-coded health and vaccine passes, see this as a clear attempt to continue testing out these technologies in new contexts involving restrictions on basic rights and freedoms, slowly and steadily conditioning public acceptance of their use in preparation for the inevitable rollout of digital IDs in France and the EU (unless the Europeans start organizing to oppose these out-in-the-open Orwellian plans).

  Indeed, it seems the French government misses no opportunity these days to insinuate QR codes into large-scale public celebrations and gatherings where they are not needed. 

  To wit, the annual Bal des Pompiers (Fireman’s Ball) this year (a uniquely French outdoor celebration held inside the courtyards of Fire Stations all over France on the 13th and 14th of July, which is free and open to the public and draws massive crowds of revelers, featuring the presence of French Foreign Legionnaires and other elite military personnel), for the first time ever, prohibited the use of cash and credit cards for purchases of food and drink and instead required partygoers to buy a QR-coded “credit card” at the entrance.

  In order to consume food or alcohol within the firehouse, one had to line up at a special booth and exchange money for a special one-off QR-coded plastic card (the size and shape of a credit card) which then became the only accepted form of currency for purchases during the all-night outdoor celebration. 

  Unlike previous years, where the firemen serving food and alcohol also handled cash and credit cards, this year they were armed with little scanners, with which they beeped and deducted credit from these disposable digital money cards. 

  It introduced a wholly unnecessary, illogical, time-wasting step into the normal “money-food” transaction process on the grounds that it would streamline the handover of food and drink in an extremely busy and crowded space by freeing vendors from the need to handle money. 

  It of course did exactly the opposite, causing people to waste more time standing in the QR-coded card line each time they wanted to buy or top up their card. Worse still, drunk party-goers undoubtedly lost hundreds, if not thousands of euros, from putting more money on their QR-cards than they were able (or remembered) to spend on food and alcohol during the rollicking festivities. 

  To those of us still reeling from the use of the health passes, it was a terrifying, flagrant further example of the incremental social engineering that has been going on in Europe for the last 4 years, with its two-fold aim of phasing out cash while preparing the public for a sudden shift to a digital euro during the next manufactured emergency. 

  I can only hope the uproar caused by the Summer Games’ disruptions to people’s ability to live, work in, and enjoy their city will shine a light on these dangerous technologies of control and surveillance that I believe are irreconcilably incompatible with the values and principles of a free society.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 23:45

• School That Gave Child COVID-19 Vaccine Against Parents' Wishes Immune From Lawsuits: Court
  School That Gave Child COVID-19 Vaccine Against Parents’ Wishes Immune From Lawsuits: Court

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A school that injected a minor with a COVID-19 vaccine despite the boy’s parents telling school officials they did not want him to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is immune under federal law, the Vermont Supreme Court has ruled.

  

  The Federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) protects state and school officials who were named as defendants in a lawsuit brought by the minor’s parents, justices said in a July 26 decision.

  “We conclude that when the federal PREP Act immunizes a defendant, the PREP Act bars all state-law claims against that defendant as a matter of law,” Justice Karen Carroll said.

  The PREP Act, signed in 2005, grants immunity to administrators of covered vaccines except in cases involving willful misconduct. COVID-19 vaccines are covered because of a 2020 declaration, extended multiple times thereafter, by the U.S. health secretary.

  Dario and Shujen Politella sued officials after their son was injected with a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot in 2021 at the Academy School in the Windham Southeast School District. Before the school hosted a vaccine clinic, district and state officials confirmed that students needed parental consent to receive a vaccine, and the boy’s parents said they did not consent. Just days before holding the clinic, Mr. Politella emphasized to the school’s assistant principal that the parents did not want the boy to receive a shot.

  The boy was removed from class on the day of the clinic and labeled as another child, who had already been vaccinated. The boy told workers his father said not to give him a vaccine, but they distracted him with a stuffed animal and gave him a shot, according to court documents.

  The Vermont Superior Court dismissed the suit from the parents, finding that they needed to bring litigation in federal court under the PREP Act’s immunity exemption.

  Lawyers for the parents, though, argued that officials did not show that the PREP Act covered their actions and that the case should play out in state court according to state laws. In a brief to Vermont justices, they pointed to other cases in which that has happened.

  Justices said that each defendant, including the school’s nurse, is covered by the PREP Act and that the allegations against them are related to the administration of the vaccine, which makes all defendants immune.

  While there have been rulings in other cases that the PREP Act only preempts claims against covered people for willful misconduct, “none of these cases supports the proposition that plaintiffs can proceed in state court against defendants who are completely immunized from liability under the Act,” Justice Carroll said.

  She wrote later that “other state courts faced with similar facts have concluded that state-law claims against immunized defendants cannot proceed in state court in light of the PREP Act’s immunity and preemption provisions, including claims based on the failure to secure parental consent.”

  Attorneys representing Mr. and Mrs. Politella and the defendants did not respond to requests for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 22:55

• Israeli Police Detain Soldiers Suspected Of Raping A Palestinian, Sparking Protests
  Israeli Police Detain Soldiers Suspected Of Raping A Palestinian, Sparking Protests

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  On Monday, Israeli military police detained Israeli soldiers who were suspected of raping a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman prison in southern Israel. Israeli media reported that the Palestinian prisoner was transferred from Sde Teiman to a hospital with an injury to his anus that was so severe he could not walk.

  When the Israeli military police went to Sde Teiman to detain soldiers suspected of forcibly sodomizing the Palestinian man, they were met with resistance. A security source told Haaretz that Israeli soldiers at the facility refused to leave and barricaded themselves in. They also reportedly used pepper spray on the military police.

  

  The police ended up detaining nine out of 10 of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers suspected of abusing the Palestinian detainee. The arrest of the suspected rapists sparked protests from far-right Israeli activists.

  Members of the Israeli Knesset joined protesters as they stormed Sde Teiman, including Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionism party. At least one member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition was spotted among the protesters, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the Jewish Power party. Later in the day, protesters stormed Beit Lid, the base where the Israeli soldiers are being held.

  Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, praised the detained Israeli soldiers, calling them the “best heroes” and denouncing their arrest as “shameful.”

  According to The Telegraph, Ben Gvir said the Israeli security establishment should support the soldiers and “learn from the prison service: light treatment of terrorists is over. Soldiers need to have our full support.” According to CBS News:

  Lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky was asked as he defended the alleged abuse whether it was legitimate, “to insert a stick into a person’s rectum?”

  “Yes!” he shouted in reply to his fellow parliamentarian. “If he is a Nukhba [Hamas militant], everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”

  Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who’s drawn U.S. reprimands with his provocative actions since the war started, wrote in a post on social media: “Take your hands off the reservists.”

  Israel could be the first country in history to start a civil war over the right of its military to rape prisoners… pic.twitter.com/c8089SPdSR

  — Pelham (@Resist_05) July 30, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Israeli whistleblowers have detailed widespread abuse and torture at the Sde Teiman prison, which holds Palestinians detained from Gaza. The New York Times reported last month that Palestinians who made it out of the facility said they were subject to sexual torture.

  Younis al-Hamlawi, a senior nurse who was detained by Israeli forces in Gaza after he left Al-Shifa Hospital over allegations that he was tied to Hamas, told the Times that Israeli soldiers penetrated his rectum with a metal stick, causing him to bleed and leaving him in “unbearable pain.“

  All of this was sparked due to an internal Israeli military investigation, after pressure from US officials…

  After @CNN & @nytimes investigations & strong US pressure, an #IDF investigation reportedly confirmed allegations:

  – Torture with electricity
  – Amputations
  – Systematic beatings
  – Rape
  – Sensory disorientation, leading to bleeding ears & eyesight loss https://t.co/59bWdQefje

  — Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) July 29, 2024

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  The Times report said a leaked report from the UN “cited a 41-year-old detainee who said that interrogators ‘made me sit on something like a hot metal stick and it felt like fire,’ and also said that another detainee ‘died after they put the electric stick up’ his anus.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 22:30

• Democrats Vs. The Man Who Could Get To The Bottom Of The Trump Shooting
  Democrats Vs. The Man Who Could Get To The Bottom Of The Trump Shooting

  Authored by Julie Kelly via RealClearInvestigations,

  After the evasive House testimony of now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray’s shortlived suggestion that Donald Trump may not have been hit by a bullet, one man alone may help allay Republican fears that the Biden administration will not conduct a forthright investigation into the attempted assassination of Trump last month: Joseph Cuffari.

  

  The Trump-appointed inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security has already opened two investigations into the U.S. Secret Service, which is under the purview of the DHS, related to the agency’s handling of the July 13 shooting.

  But some Republicans are concerned because, they say, Cuffari has been stonewalled by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on other internal examinations – including one that might have revealed Secret Service lapses that might have prevented the attempt on Trump’s life. 

  Specifically, congressional sources tell RCI that Cuffari’s report, “USSS Preparation for and Response to the Events of January 6, 2021,” has been on Mayorkas’ desk since at least April.

  The report, according to Politico, will “cast light on a series of embarrassing security lapses for the agency.” And given some comparisons between Jan. 6 and July 13, the report might shed light on systemic issues that impacted both events.

  For example, unanswered questions remain as to why the Secret Service allowed Trump to take the stage at The Ellipse outside the White House around noon on Jan. 6 amid reports of individuals with weapons in the vicinity – a question many Americans have about the July 13 assassination attempt. Law enforcement and spectators noted the presence of a suspicious individual, later identified as the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, at least a half hour before Trump took the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.

  In addition, no one has explained how the Secret Service failed to notice an alleged pipe bomb found outside the Democrat National Committee DC office on Jan. 6 – while then Vice President-elect Harris was inside the building. Previous reporting by RCI shows multiple law enforcement officers, including one with a bomb-sniffing dog, walking past the bench where the device was found. 

  Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chairman of a House subcommittee tasked with a separate investigation into Jan. 6 as well as the now-defunct J6 committee, recently accused Mayorkas of intentionally holding the release of the report. The Georgia Republican told Mayorkas in a letter that “the failure to provide an in-depth review of the department’s security planning and operational failures related to January 6 not only raises concerns about the department’s botched planning for former president Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, but it is quite possible that such reports could have prevented the security breakdown that resulted in the near assassination of a former president and presidential candidate.”

  Top Democrats have long sought to remove Cuffari – a former investigator for the Air Force and Department of Justice whom Trump appointed in 2019 in 2019 – from office. The coordinated effort began when the IG notified Congress that a trove of Secret Service texts from January 5 and 6, 2021 had been deleted in late January 2021 under the Biden administration. The purge occurred weeks after every federal agency received a directive from Congress to preserve all evidence related to January 6. 

  Cuffari said messages belonging to at least 24 Secret Service officials including then director James Murray and Cheatle, who was an assistant director of the agency on January 6, were gone. So, too, were the texts of then acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli, both Trump appointees.

  His office subsequently opened a criminal investigation into the matter.

  “The USSS erased those text messages after OIG [Office of Inspector General] requested records of electronic communications from the USSS, as part of our evaluation of events at the Capitol on January 6,” the inspector general wrote in a July 2022 letter to chairmen of both the Senate and House Homeland Security committees, including Rep. Bennie Thompson, who also chaired the Jan. 6 committee at the same time. 

  Cuffari further flagged the DHS’s lack of cooperation with his inquiry, something he had already pointed out in an earlier report to the committees. “DHS personnel have repeatedly told OIG inspectors that they were not permitted to provide records directly to OIG and that such records had to first undergo review by DHS attorneys,” Cuffari continued in the letter.

  Not true, responded Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. He claimed the texts had been deleted when cell phones were reset to factory settings as part of a device replacement program. “The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false.” (Guglielmi’s truthfulness was brought into question recently when he claimed it was “absolutely false” that the Secret Service rejected the Trump campaign’s multiple requests for additional security prior to the Pennsylvania rally. The Washington Post later confirmed that top Secret Service officials “repeatedly denied” requests for more manpower and equipment to protect the former president at large events.)

  And despite initially insisting the texts were not lost, Guglielmi shortly thereafter said the missing Jan. 6-related messages were not recoverable. Cuffari did acquire the cell phones of two dozen Secret Service agents on duty that day, which did not have texts from that day but could have other pertinent information.

  But rather than demand that the DHS use its extensive investigative tools to retrieve the texts, Thompson instead turned his fire on Cuffari. Thompson suggested Cuffari’s alleged delay in notifying the committee about the purged texts represented a cover-up and “cost investigators precious time to capture relevant evidence.” Cuffari had, in fact, notified the Homeland Security committee of both the Senate and House, of which Thompson was chairman, at least twice that DHS officials were not cooperating in his J6 probe.

  “The Department repeatedly suggested that OIG might not have a right of access to the records sought, but during the months-long period in which access was delayed the Department did not cite any legal authority – that would have justified withholding the information,” Cuffari disclosed in a September 2021 report to Congress.

  Despite Cuffari’s warnings related to stonewalling by DHS brass, Thompson accused Cuffari of withholding news of the deleted messages. In a July 2022 letter, just two weeks after Cuffari disclosed the missing texts, Thompson asked him to step aside from the J6 inquiry. Calls for Cuffari’s dismissal have also been driven by the nonprofit “watchdog” group, the Project on Government Oversight. The vice chair of POGO’s board is Debra Katz, a lawyer for Brett Kavanagh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, during his tawdry Supreme Court nomination hearings.   

  Critics say Thompson’s demand for Cuffari’s recusal appeared to contradict his stated mission to find the truth about Jan. 6. For example, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a star witness for the committee, provided a shocking account about how Trump allegedly assaulted one of the Secret Service agents on his detail that afternoon. Wouldn’t Thompson and the other committee members want records to prove her claims, which are now in dispute by several individuals, including the driver she said Trump tried to attack? Why would Thompson want to get rid of the watchdog attempting to locate messages critical to filling an important missing piece of the Jan. 6 puzzle? 

  In fact, Thompson told Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) in February his committee “could have had a better, more thorough report had we had access to all those records.” Thompson further said that the deletions not only violated the Federal Records Act but may have also amounted to obstruction of justice since he had issued a subpoena, the only one his committee sought from an executive office, seeking the records.

  Talk but No Action

  But neither his committee nor a Democrat-controlled Congress did anything about it. Unlike the committee’s criminal referral to the Department of Justice against Trump for obstructing an official proceeding, Thompson did not pursue criminal charges against any DHS official responsible for erasing the text records.

  But Thompson did continue his attacks on Cuffari aided by his House colleagues and DHS IG employees, who wrote a letter accusing Cuffari of “continued mismanagement.” “IG Cuffari has made it clear that he wishes to remain in his position, even in the face of prolonged, deserved criticism in the media, from Congress, from other oversight entities and from his own staff. A true leader would recognize the effect of his actions on his workforce and understand the right thing to do would be to step aside,” anonymous staffers wrote in a September 2022 letter to Joe Biden asking him to fire Cuffari.

  The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or CIGIE, which oversees federal inspector generals, also went after Cuffari by opening a flood of inquiries into the DHS IG’s office. In response, Cuffari filed a lawsuit seeking relief  from “an unjust, Kafkaesque system produced by an unconstitutionally structured entity and abetted by a complete absence of independent oversight, accountability and lawful due process.”  A federal judge dismissed his effort to stop the investigation, ruling that he had not suffered any harm. 

  CIGIE is mired in its own scandals; in May, several Republican House members sent a letter to a top CIGIE official demanding answers about the “politicization” of the organization. During a House hearing on July 24, committee members accused CIGIE chairman Mark Greenblatt of a lack of transparency and the “subjective” nature of CIGIE’s work.

  House Democrats, including Thompson, continue to seek Cuffari’s resignation more recently for deleting text messages off his government device. Cuffari told Congress he did not consider the texts applicable under the Federal Records Act.

  Intriguingly, as Cuffari begins his probe of the attempt on Trump’s life, his Jan. 6 report may shed light on an alleged threat to Vice President Harris.  

  More than three-and-a-half years later, investigators still have not arrested anyone for planting pipe bombs outside the headquarters of both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on the evening of Jan. 5. The FBI’s investigation reportedly remains open but apparently went cold.

  For reasons still unknown, Harris left Capitol Hill around 11:15 a.m. on Jan. 6 following a briefing for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Although an official schedule indicated she planned to go home, she instead arrived at DNC headquarters along with a Secret Service detail at 11:25 a.m.

  Video captured by a security camera outside the building showed a bomb-sniffing dog conducting a vehicle search at 9:44 a.m., roughly two hours before Harris’ arrival. The canine did not detect the explosive device sitting just a few feet away near an outdoor bench.

  Neither did officers from Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police, who intermittently arrived at the building throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Harris’ Secret Service detail did not appear to conduct any meaningful search of the premises before or during her visit.

  And when a plainclothes Capitol Police officer discovered the pipe bomb at 1:07 p.m., no officer appeared overly concerned that a device the FBI later said was viable and deadly was within distance of the incoming vice president.

  She was evacuated about 10 minutes later.

  How did the Secret Service miss the device in plain view? Was anyone fired for failing to properly sweep the area and endangering the life of their protectee? Were new protocols put in place to avoid repeating such a frightening scenario in the future?

  Cuffari’s report presumably will finally answer those questions because agency officials have not.

  Not only are the FBI and Secret Service tight-lipped about the incident, but Harris herself has yet to discuss it publicly. 

  Harris has not explained why she, a sitting U.S. senator at the time, left the Capitol 90 minutes before the beginning of the joint session of Congress to certify her groundbreaking election. She appears to have been the only senator not in attendance as the proceedings commenced. Why did she plan to miss such a historic event? How did she feel when she was told of the alleged bomb?

  It would be nearly impossible for the national news media to continue to ignore her ties to the pipe bomb story if Cuffari addressed it in his investigation. 

  “Any delay or obstruction by Mayorkas is unacceptable,” Loudermilk said in an email, “especially now that the DHS IG is investigating the serious USSS security failures at the Trump rally in Butler PA.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 22:05

• FDA Approves New Blood Test For Colon Cancer
  FDA Approves New Blood Test For Colon Cancer

  Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new blood test for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening for adults ages 45 and older who are at average risk for the disease, according to a statement from Guardant Health Inc.

  

  The FDA’s decision follows a strong recommendation for approval from an advisory committee panel in May 2024.

  The approval of Guardant Health’s “Shield” test marks the first time that a blood test has been recognized by the FDA as a primary screening option for CRC, offering a noninvasive alternative to traditional methods such as colonoscopies and stool-based tests, according to the statement.

  Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with the American Cancer Society estimating more than 150,000 new diagnoses and 53,000 deaths in 2024 alone.

  Early detection is crucial, as the five-year relative survival rate is 91 percent when CRC is identified early, compared with just 14 percent if the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, according to the company’s statement.

  The screening rate for CRC in the United States stands at about 59 percent, significantly below the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s goal of at least 80 percent. Many people avoid traditional screening methods because of their invasive and unpleasant nature, according to the statement.

  “The persistent gap in colorectal cancer screening rates shows that the existing screening options do not appeal to millions of people,” Dr. Daniel Chung, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in the statement.

  “The FDA’s approval of the Shield blood test marks a tremendous leap forward, offering a compelling new solution to close this gap. This decision will help make screening tests more broadly accessible and propel blood-based testing and CRC screening into a new era.

  “With increased screening rates and early cancer detection, many more lives can be saved.”

  The Shield blood test has been in development for more than a decade, according to the company.

  A major clinical trial, the ECLIPSE study, demonstrated that the Shield test has an 83 percent sensitivity for detecting CRC and a 90 percent specificity for advanced neoplasia, according to the company. The results are comparable to those of other noninvasive screening methods currently recommended by guidelines, according to the statement.

  “Shield can help improve colorectal cancer screening rates so we can detect more cancers at an early stage, when they are treatable,” Guardant Health Co-CEO AmirAli Talasaz said in the statement.

  The advisory committee panel acknowledged the test’s reliability for detecting stages 2, 3, and 4 CRC and emphasized the benefit of having a blood test that can achieve higher adherence rates among patients who avoid colonoscopies or stool-based tests. However, it stressed that Guardant Health must make sure that consumers are aware that the blood test is not equivalent to a colonoscopy in its ability to detect and remove benign polyps before they can become cancerous.

  The panel highlighted the importance of clear labeling and patient education to mitigate risks associated with the test’s lower sensitivity for detecting pre-cancerous advanced adenomas, according to the minutes from the panel’s meeting.

  The panel noted that patients with pre-cancerous advanced adenomas have a high risk of developing CRC and that Shield’s lower test sensitivity for detecting these adenomas means that there is a risk that patients might receive a negative test result despite having pre-cancerous advanced adenomas, potentially leading to missed opportunities for early intervention.

  The panel said it’s crucial that the test’s limitations were clearly communicated for patients to understand that while the Shield test is an effective tool for CRC screening, it “is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or for surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals.”

  Guardant Health’s Shield test will be available by prescription and is expected to be covered by Medicare for eligible beneficiaries. Commercial insurance coverage is also anticipated to expand following future guideline inclusions by the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, according to the statement.

  “The test, which has an accuracy rate for colon cancer detection similar to stool tests used for early detection of cancer, could offer an alternative for patients who may otherwise decline current screening options,” said Dr. William M. Grady, a gastroenterologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 21:40

• The Top 3 Proxy Wars To Determine WW3 And Reshape The World Order
  The Top 3 Proxy Wars To Determine WW3 And Reshape The World Order

  Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,

  Today, I will closely examine the most important proxy wars of World War 3, which I believe will be decisive in determining who wins the overall conflict and gets to shape the new world order.

  Proxy wars are a method by which major powers fight their battles indirectly, using smaller nations or groups as stand-ins rather than confronting each other directly.

  Major powers support, equip, and finance smaller groups or nations in a proxy war to fight against a common adversary. This support can include military training, weapons, funding, and other resources. The critical point is that the major powers do not engage directly in combat.

  There are numerous ongoing proxy wars in World War 3.

  

  However, the ones I believe will prove decisive will be in Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Middle East. The other proxy wars are peripheral in comparison.

  Proxy War #1: Taiwan

  Recently, China performed a two-day military exercise around Taiwan, named Joint Sharp Sword-2024A, as a response to what it calls Taiwan’s separatist acts.

  This drill involved the Chinese air force and navy completely surrounding the island of Taiwan with ships and warplanes. It aimed at testing their combat readiness for a full-scale attack.

  Many believe the drills are practice for an invasion.

  This show of force comes just after Taiwan’s new President, Lai Ching-te, took office. Lai once expressed support for Taiwan’s independence.

  If Taiwan officially declared independence, it would be tantamount to declaring war with China.

  The unofficial status quo maintains an ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty; they aren’t declaring independence (yet), nor are they committing to reunifying with China.

  Lai’s presidency is significant in the context of the already strained China-Taiwan relations. A new president with pro-independence sympathies could be the tipping point that causes China to act.

  However, I am skeptical that the US military would directly intervene.

  That’s because China (and Russia) are the only countries with sophisticated enough nuclear arsenals to go toe-to-toe with the US up to the top of the military escalation ladder, a concept that describes how the severity of a military conflict can increase.

  In other words, the US military can’t attack China with impunity because Beijing can match each move up to all-out nuclear war—the very top of the military escalation ladder.

  The operative question is, will the US risk nuclear Armageddon over Taiwan?

  I don’t think it will.

  Considering everything, China seems to have the advantage and will reunify Taiwan in the not-so-distant future.

  I think China—and thus BRICS+—will prevail in this crucial proxy war of World War 3. If that happens, it will likely permanently alter the geopolitical landscape of East Asia.

  Proxy War #2: Ukraine

  Ukraine has been the arena of choice for NATO & Friends to confront Russia for many years.

  To briefly summarize, the US has been spending many billions meddling in Ukraine long before the current conflict broke out in February of 2022.

  It has been estimated that the US spent around $5 billion on “democratization” in Ukraine before 2022. What that means is covert mischief executed through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which are simply fronts for the CIA.

  A partial list of the culprits includes USAID, the National Democratic Institute, and the International Republican Institute, as well as nominally nongovernmental organizations like Freedom House, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and the National Endowment for Democracy.

  It all culminated in the violent overthrow of Ukraine’s corrupt pro-Russia government in 2014, which a corrupt pro-US government replaced. It sowed the seeds for the current conflict.

  As I write this, in mid-2024, the conflict in Ukraine appears to be reaching a tipping point.

  Ukraine has suffered serious battlefield setbacks as Russia has steadily gained territory. The Russians now have the momentum and initiative.

  US funding is also drying up. American and European voters are increasingly tired of the war as regular people struggle with a sputtering economy and rising inflation.

  In short, there’s not much more that NATO & Friends can do to turn things around for Ukraine.

  They can’t intervene directly; the Russians have been clear they would view that as a declaration of direct and open war, which could lead to nuclear exchanges.

  About all NATO & Friends can do is send more weapons shipments to Kiev.

  However, that is unlikely to deliver victory to Ukraine. At best, it will only prolong the conflict without changing the ultimate outcome.

  Further, it seems Russian patience is wearing thin on this issue.

  In response to NATO & Friends supplying arms to Ukraine, Putin recently announced that Russia will start supplying arms to countries in conflict with the US and other NATO countries.

  Dmitry Medvedev is a former Russian president and prime minister. He is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council and recently said this regarding the new policy:

  “Now, may the United States and its allies experience firsthand the direct use of Russian weapons by third parties.

  These persons or regions have been intentionally left unnamed, but they can include all those who consider Yankeeland & Co. their enemy, regardless of their political outlook and international recognition.

  Their enemy is the US, which means they are friends to us.”

  There is little doubt that the countries and groups to receive Russian arms that Medvedev was referring to would include those in the Middle East, which is the third key proxy war of World War 3. An influx of Russian arms in the Middle East could tip the balance in this crucial region.

  When you consider everything regarding Ukraine, it seems that a negotiated settlement that is mainly favorable to Russia will eventually be reached.

  Absent that, I expect the Russians to continue to make steady gains.

  Either way, I believe the Russians will win through battlefield gains or a favorable negotiated settlement.

  Here’s the bottom line.

  All signs point to an eventual Russian victory in Ukraine and another critical World War 3 proxy war that will end in favor of BRICS+. If that happens, it will likely permanently alter the geopolitical landscape of Europe.

  Proxy War #3: The Middle East

  I think it’s clear the proxy wars in Ukraine and Taiwan are likely to end in favor of BRICS+.

  That’s why I expect NATO & Friends will make their last stand to scuttle the emergence of a multipolar world order and preserve the US-led world order in the Middle East.

  In my next article, I’ll examine the Middle East in-depth and how I think it will play out.

  Here’s the bottom line.

  I think the Middle East will be the decisive battleground that determines who wins WW3 and gets to shape the new world order.

  The stakes could not be higher.

  Countless millions throughout history were wiped out financially—or worse—during the previous world wars because they failed to see the correct Big Picture and take appropriate action.

  Fortunately, WW3 doesn’t have to blindside you, your family, or your portfolio.

  Quite the contrary.

  That’s exactly why I just released an urgent new report with all the details, including what you must do to prepare. Click here to download the PDF now.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 21:15

• "Hundreds" Of Cars Stolen And Robbed Each Year From Seattle Airport "Park-N-Fly" Lots
  “Hundreds” Of Cars Stolen And Robbed Each Year From Seattle Airport “Park-N-Fly” Lots

  ‘Hundreds’ of cars are being stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport every year, investigators from KING NBC 5 have found. 

  Car thieves frequently target hotel and motel lots offering “park-n-fly” or “stay-n-fly” packages. Data reviewed by KING NBC 5 shows that some of the most well-known lodging names have the highest crime rates, leaving customers liable.

  According to public records, the airport Marriott tops the list for crimes at hotel and “park-n-fly” lots. Data from the King County Sheriff’s Office shows 94 car thefts and prowls in 2023, including 27 stolen vehicles. In 2022, there were 74 reported incidents, according to KING NBC 5. 

  

  Carol Olson of Snohomish County commented: “Something needs to be done.”

  KING NBC 5 reported that her insurance covered $15,000 in repairs after her truck was stolen and trashed at the Seattle Airport Marriott on South 176th Street in December. She returned from a trip to Disneyland with her grandkids to find her parking spot empty.

  Another woman Piper Logg told hotel security her truck was gone and wasn’t happy with the response: “They all made it sound like this is an everyday, normal thing and that nobody was surprised that it happens all the time. It seems like it’s something that happens all the time and they’re choosing to do nothing.”

  

  Logg said the lot’s cameras weren’t recording, and thieves evaded the pay gates. A SeaTac police officer explained that no charge applies if exiting within 15-20 minutes. Thieves often tailgate behind an accomplice or a paying customer, and one report mentioned a thief ramming the gate to escape.

  “It’s even more disconcerting because Marriott is a well-known company. You actually think it is going to be safer than the smaller hotels,” another woman said. “It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

  Can’t we just go back to the days when things made sense and cars were only being stolen from their owners in designated, marked autonomous zones in the center of the city?

  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 20:50

• Trump's VP Pick Is A Climate Skeptic, And The Knives Are Out
  Trump’s VP Pick Is A Climate Skeptic, And The Knives Are Out

  Authored by Tilak Doshi via RealClearEnergy,

  Within a day of ex-President Trump’s announcement of “climate denier” Mr. J. D. Vance as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, the climate industrial complex and supportive mainstream media had the knives out. A few headlines of the past 24 hours are an indication.

  • The New York Times: “JD Vance Is an Oil Booster and Doubter of Human-Caused Climate Change”

  • The Independent: JD Vance: “Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president”

  • The Guardian: “Climate advocates fear picking JD Vance for VP is ‘a dangerous step backward’”

  The umbrage taken by media commentators is familiar. CNBC laments that “the former venture capitalist though is a known critic of climate change and renewable energy [italics added].” UK’s The Independent newspaper reports that “[c]ampaigners are responding with alarm to the selection of climate denier and Ohio senator JD Vance as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, with activists warning he represents a “dangerous” voice for the US.” Mr. Vance’s “eagerness to please Donald Trump” adds to the image of the vice-presidential nominee as an unprincipled politician seeking office.

  Climate advocacy group Fossil Free Media spokesperson Cassidy DiPaola asserted that “This [VP] choice signals that a potential Trump-Vance administration would likely double down on fossil fuel expansion at a time when we desperately need to transition to clean energy.” Communications director Stevie O’Hanlon of Sunrise Movement, a climate activist organization, said that “Like Donald Trump, JD Vance has proven that he will make it a top priority to roll back climate protections while answering to the demands of oil and gas CEOs.”

  Does Mr. Vance have a principled stand and is his stance on climate and energy policy worthy of consideration?

  

  Climate Denialism

  As the highly polarized debate over climate change over the past few decades has amply demonstrated, the discourse often descends into ad hominem attacks and name calling. “Climate denier” is a charge that is often used by proponents of climate alarm to shut down critical debate and to deplatform climate sceptics. Lena Moffitt, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Evergreen Action, said this of Mr. Vance: “Donald Trump has chosen an avowed climate denier as his running mate who has used his time in Congress to vote against the environment and shill for fossil fuel corporations at every opportunity.”

  The “denier” accusation is among the more pernicious if popular epithets used to denigrate sceptics of the so-called “consensus science.” It invokes a comparison to those who engage in Holocaust denial. To be sure, most observers would consider it ludicrous to suggest that questioning the accuracy and predictive power of scientific models is like questioning the historical fact of the genocide of Jews in Europe.

  What Is Mr. Vance’s Position on Climate?

  Putting aside epithets and journalistic hit-pieces, it seems a fair question to ask just what do politicians skeptical of the climate alarmist narrative believe? And what are their policy positions regarding the Paris Agreement’s “net zero by 2050” target. This policy target is an imperative, at least nominally, for most current governments in North America and Western Europe?

  Mr. Vance – lawyer, businessman, former Marine and writer of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy”, arisen from the humblest working class background – places himself firmly in the populist right movement. It now looks very likely that Mr. Trump will be the next US president. The assassination attempt Saturday, his miraculous split-second turn of the head which saved him and the iconic picture of his raised fist with the US flag in the background seconds after being injured make him almost irresistible. Thus Mr. Vance will likely join the Donald Trump next year as his VP in an administration that will seek to rapidly unwind the myriad policy and regulatory constraints that the Biden administration has imposed to shackle the US oil and gas industry at every turn.

  Vance has also criticized the “green energy fantasy” of the Biden administration, pointing out that “solar panels can’t power a modern manufacturing economy” and “that’s why the Chinese are building coal power plants.” He has similarly called out wind power turbines. At the Turning Point Action conference last year, he said “they’re hideously ugly. They kill all the birds. And they’re mostly made in China.” The Biden administration’s all-out support for EVs comes in for the same critique. In a July 2022 radio interview, he said: “The whole EV thing is a scam. If you plug it into your wall, do these people think there are Keebler elves back there making electricity in the wall? It comes, of course, from fossil fuels.”

  Mr. Vance’s climate skepticism goes beyond encouraging US oil and gas dominance in global markets once again – a strong theme of Trump’s first term in office – if the Republicans get elected to office. He has come out fiercely against the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) movement. In an interview with Breitbart in 2022, he said “ESG is basically a massive racket to enrich Wall Street and enrich the financial sector of the country, at the expense of the industries that actually employ a lot of Ohio’s workers for middle-class jobs.” The push against ESG occurring through the red states in the U.S. and the increasingly evident lack of success of ESG-focused firms and investment advisors suggests that Mr. Vance has probably got a better finger on the pulse than his critics would care to admit.

  Who’s More Credible?

  As a climate change skeptic, Mr. Vance stands in good company. For instance, the 2022 Nobel Laureate in physics John Clauser exposed in a recent lecture how the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models and analyses do not meet basic standards of scientific enquiry.  IPCC models have been used as “proof” of scientific consensus by politicians and activists to support claims of a “climate crisis.” Another example would be Richard Lindzen, an American atmospheric physicist and Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who published an assessment of the global warming narrative in 2022. Prof. Lindzen finds climate alarmism “a quasi-religious movement predicated on an absurd ‘scientific’ narrative. The policies invoked on behalf of this movement have led to the US hobbling its energy system.” Whatever one’s views on climate science, it is apparent that Mr. Vance is not a wild-eyed outlier in his skepticism of the claims of climate policy advocates as asserted by his many critics.

  JD Vance’s criticisms of subsidy-supported renewable energy and EV sectors accord with the empirical evidence emerging in the current context of higher inflation, higher interest rates and a deep slump in renewable energy stocks. For instance, an Associated Press report last November described the travails of the Biden administration’s ambitious plans for offshore wind: “The cancellation of two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey is the latest in a series of setbacks for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, jeopardizing the Biden administration’s goals of powering 10 million homes from towering ocean-based turbines by 2030 and establishing a carbon-free electric grid five years later.” This news was preceded by earlier reports of developers cancelling three offshore wind power projects in New England. They said their projects were “no longer financially feasible” despite the ample subsidies on offer.

  The news on the EV front, called out as a “scam” by Mr. Vance, is just as dire for green technology enthusiasts. As David Blackmon, a keen observer of the renewable energy space, notes: surveys show that the vast majority of US car buyers will not purchase an EV even at “bargain basement” prices (and despite government subsidies); the overall growth in private EV sales in the US has slowed “to a trickle”, just as is happening in the UK and EU; and the market for used EVs is practically non-existent. “Pure play” EV maker Fisker recently declared bankruptcy while Rivian approaches the same fate. Giant US automakers GM and Ford have turned to gasoline-powered vehicles to sustain their profits as the global EV sales slowdown force them to delay investments and cuts costs in their EV production lines.

  Partisans may criticize the man all they want, but the realities of thermodynamics and economics support JD Vance. He may prove to be the best Vice President in a Republican administration geared to supporting the country’s oil and gas industries and Making America Great Again.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 20:25

• "Absolutely Stunning": CRE Analyst Lists Latest Office Tower & Mall Valuation Collapses 
  “Absolutely Stunning”: CRE Analyst Lists Latest Office Tower & Mall Valuation Collapses 

  The commercial real estate downturn is still underway, posing significant risks for investors across financial markets. CRE-linked equities, corporate credit, structured credit, and private markets all feel the impacts of major unwinds as property prices plunge. 

  While headwinds from high interest rates may diminish in the coming quarters, with rate traders pricing in the possibility of the first 25bps cut as early as the mid-September FOMC meeting, the critical question is whether these projected rate cuts will be adequate to cushion the landing. 

  Office tower valuations remain sloped in a downward trend, plummeting in many cases, as vacancy rates soar as remote work trends keep white-collar workers out of the office and at home. These imploding values remain a massive threat to regional banks, with the CRE crisis likely to persist through 2025. 

  X user Triple Net Investor offers a sobering reality of the CRE space. He closely follows the space and noted dozens of recent valuation declines for malls, towers, and multi-family properties. 

  Here are the examples of why the CRE storm is not over:

  One of Maryland’s largest malls, called White Marsh Mall, located in a northeast suburb of Baltimore County, had a stunning valuation plunge… 

  One of the largest malls in Baltimore has plunged a shocking $320M in value since 2013

  A recent appraisal valued the White Marsh Mall at $80M, down from $300M in 2013

  A receiver was appointed to take control of the 1.2M sq ft mall earlier this yr

  This is one of many… pic.twitter.com/ajriEkumPo

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 29, 2024

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  “This is a commercial real estate apocalypse,” Triple Net Investor said. 

  Wow, this is absolutely crazy…

  Brookfield owned Gas Company Tower in Downtown LA has plummeted over $400M in value

  The skyscraper was recently valued at $214.5M

  It was appraised at $632M just 3 years ago

  This is a commercial real estate apocalypse

  Source: Commercial… pic.twitter.com/UFZuExcqz7

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 26, 2024

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  He said, “This is absolutely insane.” 

  This is absolutely insane…

  A Chinese investor is acquiring a skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles for $120m…

  Or a stunning ~$170M LESS than the debt owed

  Brookfield recently defaulted on a $319M loan tied to the property – at the time of default ~$290M was outstanding on the… pic.twitter.com/dDxORkTLgi

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 25, 2024

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  He pointed out Trump’s “incredibly well-timed deal” to sell the Trump International Hotel in 2022. 

  This is an incredibly well-timed deal pulled off by Donald Trump…

  In 2022 he sold The Trump International Hotel in Washington DC for $375M at the absolute top of the market

  Fast forward and the buyer recently defaulted on a $285M loan tied to the hotel after rebranding it to… pic.twitter.com/f2mIUDn5fR

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 23, 2024

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  A multi-family complex in foreclosure in Dallas, Texas. 

  This trend is very concerning…

  518 apartment units faces foreclosure in Dallas, Texas

  – Tides at Whispering Hill: 314 units
  – Tides at Lawler East: 204 units

  The total loan stood at $35M or ~$67K a unit

  First office buildings fell off a cliff…

  Now… pic.twitter.com/f4F8ZvJyod

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 20, 2024

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  He said, “Blackstone has filed to foreclose on the 33-story McGraw-Hill skyscraper in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.” 

  This is absolutely nuts…

  Blackstone has filed to foreclose on the 33-story McGraw-Hill skyscraper in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan

  The debt was originally financed by Signature Bank

  Things have gone from bad to worse in NYC and it doesn’t look like things are… pic.twitter.com/jZyYFB1f0q

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 19, 2024

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  And this. 

  This is absolutely brutal…

  Goldman Sachs and Ballast are set to surrender 82 apartment buildings (~1,200 units) in San Francisco to lender Royal Bank of Canada

  They recently defaulted on loans totaling $687.5M

  The apartments were purchased between 2017 and 2020 for $704M… pic.twitter.com/5o5HTkEqrs

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 18, 2024

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  More pain. 

  BREAKING NEWS:

  The owner of San Francisco’s largest apartment community has defauled on ~$1.8B in loans tied to the complex

  The 152 acre, 3,200 unit apartment community known as Parkmerced was just appraised at $1.4B, plummeting $700M from 2019 and $400M less than the total… pic.twitter.com/EzBH2nk1fS

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 16, 2024

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  It just gets worse.

  BREAKING NEWS:

  EJM Equities has defaulted on an office complex in a upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles (Playa Vista), owing $271M in unpaid debt

  They defaulted on a $250M loan from Morgan Stanley tied to The Bluffs office complex

  EJM Equities bought The Bluffs from JPMorgan… pic.twitter.com/0YONEQA1au

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 18, 2024

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  Oops. 

  This is very bad…

  The tallest building in Birmingham Alabama faces foreclosure

  Shipt Tower has been placed in receivership

  Wells Fargo, the previous anchor tenant, relocated in 2019 and overall occupancy has plummeted

  This looks to be just the start of the troubles for… pic.twitter.com/eHAfjttnuj

  — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) July 15, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  GnS Economics analysts Mate Suto and Tuomas Malinen recently warned:

  “Basically, almost every bank in the US is holding some type of CRE loan on their balance sheets. Therefore, it is no surprise that this is an area warranting close observation, especially because the risks posed by CRE exposure spread quite unevenly between large and small banks.”

  Fed Powell has a rolling crisis on his hands. And the goal is to save the fireworks for after the election. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 20:00

• Starter Homes Cost At Least $1 Million In 117 California Cities
  Starter Homes Cost At Least $1 Million In 117 California Cities

  Authored by Summer Lane via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  California is one of the most expensive places to buy a starter home in the country, as 117 cities in the state have so-called starter homes priced at $1 million or more, according to a real estate analysis from Zillow.

  

  New York was second to California, with $1 million starter homes in 31 different cities.

  According to the analysis, such homes are priced among the lowest third of home values in a given region. Nationwide, $1 million starter homes are for sale in 237 cities, up from 84 in 2019.

  Across the United States, the average starter home is $196,611. Over the past five years, those home values have increased by about 54 percent, according to Zillow.

  The company’s data showed that this rapid rise in prices had slightly increased the median age of a first-time home buyer from 34 in 2019 to 35 in 2023.

  The San Francisco metro area had the highest count of $1 million starter homes within its 44 cities, second to the New York City metro—which includes New Jersey and Pennsylvania—with 48 cities.

  In California, the Los Angeles metro follows closely behind San Francisco with 35 cities having such priced starter homes, and 15 in the San Jose area.

  The Southern California city of Irvine—with a population of over 300,000—is the largest city in the nation with $1 million starter homes, according to the analysis.

  According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time homebuyers in America represent 32 percent of the real estate market and their median income is $95,900.

  “Home buyers are battling affordability and availability today. So much so that $1 million is the norm for a starter home in hundreds of cities,” said Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy in a July statement.

  But he also said there would be “good news” ahead for first-time buyers.

  “More homes are for sale, price cuts are on the rise, and buyers have a few more days to weigh their options as homes sit on the market,” he said.

  Sophie Li contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 19:40

• Texas Crude Oil Pipelines Near Full Capacity, Potential Export Constraints Near 
  Texas Crude Oil Pipelines Near Full Capacity, Potential Export Constraints Near 

  Pipelines transporting crude from America’s top-producing shale basin to major export hubs in Texas are nearing capacity limits. With US crude production hitting record highs, these pipeline constraints could throttle US oil exports at a time when uncertainty looms in the energy and geopolitical spaces.

  Bloomberg cites new data from energy researcher East Daley Analytics, which says major pipelines between the Permian Basin and the Port of Corpus Christi pipeline are currently more than 90% full. That number could easily rise to 94% or 95% by the second half of 2025.

  

  Bloomberg pointed out, “While output is set to keep growing, it will be difficult for that incremental output to reach international buyers without ample pipeline space.” 

  Some of this crude will likely be redirected to the Houston area to ease congestion. Specifically, OneOK’s Longhorn and BridgeTex pipelines could serve as alternative routes for transporting crude to the Gulf Coast. 

  Meanwhile, Enbridge’s Gray Oak pipeline expansion could help alleviate some of the bottlenecks in the Corpus Christi route.  

  “Still, East Daley estimates even the company’s goal of increasing capacity on the line by 120,000 barrels per day won’t bring overall regional utilization below 90%,” Bloomberg said. 

  With the US leading the world in crude oil production…

  

  Export limitations on US energy products will spell disaster for the EU and other major trading partners that heavily rely on the US more than ever.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 19:20

• The Fiscal And Monetary Problem Is Not Hopeless
  The Fiscal And Monetary Problem Is Not Hopeless

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  A major factor in public ignorance of economics is the manner in which economic forces transcend politics. These days, if something is going on of some major sort that seems either out of the control of politics or involves both major political parties, it is easily disappeared from public life.

  

  That is the very essence of the inflation problem that has so seriously harmed the American standard of living. In the best estimate, the purchasing power of the dollar has fallen some 20 percent over four years. But depending on what you buy, or decline to buy simply because it is too expensive, the dollar could have lost 30 percent or even 50 percent depending on how one measures these things.

  How and why did this happen? Economists for many hundreds of years have attempted to point to the real source. Nobel Prizes have been given out for sweeping and deeply empirical studies trying to show this. Reduced to its very essence, the problem of inflation traces to the money stock. If it expands more quickly than economic output, the value of all existing units of money will decline.

  This is a law of nature, like gravity. There are complications within the law, of course, such as the precise mechanism by which newly created money lands in people’s bank accounts and is spent. There are other ways the scenario could unfold. Banks could hold the new money and not lend it out (2008 and following) or people could stuff new money in their mattress (1932 and following) thereby reducing money velocity.

  Still, by and large, and over the long term, the price level reflects the money stock. The last four years have provided a near-perfect demonstration of that fact. We can see it by overlaying M2 (the most accurate measure of the stock of money we have) with the price of commodities purchased by producers (which are unchanged in quality and not subjected to crazy adjustment schemes). The result shows the direct relationship: prices respond to the expanded money stock with a time lag.

  

  (Data: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), St. Louis Fed; Chart: Jeffrey A. Tucker)

  To be sure, there are other moving pieces. Deficit spending by Congress is what prompts the Treasury Department to issue the debt that the central bank (Federal Reserve) buys with computer entries (money printing). Without that step, the Fed would likely be called upon to intervene. But when the debt explodes, it cries out for a market of buyers. The Fed is there to pick up the tab. The result is an expansion of the money stock.

  Simple, right? I think so. One might suppose that this would be common knowledge. It is not. This is because we have propagandized for many decades that the central bank is the solution and not the cause of inflation. Yes, it is frustrating. But such is the nature of the world around us. Truth usually takes a back seat to political opportunism and institutional protection.

  Based on what I’m able to discern from existing data, it appears to be that the inflation problem (for now) has largely stopped getting worse at a fast rate. Writing in the summer of 2024, it does appear that annualized inflation is running at a rate consistent with the pre-lockdown past, at or below 2 percent. That does not mean that money is growing more valuable. It means that it is losing value at a rate far more slowly than in the most recent history.

  That said, we all need to disabuse ourselves of the possibility that prices will go back to 2019 levels. The damage is done. The standard of living has been deeply harmed. It is what it is and nothing will change that. To be sure, there are ways to drag the price level back but that would require a dramatic deflation. That would simply never happen, not under present conditions. All we can really do is accept this sad reality and move on with our lives.

  People are only now fully realizing what this inflation, even if it is stopped now, has done to their bank balances. The pain arrives every time you go to the store. If you have to replace some household appliance or a car, there is nothing but shock. Things are simply not adding up. A middle class income is now not enough. It’s a shocking reality and just now fully dawning on people. The media has been trumpeting a mythical recovery that does not exist.

  That’s not to say that there are no answers to improving our future. In some ways, the Trump team is correct to put the focus on one answer: a freed-up energy sector that enables more drilling and refining. There are oceans of wealth under our feet. Its extraction has been seriously throttled by the Biden administration in the name of climate control, if you can believe it. Reversing those policies will indeed drive down the price of oil and gas and make transportation more affordable.

  That will put downward pressure on prices. That would be much welcome. That said, a lower price for oil also reduces profitability and calls forth a reduction in drilling. It’s supply and demand. The only way to overcome this is dramatic deregulation that has some permanence to it, which is to say, a big regime change that becomes the new normal and cannot be reversed in four years by a new administration. That’s not easy.

  The only great challenge is the fiscal problem. The reason the Fed swung into action is entirely traceable to Congress and the wild spending that took place from 2020 and following. The resulting debt has to be dealt with somehow.

  I’m not among those who say that it can never be paid. Even awful fiscal problems are fixable with the right steps. The problem is that the steps absolutely must include dramatic spending cuts, meaning 1 to 2 percent of GDP for starters or about $280–500 billion, which is not even on the table.

  It could happen just like what happened in Argentina. The new president elected only last year slashed the budget and incredibly fixed the fiscal problem almost immediately. If you have high economic growth and a dramatically shrinking federal budget, plus mass deregulation, you inspire investors, lenders, consumers, and everyone. Even seemingly intractable problems can be made to evaporate rather quickly.

  The trouble is that there is very little political will in this country right now to cut the budget. And by cut, again, I don’t mean cuts in the rate of increase, like Washington language always says. I mean real cuts with whole agencies being made to disappear, dozens of them instantly. Doing this is entirely possible with political will. But I’ve yet to see any evidence that such will exists in the United States today.

  Argentina had to reach the point of full collapse before the population was ready to try radical solutions. But those solutions have so far worked. It would be wise and smart to pursue the solution before the emergency hits.

  For now, it seems like the inflation problem is not going to get dramatically worse. The damage is done and you feel it every time you go out shopping. This is our new reality. The money supply is relatively flat to gently rising so we can expect continued low rates of inflation using the existing price structures as the benchmark.

  That said, everyone should be worried about this idea of September rate cuts. Yes, everyone would welcome lower rates on mortgages and credit cards. But with that comes a loosening of money aggregates and a genuine risk of restarting the inflationary fires. The Fed still sits on a massively ballooned balance sheet with a monetary base in the range of $6 trillion. This has some serious inflationary potential.

  Remember what happened in the 1970s. There were fully three waves before the final horror hit in 1979-80. Is this our future? It does not have to be.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 19:00

• The Totalitarian Tactic Of The Smear Has No Place In Our National Discourse
  The Totalitarian Tactic Of The Smear Has No Place In Our National Discourse

  Authored by Jeff Minick via The Epoch Times,

  Thomas Jefferson proclaimed “all men are created equal” as a self-evident truth, but was a slaveholder. Ulysses S. Grant led the Northern armies to victory in the Civil War, but was a long-time alcoholic and also far too trusting of others, a fault that damaged his reputation and left him bankrupt at the end of his life. George Patton is recognized as one of our nation’s most brilliant generals, but possessed an explosive temper and a gutter vocabulary to go with it.

  

  All of these figures are flawed heroes, as are all the other great men and women from our past. The reason for this is simple: Heroes spring from the same clay as the rest of us, and to be human is to be flawed.

  Most of us accept small imperfections in others and in ourselves as part and parcel of the human package.

  Marriages and friendships survive, and are often enriched, by turning a blind eye to another’s shortcomings or making it a subject for gentle teasing.

  In the broader arena of public affairs, most of us follow this same route of discernment when supporting certain politicians. They draw us to their cause by their words and deeds, and though we see their weaknesses and defects, we cut them some slack. We deem their deeds greater than their defects. As for those politicians we oppose, our enmity should ideally derive from the programs they have proposed or from their voting records rather than from the half-truths conveyed via the news. Common decency demands we exercise wisdom and prudence in reaching our conclusions.

  Unfortunately, American politics has become a battleground of mudslinging and defamation.

  Both private citizens and those prominent in the public arena, including certain members of the media, tag those they consider their political enemies with derisive nicknames or broad labels, like sexist, fascist, or racist. They slap these often baseless smears onto an enemy hoping they will stick and so silence their opponent and shame their supporters. There’s no middle ground, no nuanced reflections, only the desire to attack and destroy.

  A penchant for vilification has poisoned our politics. Worst, it is corrupting our morals.

  When we call our opponents Nazis or libtards, deplorables or snowflakes, or any of the other often groundless insults making the rounds these days, we objectify those people, stripping them of their humanity. Though we may not realize it, by diminishing them we diminish ourselves.

  Totalitarians use this tactic of the smear all the time to create a scapegoat or to divide a population.

  The Nazis dehumanized Jews by depicting them as vermin. Soviet propaganda labeled middle-class farmers as kulaks, a word meaning “fist,” and depicted them in posters as fat and avaricious enemies of the state. The Chinese communist Cultural Revolution savaged tradition, intellectuals, and the middle class, and led to the death of millions.

  Our country is entering what will certainly become a nastier and even more acrimonious battle of charges and countercharges. Leaders and commentators who practice this totalitarian strategy, who flag entire groups of people by some derogatory name or who defame individuals with lies and absurd labels, deserve neither our respect nor support.

  By no means does this mean that we must yield on our principles or our causes.

  If anything, when this dangerous totalitarian tool of the smear is brought into play, we should stand even more steadfast for our beliefs. We must never surrender to these glib and ugly attacks on our basic principles.

  In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, some of our leaders have called for lowering the heated rhetoric that has marked our national conversation. We’ll soon see whether they’ll practice what they preach.

  In the meantime, we ourselves, you and I, can refuse to engage in the vicious name-calling and slurs that are tearing apart our country.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 18:20

• Thai Customers Angered By BYD Price Cuts Amidst "Chaotic" EV Market Competition
  Thai Customers Angered By BYD Price Cuts Amidst “Chaotic” EV Market Competition

  Price cuts on BYD vehicles in Thailand are “angering” current owners of the vehicles, just days after we noted how Chinese EV manufacturers were disrupting the EV market in the country. 

  BYD slashed prices on its Atto 3 SUV this month, aiming to stay ahead in a crowded market. Discounts of up to 340,000 baht ($9,460) are lowering the resale value for current owners, according to Nikkei Asia. 

  One owner named Darakorn, who bought a BYD in January 2023, said: “I was told the price would go up in two months, after the government subsidy expired. Usually, insurance covers 80% of the new car value, and it depreciates 10% per year, but the discount pushes it even lower.”

  According to Nikkei, with a bank loan and a government subsidy of 100,000 baht, the SUV cost him 1.19 million baht. Now, even the latest Atto models are priced under 1 million baht.

  Darakorn organized BYD owners on Facebook to explore a class-action lawsuit. Complaints have reached the Consumer Protection Board, which is now investigating the discounts offered by BYD and its competitors.

  “If you announced then that the price would drop 340,000 baht a year later, do you think anyone would have bought your cars at all?” he exclaimed.

  

  Recall, days ago we noted that it wasn’t just in Europe and the U.S. where the EV industry is seeing jolting effects of Chinese EVs entering their respective markets.

  The industry in Thailand has accidentally also set off chaos in their home market by offering subsidies to Chinese EV makers, a move that Nikkei Asia reported last week was “wreaking havoc” in Thailand. 

  The unintended consequences of EV subsidies have also affected supply chains, with at least a dozen parts producers shutting down as subsidized Chinese EV makers avoid buying from most of them.

  Since the Thai government introduced the EV subsidy scheme in 2022, 185,029 EVs have been imported. However, new EV registrations stand at 86,043, indicating an oversupply of around 90,000 vehicles.

  EVAT President Krisda Utamote, noting more Chinese EV makers are now investing in Thai production, said: “We are experiencing an EV oversupply as plenty of EVs imported from China over the past two years [remain in dealer] inventories.”

  The EV subsidy program, initiated in 2022 under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, aimed to make EVs more affordable by offering up to 150,000 baht ($4,130) per vehicle and eliminating tariffs on Chinese imports, provided the manufacturers produce an equivalent number in Thailand. Manufacturing was required to begin this year.

  

  Nikkei Asia reports that BYD, China’s largest EV maker, aggressively cut the price of its Atto model by 37%, while Neta reduced its V-II model price by 9%. When fully operational, Chinese EV makers in Thailand will have the capacity to produce about 750,000 vehicles annually.

  These subsidies have impacted the Thai automotive sector, which employs over 750,000 workers and contributes 11% to the GDP. The automotive sector is the fourth-largest economic contributor, following tourism (18%), retail (16%), and ahead of agriculture (8.6%).

  Sales of fossil fuel vehicles have declined since the subsidies, significantly affecting Japanese automakers who produce 90% of these vehicles in Thailand. Additionally, economic weaknesses have led consumers to cut back on expensive purchases, with vehicle sales in the first five months of the year down 23% from the same period in 2023, the lowest in a decade, according to the article. 

  Recall, we have also extensively covered how the EU is attempting to tariff their way out of oversupply problems and what the Union sees as a price distortions as a result of China’s contributions to the industry. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 18:00

• Minimum-Wage Increase Takes Toll On California's Fast-Food Restaurants, Survey Finds
  Minimum-Wage Increase Takes Toll On California’s Fast-Food Restaurants, Survey Finds

  Authored by Travis Gilmore via The Epoch Times,

  Two-thirds of California fast food restaurant operators who responded to an online survey believe their costs will increase at least $100,000 annually per location, according to a report released July 19 by the Employment Policies Institute—a Washington D.C.-based lobby group.

  

  Approximately 26 percent of respondents said they expect costs to increase by more than $200,000 at each location.

  In June and July, 182 operators were polled on their thoughts about a new minimum wage law requiring quick service restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide to pay employees a minimum of $20 per hour. The law took effect April 1.

  “Even before the $20 wage went into effect, fast food restaurants made it clear they would not be able to survive,” Rebekah Paxton, research director for the institute, said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

  “Now after just a few months, the policy has been a disaster, killing jobs and shuttering restaurants.”

  The report did not say how many restaurants have closed, but a study published July 10 by restaurant technology firm Snappy found that 897 fast food locations in the state have permanently closed since April 1.

  Ms. Paxton said state officials “should be listening to small business owners and their employees instead of trying to sugarcoat the truth.”

  Pointing to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data that shows growing employment in the fast food industry since the new minimum wage law took effect, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office rejected the survey results and any claims that the higher wage is jeopardizing the industry.

  Alex Stack, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, called the survey a “bogus online survey conducted by a DC lobbying firm.”

  “Federal government data shows the actual facts here—fast food jobs have increased every month this year, including since California raised the minimum wage for workers,” Mr. Stack told The Epoch Times.

  According to its website, the Employment Policies Institute is a nonprofit think tank that studies the impact of minimum wages and other issues that affect entry-level employment. Its founder, attorney Richard Berman, also owns Berman and Company, a public relations firm based in Arlington, Virginia. Both companies have a history of focusing on leisure, hospitality, and restaurant-related issues.

  The labor statistics data shows five consecutive months of job growth and an increase of nearly 3,000 jobs in the past year, with about 745,600 employed in the sector, in California, in May.

  Mr. Stack said higher wages for employees are proving beneficial for families and the state.

  “Simply put, what’s good for workers is good for California,” he said.

  The institute, however, said the data cited by the governor’s office is inaccurate because it is not seasonally adjusted and highlighted Federal Reserve data that suggests the industry is losing jobs—down about 6,300 since January and approximately 3,000 since the law took effect.

  “Employees are losing their jobs … restaurants are shutting down or moving out of state … [and] customers are eating out less,” Ms. Paxton said. “This isn’t good for workers, … restaurants, or California consumers.”

  When questioned about the impact of the higher costs, 98 percent of operators surveyed said they have already raised menu prices.

  Believing that some consumers are increasingly more price conscious, 92 percent of the restaurant operators surveyed said they expect the higher prices to reduce foot traffic.

  With the goal of reducing costs, 89 percent of survey respondents said they are reducing employee hours. Nearly three-quarters said they are limiting overtime, and 70 percent said they have reduced staff or consolidated positions.

  The number of employees at each location is expected to decrease, according to 75 percent of operators, with 25 percent saying staff levels will “significantly decrease.”

  Some restaurants have closed California locations in the past months, and nearly three-quarters of operators questioned said the likelihood of shutting down their restaurants has increased.

  Regarding future investments, 89 percent of owners said they are not expecting to expand their operations—with 73 percent saying they are “significantly less likely” to develop more locations.

  However, 59 percent said they are now more likely to invest in expansion outside of California.

  Determining the impact of the law, to date, is challenging, given the short time frame since higher wages were implemented.

  But now about three months into the new law, 93 percent of survey respondents said they will be forced to raise menu prices again in the next year, 87 percent will cut hours, and 74 percent will reduce staff.

  Some fast-food chains are charging significantly more for the same meal in California compared to locations in other states. Del Taco’s price for a combo meal with two tacos costs $14.79 in the Golden State, compared with $8.79 in Ohio, according to the company’s website.

  Executives representing some fast food chains anticipated such challenges earlier this year before the law took effect.

  “As we look to 2024 with elevated … prices and muted consumer confidence, we believe that consumers will continue to be more discriminating with their dollars,” Chris Kempczinski, president and CEO of McDonald’s, said in a February earnings call.

  The iconic Big Mac meal is now $13.69 in California, nearly $5 more than in Texas, where the average price is $8.79, according to Grubhub.

  Such price discrepancies are “because of the impact … of what we’re going to have to work through in California… and the significant wage increases,” Ian Borden, executive vice president and chief financial officer at McDonald’s, said in the earnings call. “We certainly know consumers are more wary or weary of pricing, and we’re going to continue to be consumer-led in our pricing decisions as we kind of look forward to 2024 and knowing that the environment will continue to be competitive.”

  The week after the new law became effective, managers at several fast-food restaurants across the state told The Epoch Times that menu prices would increase, and staff hours would be reduced to maintain profitability.

  “We already raised prices, and we’re … reducing hours and the amount of people working,” said Kevin Cortez, general manager of a Wendy’s location in Northern California.

  Some businesses are focusing on improving efficiencies and increasing automation using robots and artificial intelligence to reduce the number of employees needed.

  Others, including some Taco Bell and El Pollo Loco locations in Northern California, have installed kiosks in lobbies to take orders, reducing staff needed, and freeing up employees to work in the kitchen and perform other tasks.

  The 15-question survey was emailed to a list of quick-service operators in California—including some associated with partners of the surveyor–and researchers reported a margin of error of 7 percent.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 17:40

• Streaming Wars: Amazon Prime Video Shakes Up Streaming Ad Market, Undercutting Netflix
  Streaming Wars: Amazon Prime Video Shakes Up Streaming Ad Market, Undercutting Netflix

  The introduction of Amazon Prime Video’s ad-supported tier has pressured Netflix’s advertising plans and forced other top players in the streaming space to lower advertising prices amid ongoing ‘streaming wars.’ 

  Financial Times reported that the streaming ad market was upended earlier this year when Amazon announced plans to incorporate ads into movies and TV shows streamed on its Prime Video Service. 

  At the time, Amazon told customers, “This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, adding, “We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership.” 

  Amazon allowed customers to pay an additional $2.99 per month to avoid advertisements. 

  FT noted that Amazon entered a highly competitive market for ad-supported streaming services. Its rivals, including Netflix, Max, Paramount+, and Disney+, have already introduced ad tiers for cash-strapped consumers.   

  FT pointed out that Amazon is currently in the “up front” process, in other words, selling TV advertising time months in advance.

  “Amazon’s Prime Video is undercutting rival Netflix on advertising pricing, as it battles for marketers’ attention in an increasingly crowded field of ad-funded streaming services,” FT said. 

  

  Executives at rival platforms and advertising execs say the spot price for ad space on Amazon is cheaper than Netflix but slightly higher than Disney.

  According to advertising insiders, Amazon’s move into the video ad market has already forced rivals to lower rates.

  One rival executive mentioned Amazon’s “vast supply of inventory” has pressured prices lower. He said, “They knew what they were doing in terms of flipping everybody over into the tier.”

  Amazon converted more than 200 million global subscribers to the ad tier unless they opt out by paying for the premium ad-free service. This means the platform has one of the most massive audiences to attract advertisers. Netflix, on the other hand, has about 40 million on its ad tier.

  “Amazon is, in many ways, building the killer app,” John Terrana, chief media officer at the ad firm VaynerMedia, told The Wall Street Journal last month. It has “premium content, live sports, immense scale,” and advertisers can target ads to their customers and often see if a viewer bought the product on the platform.

  Jonathan Carson, chief executive of industry data provider Antenna, told FT that Amazon’s move earlier this year left it with a “sudden accumulation of an advertising audience, which is pretty powerful.” 

  In June, analysts at JPMorgan told clients that Amazon’s multibillion-dollar advertising business was one of the company’s “fastest-increasing revenue streams and one of its highest-margin businesses.”

  Chief executive Andy Jassy believes Prime Video can be “a large and profitable business on its own.”  

  So, as the streaming wars progress, Amazon’s move to convert its entire Prime Video subscriber base to a new ad-supported version will be enough to increase market share in the ad space, driving down rates, which in return crushes competition. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 17:20

• Hamas Leader Haniyeh Assassinated In Iran By Israeli Strike
  Hamas Leader Haniyeh Assassinated In Iran By Israeli Strike

  Update (2310ET): Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has confirmed the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, during an inauguration event for Iran’s new president. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, and an Iranian security guard were reportedly killed at their place of residence.

  🔴 IRGC: Head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh martyred in Tehran.#Hamas #Iran pic.twitter.com/HDQwlh3Xzv

  — Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) July 31, 2024

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  Israel had vowed to kill Hamas leaders soon after the group’s incursion on Oct. 7.

  The attack follows a strike by Israel on Beirut on Tuesday that targeted senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Shukr, reportedly the mastermind behind a recent attack that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, is believed to have died in the strike. The Lebanese health ministry reported that the strike killed three civilians, including two children, and injured 74 others.

  

  The death of the Hamas leader took place just hours after a significant portion of Israeli airspace was closed for unexplained reasons.

  NOTAMs have been issued in Israel, resulting in the closure of a significant portion of Israeli airspace.

  The NOTAMs were reportedly issued after a situational assessment. pic.twitter.com/FJjk3Xf5aj

  — Global: Military-Info (@Global_Mil_Info) July 31, 2024

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  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed a stern response to the Golan Heights strike, which Hezbollah denied responsibility for. Lebanon’s current prime minister condemned the airstrike and plans to file a complaint with the U.N. Security Council.In Tehran, during the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, senior figures from groups within Iran’s “axis of resistance,” including Haniyeh, were present.

  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed with one of his bodyguards in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/widFinIbnF

  — ZaidBenjamin زيد بنيامين (@ZaidBenjamin5) July 31, 2024

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  Shortly after his speech asserting support for Palestinians, news of Haniyeh’s assassination broke. Immediately after the news of Haniyeh’s death broke, multiple reports emerged that Hamas vengeance would be swift. Member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk said that the assassination of Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not be in vain.

  The price of oil rose after the report hitting a session high.

  * * *

  Update(1715ET): The Lebanese government has condemned the “blatant act of aggression” following the Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut. While some reports have claimed US warships are moving closer to Lebanon in the wake of the crisis, the reality is that American warships and military assets were already in the eastern Mediterranean region.

  Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) has reported that a female civilian was killed after a building was destroyed in Haret Hreik, in Beirut’s sout. “Sixty-eight civilians were injured, five of whom were critically injured, while the rest suffered moderate to minor injuries. Most of them were treated in emergency departments and were discharged from hospitals,” NNA said. 

  More footage has emerged showing the extent of damage.

  Israel just bombed a residential area near a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon and violated Security Council resolution SCR 1701 with absolutely no consequences. This is a war crime.

  Lebanon has the right to defend itself under international law. pic.twitter.com/JQPJDCXuX9

  — Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) July 30, 2024

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  Currently there are contrasting reports over whether or not Israel took out its target – Fuad Shukr, said to be a commander that oversaw the deadly weekend Hezbollah rocket salvo that left 12 dead in a Golan town.

  Two Israeli officials tell me there are growing indications that Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr has been killed in the airstrike in Beirut https://t.co/2ovjeq20PH

  — Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 30, 2024

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  * * *

  Israel’s anticipated big ‘retaliation’ has begun, apparently, after major airstrikes were felt in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Large smoke clouds were seen above a suburb in southern neighborhoods, sparking momentary panic and a large emergency response amid reported casualties.

  An Israeli military statement quickly owned up to the attack: “The IDF targeted in Beirut the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and killed many Israeli civilians,” a translated statement said.

  

  The destruction is large in scale, and took place at around 8pm local time in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, still within daylight hours just before nightfall.

  Earlier, a weekend missile attack from Lebanon (widely blamed on Hezbollah) killed 12 young people playing on a soccer field in the occupied Golan town of Majdal Shams.

  Foreign Minister Katz told a state broadcaster over the weekend, “There is no doubt that Hezbollah crossed all red lines.” And soon after that, the country’s war cabinet authorized the military to retaliate.

  Massive Damage to the Building which was Struck just now by an Israeli Airstrike within the Haret Hreik Neighborhood in the Suburbs of Beirut. pic.twitter.com/DOB8dku3HH

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 30, 2024

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  Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has announced just after the Tuesday Beirut strikes, “Hezbollah crossed the Red Line.”

  Harrowing footage of the strike aftermath points to large-scale casualties given it is a densely-packed civilian area…

  The Israeli regime has bombed the capital of Lebanon leaving Beirut in a state of emergency: if threats mean anything Tel Aviv should brace itself pic.twitter.com/RKC6T0sOfV

  — Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) July 30, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Given already there have long been fears of ‘all-out’ war in Lebanon, oil jumped on news of the attack.

  
  Israel is quickly signaling that this was a ‘limited’ attack and that it doesn’t seek full war in Lebanon. “At the moment, there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines,” the IDF said.

  Bloomberg’s live blog has cited Rosalind Mathieson, the outlet’s news director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, who comments:

  There are signs Israel was aiming for an action that sent a message without triggering a full blown war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu has also been opening the door to fresh talks for a cease-fire with Hamas on Gaza – and that wouldn’t be possible if Israel is engaged in a ground conflict with Hezbollah.

  Several Israeli news outlets reported earlier this week that the government was seeking a “limited but significant” action that sends a strong message to Hezbollah but ensures the situation doesn’t spiral out of control.

  More footage showing the large scale of the aerial bombing…

  BREAKING REPORTS: ISRAEL HAS BOMBED BEIRUT

  Beirut has been Hezbollah’s red line pic.twitter.com/VTSViPCJ3w

  — Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) July 30, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Many regional analysts believe that a broader war in Lebanon will draw in Iran-backed groups and actors across the region, eventually leading to an open war between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Hezbollah sources are meanwhile denying that Israel killed the senior commander that was targeted on Tuesday.

  TOP HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER TARGETED IN ISRAELI STRIKE ON BEIRUT SUBURBS HAS SURVIVED, TWO SECURITY SOURCES TELL REUTERS

  developing…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 17:15

• Meta Agrees To Pay Texas $1.4 Billion Settlement In Biometric Data Lawsuit
  Meta Agrees To Pay Texas $1.4 Billion Settlement In Biometric Data Lawsuit

  Authored by Jana J. Pruet via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas over its unauthorized capture and use of the personal biometric data of Facebook users, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced Tuesday.

  

  In a 2022 lawsuit, Mr. Paxton accused Facebook’s parent company of using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data of more than 20 million Texans without their permission. The information was captured in photos and videos uploaded to the social media platform, according to the 29-page lawsuit.

  The settlement is the largest obtained in a lawsuit brought by a single state, according to Mr. Paxton’s office.

  “After vigorously pursuing justice for our citizens whose privacy rights were violated by Meta’s use of facial recognition software, I’m proud to announce that we have reached the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,” Mr. Paxton said. “Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.”

  A Meta spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company was glad to resolve the issue with the state of Texas.

  “We are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investment in Texas, including potentially developing data centers,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

  The spokesperson noted that the agreement was not an admission of any wrongdoing.

  The Texas lawsuit was the first major case brought and settled under the state’s 2009 Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, making it unlawful to use facial recognition software to capture and store data without lawful consent. The law provides damages of up to $25,000 for each violation.

  According to the court documents, Facebook captured the biometric data through a feature known as “tag suggestions,” which was first rolled out in 2011.

  For nearly a decade, the company claimed the tag suggestions tool was implemented to make tagging photos easier for Facebook users. The feature was discontinued in September 2019.

  “Facebook was disclosing users’ personal information to other entities who further exploited it,” the lawsuit states. “Moreover, Facebook often failed to destroy biometric identifiers within a reasonable time, exposing Texans to ever-increasing risks to their well-being, safety, and security.”

  Meta will pay the state of Texas over five years, with the first installment due within 30 days of the executed date of the agreement.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 17:00

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• The UN's Green Agenda Will Spark Famine
  The UN’s Green Agenda Will Spark Famine

  Authored by Thi Thuy Van Dinh via The Brownstone Institute,

  “We The Peoples of the United Nations determined…to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,”

  – United Nations Charter Preamble (1945)

  This is the second part in a series looking at the plans of the United Nations (UN) and its agencies designing and implementing the agenda of the Summit of the Future in New York on 22-23 September 2024, and its implications for global health, economic development, and human rights. Previously the impact on health policy of the climate agenda was analyzed.

  

  The right to food once drove UN policy towards reducing hunger with a clear focus on low- and middle-income countries. Like the right to health, food has increasingly become a tool of cultural colonialism – the imposition of a narrow ideology of a certain Western mindset over the customs and rights of the ‘peoples’ that the UN represents.

  This article discusses how it happened and the dogmas on which it relies.

  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the farming equivalent of the World Health Organization (WHO), was founded in 1945 as a specialized United Nations (UN) agency with a mission to “achieve food security for all.” Its motto “Fiat panis” (Let there be bread) reflects that mission. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, it counts 195 Member States, including the European Union. The FAO relies on more than 11,000 staff, with 30% being based in Rome.

  Of its US$3.25 billion biennial 2022-23 budget, 31% comes from assessed contributions paid by Members, with the remainder being voluntary. A large share of voluntary contributions come from Western governments (US, EU, Germany, Norway), development banks (e.g. World Bank Group), and other lesser-known publicly- and privately-funded entities set up for assisting environmental conventions and projects (including the Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). Thus, like the WHO, most of its work now consists of implementing the dictates of its donors.

  The FAO was instrumental in implementing the 1960s and 1970s Green Revolution, associated with a doubling in world food production that lifted many Asian and Latin American populations out of food insecurity. The use of fertilizers, pesticides, controlled irrigation, and hybridized seeds was considered a major achievement for hunger eradication, despite resulting pollution to soil, air, and water systems and facilitation of the emergence of new resistant strains of pests. The FAO was supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) founded in 1971 – a publicly funded group with the mission to conserve and improve seed varieties and their genetic pools. Private philanthropies, including the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, also played supportive roles.

  Successive World Food Summits held in 1971, 1996, 2002, 2009, and 2021 have punctuated the FAO’s history. At the second summit, world leaders committed themselves to “achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries” and declared “the right of everyone to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger” (Rome Declaration on World Food Security). 

  Promoting the Right to Food 

  The human “right to food” was central to FAO policy. This right has two components: the right to sufficient food for the poorest and most vulnerable, and the right to adequate food for those more fortunate. The first component is to combat hunger and chronic food insecurity, the second provides for balanced and appropriate nutrient intake. 

  The right to food was consecrated as a basic human right under international law by the non-binding 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR, Article 25) and the binding 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, Article 11) with 171 States Parties and 4 Signatories. It is closely related to the right to work and the right to water, also proclaimed in the same texts. Their States Parties are expected to recognize fundamental rights focusing on preserving human dignity, and work toward their progressive achievement for their citizens (Article 21 UDHR, Article 2 ICESCR). 

  Article 25 (UDHR)

  1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services…

  Article 11 (ICESCR)

  1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.

  2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed:

  (a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources;

  (b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need. 

  The FAO assesses the progressive implementation of the right to food through the annual flagship State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) reports, jointly with four other UN entities – the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), and the WHO. In addition, since 2000, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has established a “Special Rapporteur on the Right To Food,” mandated to (i) present an annual report to the Human Rights Council and to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and (ii) monitor trends related to the right to food in specific countries (Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2000/10 and Resolution A/HCR/RES/6/2).

  Despite an increasing population, remarkable improvement in access to food at the global level continued until 2020. At the 2000 Millennium Development Summit, world leaders had set an ambitious goal to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,” among the 8 goals altogether aimed at developing the economy and improving acute health problems affecting low-income countries. 

  Millennium Development Goals (2000) 

  Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

  Target 1A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day

  Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People

  Target 1C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

  The UN reported that Target 1A of halving the proportion of people who suffered from extreme hunger, compared to the 1990 statistics, was successfully achieved. Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015, with most progress having occurred since 2000.

  On this basis, in 2015, the UN system launched a new set of 18 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to economic growth, social equity and well-being, environmental preservation, and international cooperation, to be achieved by 2030. In particular, Goal 2 on ending hunger in the world (“Zero Hunger”) is coupled with Goal 1 on “ending poverty in all its forms everywhere.”

  These goals appeared highly utopian, not taking into account factors like wars, population growth, and the complexities of human societies and their organizations. However, they reflected the global mindset at the time that the world was progressing toward unprecedented, steady economic growth and agricultural production to improve the living conditions of the poorest.

  Sustainable Development Goals (2015)

  2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

  2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.

  In 2019, FAO reported that 820 million people suffered from hunger (only 16 million less than in 2015) and almost 2 billion experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, and predicted that the SDG2 would not be achievable at current progress. The most affected areas were sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Western Asia.

  Complicit Suppression of the Right to Food through Covid-19 Emergency Measures

  Come March 2020, repeated waves of restrictions and interruption of income (lockdowns) were imposed on “the peoples of the UN” for two years. While UN staff, as part of the laptop class, continued to work from home, hundreds of millions of the poorest and most vulnerable lost their meagre incomes and were pushed to extreme poverty and hunger. The lockdowns were decided by their governments based on poor advice from throughout the UN system. On 26 March, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set out his 3-step plan: suppressing the virus until a vaccine became available, minimizing social and economic impact, and collaborating to implement the SDGs.

  UNSG’s Remarks at G-20 Virtual Summit on the Covid-19 Pandemic

  We are at war with a virus – and not winning it…

  This war needs a war-time plan to fight it…

  Allow me to highlight three critical areas for concerted G-20 action...

  First, to suppress the transmission of COVID-19 as quickly as possible. 

  That must be our common strategy.  

  It requires a coordinated G-20 response mechanism guided by WHO. 

  All countries must be able to combine systematic testing, tracing, quarantining and treatment with restrictions on movement and contact – aiming to suppress transmission of the virus.  

  And they have to coordinate the exit strategy to keep it suppressed until a vaccine becomes available…

  Second, we must work together to minimize the social and economic impact…

  Third, we must work together now to set the stage for a recovery that builds a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy, guided by our shared promise — the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

  It was remarkably naive or callous to claim that human, social, and economic impacts caused by the Covid response on hundreds of millions of the poorest and the most vulnerable were minimizable. Naturally, its promoters were not among those who suffered. A decision was made to impoverish populations and drag them down, yet claim publicly that development targets could still be achieved. Lockdowns were contrary to the WHO’s recommendations in 2019 for pandemic influenza (non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza; 2019).

  Only a few months prior to March 2020, the WHO had stated that in case of a pandemic, measures such as contact tracing, quarantine of exposed individuals, entry and exit screening, and border closures were “not recommended in any circumstances”: 

  However, social distancing measures e.g. contact tracing, isolation, quarantine, school and workplace measures and closures, and avoiding crowding) can be highly disruptive, and the cost of these measures must be weighed against their potential impact…

  Border closures may be considered only by small island nations in severe pandemics and epidemics, but must be weighed against potentially serious economic consequences.

  One can wonder if the UN had ever seriously weighed the social, economic, and human rights costs of the measures pushed by Guterres against expected benefits. Countries were encouraged to institute measures such as workplace and school closures that would entrench future poverty for the next generation.

  As was predictable, the 2020 SOFI report on Food Security and Nutrition estimated at least 10% more hungry people: 

  The COVID-19 pandemic was spreading across the globe, clearly posing a serious threat to food security. Preliminary assessments based on the latest available global economic outlooks suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may add between 83 and 132 million people to the total number of undernourished in the world…

  These are the individuals, families, and communities with no or little cushion who suddenly lost jobs and incomes, particularly in informal or seasonal economies, because of the panic caused by a virus predominantly threatening elderly people in Western countries. 

  During 2020, the WHO, ILO, and FAO regularly published joint press releases, but they disingenuously attributed the economic devastation to the pandemic, failing to question the response. This narrative was systematically deployed across the UN system, with the rare exception of the ILO, probably the bravest entity of all, which once pointed directly at the lockdown measures as the cause of massive job losses:

  As a result of the economic crisis created by the pandemic, almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers (representing the most vulnerable in the labour market), out of a worldwide total of two billion and a global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living. This is due to lockdown measures and/or because they work in the hardest-hit sectors.”

  Given the ILO’s estimation, it is reasonable to assume that the number of people pushed into hunger may well be higher than officially estimated. Adding to this is the number of those who also lost access to education, medical care, and improved shelter.

  The strangest thing about this entire episode is the lack of interest of the media, the UN, and major donors. While previous famines had generated wide and specific sympathy and responses, the Covid famine, perhaps because it was essentially directed by Western-based and global institutions and was more diffuse, has been mostly swept under the carpet. This could be a question of financial return on investment. Funding has been massively directed to initiatives to buy, donate, and dump Covid vaccines and supporting institutions driving the “pandemic express.”

  Recommended Approved Food Based on the Climate Agenda

  The FAO and WHO have been collaborating on developing dietary guidelines in order to “improve current dietary practices and prevailing diet-related public health problems.” They once recognized that links between constituents of food, disease, and health were poorly understood, and they agreed to conduct joint research. The cultural element of diets was also highlighted. After all, human societies had been founded on a hunter-gatherer model heavily reliant on wild meat (fat, protein, and vitamins), then introduced dairy and cereals step-by-step according to favorable climates and geography.

  Their partnership led to the joint promotion of “sustainably healthy diets,” which constitutes the consensus of individual approaches of the WHO’s “healthy diet” and the FAO’s “sustainable diets.” As the wording indicates, these guidelines are motivated by sustainability, defined as reducing CO2 emissions resulting from food production. Meat, fat, dairy, and fish are now the declared enemies and should be limited in daily consumption, with protein intake predominantly from plants and nuts, thereby promoting a quite unnatural diet compared to that for which our bodies evolved.

  The WHO claims that its healthy diet “helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.” However, it is then somewhat incongruously promoting carbohydrates over meat-based protein. 

  The following diet was recommended to both adults and young children by the FAO-WHO 2019 “Sustainable Healthy Diets: Guiding Principles” report:

  • Fruit, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils and beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice);

  • At least 400 g (i.e. five portions) of fruit and vegetables per day, excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots.

  • Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars.

  • Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats. Unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower, soybean, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard) and trans-fats of all kinds, including both industrially-produced trans-fats (found in baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen pizza, pies, cookies, biscuits, wafers, and cooking oils and spreads) and ruminant trans-fats (found in meat and dairy foods from ruminant animals, such as cows, sheep, goats and camels). 

  • Less than 5g of salt (equivalent to about one teaspoon) per day. Salt should be iodized.

  Little evidence on the health impact of the guidelines was presented to back up the report’s allegations of: i) red meats being linked with increased cancer; ii) animal source foods (dairy, eggs, and meat) accounting for 35% of the burden of food-borne disease due to all foods, and iii) the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet and the New Nordic Diet promoted by the report – both plant-based, with little to moderate amounts of animal-sourced foods. Although these diets are new, the FAO and WHO assert that “adherence to both diets has been associated with lower environmental pressures and impacts in comparison to other healthy diets containing meat.” 

  The sister organizations define sustainable healthy diets as “patterns that promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and wellbeing; have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe and equitable; and are culturally acceptable.” The paradoxes of this definition are paramount. 

  Firstly, imposing a diet is forcing cultural acceptance and, when reflecting the ideology of an external group, can reasonably be considered cultural colonialism. Diet is the product of culture based on centuries or even millennia of experience and food availability, production, processing, and preservation. The right to adequate food not only implies the sufficient quantity of food for the individuals and their families but also their quality and appropriateness. Examples are not scarce. The French still enjoy their foie gras despite the importation restriction, ban, and an international campaign against it. They also eat horse meat, which shocks their British neighbors.

  Dog meat, also a victim of negative campaigns, is appreciated across several Asian countries. Invoking moral judgment in these cases may be seen as a neo-colonial behavior, and battery farms of chickens and pigs do not fare better than force-fed geese or alleged cruel treatment to animals considered humans’ best friends in multiple contemporary societies. Western people, rich from fossil fuel use, demand that poorer people change their traditional diets in response is a similar but even more abusive theme. If the cultural aspect of diets is undeniable, then the right to self-determination of peoples, including cultural development, should be respected. 

  Article 1.1 (ICESR) 

  All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

  Secondly, at the time of their adoption in 1948 and 1966, the treaties’ provisions recognizing the right to food did not link food to its “environmental pressure and impact.” Article 11.2 of the binding ICESR (quoted above) refers to States’ obligation to implement agrarian reforms and technologies for the best use of natural resources (i.e. land, water, fertilizers) for optimal food production. Farming certainly uses land and water and causes some pollution and deforestation. Managing its impacts is complicated and requires local context, and national governments and local communities are better placed to make such decisions with scientifically founded advice and neutral (unpoliticized) support from external agencies, such should be expected from the UN. 

  The managerial job has become increasingly complicated with the UN’s emerging climate agenda. After the first UN Conference on Environment in 1972 in Stockholm, the green agenda slowly grew through and eclipsed the Green Revolution. The first World Climate Conference was held in 1979, leading to the 1992 adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (together with the non-binding Declaration on Environment). This Convention stated, without openness for further discussion, that human activities producing greenhouse gases were, unlike similar prior periods, the main cause of climate warming:

  UNFCCC, Preamble

  The Parties to this Convention…

  Concerned that human activities have been substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, that these increases enhance the natural greenhouse effect, and that this will result on average in an additional warming of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural ecosystems and humankind…

  With the UN’s goal to keep greenhouse gas emissions as low as pre-industrial levels, governments are now bound by obligations to maintain or reduce national emissions. Applied to agriculture in the context of constant population growth, it will inevitably lead to a reduction of food diversity, production, and accessibility, particularly affecting traditional food cultures emphasizing natural meats and dairy. 

  When the Climate Agenda Is More Important Than the Right to Food of “We The Peoples”

  In the draft document of the Pact For the Future (revision 2) to be adopted by world leaders in September in New York, the UN still proclaims its intention to eradicate extreme poverty; however, this goal is conditioned to “mitigating global CO2 emissions in order to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius” (para. 9). The drafters seem not to understand that reducing the use of fossil fuels will undoubtedly reduce food production and prevent billions of people from improving their economic well-being.

  As a result, the planned Actions 3 and 9 in the document appear to strongly push countries toward “sustainable agrifood systems,” and people toward adopting sustainable healthy diets as a component of “sustainable consumption and production patterns.” 

  Pact for The Future (revision 2)

  Action 3. We will end hunger and eliminate food insecurity.

  (c) Promote equitable, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems so that everyone has access to safe, affordable and nutritious food.

  Action 9. We will enhance our ambition to address climate change.

  (c) Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, including sustainable lifestyles, and circular economy approaches as a pathway to achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns, and zero waste initiatives.

  In the last decades, the right to food was sacrificed twice by the UN itself, first by the green agenda and second by lockdown measures supported by the UN for a virus predominantly affecting the wealthy countries where the climate agenda is based (and, ironically, where people consume the highest rates of energy). It now mostly means the right to certain types of approved foods, in the name of centralized and unquestionable determinations regarding people’s health and the earth’s climate. Veganism and vegetarianism are promoted while wealthy individuals and financial institutions close to the UN buy up farmland. An intent to make meat and dairyless affordable whilst investing in vegan meat and drink may be seen as a conspiracy theory (technically, it is). However such policies would make sense for climate agenda promoters. 

  In this quest, the FAO and WHO omit to highlight the high nutrition of animal fat, meat, and dairy. They also ignore and disrespect the fundamental rights and choices of individuals and communities. They appear on a mission to force people onto pre-approved foods of the UN’s choosing. The history of centralized control and interference in the food supply, as Soviet and Chinese experience taught us, is a very poor one. Fiat fames (let there be hunger) for “We the peoples?”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/30/2024 – 02:00

• The Mandarinate: The 3rd-Party That Isn't On The US Election Ticket
  The Mandarinate: The 3rd-Party That Isn’t On The US Election Ticket

  Authored by Amir Taheri via The Gatestone Institute,

  Barring another surprise “event,” the coming US presidential showdown is likely to be a duel between former President Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

  

  That duel, if it goes through, will include a number of new features.

  Harris is only the second woman to reach the last round in a US presidential contest. She is also the first “black” woman of Indian and Jamaican background to reach the penultimate rung of the ladder.

  There are novelties on Trump’s side as well.

  He is the second former president after Theodore Roosevelt to seek a return to the White House, in the face of opposition from his party’s traditional elite. But unlike Roosevelt who left the Republican Party to found his foredoomed Progressive Party, Trump did not leave and united it under his flag.

  One of the paradoxes of this election is that Republicans enter the final round unexpectedly united while Democrats, including some on the left, are still yes-butting Harris as their standard-bearer.

  American presidential elections have often been more about personality than policy.

  Of the 46 presidents the US has had, 31 had a military background up to the highest grades. Only Bill Clinton made his refusal to enlist for service during the Vietnam War a badge of honor.

  Barack Obama, who also had no service record, claimed military credit on behalf of his maternal grandfather who had served in the army. Grandpa’s picture is on the cover of Obama’s book, Dreams from My Father.

  This time round, neither of the finalists has a military record, even through grandpas, to boast about.

  What about other ingredients in an American presidential narrative?

  The standard fable presents the aspirant as hailing from a modest, occasionally poor, family living in a log cabin but moving up the social ladder thanks to hard work and personal merit. Bill Clinton made much of the claim that he had been an orphan raised by a selfless and dedicated mother, a theme that helped secure votes from single mothers.

  Such themes don’t work this time.

  Trump may have not lived in the penthouse of Trump Tower from the start, but certainly didn’t grow up in a log cabin either. Harris’s highly-educated parents managed to secure an upper-middle class status thanks to hard work and the luck to live in California, where positive discrimination is almost a creed.

  Thus, one might have assumed that the contest this time would shift attention from personalities to policy differences.

  The opposite has happened.

  The two camps have chosen personal attacks of the kind and at a level seldom seen before. The list of charges made against Trump is too long for this column. He is castigated as guilty of every sin imaginable, including the original one.

  As for Harris, she is caricatured as a Jezebel with a law degree and blamed for all the real or imagined failures of the Obama-Biden’s 12-year joint tenure in the White House.

  Since neither party allowed an open convention, key policy issues were not debated even at the party level.

  What are those issues?

  The first is that the US has been engaged in a cultural civil war for over a decade.

  The traditional vision of the US as a melting pot of cultural, religious and ethnic identities is challenged by what Samuel Huntington’s disciples present as a salad bar in which double-barrel identity is the rule. The clash of civilizations is happening inside the US.

  In it, everyone claims to be, and often genuinely feels to be, a victim.

  “We’ll take our country back” implies that someone has stolen it.

  The slogan “protect our social rights” means someone is trying to deprive Americans of public subsidies, positive discrimination and perks that almost half of the population receive.

  “Black Lives Matter” implies a system of values based on skin color.

  Another key issue is that of the nation’s ethno-demographic persona, which has been reduced to tittle-tattle about how many illegal immigrants to round up and expel rather than how to use managed immigration as a source of strength, as it has been in the US since its inception.

  One of the dangers that democracies face is that of the machinery of government morphing into a political party with its own culture, traditions, methods and, needless to say, interests — above all that of self-perpetuation. Thus, the US has a third, invisible party, besides the Republicans and Democrats.

  The Federal Government employs almost three million people. Of those, between 5,000 and 7,000 change when the White House changes occupants.

  Tenured, at times life-long, jobs help perpetuate a Mandarinate that sees its task as keeping the ship of state on a course it has set.

  That Mandarinate is especially well-entrenched in the State Department, the Pentagon, the Treasury and, more importantly, the judiciary.

  It also has well-established, at times incestuous, relations with lobbyists, single-issue activist groups, universities with their tenured academics, and think tanks with rotating doors to government departments and the media.

  The Mandarinate maintains close ties with those unmovable, effectively tenured members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

  Conspiracy theorists refer to this Mandarinate as “the deep state”.

  However, what we are dealing with isn’t the product of a conspiracy by a cabal in a black chamber. It is the organic product of a system in which democracy is reduced to elections, and elections reduced to a beauty contest, just as a set of rituals is often marketed as a religion.

  Winning an election is an art; governing is quite a different one.

  Another key issue is the redistribution of power at the federal and state levels. In several states, especially in the South, confederal anxieties abide. This is often unjustly seen as “redneck” prejudice or even rank racism. But the fact is that the closer the decision-making process is to those affected, the stronger a democracy is.

  Trump has tried to express that view in his bull-in-the-china-shop style, while advocating the opposite by calling for an increase in presidential power.

  Elitist Democrats on the other hand preach the old federalist gospel of states close to water — especially the two oceans and the Great Lakes.

  This is why Democrats portray the recent decision by the Supreme Court on allowing some states to set their own rules on abortion as an attack on democracy rather than a move towards decentralization that could be extended to other issues.

  Rebalancing power between Washington and the states has been an issue since the end of the Civil War.

  The states of the defeated Confederacy suffered 12 years of military occupation by the Union army, not to mention plundering by “carpetbaggers,” at the end of which they signed a treaty that, while ruling out fissiparous dreams, promised a rebalancing process that never happened.

  While the two candidates fire abuse at one another, the voter isn’t told what they actually mean to do about cracks in the structures of world order, the war in Ukraine, China as a threat or a rival, the exponential rise of anti-Semitic activities and the deepening of incivility in public life.

  On November 5 the Mandarinate or the third party won’t be on any ticket.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 23:45

• Defense Secretary Orders Review Of 20 Medals Of Honor Awarded For Wounded Knee
  Defense Secretary Orders Review Of 20 Medals Of Honor Awarded For Wounded Knee

  Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered a review of the Medals of Honor awarded to 20 U.S. Army soldiers for their role in a deadly armed clash at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, on Dec. 29, 1890.

  

  The memorandum Mr. Austin wrote on July 19, which the Department of Defense published last week, directs the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to form a special panel to review the Medal of Honor citations and other supporting documentation for the awards. The panel will then decide whether each soldier’s conduct warranted a Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration for valor.

  Often referred to as the “Battle of Wounded Knee” or the “Wounded Knee Massacre,” the clash came about when members of the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry and other units attempted to disarm a group of Lakota tribe members. Accounts differ as to how exactly the shooting began, but the disarmament effort devolved into an exchange of fire in which an estimated 250 Native Americans, including women and children, were killed and about 100 more were wounded.

  Mr. Austin’s memo listed the 20 Medal of Honor recipients from the Wounded Knee battle.

  Of the 20 Medal of Honor recipients, 16 were members of the 7th U.S. Cavalry: Sgt. William Austin, Pvt. Mosheim Feaster, 1st Lt. Earnest Garlington, 1st Lt. John Gresham, Pvt. Matthew Hamilton, Pvt. Marvin Hillock, Pvt. George Hobday, Sgt. Bernhard Jetter, Sgt. George Loyd, Sgt. Albert McMillan, Pvt. Thomas Sullivan, 1st Sgt. Frederick Toy, 1st Sgt. Jacob Trautman, Capt. Charles Varnum, Sgt. James Ward, and Pvt. Hermann Ziegner.

  Three members of the 1st U.S. Artillery also received Medals of Honor: Army Musician John Clancy, Pvt. Joshua Hartzog, and Cpl. Paul Welnert.

  And 2nd Lt. Harry Hawthorne, of the 2nd U.S. Artillery, received a Medal of Honor.

  Native Americans, political leaders, and other activists have, for years, called for the awards to be rescinded. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democratic lawmakers repeatedly proposed legislation between 2019 and 2021, and Congress included a provision in the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act recommending that the Defense Department review the awards.

  Two of the Medal of Honor awards credit soldiers with rescuing their wounded comrades during the exchange of fire at Wounded Knee Creek. Two citations credit recipients for continuing to fight and demonstrating bravery after being wounded in the engagement. Another citation credits an officer with leading a charge to capture high ground and cover another troop of soldiers who were withdrawing from the engagement. Still another citation appears to credit a soldier with reenlisting after he “killed a hostile Indian at close quarters” during the engagement.

  Four of the Medal of Honor awards focus on soldiers who fought to dislodge groups of Native Americans positioned in one or more ravines near the creek. Another citation credits an artillery soldier with continuing to advance his cannon crew during the engagement after his commanding officer was wounded.

  There are 11 less descriptive citations, simply crediting soldiers with “bravery,” “gallantry,” “gallant conduct,” and “distinguished conduct” during the Wounded Knee engagement, with few additional details.

  The standards for awarding the Medal of Honor have evolved over time. The defense secretary’s memo states that the review will consider whether any of the awards were given in violation of the Medal of Honor standards in place at the time they were awarded. The review will also examine witness accounts and historical documents, looking for a range of disqualifying actions, including “intentionally directing an attack against a non-combatant or an individual who has surrendered in good faith, murder or rape of a prisoner, or engaging in any other act demonstrating immorality.”

  “It’s never too late to do what’s right,” a senior defense official said in a statement from the Department of Defense. “And that’s what is intended by the review that the secretary directed, which is to ensure that we go back and review each of these medals in a rigorous and individualized manner to understand the actions of the individual in the context of the overall engagement.”

  The Associated Press contributed to this article.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 22:55

• These Are America's Most-Visited National Parks
  These Are America’s Most-Visited National Parks

  Visitor numbers have been steadily increasing across national parks in the U.S., as more people are opting to trade city skylines for mountain peaks and lush forests.

  In 2023, U.S national parks welcomed 93.4 million visitors and saw a 4% year-over-year increase from 2022.

  According to National Park Service data, national parks made up 28% of all visits out of all nationally-regulated park types, which includes national monuments, memorials, historic sites, and more.

  This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the top 10 busiest national parks in the United States by number of visits in 2023. Visits includes recreational visits, and excludes non-recreational visits and camping.

  

  The data comes from the National Park Service and is updated as of February 2024.

  Western U.S. Home To Busiest National Parks

  Great Smoky Mountains, which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, saw almost three times the amount of visits compared to second-place Grand Canyon. It is consistently the most visited national park in the country.

  

  This sprawling park is easily accessible for many Americans, located just a day’s drive away for more than half of the U.S. population.

  In terms of location, Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia are outliers among the top 10. The Western United States is home to a majority of the busiest parks, like Grand Canyon in Arizona, Zion in Utah, Yellowstone in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, and Yosemite in California.

  The western half of the country is known for its extensive protected areas, natural landmarks, and outdoor recreation opportunities. California is home to the highest number of national parks, at nine, while other western states like Utah (five parks) and Colorado (four parks) rank among the top five.

  Acadia, the only park located in the Northeastern U.S., is significantly smaller compared to other top national parks, spanning about 49,000 acres, compared to the next smallest park, Zion, which has an area of 147,242 acres.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 22:30

• Evening Protests Explode In Venezuela As Opposition Crowds Descend On Caracas, Head To Presidential Palace
  Evening Protests Explode In Venezuela As Opposition Crowds Descend On Caracas, Head To Presidential Palace

  Summary: While things were somewhat calm through much of the daylight hours on the streets of Caracas, tensions are now at boiling point and full-blown confrontations with police as thousands of opposition supporters have been literally walking, some from rural areas, to the Presidential Palace. BBC and CNN are confirming that Maduro’s security services have fired tear gas and rubber bullets against outraged demonstrators who believe Sunday’s election was stolen. Some US members of Congress have added their voice, urging the White House not to recognize the results of a Maduro victory.

  “Thousands of people descended on central Caracas on Monday evening, some walking for miles from slums on the mountains surrounding the city, towards the presidential palace,” writes BBC. A handful of other cities have also witnessed unrest Monday, confirms CNN: “Protests were also reported in other cities, including Maracay, where opposition activist Esthefania Natera told CNN that people were on the streets “to yell and demand to tell the truth because we know the real results.” The coastal state of Falcón saw demonstrators topple a statue of leftist icon and Maduro mentor Hugo Chavez, according to activists posting video on social media.

  Wow. Incredible scenes from Venezuela tonight of people toppling Hugo Chavez statue in Calabozo, Guarico. Protests spreading across towns & cities against Maduro after accusations of fraud elections: https://t.co/L2FFTv5axi

  — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) July 30, 2024

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  Like with prior instances of brief unrest in the last couple years, in some areas police and military personnel appear to have retreated or even abandoned their armored vehicles.

  JUST IN: Images emerging from Venezuela seem to point to an imminent civil war..

  Citizens have been captured on Video taking over military vehicles..

  DEVELOPING..pic.twitter.com/cxTNQ08vGy https://t.co/5nXznCaX2c

  — Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) July 29, 2024

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  Some US hawks are openly calling for regime change, and have urged the protesters to go all the way to the Presidential Palace to confront socialist strongman Maduro…

  HAPPENING NOW 🚨 Venezuela is in total chaos with THOUSANDS of protestors getting shot at

  Venezuela has FALLEN, say a prayer for them 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CTYss4wSr1

  — Marjorie Taylor Greene Press Release (Parody) (@MTGrepp) July 30, 2024

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  There actually appears to be more than one Chavez statue that has been toppled in different locations at this point, a huge and fierce message by protesters aimed at the regime.

  🚨#Venezuela: The statue of Hugo Chávez in Falcón state is being toppled amid growing protests against electoral fraud by Maduro’s tyrannical regime.

  🇻🇪✊️When people stand united, they become an unstoppable force for progress!#FreeVenezuela #OpVenezuela #VenezuelaLibre pic.twitter.com/VboVktr6l7

  — Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) July 29, 2024

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  * * *

  earlier: By most accounts, things are surprisingly quiet on the streets of Caracas, despite the opposition candidate Edmundo González and his backers, specifically the prominent and outspoken Maria Corina Machado, loudly contesting the result. There have been some reports of protesters blocking highways and burning tires, including to the capital’s international airport, however. It’s not just that the opposition says that the election was stolen, but that González actually won by a land-slide: “Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said early on Monday that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 70% of the vote in a presidential contest over the weekend,” writes Reuters. This came just after the government controlled national electoral council announced a 51% victory for President Nicolas Maduro. This flew in the face of several exit polls. According to more from Bloomberg: “After a lengthy delay following the closing of polls, Venezuela’s electoral center said Maduro won 51.2% of the vote, compared with 44.2% for rival Edmundo González. But opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from running, said her coalition had gained access to 40% of the tabulated votes and had González winning 70% of the vote so far.”

  The international reaction has rolled in since the early morning hours. Predictably, the United States has raised “serious concerns” over the voting process, but overall the Biden White House has issued a fairly tame message. “It is critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observes without delay and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulations of votes,” Secretary Blinken said. As for Mexico, it also issued a calm statement, with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador saying: “If the electoral authority confirms the current trend, we will recognize the government-elect.”

  But this is contrasted in the reaction of firebrand conservative Argentina President Javier Milei: “Argentina will not recognize another fraud, and hopes that this time the Armed Forces will defend democracy and popular will,” he had said just ahead of the announced election results. Peru too said it will not recognize the results, and even recalled its ambassador from Venezuela for consultations. “I condemn in all extremity the sum of irregularities with the intention of fraud committed by the Venezuelan government. Peru will not accept the violation of the popular will of the Venezuelan people,” Foreign Minister Javier Gonzales-Olaechea posted on X.

  

  Russia and China of course stand out as strong backers of Maduro, with President Putin congratulating him on his win: “Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership. I am confident that your activities at the head of state will continue to contribute to their progressive development in all directions.” Putin even said, “Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil.”

  And China and Cuba: China hailed Maduro’s “successful re-election” said the country should be praised for “smoothly holding its presidential election,” according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. “China stands ready to enrich our all-weather strategic partnership and better benefit the peoples of both countries,” the statement said. “China and Venezuela are good friends and partners who support each other.” Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed support for his “brother” Nicolas Maduro… “your victory, which is that of the Bolivarian and Chavista people, has cleanly and unequivocally defeated the pro-imperialist opposition,” he wrote on X. “They also defeated the regional, interventionist and Monroist right. The people spoke and the Revolution won.” All of these countries, including Russia, are military allies with Caracas as well.

  Meanwhile, the last 24 hours of voting in Venezuela has sparked a fierce online debate about who is ultimately to blame for the country’s longtime severe economic woes, which has lately seen waves of mass migration. Socialism or sanctions?… or perhaps decades of both/and… 

  Don’t turn off your critical thinking skills just because you have been told Venezuela is “socialist” your whole life. The Venezuelan opposition have claimed fraud and contested virtually every election that they have lost since Chávez came to power. Yet they can never provide…

  — Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) July 29, 2024

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  Some in Congress are already calling for immediate action from the US administration, and urge that Maduro’s third term should not be recognized.

  Some are also calling for some kind of political intervention (or worse) with a declaration only recognizing the opposition (Juan Guaido-style).

  Times like these remind us why socialism can be voted in, but removing it is nearly impossible. I urge the Biden administration and America’s regional partners to act swiftly and not recognize Venezuela’s illegitimate election. pic.twitter.com/J6agRX0E4Z

  — Carolina Amesty (@carolina_amesty) July 29, 2024

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  * * *

  Update(02:00ET): The Venezuelan government has announced official election results shortly after midnight: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has won a third term with 51% of the vote, announced the country’s electoral authority, with 80% of ballot boxes counted. But there are widespread reports that several key exit polls pointed to a huge opposition upset victory by Edmundo González.

  The opposition is claiming victory and that the election has been stolen amid reports that Maduro’s security forces have deployed significant numbers of armored vehicles and heavily armed-police to the streets of Caracas ahead of likely unrest.

  The opposition is further calling on the military to turn against Maduro and back the ‘rightful’ victory of Gonzalez.

  Venezuela’s political opposition vehemently rejected the electoral authority’s ruling that Nicolás Maduro was reelected as the nation’s president, calling on the military to intervene https://t.co/mDQI7sWEEb

  — Bloomberg (@business) July 29, 2024

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  The Associated Press has detailed in an overnight update:

  Venezuela’s opposition claimed Edmundo González defeated President Nicolás Maduro in Sunday’s presidential election, setting up a showdown with the government, which earlier declared Maduro the winner.

  “The Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened,” González said in his first remarks. Opposition leader María Corina Machado made the announcement standing alongside González, whose margin of victory she said was “overwhelming.” Earlier the opposition said it had obtained voting tallies from about 30% of ballot boxes nationwide, with more expected overnight.

  The National Electoral Council, which is controlled by Maduro loyalists, has yet to provide the tallies from 30,000 polling booths nationwide.

  

  Regardless of what actually happen or what will happen in terms of the possibility of violence, it’s clear that the leftist and socialist Venezuelan government just suffered its most significant electoral test and shock in decades.

  Some regional and external governments have signaled they will not recognize Maduro’s ‘win’…

  BREAKING: Venezuelan National Electoral Council says President Nicolas Maduro has won the election despite exit polls suggesting the opposite.

  The council claimed Maduro won with 51.20% of the vote.

  Argentina president Javier Milei announced that Argentina would not be… pic.twitter.com/ItctgVzvz9

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 29, 2024

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  The populace could be gearing up for a fight, but if violence doesn’t spiral within the next 24-48 hours, the situation is likely to remain stable. All eyes will also be on Washington Monday, waiting to see how forcefully the US administration condemns the outcome.

  Meanwhile, an interesting recent admission and revelation…

  Ahead of Venezuela’s election, John Bolton admitted to the Washington Post that he knew that the Trump admin’s crippling sanctions and coup attempt against Venezuela would destroy its economy and force millions to flee:

  “There was no doubt the sanctions, along with the general… pic.twitter.com/woW7cVYlf3

  — Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) July 29, 2024

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  * * *

  President Nicolas Maduro alarmed and riled his enemies as well as Washington and its allies by declaring just ahead of Sunday’s elections: “If you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success and greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.”

  Many pundits are taking this as a warning that he’ll refuse to give up power in the unlikely event he loses his bid for six more years in office, which would be his third term. While there are eight names total on the ballot as Venezuelans wait in long lines to vote Sunday, 74-year old opposition candidate and former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is considered the only real contender who has a chance of defeating Maduro.

  González is basically the surrogate candidate for María Corina Machado, who has organized the opposition and has become wildly popular, even recently gaining name recognition abroad and in US media.

  

  Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) have ruled over the central American country since 2013, after he took over following the death of his mentor, far-left icon Hugo Chavez.

  Millions of desperate citizens have already left their country in search of work and opportunities abroad amid a crushed economy and rampant accusations of corruption against Maduro government officials. Millions more may leave if his power is extended for another term.

  Polls have seen massive queues since they opened at 6am, but already there are reports of barriers in pro-opposition areas and stories of black-clad, masked men blocking voting stations, as The New York Times has alleged. “The destiny of Venezuela depends on our victory,” Maduro has proclaimed at campaign rallies, while decrying efforts of a hidden imperialist foreign hand to thwart his aims, as well as longtime US-led sanctions.

  Both the United States and Brazil have issued messages of “we’re watching closely”:

  Asked in a press briefing whether Maduro was likely to rig Sunday’s vote, John Kirby, White House national security spokesperson, said it was difficult to know how the situation would play out but that the U.S. wanted “to make it clear to Mr. Maduro that we’re watching, we’re watching closely.”

  Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has also urged Maduro to respect the results, telling international news agencies that he was “scared” by the Venezuelan’s recent remarks, Reuters reported.

  Brazil’s president added that Maduro “needs to learn that when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave.”

  Very, very long queues to vote in Venezuela’s election today. Here’s a timelapse #VenezuelaVOTA #venezuela pic.twitter.com/l3jMQ4hZJH

  — Catherine Ellis (@Cat_lucy1) July 28, 2024

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  Some analysts expect some degree of unrest and violence to break out no matter who emerges victorious, with either side set to contest.

  “On the basis of their own exit polls, the opposition will probably declare victory and push for regime change, ushering in a period of heightened political tension and uncertainty ahead of the inauguration,” Andre Masuko, a research analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit, stated to CNBC.

  President Nicolas Maduro ahead of Sunday’s elections: “If you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success & greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.” pic.twitter.com/rao45c0NIC

  — Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) July 24, 2024

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  “However, we do not expect the Maduro regime to be overthrown. His strict control over the country’s institutions, including the security forces, the judiciary and the electoral national council (CNE), will be instrumental in helping him to stay in power,” he underscored.

  One big unpredictable scenario of huge consequence is whether the US would throw its support behind any opposition allegations claims of widespread election abuse and fraud.

  Meanwhile, the usual Neocon suspects in Congress are alleging a ‘stolen’ national election before the ballots are even in…

  If the election in #Venezuela today is legitimate Maduro will lose by 40 points

  But the election commission that counts the votes is controlled by the Maduro regime and they will do everything they can to try and steal it pic.twitter.com/EhxzGZjb1j

  — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 28, 2024

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  Washington weighing in too forcefully would set the stage for another anti-opposition crackdown by Maduro government security services.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 22:30

• San Diego Postpones Discussion On 1,000-Bed Shelter Proposal To September
  San Diego Postpones Discussion On 1,000-Bed Shelter Proposal To September

  Authored by Sophie Li via The Epoch Times,

  Discussion on San Diego’s plan to lease and convert a commercial building into a long-term 1,000-bed homeless shelter and resource center is now postponed until September, the mayor announced July 25.

  

  The San Diego City Council voted 7–2 on July 22 to revisit the topic later, and Mayor Todd Gloria said Thursday that the decision to further delay the discussion was made to allow additional time for project review.

  Concerns that have been raised by the council include property rent, operational cost, and insufficient analysis of the leasing terms.

  According to Mr. Gloria, during the delay, city officials will work with the city attorney’s office regarding such feedback and will also convene a working group to develop a design and preliminary operations plan.

  “As Mayor, I am resolute in further expanding shelter because the status quo on our streets is unacceptable,” Mr. Gloria said in a statement.

  Under a 30-year lease agreement, the city plans to renovate a commercial building in the city’s Middletown area, near the airport, into a homeless shelter campus. The facility will include a commercial kitchen, laundry facilities, dining areas, recreation spaces, and showers.

  In addition to providing shelter, the project will offer job training, meals, housing navigation, and behavioral health support.

  The 65,000-square-foot property, located at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street, covers 1.8 acres and includes a two-story building with 134 parking spaces.

  The city council’s vote on July 22 instructed city attorneys and staff to prepare an analysis of the lease before its July 30 meeting.

  While some councilors remain open to further discussions on the project, councilors Vivian Moreno and Kent Lee both voted against doing so, citing concerns that the terms presented in the lease are financially irresponsible.

  “The real estate transaction that is at hand is not one that truly does protect the taxpayers,” Mr. Lee said during the meeting.

  “The only responsible thing to do to protect our taxpayers, in not simply just to prolong this discussion, it would be to actually reject these lease terms.”

  Councilors who voted to continue deliberations also expressed concerns about what they said was an insufficient analysis of the lease terms and the project’s costs.

  Last week, the city’s Office of Independent Budget Analyst raised questions about the project’s affordability.

  Over the city’s lease term, the cost is expected to be $72 million.

  Instead, the budget analyst proposed that the city could save $15.7 million by purchasing the property and then renovating it.

  However, according to the mayor, the property is currently not available for sale.

  The analysts’ report highlighted concerns about “significant upfront and ongoing costs,” including rent, lease operations, tenant improvements, and program expenses.

  The mayor’s office estimates that facility maintenance costs will reach $12.5 million over the lease term, with an additional $26.4 million needed annually for operational expenses.

  

  San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria speaks at the press conference at H Barracks on June 6, 2024. (Jane Yang/The Epoch Times)

  The report also detailed a monthly cost of $32,000, covering property taxes, maintenance, utilities, and insurance.

  Analysts also said that these costs exceed the budget currently allocatedfor homeless programs for the 2025 fiscal year.

  Currently, under the lease agreement, the city is responsible for upgrading the structure to meet the shelter’s needs. However, the councilors argued that such upgrades should not be the city’s responsibility as a tenant.

  “I do not believe that we should be using taxpayer money to fix [the property owner’s] roof,” Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert said.

  Some councilors indicated they might support the project if the terms were revised.

  The mayor asked the council for more specific bargaining points the following day.

  “My administration is happy to continue refining the current proposal, but council members must provide specific negotiating points, which I am immediately requesting from them,” Mr. Gloria said in a statement on July 23.

  No specific date has been set for further discussions. The council is in recess in August.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 22:05

• Rhinos (& Pangolins) Are The World's Most-Trafficked Animals
  Rhinos (& Pangolins) Are The World’s Most-Trafficked Animals

  Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth largest illegal trade when including fisheries and plantlife, after narcotics, human trafficking and counterfeit products, according to the U.S. Homeland Security. 

  According to Germany’s Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, wildlife crimes are frequently associated with other types of crimes, such as money-laundering, corruption as well as tax and customs fraud, but these are only rarely pursued when dealing with wildlife offenses.

  The overlapping of wildlife crime with other serious organized crimes makes it a “convergent crime”.

  While shark-finning has gained prominence in the news recently, as Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, the animals most affected by illegal wildlife trade in 2015-2021 were rhinos, pangolins and elephants, together accounting for nearly three quarters (73 percent) of all of all seizure records.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Interpol warns that as the illegal wildlife trafficking sector continues to grow, it is contributing to pushing species towards extinction. This too is highlighted in the World Wildlife Crime Report 2024, which reveals how 73 percent of the trafficked mammals seized between 2015 and 2021 were considered under threat, while the same was true for 62 percent of the seized amphibians and 59 percent of reptiles.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 21:40

• Mississippi Law Allowing Ballots To Be Received After Election Day Lawful: Judge
  Mississippi Law Allowing Ballots To Be Received After Election Day Lawful: Judge

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

  A Mississippi law that allows ballots received up to five days after an election to be counted is lawful, a federal judge ruled on July 28.

  

  U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. pointed, in part, to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which governs ballots from citizens residing overseas.

  “So if one federal statute implicitly allows post-election receipt of overseas ballots mailed by election day, that statute is presumed not to offend against the election-day statutes, from which one may infer that the similar Mississippi statute on post-election receipt is likewise inoffensive,” the judge wrote in a 24-page ruling.

  The ruling dismissed cases brought against Mississippi officials by the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi.

  The Mississippi law requires officials to count absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day, provided that the ballots are received no more than five business days after the election.

  The U.S. Constitution’s elections and electors clause gives Congress the power to set Election Day for determining electors for president and vice president, as well as the date for voters choosing members of Congress. Congress later established a single day for the selection of electors and voting for members of Congress.

  The Mississippi law “contravenes those federal laws” because it “effectively extends Mississippi’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress,” Republicans said in their complaint.

  They argued that the law was forcing them to spend money to educate voters on the post-Election Day receipt deadline and urged the court to declare the law illegal and block its enforcement.

  Mississippi officials said the law does not directly conflict with federal statutes because those statutes do not address whether ballots must be received on or by Election Day.

  Although Republicans and the Libertarian Party did establish standing, Judge Guirola found that they did not show that the law is illegal or unconstitutional.

  He cited previous rulings from courts, including a 2023 district court ruling that upheld an Illinois law that lets ballots postmarked on or before Election Day be counted if received up to 14 days after Election Day.

  In that ruling, the judge referenced the UOCAVA and noted that the attorney general of the United States “often seeks court-ordered extensions of ballot receipt deadlines to ensure that military voters are not disenfranchised.”

  “These longstanding efforts by Congress and the executive branch to ensure that ballots cast by Americans living overseas are counted, so long as they are cast by Election Day, strongly suggest that statutes like the one at issue here are compatible with the Elections Clause,” Judge Guirola said.

  “In the absence of federal law regulating absentee mail-in ballot procedures, states retain the authority and the constitutional charge to establish their lawful time, place, and manner boundaries.”

  Since the Mississippi law is legal, there are no violations of plaintiffs’ constitutional rights, the judge said.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 21:15

• The War On Raw Milk
  The War On Raw Milk

  Does anyone else find it strange that Covid experts, such as epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, are back in the media, now sounding the alarm about bird flu as the next pandemic? They’re even scaremongering about raw milk, claiming it will contribute to the spread. Sound familiar? Must stop the spread (early Covid).

  In April, we informed readers that corporate media was ramping up a propaganda campaign to spook Americans about the bird flu. We cited Covid experts who warned the bird flu pandemic could be ‘100 times worse than Covid.’ And even noted this: “Gain-of-Function May Explain Bird Flu Jump To Cows And Humans.”

  “This bird flu has arrived in US very fast and furious…definitely don’t drink raw milk… it’s 50% mortality among those who we detect it. If this truly jumps into humans and spreads human to human we’re in deep trouble,” Feigl-Ding recently said. 

  Dr. Eric Feigl Ding: “This bird flu has arrived in US very fast and furious…definitely don’t drink raw milk…it’s 50% mortality among those who we detect it. If this truly jumps into humans and spreads human to human we’re in deep trouble.” pic.twitter.com/HITAzaN5jY

  — Camus (@newstart_2024) July 28, 2024

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  Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) called out Feigl-Ding for fearmongering:

  “Feigl-Ding you’re flat out lying and fear mongering in this video. You just made up the 50% fatality number and didn’t explain it. You dont even know if pasteurization kills the bird flu virus. People are not contracting fatal bird flu from consuming raw milk.”

  .@DrEricDing you’re flat out lying and fear mongering in this video. You just made up the 50% fatality number and didn’t explain it. You dont even know if pasteurization kills the bird flu virus. People are not contracting fatal bird flu from consuming raw milk. https://t.co/b7CzdOI9aF

  — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 28, 2024

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  In late 2022, Feigl-Ding bashed Twitter for abandoning its ‘Covid misinformation’ policy. The same non-sense policy that deplatformed users for even suggesting Covid came from a lab.

  Welp—this tweet didn’t age well for COVID misinfo I guess https://t.co/eM8r29hHbN

  — Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) November 29, 2022

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  So, given his lack of credibility, Feigl-Ding’s attack on raw milk is highly suspicious. This comes as bird flu spreads, and the government has ramped up oversight on farms, especially mom-and-pop ones.

  The result of this bird flu scare and government action so far to increase ‘surveillance’ across farms, along with Feigl-Ding’s attempts to dissuade people from drinking raw milk, has been disastrous for at least one small-time farmer, Sarah Armstrong, who runs Nourish.

  Armstrong was featured in a recent video uploaded on X that shows how her world was turned upside down when the bird flu spread gained momentum in April. She said the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hit her farm with a cease and desist order.

  Listen to Armstrong’s story about government overreach and the attack on small farms: 

  Nourish Co-op was mandated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to destroy all of their raw dairy products after receiving a cease and desist order from the state. Listen to Ashley Armstrong explain why she believes this is another example of government… pic.twitter.com/EhyayF2fwJ

  — Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) July 25, 2024

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  Here are several predictions about the great reset already underway in the food supply chain. 

  This is why they attack raw milk

  This is why they say cows hurt the environment

  This is why they say seafood is dangerous

  The aim has never been your health

  It’s to demonize these natural foods we’ve relied on for THOUSANDS of years only to force a “better” solution they… pic.twitter.com/UB26llR0QI

  — 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗬 (@TheWarKitchen) July 20, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  It’s time for the people to take back local supply chains and support local farmers. Enough with mega-corporations controlling the food supply.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 20:50

• The Media Betrays The American Experiment
  The Media Betrays The American Experiment

  Authored by Carson Holloway via AmericanMind.org,

  The stunning events of the last several weeks have highlighted the great weaknesses in the corporate media, an essential part of modern America’s political system. They have, as they constantly remind us, a vital role to play. But they betrayed that role by their open partisanship.

  

  For one brief shining moment, it seemed as if the media would live up to the promise of Adolph Ochs, the founder of the modern New York Times: “to give the news impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved.” In the month after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the media raised and vigorously pressed the questions about his fitness for office that had to be addressed for the good of the country.

  Yet this spasm of critical curiosity about the fitness of our Democratic president turned out to be just an interlude. Everybody can remember that right before the debate the media (including the New York Times, which later called for Biden to leave the race) were saying that Biden was fine and questions about his decline were based on out-of-context video clips, labeled “cheap fakes” by the White House press office. But now that Biden has left the race, the media have reverted to their usual lack of interest in anything that sheds negative light on the national Democratic Party.

  There is certainly no lack of material. In the wake of Biden’s withdrawal from campaigning, it would be no exaggeration to call this an administration mired in scandal. Besides the voter dissatisfaction over the failures of the last three and a half years, three new developments loom like shadows over the Biden-Harris White House.

  Consider the mysterious way in which Biden was forced out of the race. Up to the day he dropped out he and his top aides were insisting that he was all in. Then he suddenly stepped aside without offering any reason, seemingly pushed aside, perhaps by powerful and shadowy figures with no public accountability.

  There is also the scandal of the officials close to Biden—including the Democrats’ new presumptive nominee, Vice President Harris—evidently knowing about his decline and covering it up, or even directly misleading the public about it. Related to this is the Democrats’ rationally indefensible combination of choices: to drop Biden from the ticket amid widespread reports of his failing memory and flagging concentration, but to leave him in the office of the presidency for the next six months despite these signs of mental infirmity.

  Finally, there is the scandalous failure of the Secret Service to provide adequate protection to a former president and the leading presidential candidate in the present election. Had it been successful, the assassination of Donald Trump would have been one of the worst attacks on American democracy in decades. It would have effectively disenfranchised the tens of millions of Americans who hope to vote for Trump. And the government’s as yet unexplained security lapses almost permitted this to happen.

  Each of these scandals reflects very badly on the nation’s present governing party. Each is also a once in a century story. Yet the media seem very uninterested in getting to the bottom of any of them. They would rather fawn over Kamala Harris.

  Taken together, the events of the last several weeks suggest that Biden’s rough coverage in July was not even really an interlude for the media. It was instead more of their standard operating procedure. Their scrutiny of Biden was not a return to professional standards of reporting. It was rather another case of the media making themselves part of a political operation to protect the Democratic Party—in this case by helping to push aside a president that they had concluded was an electoral liability.

  No serious person who has lived through these events can credibly deny the partisanship of the corporate media. This partisanship undermines our democracy. Democracy means self-government. It means that the people get to choose the direction of the country by electing their leaders. The media could play a vital role in this wonderful process (denied to most people throughout history) through impartial and thorough reporting on public issues.

  Thus they would provide the voters with the information they need to choose freely and intelligently. Instead, the media do all they can to prop up the political party with which they sympathize—all the while professing an objectivity that they manifestly do not possess. To this extent their work is an ongoing fraud on the American public.

  This partisanship also hurts the country itself in other ways.

  By shielding the Democrats from criticism, the media permits them to govern incompetently and recklessly with near impunity. The result: foolish policies (inflationary spending, unregulated immigration, and unnecessary foreign wars) that hurt America and Americans.

  Donald Trump, with his characteristic simplicity and harshness, once said that “the fake news is the enemy of the people.”

  No doubt the media resent this judgment, but they are doing everything they can to demonstrate its accuracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 20:25

• These Are The Fastest Growing Housing Markets In The US
  These Are The Fastest Growing Housing Markets In The US

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, shows the top 10 fastest-growing housing markets in the U.S., based on the growth of their housing stock between 2013 and 2022.

  Housing stock refers to the total number of homes (houses and apartments) within an area.

  

  All figures were sourced from a StorageCafe analysis of U.S. Census data.

  Data and Highlights

  The following table lists the data featured in this graphic.

  

   

  Vineyard, Utah takes the top spot with remarkable 7,000% growth in both housing stock and population. A big driver of this growth is the city’s close proximity to Utah’s “Silicon Slopes” region, a growing hub for tech businesses.

  Prominent companies in the region include Adobe, which opened a futuristic 280,000 square feet campus in 2013. Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and Facebook (Meta) also have offices in Utah.

  Meanwhile, Horizon West, Florida has the largest population among this ranking. The area is considered a “master-planned community”, which is a large-scale neighborhood that was planned from the outset to include homes, recreational facilities, schools, and more. The goal is to create a self-sustaining community where residents do not need to leave the area frequently.

  Given Horizon West’s 2022 population of 58,595 people, we can determine that its population 10 years ago was 15,219 (+285% growth).

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this animated map graphic showing global urbanization from 1950 to 2020.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 20:00

• 5,800 IRS Employees And Contractors Owe Nearly $50 Million In Unpaid Taxes: Treasury IG
  5,800 IRS Employees And Contractors Owe Nearly $50 Million In Unpaid Taxes: Treasury IG

  Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times,

  At least 5,800 IRS employees and contractors owe almost $50 million in overdue taxes and more than half of them haven’t been required to agree to a payment plan, according to the Department of the Treasury’s Inspector-General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

  

  In a report made available to The Epoch Times, TIGTA  said auditors found 3,414, or 4 percent, of the 85,359 employees at the IRS have unpaid taxes. Of those with payment plans, $9 million remains unpaid, while $12 million is owed by employees without a payment plan.

  Among IRS contractors, which include many former tax agency employees, 2,573 of 25,732 (10 percent) contractors have unpaid taxes. Of those without a payment plan, $17 million is owed and those with a payment plan have $8 million outstanding.

  The TIGTA also reported that 512 former IRS employees were rehired, either as employees or contractors, despite having “tax compliance issues or conduct and performance problems, including criminal misconduct, sexual misconduct, inability to perform duties, fighting and assault, and unauthorized access to tax return information, have been rehired by the agency and its contractors,” according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who requested the watchdog’s report.

  Law Requires Tax Cheats Be Fired

  Federal law requires that federal workers found to have unpaid taxes must be removed unless the IRS Commissioner specifically allows them to remain on the government payroll. The present IRS chief, Danny Werfel, has exercised that discretion to retain more than 1,000 such workers since 2021.

  “Between October 1, 2021, and April 1, 2023, the IRS closed 1,175 cases with disciplinary actions, for 1,068 current employees, with confirmed tax noncompliance issues. During that same time period, 70 employees were identified with substantiated willful … violations and 20 were removed as a result,” the TIGTA report explained.

  “Although the law requires an employee who has either willfully not filed or willfully understated their taxes due to be removed, subject only to the IRS Commissioner’s mitigation, this disciplinary action is not always enforced.”

  Ms. Ernst also pointed out in a July 29 letter to Mr. Werfel that a 2023 TIGTA report “found 149,000 federal employees owe an astounding $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Tens of thousands are repeat tax cheats, failing to file tax returns year after year, and the number is steadily increasing.”

  The number of federal workers across the government with unpaid taxes rose 32 percent between 2015 and 2021 to 149,000. Congress approved and President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993 the Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative (FERDI) in response to persistent tax delinquencies among government workers.

  The Treasury watchdog also expressed concern in the 2024 report that having thousands of IRS employees and contractors with unpaid taxes represents a privacy security threat to all taxpayers.

  “Given the ever-increasing threat of identity theft and the substantial amount of sensitive information that the IRS holds, hiring employees of high integrity is essential to safeguarding taxpayer information,” the report said.

  “We believe that IRS and contractor employees who are not tax compliant could negatively affect public trust in tax administration and the perception that the IRS is being honest in its dealings with all taxpayers,” the report continued.

  The TIGTA report comes as the federal tax agency is doubling its workforce thanks to an appropriation of more $80 billion. President Joe Biden, who sought the IRS workforce increase, said the additional workers will boost tax compliance, especially by taxpayers earning more than $400,000 annually.

  But Ms Ernst said the new hires are instead targeting middle-income taxpayers, while the tax agency is doing too little to hold its own employees with unpaid taxes accountable.

  “That is why I’m giving my July 2024 Squeal Award to the IRS for auditing honest hardworking Americans while ignoring the overdue and unpaid tax bills of its own tax collectors,” Ernst said in a July 29 statement.

  The Iowa Republican’s Squeal Awards spotlight waste and fraud in the federal bureaucracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 19:40

• Putin Vows 'Mirror Measures' After US Plans Long-Range Missiles For Germany
  Putin Vows ‘Mirror Measures’ After US Plans Long-Range Missiles For Germany

  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday issued another fresh warning in the wake of the United States weeks ago announcing it intends to deploy long-range missiles in Germany in violation of prior Cold War era missile treaties.

  He has vowed that Russia’s military will in turn place long-range missiles within striking distance of the West. “The flight time to targets on our territory of such missiles, which in the future may be equipped with nuclear warheads, will be about 10 minutes,” Putin warned, announcing his intent to ‘mirror’ any such US actions.

  “We will take mirror measures to deploy, taking into account the actions of the United States, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world,” he said, as translated in Reuters.

  

  Putin also of late frequently warned that a Cold War 2.0 showdown is emerging due to the threatening behavior of the West related to the Ukraine conflict: “This situation is reminiscent of the events of the Cold War related to the deployment of American medium–range Pershing missiles in Europe,” he said.

  These comments come at the same time that Russian warships have increased their port visits to Cuba, which has involved groups of Russian military vessels not far off of America’s east coast. 

  Just like in the original Cold War, Cuba could become a base of Russian missiles in the potential highly dangerous return of a Cuban missile crisis scenario. 

  In early July, the Pentagon had unveiled near and long-term plans to station additional missiles in Europe, to include SM-6, Tomahawk cruise missiles and developmental hypersonic weapons placed in Germany starting in 2026.

  As for Germany, which finds itself in the middle of these tit-for-tat threats and warnings, its foreign ministry has said it will not be intimidated by Moscow.

  “This type of missile… had already been developed and deployed long ago” by Russia, foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a press conference. “What we are now planning is a response to deter these weapons from being used against Germany or other targets,” he emphasized.

  The end of Cold War era treaty was negotiated precisely to avoid and reduce weapons build-up in Europe…

  

  In mid-July, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov stated on Telegram that the US moving missiles to Germany “increases the risks of a missile arms race,” given that it could unleash “uncontrolled escalation amid dangerously soaring Russia-NATO tensions.”

  Antonov further warned that this brings European states like Germany in the crosshairs and that Moscow’s patience is limited. The ambassador posed: “Doesn’t Germany understand that the emergence of American missile assets on German soil will lead to these facilities ending up in Russian crosshairs? This is not saber-rattling, it is the simple logic of a normal person.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 19:20

• Nebraska Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Bill Restricting Abortion, Gender-Altering Procedures
  Nebraska Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Bill Restricting Abortion, Gender-Altering Procedures

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a law combining abortion restrictions with limits to gender-altering procedures for minors does not violate the state’s constitution, which requires bills to be confined to a single subject.

  

  The state’s high court acknowledged in a split decision on July 26 that abortion and gender-altering care are “distinct types of medical care” but that the law, LB574, does not violate Nebraska’s single-subject rule because both abortion and transgender procedures fall under the subject of medical care.

  The law, which imposes a ban on abortion beyond 12 weeks’ gestation and includes regulation of puberty blockers for minors and a ban on gender-altering surgeries for minors, was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) representing Planned Parenthood in Nebraska.

  A district judge dismissed the lawsuit last August, and Planned Parenthood appealed, with the key premise being a violation of Article III Section 14 of the Nebraska Constitution, which requires single-subject bills.

  Lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature had originally proposed separate bills, one banning abortion at about six weeks of pregnancy and another restricting transgender procedures for minors. However, the GOP-dominated Legislature added the abortion ban bill to the existing gender-altering care bill when the abortion ban failed to defeat a filibuster.

  In arguments before the Nebraska Supreme Court in March, an attorney for the state argued that both abortion and gender-altering measures fall under the subject of health care and so the law does not violate the constitutional single-subject restriction.

  By contrast, an attorney for Planned Parenthood argued that the bills deal with distinct subjects in violation of the constitution and that even the Legislature recognized this by introducing the abortion and transgender bills separately.

  The majority on the Nebraska Supreme Court disagreed with the arguments put forward by Planned Parenthood, finding that while abortion and gender-altering care are distinct types of medical care, they “certainly are encompassed within the regulation of permissible medical care.”

  “After our review of the facts of this case and our historical legal precedent wherein we have rarely found violations of Neb. Const. art. III, § 14, we find no merit to Planned Parenthood’s argument that L.B. 574 contains more than one subject in violation” of the state constitution, the high court’s majority opinion states.

  “Unlike our dissenting colleague, and particularly in the absence of a suggestion that the title given by the Legislature was misleading, we decline to reject the elected representatives’ articulation of a subject in the guise of a search for the perfect title.

  “We find Planned Parenthood’s assignments of error to be without merit. We affirm the decision of the district court.”

  Several justices dissented, with one arguing that the Legislature had the duty under the constitutional amendment to “compose legislation, including titling, which stated ‘one subject’; failure to so compose renders the bill unconstitutional. It is not the role of this court to rescue legislative bills.”

  The amended title of the combined LB574 was the Adopt the Let Them Grow Act and the Preborn Child Protection Act, and it provides for discipline under the Uniform Credentialing Act, with part of the dissenting judge’s objection focusing on the complexity of the title.

  Another line of dissent was that the bill contained “unrelated acts, i.e., abortion and gender-affirming care,” and that it included sections that don’t relate to the regulation of medical professionals, in violation of the single-subject constitutional constraint.

  Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen issued a statement praising the ruling, saying he’s “grateful for the court’s thorough and well-reasoned opinion upholding these important protections for life and children in Nebraska.”

  “There was a dark moment last year when many feared that a victory for unborn babies was impossible and that the pro-life coalition might break apart,” he said. “I was honored to partner with faithful allies and leaders across the state to combine the abortion ban with protections for kids against irreversible sex change surgeries.”

  ACLU of Nebraska issued a statement calling the state Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the lower court ruling “devastating” and vowing to continue fighting for its position on the matter.

  “This is devastating news for impacted Nebraskans, but it won’t be the final word on abortion access or the rights of trans youth and their families in Nebraska. We’ll continue doing all we can to ensure that these decisions rest with Nebraskans, not the government,” it said.

  At least 25 states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-altering procedures for transgender minors, with most of them facing lawsuits.

  Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and handed the matter of regulating abortion access over to the states to determine, most Republican-controlled states have advanced legislation that restricts abortion or started enforcing existing laws that had been blocked.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 19:00

• Elizabeth Warren Says Kamala Harris To Grant Citizenship To Illegal Immigrants
  Elizabeth Warren Says Kamala Harris To Grant Citizenship To Illegal Immigrants

  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says that Kamala Harris ‘will work with Congress’ to provide a ‘pathway to citizenship’ for tens of millions of illegal migrants.

  

  “I believe we need to create a pathway to citizenship,” Warren told CNN‘s Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday. “All of that is part of what we need to do for comprehensive immigration reform. Kamala Harris will work with Congress and get that done.”

  Elizabeth Warren:

  “I believe we need to create a pathway to citizenship [for the 10 million+ illegal aliens let in by the Biden-Harris administration]. Kamala Harris will work with Congress and get that done.” pic.twitter.com/wfO9qzgO7w

  — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 29, 2024

  When Tapper pressed her to defend the disastrous Biden-Harris administration border policies, Warren blamed Congress!

  “I don’t need to tell you voters overwhelmingly disapprove of how the Biden-Harris administration has handled the border,” said Tapper. “By giving the nomination to one of the leaders of the border effort, aren’t Democrats doubling down on one of your party’s biggest vulnerabilities?”

  To which Warren replied: “Border crossings now are lower than they were in the last year of the Trump administration. But recognize – and I know that Kamala Harris knows – this is a problem that ultimately has to be solved by Congress.“

  “We need the tools in order to have more resources at the border, to have more resources in the states and cities that are supporting migrants,” she continued.

  During a Saturday campaign rally in Minnesota, Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-PA), Harris is trying to artificially swell Democrat voter rolls.

  “She wants to hand over control of our country to people who shouldn’t be here in the first place. And we cannot let her. And I have a message, a very simple message to the millions of illegal aliens who are in this country and shouldn’t be. If you are here, start packing your bags right now because Donald J. Trump is coming back into office,” he said.

  As I was saying, they’re importing voters https://t.co/zokSXYn78x

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 18:40

• Trump To Sit For Voluntary Interview With FBI On Assassination Investigation
  Trump To Sit For Voluntary Interview With FBI On Assassination Investigation

  Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Former President Donald Trump will sit for a voluntary interview with the FBI regarding the probe into the assassination attempt against him at a campaign rally earlier this month, according to a special agent on July 29.

  “We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said in a call with reporters on Monday.

  

  While the agency said it has not yet determined the motive of the would-be Trump assassin, his actions showed extensive planning ahead of the July 13 rally, Mr. Rojek told reporters.

  Mr. Rojek said interviews with victims are common practice during investigations.

  Several new details were revealed during the call, including that the 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks had made “significant efforts” to conceal his actions, according to CNN.

  Mr. Robek said that Mr. Crooks had conducted extensive online research, which showed that he had an interest in mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices, and the attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister earlier this year.

  The suspect was a reclusive individual primarily connected to his family, Mr. Rojek said. His parents have cooperated fully with the investigation, maintaining they were unaware of his plans.

  Mr. Rojek revealed in the call that Mr. Crooks used aliases and foreign-based encrypted email accounts to evade detection during the purchase of firearms and chemical precursors for explosive devices, according to CNN.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 18:20

• "This Case Is Going To Fail": Lawyer For Andrew Left Says He'd "Never" Accept Plea Deal
  “This Case Is Going To Fail”: Lawyer For Andrew Left Says He’d “Never” Accept Plea Deal

  Short seller Andrew Left surrendered in Los Angeles this afternoon, CNBC reported. 

  James Spertus, the lawyer representing Left who was previously a prosecutor in the L.A. U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Monday prosecutors had ordered Left to turn himself in that day. Initially, the U.S. Attorney’s Office planned to request a $10 million cash deposit for his bail.

  “Then they wanted several million dollars,” Spertus said. “It doesn’t make any sense. This should be Mr. Left released on his own recognizance. There’s no reason for any bond in this case.”

  Spertus argued Left isn’t a flight risk, or a danger to the community – and that there are no victims in the case. “There can’t be” a plea deal, he said, since it would require Left to tell a judge that what he did was unlawful, which he says it wasn’t. 

  “This case is going to fail for six independent reasons,” Spertus said. “You have no duty to the market to disclose your private trading intentions.”

  He said he thinks the DOJ “is trying to deter the activist short sellers, and they want to stop it.”

  

  Spertus told CNBC that, irrespective of Left’s conviction or acquittal, the case will deter short sellers from publicly sharing their research on companies they believe to be overvalued or whose stock prices are based on false information.

  “People will stop sharing their research with the market,” Spertus said. “It’s really bad for the financial markets to have a prosecution like this when the government agrees that the public statements were truthful.”

  As we wrote days ago, Federal prosecutors charged short seller Andrew Left with fraud last Friday, accusing him of making misleading statements about stocks to profit from price moves triggered by his reports, according to an exclusive by the Wall Street Journal. 

  Known for his firm Citron Research, which targets market “lemons,” Left gained fame for betting against Valeant Pharmaceuticals and for betting against GameStop during the meme stock craze, but he has seen less success in recent years.

  The DOJ wrote in a press release out Friday morning:

  According to the indictment, Andrew Left, 54, formerly of Beverly Hills, California, and now a resident of Boca Raton, Florida, was a securities analyst, trader, and frequent guest commentator on cable news channels such as CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg Television. Left conducted business under the name “Citron Research” (Citron), an online moniker he created as a vehicle for publishing investment recommendations. Citron’s online presence included a website and a social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

  His media presence amplified his impact, leading followers to mimic his trades, prosecutors said:

  As alleged in the indictment, Left commented on publicly traded companies, asserting that the market incorrectly valued a company’s stock and advocating that the current price was too high or too low. Left’s recommendations often included an explicit or implicit representation about Citron’s trading position—which created the false pretense that Left’s economic incentives aligned with his public recommendation—and a “target price,” which Left represented as his valuation of the company’s stock. Sometimes, the commentary represented Left’s own work. Other times, Left disseminated the commentary of third parties as his own. The commentary routinely included sensationalized headlines and exaggerated language to maximize the reaction it would get from the stock market. As alleged, Left knowingly exploited his ability to move stock prices by targeting stocks popular with retail investors and posting recommendations on social media to manipulate the market and make fast, easy money.

  

  The Wall Street Journal reported that Left faces charges of securities fraud and lying to federal investigators, with accusations of manipulating at least 15 stocks to earn $16 million over five years. Prosecutors claim he exaggerated potential stock price declines, sometimes closing positions after minimal price drops.

  The press release continued: 

  As further alleged in the indictment, in the leadup to publication of Citron’s commentary, Left established long or short positions in the public company on which he was commenting in his trading accounts and prepared to quickly close those positions post-publication and take profits on the short-term price movement caused by his commentary. Left allegedly used his advance knowledge and control over the timing of a market-moving event to build his positions using inexpensive, short-dated options contracts that expired from the same day that he published his commentary to within five days. Left also allegedly submitted limit orders, often prior to publication of his commentary, to close his positions as soon as the company’s shares reached a certain price and at prices vastly different from the target prices that Left recommended to the public. While Left made false representations to the public to bolster his credibility, behind the scenes, Left allegedly took contrary trading positions to reap quick profits off the stocks he either promoted or pilloried through Citron.

  Left’s indictment concludes a three-year investigation into short sellers’ tactics. Prosecutors also allege Left concealed ties to hedge funds that traded on his early research, sharing profits with him. He denied these allegations to investigators in January 2021.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 18:00

• NY Church Plans Supreme Court Appeal On Abortion Coverage Ruling
  NY Church Plans Supreme Court Appeal On Abortion Coverage Ruling

  Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A Roman Catholic diocese is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a New York appeals court ruling that requires religious charities to provide abortion coverage in their employee health insurance packages.

  

  Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, confirmed during an online news conference on July 25 that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York, is preparing a petition for certiorari, or review, to be filed in coming weeks with the nation’s highest court. The Becket organization is part of the diocese’s legal team.

  The case is Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Harris. Adrienne A. Harris is Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, the agency that issued the health care insurance regulation that’s in dispute.

  The deadline for filing the petition for certiorari, or review, was originally Aug. 19, but on July 26, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor extended the deadline to Sept. 18.

  The case has been working its way through the judicial system for years.

  In 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services issued a regulation requiring that employers fund abortions through their employee health insurance plans. The regulation exempted religious entities whose “purpose” is to inculcate religious values and who “employ” and “serve” primarily coreligionists. At the same time, the regulation forced religious organizations to cover abortions if they have a broader religious mission, such as serving the poor, or if they hire or serve people regardless of their faith.

  Various Roman Catholic dioceses, along with Anglican nuns and Lutheran and Baptist churches, sued.

  The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York ruled in favor of the state in July 2020.

  But in November 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily vacated that decision.

  The nation’s highest court sent the case back to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York for further consideration in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2021 ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia.

  In the Fulton ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Roman Catholic charity in Pennsylvania may refuse on First Amendment religious freedom grounds to place children with same-sex couples.

  Writing for the court in that case, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Philadelphia had violated the other side’s First Amendment rights.

  The religious views of the diocese-affiliated Catholic Social Services “inform its work in this system,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. The charity believes that “marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman.”

  “Because the agency understands the certification of prospective foster families to be an endorsement of their relationships, it will not certify unmarried couples—regardless of their sexual orientation—or same-sex married couples.”

  However, when the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York reconsidered the case in June 2022, it ruled in favor of the state, finding that the Fulton ruling didn’t apply to the case and that the abortion insurance mandate did not violate the First Amendment.

  On May 21 of this year, the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling of the Appellate Division.

  “Under Fulton, both the regulation itself and the criteria delineating a ‘religious employer’ for the purposes of the exemption are generally applicable and do not violate the Free Exercise Clause,” the court held.

  Ms. Windham said in recent years the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of employers “every single time” in three cases when they have objected to having to provide coverage for contraception or abortion medication for their employees.

  Despite that, New York decided to impose an abortion coverage mandate and “go all the way in the face of these three Supreme Court decisions.” First, the state enacted the insurance regulation and then the New York State Legislature decided to codify the regulation in state law, she said.

  The exemption from the mandate is narrow, Ms. Windham said.

  “If you primarily serve people of your own faith, then you can have an exception, but if you open your doors to all … [to] care for anyone regardless of your faith, if you’re out there offering a cup of soup to anyone who’s hungry, regardless of what their faith background is, then you lose your religious freedom protections, you lose your exemption under the statute, and you must also pay for abortions.”

  This means that a “religious test” is being imposed on religious groups that provide social services, she said.

  “All of these different groups are stuck with this abortion mandate, and all of them because of the work they do, and because of the good that they try to do within their communities, are being hit by this,” Ms. Windham said.

  The New York Department of Financial Services didn’t respond by publication time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 17:40

• "No Manual Action Taken": Google Responds To Assassination Autocomplete Controversy
  “No Manual Action Taken”: Google Responds To Assassination Autocomplete Controversy

  Update (1035ET):

  Google has responded to the uproar on X regarding potential election interference and information warfare against former President Donald Trump. 

  It appears that big tech and the Democrats might not want the American people to remember the assassination attempt on Trump, as it doesn’t appear on Google’s autocomplete search function, which is designed to help users find information faster and more accurately. 

  “We’ve got protections in place against Autocomplete predictions associated with political violence, which is normally a good thing. That said, we’re working on improvements to ensure our systems are more up to date. Regardless of what Autocomplete shows, you can always search for whatever you want to and we’ll provide access to the info available, including about this horrific incident,” Google wrote on X.

  Some context here: We’ve got protections in place against Autocomplete predictions associated with political violence, which is normally a good thing. That said, we’re working on improvements to ensure our systems are more up to date. Regardless of what Autocomplete shows, you…

  — Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  O’rly… Everyone but Trump.

  

  Google also wrote, “That’s right — we have protections in place for topics like political violence, which typically work well. But we’re working on improvements to make our predictions more up to date. Regardless of what Autocomplete shows, people can always search for whatever they want to, and we provide access to the info available, including about this horrific incident.” 

  That’s right — we have protections in place for topics like political violence, which typically work well. But we’re working on improvements to make our predictions more up to date. Regardless of what Autocomplete shows, people can always search for whatever they want to, and we…

  — Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  But that’s not the point, Google. The autocomplete algorithm can easily censor suggestions to discourage people from searching for topics that are not government-approved.

  Also, a Google spokesperson told The New York Post that no “manual action was taken on these predictions,” and its algos include “protections” against autocomplete predictions “associated with political violence.”

  Move along. Nothing to see here… 

  Tech, as a whole, is skewed. At least it used to be – we’ll see if/how things change this election cycle. pic.twitter.com/uMLf6jx3eC

  — The Rabbit Hole (@TheRabbitHole84) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Bingo. 

  The legacy media engages in the mass synchronization of emotion for political purposes.

  They are a de facto arm of the DNC.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *   *   *

  Information warfare may be underway as Google’s safeguards to ensure accurate and unbiased search results seem skewed. Users on X are reporting that the world’s most popular search engine is not showing autocomplete results for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. These concerns are unsurprising, given that the big tech firm has been accused of election interference. 

  Google doesn’t want you to know this video exists. pic.twitter.com/5uvWznZiQe

  — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “Big Tech is trying to interfere in the election AGAIN to help Kamala Harris. We all know this is intentional election interference from Google. Truly despicable,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X on Sunday morning. 

  Big Tech is trying to interfere in the election AGAIN to help Kamala Harris. We all know this is intentional election interference from Google. Truly despicable. https://t.co/gWDbFGaHI7

  — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Fox News sheds more color into Google’s autocomplete elimination of Trump from the list that appears when users type in ‘assassination attempt’:

  Google users searching for the attempted assassination of former President Trump were miffed when the desired results failed to populate on the search engine.

  Instead, the website autocomplete feature omitted the results of the July 13 shooting, drawing criticism from social media users who accused the Big Tech giant of trying to influence the presidential election.

  Screenshots from Google instead showed recommended search results of the failed assassination of Ronald Reagan and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, whose death sparked World War I, the shooting of Bob Marley and the failed attempt on former President Ford. -Fox News 

  As X user Autism Capital noted, “They really tried to memory hole the Trump assassination Jesus Christ. Information warfare and the revision of history is real.” 

  They really tried to memory hole the Trump assassination Jesus Christ. Information warfare and the revision of history is real. This isn’t fantasy or a novel. This is actually real. They hate you.

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  This is why trust in mega tech companies and MSM are at lows. 

  The censorship industrial complex is evil pic.twitter.com/qJeYP952G6

  — Mollie (@MZHemingway) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Even Musk was surprised. He asked, “Election interference?” 

  Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump!

  Election interference? pic.twitter.com/dJzgVAAFZA

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  James Lindsay shared an image of Facebook’s Meta AI, which appears to have safeguards in response about Trump’s assassination. 

  Woke AI lies about history. pic.twitter.com/zFOAZgYbLT

  — James Lindsay, anti-Communist (@ConceptualJames) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  However, X’s Grok bot was one of the few platforms that accurately responded to a search query about Trump’s assassination attempt. 

  It seems Grok is the only AI that actually gives information about the attempted ass*ss*nation of Trump and doesn’t try to memory hole it. pic.twitter.com/9T2XLdA0RU

  — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Sigh. 

  https://t.co/oJfJl0Wfvb pic.twitter.com/aDvhWpC5Ao

  — James Lindsay, anti-Communist (@ConceptualJames) July 29, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson told The New York Post that no “manual action was taken on these predictions,” and its algos include “protections” against autocomplete predictions “associated with political violence.”

  However, not everyone believes Google’s nonsense because the giant tech firm has been accused of election interference before.

  “Why is @Google suppressing the search about the Trump assassination attempt? These are all screenshots from this morning. Has there been a dramatic increase in Truman biographers in the last two weeks?” Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) wrote on X. 

  He added: “I’ll be making an official inquiry into @google this week – I look forward to their response.”

  Why is @Google suppressing the search about the Trump assassination attempt? These are all screenshots from this morning. Has there been a dramatic increase in Truman biographers in the last two weeks?

  I’ll be making an official inquiry into @google this week – I look forward… pic.twitter.com/GD5SOvvcdX

  — Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote on X, “On it.” 

  On it. https://t.co/edYIfqJv2y

  — Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Earlier this year, Media Research Center founder and president Brent Bozell told Fox News, “No organization has more control over information than Google, and they have repeatedly used that power to manipulate the public to vote for the most left-wing candidates in every major election since 2008.” 

  Bozell said, “It’s un-American to attempt to manipulate elections this way. It’s time Congress acts to shut down this massive election interference scheme.” 

  “It’s time Congress acts to shut down this massive election interference scheme,” he continued. 

  Maybe it’s time for the tech billionaires who support Trump to introduce a rival search engine to Google.

  *   *   * 

  “Don’t be evil” is Google’s former motto… 

  

  Sigh. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/29/2024 – 17:35

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• Fear Is The Mind-Killer: America's Dangerous Obsession With 'Safety'
  Fear Is The Mind-Killer: America’s Dangerous Obsession With ‘Safety’

  Authored by Artis Shepherd via The Mises Institute,

  In modern America, an obsessive fixation on “safety” has given rise to a culture of fear, paralyzing action and warping decision-making across all levels of society. The conditioning begins early, with children trained to be fearful rather than competent in facing challenges or unfamiliar situations. In their formative years, children are inundated with rules and guidelines, ostensibly designed to maintain safety. But this only stunts their adventurous spirit, undercuts the development of real confidence, and provides an excuse to avoid the uncertain striving necessary for growth.

  

  Corporations and commercial establishments claim “safety is the highest priority” while failing to understand what that statement entails when taken to its logical extreme. If safety is indeed the highest priority, then we should all stay home and slowly decompose.

  Without irony, governments use the safety of the citizenry as a pretext to commit brutal acts of war and strip away natural freedoms at the point of a gun. The same is done to provide cover for merging the state with the economy, to the detriment of most and the benefit of a politically connected few.

  It is evident that the pursuit of safety, with fear as the motivator, prevents one from living a good life — one consisting of productive work driven by the attainment of values through reason and effort, the result of which is true self-esteem.

  Rather than safety, pursue competence. Genuine safety lies in acquiring the skills necessary to deal with life’s challenges, not simply avoiding them.

  Baby Kneepads

  In her book “Free Range Kids,” Lenore Skenazy discusses her decision to let her 9-year-old son ride the New York City subway by himself. By her telling, he was ready, capable and prepared. So she let him do it, and he did. Her son had just accomplished something of which he could be proud and which would be challenging for many adults.

  Unfortunately, the response to Ms. Skenazy’s decision was not one of approbation. National media, so-called parental experts and the frightened masses all learned about the event and condemned it. She was called horrible names and dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” by the U.S. media.

  The people who attacked Ms. Skenazy view the world as a scary place, one where selective observation substitutes for rational thinking — where the risk-reward equation is reduced to a big neon “RISK” sign flashing red. These are the same people who put kneepads on their babies when they learn to crawl.

  Ms. Skenazy highlights the benefits of kids spending time in nature, building skills of self-reliance and eschewing today’s conventional methods of risk avoidance. One gets the sense that children are capable of much more than they’re given credit for. Far from pushing them into danger, allowing children to confront and overcome challenges on their own provides the ultimate safety — a true sense of competence.

  The “Fed Put” and Subversion of the Free Market

  For over a century, the American economy has been subject to the vagaries of central bank control, including the management of “inflation” — poorly defined as the change in the general price level, an absurd abstraction that’s impossible to accurately measure — and the overall stability of the job market. Another stated goal of the Federal Reserve was ensuring the “stability of the banking system.” Despite this, all of the most severe episodes of bank failure in the U.S. occurred on the Fed’s watch, including the Great Depression.

  Since the 1980s, the Federal Reserve has been employing an all-but-explicit program of bailing out the capital markets — the stock market especially — every time there is a significant pullback in prices. Known as the Fed put, this is an especially sickening example of welfare for those of mediocre ability but the right political connections.

  While a desire to control — and enrich a small group at the expense of the majority — is at the heart of the motivations in creating the Federal Reserve, or any central bank, the ostensible reasons have to do with safety. In the rationale of the state and its adherents, Americans need to be kept safe from high price inflation, bank failures and other perceived threats of a free market. By this rationale, people need protection from the consequences of voluntarily exchanging goods and services at market prices, unimpeded by a bureaucracy. Heaven forbid.

  As a result, the central bank and federal government essentially control most of the economy. For single-family homes, 95% of mortgages are ultimately held and guaranteed by federal government agencies. As a profession, medicine has been subsumed by the requirements of government insurance and research funding. Food is regulated to the extent that obtaining a glass of real milk is impossible in many states. The costs of buying an automobile are substantially due to compliance with government regulations. No industry is untouched.

  The Welfare State

  As with the creation of a central bank, the forcible redistribution of capital — from the capable and driven to the incapable and indolent — is an attempt to remove the risk of failure from favored groups. Tellingly, these programs are referred to as “safety nets.”

  What the welfare state accomplishes, however, is the elevation of weakness as a character trait. Rather than allowing the freedom to achieve, the state acts as a mother with Munchausen syndrome by proxy — facilitating the dependency and helplessness of its wards so as to increase its own relevance via the caretaking process. In keeping with its role as the oppressive mother, one result is that fatherhood has become nonexistent, particularly in those groups most reliant on welfare.

  The destruction of the productive spirit is nowhere more obvious than in those reliant on government handouts, who have attempted to trade independence for safety but end up with neither.

  The Warfare State

  Woodrow Wilson’s slogan for entering World War I at the beginning of the 20th century was “making the world safe for democracy.”

  The world, then ostensibly safe for democracy with the entry of the U.S. military, incurred 40 million casualties during that war. That’s before counting the many tens of millions more over the following decades caused by events and regimes, including the Bolshevik Revolution, facilitated by that war. World War II, which would not have happened in the absence of World War I, saw another 75 million deaths, with some estimates north of 100 million.

  The war on terror has only reduced freedoms at home while creating increasingly aggressive enemies elsewhere. The cost is in the trillions, with no material benefit of which to speak.

  The Covid Panic

  Using “public health and safety” as a front, the Trump and Biden regimes, as well as most state governments, implemented one of the most blatant examples of wicked government action in history. People were locked down inside their homes, unable to even enjoy open spaces like parks and beaches. Children were encouraged to gaze into a computer all day instead of going outside or to school. The truly sick, those with cancer and other serious conditions, were discouraged from hospital visits to increase capacity for patients who seemed to have a minor cold virus—one that leaked from a research lab in China.

  That government would gin up a crisis out of nothing is expected. It was the lack of pushback from the public that was astounding. There was almost total mask compliance, even in “conservative” states and counties. Low-status individuals took it upon themselves to push the government’s safety propaganda — the only chance for them to wield authority. When an injection was offered — one whose trials had no control arm, an absolute necessity in scientific studies, and blanket immunity for the manufacturers — people lined up to take it, then bragged about it.

  The Nature of Risk

  In human activity, risk is involved — sometimes a considerable amount. In seeking to manage that risk, one should strive for competence over it, not avoidance of it. This naturally entails confronting fear, especially the fear of failure, and using it for productive gain. The accumulation of skills, confrontation of hurdles and commitment to a process with uncertain outcomes are essential to a life worth living.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 23:20

• How Capitalism Defeats Racism
  How Capitalism Defeats Racism

  Authored by Wanjiru Njoya via The Mises Institute,

  In her essay “Racism,” Ayn Rand argues that racism – which she describes as “the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism” – is incompatible with capitalism and can only be defeated through capitalism. She defines capitalism as “a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.” She explains that a defense of private property and laissez-faire capitalism is the only way to defeat racism:

  “There is only one antidote to racism: the philosophy of individualism and its politico-economic corollary, laissez-faire capitalism. … It is capitalism that gave mankind its first steps toward freedom and a rational way of life. It is capitalism that broke through national and racial barriers, by means of free trade. It is capitalism that abolished serfdom and slavery in all the civilized countries of the world.”

  Walter Williams adopts a similar view of the role of capitalism in defeating racism. He argues that only in a capitalist system, where economic gains are made through free market exchange and not by seeking political preferences and protections, can minorities make economic progress:

  “Free-market resource allocation, as opposed to allocation on political grounds, is in the interests of minorities and/or less preferred individuals. … The market encompasses a sort of parity nonexistent in the political arena, where one person’s dollar has the same power as anyone else’s.”

  Williams’ point is that a racist seller of course wishes to sell his produce; therefore, he will not reject black buyers as he values their dollars as much as the dollars of white buyers. Most sellers would not consider it worth losing the sale simply to be true to their racist beliefs. Even in the case of a racist seller who is willing to pay a price for his desire not to transact with other races, a point is likely to come where his costs mount to a degree that he no longer considers it worthwhile to continue rejecting sales purely on racist grounds. This explains why even in the segregated states, many whites entered into commercial transactions with blacks. Williams writes:

  “The fact that some blacks were able to earn a comfortable living and indeed become prosperous — in both the antebellum South, in the face of slavery and grossly discriminatory laws, and in the North, where there was at best only weak enforcement of civil rights — gives strong testament to the power of the market as a friend to blacks.”

  Williams defends “free markets and the profit motive” against the charge that they reduce economic opportunities for victims of racism. He argues that on the contrary, even disadvantaged people can enjoy an advantage in free markets, based on the principle that “customers prefer lower prices to higher prices, and businessmen prefer higher profits to lower profits.” For example, a disadvantaged person could choose to work for a lower wage than his competitors in the labor market and thereby avoid both unemployment as well as the need to rely on the charity or largesse of others.

  

  Williams acknowledges that in the absence of mandatory pricing, some may be charged higher prices than others for the same product based on their race. For example, a landlord may charge a higher rent to black tenants than to white tenants. In this case, we can stipulate that it is unfair for anyone to have to pay a higher rent than someone else based purely on his race. However, we must go further and ask: Unfair compared to what? What are the available alternatives? Williams points out that a black tenant may prefer to pay a higher rent than his white neighbor if the only alternative is to go without housing altogether. While the state can seek to equalize everyone’s rental payments and can even seek to force landlords to rent to all comers regardless of race, the state cannot force people to build or supply housing for rent, nor can the state itself undertake to house the entire population to “protect” them from having to encounter a racist landlord. Even the Soviet Union at the height of its power, when the state owned most of the housing stock and undertook to construct housing for the entire population, could not achieve that.

  The risk of suffering unfairness in a free market must therefore be weighed against the hazards of marching down the path to communism in a misguided attempt to create “fair” conditions for everyone. In an argument echoed by Thomas Sowell in “The Quest for Cosmic Justice,” Williams argues that sound economic policy cannot be derived from a utopian desire to promote fairness for everyone: For example, it may be “unfair” that anyone works for less than $20 an hour, but it does not follow that working for that sum should be prohibited. Nor is it “unfair” to work for less than someone else is prepared to work for. Minimum wage legislation may seem “fair” as it guarantees that nobody earns below the set wage, but it raises the overall level of unemployment, which leaves the most disadvantaged out of work altogether. As Williams puts it, the real minimum wage is zero. His view is that “economic theory as such cannot answer questions of fairness. However economic theory can predict the effects of not permitting some people to charge lower prices for what they sell and higher prices for what they buy. … They will be worse off than otherwise would be the case.”

  Williams argues that the reduction in economic opportunities, as seen for example in unemployment rates, is not due to free market exchange but to “policies, regulations, and restrictions emanating from federal, state, and local governments” as well as “the power of vested groups to use, as a means to greater wealth, the coercive powers of government to stifle market competition.” He shows that interventions designed to eradicate “racism” often leave people worse off. The solution lies in promoting capitalism, which in turn creates opportunities for economic advancement.

  Williams’ analysis shows the importance of understanding economic theory as a prerequisite to understanding economic events. The economic progress among the disadvantaged races that he documents is not attributable to the policies, regulations and restrictions that people consider to be the source and guarantee of prosperity but is instead attributable to voluntary exchange. Robert Higgs, who has also documented prosperity and progress among black people in the U.S., reminds us that it is to human endeavor that we owe economic progress and not to the state:

  “In any event, society’s positive, productive forces always resided within the people themselves. All the genuine peace, cooperation, production, and order the society enjoyed sprang from them. So the state was never a solution to a problem the people could not solve for themselves, but itself a problem masquerading as the only solution to problems whose real solutions already lay close at hand, if they existed at all.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 22:10

• Thailand Sets Off Chaos In Domestic Auto Market By Subsidizing Chinese EVs
  Thailand Sets Off Chaos In Domestic Auto Market By Subsidizing Chinese EVs

  It isn’t just in Europe and the U.S. where the EV industry is seeing jolting effects of Chinese EVs entering their respective markets.

  It looks like the industry in Thailand has accidentally also set off chaos in their home market by offering subsidies to Chinese EV makers, a move that Nikkei Asia reports is “wreaking havoc” in Thailand. 

  The unintended consequences of EV subsidies have also affected supply chains, with at least a dozen parts producers shutting down as subsidized Chinese EV makers avoid buying from most of them.

  Since the Thai government introduced the EV subsidy scheme in 2022, 185,029 EVs have been imported. However, new EV registrations stand at 86,043, indicating an oversupply of around 90,000 vehicles.

  EVAT President Krisda Utamote, noting more Chinese EV makers are now investing in Thai production, said: “We are experiencing an EV oversupply as plenty of EVs imported from China over the past two years [remain in dealer] inventories.”

  The EV subsidy program, initiated in 2022 under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, aimed to make EVs more affordable by offering up to 150,000 baht ($4,130) per vehicle and eliminating tariffs on Chinese imports, provided the manufacturers produce an equivalent number in Thailand. Manufacturing was required to begin this year.

  

  Nikkei Asia reports that BYD, China’s largest EV maker, aggressively cut the price of its Atto model by 37%, while Neta reduced its V-II model price by 9%. When fully operational, Chinese EV makers in Thailand will have the capacity to produce about 750,000 vehicles annually.

  These subsidies have impacted the Thai automotive sector, which employs over 750,000 workers and contributes 11% to the GDP. The automotive sector is the fourth-largest economic contributor, following tourism (18%), retail (16%), and ahead of agriculture (8.6%).

  Sales of fossil fuel vehicles have declined since the subsidies, significantly affecting Japanese automakers who produce 90% of these vehicles in Thailand. Additionally, economic weaknesses have led consumers to cut back on expensive purchases, with vehicle sales in the first five months of the year down 23% from the same period in 2023, the lowest in a decade, according to the article. 

  Recall, we have extensively covered how the EU is attempting to tariff their way out of oversupply problems and what the Union sees as a price distortions as a result of China’s contributions to the industry. 

  As we noted earlier this summer, SAIC is being hit with a 38.1% tariff and BYD is being hit with a 17.4% tariff, the report says. Geely Auto will face a 20% tariff and all tariffs are on top of the EU’s existing 10% tariff. 

  EV-makers that cooperated with the probe but weren’t in the three-company sample will face an additional 21% duty, while uncooperative ones will incur the full 38.1%. European brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Renault, which export China-assembled EVs, will also face extra tariffs, according to Caixin.

  China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the decision, stating the EU ignored facts, WTO rules, and objections from China and EU member states. Beijing vowed to protect Chinese companies’ rights.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 21:35

• Pandemic 2.0: FDA To Grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) For mRNA Bird-Flu Shots (Just Like What Happened With COVID)
  Pandemic 2.0: FDA To Grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) For mRNA Bird-Flu Shots (Just Like What Happened With COVID)

  Authored by Ethan Huff via NaturalNews.com,

  The medical establishment is teeing up for the launch of another “pandemic,” this one centering around H5N8 Influenza, also known as avian influenza or bird flu.

  

  The American Medical Association (AMA) made a few changes this past week to its Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) system, described as “the leading medical terminology code set for describing health care procedures and services.” One change is the creation of a new CPT code for H5N8 Influenza virus “vaccine” candidates that “receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

  You may recall that during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) “pandemic,” the FDA granted EUA to the lineup of injections unleashed through Operation Warp Speed. Now, for the first time since COVID, the medical establishment is readying itself for what appears to be the next scamdemic: bird flu.

  To ensure that health care systems across the United States are up to date with the codes in their electronic systems, the AMA is updating its CPT system right away “in advance for the potential FDA authorization,” which appears imminent.

  “The new CPT code is a vital preparatory step in response to the potential danger to humans from a highly infectious avian influenza disease,” commented AMA President Dr. Bruce A. Scott, M.D.

  “A CPT code that clinically distinguishes the avian influenza vaccine allows for data-driven tracking, reporting, and analysis that supports planning, preparedness, and allocation of vaccines in case a public health response is needed for avian flu prevention.”

  If Trump wins, a bird flu “pandemic” is likely

  Attorney Tom Renz commented on the development after Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom (OAMF) – Ohio is the state where Renz is based – warned that bird flu is more than likely the next scamdemic coming down the pike.

  “I expect the next pandemic after Donald Trump gets back into office unless he finds a way to shut it down,” Renz wrote. “That said – can you imagine another plandemic with a Kamala Harris president? No way.”

  OAMF noted that the AMA’s CPT codes cover both adults and children who will be expected to take not just a “first” bird flu shot but also “each additional vaccine,” this referring to so-called boosters.

  “Mandates will come,” OAMF warned.

  Ohio could become the first state in America to pass protective legislation for conscientious and religious objections to adult vaccination, the group further revealed, which is good news for everyone who lives there – but what about the rest of the country?

  “This is just further confirmation that the next control pandemic is in route,” OAMF said. “We’re all focused on the election, but we need to pay attention to what they’re doing in the dark!”

  Renz also had a few things to say to Elon Musk and the other controllers of X concerning the apparent censorship still taking place on the social media platform.

  “Why is it that the pics on this threat keep being hidden and the thread does not appear in any searches for mRNA or elsewhere?” Renz asked after observing what he believed to be shadow-banning and other censorship actions occurring on his thread about all this.

  “Obviously it is being discussed and trending but – much like many other items on my feed – the pics are continually suppressed and the post cannot be found in a search. I never get a response and simply do not understand why this keeps happening on a free speech-based platform. Elon Musk is pushing for free speech – is the staff @X listening?”

  It looks as though bird flu is scheduled to be the next COVID.

  Learn more at Plague.info.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 21:00

• Teen Allegedly Derailed BNSF Freight Train For "Insane" YouTube Footage
  Teen Allegedly Derailed BNSF Freight Train For “Insane” YouTube Footage

  Nearly every American teen has access to a smartphone or tablet and actively uses multiple social media platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. In recent years, the number of social media challenges has skyrocketed and become increasingly dangerous, such as the “Tide pod challenge” and “Benadryl challenge.” Some teens are engaging in risky stunts and even orchestrating events in the real world that pose significant risks to themselves and others—all to get the clicks. 

  A 17-year-old Nebraska teenager has been slapped with two felony counts of criminal mischief after he was accused of derailing a BNSF Railway freight train while filming the incident for a YouTube video. 

  Here’s more from NBC News:

  The 17-year-old was charged in Lancaster County Juvenile Court on Wednesday, but prosecutors have filed a motion to have the case transferred to adult court.

  An investigator with BNSF Railway said in court documents that the teenager alerted authorities to the derailment and asked the investigator who arrived what caused the crash.

  He is accused of tampering with a rail and causing two locomotives and five loaded BNSF cars to jump the rails in Bennet on April 21.

  Under the YouTube account “Capitol City Rail Productions,” the teen uploaded this five-minute video titled “Loaded BNSF Arbor COLLIDES and DERAILS in Bennet, NE! MOST INSANE VIDEO I’VE EVER TAKEN!” 

  It’s evident that the title’s wording was crafted in a way to drive clicks on social media.

  “Join us as we delve into the dramatic events that unfolded when a falsely set switch altered the course of destiny. Unbeknownst to the crew of the loaded arbor coal train, a parked deflective coal car lay in wait on the wrong track, setting the stage for disaster,” the description in the video read. 

  The derailment caused approximately $350,000 in damages after the freight train smashed into an empty coal car, causing two locomotives and five loaded BNSF cars to derail. 

  The teen has denied trespassing on the tracks and tampering with the switch. However, investigators wrote in court documents that he knew where the switch was. They also noted a padlock that was supposed to be on the switch was missing. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 20:25

• Canada's "Worst Decline In 40 Years"
  Canada’s “Worst Decline In 40 Years”

  Authored by Peter St.Onge via The Brownstone Institute,

  Canada’s standard of living is on track for its worst decline in 40 years, according to a new study by Canada’s Fraser Institute. 

  

  The study compared the three worst periods of decline in Canada in the last 40 years – the 1989 recession, the 2008 global financial crisis, and this post-pandemic era. 

  They found that, unlike the previous recessions, Canada is not recovering this time. Something broke. 

  In fact, according to the Financial Post, since 2019 Canada’s had the worst growth out of 50 developed economies. Inflation-adjusted Canadian wages have been flat since 2016.

  

  So, yes, something broke.

  And it’s nowhere near over: Canada’s per-person real GDP is still falling and with a looming US recession – the US is 75% of Canada’s exports – Canada could crash again before it ever recovered.

  Trudeau’s Canada in Decline

  In previous videos, I’ve talked about the disaster that is Justin Trudeau’s Canada. In short, incomes are West Virginia-level, house prices are at the Los Angeles level, and Canadian taxes are halfway to the Soviet Union. 

  It’s not rare for a middle-class family in Canada to pay half their income in taxes. 

  Meanwhile, since the pandemic, Canada’s official food inflation is up 25%, and energy is up 30% – partly thanks to a carbon tax. 

  And keep in mind sales tax in most Canadian provinces is 13 to 15 percent on everything you buy. 

  

  While Canadians post TikToks about trying to stretch a loaf of rye bread through the week or selling off their possessions to afford groceries, the cost of living is hitting harder with time. 

  Canadian bankruptcy filings jumped 40% last year, while CIBC reports nearly half of Canadians have zero emergency savings. 

  According to StatsCan Canada’s violent crime rate is up 40% since 2014. 

  An Ipsos poll found 7 in 10 Canadians agree that “Canada is broken” – rising to 8 in 10 of those between age 18 and 34. 

  Angus found fully 42% of Canadians are considering moving to another country.

  

  What Changed

  This is all a shock because it happened so fast – it’s night and day from the last crisis in 2008, which Canada weathered much better than America. 

  What changed? Justin Trudeau. Specifically, his campaign to convert Canada from a mixed economy like the US into a government-dominated economy like the sick men of the European Union.

  

  Under Trudeau, business investment has plunged by a third. While government spending nearly doubled to almost half of GDP. 

  Government workers in Canada are growing almost four times faster than the private sector, and one in three Canadians now work for the government, raking in 30% more in salary and benefits than the taxpayers they lord over. Another 1.7 million Canadians – roughly 1 in 10 households – are on welfare.

  Of course, that makes it very difficult to win an election in Canada on a small-government platform: You’re up against the government-provided livelihoods of 40% of voters. Meaning you’ve got to win, what, 80% of everybody else.

  

  What’s Next

  Near-term things will get worse because Canadians are stuck with Trudeau through the next election in 2025.

  Conservative Pierre Poilievre is ahead in the polls for now, but Canada’s government-funded media is doing everything they can to destroy him so the lead’s already narrowing.

  That means more inflation, more decline, more mass migration, and rising crime in what was once a paradise.

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 19:50

• The Biden-Harris $40 Billion High Speed Internet Plan Connected Nobody
  The Biden-Harris $40 Billion High Speed Internet Plan Connected Nobody

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Might I suggest it’s time for some fact checks? Let’s start with a fact check on the White House Internet program “Fact Sheet”.

  

  White House Fact Sheet

  Let’s discuss the June 26, 2023 White House Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Over $40 Billion to Connect Everyone in America to Affordable, Reliable, High-Speed Internet

  High-speed internet is no longer a luxury – it is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school, access health care, and to stay connected with family and friends. Yet, more than 8.5 million households and small businesses are in areas where there is no high-speed internet infrastructure, and millions more struggle with limited or unreliable internet options. Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering on their historic commitment to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed internet by the end of the decade.

  Fact Check on the Fact Sheet

  Please note FCC commissioner hits Biden admin for $42 billion in unspent high speed internet funds

  The senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is blaming the Biden administration for a lack of high-speed internet projects that were approved under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, comparing the situation to the dearth of electric vehicle charging stations that were also supposed to be built with the funds.

  “There’s no question that the 2021 law put some process in place, but the Biden administration decided to layer on top of that a Byzantine additional set of hoops that states have to go through before the administration will approve them to actually get these funds and start completing the builds,” Carr told FOX Business in an interview.

  Carr acknowledged that some high-speed internet projects have connected people during the Biden administration, but he said none of them have been funded by the $42.5 billion allocation from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which was the administration’s signature broadband initiative.

  Where Would We Be?

  I am sure glad Biden put Kamala Harris in charge of the border and also delivery of high speed internment because otherwise where would we be?

  As long as I am asking questions, might I suggest it’s time for more fact checks on “Biden-Harris” Fact Sheet announcements?

  But hey, let’s step back and give credit is due. In this case, the “Biden-Harris” plan delivered nothing but amazingly cost nothing!

  No money has been spent because $42.5 billion has been bogged down in the “Biden-Harris” bureaucracy.

  How can you possibly beat that? This is arguably the biggest success story of the entire “Biden-Harris” term.

  No doubt I have piqued someone’s curiosity here, perhaps many people.

  Do I have any volunteers to fact check all of the “Biden-Harris” fact sheets?

  It’s a daunting task, but democracy undoubtedly depends on it.

  “All Hell Breaks Loose”

  On the economic front, please consider “All Hell Breaks Loose” In the Next Few Months as Recession Bites

  Uhhh… Thank You… Thank you very much.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 18:40

• After Failed 1984-Style Censorship-Crusade, Paris Olympics Forced To Apologize For Woke Opening Ceremony
  After Failed 1984-Style Censorship-Crusade, Paris Olympics Forced To Apologize For Woke Opening Ceremony

  On Saturday, the organizers of the Paris Olympics scrambled to pressure social media platforms, such as X, to censor users who mocked and criticized Friday night’s shocking Opening Ceremony. The event, which featured drag queens, nudity, and scenes deemed highly disrespectful to Christians, sparked outrage worldwide. When the International Olympic Committee’s social media 1984-style censorship efforts failed (read: here), the committee had no choice but to apologize for the drag queen parody of Jesus’ Last Supper on Sunday morning. 

  

  Here’s what shocked the world on Friday night during the Opening Ceremony: 

  The 2024 Paris Olympics has gone full Woke dystopian.

  The opening ceremony was filled with transgend*r mockery of the Last Supper, the Golden Calf idol, and even the Pale Horse from the Book of Revelation.

  The Olympics has made it clear that Christian viewers aren’t welcome. pic.twitter.com/LgawyE6YRX

  — Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  God will not be mocked. This is blasphemy. All satanic. Boycott the Olympics. Go woke, go broke. Who is with me?

  “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the… pic.twitter.com/lzFAyDga1h

  — Sassafrass84 (@Sassafrass_84) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  This Woke Shit Was what people had to Suffer at the Opening Ceremony of Paris Olympics 🤦‍♀️ #Olympics #OlympicGames #OlympicOpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/UiUWbVRHFW

  — Rosy (@rose_k01) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “There was never an intention to show disrespect to a religious group,” a Paris 2024 spokeswoman said, quoted by The Wall Street Journal. 

  The spokeswoman continued, “If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really sorry.”

  Denial of intent… 

  Olympic organizers apologize to anyone who was offended during the opening ceremonies. It’s not really an apology though, it’s just another tiring attempt to say it was about inclusivity. It’s not inclusive when you mock billions of people’s religious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/xM305psf6y

  — Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 (@ryangerritsen) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Never intended to offend anyone?

  What were the organizers thinking when they recreated the Biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles with drag queens, a transgender model, and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus?

  And this… 

  The Paris Olympics deserve to be cancelled

  Boycott this WOKE trash pic.twitter.com/xafQjv0xfU

  — The Pleb 🇨🇦 Reporter (@truckdriverpleb) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that,” the artistic director Thomas Jolly told reporters. 

  Everyone except the Christians…

  The woke mind virus is a phenomenon spreading like cancer across the Western world, infecting the youngest generations through public schools and activist corporations funding non-profits, as well as leftist politicians, who intend to install a new religion of woke. It’s only natural for a competing religion to mock and attack the status quo, that being Christians, and that’s exactly what occurred at the Games by the new religion rooted in Marxism.

  Remember, the Olympics’ planning phase takes years and tens of millions of dollars. For the Games spokesperson to now desperately claim that this opening performance was a big misunderstanding – insults the intelligence of the world, which was watching and left in disbelief. Even the French…

  Last night’s Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony even shocked the French.

  pic.twitter.com/BIitQjifXW

  — Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  So what about the mega-corporations who sponsored the Games? Where are their statements denouncing this absurdity?  

  We assume boycotts are coming to these brands. 

  

  Google Search trends for ‘boycott Olympics’ soared globally. 

  

  Coming… 

  Fellow Christian:

  Can *you* please join me in a complete and total boycott of the blasphemous sickening satanic occult ritual formerly known as the Olympics?

  Jesus Christ will not be mocked

  We are the majority – let’s demonstrate power

  Do not tolerate darkness

  Do NOT watch pic.twitter.com/vtuJLaiWY0

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The backlash this weekend makes it very clear: the majority of folks just want to watch sports without having the woke religion forced upon them. Keep politics and social issues out of sports, please.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 18:11

• For 25 Minutes, Secret Service In Command Center Never Notified Trump's Detail
  For 25 Minutes, Secret Service In Command Center Never Notified Trump’s Detail

  While members of the Secret Service in a Butler, Pennsylvania command center were notified that an individual later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting suspiciously before he tried to assassinate Donald Trump, members of the former president’s secret service detail were not informed of the threat, according to the Washington Post.

  

  Members of former president Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail and his top advisers have privately questioned why they were not informed that local police were tracking a suspicious person before that person opened fire on Trump at his July 13 rally in western Pennsylvania, according to people with direct knowledge of the concerns.

  Approximately 20 to 25 minutes before Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president, local countersnipers noticed him behaving strangely and sent his photograph to a command center staffed by state troopers and Secret Service agents, the head of Pennsylvania State Police told a congressional committee Tuesday.

  According to three sources, members of Trump’s Secret Service detail have complained to confidants and others inside the agency that they were never made aware of the warning, and they had no idea that local countersnipers eventually lost track of Crooks – or that a local police officer who was hoisted onto the roof of the building saw Crooks perched there with a gun. 

  Trump was on stage a full eight minutes – roughly 20 minutes after Crooks was spotted and reported – before shots rang out, wounding Trump, critically wounding two others, and killing one rallygoer.

  “Nobody mentioned it. Nobody said there was a problem,” Trump told Fox News in an interview last Monday. “They could’ve said, ‘Let’s wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, something. Nobody said — I think that was a mistake.”

  Meanwhile, the Secret Service, which initially lied about denying Trump additional security requests, is not talking.

  “As it relates to communications at the rally, the Secret Service is committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again,” said spox Anthony Guglielmi, the guy who lied about the denied security.

  Trump’s team has been at odds with Secret Service headquarters over various requests that the agency denied, including more magnetometers at events, more countersnipers at some events and other specialty teams at other events, The Post has reported. The Secret Service and Trump’s team also repeatedly clashed over security and logistics at the Republican National Convention earlier this month.

  The Butler, Pa., shooting is also emblematic of what some Secret Service critics say are chronic communication problems that have dogged the agency and contributed to serious security lapses. -WaPo

  Yes, just a breakdown in communication. Nothing nefarious.

  Also on Monday, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle deflected when asked by House lawmakers why the Secret Service didn’t immediately delay Trump’s speech when local police reported a suspicious person – telling the committee that such reports are commonplace.

  “At a number of our protected sites, there are suspicious individuals that are identified all the time,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they constitute a threat.”

  Cheatle – who resigned last week, admitted that the Secret Service was notified of a suspicious person at the Butler, PA rally “somewhere between two and five times,” and she didn’t know when Trump’s security detail was notified.

  Turns out, they weren’t.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 18:05

• Obama Instigated Anti-Biden Coup With '25th Amendment' Threat; Sy Hersh Reports
  Obama Instigated Anti-Biden Coup With ’25th Amendment’ Threat; Sy Hersh Reports

  Authored by ‘Sundance’ via TheConservativeTreehouse.com,

  In popular lingo young people simply say, “that tracks.”  It’s a quick way of saying, new information makes sense with pre-existing information.

  Investigative journalist Seymour Hersch writes on his substack [SEE HERE], an article outlying how his sources in Washington DC and the White House have confirmed to him that former President Barack Obama was the impetus to push Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race.

  

  Seymour Hersh says President Obama was “deeply involved” with the alleged coup and called Joe Biden after his “incident” in Las Vegas, which, from all outward appearances, looks like a major slip and fall – with a significant hit to the head.

  “I went over [reports] this week with a senior official in Washington who helped me fashion an account of a White House in complete disarray,” Hersh said.

  “Obama called Biden after breakfast [on July 20] and said, ‘Here’s the deal. We have Kamala’s approval to invoke the 25th Amendment,’” a senior Washington official told Hersh. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries were reportedly directly involved.

  Obama’s plan was to not to immediately endorse Kamala, but it was clear that she would “get the nod.” “[Obama] had an agenda and he wanted to seek it through to the end, and he wanted to have control over who would be elected.” (Hersch article encapsulated)

  Not only does this outline track with every datapoint known about events leading up to the Biden announcement, it also aligns with the entire background of the Obama team operating inside the Biden administration.  Team Obama have always been in control.  Heck, the Obamas never even left Washington DC after their term in office.

  The bigger understanding is in the final quote cited. 

  “[Team Obama] had an agenda and he wanted to seek it through to the end, and he wanted to have control over who would be elected.”  This is the part where people forget the risk to Team Obama that has never gone away.

  The Obama “fundamental change” was a construct of malicious intent.  Much of it fraught with unlawful activity only possible by weaponizing the various agencies and bureaus of the U.S. government.  Going all the way back to 2007 through 2017, that decade is filled with unlawful action by Barack Obama and the people behind him.  This is the core of their ongoing need for control, likely for a generation or more.

  

  President Obama and his likeminded ideological foot-soldiers weaponized the federal system of government.  In every action from the moment he left office, Obama’s team have been working one long continuum of control in order to keep all of their prior activity hidden. 

  The need for Kamala ‘brat’ Harris is simply another step in this long process to hide the activity.

  The NSA Database was weaponized to conduct political surveillance.

  The Dept of Justice was weaponized to target their political opposition.

  The Federal Bureau of Investigation was weaponized to act as the police investigative units for those targets.

  The Dept of Homeland Security was weaponized to control the evidence and information about their political targeting and surveillance.

  The IRS was weaponized against Obama’s political opposition.

  The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was weaponized to allow the targeting radar to sweep internally against American citizens under the guise of national security and domestic terror threats.

  The Central Intelligence Agency was weaponized allowing and permitting their “foreign surveillance” mandate to merge with the DHS internal surveillance mandate, while simultaneously the CIA conducted overseas political operations against the interests of sovereign countries.  All of their activity in ideological alignment.

  The Defense Department was purged of patriotism, intentionally weakened through diversity equity and inclusion, and then boiled down to a flag corps of general willing to go along with the policy of Obama.

  Main Justice through the National Security Division used FARA violations to target anyone who was determined a threat to the fundamental change, and Main Justice began wholesale Lawfare operations against Donald Trump and any entity who would dare align with him.

  Hundreds of millions, likely billions, were funneled through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, The Green New Deal, The Inflation Reduction Act, and various legislative expenditures to foreign governments; those funds went directly into the bank accounts of Democrat donors and political activist groups.

  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, the part the awakened American public can look into and see for themselves. Underneath the waterline, there’s tens of thousands of vested interests, inside and outside of Washington DC, operating to maintain the fundamental change that Obama created.  However, their defenses are weak and shallow, fraught with vulnerability and the endless need to avoid sunlight.

  All of that scheming, rot, corruption and unlawful activity makes them vulnerable.  The need for control is a reaction to fear.  The ‘fundamental change’ group are fraught with fear.  That is why they consider the current political landscape as a zero-sum contest.

  It tracks, it all tracks.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 17:30

• US 'Watching Closely' Venezuela Election After Maduro Warned Of 'Bloodbath' If He Loses
  US ‘Watching Closely’ Venezuela Election After Maduro Warned Of ‘Bloodbath’ If He Loses

  President Nicolas Maduro alarmed and riled his enemies as well as Washington and its allies by declaring just ahead of Sunday’s elections: “If you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success and greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.”

  Many pundits are taking this as a warning that he’ll refuse to give up power in the unlikely event he loses his bid for six more years in office, which would be his third term. While there are eight names total on the ballot as Venezuelans wait in long lines to vote Sunday, 74-year old opposition candidate and former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is considered the only real contender who has a chance of defeating Maduro.

  González is basically the surrogate candidate for María Corina Machado, who has organized the opposition and has become wildly popular, even recently gaining name recognition abroad and in US media.

  

  Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) have ruled over the central American country since 2013, after he took over following the death of his mentor, far-left icon Hugo Chavez.

  Millions of desperate citizens have already left their country in search of work and opportunities abroad amid a crushed economy and rampant accusations of corruption against Maduro government officials. Millions more may leave if his power is extended for another term.

  Polls have seen massive queues since they opened at 6am, but already there are reports of barriers in pro-opposition areas and stories of black-clad, masked men blocking voting stations, as The New York Times has alleged. “The destiny of Venezuela depends on our victory,” Maduro has proclaimed at campaign rallies, while decrying efforts of a hidden imperialist foreign hand to thwart his aims, as well as longtime US-led sanctions.

  Both the United States and Brazil have issued messages of “we’re watching closely”:

  Asked in a press briefing whether Maduro was likely to rig Sunday’s vote, John Kirby, White House national security spokesperson, said it was difficult to know how the situation would play out but that the U.S. wanted “to make it clear to Mr. Maduro that we’re watching, we’re watching closely.”

  Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has also urged Maduro to respect the results, telling international news agencies that he was “scared” by the Venezuelan’s recent remarks, Reuters reported.

  Brazil’s president added that Maduro “needs to learn that when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave.”

  Very, very long queues to vote in Venezuela’s election today. Here’s a timelapse #VenezuelaVOTA #venezuela pic.twitter.com/l3jMQ4hZJH

  — Catherine Ellis (@Cat_lucy1) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Some analysts expect some degree of unrest and violence to break out no matter who emerges victorious, with either side set to contest.

  “On the basis of their own exit polls, the opposition will probably declare victory and push for regime change, ushering in a period of heightened political tension and uncertainty ahead of the inauguration,” Andre Masuko, a research analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit, stated to CNBC.

  President Nicolas Maduro ahead of Sunday’s elections: “If you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success & greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.” pic.twitter.com/rao45c0NIC

  — Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) July 24, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “However, we do not expect the Maduro regime to be overthrown. His strict control over the country’s institutions, including the security forces, the judiciary and the electoral national council (CNE), will be instrumental in helping him to stay in power,” he underscored.

  One big unpredictable scenario of huge consequence is whether the US would throw its support behind any opposition allegations claims of widespread election abuse and fraud.

  Meanwhile, the usual Neocon suspects in Congress are alleging a ‘stolen’ national election before the ballots are even in…

  If the election in #Venezuela today is legitimate Maduro will lose by 40 points

  But the election commission that counts the votes is controlled by the Maduro regime and they will do everything they can to try and steal it pic.twitter.com/EhxzGZjb1j

  — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Washington weighing in too forcefully would set the stage for another anti-opposition crackdown by Maduro government security services.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 15:45

• Bitcoin Breaks Through
  Bitcoin Breaks Through

  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

  Almost everybody in the Bitcoin world is already going to be aware of the headlines former President Donald Trump made last night at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

  At Bitcoin 2024, Trump pledged that if re-elected, his administration would retain all federal Bitcoin holdings, establishing a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile.” He highlighted that the federal government currently possesses nearly 210,000 bitcoins, about 1% of the total supply, mostly seized from cybercriminals. Trump promised that his administration would never sell this Bitcoin, adhering to the fundamental Bitcoin principle of holding.

  Additionally, he vowed to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office, criticizing Gensler’s stringent regulations that many believe have hindered innovation in the crypto industry.

  Anyway you slice it, last night was a flurry of positive Bitcoin-related headlines hitting the wire as soon as Trump took the stage and began speaking to the crowd of crypto enthusiasts. The idea of bitcoin as a reserve asset has always been the holy grail for maximalists and Trump’s speech sent the idea of a bitcoin “standard” to supersonic speeds.

  And while there’s been plenty of speculation online about Trump’s motives, with some saying he’s simply fishing for votes from wherever he can get them, it doesn’t matter at this point: the game theory snowball of a Bitcoin “standard” has officially started rolling down the hill.

  

  Photo: New York Times

  This pro-Bitcoin psychology and reserve asset game theory, and what it could do for the world of Bitcoin regardless of whether or not Trump is elected, cannot be understated.

  The Bitcoin community has now, for the first time, seen a former and potential US president endorse the cryptocurrency as a strategic reserve asset for the country. This is multiple times more consequential than Wall Street listing Bitcoin ETFs, in my opinion, because it accelerates Bitcoin’s adoption regardless of whether or not Trump is elected our next president. The idea that the United States could potentially make Bitcoin part of a monetary standard has officially been launched into the orbit of the country’s economic zeitgeist.

  For comparison, when I started to warm up to the idea of Bitcoin about 6 months ago, I speculated that Middle Eastern money would be the next, after El Salvador, to put Bitcoin on a sovereign balance sheet. From there, I speculated such a move could unleash a tsunami of game theory, with multiple other countries scrambling to catch up across the world, not unlike the way Democrats — the party of Elizabeth “Ban Crypto” Warren — are now scrambling to play catch-up and modify their position stance on crypto.

  

  Too late, losers.

  If you would have told me months ago that one of the two major United States presidential candidates and a former president would be the first to assure the world they would place Bitcoin on the sovereign balance sheet of the most powerful nation in the world, I would have been assured the rest of the world would follow.

  That is exactly the case that is unfolding.

  And, by removing the red tape in the world of Bitcoin, not only would the Trump administration send adoption of the asset to stratospheric levels, it would also be the first tacit public acknowledgment that the fiscal crisis unfolding in the United States is not sustainable and must be dealt with via means other than printing dollars.

  ---

  🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Zero Hedge readers take 50% off a Fringe Finance annual subscription for life by using this link: ZH50

  ---

  In other words, holding a bitcoin reserve would represent an attempt at a strategic move to sound money, regardless of whether or not Bitcoin itself stands the test of time.

  Yesterday not only marked a momentous occasion for Bitcoin, it marked a momentous occasion for everybody on the Austrian side of the economic aisle who has been waiting for a politician to begin to make serious concessions that the fiscal trajectory the country and the dollar are on is not sustainable. It was a limited hangout of sorts – a passive admission that eventually, the country is going to need a solution to its monetary problem that is outside the Keynesian pattern of simply printing more fiat.

  And so even if you are first and foremost an advocate for gold or silver, like I am, it’s easy to see last night’s comments by President Trump as not just a victory for Bitcoin but a victory for economic common sense.

  Just think about this: two major presidential candidates in the United States, both Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, have now publicly come out and supported Bitcoin. That, in and of itself, is enormous.

  

  Even more consequential is the fact that the pro-regulation Orwellian juggernaut known as the Democratic Party, which can never seem to have enough oversight or control on how people live their lives, including saving and spending their money, has begun to realize they are fighting a losing battle.

  This was evident last night when headlines started to cross the wire around the time of Trump’s speech that multiple Democrats were urging Kamala Harris to walk back her stance on being anti-crypto. This is a monstrous pivot, especially given that party cornerstone Senator Elizabeth Warren has been the most outspoken critic of crypto over the last few years. The pivot is too little too late in my opinion — Democrats are already playing second fiddle with crypto adoption.

  In other words, the oft-touted adage that “you don’t change Bitcoin, Bitcoin changes you” seems to have once again rung true. History appears to have shown that eventually, people fall in line behind Bitcoin as long as it remains what the people want. Trump’s foresight to be first to figure out that it’s not worth fighting crypto advocates, but rather joining them, could wind up being one of the most consequential decisions that will determine the outcome of the 2024 election.

  What’s a better argument for a populist campaign than offering populist ways to save, store and preserve your wealth?

  As I wrote earlier this year in my first article about Bitcoin, Bitcoin will work if the people decide they want it to. It’s one of the few instruments that I’ve seen over the years capable of returning some power to the people in the world of economics. And despite Harris flip-flopping and scrambling to right her position on the issue, not unlike what she is doing with issues like banning fracking, having the freedom to choose how you want to store your wealth – even if it turns out to not be effective – is congruent with freedom and personal liberty. And freedom and personal liberty are far more aligned with the Republican party right now than the party that advocated for us to wear masks while outside at the beach, three years into Covid.

  If Trump was smart, he would continue tapping into the independent and libertarian base in the country by announcing that, if elected, he would make RFK Jr. his Bitcoin czar. In my exclusive interview with RFK, Jr. several weeks ago, he told me he was exploring ideas similar to Trump’s:

  “One of the issues that we’re toying with now is a Treasury bill that is based at least partially—maybe starting at one percent and increasing it—on a hard currency. On base currencies, like maybe a basket of currencies that include platinum, gold, silver, and Bitcoin. You know, my uncle tried to do something like this just before he died with the silver certificate and the gold certificate, to give Americans a hedge against inflation.

  “And there are lots of ways we can do that. We’re talking about making, for example, Bitcoin available and stopping the war against Bitcoin so that middle-class people, working-class people who want to hedge against inflation can do that. They don’t have to rely on fiat currency.”

  “And that will insert a discipline into the printing of money. If Americans have a choice, it will inject a discipline into the printing of money that we do not have right now.”

  Perhaps Trump could also take on Michael Saylor as an advisor. Saylor said to me in my exclusive interview with him that Bitcoin adoption would be inevitable due to “the inefficiency of central government or central banking planners”. He appears to be right so far: the people are driving Trump toward Bitcoin, not the other way around, and when the people want something, elected officials have no choice to but to conspire to make it happen.

  And so while the price of Bitcoin dipped last night after Trump’s speech, this was likely only a classic “sell the news” event after a week leading up to Trump’s speech where people were bidding up the price.

  The launch of Bitcoin ETFs this year was a major shot in the arm for the adoption of the digital asset and one of the reasons I began to strongly reconsider my position on Bitcoin. As sad as it is, if Wall Street gets behind an idea, it has a way of finding adoption, even if it eventually also peters out or collapses in value down the road.

  Similarly, when the United States as a country gets behind an idea, it also has a way of creating aftershocks worldwide. My contention is that if Bitcoin makes it for the long haul, the world could potentially look back at Trump’s comments this weekend as an inflection point in American history, American monetary policy and potentially the day even more doubt in Bitcoin’s long-term sustainability died.

  —

  As a quick disclaimer and reminder, I still believe there is significant risk in owning Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an unprecedented monetary experiment and it is extraordinarily volatile. I keep only a portion of my net worth that I am OK with losing in Bitcoin and consider the bet to be speculative in nature.

  Personally, I perfer apps like Swan for buying Bitcoin on a recurring basis, which, in my opinion, is important to help alleviate the volatile swings in the asset. Anyone that wishes to use my referral link at Swan will get $10 in free Bitcoin to start.

  —

  Now read:

  • RFK Jr. Exclusive: Israel, Inflation, Covid, Gold And Bitcoin

  • Michael Saylor Exclusive: Bitcoin’s Biggest Risk, GameStop, ETFs, Inflation

  • The Catalyst That Could Standardize Bitcoin

   

  

  QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 15:10

• French Bishops Blast Olympic "Mockery Of Christianity" While MSM Hails "Unprecedented Display Of Inclusivity"
  French Bishops Blast Olympic “Mockery Of Christianity” While MSM Hails “Unprecedented Display Of Inclusivity”

  The French Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church has blasted the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony for its excesses and provocations which sought to make a mockery of Christianity.

  The French bishops expressed their thoughts “to Christians worldwide who were hurt by the excess, and provocation of certain scenes.” As we detailed previously, it included at least ten men in drag performing a reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” – along with many other sexualized scenes that included a man with his testicles exposed and hanging out of his outfit.

  

  “The opening ceremony… included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore,” the statement continued.

  “We think of all Christians worldwide who were hurt by the excess and provocation of certain scenes,” the French bishops continued. “We hope they understand that the Olympic celebration extends far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists.”

  Still, The Associated Press and other mainstream outlets hailed the segment as an “unprecedented display of inclusivity” despite an overwhelmingly negative reaction which come even from secular quarters. 

  Several X accounts that posted videos and/or screenshots about the absurdities of the Olympics’ opening ceremonies have been hit with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints. Additionally the Opening Ceremony highlights has been removed from the Olympics’ official YouTube page, as we detailed earlier. 

  This was extremely disrespectful to Christians

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Even elements of the European Left condemned it, including far-left French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

  * * *

  The following is a translation of and commentary on Mélenchon’s words by Arnaud Bertrand…

  Mélenchon on the Olympics opening ceremony, which really goes to show that the criticisms of it aren’t “far-right” as many are arguing, they’re just common sense:

  “I didn’t appreciate the mockery of the Christian Last Supper, the final meal of Christ and his disciples, which is foundational to Sunday worship. Of course, I’m not getting into the criticism of ‘blasphemy.’ That doesn’t concern everyone.

  But I ask: what’s the point of risking offending believers? Even when one is anticlerical! We were speaking to the world that evening. Among the billion Christians in the world, how many good and honest people are there for whom faith provides help in living and knowing how to participate in everyone’s life, without bothering anyone?”

  It’s the exact same point I was making yesterday: the whole point of the Olympics is to bring the world together, and this was perhaps the most needlessly divisive opening ceremony in history, because so shocking and tasteless to so many.

  🇫🇷 FLASH | Jean-Luc Mélenchon à propos de la cérémonie d’ouverture des JO de #Paris2024:

  « Je n’ai pas aimé la moquerie sur la Cène chrétienne, dernier repas du Christ et de ses disciples, fondatrice du culte dominical. Je n’entre pas bien sûr dans la critique du « blasphème ».… pic.twitter.com/ERbJ8U5SJK

  — Cerfia (@CerfiaFR) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  It spoke to an extremely tiny group of people. I actually think many even in the LGBT community found it completely ridiculous. Being secular doesn’t mean hating on religion. It means a separation of state and religion but it doesn’t imply insult of religion and their believers… In fact many profoundly secular states ban insults to religion…

  I admit that France does have a history of being irreverent to religion, but it is unwise to sacralize this as a core part of our identity as this show attempted to do, especially in the context of an event meant to bring the world together. These types of provocations belong in fringe publications like Charlie-Hebdo, not a ceremony like this.

  *   *   *

  A response from a US bishop… 

  To the Paris Olympics organizing committee, not good enough. #OlympicGames #Olympics2024Paris @Olympics pic.twitter.com/p8urrYLhA0

  — Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) July 28, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 14:35

• "Adult Swim": Four Reasons Why We Have Not Seen The Summer Lows Yet…
  “Adult Swim”: Four Reasons Why We Have Not Seen The Summer Lows Yet…

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  Baby Pool Closed for “Maintenance”

  Anyone who ever got that notice from a town or community pool knows exactly what happened. It feels like some of that has gone on in our markets of late, ensuring that this is an “adult swim.” For those who have had their vacations disrupted or are about to experience that as market volatility continues, we feel your pain!

  The Nasdaq 100 has had some wild swings, and the S&P 500 broke a long string of trading days without dropping 2%. Stocks ended the week strong on Friday and we got to continue to examine de-grossing, rotations, and de-risking. Last weekend we delved into these subjects in Know When to Fold ‘Em and we refined our views on Thursday morning in A Lot Going On.

  Here we are, once again attempting to navigate through what is likely going to be another “interesting” week to say the least. But, before diving into the week ahead, we saw lots of evidence of rotation/de-grossing:

  • The Nasdaq 100 was down 2.6% while the Russell 2000 gained 3.5%.

  • The S&P 500 was down 0.8% while the equal weight version was up 0.8%.

  • Energy, which we like as our favorite hedge against geopolitical risk, was mixed (XLE was down a smidge, while OIH was up 1.6%).

  • The 2s vs 10s spread on the Treasury side of things got as low as -14 and ended the week less inverted than when it started. For now, we will put this on the rotation/de-grossing side of the ledger and expect it to continue.

  Questions remain about how much de-risking has occurred?

  • Sure, QQQ has had some outflows of late, but it actually had inflows last week, while IWM (Russell 2000 ETF) had another week of strong inflows – which feels more like a rotation than de-risking.

  • When I look at the “frothier” end of things, I see little evidence of de-risking. TQQQ (a triple leveraged Nasdaq 100 ETF) had inflows, and SQQQ (3x inverse Nasdaq 100) had outflows. That looks like risk is being added. Similarly, NVDL (1.5x NVDA) had inflows. NVDS (-1.5x NVDA) had outflows, but it is tiny. I truly don’t understand the need for single stock ETFs (call me old fashioned), but those flows give some sense of the underlying tone out there. While I don’t understand why they exist, NVDL at $4.2 billion of AUM with an expense ratio of 1.15% is on a roughly $50,000,000 annual fee run-rate, which is pretty darn impressive for the creators!

  What really “seals the deal” for me on my view that we are not done de-risking (but likely will be) is the view of the Fed.

  • We’ve gone from being “out there” for saying that the Fed should cut in July, to being a more or less consensus view that the Fed should be cutting, but won’t cut until September.

  • According to Bloomberg’s WIRP function, based on futures contracts, the market is now pricing in 1.13 cuts at the September meeting and 3.4 cuts by the end of the January meeting. We’ve been in the camp that the Fed is late to the easing cycle, the real rates are too high, the economy is slowing, and inflation pressures have abated, but the market may be getting ahead of itself again. The current pricing is just a bit more aggressive than our view (from having been more conservative), which leads us to wonder if the Fed isn’t already priced in? Or, and this is becoming our base case, the Fed will have to ease at this pace or faster, only because economic conditions won’t support anything resembling tight monetary policy.

  With a lack of fear (even VIX has scaled back), some aggressive fund flows, and conviction that the Fed is going to announce the start of rate cuts driving this market, there still seems to be far more downside risk than upside risk.

  Maybe the weakest hands have played out their de-grossing strategy and the rotation that remains (which still makes sense to us) will happen in an “overall rising” market. The data could support that.

  We have four reasons to expect that we have not seen the summer lows yet:

  1. The Fed is fully priced in.

  2. The jobs data this week will be extremely disappointing. But not so disappointing that the Fed can pivot to “full-on dovish” given the Fed’s fears of an inflation resurgence. The pendulum swinging from no landing, to soft landing, to a possible bumpy landing could be the catalyst for more downside risk, especially since the Fed will likely feel the need to be restrained for the coming months.

  3. Earning and AI. There is no longer an automatic 5% pop in your stock price just for saying “AI” on your earnings call (I’m being facetious, but….). What is the cost of AI? The price to implement AI has soared. How good is the AI you are getting? The best analogy, that I have heard on many fronts, is that the “large language models” are like reading a really good newspaper or magazine. The articles on subjects that you know little about make a lot of sense. However, you find a lot of issues with the articles about your area of expertise. Yes, LLMs are only one part of AI. Even in that subset, there are different ones, and some have very specific training to overcome that rather generic analogy of reading articles. Will today’s models (or more accurately, the perception of what the cost benefit analysis will yield in a couple years) be able to justify today’s current valuations? Given positioning and some of what we have seen in some recent earnings, that might prove difficult and be a catalyst for de-risking.

  4. Politics and Geopolitical Risks.

  Political first. There is a real risk that as both parties start campaigning on their policies, the market will get nervous about where we are headed on the deficit and inflation. How we get the bigger deficit and inflation risks posed by each parties’ policies will be different, but I think the risks are similar and currently not being priced in. This is why we expect to see less inversion and even “normal” yield curves as term premium gets put back into the market.

  Geopolitical. On Thursday we published a SITREP as Chinese AND Russian Bombers were Intercepted Off the Alaskan Coast. While intercepting bombers is “normal,” this was the first time (that we are aware of) that planes from these two countries took off from the same base and operated together near North America.

  This comes on the heels of our monthly Around the World piece, published on Wednesday. It is longer than usual, as there is so much going on. The Geopolitical Intelligence Group provides an updated assessment on the War in Gaza and the risk of escalation with Hezbollah. Next, it addresses what might change and what is likely to remain the same following Iran’s election of a reformist president. Next, it identifies how Russia is enhancing its partnerships to support its war in Ukraine and some problems that are coming up in discussions about what any sort of peace might look like. Finally, we address the Increased Tensions with China in the South China Sea! While for most people, Taiwan is the main area of concern, but there is also an increased concern about China’s intentions regarding some “disputed” reefs with the Philippines. “Disputed” is in quotes, as the international courts have ruled in favor of the Philippines, so away from China’s view, there is little to dispute.

  This seems like a good time to update our Geopolitical Risk vs Perception Heatmap, last published in June.

  

  While the events of July 19th were not CYBER related, we have inched up the risk of a real cyber threat.

  We’ve reduced the risk of a trade war as it seems that China is content to wait until after the election to respond to our most recent round of tariffs against them. While the real risk is reduced, the perception of risk has declined almost as fast, leaving this as a potential problem for markets.

  While nothing has specifically happened with Russia, current signals, messages, and chatter warrant increasing the risk of some activity on their part, which helps support commodities.

  Far and away is the risk of some “wildcard” event. The potential opportunities for a geopolitical event somewhere around the globe seem to be on the rise. We currently have a President who is not running for re-election, parties that seem as happy to attack and divide to win as they are to win on policies alone, and an entire media industry geared towards elections at the expense of reporting on the rest of the world. Maybe Russian and Chinese planes flying together near Alaska is all that we will get? Or maybe that is a snippet of our enemies/adversaries/competitors (take your pick) trying to analyze how much they can get away with?

  Bottom Line

  The Fed is not enough to “end the risk of de-risking.” The rotation trades should continue to work (though the move has already been quite extreme), but look for it to occur in a falling market. Look for some form of “not so good” landing to make its way back into the lexicon in the coming weeks.

  • Energy remains a favorite sector.

  • For banks (both KRE and KBE have been doing very well) the risk is that we get data indicating stretched consumers and unrealized problems in some segments of commercial real estate (such as office space in some specific cities). That could put some pressure on banks. The outlook is good, unless the data starts coming in worse than our already mildly bearish view, which isn’t our base case, but it seems more likely than surprising to the upside.

  • Credit. If we are correct and equities face more pressure, it will translate into some pressure on spreads, but nothing to be too concerned about as equities are far more about valuations in certain areas and positioning rather than overall economic concerns that would directly affect the creditworthiness of most borrowers. However, it would be helpful if the calendar slowed, giving everyone a little time to tuck away the recent issues. Finally, if we get a scenario that puts banks under any pressure (not our view, but something to think about for the first time in a while), that would impact credit spreads more materially.

  The worst might be behind us in risk assets, but the view here is that we have more trouble to come and August, often a “trend-following month,” will follow the trend of choppiness and losses for stocks.

  Good luck and for those of you who swim as poorly as I do, put on the water wings, because the adult swim is likely going to continue!

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 14:00

• Meteorologists Watching New "Area Of Disturbed Weather" In Atlantic Basin After Lull In Activity 
  Meteorologists Watching New “Area Of Disturbed Weather” In Atlantic Basin After Lull In Activity 

  July has been a super quiet month in what has been expected to be a very active hurricane season, but that could all soon change with a new disturbance developing in the Atlantic Basin. 

  The National Hurricane Center reported a tropical development over the central tropical Atlantic Ocean. It is expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave early next week.

  Here’s more from NHC’s latest report:

  “Near the Leeward Islands and Greater Antilles: An area of disturbed weather over the central tropical Atlantic Ocean is expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave during the next several days. Environmental conditions are forecast to become conducive for some development in a day or two, and a tropical depression could form around midweek while the system is near or over the northern Leeward Islands, Greater Antilles, or the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.”

  Formation odds:

  • Formation chance through 48 hours was low or near 0 percent.

  • Formation chance through 7 days was medium or 40 percent

  Good Sunday morning! As we head through the rest of the week, we’ll be watching for the potential for a tropical depression to form near the Leeward Islands, Greater Antilles, or southwestern Atlantic.

  Continue to monitor https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb for the latest info on this… pic.twitter.com/DGRwAu6Wro

  — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 28, 2024

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  “Overnight 00z ensembles here on weathernerds. GFS still only has a few. EURO more aggressive and more east. Nothing expected to form until near the islands. NHC remains at 40% chance,” Mike’s Weather Page wrote on X. 

  Overnight 00z ensembles here on https://t.co/j6cXc9Fom0. GFS still only has a few. EURO more aggressive and more east. Nothing expected to form until near the islands. NHC remains at 40% chance. Their new update at 8am ET. https://t.co/Hk3pbO7x8H pic.twitter.com/wKiUSVkHPl

  — Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) July 28, 2024

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  AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva noted that the hurricane season will soon be entering the point where more “systems take hold and organize into tropical depressions, storms, and even hurricanes under the right conditions.” 

  

  July brought a lull in tropical development, which will likely change as August quickly approaches. Plan those East Coast and Gulf Coast trips accordingly.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 13:25

• German Publisher Stops All Printing Of JD Vance's Book Hillbilly Elegy
  German Publisher Stops All Printing Of JD Vance’s Book Hillbilly Elegy

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  JD Vance is a marked man. After accepting the nomination for vice president, Vance has been the subject of endless media attacks. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris even questioned his “loyalty” to the country despite his serving as a Marine in the Iraq War. Yet, one of the most chilling attacks came from Germany where the publishing house Ullstein Buchverlage has stopped printing the sold-out German translation of Hillbilly Elegy, his 2016 autobiography.

  

  As we have discussed previously in this country, it is the modern left’s equivalent of book burning. After all, why burn books when you can simply prevent their being printed under blacklisting campaigns?

  In this country, we have seen the left successfully force book bans for writers and even justices who espouse opposing viewpoints.  We have seen actual calls for book burning recently (here and here).

  Ullstein is facing a high demand for Vance’s best-selling book Hillbilly Elegy, but has refused to print more copies due to his political viewpoints (unrelated to the book).

  First published in 2016 and made into a movie in 2020, the book returned to the top position on The New York Times‘ bestseller list after Trump chose Vance as his running mate.

  HarperCollins is rushing to print more books to meet the demand.

  Some in the United States are already balking at the selling of any book by Vance. Seven Stories Press wrote, “Seven Stories Press is extremely thrilled to have never published JD Vance.”

  Ullstein published the German translation of Hillbilly Elegy in 2017 and held the rights to reprints.

  The company cited Vance’s allegiance with Trump and his politics as the reason in a statement to German media:

  “At the time of its publication, the book made a valuable contribution to understanding the drifting apart of US society…In the meantime, he is officially acting alongside him and advocating an aggressively demagogic, exclusionary policy.”

  German author Gerd Buurmann posted a mocking response that we should be happy that Ullstein had just thrown Vance’s book out of its catalogue and not into the fire – a reference to the notorious Nazi book burnings of the 1930s.

  Other Germans have raised the same objections and referenced the painful history of book bans and burnings in Germany under the Nazis.

  

  German readers want to read the book, which Ullstein acknowledged is one of the most influential works of this generation. However, because the company disagrees with his political viewpoints, it moved to block others from reading the book.

  We have seen similar campaigns leading to the banning or burning of books by figures like JK Rowling because of her opposition to some transgender policies. The left now protests any programs on Rowling’s work and opposes the selling of her enormously popular Harry Potter series or even video games based on the series. When authors have defended her right to be published, they have also been subjected to cancel campaigns.

  Yet, Ullstein’s decision is particularly chilling as a publishing house. Again, we have seen editors at publishing houses sign petitions to bar books by conservative figures like Justice Amy Coney Barrett from being published.

  In 1933, thousands of books by Jewish and leftist writers were burned throughout Germany. Publishing houses further banned the printing of these books. The books were announced as corrupting the minds of German citizens. Many books were banned or burned on the basis of the authors being Jewish or known socialists or anarchists.

  Now the left has developed a taste for censorship and blacklisting. Editors and publishing houses are blacklisting those with conservative or libertarian views as forms of dangerous viewpoints or disinformation.

  Ullstein will, of course, not stop people from reading the work of JD Vance. While it may make it more difficult for Germans to find copies, ideas like water have a way of finding their way out. Blacklisting and censorship have not succeeded in killing a single idea. What it does is reveal the true character and values of those who want to prevent others from hearing opposing viewpoints.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 12:50

• Lithium Battery Fire Sparks Traffic Mayhem Across California Desert
  Lithium Battery Fire Sparks Traffic Mayhem Across California Desert

  Some X users have described the traffic chaos near Baker, California, on the northbound lanes of I-15 as ‘carmageddon.’ This followed road closures on Friday that extended well into the weekend due to an overturned truck carrying lithium-ion batteries that ignited on fire. 

  As of early Sunday, the California Highway Patrol wrote on X, “I-15 N/B at Harvard Rd remains closed,” adding, “Crews are currently grading the dirt around the trailer housing the hazardous material. Heavy-duty equipment is on scene, and efforts to move the trailer will continue once deemed safe for the crews.” 

  Update:
  I-15 N/B at Harvard Rd remains closed. Southbound open. Crews are currently grading the dirt around the trailer housing the hazardous material. Heavy duty equipment is on scene and efforts to move the trailer will continue once deemed safe for the crews. pic.twitter.com/nwom71QdxO

  — CHP Barstow (@CHP_Barstow) July 28, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “A crisis situation is unfolding in the California desert. Thousands of people headed to Las Vegas have been stuck on the I-40 for many hours, running out of gas and water. This is all due to the lithium battery truck fire that closed down I-15 yesterday,” X user Las Vegas Locally wrote on X late Saturday afternoon. 

  A crisis situation is unfolding in the California desert. Thousands of people headed to Las Vegas have been stuck on the I-40 for many hours, running out of gas and water. This is all due to the lithium battery truck fire that closed down I-15 yesterday. pic.twitter.com/PnoQRzd4mX

  — Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) July 27, 2024

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  Drivers caught in the massive traffic backup were furious. 

  Was in Las Vegas for a few days with my oldest son to celebrate the end of Summer Vacation.

  Unfortunately on our way back we were caught up in the biggest traffic jam of my life.

  Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Southern California was closed due to a big rig accident and…

  — Ngoma Kurira (@Ngoma_Kurira_) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Thousands of cars and trucks stranded on 40E outside of Barstow.@News3LV @8NewsNow @FOX5Vegas
  People need answers and support out here. pic.twitter.com/GLOMaUgYQr

  — JT The Brick (@JTTheBrick) July 27, 2024

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  “A different sort of energy crisis, also caused by alternative energy (a lithium battery fire),” X user Josh Young wrote. 

  The dangers of the ‘green’ energy transition are not being disclosed to the American people by radical leftists in the White House. There is limited transparency and unaccountability.

  Let’s not forget that lithium-ion batteries contain a lot of energy and can spontaneously enter into a ‘thermal runaway,‘ in other words…

  See here: 

  • “We Might Need To Let It Burn”: Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game

  • Exploding E-Bikes: Lithium Battery Fires Spread In New York And California

  • San Diego-Bound Cargo Ship Hauling Lithium Batteries Reports Fire

  • 500 EVs Among The 3000 Cars On Burning Ship Off Dutch Coast

  • Rivian’s Amazon Delivery Vans Keep Mysteriously Catching Fire

  Though caused by a traffic accident rather than occurring spontaneously, the latest battery fire in the California desert highlights a major issue: firefighting crews nationwide are unprepared for EV fires.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 12:15

• One Man Found The Infamous "Carpet Trails" In Florida That Lead To Enormous Homeless Encampments Way Back In The Woods
  One Man Found The Infamous “Carpet Trails” In Florida That Lead To Enormous Homeless Encampments Way Back In The Woods

  Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

  If you are still able to afford a decent home, you should consider yourself to be incredibly blessed, because vast numbers of Americans do not have a permanent place to live at this point.  Homelessness in the United States is at the highest level ever recorded, and it has been growing at the fastest pace ever recorded.  The homeless encampments that have been popping up all over our major cities have been making lots of headlines in recent years, but many of the homeless live and die in very isolated places far from public view.  What I am about to share with you should deeply sadden all of us.

  

  Way back in the woods in southwest Florida, trails that have been made out of discarded carpets lead to absolutely enormous homeless encampments where hordes of homeless people have made homes for themselves.

  One man was able to find these infamous “carpet trails”, and he posted footage of them on his YouTube channel…

  Coastal areas of southern Florida are very popular among the homeless because the nights never get too cold even during the winter.

  But there are plenty of other hazards, and just trying to stay alive can be a real struggle.

  Of course the west coast is dealing with an even greater crisis.

  In Portland, homeless encampments have taken over vast stretches of the city and nobody seems to have any solutions.

  KATU recently visited one of the most notorious homeless encampments, and they discovered that it has gotten even bigger since the last time they visited it…

  This is what a collapsing society looks like.

  Poverty and hunger are spreading like wildfire, and the deplorable conditions in many of our core urban areas are being openly mocked all over the globe.

  In fact, in China they are actually “producing documentaries on the collapse of American cities”…

  The Chinese are now producing documentaries on the collapse of American cities. What this showcases is the grim aftermath of decades of deindustrialization, disastrous progressive policies, and an opioid crisis—ironically fueled by China.

  “Chinese are making documentaries about ultra-extreme poverty and decaying cities since they don’t exist in China anymore,” X user S.L. Kanthan wrote in a recent post, accompanied by a short clip from the documentary highlighting the implosion of Oakland, California.

  Since the video was narrated in Chinese, X user TranslateMom translated some of the captions, which said, “Everywhere is garbage … People don’t live in places. There are wanderers everywhere.”

  One of the primary reasons why so many people are forced to live in the streets is because housing has become ridiculously unaffordable.

  If you can believe it, there are now 237 U.S. cities where “buyers will find a price tag of $1 million or more on the typical starter home”…

  A million-dollar price tag no longer means lavish and luxurious living. In more than 200 U.S. cities, buyers will find a price tag of $1 million or more on the typical starter home, a new Zillow® analysis finds.

  The typical “starter home” — defined for this analysis as being among those in the lowest third of home values in a given region — is worth at least $1 million in 237 cities, the highest number of cities ever. Five years ago, there were only 84 such cities.

  That is nuts!

  Who can afford to pay a million bucks for a “starter home”?

  This is what rampant inflation has done to us.

  It has absolutely eviscerated our standard of living, and ordinary Americans such as you and I are feeling a tremendous amount of pain right now.

  According to Zillow, California, New York and New Jersey are the states that have the most cities where a typical “starter home” costs at least a million dollars…

  Exactly half of all states have at least one city with a typical starter home worth $1 million or more. There are 117 such cities in California, well ahead of New York (31) and New Jersey (21), which have the second- and third-highest numbers. Florida and Massachusetts round out the top five with 11 each.

  Among metropolitan areas, the New York City metro, which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has the most cities with million-dollar starter homes at 48. The San Francisco metro has the next highest count at 44, followed by Los Angeles (35), San Jose (15), and Miami and Seattle, each with eight. Irvine, with a population of more than 300,000, is the biggest city with $1 million starter homes.

  Of course California is also being overwhelmed by homeless encampments right now too.

  Progressive policies have resulted in a chronic shortage of affordable housing, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

  Sadly, conditions are only going to get worse all over the nation because our economic momentum is rapidly taking us in the wrong direction.

  For example, we just learned that credit card delinquency rates have risen to the highest level ever recorded…

  A growing number of Americans are falling behind on their monthly credit card payments as they continue to battle high inflation and interest rates.

  New data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows that credit card delinquency rates in the first quarter of 2024 rose to the highest level since 2012, when the Fed began tracking the data. All stages of credit card delinquency — 30, 60 and 90 days past due — rose during the first three months of the year.

  And another major retailer just went bankrupt and is closing lots of stores…

  Home goods retailer Conn’s HomePlus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday and announced plans to close at least 70 locations across 13 states.

  On its website, Conn’s says it will close 18 locations in Florida, nine in Texas and seven in Arizona. Other states that will see stores close include Virginia, Colorado, Mississippi and Oklahoma, among others.

  Everywhere you look, there is suffering.

  But for the moment, those at the very top of the economic food chain are still thriving.

  In fact, the wealthiest one percent have actually gotten 42 trillion dollars wealthier during the past decade…

  The world’s richest one percent increased their fortunes by a total of $42 trillion over the past decade, Oxfam said Thursday, ahead of a G20 summit in Brazil where taxing the super-rich tops the agenda.

  Despite this windfall, taxes on the rich had plummeted to “historic lows”, the NGO added, warning of “obscene levels” of inequality with the rest of the world “left to scrap for crumbs”.

  A day of reckoning is coming for them too.

  In fact, a day of reckoning is rapidly approaching for the entire planet.

  Our system is fundamentally flawed, and decades of really bad decisions have brought us to a breaking point.

  So please don’t look down on those that have lost their homes and have no place to live, because lots more people will be joining them soon.

  *  *  *

  Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 11:40

• Trump Promises To Make USA The "Bitcoin Super-Power Of The World"; Democrats Panic U-Turn On Anti-Crypto Crusade
  Trump Promises To Make USA The “Bitcoin Super-Power Of The World”; Democrats Panic U-Turn On Anti-Crypto Crusade

  In a spirited keynote address, Former President Trump promised to make USA the “bitcoin super-power of the world,” ensuring that cryptocurrency is “mined, minted, and made in the USA.”

  “We have to talk about Bitcoin. Our country is blessed with the extraordinary talent and genius in this room.

  This spirit built America and will help us make it great again.

  I admire what the Bitcoin community has achieved. In just 15 years, Bitcoin has gone from an idea to the 9th most valuable asset in the world.

  It’s already bigger than ExxonMobil and soon it will surpass the market cap of silver.

  That’s a big deal.”

  He went on with some big promises:

  “I pledge the day I take office the weaponization against Bitcoin ends.”

  “On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC Chairman.”

  “I will immediately shutdown Operation Chokepoint 2.0“

  Trump also confirmed that he will appoint a crypto advisory council with “regulations written by industry-loving people within 100 days.”

  Trump also confirmed that “there will never be a CBDC” while he is president.

  “Those who say that bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have it exactly backwards, the danger to our financial future comes from Washington DC not crypto.”

  Additionally, the former president pointing out that

  “Bitcoiners understand inflation better than anyone. You all understood it first.”

  Promising to ‘drill, baby, drill’, Trump notes that with low energy costs the USA will become the undisputed bitcoin mining center of the world.

  Finally, Trump dropped the big guns:

  “The policy of the Trump administration will be to keep 100% of all that it currently holds as the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile,” and confirmed his promise to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to time-served.

  🚨PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I WILL KEEP 100% OF ALL THE BITCOIN HELD BY THE UNITED STATES AS PART OF THE NATIONAL BITCOIN STRATEGIC STOCKPILE.” pic.twitter.com/fDNKvYe0uv

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Watch the full keynote address at Bitcoin 2024 here:

  Bitcoin price has risen significantly in the last 24 hours in anticipation of Trump’s speech…

  

  Notably, the Democrats appear to be worried that crypto could be a vote-change for many people (and are pushing back against the Warren/Gensler attacks). A number of Democratic congressmembers have penned a letter to the DNC pushing for change…

  Over 52 million Americans have embraced digital assets, seeing them as a means to democratize finance, spur innovation, and create new economic opportunities.

  According to recent polls. 19% of voters have bought crypto, 19% self-identified as Democrats, 18% as Republicans, and 24% of crypto-owning voters are independents.

  Data shows that digital assets are being adopted at higher rates among Gen Z, Black and Latino Americans, and immigrant communities key constituencies of the Democratic party compared to traditional financial products. These technologies are revolutionizing opportunities for these communities, reflecting their transformative potential.

  From an electoral standpoint, crypto and blockchain technologies have an outsized impact in ensuring victories up and down the ballot. Crypto is at the top of voters’ minds in swing states, and a balanced approach to crypto that spurs innovation while protecting consumers is a net positive for policymakers and candidates.

  Over 20% of voters in key battleground states identified crypto as a major issue in the 2024 election, and it is critical that our party presents a persuasive case to crypto voters while ensuring that consumers benefit from thoughtful and appropriate regulation.

  The current financial system has left Americans behind.

  According to recent surveys, 4 in 5 voters agree with the statement, “The current financial system favors elites over regular people.” Digital assets and blockchain technology are not merely financial instruments but represent a revolutionary shift that can enhance transparency, reduce fraud, and create a more inclusive financial system.

  We believe this technology is non-partisan, and the Democratic Party should also champion these innovations to help reaffirm the U.S.’s position as the leader in the global digital economy.

  They then make four suggestions that the DNC should back off the attacks on crypto:

  BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Democrats wrote to the DNC asking to shift away from the anti-#Bitcoin stance, responding to Trump speaking at the Bitcoin conference. pic.twitter.com/cgN4VhmKha

  — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) July 27, 2024

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  *  *  *

  Who could have seen this coming?

  Crypto is now a political issue (Dems want to crush it) and GOP will use that in 2024. https://t.co/k26pn0vO5T

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 13, 2023

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  In the sixteen months since, we have seen a seismic shift in attitudes towards crypto from both Independents and Republicans; while Democrats continue to demonize the sovereign currency.

  Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the role Bitcoin could play in improving the US economy and the American way of life as he spoke to an audience at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 26. He promised to sign a number of executive orders on his first day in office to begin the process.

  Kennedy would sign an order requiring the US Justice Department and US Marshalls to transfer the 204,000 Bitcoin held by the US to the Federal Reserve to be held as a “strategic asset,” he said.

  Furthermore, Kennedy said he would also order the Treasury Department to purchase 500 Bitcoin daily until the reserve reaches at least four million BTC.

  The United States would attain “a position of dominance no other country will be able to usurp” and its Bitcoin reserve would eventually reach a value of “hundreds of trillions of dollars,” he promised.

  🚨Presidential Candidate RFK JR: “I will sign an executive order directing the US Treasury to purchase 550 Bitcoin daily until the US has built a reserve of at least 4,000,000 Bitcoins and a position of dominance that no other country will be able to usurp.” pic.twitter.com/u6JopH7yCu

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 26, 2024

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  In addition, CoinTelegraph’s Derek Andersen reports that Kennedy would order the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to treat all transactions between Bitcoin and the US dollar as nonreportable and nontaxable. He would also order the IRS to treat Bitcoin as eligible for exchange into real property under the 1031 Exchange program, which provides incentives for real estate investment.

  “Transactional freedom [is] as important as freedom of expression in the 1st Amendment,” Kennedy said, and Bitcoin can provide that freedom and help restore the United States economy to its condition before President Richard Nixon took the US dollar off the gold standard to fund the Vietnam war. Kennedy added:

  “Fiat currency was invented to fund war. […] If the world was on a BTC standard, there would be no more war because you can’t print Bitcoin.”

  “I understand that tomorrow President Trump may announce his plan to build a Bitcoin Fort Knox and authorize the US government to buy a million Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset,” Kennedy told the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Friday, a day before Trump was scheduled to speak at the same event.

  “And I applaud that announcement.”

  However, most notable is the shift seen by former President Trump from his initial comments in 2019..

  “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated cryptoassets can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”

  Thankfully, as Mark Shut and Lee Bratcher detail below, via BitcoinMagazine.com, the official position of the Republican Party has changed dramatically since President Donald J Trump condemned the emerging crypto industry in those uncompromising terms back in 2019.

  

  Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee adopted an ambitious platform to promote innovation in the US’ digital assets industry and protect the rights of bitcoin holders.

  For one, the official platform pledges that the Republicans will “defend the right to mine bitcoin.”

  This represents a much-needed departure from the policies of the incumbent administration.

  In February this year, the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an “emergency” survey to bitcoin mining companies, demanding highly sensitive information such as the specifications of the machines being used, the specific locations of their mining operations, and contractual information relating to their commercial energy partners. The EIA not only demanded all of this information but pledged to publish even the most commercially sensitive bits of it.

  This initiative represented an unprecedented intrusion into the activities of Bitcoin miners and a massive assault on the crypto industry. It prompted organizations such as the Texas Blockchain Council to launch legal proceedings to try and protect the rights of the crypto industry against federal outreach. The Republicans’ pledge to “defend the right to mine bitcoin” is therefore very welcome.

  There are other encouraging pledges that the Republicans have made.

  The GOP has said they will “ensure every American has the right to self-custody their digital assets and transact free from government surveillance and control.”

  They have also come out strongly against the idea of a CBDC.

  “Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” the party has said.

  Of course, all of this is highly encouraging for digital asset industry advocates. But it still begs the question.

  What caused President Trump to change his mind and start embracing the massive potential of digital assets and decentralized finance?

  How has this pro-digital asset agenda vaulted into the limelight of Presidential politics?

  If there is one man who has contributed more than anybody else to changing Republicans’ mind on crypto, it is Vivek Ramaswamy.

  The former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur is clearly having increasing amounts of influence on the GOP inner circle. At the Republican Convention this month, Donald Trump Jr joked that he would like Ramaswamy to be his running mate in 2036. Indeed, ever since his presidential bid last year, it is clear that he has been one of the leading voices at the upper echelons of the Republicans guiding the party in a more pro-crypto direction.

  Ramaswamy made waves in GOP circles when, at the North American Blockchain Summit in Texas last year, he released a detailed and comprehensive plan for the US crypto space.

  What did he pledge to do? Perhaps the most eye-catching measure was his promise to fire most of the employees at the bloated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and order the rest to stop trying to bully the crypto industry. Importantly, Ramaswamy defines many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as commodities that are therefore not under the jurisdiction of the SEC.

  “I think it’s nothing short of embarrassing that Gary Gensler, the current leader of the SEC, in front of Congress could not even say whether Ethereum counted as a regulated security or not,” Ramaswamy said during one of the Republican debates last year. “This is just another example of the administrative state gone too far.”

  Ramaswamy has been a vocal advocate for innovation in the crypto space and the use of decentralized digital currencies as a tool for financial freedom. He has argued that the right to code should be a right protected by the First Amendment, protecting developers from the overreaches of federal agencies.

  He has also said that consumers should have a right to possess self-hosted digital wallets beyond the grasp of the government. This has now been explicitly adopted by the Republicans for their 2024 election campaign, showing the practical influence Ramaswamy is having on Republican policy.

  It is not just Ramaswamy who has been positively influencing Republican policy. Back in May last year, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, brought into force a law banning any potential CBDC being used in the state. The regulation “prohibits the use of a federally adopted CBDC by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code.”

  Efforts like this have been essential in making the Republican leadership aware of the dangers associated with CBDCs and prompting them to pledge action.

  But arguably the most important impactful of Ramaswamy’s crypto activism is to persuade the broader Republican Party that supporting crypto innovation is in line with their political philosophy and natural instincts.

  He has powerfully argued that the current federal assault on the crypto industry is “an embodiment of our national decline” in the way it represents an attack on innovation and entrepreneurship, two values the Republicans have always claimed to hold dear.

  Ramaswamy has similarly noted that Bitcoin mining is “a frontier in American innovation” in the same tradition as American heroes such as Thomas Jefferson – who Ramaswamy thinks “would have been a Bitcoin miner.” This rhetoric seems to have worked in convincing President Trump and Republican leaders that they should indeed be the pro-bitcoin party.

  Another key emerging figure in the Republican party who is of a similar mind on digital assets as Vivek is Trump’s recent VP pick, J.D. Vance. Senator Vance is vocal about his support for bitcoin and digital assets and has a background in tech venture capital. He is young and he understands the importance of courting younger votes.

  So, what will “four more years” of President Trump mean for the US digital asset industry?

  Let’s end as we started, with another quote from the President – one that shows, thanks to the efforts of Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Vance and others, just how much the Republican stance on crypto has changed over the last few years.

  “I will end Joe Biden’s war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America.”

  “If Trump is elected, the U.S. will have to add Bitcoin as a reserve, because it is digital gold,” said Arseniy Grusha, chief executive officer of data-center firm Dataprana, who attended the conference. “The earlier they do that, the better it will be for the United States.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/28/2024 – 11:11

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Will India Supplant China As The Leader Of The Incipient Non-Western Peace Process On Ukraine?
  Will India Supplant China As The Leader Of The Incipient Non-Western Peace Process On Ukraine?

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

  India’s WION cited unnamed diplomatic sources to report on Friday that Prime Minister Modi is planning to visit Kiev at the end of August. This was surprising considering that India summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador in mid-July to complain about Zelensky publicly insulting Modi after the latter visited Russia. It was analyzed here that Ukraine risked losing the support of the Global South after attacking the leader of its most populous country, but then something major happened to change Delhi’s calculations.

  

  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba visited Beijing, which this preview here foresaw as a signal that his country is semi-serious about resuming peace talks with Russia. That insight was proven correct after he said that his country is ready for this but added that it won’t be forced into anything either. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova was skeptical, but Kremlin spokesman Peskov was less so, instead pointing to the political and legal obstacles that would have to be resolved before this happens.  

  In any case, the world interpreted Kuleba’s words as a newfound willingness to entertain the resumption of peace talks with Russia, which was hitherto taboo for his side and its foreign supporters to talk about. From India’s perspective, the possibility of China organizing a Brazilian-fronted non-Western peace process before and/or during the G20- in Rio would be a nightmare come true since it would result in Russia becoming diplomatically indebted in China, which could eventually lead to trouble for India.

  Russia’s recently recalibrated Asian balancing act, which readers can learn more about here and here, was crowned by Modi’s visit to Moscow but now India has reason to worry that all this progress might be reversed if China calls in its diplomatic debt and gets Russia to distance itself somewhat from India. It’s no secret that China and India are embroiled in a fierce border dispute, so it’s not unforeseeable that Beijing might lean on Moscow to decelerate and ultimately cut off the supply of military spares to Delhi.

  India is disproportionately dependent on Russian equipment so that scenario could instantly cripple its deterrence capabilities vis-à-vis China and thus force it into accepted a lopsided deal for resolving their dispute under the pain of war if it refuses. To be absolutely clear, there aren’t any credible indications that Russia would bend to China’s speculative demand to jointly blackmail India via complementary military means, but it can’t confidently be ruled out by responsible Indian policymakers either.

  That being the case, it naturally follows that the most effective way to preemptively thwart this worst-case scenario is for India to make a play for replacing China as the leader of the incipient non-Western peace process on Ukraine, ergo the reason why Modi might soon visit Kiev. From Russia’s perspective, it would be more ideal for India to mediate a resolution to this conflict than for China to do so since its established balancing/pragmatic policymaking faction wants to avoid diplomatic indebtedness to Beijing.

  Likewise, the US would also prefer for India to play this role instead of China since the latter is its systemic rival in the New Cold War, hence why Washington is unlikely to let Kiev participate in any Chinese-organized but Brazilian-fronted non-Western peace process anyhow. Nevertheless, Kiev might also “go rogue” to an extent by still taking part in such events, which its leadership might envisage leveraging to get more aid from the US and have it rescind all existing restrictions on the use of its arms.

  Even if that happens, Ukraine would be unable to agree to anything meaningful without the US’ approval though seeing as how it militarily depends on American-led NATO, so there are limits to what could come from its participation in such Chinese-organized but Brazilian-fronted events. By contrast, the US would have no objections to Ukraine taking part in Indian-led ones, especially since this could serve to help the US and India “reset” their troubled ties by cooperating to end this globally significant conflict.

  In the same vein, Ukraine and India could also “reset” their ties too, which unexpectedly worsened after Zelensky insulted Modi. If his country is truly serious about resuming peace talks with Russia and has American approval for this, then India could promptly mediate between them given its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia. It would be a win-win for India, the US, Ukraine, and Russia if Modi assumes this role, but a lost diplomatic opportunity for China, which won’t give up its plans easy.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 23:20

• DOJ Urges Court To Reject TikTok Lawsuit Challenging Divest-Or-Ban Law
  DOJ Urges Court To Reject TikTok Lawsuit Challenging Divest-Or-Ban Law

  Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by TikTok seeking to block a new U.S. law that could lead to a nationwide ban on the video-sharing app.

  

  President Joe Biden signed the new law in April, requiring either the sale of the app by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by next year or face its removal from app stores and web-hosting services.

  TikTok filed a lawsuit in May challenging the constitutionality of the new law on the grounds that the U.S. government infringed the First Amendment rights of the company and its users in the United States.

  In a brief filed to the federal appeals court on July 26, the DOJ raised concerns over the national security threat posed by TikTok, noting that the app collects “vast swaths” of sensitive data from its 170 million U.S. users.

  “That collection includes data on users’ precise locations, viewing habits, and private messages—and it even includes data on users’ phone contacts who do not themselves use TikTok,” it stated.

  The DOJ argued that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China could potentially use its robust authority to gain access to U.S. consumer data and the algorithm owned by ByteDance.

  “Given TikTok’s broad reach within the United States, the capacity for China to use TikTok’s features to achieve its overarching objectives to undermine American interests creates a national-security threat of immense depth and scale,” it stated.

  The DOJ said the Chinese regime could “covertly control” TikTok’s algorithm to influence the content that U.S. users receive “for its own malign purposes,” such as promoting disinformation and exacerbating social divisions.

  “Among other things, it would allow a foreign government to illicitly interfere with our political system and political discourse, including our elections,” the DOJ stated.

  The DOJ claimed that employees of TikTok and ByteDance often engage in a practice called “heating,” in which certain videos are manually promoted to achieve a certain number of views.

  The department warned that this functionality could be “a powerful tool” for manipulating public discourse and public perceptions of events.

  The DOJ also accused TikTok of misapplying the First Amendment. It argued that the new law was aimed at “national-security concerns unique to TikTok’s connection to a hostile foreign power, not at any suppression of protected speech.”

  “They largely dismiss the divestment option—under which ByteDance’s American affiliate could continue engaging in these activities on the platform—as infeasible, in significant part because TikTok’s U.S. operations are currently interwoven with operations in China and because China will not permit the export of the proprietary recommendation algorithm,” it stated.

  A TikTok spokesperson said the DOJ’s brief does not alter “the fact that the Constitution is on our side,” reiterating that the new law would violate the First Amendment by silencing its users’ voices.

  “As we’ve said before, the government has never put forth proof of its claims, including when Congress passed this unconstitutional law,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

  “Today, once again, the government is taking this unprecedented step while hiding behind secret information. We remain confident we will prevail in court,” the spokesperson said.

  The new law sets the initial deadline for a TikTok sale by January 2025, and President Biden can decide to extend the deadline by another three months to allow the deal to be completed.

  TikTok has maintained that it has not and will not share U.S. user data with the CCP. But according to China’s counterespionage law, ByteDance must hand over data on U.S. users if requested.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 22:45

• Canada Revokes Jewish National Fund's Charity Status For Funding Israeli Army
  Canada Revokes Jewish National Fund’s Charity Status For Funding Israeli Army

  Via The Cradle

  The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) notified the Jewish National Fund (JNF) on July 25th that it plans to revoke the group’s charitable status over its use of donations to build military infrastructure in Israel.

  “Canadian charities are not allowed to fund foreign militaries,” Mark Blumberg, an attorney specializing in Canadian charity law, told the National Post. “Clearly, there were previously some compliance issues,” he added.

  

  “Our position is that it is unjust for CRA to revoke a charity because a charitable object that it accepted almost 60 years ago is now no longer considered to be a valid charitable object,” the JNF said in a statement, adding that it will challenge the decision in the courts.

  The Zionist organization also accused the CRA of “antisemitism.”

  “As a Zionist-inspired organization, JNF Canada has many vociferous antisemitic detractors who we believe have influenced the decision-making process in this matter,” JNF Canada national president Nathan Disenhouse and CEO Lance Davis told media.

  Founded in 1901, by 2007 the Jerusalem-based JNF owned 13 percent of the occupied Palestinian territories and has been considered the single-largest landowner in Israel. Furthermore, its charter explicitly prohibits the sale or lease of land to non-Jews.

  “Under the guise of ‘environmentalism,’ the JNF has forested over the ruins of Palestinian villages in an attempt to ‘greenwash’ non-Jewish dispossession.”

  “This includes ‘Canada Park’ which was built over top 3 destroyed Palestinian villages who more than 9,000 residents were expelled from their homes,” Canada’s Green Party says in a petition to revoke the charitable status of the JNF.

  “Because of its charitable status, JNF provides tax credits for donations, meaning that up to 25 percent of their budget comes from our taxes,” the statement adds.

  The Canadian Revenue Agency has notified the Jewish National Fund of Canada that it will lose its charitable status because of its use of Canadian taxpayer-supported donations to build military infrastructure in Israel.https://t.co/mu6IN84vYL

  — Evan Dyer (@EvanDyerCBC) July 26, 2024

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  The CRA decision comes several months after Ottawa announced plans to ban new arms exports to Israel. Nevertheless, officials clarified that export permits approved before January 8 would remain in effect.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 22:10

• Governments Must Act Now On Proper Forest Management Or Wildfires Will Get Worse
  Governments Must Act Now On Proper Forest Management Or Wildfires Will Get Worse

  Authored by Cory Morgan via The Epoch Times,

  Millions of Albertans, and indeed Canadians, are mourning the destruction of a site where they have memories of recent and childhood trips. We can be thankful that no lives have been lost, but the loss for residents of Jasper is unimaginable. I grew up in the town of Banff and can’t imagine watching my hometown go up in flames.

  

  Banff may very well suffer the same fate as Jasper soon, though, as it is nestled within the same kind of beautiful, but highly flammable Rocky Mountain forests as Jasper. When the Jasper fires have been extinguished and the rebuilding process begins, we must have a serious appraisal of our forest management practices and act as soon as possible. Otherwise, it won’t be a matter of if another community is lost to a wildfire, it will be a matter of when.

  The fingers are pointing and the partisan sniping has already begun as politicians and activists try to lay blame of the Jasper tragedy upon others. But we must set aside partisanship, and even ideology, and work towards solutions before we see more losses.

  To begin with, it must be accepted that fires in boreal forests are natural and inevitable. It has only been in the last couple of centuries that humans have entered the scene and meddled with the natural cycle of burning and rejuvenation of forests. What we are seeing today is the consequences of deferring the fires that would have naturally burned. The forests have become overgrown, unhealthy, and cluttered with layers of extremely flammable deadfall. Forests in that condition burn hot and fast, leading to fires that can’t be extinguished. Many communities in Canada are surrounded by forests like this and are but one spark away from a disaster.

  It’s not reasonable to just let fires burn naturally in populated areas. That means we must manage these forests and our communities to reduce the chances of wildfires and mitigate the damage they cause. This has been done to a degree in areas, but not adequately.

  Forest management to reduce wildfire risk is not new. Logging, tree spacing, and prescribed fires are all methods used to reduce fire hazards in populated regions. Unfortunately, when politics get involved, the wisdom of foresters can be lost as elected officials face backlash for supporting the cutting or burning of brush.

  Jasper is a prime example. A mountain pine beetle infestation had previously killed thousands of acres of pine trees around the townsite. Standing dead pine trees are extremely flammable, and experts were warning of the risk they presented to Jasper in 2018. A plan was formulated between the Alberta Forest Service and Jasper National Park officials to manage the forests, but it was rejected by the federal government. It’s not that the federal government wanted to see the area burn. They didn’t want to deal with the optics of bulldozers and loggers taking down tracts of forest in a scenic national park along with the haze and smoke prescribed burns would bring. The consequences of that deferral are being seen today.

  Municipal governments are loath to create buffers between forests and their townsites because residents enjoy the cozy feel of living next to the wilderness. Developers pitch communities that share space with nature and property owners will complain if bush is cut back.

  Cutting buffers in forests, doing prescribed burns, and clearcut logging may not look pretty, but it is all preferable to the devastation a fire will bring. Politicians must make the tough choices and impose fire mitigation measures upon communities, even if it upsets some residents.

  Just as we build dams and dykes to prevent flooding in populated areas, we must look at managing forests to reduce the fire risks. I worked as a surveyor for over 20 years in Alberta, and what I saw building up on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains was concerning, to say the least. In some areas, it is almost impossible to walk due to the volume of deadfall. If we don’t clear those zones out soon, a fire will and it will be a big one.

  Government jurisdiction and long-term changes in the climate are subjects worthy of discussion, and we doubtless will be having those discussions for years.

  In the meantime, we must act and safeguard our communities. We don’t have years to wait, and we will see more heartbreaking losses as we have with Jasper if we keep putting off the forest management that must happen.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 21:35

• Trump: Biden Was Ousted In A "Fascist Coup"
  Trump: Biden Was Ousted In A “Fascist Coup”

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  During an address to the Turning Point Summit on Friday, President Trump asserted that Joe Biden was forced to quit the presidential race by “fascists” who carried out a “coup.”

  

  Trump told the Florida crowd “As you know, five days ago, we officially defeated the worst president in the history of the United States, Crooked Joe Biden. You know, I thought a lot about it. We defeated him.”

  Trump continued, “He was badly beaten. And, you know, everybody who was going to him said, ‘You can’t beat him. You’re not going to beat this guy. You can’t beat him. Get out. Get out. We want you out…We want you out of the race. You’re going to lose. We want to put somebody else in.’”

  Trump compared the situation to “a prizefighter,” explaining “He’s losing badly, ready to be knocked out. And they say, well, wait, let’s stop the fight. Let’s put somebody else in.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. And it’s not supposed to work that way. And this really was a coup by the Democrats. This was a coup. Nothing else,” Trump emphasised.

  Trump: Biden was outed in a “fascist coup.” Full report here: https://t.co/57PQciFfK3 pic.twitter.com/KUuhE3fCJP

  — m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “He got 14 million votes,” Trump noted, referring to the Democratic primary, adding “I hate to stick up for Biden, but, you know, he didn’t want to do what he did. He said, ‘I’ll never go out. I’ll never, ever go out.’ About two days later, ‘I’m proud to go out.’”

  Trump further declared “the fascists went after him. They threatened him with the 25th Amendment.”

  “They said, we can do it the nice way or we can do it the hard way, Joe. That’s what happened. I know,” Trump added, referring to reports of what Nancy Pelosi said to Biden.

  Trump continued, “I know as many people on that side as I know on our side, so to speak. But that’s what happened. They said, we can do it the hard way. We can do it the easy way. 25th Amendment, if you don’t go. And he said, ‘Oh, I’ll go.’”

  “And now they’re trying to make him into a brave hero. He’s so brave,” Trump concluded.

  Elsewhere during the speech, Trump highlighted how some leftists are saying it is ‘hateful’ to pronounce Kamala Harris’ name incorrectly.

  Trump proclaimed “there are numerous ways of saying her name. They were explaining to me, you can say Kamala, you can say Kamala. I said, don’t worry about it.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I say. I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it or not. I couldn’t care less,” he urged.

  “Some people think I mispronounce it on purpose, but actually I’ve heard it said about seven different ways. There are a lot of ways. There are a lot of ways,” Trump told the audience.

  Trump: “There are numerous ways of saying her name. They were explaining to me, you can say Kamala, you can say Kamala. I said, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter what I say. I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it or not. I couldn’t care less.” https://t.co/57PQciFfK3 pic.twitter.com/tWPqJsiJXi

  — m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *  *  *

  Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 21:00

• How US Sports Leagues Make Money
  How US Sports Leagues Make Money

  Between 2022 and 2023, the five major U.S. sports leagues collectively earned $49.3 billion.

  The NFL generated the highest revenue, at $18.7 billion, significantly outpacing both the NBA and MLB, which each brought in $10.9 billion. Although the main sources of league revenues have largely remained unchanged over the last four decades, there are distinct variations in the revenue breakdown of each sport.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, breaks down U.S. sports leagues by revenue stream, based on data from Sportico.

  

  Breaking Down U.S. Sports League Revenues

  Below, we show how each major league generates revenue based on their primary sources of revenue. Revenue for the NFL and MLB is as of 2022, revenue for the NBA and NHL is for the 2022-2023 season, and revenue for the MLS is as of 2023.

  

  Central revenue includes league media, merchandise, other sponsorships, and shared ticket revenue.

  As we can see, central revenue, which largely consists of media and broadcast deals, is the most important revenue source for the NFL and NBA.

  Since 2018, the NFL has grown from 61 of the top 100 most watched TV broadcasts to 93 in 2023. Adding to this, streaming platforms are increasingly signing contracts with the NFL, including Netflix paying $150 million to stream two 2024 Christmas games and Amazon paying $1 billion to stream Thursday night games exclusively on digital.

  Additionally, the NBA recently signed an 11-year $76 billion deal with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC that is worth more than double its previous contract. Moreover, this trend of significantly increasing media deal values is seen across every major league amid high consumer demand for professional sports.

  For the MLB, local media is a vital source of revenue, with nearly a quarter of revenues coming from this source—more than any other sport by far. In fact, each day an average 2.3 million viewers watch MLB games on regional sports networks.

  Meanwhile, the NHL makes the highest share of revenue from seating and suite sales compared to major sports leagues, at 44%, due to it attracting less lucrative TV contracts.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 20:25

• The Downside Of Complacency
  The Downside Of Complacency

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  Confidence / complacency doesn’t map the real world, in which liquidity dries up and markets go bidless.

  When Alan Greenspan issued his mea culpa in late 2013 about missing the subprime mortgage implosion and the resulting Global Financial Meltdown (Why I Didn’t See the Crisis Coming Foreign Affairs), he started by noting the complete and utter failure of everyone’s sophisticated models to predict the collapse of confidence.

  The core failure, he suggested, lay in the models’ reliance on the notion that humans make decisions rationally as Homo economicus, when the reality is we are extremely prone to irrational exuberance (a.k.a. running with the greed-enchanted herd) and panic (running off the cliff with the herd). He invoked Keynes famous “animal spirits” as the missing variable in economic models.

  Irrational “animal spirits” generate “tail risk,” events that supposedly happen only rarely but when they do happen, they trigger outsized consequences, and the Fed’s models failed to accurately account for “tail risk” because they happen more often than statistical models predict.

  All this boils down to liquidity and illiquidity: When “animal spirits” are confident in future increases in asset valuations, participants place a constant bid under the market because prices will keep going up so I’ll make more money in the future. This constant bid is called liquidity: cash is flowing into the asset class, be it stocks or housing or cryptocurrencies or commodities.

  When “animal spirits” turn to panic, sellers rush to sell as buyers vanish as they fear that prices will keep going down so I’ll lose more money in the future. Buying into a downtrend is known as “catching the falling knife”: the initial “buy the dip” players have their head handed to them on a platter, and those on the sidelines decide not to try to catch the falling knife.

  This is an illiquid market: when sellers dump assets on the market and buyers vanish, the bid keeps dropping until buyers are willing to gamble that “this is the bottom.” But should asset prices continue sliding after an initial euphoric pop higher–“the bottom is in, buy!”–then those who held back find their caution reinforced: that wasn’t the bottom after all, and everyone who jumped in lost money.

  As every surge of “buy the dip” players has their head handed to them on a platter, the market goes bidless–everyone who wanted to play “catch the falling knife” has been burned, and those who have lost the “animal spirits” to gamble stay out. The market goes bidless, and asset prices crash to levels no one in the greed-euphoria stage could imagine were even remotely possible.

  Those who follow liquidity assume that the more cash sloshing around the system, the more money will flow into assets. But this assumes participants–and therefore markets–are rational. When caution–and then panic–take hold of the herd, no matter how much cash is sloshing around, none of it will be gambled on a losing bet.

  Take a look at this chart of the Nasdaq dot-com bubble, and note the bubble symmetry: what shot up soon plummeted back to pre-bubble levels. Stocks that had reached $60 per share were recommended as “buys” at $45–a rational play perhaps, but wildly off the mark, as the stock eventually bottomed at $4.

  When sellers desperate to sell swamp buyers, prices decline. If buying dries up, prices crash.

  

  It’s worth pondering the psychological reality that losses make a much bigger impression on us than gains. This is the foundation of risk aversion: once burned, twice shy. Everyone’s surprised when “animal spirits” reverse polarity, but the confidence that any asset has reached “a permanently high plateau” is misplaced. Every manic greed-inflated bubble pops and cascades back to Earth. Here is a preview of the Everything Bubble popping:

  

  Greenspan’s models–and everyone else’s–projected a rational market in which buyers continued to buy assets even as they lost money on previous attempts to “catch the falling knife.” In other words, the markets will always be liquid.

  The Pavlovian “buy the dip” reflex that was so profitable on the way up now becomes the road to ruin as every pop higher gets sold. Those playing “buy the dip” are eventually wiped out, leaving only those burned and wary. Eventually people tire of losing and they give up. After losing 40%, a 4% return on a Treasury bond–brushed off in the glorious ascent as foolishly cautious–now looks pretty good.

  Confidence / complacency doesn’t map the real world, in which liquidity dries up and markets go bidless. In the real world, humans panic and eventually decide to never again buy stocks or real estate, as the sting of their losses lingers far longer than their memories of glorious gains earned by riding the bubble higher.

  *  *  *

  Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  Subscribe to my Substack for free

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 19:50

• Israeli Navy's 'C-Dome' Intercepts Hezbollah Kamikaze Drone Heading Towards Offshore NatGas Rig
  Israeli Navy’s ‘C-Dome’ Intercepts Hezbollah Kamikaze Drone Heading Towards Offshore NatGas Rig

  The Israel Defense Forces reported on Saturday that a Hezbollah suicide drone, launched from Lebanon with a heading towards an Israeli natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean, was intercepted by a warship equipped with the “C-Dome” defense system.

  According to The Times of Israel, citing an IDF official, the kamikaze drone was intercepted by C-Dome, the naval version of the Iron Dome, from one of the Navy’s Sa’ar 6-class corvettes. 

  The drone was heading towards the Karish gas field and was shot down at a “significant distance” from any oil/gas offshore infrastructure. 

  

  The C-Dome was first unveiled in 2014 and declared operational in late 2022. It has its own dedicated radar and is integrated into the ship’s radar system to detect and eliminate incoming threats.

  Tensions have risen across the Middle East in recent weeks. See this:

  • Satellite Images Show Massive Extent Of Israel’s Attack On Yemen Key Port
  • Houthis Warn ‘No Red Lines’ In Counterattack After Israel Bombs Yemeni Port

  It’s important to note that Hamas’ allies include Iran-backed groups such as the Houthis, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iraqi paramilitaries.

  As regional spillover risks remain elevated, we cited the hawkish think tank Jewish Institute for National Security of America in recent weeks, which shows Hezbollah has thousands of suicide drones in stockpiles.

  

  What’s crucial to understand are the various types of drones Hezbollah can deploy, along with threat ranges. This shows conflict could easily spill over into the Mediterranean area.

  

  On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Donald Trump met at Mar-a-Lago in South Florida. 

  Trump claimed in the context of the meeting that a major war in the Middle East – and even possibly a “third world war” – will break out if he doesn’t win the election. He’s long been running as the candidate who will deescalate various powder kegs around the world that seemingly seemed to be nearing an explosion.

  🚨 PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We’ve never been closer to a third World War…”

  “We have incompetent people running our country.”

  Nothing but FACTS. pic.twitter.com/cDaWzJMead

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 26, 2024

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  “If we win, it will be very simple, it’s all going to work out, and very quickly,” Trump said, adding, “If we don’t, you’re going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a Third World War. You are closer to a Third World War right now than at any time since the Second World War, you’ve never been so close because we have incompetent people running our country.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 19:15

• Inequality Is Caused By Inflation
  Inequality Is Caused By Inflation

  Authored by Lennart Wagemans via The Mises Institute,

  Many claim the problem with fractional reserve banking is that it loans money into existence. It does, but under normal circumstances the money created by commercial banks disappears when loans are repaid or defaulted on, which therefore doesn’t create a permanent inflation of the money supply.

  Government intervention, however, converts temporary money into permanent money through bailouts like the Troubled Asset Relief Program. They purchase loans that would have been defaulted on, preventing the evaporation of credit. When banks hold loans that are at risk of default, they face having to write them off, which would remove this part of the money supply. Bailouts turn such disappearing credit into permanent money, in effect giving banks free money.

  

  Without government bailouts, banks would be unwilling to make loans that are unlikely to be repaid, thus limiting their willingness to loan large amounts of money into existence. This would keep the money supply more stable. At any time, some part of the money in existence would still be destined for removal through repayment. This proportion would somewhat fluctuate with economic conditions, and the temporary money would be indistinguishable from other money until a loan is repaid, but new money would not continually get loaned into existence.

  When high-risk loans inevitably fail, the state steps in to purchase them to prevent banks from having to write off so many loans that they have net negative assets on their books. However, seeing the creation of toxic loans as just excessive risk-taking in reaction to having a safety net misses the larger dynamic. Praxeologically, the production of toxic loans is the rational supply of a good in high demand. These financial assets can be sold for a higher value than it costs to make them, thus their production is economically rational.

  Banks, praxeologically speaking, perform the function of government contractors, producing the product “toxic financial asset.” Similar to how defense contractors produce fighter jets or fish farms produce caviar for state banquets, banks create failing loans knowing the government will purchase them. This demand ensures that banks continue to produce high-risk financial instruments. The financial sector profits from creating these products despite knowing they may become worthless. Ironically, it is their worthlessness that causes them to be valuable since that rationalizes the bailout.

  Companies receiving bailout funds have not incurred typical costs, like having to maintain machinery or invest in future production, meaning they operate on much higher margins. Thus, they have much more money to offload before it loses value. They are looking for quick gains, not stable dividends, which can typically be found in assets like tech stocks and real estate, causing an unnatural inflow of funds into these sectors. This explains why tech giants grow disproportionately large; they happen to attract the interest of people with fresh money. Productivity and value creation become relatively less valuable as the economy becomes optimized toward capturing inflation investments. This process distorts market signals, misallocates resources, and perpetuates an economic environment where success ties more to financial maneuvering than genuine productive output.

  Many businesses today, especially in the tech sector, function more as inflation-capturing devices than traditional profit-generating enterprises. They prioritize attracting investment from the recipients of fresh money. A second layer of these inflation-capturing suppliers grew to capture the trickle of funds from the first layer. This means the economy has geared itself to supply the businesses that get new money, instead of allocating resources to what actual people want to buy.

  The closer to the inflation fan a business is, the more profitable it can be. In an economy that rewards inflationary rent-seeking, creating value has become unwise, as it only earns low-profit-margin money from stingy spenders who had to work to earn it. You will be able to confirm that practically anybody you know either receives money from an inflation source or supplies those who do. The economy has grown toward the money source, like a fungus toward a nutrient, rather than meeting real people’s needs. This means economic decisions are effectively made by what elites in palaces decide to finance, rather than the market. This is like a fascist economy where businesses were nominally private, but state planners in the capital made the production decisions.

  Many superwealthy today were simply lucky initial owners of popular assets that got bid up by this unnatural inflow of new money. Attracting the money flow toward assets you own has become a more important means of wealth generation than profitable operation. And that is what all the top companies do these days, trying to dazzle investors. It is like starting a cryptocurrency and getting people to buy it so your initial coins grow in value. This explains the propensity for hype cycles. They are not trying to make a profit; they are trying to excite investors to bid up their stocks.

  It is not just those who directly receive fresh money who benefit from an increase in the money supply. As everyone else’s purchasing power erodes from inflation, owners of substantial assets, like factories, are lifted relatively. They continually receive a transfer of purchasing power at the expense of everyone else. An 8% annual inflation rate — a realistic estimate considering that economic growth masks the true increase in the money supply — enhances the value of hereditary capital by 2,200 times when compounded over a century, or 220,000%. Conversely, a family without assets had their purchasing power reduced to 0.045% of its original value. This means inflation continually creates inequality. This is the real reason the rich get richer, why the world is so unequal, and why so many bad decisions are made in the internal power struggle for inflation capture.

  By continually handing free money to the rich, government facilitates a transfer of purchasing power from the population to the moneyed class. This skews wealth distribution and continually impoverishes the working class. Earned money now makes up a smaller portion of the overall purchasing power available. In a free market, wealth accumulation would rely more on productive enterprise than rent-seeking, resulting in a more equitable distribution of wealth based on productivity. Work would be more highly rewarded, and even modest employment would provide substantial purchasing power, reducing the need for a welfare state. Thus, the current system perpetuates inequality that favors the rich at the expense of the broader population.

  Marxists have misdiagnosed the cause of economic inequality. It’s not the extraction of surplus value from workers, as suggested by the labor theory of value, that gives capitalists unfair wealth. Instead, it’s the continuous influx of free money through increases in the money supply. Their analysis inverts the reality of how inequality arises. Karl Marx identified the natural market as the problem and called for state intervention to fix it. Thus, his cure was the disease. Interventionist policy ironically perpetuates the very inequality they decry. A culture steeped in his economic interpretation maintains an interventionist environment that benefits financial elites through inflationary policies and bailouts, perpetuating economic disparity. (Although praxeologically, this may have been his intention.)

  The problem is not insufficient regulation of the financial sector. If one type of risky bet is banned, banks will find other ways to speculate or create derivatives of existing bets. You can’t ban all risky bets. Mortgage-backed securities were bets on other’s mortgages, and Enron bet on future energy prices. In a normal market, these risks would be self-correcting. Faced with losses when bets go sour, they would be unwilling to make unsafe bets. The real problem is having a system of involuntary force that transforms temporary credit into real purchasing power.

  In a broader perspective, we can see distinct types of financial structures. During the industrial capitalism of the 19th century, power resided with industrial capitalists who created tangible products, driving progress and improving living standards. Today, the financial elite manipulate the allocation mechanism itself, without producing real value, having reduced industrial producers to the role of servants. This structure resembles feudal power systems, where medieval palace elites controlled society, disguised as modern financial theory.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 18:40

• The Huge Costs Behind The Olympic Games
  The Huge Costs Behind The Olympic Games

  The 2024 Summer Olympics are finally set to get underway in Paris today amid some substantial safety concerns like ISIS threats and this morning, large-scale vandalism of France’s train network. These high-level issues are momentarily distracting observers from another train wreck affecting most Olympic Games: cost overrun.

  Spending more than you have budgeted for has become the norm for host cities, but as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, Paris is actually not the worst of the bunch (as of current estimates) despite an overrun of more than 100 percent landing it at a cost of $8.7 billion for hosting the Games (excluding investments in urban and transportation infrastructure).

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  This is easily topped by Barcelona, which ran 266 percent over cost in 1992 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, which was a whopping 352 percent over budget. Winter Games can also be more costly than expected, for example in the Russian town of Sochi in 2014, where the event was 289 percent more expensive than expected at a record-breaking 28.9 billion, or in Norway’s Lillehammer in 1994, there a 277 percent overrun occurred (but the total cost was still nowhere near as high).

  While hosting an event like the Olympics is sometimes touted as an opportunity to improve city infrastructure, the enduring legacy of the Games sometimes ends up being a slew of abandoned and overgrown venues that no one uses due to poor long-term planning. That remains the case to this day in past host cities such as Sarajevo, Athens, Beijing and Rio, to name just a few, where crumbling stadia and forgotten Olympic villages serve not as proud monuments to athletic achievement, but rather as somber symbols of catastrophic financial mismanagement.

  Some have taken these past mistakes to heart and Hamburg, Germany, is a notable example for taking back its 2015 bid on cost grounds after a public referendum. Other cities have learned that the financial consequences can be dire only after hosting the Games.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 18:05

• Update: The Greatest Political Experiment
  Update: The Greatest Political Experiment

  Authored by Joel Bowman via substack,

  “State intervention is always bad, because it’s based on coercion, on force, and nothing based on coercion can be good.”

  ~ Javier Milei, speaking at The Hoover Institution in May, 2024

  Today we take a break from our road-tripping adventure to offer a quick update from the other End of the World…

  Long time readers will recall our fascination over what we’ve been calling, with immodest grandiloquence, The Greatest Political Experiment of Our Age. 

  The story so far is that, down at the southern end of the Americas, in our chosen country of self-exile, Argentina, the locals have sensibly chosen to “throw the bums out.” 

  That is, in November of last year, the gauchos voted for a man who promised to finally cut their overfed Peronist government down to size. (He even campaigned with a chainsaw, to avoid confusion among the nuance-averse.)

  Javier Milei was elected in a landslide and has since taken his motosierra to the thorny brambles of the State with admirable gusto (though, rather to this observer’s disappointment, the nation’s Banco Central, which Milei promised to burn to the ground, remains standing. Still, one lives in hope…)

  

  Doomsday Mongers

  The Argentine experiment is particularly interesting in that it represents the first time in modern history that a sizable population (Argentina is home to ~45 million mostly-carnivorous human beings) voluntarily, peacefully, voted to “cancel” their own state. Nor did El Presidente renege on his promise to do just that. 

  On day one in office, Sr. Milei abolished or consolidated half the federal ministries, laying off tens of thousands of government parasites in the process and promising more of the same in the days ahead. And just last month, in a major legislative victory, his so-called “Ley de Bases” and fiscal reform package was signed into law, paving the way for sweeping privatization across multiple key industries along with much needed labor market deregulation.

  Needless to say, bed-wetting nanny statists around the planet, from Buenos Aires to the DC Beltway to Brussels and beyond, promptly set about prophesying a doomsday scenario, whereby the proud republic of Argentina would shortly descend into a Dantean hellscape the likes of which the civilized world has never known. 

  It is to their great and enduring dismay that such a scene has not materialized, though that hasn’t stopped them painting the picture in their newspaper columns just the same. Here’s the latest from our lease-mongering colleagues over in the popular presses…

  The worst economic crisis in decades puts Argentine ingenuity to the test under President Milei ~ The Associated Press

  Milei’s market honeymoon ends as investors question economic plan ~ The Financial Times

  Milei’s Austerity Plan Pushes Argentina Into Recession in First Quarter ~ Bloomberg

  And yet, despite having been bequeathed a raging currency conflagration, in which the hot potato peso was inflating at the fastest rate in the world, Milei has been able to avert that all-too-familiar path to catastrophe. Both general and core inflation have collapsed since Milei took office in December, with the latter plummeting from over 30% month-over-month to just 2.3% on a four week rolling basis (through July).

  

  Trend Reversal

  Not only that, but workers in the private sector are faring far better under Milei than when Sergio Massa (his main opponent in the presidential election) was serving as finance minister under the previous administration. 

  In the first five months of last year, inflation handily surpassed private-sector wage growth (42.2% to 39.4%). Even as inflation rocketed in the back half of last year, wage growth now outpaces inflation (81.7% versus 71.9%). Here’s the chart:

  

  (Tip ‘o the Hat to @OppenheimerAR)

  Here is another look at the trajectory of real salaries – that is, adjusted for inflation – on the rise across the economy. (Milei assumed office on Dec. 9, 2023):

  

  (Source: Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics)

  Drill, Baby, Drill!

  Meanwhile, despite Argentina having the worst projected economic growth of any major economy this year (at least according to the IMF), it nonetheless continues to defy expert forecasts. 

  Economic activity rose 1.3% for the month of July, the first month of positive GDP data since Milei assumed office and well above the 0.1% median growth estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Year over year economic activity likewise surprised to the upside, shooting 2.3% higher and far exceeding the negative –2.5% expected by those same analysts. 

  And here’s unconventional (shale) oil and gas production in the Vaca Muerta oil fields, reaching an all time record… 

  

  (Source: Secretaría de Energía, Argentina)

  [Translation: Unconventional oil and gas production in Vaca Muerta registered a historical record in June. In that month, 372 thousand barrels of oil and 78 million m3 of gas were obtained per day.]

  Of course, you’re unlikely to hear about any of this in the mainstream news. And that’s hardly surprising…

  That Argentina’s success proceeds to the chagrin of rabid interventionists and meddling do-gooders around the world serves only to underscore just how important this experiment in free markets and free people truly is. Long may it continue. 

  ¡Viva la libertad, carajo!

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 17:30

• Pulling A Biden: South Korea Introduced As North Korea During Paris Olympics
  Pulling A Biden: South Korea Introduced As North Korea During Paris Olympics

  Only a couple of days in and the 2024 Paris Olympics have already been subject of plenty of scandal and controversy – from the bizarre drag queen performance at the opening ceremony to lack of adequate food with enough protein being served to athletes at the Olympic village.

  But there has been one flub that perfectly parallels President Biden earlier this month calling Ukraine’s Zelensky ‘President Putin’ while introducing him on a NATO stage. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued a formal apology after its announcer mistakenly introduced the South Korean team as North Korean during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Watch the mistaken announcement below:

  🇰🇷🇰🇵At the #Paris Olympics, during the passage of a boat on the Seine, the South #Korean team was mistakenly announced as representing North #Korea. South Korean officials have expressed a desire to meet with the #President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas… pic.twitter.com/VTKq8RbUSL

  — Caliber English (@CaliberEnglish) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  In both English and French, the team was introduced as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – which is the official name for North Korea. It came as the team was in a boat sailing down the River Seine along with other delegations being introduced.

  The announcer had elsewhere actually gotten the North Korean team’s name correct, using the exact same introduction for them.

  “We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” the IOC said in the aftermath.

  

  South Korea was so outraged that IOC President Thomas Bach quickly spoke with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday to convey an apology and express regret in person.

  President Yoon noted that the people of South Korea, which had previously hosted Olympic games, were “surprised and baffled” and that the mistake must not be repeated.

  Olympic organisers apologise after the South Korean team was introduced as the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ – the official name of North Korea. https://t.co/4nC567On68 pic.twitter.com/d4RMIzVeHZ

  — Sky News (@SkyNews) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture has reportedly also requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach to address the matter.

  The whole embarrassing incident might be looked back upon as the Paris Olympics’ “Biden moment”…

  NOW – Biden: “And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine… ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.” pic.twitter.com/tELnNtTIcC

  — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 11, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 16:55

• Ten Points About Post-Lockdown Economics
  Ten Points About Post-Lockdown Economics

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

  The sudden economic lockdown of March 2020, the world over, was one of the more shocking moments in history. The very core of the economic problem from the beginning of recorded time was getting more of what people needed to them in a way that was sustainable given the inherent scarcities of the state of nature. 

  

  Regardless of the system, creating wealth was the stated goal, and humanity gradually discovered that trade, investment, marketing, and access to more via travel and creativity was the way forward. 

  All in an instant, all those considerations were put on the back burner to combat what was supposed to be a deadly disease. What’s more, the belief was that ending economic activity, at least that deemed to be nonessential, was the path toward solving the health crisis. 

  For how long? It was initially advertised to be two weeks. But as time went on and the lockdown period was extended longer and longer, it became clear that the whole point was to wait for a vaccine. This was based on the evidence-free supposition that the whole population was under threat and that the shot would fix the problem. 

  The world economy crashed – entirely by intention and by force – as never before seen in modern times. As Trump said at the time, even as he greenlighted the lockdowns, no one had ever heard of anything like this. That’s because it is crazy and deeply dangerous. There is no such thing as turning a global economy off and then on again as if it had a breaker switch to pull and push again when the time came. 

  Of the attempt, here are ten general observations about the results. 

  1. The labor markets have never recovered. Both labor participation and employment/population ratios remain below what they were in 2019. Maybe this is the result of retirement. Maybe it is disability. Maybe it is just demoralization. Regardless, we never got back to normal. All the talk of the great job machine since 2021 is nothing but people finding work again after having been displaced during lockdowns or new people coming into the market. 

  The job market has not been “hot” by any standard. Monthly data reports institutional surveys, which double count, but rarely household surveys which show continuing weakness. The divergence between the two has never been higher. We are nowhere near a pre-lockdown trend. 

  2. Stimulus was wiped out by inflation. When the checks started arriving directly in bank accounts, people were doing absolutely nothing at home, and business was getting revenue from government even when their doors were closed, it seemed like some Nirvana had dawned. Riches were flowing from heaven. That lasted about 18 months. Once inflation came along, the purchasing power of those dollars was zapped away. Money creation had been on a level never before seen in modern times; some $6 trillion was created out of thin air to buy stunning amounts of debt. It was all taxed away in the most ancient scheme of tricking the public. 

  3. Retail sales and wholesale factory orders are not up. Among all the usual data releases, only the GDP numbers are routinely adjusted for inflation. For most reports, you have to do that independently. Retail sales and factory orders are reported in nominal terms, which works fine in normal times but in inflationary times, this habit produces absurdities. It ends up clocking more spending on the same goods and services simply because everything is more expensive. 

  EJ Antoni has been all over this point. Even adjusting usually severely underreported inflation shows that neither retail nor wholesale has genuinely risen. Again, these adjustments are based on conventional CPI data so the actual reality is much worse. 

  4. Output has not increased. In the conventional telling, the lockdowns created an instant recession but it only lasted a couple of months. Once the stimulus was released and the economy opened up a bit, the boom reversed all the damage. We’ve been growing moderately ever since. 

  In other words, the conventional data tells the story of the most implausible scenario, a beautiful lockdown that did no net damage but merely paused economic life until everything went back to normal. But what if this is completely wrong? How could it be? There are two major factors: the inclusion of government spending as constituting economic growth and an inflation adjustment that is lower even than the CPI, one crafted especially for use in national income statistics. 

  Everyone knows today that the statistical prosperity of wartime in World War II was not real due to the inclusion of government as the main contributor to supposed economic output. Government debt as a percentage of GDP has reached and surpassed wartime levels in the last four years. This should tell us something important about the credibility of this seeming recovery. 

  5. The inflation data is fake. According to the official data, the dollar of January 2020 has sustained 82 percent of its value, which is to say it has lost only 18 percent of value over four years. Think about this in your own life, based on your bills, your shopping, and what you can see with your own eyes. Think back to the good old days of 2019. In what world is it even vaguely plausible that the prices you pay (or consider paying but then decline to pay) have gone up only 18 percent? 

  How is the CPI able to render price increases this low? Because the data excludes interest rates, homeowners insurance, taxes, shrinkflation, and added fees. Data on health insurance prices are adjusted downwards for medical consumption. The data on home prices is fed through a wildly complicated formula called homeowners equivalent rent. It has become a fantasy. In the chart below, the red line is excluded from CPI in favor of the blue line. 

  Even on specifics, the Bureau of Labor Statistics can’t seem to reflect actual industry prices. The BLS has food prices up 26 percent since 2019. But industry data has grocery up 35 per. The least price increases are in retail liquor (11 percent), which is precisely why cocktails, wine, and beer are up so much at restaurants: it’s a good place to extract profit margins. 

  Then you have the black box of hedonic adjustments, which allow bureaucrats to re-render the price of any product with changed quality with some perception that, after all, you don’t mind paying more for higher quality, so therefore it is not really increasing in price. 

  Finally, you have the effective exclusion of most main forms of shrinkflation and added fees. How much does all this add to the CPI? We don’t really know. It’s not wildly impossible that real inflation over four years has been 30 percent or 50 percent or higher. Adjust all the other data for that and you gain a completely different picture of what is happening. 

  6. Trade blocs have formed and will not save us. When all supply chains in the world froze in March 2020, and then gradually reopened based on national politics, we saw the fraying of 70 years of global integration. The chip manufacturers moved from supply for cars and other industrial goods in the US to laptops and gaming machines in the Asian sphere of influence. Soon after the opening, the US de-dollarized Russian assets, giving BRICS new incentive and energy to become more robust. For years later, the new shape of the world is becoming apparent: it’s all about spheres of political influence, thus shattering a driving force of global economic growth for many decades. 

  7. Property rights are not secure. Never before in US history have so many small businesses been shut down coast to coast with such brutality. When they opened again, it was often only at throttled capacity, giving a huge boost to big over small restaurants and hotels. This was all a foundational attack on property rights, the very core of a functioning economic life. This surely shook the psychology of business formation nationwide. Though we have no empirical data on this, it is still the case that a state that attacks property this way cannot expect a thriving world of business startups. If your business can be shut down for such strange reasons, why start one at all? This is the sort of institutional problem that causes economic decay in imperceptible ways. 

  8. The debt is out of control; personal, corporate, and government. Plenty of people have written about the problem of the government debt, the interest on which three-quarters of taxes are now directed to pay. 

  The ship of corporate debt sailed long ago with the wild experiment in zero interest rates by the Federal Reserve after 2008. Rates were reversed to deal with inflation. The resulting high rates are deeply painful for any non-public business that depends on leverage for its operations: 

  The consumer debt problem is more striking still: in times of high interest, savings should be going up, not down, and debt should be going down not up. The opposite is happening simply because real income is falling dramatically and has been for three years. Even using conventional CPI data, we have not yet recovered from the lockdowns. 

  9. CBDCs are essential to the plan. A major ambition of the Covid response was the creation of a universal vaccine passport. It was deployed first in New York. The entire city was closed in all its public facilities to the unvaccinated. No one refusing the shot was permitted in restaurants, bars, libraries, or theaters. Boston then replicated the plan, and so did New Orleans and Chicago. It faltered because business complained and also the software failed, despite the tens of millions spent. All these efforts were reversed but the plan itself revealed the larger agenda: control through data collection and enforcement. The ambition is not gone and will likely come back but a better and more comprehensive path is the Central Bank Digital Currency, now being deployed in many parts of the world. It allows universal surveillance, timed currency expirations, and directed spending rationing to reflect political priorities. There is no question that the elites want this. 

  10. Financial markets will thrive until they do not. So far, in the course of the last crazy four years, we have been spared a serious financial crisis either in stocks or banks. This is not entirely unusual in the midst of a wild expansion of money and credit. After hitting prices and wages, the new money flows into financials, the rise of which is seen as fantastic news rather than simple price inflation. That said, the stock market is not the economy. It bodes well for people invested and stockpiling retirement accounts but does nothing for Main Street wage and salary earners. 

  The lockdowns amounted to the world’s largest and most elaborate economic head-fake in human history. It left the entire world less free and less prosperous, and with drained hopes that restoring normalcy can happen anytime soon. To add injury to the insult, most official institutions are manufacturing fake data to cover it all up. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 16:20

• Israel Says "All-Out War" Imminent After Hezbollah Rocket Slams Into Soccer Field, 30 Casualties 
  Israel Says “All-Out War” Imminent After Hezbollah Rocket Slams Into Soccer Field, 30 Casualties 

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz are holding emergency consultations with the country’s senior defense leadership following a devastating Hezbollah rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams in Israel’s north which resulted in 30 casualties, including at least ten killed.

  Nine victims among the several dozen injured are said to be in critical condition, many of them children, some as young as ten. Foreign Minister Katz told a state broadcaster, “There is no doubt that Hezbollah crossed all red lines.”

  

  He warned that “We are facing an all-out war” and added, “I have no doubt that we’ll pay a cost” – but also said an even greater toll will surely be exacted on Hezbollah.

  The top diplomat further claimed in the comments that Israel will have “full backing” from the US and Europe in waging a bigger anti-Hezbollah campaign in Lebanon. Katz explained to Axios:

  The Hezbollah attack today crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.

  We will pay prices, but at the end of the war Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed and the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the residents of the north.

  Rockets reportedly scored direct impact on a soccer field in the Israeli Druze town in the northern Golan region. The IDF military is probing why Israel’s anti-air defenses didn’t work upon the missile being inbound.

  While for months hundreds of Hezbollah missiles and drones have rained down on northern Israel, it is much rarer for a missile to strike in the heart of a town or city.

  Widely circulating video which was verified by the Times of Israel shows a large fireball upon impact:

  Footage purportedly shows the moment the Hezbollah rocket struck a soccer field in the northern Druze town of Majdal shams, causing numerous casualties. pic.twitter.com/awfFomVEJ2

  — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Amid the rising death toll, Hezbollah has later in the day issued a surprising statement insisting it was not behind the attack:

  Hezbollah in a statement denies it launched rockets at Majdal Shams, in an attack that killed and wounded civilians, including children.

  The terror group says it “has no connection to the incident at all, and categorically denies all false allegations.”

  Hezbollah said earlier it launched dozens of rockets at an army base in the Golan Heights, near Majdal Shams.

  Israel is charging that not only Hezbollah was definitely behind it, but that this attack has just greatly escalated the conflict. Meanwhile, recent days have seen new reports of fires breaking out in southern Lebanon due to Israeli strikes there.

  In Gaza, Al Jazeera has the following latest developments:

  • Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 30 people have been killed after an Israeli bombing of Khadija School in Deir el-Balah. Israel claimed it targeted a “Hamas command and control centre”.
  • The civil defence in Gaza says at least 170 people have been killed in Israel’s military incursion in Khan Younis since it began more than a week ago.
  • The armed wing of Hamas says fierce battles are continuing in Gaza City and that its fighters struck an Israeli troop carrier surrounded by soldiers with an al-Yassin 105 rocket in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood.
  • A rare Israeli air raid has taken place in the occupied West Bank, targeting the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. It killed a Palestinian man the army said was wanted.

  📢 Galei Tzahal: 11 injured, including five critically (and six seriously), as a result of a Hezbollah drone crash in Majdal Shams.

  Very severe incident. A direct hit on a soccer field, likely by a drone (not yet fully confirmed), occurred during a children’s soccer game.
  _ pic.twitter.com/mJw3sOEehi

  — Israel News Pulse (@israelnewspulse) July 27, 2024

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  Israel’s northern border has thus far since Oct.7 not slipped into all-out Israel-Hezbollah war, but this could mark the beginning of a broader conflict. The White House has long urged Israel to keep the fighting ‘limited’ and contained. The fear is that all of Lebanon could be engulfed if the IDF invades.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 15:45

• Olympics Opening Ceremony Features Dancing Drag Queens And Bizarre Symbology
  Olympics Opening Ceremony Features Dancing Drag Queens And Bizarre Symbology

  Update (1000ET):

  Several X accounts that posted videos and/or screenshots about the absurdities of the Olympics’ opening ceremonies have been hit with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints enforced by Elon Musk’s social media platform. 

  Your account has been locked because X received a compliant Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) Notice for content posted to your X account. Under the DMCA, copyright owners can notify X claiming that a user has infringed their copyrighted works. Upon receipt of a valid DMCA notice, X will remove the identified material.

  X maintains a repeat copyright infringer policy under which repeat infringer accounts will be suspended. Accruing multiple DMCA strikes may lead to suspension of your account.

  FCK you Olympics pic.twitter.com/6ghSbrKUOI

  — Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “They’re now targeting anyone who dared to complain about the blasphemous woke agenda during the @Olympics opening ceremony,” X user Dr. Simon Goddek wrote. 

  🚨JUST IN — They’re now targeting anyone who dared to complain about the blasphemous woke agenda during the @Olympics opening ceremony.

  It’s as if they’re using “1984” as their instruction manual. pic.twitter.com/CRcejGo6CF

  — Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Other X users report being hit by DMCA complaints…

  X is censoring my post regarding the 2024 Summer Olympics mocking the last supper pic.twitter.com/Pkg1988Y4i

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  🚨WARNING🚨: ATHLETIA SPORTS on behalf of The International Olympic Committee is actively filing DCMA take down requests with X. I retweeted a series of videos in which I criticized the opening ceremony. I created one custom edit comparing the last supper and the opening scene. X… pic.twitter.com/lzZt7e3cM9

  — @amuse (@amuse) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Dear @elonmusk

  I woke up this morning to learn that myself and many other accounts were locked out of their accounts for sharing clips of the Olympics. I’m sure some were suspended over this.

  Someone named Jonathan Schmitz, a representative of ATHLETIA, on behalf of The… pic.twitter.com/47fk5Lk978

  — MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Another X user said, “Lots of DMCA takedowns of Olympic opening ceremony footage. Weird, it’s almost like they don’t want you to see it now.”

  Lots of DMCA takedowns of Olympic opening ceremony footage. Weird, it’s almost like they don’t want you to see it now.

  — 9mmSMG (@9mm_smg) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  As we penned earlier, the opening ceremonies were just absolutely bizarre – and, in some cases, inappropriate for children to watch. 

  Here’s what happened…

  Macron’s special hobby. He took the opportunity of the Olympics to show off the French balls to the world.
  #OlympicGames #Paris2024 #ParisOlympics2024 pic.twitter.com/3dA6rKP28s

  — Alistair Pallesen (@yzimng2) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Anybody see this disgusting pervert with his BALLS out at the Olympic opening ceremony?! pic.twitter.com/JfWQJ1ErXx

  — Sponge (@Spongecoinbob) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  A company still sponsoring the Olympics come Monday is telling the world they’re ok with The Last Supper being lampooned by Papa Smurf in a Banana Hammock, a Wookiee in women’s lingerie, and a man with his balls exposed all while sharing the stage with a kid.

  See also: Bud Light pic.twitter.com/Ub0ZjsY1rx

  — Nobody Special (@JG_Nuke) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  No comment. 

  NEW: The artistic director responsible for the Paris opening ceremony says he mocked 2.4 billion Christians with drag queens so “everybody feels represented.”

  During an interview, Thomas Jolly opened up about the “beautiful responsibility” he has as an “artist.”

  “How do you… pic.twitter.com/qOb5CD2tQs

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  To sum up, the Olympics can’t tolerate mockery and criticism of the “Woke Games,” so they resort to censorship.

  *   *   * 

  Sports spectacles like the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Commonwealth Games and a host of other events have become increasingly political in their messaging and their pageantry in recent years.  Furthermore, the symbology on display during these performances has become more and more bizarre.

  

  As we noted in May, the signs were not good for the Summer Games when it was revealed that drag queens and trans activists would be carrying the Olympic Torch in preparation for opening ceremonies.  Olympic torch bearers are supposed to be chosen from a list of people with significant contributions to their communities.  It’s hard to say what contributions trans activists have made to any community, but the announced “theme” of the Summer Games held in Paris helps to explain their presence.

  The stated tenets for Olympics 2024 are: Community, Diversity and The Collective.  In other words, the theme of this year’s Olympic Games is woke.

  

  The event was planned by “queer artistic director” Thomas Jolly (pictured below), who said he “wants everyone to feel represented.”  Yet another example of gay activists unable to control their impulse to project their sexual preferences on everything, even sporting events.

  

  Opening Ceremonies have launched in France with much fanfare, though the rest of the world is not very interested.  In the US, the Summer Games in Paris are expected to hit record low ratings; even lower than the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.  When you see what has become of the Olympics today, it’s easy to understand why.

  The ceremony in Paris features strange performances from a horde of drag queens, including sexualized dancing and an LGBT recreation of The Last Supper.

  Actual opening ceremony of the Olympics.

  This isn’t parody.

  RIP Olympics. pic.twitter.com/5gk1yObldB

  — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Yikes.  That’s not the kind of thing most people want to sit down to watch on a nice summer evening with their kids. Another example of odd symbology was the display of a metal horse with a rider in white galloping across the River Seine.

  

  The horse and rider, more disturbing than beautiful, were followed by 85 boats carrying almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries down the River Seine.  The display came just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed rail networks caused travel chaos across France.  The opening ceremony was the first in Olympics history to be featured outside of the main stadium.

  The metallic horse is oddly reminiscent of a performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the UK, which featured “dreamers” worshiping and appeasing a giant metallic bull while commentators discussed the enslavement of women.

  Make of this what you will, but it’s clear that major national and international games have changed dramatically in the past decade.  The spectacle is no longer meant to entertain, but to propagandize.  And, just as we have seen with woke theatrical entertainment and the collapse of the movie box office in recent years, audiences are dwindling for sporting events with political messaging. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 15:11

• What 'Project 25' Says About The Fed
  What ‘Project 25’ Says About The Fed

  Authored by Jonathan Newman via The Mises Institute,

  Mandate for Leadership 2025 is an unofficial blueprint for a potential conservative administration, published by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Donald Trump has distanced himself from the project, even though many people associated with his first term as president contributed to the document.

  

  It’s billed as “The comprehensive policy guide for a new conservative president, offering specific reforms and proposals for Cabinet departments and federal agencies, pulled from the expertise of the entire conservative movement.” Paul Dans, the Project 2025 Director, says that the project aims “to deconstruct the Administrative State.”

  Chapter 24 of the 922-page document is on the Federal Reserve. It was authored by Paul Winfree, Distinguished Fellow in Economic Policy and Public Leadership at The Heritage Foundation.

  The chapter is decidedly anti-Fed – it calls for abolishing the Fed altogether and returning to a commodity-backed money – but it also suggests some more politically palatable reforms that would merely limit the Fed, in case the more radical measures prove to be infeasible. Winfree lists the proposals “in decreasing order of effectiveness against inflation and boom-and-bust recessionary cycles.” Free banking (which entails abolishing the Fed), and a return to commodity money are listed first.

  Overall, the chapter presents a great, albeit brief, critique of government intervention in money and banking. It blames the Fed for exacerbating the cycle of booms and busts, inflating away the value of the dollar, enabling exorbitant deficit spending by the federal government, picking winners and losers in financial markets, and expanding its own power with each crisis.

  From a Misesian-Rothbardian perspective, it has a few Friedmanite flaws. But assuming Donald Trump isn’t going to read and adopt Rothbard’s views in What Has Government Done to Our Money?, this is much better than the tepid, Fed-embracing advice from “right-wing Keynesians” during the 80s and 90s. (See “Clintonomics: The Prospects” in Making Economic Sense for more on them.)

  The influence of Friedman’s monetarism is not just in the third-, fourth-, and fifth-best policy compromises. The chapter begins in error: “Money is the essential unit of measure for the voluntary exchanges that constitute the market economy.” The idea that money is a unit of measure leads to a host of errors in monetary theory, leading to the conclusion that the purchasing power of money should be stabilized.

  In fact, it was this idea that led to the creation of the Fed in the first place. Winfree acknowledges this: “The Federal Reserve was originally created to ‘furnish an elastic currency’ and rediscount commercial paper so that the supply of credit could increase along with the demand for money and bank credit.” Winfree says that the Fed’s ability to stabilize the purchasing power of the dollar is hindered by the full employment side of the Fed’s dual mandate and by discretionary, as opposed to rules-based, monetary policy. Instead of attacking the Fed on more fundamental grounds, namely that the original justification for the Fed was fallacious, Winfree accepts this justification and says that Fed doesn’t do a good job at this task.

  The chapter also mentions Friedman’s diagnosis of what prolonged the Great Depression, but without citing him. According to Friedman, the Federal Reserve failed to prevent a collapse in the money supply from 1929 to 1933, and this is what caused what would have been a “garden-variety recession” to turn into the Great Depression. Winfree alludes to this diagnosis in more general terms: “the Great Depression of the 1930s was needlessly prolonged in part because of the Federal Reserve’s inept management of the money supply.” Of course, those who have read Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression know that it was the Fed-enabled monetary expansion in the 1920s that led to the inevitable bust, and that the depression of the 1930s was prolonged due to the host of interventions by Hoover and FDR. Bank failures and the concomitant collapse of money and credit actually help the adjustment process through the liquidation of mismanaged banks and by realigning the supply of credit with real savings.

  The influence of Friedman and the Chicagoites is most apparent in the policy proposals offered as alternatives to ending the Fed. Friedman’s “K-Percent Rule” is listed after the proposal to return to a commodity standard. The “K” refers to a fixed rate of growth in the money supply—Winfree offers 3 percent per year as an example. The idea is to take central bank discretion completely off the table, much like the other proposed rules: the inflation-targeting rule (which Winfree acknowledges is already somewhat in effect at the Fed), the Taylor Rule, and the Nominal GDP Targeting Rule.

  An important problem with all of these rules (aside from the fact that discretion can be good) is that they are arbitrary. Why a 3 percent fixed rate in money supply growth? Why should we have a 2 percent price inflation target? What weights should be applied in the Taylor Rule? Why should nominal spending be stabilized? To see why any explicit or implied target is arbitrary, consider what we would see in a progressing unhampered market economy.

  In such a progressing economy, we would probably have steady (but not fixed) price deflation primarily due to the increased production of goods and services. This expectation accords with historical experience, especially the 19th century: “throughout the nineteenth century and up until World War I, a mild deflationary trend prevailed in the industrialized nations as rapid growth in the supplies of goods outpaced the gradual growth in the money supply that occurred under the classical gold standard.”

  But even this is not grounds for a monetary policy rule that targets some fixed rate of price deflation, for the same reason we shouldn’t fix the price of anything based on what we assume is a natural trend. The economy is in constant flux as values change, the stock of known natural resources changes, technology is invented, and savings preferences change, among countless other factors. This is why Mises referred to stabilization policy as “an empty and contradictory notion” (Human Action, p. 220). To Winfree’s credit, he acknowledges that without a central bank, “the norm is for the dollar’s purchasing power to rise gently over time, reflecting gains in economic productivity.” It seems that this point is lost, however, once the monetary policy rules are discussed.

  I’m not against taking incremental steps to chip away at State power, but the proposed rules seem more like side-steps or steps backward. For example, if the Fed were explicitly committed to the Taylor Rule, this would probably bolster the perception that the Fed is an impartial, scientific agency using sophisticated models and tools to manage the macroeconomy.

  These issues, and a few other minor points (like the claim that fiscal policy is ok if it is “timely, targeted, and temporary”) keep me from giving this chapter an A+. But I wholeheartedly agree with the anti-Fed spirit and statements like the following:

  A core problem with government control of monetary policy is its exposure to two unavoidable political pressures: pressure to print money to subsidize government deficits and pressure to print money to boost the economy artificially until the next election. Because both will always exist with self-interested politicians, the only permanent remedy is to take the monetary steering wheel out of the Federal Reserve’s hands and return it to the people.

  It seems to me that all the alternative reform ideas involving “rules-based monetary policy” are moot because of these political pressures. Rules are easily bent and abandoned when political winds change. We should just remove the cancer and replace it with nothing.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 15:10

• Trump Promises To Make USA The "Bitcoin Super-Power Of The World"; Democrats Panic U-Turn On Anti-Crypto Crusade
  Trump Promises To Make USA The “Bitcoin Super-Power Of The World”; Democrats Panic U-Turn On Anti-Crypto Crusade

  In a spirited keynote address, Former President Trump promised to make USA the “bitcoin super-power of the world,” ensuring that cryptocurrency is “mined, minted, and made in the USA.”

  “We have to talk about Bitcoin. Our country is blessed with the extraordinary talent and genius in this room.

  This spirit built America and will help us make it great again.

  I admire what the Bitcoin community has achieved. In just 15 years, Bitcoin has gone from an idea to the 9th most valuable asset in the world.

  It’s already bigger than ExxonMobil and soon it will surpass the market cap of silver.

  That’s a big deal.”

  He went on with some big promises:

  “I pledge the day I take office the weaponization against Bitcoin ends.”

  “On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC Chairman.”

  “I will immediately shutdown Operation Chokepoint 2.0“

  Trump also confirmed that he will appoint a crypto advisory council with “regulations written by industry-loving people within 100 days.”

  Trump also confirmed that “there will never be a CBDC” while he is president.

  “Those who say that bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have it exactly backwards, the danger to our financial future comes from Washington DC not crypto.”

  Additionally, the former president pointing out that

  “Bitcoiners understand inflation better than anyone. You all understood it first.”

  Promising to ‘drill, baby, drill’, Trump notes that with low energy costs the USA will become the undisputed bitcoin mining center of the world.

  Finally, Trump dropped the big guns:

  “The policy of the Trump administration will be to keep 100% of all that it currently holds as the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile,” and confirmed his promise to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to time-served.

  🚨PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I WILL KEEP 100% OF ALL THE BITCOIN HELD BY THE UNITED STATES AS PART OF THE NATIONAL BITCOIN STRATEGIC STOCKPILE.” pic.twitter.com/fDNKvYe0uv

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Watch the full keynote address at Bitcoin 2024 here:

  Bitcoin price has risen significantly in the last 24 hours in anticipation of Trump’s speech…

  

  Notably, the Democrats appear to be worried that crypto could be a vote-change for many people (and are pushing back against the Warren/Gensler attacks). A number of Democratic congressmembers have penned a letter to the DNC pushing for change…

  Over 52 million Americans have embraced digital assets, seeing them as a means to democratize finance, spur innovation, and create new economic opportunities.

  According to recent polls. 19% of voters have bought crypto, 19% self-identified as Democrats, 18% as Republicans, and 24% of crypto-owning voters are independents.

  Data shows that digital assets are being adopted at higher rates among Gen Z, Black and Latino Americans, and immigrant communities key constituencies of the Democratic party compared to traditional financial products. These technologies are revolutionizing opportunities for these communities, reflecting their transformative potential.

  From an electoral standpoint, crypto and blockchain technologies have an outsized impact in ensuring victories up and down the ballot. Crypto is at the top of voters’ minds in swing states, and a balanced approach to crypto that spurs innovation while protecting consumers is a net positive for policymakers and candidates.

  Over 20% of voters in key battleground states identified crypto as a major issue in the 2024 election, and it is critical that our party presents a persuasive case to crypto voters while ensuring that consumers benefit from thoughtful and appropriate regulation.

  The current financial system has left Americans behind.

  According to recent surveys, 4 in 5 voters agree with the statement, “The current financial system favors elites over regular people.” Digital assets and blockchain technology are not merely financial instruments but represent a revolutionary shift that can enhance transparency, reduce fraud, and create a more inclusive financial system.

  We believe this technology is non-partisan, and the Democratic Party should also champion these innovations to help reaffirm the U.S.’s position as the leader in the global digital economy.

  They then make four suggestions that the DNC should back off the attacks on crypto:

  BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Democrats wrote to the DNC asking to shift away from the anti-#Bitcoin stance, responding to Trump speaking at the Bitcoin conference. pic.twitter.com/cgN4VhmKha

  — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *  *  *

  Who could have seen this coming?

  Crypto is now a political issue (Dems want to crush it) and GOP will use that in 2024. https://t.co/k26pn0vO5T

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 13, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  In the sixteen months since, we have seen a seismic shift in attitudes towards crypto from both Independents and Republicans; while Democrats continue to demonize the sovereign currency.

  Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the role Bitcoin could play in improving the US economy and the American way of life as he spoke to an audience at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 26. He promised to sign a number of executive orders on his first day in office to begin the process.

  Kennedy would sign an order requiring the US Justice Department and US Marshalls to transfer the 204,000 Bitcoin held by the US to the Federal Reserve to be held as a “strategic asset,” he said.

  Furthermore, Kennedy said he would also order the Treasury Department to purchase 500 Bitcoin daily until the reserve reaches at least four million BTC.

  The United States would attain “a position of dominance no other country will be able to usurp” and its Bitcoin reserve would eventually reach a value of “hundreds of trillions of dollars,” he promised.

  🚨Presidential Candidate RFK JR: “I will sign an executive order directing the US Treasury to purchase 550 Bitcoin daily until the US has built a reserve of at least 4,000,000 Bitcoins and a position of dominance that no other country will be able to usurp.” pic.twitter.com/u6JopH7yCu

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 26, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  In addition, CoinTelegraph’s Derek Andersen reports that Kennedy would order the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to treat all transactions between Bitcoin and the US dollar as nonreportable and nontaxable. He would also order the IRS to treat Bitcoin as eligible for exchange into real property under the 1031 Exchange program, which provides incentives for real estate investment.

  “Transactional freedom [is] as important as freedom of expression in the 1st Amendment,” Kennedy said, and Bitcoin can provide that freedom and help restore the United States economy to its condition before President Richard Nixon took the US dollar off the gold standard to fund the Vietnam war. Kennedy added:

  “Fiat currency was invented to fund war. […] If the world was on a BTC standard, there would be no more war because you can’t print Bitcoin.”

  “I understand that tomorrow President Trump may announce his plan to build a Bitcoin Fort Knox and authorize the US government to buy a million Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset,” Kennedy told the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Friday, a day before Trump was scheduled to speak at the same event.

  “And I applaud that announcement.”

  However, most notable is the shift seen by former President Trump from his initial comments in 2019..

  “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated cryptoassets can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”

  Thankfully, as Mark Shut and Lee Bratcher detail below, via BitcoinMagazine.com, the official position of the Republican Party has changed dramatically since President Donald J Trump condemned the emerging crypto industry in those uncompromising terms back in 2019.

  

  Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee adopted an ambitious platform to promote innovation in the US’ digital assets industry and protect the rights of bitcoin holders.

  For one, the official platform pledges that the Republicans will “defend the right to mine bitcoin.”

  This represents a much-needed departure from the policies of the incumbent administration.

  In February this year, the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an “emergency” survey to bitcoin mining companies, demanding highly sensitive information such as the specifications of the machines being used, the specific locations of their mining operations, and contractual information relating to their commercial energy partners. The EIA not only demanded all of this information but pledged to publish even the most commercially sensitive bits of it.

  This initiative represented an unprecedented intrusion into the activities of Bitcoin miners and a massive assault on the crypto industry. It prompted organizations such as the Texas Blockchain Council to launch legal proceedings to try and protect the rights of the crypto industry against federal outreach. The Republicans’ pledge to “defend the right to mine bitcoin” is therefore very welcome.

  There are other encouraging pledges that the Republicans have made.

  The GOP has said they will “ensure every American has the right to self-custody their digital assets and transact free from government surveillance and control.”

  They have also come out strongly against the idea of a CBDC.

  “Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” the party has said.

  Of course, all of this is highly encouraging for digital asset industry advocates. But it still begs the question.

  What caused President Trump to change his mind and start embracing the massive potential of digital assets and decentralized finance?

  How has this pro-digital asset agenda vaulted into the limelight of Presidential politics?

  If there is one man who has contributed more than anybody else to changing Republicans’ mind on crypto, it is Vivek Ramaswamy.

  The former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur is clearly having increasing amounts of influence on the GOP inner circle. At the Republican Convention this month, Donald Trump Jr joked that he would like Ramaswamy to be his running mate in 2036. Indeed, ever since his presidential bid last year, it is clear that he has been one of the leading voices at the upper echelons of the Republicans guiding the party in a more pro-crypto direction.

  Ramaswamy made waves in GOP circles when, at the North American Blockchain Summit in Texas last year, he released a detailed and comprehensive plan for the US crypto space.

  What did he pledge to do? Perhaps the most eye-catching measure was his promise to fire most of the employees at the bloated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and order the rest to stop trying to bully the crypto industry. Importantly, Ramaswamy defines many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as commodities that are therefore not under the jurisdiction of the SEC.

  “I think it’s nothing short of embarrassing that Gary Gensler, the current leader of the SEC, in front of Congress could not even say whether Ethereum counted as a regulated security or not,” Ramaswamy said during one of the Republican debates last year. “This is just another example of the administrative state gone too far.”

  Ramaswamy has been a vocal advocate for innovation in the crypto space and the use of decentralized digital currencies as a tool for financial freedom. He has argued that the right to code should be a right protected by the First Amendment, protecting developers from the overreaches of federal agencies.

  He has also said that consumers should have a right to possess self-hosted digital wallets beyond the grasp of the government. This has now been explicitly adopted by the Republicans for their 2024 election campaign, showing the practical influence Ramaswamy is having on Republican policy.

  It is not just Ramaswamy who has been positively influencing Republican policy. Back in May last year, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, brought into force a law banning any potential CBDC being used in the state. The regulation “prohibits the use of a federally adopted CBDC by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code.”

  Efforts like this have been essential in making the Republican leadership aware of the dangers associated with CBDCs and prompting them to pledge action.

  But arguably the most important impactful of Ramaswamy’s crypto activism is to persuade the broader Republican Party that supporting crypto innovation is in line with their political philosophy and natural instincts.

  He has powerfully argued that the current federal assault on the crypto industry is “an embodiment of our national decline” in the way it represents an attack on innovation and entrepreneurship, two values the Republicans have always claimed to hold dear.

  Ramaswamy has similarly noted that Bitcoin mining is “a frontier in American innovation” in the same tradition as American heroes such as Thomas Jefferson – who Ramaswamy thinks “would have been a Bitcoin miner.” This rhetoric seems to have worked in convincing President Trump and Republican leaders that they should indeed be the pro-bitcoin party.

  Another key emerging figure in the Republican party who is of a similar mind on digital assets as Vivek is Trump’s recent VP pick, J.D. Vance. Senator Vance is vocal about his support for bitcoin and digital assets and has a background in tech venture capital. He is young and he understands the importance of courting younger votes.

  So, what will “four more years” of President Trump mean for the US digital asset industry?

  Let’s end as we started, with another quote from the President – one that shows, thanks to the efforts of Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Vance and others, just how much the Republican stance on crypto has changed over the last few years.

  “I will end Joe Biden’s war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America.”

  “If Trump is elected, the U.S. will have to add Bitcoin as a reserve, because it is digital gold,” said Arseniy Grusha, chief executive officer of data-center firm Dataprana, who attended the conference. “The earlier they do that, the better it will be for the United States.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 14:50

• Quake Detected Near North Korea's Nuke Test Site
  Quake Detected Near North Korea’s Nuke Test Site

  Some X users are speculating that an earthquake detected near the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in North Korea might have been an underground nuclear test. However, there are no confirmations from North Korea, neighboring countries, the US, or allies of Washington to confirm or deny this report. 

  The Korea Meteorological Administration, South Korea’s meteorological service, posted on X early Saturday morning that an earthquake was detected in North Korea (translated by Google):

  “[Earthquake Information] 07-27 12:50 Area 42km north-northwest of Gilju, Hamgyeongbuk-do, North Korea Magnitude 2.9 Instrument seismic intensity: Maximum seismic intensity Ⅰ.”

  [지진정보] 07-27 12:50 북한 함경북도 길주 북북서쪽 42km 지역 규모2.9 계기진도 : 최대진도 Ⅰ pic.twitter.com/RhyeRUS6YF

  — 기상청 지진화산정보서비스 (@KMA_earthquake) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  After the KMA Earthquake’s post, X user OSINTdefender said, “A 2.9 Magnitude Earthquake was registered in North Korea a few minutes ago, almost right next to the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site.”

  A 2.9 Magnitude Earthquake was registered in North Korea a few minutes ago, almost right next to the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. https://t.co/qmNUuRPVVj

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  OSINTdefender wrote in several posts:  

  “North Korea always seems to do their Nuclear Tests during Major International Events, so it would make sense if this is a Test that they decided to do it during the Olympics.”

  North Korea always seems to do their Nuclear Tests during Major International Events, so it would make sense if this is a Test that they decided to do it during the Olympics.

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “Though if this was a Nuclear Test it wasn’t a big one, for comparison their last Nuclear Test in 2017 caused a 6.1 Magnitude Earthquake, with it believed to have been upwards of a 250 Kiloton Bomb.”

  Though if this was a Nuclear Test it wasn’t a big one, for comparison their last Nuclear Test in 2017 caused a 6.1 Magnitude Earthquake, with it believed to have been upwards of a 250 Kiloton Bomb.

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “This Area of North Korea is also prone to Natural Earthquakes as well, with a 2.4 Magnitude Earthquake near the Punggye-ri Site in January believed to have been Natural.”

  This Area of North Korea is also prone to Natural Earthquakes as well, with a 2.4 Magnitude Earthquake near the Punggye-ri Site in January believed to have been Natural.

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Seoul-based freelance journalist Raphael Rashid said, “2.9 earthquake detected moments ago in North Korea 41.30 N 129.13 E which corresponds almost exactly to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.” 

  2.9 earthquake detected moments ago in North Korea 41.30 N 129.13 E which corresponds almost exactly to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, https://t.co/opD1dZ66cx

  — Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Given the coordinates (41.30 N 129.13 E) from Rashid, the location of the quake compared with the nuclear test facility is about a 31-minute car drive. Also, this nuclear test site is North Korea’s only one and was the location of the 2006, 2009, 2013, January 2016, September 2016, and September 2017 nuclear tests. 

  

  Here’s what some X users are saying about the report:

  Who’s gonna stop them? pic.twitter.com/Yh3qcU4gy1

  — Baron Lords (@LordsBaron) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  This will just be the beginning of the ramping up of behavior until the election.

  — Matt Burke (@Matt_Burke_) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  I don’t see it on the USGS map

  — P3Guy😷🛩️🌪️⛑️🪖🇺🇸 (@JMooreP3) July 27, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *Developing… 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 14:35

• FedEx To Cut Daytime Domestic Flight Activity By 60%
  FedEx To Cut Daytime Domestic Flight Activity By 60%

  By Eric Kulisch of FreightWaves

  FedEx plans to significantly slash daily flights and the number of U.S. cities served by air during the daytime when its air cargo contract with the U.S. Postal Service expires on Sept. 29, resulting in significant pay cuts for pilots, senior managers informed crews this week.

  

  Shedding daytime flying capacity in response to the lost postal business is part of a broader FedEx (NYSE: FDX) initiative to boost corporate profits that includes restructuring airline operations to align with lower parcel demand and improve efficiency.

  The parcel logistics giant will reduce daytime domestic flying time by 60% and the number of city destinations by 55%, which will add about 500 pilots to the existing surplus, said Justin Brownlee, senior vice president for flight operations and network planning, in a letter to airline workers obtained by FreightWaves. No pilots will be hired for the foreseeable future, he added.

  The company now has 5,500 pilots, down from 5,800 at the start of the year. With the workforce redundancy, remaining flight hours will be divided up among the entire cohort, resulting in a “significant” reduction in the minimum number of flight hours guaranteed to pilots starting in October, Brownlee told the flight team.

  The Postal Service in early April selected UPS (NYSE: UPS), instead of incumbent FedEx, as its air cargo carrier for the next 5 1/2 years. The last day FedEx will provide service to the Postal Service is Sept. 29, but the company has already been scaling back flights as the agency transitions volumes to UPS. FedEx recently said losing the Postal Service business will drag down operating income by $500 million in the current fiscal year.

  Lower postal volumes left FedEx with surplus equipment for its daytime air network and higher operating costs per unit. Management previously said the Postal Service contract wasn’t making money. Postal revenue in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022, fell $236 million to $1.9 billion and was expected to continue decreasing. The contract previously generated annual revenue of at least $2 billion.

  Equity research analysts argued that FedEx’s airline was much bigger than necessary, partly because of commitments to fly postal shipments during the daytime in addition to its overnight express operation.

  FedEx officers earlier this year said expiration of the Postal Service contract gives them more flexibility to reorganize the daytime air network because aircraft won’t be dedicated to a single customer.

  Pat DiMento, vice president flight operations and training, provided pilots more details about the network changes in a follow-up memo, also shared with FreightWaves. The route map in October will go from 75 to 28 cities served – a 63% reduction versus the 55% mentioned by Brownlee, with daily flight trips in an average week falling nearly two-thirds. Cities losing daytime service include Atlanta; Austin, Texas; and Baltimore. Weekly flight hours will tumble from 2,045 to 1,203 (down 60%). Airbus A300 freighters, for example, will experience an 81% reduction in weekly daytime flight legs while Boeing 767 trips will be cut 70%, going from nearly 700 to 209 per week.  

  Executives stressed that the tentative October schedule was released now to give flight operations personnel pertinent information as early as possible, but that adjustments could still be made. 

  “The above plan will likely change as we settle into the new system form and other business opportunities develop. Our company is rapidly moving towards the network efficiencies that will ensure we remain the leader in the incredibly competitive cargo and logistics industry. We appreciate the significant impact these changes will have on your schedules and value your commitment to FedEx as we navigate these changes together,” DiMento wrote.

  Despite the reduced daytime flying, FedEx expects to maintain fleet size at current levels because the number of aircraft is primarily dictated by the priority overnight network and the company is working to attract other cargo business, Brownlee said.

  “In preparation for the conclusion of our air freight contract with the United States Postal Service, we have begun implementing adjustments to network operations that support postal volume. These adjustments include a reduction in daytime flight hours,” said Caitlin Adams Maier, FedEx’s director of public affairs, in a statement to FreightWaves. “As we transform our network and operations for the future, we remain committed to delivering world-class service to our customers around the world while providing outstanding service to the USPS through the contract’s completion in September.”

  Pilots have made substantially less money the past year because they share a smaller pool of flying assignments. No progress has been made on a new labor contract since June 2023, when members of the pilots’ union rejected a tentative contract. Negotiations remain in federal mediation. Company officials have privately suggested that a new ratified contract would incentivize pilots to retire, which would help address overstaffing.

  The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the FedEx pilots in collective bargaining, urged management to resolve the contract talks so that the business transformation can fully achieve the desired financial outcome.

  Brownlee’s comments that aircraft count will stay the same while overstaffing levels increase “are contrary to one another and conveniently ignore the negative impact of the Drive and Tricolor [restructuring] on our pilots. We are certainly wondering how exactly management intends to implement Network 2.0 and Tricolor with a misaligned crew force,” said Jose Nieves, chair of ALPA’s FedEx Master Executive Council in a message to members and the company.

  Fleet plan

  The airline’s mainline fleet has shrunk from 417 aircraft in fiscal year 2022 to 389 as more aircraft are put out of service than are being added to modernize the fleet. FedEx last quarter permanently retired 22 Boeing 757-200 freighter aircraft as part of the downsizing effort. The older 757s were expendable because they are less fuel-efficient than other planes operated by FedEx, which still has 92 of the narrowbody freighters in the fleet. The company also retired nine MD-11s in the fiscal year ending May 31 and plans to phase out the tri-engine aircraft by mid-2028, subject to changes in customer demand. 

  FedEx last year received 14 freighter aircraft from Boeing (four 777s and 10 767-300s medium widebodies). The company is scheduled to take delivery of two factory-built 777 freighters in the next 12 months and 14 B767s over the next two years, according to its latest statistics.

  Meanwhile, as part of the new effort to consolidate the Express and Ground networks into one integrated system, FedEx in late January began repainting mainline cargo jets to present a unified brand, said Brownlee. That means aircraft will no longer show Express markings. The new paint scheme, which features a larger logo and different positioning to reflect a more modern look, has been applied to 18 freighters so far.

  Tricolor drive

  FedEx is now implementing its Tricolor strategy for streamlining its global air network with the goal of segregating the fleet according to various product categories and demand. Brownlee said new flights are being added to the Orange network to accommodate nonparcel cargo growth.

  The so-called Purple network is geared toward international customers willing to pay the most for the fastest speeds using dedicated aircraft that are well timed to go overnight into FedEx hubs for next-day delivery. Fewer large freight shipments will be mixed in to maximize density on aircraft and sorting efficiency, executives explained in the spring.

  Orange-designated flights will operate during the daytime and focus on priority international freight. Management describes this deferred air network as an extension of its European and U.S. less-than-truckload networks, designed to attract high-yield freight, such as pharmaceuticals, perishables, electronics and automotive components, that is more profitable per pound than heavier, general consignments. FedEx says it will mix in deferred parcels to fill out the aircraft.

  

  The White network will handle e-commerce and other low-priority shipments, much of it processed through the company’s freight forwarding arm, FedEx Trade Networks. Those loads will utilize the belly space of commercial passenger aircraft operating between major international gateways that can be integrated into the FedEx Ground network in the U.S.

  Starting in September and October, FedEx will add a Boeing 777 route between Liege, Belgium, and its regional hub in Oakland, California; a route connecting Miami, Guatemala City and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, operated with a Boeing 757 freighter; and a Miami-Buenos Aires-Santiago, Chile-Quito, Ecuador-Miami route with a Boeing 767, according to Brownlee’s letter.

  In addition to those routes, the logistics integrator is expanding the Orange network in the Asia, Middle East and Africa operating out of a hub in Guangzhou, China. FedEx in early June also launched an MD-11 route from Guangzhou to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, with stops in Tokyo and Anchorage, Alaska, and bypassing the global hub in Memphis, Tennessee.

  “This route provides parcel and freight growth opportunities by directly connecting the East Coast and Asian markets while improving service levels by removing unnecessary touch points in our U.S. domestic network, which prevents more congestion” in Memphis, said Brownlee.

  He also disclosed that FedEx launched an intra-China flight between Guangzhou and Beijing utilizing a Boeing 737 freighter operated five times per week by Tianjin Air Cargo. As a foreign airline, FedEx does not have regulatory authority to operate the flight itself. Brownlee said the flight strengthens FedEx’s position in the China market and “provides freight growth opportunities by feeding additional volume into the global international air network” without displacing any company aircraft.

  Tricolor is part of a comprehensive restructuring program launched two years ago to strengthen profits after the pandemic surge wore off, specifically aimed at reducing redundant infrastructure and associated costs.

  The Drive initiative to take out $4 billion in structural costs by mid-2025, coupled with pickup and delivery efficiencies from a new consolidation of separate operating companies into one organization, has helped achieve four consecutive quarters of operating income and margin expansion despite revenue declines.

  FedEx’s adjusted operating profit increased 5.6% year over year to $1.9 billion last quarter on a 1% gain in revenue, underscoring the company’s progress in containing costs amid soft market conditions. It was the first time FedEx had year-over-year revenue growth after six quarters of declines.

  The company achieved $1.8 billion in structural savings last year and is targeting an additional $2.2 billion in savings from its transformation program in fiscal year 2025. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/27/2024 – 14:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Biden And The Media's 'Anti-Disinformation' Campaign
  Biden And The Media’s ‘Anti-Disinformation’ Campaign

  Authored by Andrew Lowenthal via The Brownstone Institute,

  “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

  – George Orwell, 1984

  For years the media, “fact-checkers,” and “anti-disinformation” initiatives told the public there was nothing wrong with Joe Biden. A few weeks ago, in the space of five minutes, they flipped. Rapid-onset dementia had struck the President and it was time for change.

  

  The people who claim they can sort truth from fiction spent years lying despite the crippling obvious. What is more baffling is why so many people went along with it for so long. Was it fear? Complacency? Cowardice? An incredible level of discipline was enforced – that has thankfully now unraveled.

  Rather than debunking “misinformation,” Biden’s protectors often spread it.  

  In August 2020 the Aspen Institute coordinated a Hunter Biden laptop pre-bunk exercise that sought to suppress a true story to protect Biden’s wayward son and shield the President from major corruption allegations. A swathe of major media and Big Tech participated in that exercise, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Twitter, Facebook, and many more. Claire Wardle, former director of “anti-disinformation” NGO First Draft (now the Information Futures Lab at Brown University) also participated.

  In a letter allegedly organised by Anthony Blinken, 51 former intelligence agents claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was a “Russian information operation” and Facebook, Twitter, and others suppressed the story on their platforms. Almost everyone now admits the laptop was real.

  Or take Biden’s claim that “You’re not going to get Covid if you have these vaccinations.”

  PolitiFact thought that may have been an “exaggeration” but reassured us that cases of the vaccinated getting Covid are “rare.”

  The Party told you to reject the evidence not just of your eyes and ears, but your whole body.

  However, perhaps the biggest lie was the years-long campaign to “debunk” suggestions that Biden was growing incapable of commanding the highest office in the land. PolitiFact was very diligent in “fact-checking” “cheap fakes” and other stories that alleged Joe Biden was senile, reassuring us that everything was fine.

  The term “cheap fake” was coined by Britt Paris and Hunter Biden laptop denialist Joan Donovan. Donavan has long been a darling of the “anti-disinformation” field. 

  In the words of Aspen Hunter Biden laptop pre-bunker Claire Wardle, the Biden cheap fakes are “the weaponization of context. It’s genuine content, but the context changes via minor edits. Anyone can be vulnerable with the right edit.” In fact, as recently as June 21 Wardle was carrying water for Biden. In a New York Times article that sought to debunk “misleading videos that play into and reinforce voters’ longstanding concerns about his [Biden’s] age and abilities,” Wardle explained that “This isn’t a new narrative, it builds on an existing one, which tends to be much more effective.” Yes, adding more true information to other true information tends to make an argument more convincing.

  Or take Rebekah Tromble, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs and the director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics at George Washington University. According to Tromble “Biden became a main target of deceptive edits.” “These clips draw on a common trope about President Biden that’s popular among his detractors: He’s old, bumbling, and senile, meaning he’s incompetent and incapable of doing this job.” His gaffes and inability to speak clearly are unrelated to his cognitive ability, and are instead because “Biden grew up stuttering.”

  PolitiFact is a project of the Poynter Institute which coordinates the biggest network of fact-checkers in the world, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). IFCN is funded largely by Facebook but also by the “Craig Newmark Foundation, the Koch Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Omidyar Network, the National Endowment for Democracy, Microsoft, and the Washington Post.” This is not a small fringe “fact-checking” outfit; it is one of the leading organizations in the sector. 

  Perhaps the name makes it clear – it is Politi(cised) Fact-checking. 

  Newsguard, a “disinformation” ranking service that can punish a news site’s advertising revenue through its rating system, has also been active. Power Line, a conservative online news outlet, alleges they were contacted by Newsguard in 2021 about their claims of Biden’s cognitive decline. In an email, Newsguard asked:

  We’ve noticed that the site has repeatedly stated as fact in its article[s] that Joe Biden has dementia, both during the 2020 election cycle and since he became president. Why does the site make this claim without providing credible evidence that he has dementia?

  Newsguard’s approach is particularly concerning because of its ability to impact the revenue of media outlets, and due to its strong links to the State Department and intelligence agencies – its board includes former CIA Director Michael Hayden.

  If all that fails you can always blame the Russians. EUvsDisinfo, a European Union project to “forecast, address, and respond to the Russian Federation’s ongoing disinformation campaigns” claimed reports of Biden being “senile” are “false” and are part of “pro-Kremlin disinformation.”

  Mainstream media have also been a critical part of the lying machine, claiming recent videos that show Biden wandering off at a G7 event were “misinformation” or “cheap fakes” and are part of a concerted effort to “hammer the narrative that Biden is too old to be president.” PolitiFact also “fact-checked” the story with the usual line.

  The list could go on and on and on but Matt Orfalea’s amazing “sharp as a tack” compilation puts the nail in the coffin. More “out of context” clips and “cheap fakes” according to the “anti-disinformation” “experts” no doubt.

  What is the lesson?

  On one hand, censorship and suppression only work for so long. Reality will eventually catch up with you. However, it also tells us that a lot of people can pretend the emperor does have clothes, even when he is stark naked and half the court is screaming and pointing at the top of their lungs – also known as “spreading misinformation.”

  It seems there is an endless supply of “fact-checking” and “anti-disinformation” sycophants ready to bow and scrape before the mad king.

  Ultimately it tells us just how corrupt the “fact-checking” and “anti-disinformation” industries are. Whilst there are an increasing number of people on the outside speaking up, internally cowardice and the silencing of critics have allowed a prolific level of corruption to grow. This is an across-the-board problem in the liberal and progressive spheres where pious bullies have shut down dialogue. This corruption has led progressives and liberals down a disastrous dead end. Barring a miracle, Trump is coming.

  If there is any justice a reckoning is also coming for the “fact-checkers” and “anti-disinformation” “experts.”

  *  *  *

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 23:10

• Does Disney's Dramatic Decline Reflect Growing Public Opposition To Woke Activism?
  Does Disney’s Dramatic Decline Reflect Growing Public Opposition To Woke Activism?

  The participation of major corporations in the molding of cancel culture should not be overlooked.  While many people assumed that companies were “bending the knee” to progressive activists, the opposite was actually true.  Woke movements are a minority within western populations and have no boycott power.  There’s never been any reason for businesses to be afraid of them.

  In fact, without the support of companies like Blackrock, Vanguard, Google, Facebook, Twitter and many others the cancel mob would have little to no power.  The situation seems to be changing, or the damage seems to be minimized.  One corporate entity reflects this shift more than any other, and that’s Disney. 

  

  A lot has happened in the US in the past several years, so much in fact that it might be hard to remember how close the country came to total disaster under the dictates of the progressive hive.  The political left had been accumulating social influence with the aid of international corporations, NGOs and government officials since at least 2016.  However, after the Biden Administration took office and pandemic hysteria went into full swing, the activists sought to flex their cancel culture muscle in a big way.

  The result was a dystopian frenzy in which mass censorship was rampant and speaking out in any way against official narratives might get you booted from social media and even fired from your job.  Leftists called it “consequence culture” as a way to justify their behavior, but the consensus was that this was thought-policing on an Orwellian scale.  The assumption by leftists being that they are the virtuous arbiters over what words and beliefs should be punished.  No one voted for them to do this job.

  The smell of blood was in the water and, as with all dystopian societies, certain non-compliant people were made into examples to frighten everyone else.  

  UFC fighter and actress Gina Carano was one of those people.  Carano says she was harassed by Disney management to add “pronouns” to her social media bio to “prove her support for trans lives”.  After the actress made an online joke by listing her “pronouns” on Twitter as ‘beeb bop boop’, the company brought pressure to bear in an attempt to force Carano into silence. 

  

  Her eventual removal by Disney was heralded by the political left as a great victory and a display of the cancel mob’s power.  If they could destroy the career of a Hollywood celebrity then there was a good chance they could destroy the life of almost any average conservative.

  Disney then engaged in a slow boil of the theater-going public with DEI propaganda.  Many suspected Disney was removing white, straight and male characters from the majority of their productions on purpose.  As it turned out, that’s exactly what they were doing.

  The pendulum appears to be swinging back on Disney, however.  With the help of Elon Musk, Carano has pursued an effective civil suit against the company and a recent court decision blocked attempts by Disney lawyers to have the case dismissed.  The lawsuit will be going to trial.

  The vast majority of Disney content from films to streaming series have been met with box office failure and audience disinterest.  In 2023 alone, Disney had only one film that made a significant profit (Guardians Of The Galaxy) while spending a billion dollars on multiple box office flops (not counting marketing costs).  Not one Disney+ series was met with audience acclaim.  Streaming subscriber numbers sank.   

  Disney has consistently used its immense corporate power to legitimize the woke mob. Are they finally getting hit with the karma they deserve?

  After Disney publicly declared war on the state of Florida and conservative efforts to stop gender identity indoctrination in public schools, the company was put on notice.  They have since been exposed in numerous cases participating in far-left propaganda efforts including implanting LGBT messaging in children’s content. 

  Disney was also exposed by a VP on hidden camera for DEI practices and race discrimination against white male actors and corporate employees.

  Disney’s secret agenda is not so secret anymore.  They have been thoroughly defeated by the state of Florida and Ron Desantis in civil court and the company has lost their Reedy Creek autonomy.  Disney stock has been hovering near 5-year lows since 2023.  Their brand is essentially destroyed and their content is treated by most consumers as radioactive.  The sheer size of Disney and their holdings means that they have the capital to survive for years without public support, but the company has already started cutting employees in mass layoffs, including 14% of Pixar in May.  Not a good sign.   

  Is the karmic hammer finally swinging back to hit Disney in the face after nearly a decade of woke bullying?  It seems that way.  But the bigger question is, does Disney’s decline reflect a larger national move away from the woke mob and cancel culture in general?  Are Americans finally fed up with progressive pearl clutching and DEI?  This seems to be the case.  Disney fueled cancel culture for years only to find themselves canceled in return.   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 22:45

• "A Crisis Of Extremes": Behind The Homeless Surge In California's High Desert
  “A Crisis Of Extremes”: Behind The Homeless Surge In California’s High Desert

  Authored by Beige Luciano-Adams via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In the scrubby Mojave desert north of Los Angeles, a sprawling encampment of decrepit RVs sits just off a dirt road separating the city of Lancaster from Los Angeles County’s unincorporated expanse.

  

  In every direction, garbage spreads out like an algae super bloom—beyond that, endless sand and brush, baking in the summer sun.

  “Keep your head on a swivel for dogs,” a member of the city’s public safety and emergency response unit tells us. Through the haze, we see two pit bulls and a German Shepherd under a tarp, but they are tethered, too hot to move.

  Freddy, a resident, seems only moderately bothered by the 110 degree temperature. “I don’t have a car anymore, so I can’t get my own water,” he says, when asked how he survives out here. 

  “Someone brings me water every two weeks,” he said, referring to a nonprofit. 

  Pointing down at his legs, scaly and engorged beneath black shorts, he adds, “And I’m sick, too. They bring me medicine.”

  There is no grid here, no power or water. RV residents dump their raw sewage in the desert, either right outside their vehicles, or sometimes with a hose that carries it a little farther out.

  Such encampments, which are also a magnet for illegal construction dumping, appear as clusters on satellite maps, dotting the rugged terrain just past the county line. Officials say they stretch out as far as 10 miles into the desert, but most stay closer to town.

  Freddy is one of thousands without housing in the northern part of the county, according to data released last month by the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority (LAHSA). 

  On any given night, an estimated 6,672 people are homeless in the Antelope Valley—a 42 percent increase over the year prior. But only 1,057 of the region’s homeless people live in its two main cities, Lancaster and Palmdale, leaving the remaining 5,615 in smaller towns and the region’s rural unincorporated areas.

  It’s surprising that so many people could be living in tents, under tarps, inside of old RVs, out in the middle of the high desert with no water or infrastructure.

  But those familiar with the situation say the population was already high, and the dramatic jump simply represents a more thorough count this year.

  “The count went up this year because the count was done wrong in previous years,” said a city official, who asked not to be identified by name. “This year we utilized a drone, and our teams went out to remote areas and did the count,” he said, estimating the actual increase over last year might be closer to 25 percent.

  L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes the Antelope Valley, also suggested the increase may not be as straightforward as it looks.

  “The Point In Time Count is not a perfect science and it’s rightfully evolving,” she said in an email to The Epoch Times, expressing uncertainty over whether the number reflects an increase or a better count. 

  

  “Regardless, we will use those results to draw down more federal and state funding so that we can deliver more local housing and shelter options. The need in the region is real.”

  Either way, the uptick is an outlier in 2024, when the county overall and most city homeless populations are either remaining stable or shrinking slightly.

  The City of Lancaster’s overall homeless count went down in 2024, to 520 people from 590 the year prior, with fewer unsheltered homeless and more sheltered homeless individuals. Palmdale’s, meanwhile, rose from 177 to 537.

  Inquiries to Palmdale city officials, including the mayor and city councilmembers, were not returned.

  LAHSA also did not respond to a request for comment on the increase in the homeless population in Antelope Valley.

  While many municipalities across the West stopped clearing homeless encampments after a series of Ninth Circuit Court decisions determined anti-camping laws violated the Eighth Amendment, Lancaster bypassed those restrictions with procedural caveats, by offering shelter before moving people. 

  Since the Supreme Court reversed the lower court rulings earlier this month, officials say, enforcement is easier.

  Critics of such enforcement, such as the ACLU, have long argued Lancaster is pushing people who have nowhere to go into dangerous, extreme conditions. But officials say there are beds available, and enforcement is attended by offers of services and shelter.

  So why are thousands of people homeless in the desert?

  End of the Line

  Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris, an outspoken critic of what he says is the county’s neglect of the region, allows there are various factors that might contribute to an increase in homelessness—former inmates at California State Prison, in Lancaster, who end up in the community without services, along with a small percentage of people losing housing or falling on hard times.

  Lancaster has always been a far more affordable bedroom community, but median rent is currently $2,595 a month—only about $200 cheaper than Los Angeles, according to real estate website Zillow.

  But the main reason, Mr. Parris told The Epoch Times, is L.A.’s systematic tendency—not a conspiracy, exactly, more like a default setting—to send its problems north.

  “I think it’s tied to the L.A. area pushing them up here,” he said of the homeless count increase. “They tend to push all of their problems up here, if they can. And now you’ve got the World Cup, and you’ve got the Olympics coming, and they’re in a mad rush to get rid of their homeless, and so they encourage them to come here.”

  Mr. Parris says his teams are “constantly interviewing people who were given a ticket and told, “go to Lancaster, we’ll feed and take care of them,” but did not specify by whom. 

  “It’s at the end of the Metro line, literally. This is not unusual.”

  The county’s transit system, plagued by violence in recent months, has its own problems. Used as a de facto shelter by thousands during the day, its buses and trains are emptied for cleaning each night, which some end-of-line cities say has resulted in sharp increases in their transient homeless populations.

  Lancaster, 60 miles north of Los Angeles and at the very end of the Metro transit system, is far more remote than other such cities.

  

  

  Lt. William Kitchin, who oversees the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s (LASD) homeless outreach team for the entire county, said he has not personally seen evidence to support the idea that people are being directed to the region, but has observed migration to end-of-line cities.

  However they end up there, once in Lancaster, civil rights groups say, authorities have routinely pushed homeless people out into the desert.

  In a study based on interviews with 53 unhoused people in and around Lancaster from February 2019 to October 2020, the ACLU claimed the LASD “banished” people to remote county areas, combining the threat of criminal and civil sanctions with “suggestions” to leave town.

  Such claims, the lieutenant said, are easily disproved by body cameras that record deputies’ interactions when enforcing local ordinances.

  Lt. Kitchin’s team works with LAHSA to resolve encampments of more than five people, and he said such operations are always done with advance notice and offers of services and housing.​​

  “We can’t dictate or tell people where to go. We just say you can’t be here. We prefer you take the services that were provided, so you can go inside and get your life started on the right track, but we can’t force them into it,” he said.

  Starting on July 22, his team plans to clear desert encampments in an area north of Lancaster and place an estimated 40 people in hotels as part of the county’s “Pathway Home” program.

  “Prior to the pandemic,” the lieutenant said, “what we used to see is that people who were homeless in that area either grew up there or had roots there, parents or family. Now we’re seeing more people from out of state.”

  Officials who asked not to be identified by name said they see a constant influx of new faces in Lancaster and the surrounding area. “We know everyone here and everyday we’re seeing new people. It’s not people losing their homes, there’s some of that, but mostly it’s not. They came from somewhere else, they moved here,” one said.

  The city’s team has access to five beds for immediate shelter. After two weeks, they move people to Kensington, Lancaster’s sprawling homeless housing campus—so those five beds always stay open for people who might need them, officials said.

  Mayor Parris told The Epoch Times that beds remain open at Kensington throughout the year, except when extreme weather drives occupancy up.

  Opened in 2019, the campus has 153 interim beds and 150 permanent supportive housing beds, and receives more referrals than it has availability, a representative for A People Concern, the organization that operates the campus, told The Epoch Times in an email.

  The representative said they are currently “nearing capacity,” with a “fluctuating occupancy as individuals may choose to transition between programs.”

  

  Mr. Parris draws a hard line between what he characterizes as a minority of the homeless population in his city, who have fallen on hard times or been pushed out of housing—and an overwhelming majority, who refuse housing and choose the streets and drug abuse as a lifestyle.

  “I was a drug addict, and I have been homeless. And I have been in jail,” Mr. Parris, a lawyer, said. “So none of this is foreign to me. You know, I think I probably have a better understanding of it than most. But I know the difference between a looter and someone who needs help—and wants help.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 22:20

• Gab Founder Says Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks 'May Have Had Account' – Was Pro-Biden
  Gab Founder Says Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks ‘May Have Had Account’ – Was Pro-Biden

  Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, PA who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump may have had an account on social media alternative website Gab.  He apparently used the platform to spread messages in support of President Joe Biden, indicating a progressive political leaning.  Gab CEO Andrew Torba says he has received “an emergency disclosure request from a law enforcement agency” pertaining to a specific account linked to Thomas Crooks.

  

  The account @epicmicrowave  (which the CEO stressed he has been “unable to confirm” was definitely Crooks’) “posted on the site nine (9) times total,” Torba tweeted just 30 minutes after getting the law enforcement request.

  🚨Approximately 30 minutes ago, Gab learned that Thomas Crooks, the deranged Joe Biden supporter who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, may have had an account on our platform. We are unable to confirm that the account in question actually belonged to him.

  The… pic.twitter.com/BcJrZJ4Yhk

  — Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba) July 24, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Torba noted in the post that:

  “We are disclosing this information at significant personal and business risk. If the past is any guide, defying the D.C. consensus by publishing the first definitive evidence that the shooter was a Biden supporter – something Democrats and their media allies have tried to cover up and deny at every turn – has a high probability of resulting in significant political and media backlash.”

  “We have saved the account data pending receipt of a search warrant,” he stated.

  Comments made by @epicmicrowave defend Biden policies including his Covid lockdown policies and immigration policies, while attacking those critical of illegal immigration. 

  

  The poster wrote:

  ‘Biden executive orders don’t incentivize human trafficking as human traffickers aren’t interested in citizenships, likewise the majority of illegal immigrants are not criminals and in fact some studies (such as the one linked below) show lower rates of crime committed by these individuals.’

  In related developments, the FBI did confirm that Crooks had searched for information about both Trump and Biden before the assassination attempt on July 13th. The FBI disclosed that the 20-year-old had looked up dates for Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention (DNC), where Democrats are now expected to nominate Kamala Harris for president.

  The FBI noted that Crooks also researched information on the Kennedy Assassination, including “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy.”

  It has been nearly two weeks since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA and there is still very little personal information available on Thomas Crooks.  The info that has been released is often contradictory.  Most suspicious of all is the utter lack of social media and web traffic related data.  For a 20-year-old in America, this seems impossible.

  Reports of Steam and Instagram accounts in the Crooks’ name have proven to be fake.  The Gab announcement, if accurate, would be the first solid indication of a political motive behind the shooting.  It may be years before any facts are released by the FBI and other agencies giving the public a better picture of who Thomas Crooks really was. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 21:55

• FBI Director Debunks Biden's Claim That J6 'Gallows' Were Designed To Hang Mike Pence
  FBI Director Debunks Biden’s Claim That J6 ‘Gallows’ Were Designed To Hang Mike Pence

  Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

  President Joe Biden said in a recent speech that the infamous gallows built on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, were “erected to hang Vice President Mike Pence.”

  

  That’s a strong claim coming from the sitting—at least for now—leader of the free world. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., asked FBI Director Chris Wray about Biden’s claim during a Wednesday congressional hearing, and Wray surprisingly debunked the president’s false characterization of the “gallows.”

  Biden recently alleged that “gallows” erected on January 6th were intended to assassinate Vice President Mike Pence.

  But today the @FBI Director disagreed with that assessment. pic.twitter.com/Yg5w5pKy6g

  — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 25, 2024

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  “I’m not aware of any physical gallows … It might have been a replica or symbol,” Wray told Massie.

  The congressman agreed: “It looks like a prop. The construction doesn’t look like it would lend itself to hanging somebody. If the president were correct, that would be a very serious allegation.”

  Massie asked Wray whether anyone has been arrested or even identified as the builder of the gallows. He also asked whether the gallows builders were FBI informants.

  Wray said he had no knowledge of informants being involved, and that he didn’t know whether the gallows-makers have been arrested—but the answer is almost certainly no. As Headline USA reported in February, the FBI still doesn’t know who built the gallows.

  “Three years later, the FBI still has no suspects. Additionally, the Select Committee on January 6th seemingly did not review the USCP CCTV footage to identify the culprits behind the gallows, or if they did, they never released information about when the gallows were built and who built them—which can all be seen on CCTV footage from early in the morning on January 6,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., stated said in a February press release.

  According to Loudermilk, the gallows builders arrived at approximately 6:30 a.m. on January 6, 2021, in a white full-size van parked north of Constitution Avenue. There, three passengers unloaded a large bundle of lumber with wheels.

  After unloading, the group walked the bundle across Constitution Avenue and onto the grass at Union Square, according to Loudermilk. They were then joined by two more people arriving by cab at the corner of 1st and C Streets NW, Loudermilk said.

  Between 6:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m., the group constructed the platform and two main pillars of the gallows, only leaving off the crossbeam, he said. During this time, the apparent group leader along with one other person, left the group and walked down 3rd Street, heading north. They returned a few minutes later with coffee, and the entire group left the scene, according to Loudermilk.

  “Despite the leader’s distinctive clothing—he was wearing a long trench coat, long white scarf, fedora-type hat, and walking with a cane—he has never been identified publicly,” he said.

  “At approximately 1:00 p.m., the group of five returned to the scene and the presumed leader, now wearing a baseball cap, installed the final crossbeam and added the noose made of bright orange rope. Shortly after construction was complete, all five men left the grounds.”

  Loudermilk noted that the construction of the gallows violated the Capitol Police Guidelines for Conducting an event on United States Capitol Grounds, which prohibit temporary structures from being built on Capitol grounds. He asked why Capitol Police allowed the gallows to remain intact throughout the morning of Jan. 6.

  “It is inconceivable that a gallows could be constructed on U.S. Capitol property and left up all day,” he said.

  “These men arrived early in the morning, several hours before the rally even started or anyone had gathered, to construct the gallows platform, yet this structure was allowed to stay intact for all to see. These actions raise more serious and troubling questions. Why didn’t the U.S. Capitol Police take down the gallows once it was seen on Capitol property, and why have the individuals never been identified?”

  Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 21:30

• Trump Tells Netanyahu A 'Third World War' Is Likely If He Loses In November
  Trump Tells Netanyahu A ‘Third World War’ Is Likely If He Loses In November

  Former President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, just after the Israeli leader met with President Biden and VP Harris.

  Trump claimed in the context of the meeting that a major war in the Middle East – and even possibly a “third world war” – will break out if he doesn’t win the election. He’s long been running as the candidate who will deescalate global hotspots that Washington is too deeply embedded in.

  

  “If we win, it’ll be very simple. It’s all going to work out and very quickly,” Trump told reporters just before the meeting’s start.

  “If we don’t, you’re going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a third world war. You are closer to a third world war right now than at any time since the second world war. You’ve never been so close, because we have incompetent people running our country,” he said.

  Likely he had in mind the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Hamas conflict, given he has made similar comments of these flashpoints in the past. However, he’s never put it so bluntly as to say world war three could result if he loses.

  He also reflected on controversy left in the wake of Netanyahu’s meeting with VP Harris. The Israeli leader was reportedly upset with Harris’ post-meeting statement, where she said she would “not be silent” at the mounting civilian Palestinian casualties and suffering.

  “Harris’ statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting,” one Israeli official told Axios. According to more, “The Israeli official also said Netanyahu was unhappy with the fact that Harris criticized Israel publicly for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and for killing civilians, especially at the current timing amid the hostage deal negotiations.”

  Trump said going into the meeting with Netanyahu that Harris’ remarks on the Gaza war were “disrespectful”. Referencing Harris and the Biden administration, and Democrats broadly, Trump said “They weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel. I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her, but that’s up to them.”

  Trump also said something a bit unusual pertaining to Iran and the possibility of a future US war on Tehran…

  Uh, what? pic.twitter.com/JIz1HIpnpt

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) July 26, 2024

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  He said in social media statement that Iran must be wiped out if it ever carries out an assassination against a future President Trump.

  The comment appeared in follow-up to Netanyahu’s fiery Wednesday speech before Congress. The prime minister focused a lot of the talk on Iran, and described that it remains behind “all the terrorism” and “all the killing”. He then asserted that the Islamic Republic “brazenly threatened to assassinate President Trump.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 21:05

• The FDA's Disastrous War Against Sleep
  The FDA’s Disastrous War Against Sleep

  Authored by ‘A Midwestern Doctor’,

  Story at-a-glance

  • The power of sleep — Proper sleep is essential for our health, and disruptions can lead to severe issues like heart attacks, psychiatric illnesses, car accidents, fatigue, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia

  • A widespread epidemic — Poor sleep affects many due to a lack of understanding about its importance and the use of sedative sleeping pills that hinder healthy sleep. For instance, medical training often deprives students of sleep, despite its critical role in learning

  • The forgotten miracle drug — In 1964, a remarkably effective sleeping medication hit the market, improving conditions like insomnia and overall health. However, its success threatened other drug markets. By 1990, the FDA and media launched a campaign against it, much like the case with ivermectin, resulting in the drug becoming almost unknown and many sleep disorders remaining untreated

  • What you’ll learn — This article delves into the harms of poor sleep, explores common causes, and uncovers effective treatments for sleeping disorders

  One of the key themes I’ve tried to illustrate in my writings is that chronic illness has vastly increased over the last 150 years. A major cause of this is the disruption of the natural rhythms essential for our body’s self-regulation and self-repair.

  

  Modern Medicine (Allopathy) often overlooks this concept because it doesn’t recognize the innate health of the body. Allopathic treatments focus on stabilizing or altering the body (e.g., ICU care or surgery) and hoping it heals itself, unlike other medical systems that enhance the body’s natural recovery capacity.

  Typically, Allopathy excels with acute conditions, while a health-augmenting approach is better for chronic illnesses, an area where Allopathy often falls short. Here are three reasons why the Allopathic model dominates:

  1. Economic incentives — The Allopathic model creates many expensive treatments and diagnostics, making it highly profitable and incentivizing its dominance in the medical market.

  2. Cultural psychology — Our culture’s need to control and understand everything leads to methods that dominate nature rather than work harmoniously with it, oppose the philosophy of trusting the body’s natural healing.

  3. Research bias — Medical research favors treatments that show immediate, observable changes (like lowering blood pressure) rather than those that promote gradual, long-term recovery, skewing the focus towards pharmaceutical interventions.

  The Impact of Natural Rhythms on Health

  The health of the body relies heavily on the normal functioning of self-regulating cycles:

  • Breathing — Slow, smooth, nasal breathing profoundly impacts health and longevity by regulating many critical physiological functions.

  • Sunlight — Regular exposure to sunlight is vital for health, and its absence doubles the risk of mortality and can lead to conditions like depression or cancer.

  • Physical activity — Regular exercise is crucial, and a sedentary lifestyle leads to significant health issues. Those who walk daily often experience dramatically improved longevity.

  • Mental rest — The mind needs to alternate between rest and activity, but modern life often forces constant thinking and stress.

  In short, many of the natural rhythms our bodies rely upon for self-regulation are heavily disrupted in modern society, which in turn results in a variety of consistent derangements to normal physiology that are now seen throughout the population.

  The Importance of Sleep

  Throughout my career, I’ve met many integrative practitioners who emphasize normalizing their patient’s sleep as a crucial step in treating chronic illness. Sleep is a foundational process for restoring health, yet patients with chronic illnesses often suffer from disrupted sleep cycles, which can be challenging to correct.

  Sleep is a tightly regulated cycle, highly responsive to environmental signals and essential for maintaining other critical body rhythms. During sleep, the body cycles through different phases, each with critical functions: deep NREM sleep heals the brain and drains toxins, while REM sleep consolidates memories and processes emotions. A typical sleep cycle goes as follows:

  

  Note: Since REM sleep predominates later at night, not sleeping long enough disproportionately disrupts REM sleep. NREM sleep is responsible for eliminating unnecessary memories, whereas REM sleep processes the day’s experiences and reinforces them into long-term memory.

  Matthew Walker is one of the world’s most vocal sleep researchers. In his book Why We Sleep, he argues that sleep serves several vital functions, including:

  

   

  Any individual, no matter what age, will exhibit physical ailments, mental health instability, reduced alertness, and impaired memory if their sleep is chronically disrupted.

   

  Even when controlling for factors such as body mass index, gender, race, history of smoking, frequency of exercise, and medications, the lower an older individual’s sleep efficiency score, the higher their mortality risk, the worse their physical health, the more likely they are to suffer from depression, the less energy they report, and the lower their cognitive function, typified by forgetfulness.

  The Sleep Crisis

  Adequate sleep requires:

  1. Sufficient time set aside for sleep.

  2. Ability to fall asleep quickly.

  3. Cycling through all sleep phases once asleep.

  Adults generally need 7 to 9 hours per night, with infants and children needing more. Unfortunately, many people don’t get enough sleep, contributing to widespread health issues.

  Key points:

  • Gallup poll 57% of Americans want more sleep; only 42% get enough.

  • 35.5% of American adults sleep less 7 hours per night; 30% have insomnia symptoms.

  • 13.5% of adults feel tired most days; 10 days of 6-hour deficient sleep is equivalent to 24 hours of being awake (no sleep).

  • Sleep Apnea affects 9% to 38% of the population.

  • 30% to 48% of the elderly have insomnia symptoms, and 12% to 20% have insomnia disorders. Aging reduces sleep efficiency and quality and increases nighttime awakenings.

  

  Sleeping Pills

  Despite a $65 billion annual market for sleep aids in the U.S.24 and a $432 billion global “sleep economy” 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. The pandemic worsened sleep for over half of Americans in 2020, and 76% admitted to buying sleep aids.

  The problem lies in the nature of most sleeping pills: they are sedatives, not sleep aids. They sedate the brain, impairing its ability to initiate restorative sleep, leaving users tired and at risk for health issues.

  Studies have shown that sleeping pill users are significantly more likely to die early and develop cancer. For example, one study found a twofold increase in mortality for sleeping pill users, with another study reporting a 3.6 to 5.4 times higher death rate for users over 2.5 years, and an increased cancer risk of 7% to 99%.

  This in turn, led the authors to conclude that in 2010, prescription sleeping pills “may have been associated with 320,000 to 507,000 excess deaths within the USA alone.”

  Most prescription sleeping pills, like Ambien, are “sedative hypnotics” similar to benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium), which are addictive and often used long-term despite being intended for short-term use. Over-the-counter options, like Benadryl or Unisom, are antihistamines that also disrupt the sleep cycle. Alcohol, with a similar mechanism to benzodiazepines, is another addictive sedative that inhibits sleep long after being ingested.

  Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate

  While most sleeping medications are unsafe and ineffective, one drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), has shown remarkable results. Developed in 1874, GHB was marketed in Europe as an intravenous anesthetic in 1964. Despite its benefits, it wasn’t practical for surgeries but was useful in intensive care due to its unique properties:

  

   

  Decades of research followed and demonstrated GHB’s extraordinary properties and low toxicity. It metabolizes to succinate and water, has a high LD50, and no deaths have been conclusively attributed to it. GHB is a powerful sleep aid, restoring deep sleep cycles and leaving individuals refreshed — in many cases after just 3 to 4 hours of sleep.

   

  As more scientists (and then members of the public) began exploring the drug, according to Ward Dean MD29 (who provided extensive references to support his claims), through decades of research, they found a variety of benefits from GHB including:

  

  Given these remarkable benefits and the decades of research supporting its use, why has no one ever heard of it?

  The Ivermectin of Sleep Medicines

  The medical industry often uses public relations to create campaigns that generate profits at the expense of public health.

  For instance, dermatologists rebranded themselves as skin cancer fighters, spreading hysteria about skin cancer and sunlight dangers. This transformed dermatology into a lucrative field, despite the essential health benefits of sunlight. Similarly, during COVID-19, the FDA downplayed the benefits of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, creating unwarranted fear and blocking their use.

  GHB’s story mirrors this pattern. In the early 1990s, as it gained popularity as a supplement (largely due to bodybuilders recognizing the value of it increasing growth hormone in the body), the FDA and CDC publicized adverse reactions to it, despite no fatalities (e.g., hospital doctors misinterpreted the brief deep sleep it created as a coma requiring intubation).

  As recounted by Ward Dean MD, this led to an FDA ban, highly deceptive press releases, and a variety of illegal enforcement actions that were eventually overturned in court.

  The FDA then helped create a media hysteria over GHB, fueled by comparisons to Rohypnol (“Roofies”) and made up GHB tragedies, which led to its portrayal as a dangerous date-rape drug. This culminated in a 2000 Federal anti-date rape drug law 2000 that made GHB a Schedule I drug, while simultaneously enshrining a pharmaceutical GHB preparation as a Schedule III drug.

  Note: To be a Schedule I drug, the substance cannot have an acceptable medical use, which is hence irreconcilable with the FDA-approved preparation of it being a Schedule III drug.

  In reality, GHB was rarely involved in sexual assaults and had a distinct easily detectable taste. Misleading media reports and government actions overshadowed the actual data and research. Most remarkably GHB, Rohypnol (Roofies) avoided similar bans due to effective lobbying by its manufacturer, is still a schedule IV drug in America (where it was never brought to market), and remains legal in many countries. Here, Comedian Jimmy Dore covers the GHB saga in more detail:

  The Aftermath

  Because of this debacle, it became almost impossible to get GHB, and many leading integrative doctors at the time were disgusted with the FDA as they saw how much GHB benefitted their patients and treated a variety of immensely challenging illnesses.

  Patients occasionally ask me for GHB, and I sadly have to explain the criminal penalties associated with Schedule I drugs. Ironically, while GHB was outlawed, the off-patent and easy to manufacture schedule III pharmaceutical preparation of it sodium oxybate38 (Xyrem), remained legal but is prohibitively expensive, costing between $60,000 to $100,000 annually, a figure desperate patients will pay for this live changing medication.

  Despite evidence supporting GHB’s efficacy for conditions like alcohol addiction, fibromyalgia, and numerous debilitating sleep disorders,41 efforts to change the FDA’s perception of GHB as merely a date-rape drug have been unsuccessful.

  At the same time, underground GHB use has persisted, both recreationally and amongst certain patient groups (e.g., veterans with PTSD) due to its unique effects (e.g., enhanced sensory experiences and sociability alongside its myriad of remarkable therapeutic benefits). Here, Joe Rogan and Jimmy Dore discuss where things currently stand with GHB:

  Overall, one of the most extraordinary things about the GHB saga is that its many benefits discovered over the decades of research it received were then subsequently rediscovered by the sleep research community. This again illustrates how often the research we really need (and hence spend billions on each year) already exists but was simply buried due to it being inconvenient for the industry.

  More than anything else, I believe the GHB story demonstrates the importance of not being overly biased. For example, while many doctors hold a strong prejudice against any “natural” (e.g., nondrug) therapy, I am the opposite and typically avoid using pharmaceutical drugs because of how frequently I find their harms outweigh their benefits.

  Nonetheless, I periodically find extraordinary drugs I take a hard look at and end up using throughout my medical practice. Sadly, as the war against ivermectin showed the world, the primary motivation behind most of medicine is money, and as a result, whenever a highly beneficial drug is discovered that competes with existing drugs, the medical industry moves to bury it, regardless of how much evidence there is in support of it.

  Note: The existing research on GHB is discussed in further detail here.

  Sleep Hygiene

  Let’s now look at other options for improving sleep. One of the most tried and true ones is to change the signals your body receives so it can go to sleep on its own. Here are key approaches:

  1. Regulate circadian rhythm — The body’s natural cycle, governed by processes like adenosine buildup and circadian cues, signals when to sleep. Consistency in sleep and waking times is an essential piece of good sleep hygiene. Following environmental cues and natural cycles is ideal but often disrupted by modern lifestyles.

  2. Address sleep barriers — Factors like age-related brain damage or fluid obstructions hinder sleep. Remedies such as electrically improving the body’s fluid circulation or reducing EMF exposure can help.

  3. Avoid disruptive substances — Caffeine and alcohol, by blocking adenosine receptors or disrupting sleep cycles, impair sleep quality. Their effects linger due to varying metabolic rates, exacerbating sleep issues, especially as metabolism slows with age. One of the most intriguing data points I’ve seen about the effects of caffeine came from this NASA study.

  4. Temperature management — Natural temperature drops aid sleep onset, making cooler environments conducive to rest. Techniques like cooling baths or sleeping in cooler rooms promote better sleep quality.

  Note: One of the most interesting approaches to overcoming the temperature barrier for sleep was a study that found using a customized suit to externally drop people’s temperature made it much easier for them to sleep (especially in the elderly).

  5. Manage light exposure — Blue light from screens disrupts melatonin secretion, crucial for sleep regulation. Using blue light filters, minimizing screen time before bed, and creating darker sleep environments support healthy sleep patterns.

  6. Behavioral adjustments — Establishing bedrooms as sleep sanctuaries, maintaining consistent sleep-wake schedules, and practicing relaxation techniques before bed enhance sleep quality. Physical activity during the day and avoiding stimulating activities close to bedtime also aid in achieving restful sleep.

  Note: Many people find cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to be extremely helpful for insomnia and there is now significant evidence to support it being a first-line therapy.

  7. Diet and lifestyle — Maintaining a balanced diet, avoiding late-night eating, and monitoring caffeine intake play roles in promoting restorative sleep. Keeping a sleep journal can help identify triggers contributing to insomnia.

  By addressing these facets, we can optimize sleep environments and routines, fostering healthier sleep patterns, without being dependent on the sleeping pill industry, and despite the absence of healthy therapeutic options (GHB) for more serious physiological ailments and sleep dysfunctions.

  Conclusion

  One of the things I’ve repeatedly heard people say through COVID-19 was “if they did this with ivermectin (or hydroxychloroquine), what else have they done this with?” Here, I provide one such example, and sadly, the GHB story is by no means an isolated example (e.g., others are discussed here).

  However, while the GHB story is atrocious, on one level I am grateful for it, as had a safe and effective cure for insomnia existed, we likely would have never been forced to learn what the actual underlying causes of sleep impairment are, and likewise, our society would have never conducted the research which demonstrated just how critically important sleep is.

  Sadly, one of the greatest problems in medicine is that it typically takes 17 years for scientific discoveries to change the practice of medicine. In turn, despite the dire need for improved sleep in society, it is unlikely this problem will be addressed by the mainstream for a long time (even in areas like intellectually based professions or education where the cognitive impairment resulting from poor sleep is highly counterproductive to the goals of the institution).

  I hope the knowledge provided here has given you an appreciation for the importance of healthy sleep and a few helpful approaches you can incorporate into your life!

  Author’s note: This is an abbreviated version of a full-length article that takes a deeper look into the causes and treatments of insomnia. For the entire read with much more specific details and sources, please click here.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 20:40

• Former Aide To NY Governor Hochul's House Raided By FBI
  Former Aide To NY Governor Hochul’s House Raided By FBI

  A home of a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was raided by the FBI earlier this week, according to NBC. 

  The Manhasset house was owned by Linda Sun, who served as the deputy chief of staff to the governor, the report says. 

  The FBI commented earlier this week stating it had carried out “court-authorized law enforcement activity”, but refusing to provide further details. 

  NBC reported that per her LinkedIn profile, Sun served as a senior advisor on business development, legislative priorities, and “constituent affair engagement” while deputy chief of staff from 2021-22, overseeing executive operations.

  After working for the governor, Sun transitioned to the role of deputy commissioner for strategic business development at the state Department of Labor.

  In May 2023, she began working as a campaign manager, creating a budget for advertising.

  

  Earlier this year, the FBI also raided the homes of Winnie Greco, a staffer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in the Bronx, according to the Associated Press.

  Greco, a former fundraiser and current director of Asian affairs for the mayor, was under investigation following allegations she promised an employee a job in exchange for renovating her kitchen, as reported by The City.

  Last year, the FBI also raided the homes of Brianna Suggs, a fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova from the mayor’s international affairs office, according to the Associated Press.

  A spokesperson for Adams stated that the mayor expects ethical behavior from all employees.

  Adams’ spokesperson said: “Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines.”

  “As we have repeatedly said, we don’t comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway.”

  What is going on in New York?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 20:15

• On Kamala's "Inspiring" Backstory & The Big Lie About "Unity"
  On Kamala’s “Inspiring” Backstory & The Big Lie About “Unity”

  Authored by James Hickman via SchiffSovereign.com,

  The year was 1994.

  Former NFL superstar OJ Simpson has just fled from police in the infamous low speed chase in his white Ford Bronco. Pulp Fiction was playing in the cinemas.

  And 29 year old Kamala Harris began dating one of the most powerful politicians in the State of California— Willie Brown.

  Brown had been in politics for decades at that point and has risen to become the Speaker of California State Assembly, then Mayor of San Francisco.

  (And despite having spent his entire adult life in politics, Brown somehow managed to amass a collection of $6,000 suits and expensive sports cars.)

  Willie Brown was also at 60 years of age back in 1994 (he’s 90 now), three decades older than his girlfriend Kamala.

  Obviously she was in it for love. I’m sure that’s the case.

  

  But it just so happened that, barely a few months into their steamy relationship, Speaker Willie Brown appointed Kamala to multiple, senior-level positions in the state, including a seat on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Medical Assistance Commission.

  I’m also sure that Brown appointed his girlfriend due entirely to her competence, and absolutely no other reason whatsoever.

  These appointments, along with Sugar Daddy’s public support and endorsement, were integral in Harris’s later campaign to become San Francisco District Attorney, then Attorney General of California in 2010.

  Willie Brown also endorsed her for Senate when she declared her candidacy in 2016, and was instrumental in securing her top endorsements, including from Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

  Again, all of this success was clearly due exclusively to Kamala’s tremendous competence and nothing more.

  Now, a lot of people have been remarking lately that Kamala is a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hire.

  But that’s completely unfair.

  Talk about a low blow. I mean, Kamala’s critics have completely missed the point that this woman— who claims to embody female empowerment— got her start by having sex with a powerful California politician 30 years her senior.

  So let’s give credit where credit is due: she slept her way to the top well before she became a DEI hire.

  In fact it wasn’t until she was picked to be Joe Biden’s running mate that she started benefiting from the DEI obsession.

  Curiously, it is now considered racist to even bring this up. CNN has decided that calling Vice President Kamala Harris a “DEI Candidate” is a “pseudonym for the N-word” and “racist dog whistle”.

  That’s absurd. Joe Biden’s entire presidency has been about promoting DEI candidates, and he admitted this himself recently when he said:

  “To me the values of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion are literally— and that’s not kidding— the core strengths of America. That’s why I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history that taps into the full talents of our country. It starts at the top with the Vice President.”

  Biden also made it perfectly clear in 2020 that he wanted to select a woman of color as his running mate.

  So why exactly is it controversial to assert that Kamala was a DEI hire? Is it also controversial that the sky is blue, or that Michael Jordan was an exceptional basketball player?

  But these people in charge have a way of acting offended about even the most basic and obvious truths. It’s quite a talent.

  Speaking of talent, Kamala has none.

  Whenever she opens her mouth, she is as incompressible as Joe Biden yet without the excuse of age and dementia. Like this gem:

  “So I think it’s very important… for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past, but the future.”

  This is also the person that was put in charge of the border security, which has been a total disaster. But in her televised explanation, she justified having not been to the border by saying she hadn’t been to Europe either.

  Wow, really racking up those foreign policy credentials!

  And on the topic of foreign policy, check out this inspiring quote as Kamala showcased her encyclopedic understanding of European affairs:

  “Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine, so, basically, that’s wrong.”

  Note that this wasn’t an interview on Nickelodeon or some event with elementary school kids. This was an actual response in a real interview about the war in Ukraine.

  One of my favorite Kamala stories, though, is when she visited Puerto Rico earlier this year.

  Protesters were in the streets of San Juan, singing in Spanish. Kamala merrily clapped along, until an aide quietly whispered that the song was protesting her visit as a representation of the federal government’s “colonization” of Puerto Rico.

  Her track record as a prosecutor is also far from impressive.

  As the Attorney General of California, she prosecuted and incarcerated cannabis users. But in 2019, asked if she herself had ever smoked weed, she cackled and said, “I have. And I inhaled.”

  In 2014, Kamala’s office argued to keep non-violent inmates (including from minor drug convictions) locked up so that the state would have free prison labor to fight wildfires.

  But Kamala would prefer that her Black Lives Matters voters forget about all that.

  The Big Lie they are now force-feeding us is that the party of democracy is energized and united around Kamala Harris.

  Personally I think they are terrified and desperate. Deep down they know this woman is an incompetent buffoon. And more importantly, they are still incredibly fractured.

  Just look what the radical left has been doing this very week.

  Their Marxist foot soldiers have been busy burning American flags, defacing public monuments, and hoisting Hamas flags, while chanting “Allahu Akbar!” in the streets. Curiously most of them are white atheist 20-somethings from upper-middle class upbringings.

  And some of the Left’s most prominent politicians boycotted a speech given by the Prime Minister of Israel— one of America’s strongest allies during its time of war.

  This continues to look like a group that is completely out of touch, but insists that they have everything under control… which is pretty much par for the course given the last few years under Biden.

  Having said all that, it would be foolish to think they won’t pull out all the stops— continue to create all the propaganda, tell whatever lie, manufacture whatever hoax, and suppress whatever truth is necessary to win.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 19:50

• 22 Year Old Arrested For Allegedly Stealing Seattle Fire Truck
  22 Year Old Arrested For Allegedly Stealing Seattle Fire Truck

  A 22-year-old man was arrested this week after allegedly stealing a Seattle Fire Department truck, according to KOMO. 

  On Wednesday morning, the man rode a scooter to the truck, entered it, activated the lights and sirens, and attempted to drive away around 3:30 a.m. on the 9200 block of Second Avenue Southwest.

  The suspect couldn’t deactivate the parking brake and only managed to drive around the corner before exiting the vehicle, the report said. 

  A witness reported seeing a man on a scooter ride up to a fire engine, get on, and drive away with its lights and sirens on, additional reporting said. 

  

  Police then arrived, confirmed with Seattle Fire Department employees that a fire engine had been stolen.

  “The firetruck involved was from South Park-based Engine 26, as noted by the SFD incident log,” the West Seattle Blog reported.

  The man was arrested and booked into King County Jail for motor vehicle theft. According to police, the truck was returned to the Seattle Fire Department.

  Hoodline reported that this incident is the suspect’s ninth arrest in nine months.

  Previous arrests led to short stints in custody, except for his most recent one from June 20 to July 1 for two stolen-vehicle cases, with hearings set for early August.

  Despite frequent arrests, he has no past felony convictions.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 19:25

• In Defense Of Standardized Testing
  In Defense Of Standardized Testing

  Authored by John Hilton-O’Brien via The Epoch Times,

  There’s been a lot of noise about getting rid of standardized exams. Supposedly, minorities are at a disadvantage with them. Consequently, the argument runs, doing away with standardized exams will allow more minorities to enter into prestigious career paths, enhancing “social justice.”

  

  If you look more closely at the history of standardized exams, however, this isn’t true.  Instead, getting rid of standardized exams serves the interests of an elite class—and will permanently lock minorities and entire classes of people out of social advancement.

  Standardized tests have already been eliminated in a number of places. Oregon, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire no longer have bar exams. The University of California no longer uses Standardized Admission Tests as part of its entrance requirement, just like SUNY and an association of Ivy League universities. And in Canada, many provinces are decreasing the use of standardized tests.

  But here’s the problem. Without the tests, how do we decide who gets admitted to university?

  (Unless, as in the movie “Idiocracy,” we get rid of them.)

  How do we decide who becomes a lawyer or a doctor?

  The most famous example of a standardized exam is the Public Service Commission Test used to vet applications for government civil service. If we do away with those, how do we decide who is qualified to become a public servant?

  Civil service examinations have been around for thousands of years. Imperial China used the examinations to allow young men from any social class or background to enter the imperial bureaucracy. Before that, and during dynasties where the exams were not used, entry into the patrician or bureaucratic class had been restricted by birth.

  Of course, entry still wasn’t easy. In imperial China, even more than today, you wouldn’t have the resources to study for the difficult standard exams unless you had access to money. Then, as now, money was a good indicator of success.

  But the point is that money wasn’t the only indicator. In fact, the imperial system came to run the exams as a double blind, going so far as to have exam responses copied out by another person, to ensure that nobody received favourable grading because a grader recognized their calligraphy.

  The China’s worst times are instructive for us, too. When the Mongol Yuan dynasty took over, they did away with the exams. When they returned them, only 25 percent of the exam seats were allotted to the majority Han Chinese ethnicity. How did they decide which Han wrote the exams? Letters of reference, of course, from existing bureaucrats or their Mongol overlords. Without open standardized exams, in other words, advancement was based on who you knew.

  That’s becoming true in the West today—complete with attempts at Yuan-style race-based admissions.

  As anybody who has ever applied to an elite university knows, reference letters are already important. If you’re entering a profession like medicine or law, a good reference letter can mean the difference between getting that coveted residency and not. Reference letters already reinforce pedigree—what university or prep school you attended. Even admissions specialists who hate reference letters admit they make a difference—and expensive prep schools write much better reference letters.

  In the absence of standardized tests and grading, reference letters will become even more important. And how are those rated? By who wrote them. The letter from an elite prep school is noticed as a letter from an elite school, regardless of content, and that tells the admissions expert what she or he needs to know.

  Who decides who becomes a lawyer? The partners in the law firms. And how will they choose their candidates? In the absence of a standardized bar exam, admission will depend on who the partners know. The same is true for doctors.

  If we wind up doing away with the public service admission tests, worse will follow.  Imagine a government whose civil service is hired based on who they know. The West has been here before—but not since the days of the absolute monarchs.

  So, who benefits from ending standardized tests? We suspect it is not the students.

  There is a sort of feedback loop inside the education industry, when the same people designing the curriculum are the ones testing for it. Internal tests such as “performance-based assessment” check only to see if the students can do what the teacher told them to do.  They don’t check to see if it will help the student in the environment that they are going to. In other words, little Suzy may consistently get top marks for her “holistic” language arts classes—but when she graduates, outsiders find that she can’t read or write.

  Externally administered standardized tests are the best way to make sure that the education system helps anyone aside from the teachers’ unions.

  You know who isn’t interested in dropping standardized test scores? Minorities who aren’t part of the “favoured” few. Part of the reason that elite U.S. universities are dropping standardized exams is that the U.S. Supreme Court told them that they couldn’t have race-based admission courses that left Asian-American students out in the cold. Dropping standardized tests allows universities to engage in discrimination without legal pushback. The racial policies of the Yuan and Qin dynasties live again in the Ivy League.

  Today, the abandonment of standardized testing is done specifically to disadvantage poor whites, as well as Asian students. The official reason given is that institutions—which claim to be guided by the highest ideals—can favour African American and Hispanic students in the United States, and (hopefully) First Nations in Canada. In the name of social justice, of course.

  But without standardized tests, admission decisions are arbitrary. Tomorrow, African-Americans, Hispanics, and First Nations may find that not all of them are favoured. Instead, favour will go to particular African American families, particular Hispanic families, and particular First Nations families. Skin tone doesn’t tell us the real story here.

  The simple truth of North American society is that we are developing a class system.  Those trying to get rid of standardized testing tell us outright that their motive is to decide who joins their social class of educated functionaries. They are trying to restrict entry. They are trying to become a self-selecting aristocracy.

  The only mechanism that ensures everyone with academic ability can have access to universities, professions, and civil service is standardized exams. We abandon them at our peril.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 19:00

• Manhattan DA Argues Trump Case Not Affected By Supreme Court Immunity Ruling
  Manhattan DA Argues Trump Case Not Affected By Supreme Court Immunity Ruling

  Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has argued in a new court filing that former President Trump’s criminal case and guilty verdict are not affected by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

  

  “That decision has no bearing on this prosecution and would not support vacatur of the jury’s unanimous verdict (let alone dismissal of the indictment) even if its reasoning did apply here,” reads a July 24 brief from Bragg’s team.

  Earlier this month the Supreme Court ruled in a separate case that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for core constitutional conduct, presumptive immunity for official acts, but no immunity for unofficial acts – which Bragg has seized on in his response to a Trump filing asking New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to toss Trump’s indictment, arguing that communications between Trump and his aides have been used as evidence before the grand jury which indicted Trump and a jury which returned a guilty verdict.

  According to Bragg’s team, all of the criminal charges in Trump’s ‘hush money’ case “stem from the defendant’s ‘unofficial acts’ – conduct for which ‘there is no immunity.'”

  As the Epoch Times notes further, the affected evidence is only a “sliver” if the “mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered,” therefore not warranting dismissal.

  Timing of Objections

  Prosecutors had relied on testimony of White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and Oval Office Director of Operations Madeleine Westerhout to establish that President Trump had signed Trump Organization checks at the White House.

  Defense attorneys had raised presidential immunity objections to Ms. Hicks’s testimony, and Justice Merchan had overruled the objections. The defense had also objected during Ms. Westerhout’s testimony, but not specifically citing presidential immunity.

  Prosecutors had also shown several social media posts made by President Trump during his time in office, some directly addressing allegations after his former attorney Michael Cohen was charged for financial crimes.

  Defense attorneys had objected to the admission of these quotes, but not on the basis of presidential immunity.

  Prosecutors argue defendants failed to preserve a record of objections based on immunity for official acts, and this “precludes this Court from considering any claim to vacate his conviction.”

  Prior to the trial, attorneys for President Trump did file a presidential immunity motion. Justice Merchan had dismissed the motion, ruling that defense attorneys could make individual objections against the admission of specific evidence during the trial and that he did not believe the motion was filed in good faith. The judge had faulted defendants for not raising presidential immunity earlier, including during an attempt to remove the case to federal court.

  Prosecutors now argue that the defense “waived reliance on presidential immunity as a defense” when they tried to remove the case to federal court. They cited a separate, civil case against former President Trump in which a federal judge had ruled that presidential immunity was a waivable defense. However, the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion held presidential immunity to be necessary to the core principle of separation of powers.

  Charges

  Former President Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, and prosecutors argued that even excluding the contested evidence, the grand jury evidence establishes these charges.

  The 34 records are 11 checks to Mr. Cohen and their corresponding invoices and vouchers, including one repeated record after the initial one was lost. Prosecutors argue that the grand jury record establishes that these are business records, that they contain false entries, that former President Trump caused or made the entries, and that he “acted with intent to defraud.”

  “Even excluding all of the evidence defendant belatedly identifies as immune, the grand jury record is easily sufficient to support the indictment,” the brief reads.

  Justice Merchan has scheduled former President Trump’s sentencing in the case to Sept. 18. The judge is expected to issue a ruling on the presidential immunity arguments by then.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 18:40

• Lies…
  Lies…

  Authored by W.J.Astore via BracingViews.com,

  They’re Everywhere in America

  Soon after Joe Biden took office as president in 2021, I remember hearing that his VP, Kamala Harris, was put in charge of immigration, informally known as the “border czar.” Yesterday, the House passed a resolution condemning Harris for her handling of the border crisis. Yet I’ve also been hearing from Democrats and the media that Harris never was the border czar, even as there’s plenty of video evidence of networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC referring to her using that term.

  Denying that Harris was the border czar is a fairly small lie immersed in much larger sea of lies, and of course it’s a bipartisan effort. Donald Trump exaggerates and lies just to stay in shape. Democrats love to attack Trump for lying even as they lie themselves. Truly, it’s hard to run a government and a country when lies confuse every issue.

  Another lie being told about Kamala Harris is that her candidacy is the result of democracy in action. She’s the people’s choice! Except almost nobody voted for her as a presidential candidate. She’s been elevated and selected by the DNC and the donor class. She is a packaged product of the so-called elites within the party, the very opposite of a candidate chosen by the people. And yet I’m told this packaged product is going to “save democracy” from Trump, who was actually selected as a candidate in a more democratic process.

  Of course, there are far bigger and more serious lies than whether Harris was the border czar or whether she’s the people’s choice as the savior of democracy. U.S. troops’ deadliest enemies, I’d argue, are most often the lies told by the U.S. government, abetted and amplified by senior officers in the military. Think here of Iraq and Afghanistan, or go back further to Vietnam.

  

  Daniel Ellsberg, truth-teller about the Vietnam War and so many other things

  Knowing (or sensing/feeling) you killed for lies, or knowing your friends died for lies, is surely a contributing cause to a rash of suicides in the U.S. military today. The sacrifices and horrors of war may be eased by a “just” war, like World War II, but they are aggravated by unjust wars.  And they are further aggravated when you try to get help through the VA only to be turned away or stonewalled.

  All this is prologue to a note I received from a regular reader of Bracing Views about lies in America. I’ve decided to retain the profanity because it’s more than appropriate:

  I don’t know about you, but I find it quite amazing that, despite decades of bold-faced lying about US wars, all of it proven and even reported in the NYT and other mainstream media, the narrative of the each subsequent war is always accepted as true, until it too is exposed as being nothing but lies.

  Let’s look at the recent record:

  1) Vietnam–exposed as nothing but lies by the Pentagon Papers.

  2) Iraq–exposed as lies when the infamous WMD were never found and there was nothing found to back up the claim of links to Al Qaeda.

  3) Afghanistan–exposed as pure fiction as revealed by the Washington Post “Afghanistan Papers” which said that “senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.”

  Add to the above list the fact that the Mueller report investigating the Russiagate hoax came up with nothing, ZERO.

  Currently, there are a couple of new false narratives duly reported by the mainstream media and, for the most part, swallowed by most people. First is the false narrative about the US war in Ukraine, that NATO expansion has nothing to do with it but rather was caused by naked Russian aggression and Putin’s plans to re-create the Soviet Union and take over the rest of Eastern Europe. Second, the false narrative that Israel is just defending itself against Palestinian terrorism rather than committing grotesque war crimes, completely ignoring the fact that the Israelis have been keeping the Palestinians under illegal occupation for over 50 years, since June 1967. 

  Lie after lie after lie after lie. And yet none of it matters. It is all sent down the memory hole as if it never happened. And then it is on to the next war, when the official narrative spewed out by the DC blob will once again be swallowed hook, line and sinker. It appears to be never ending. No matter how much lying is exposed, it simply does not matter.

  I think it is pretty fucking amazing. What will it take to get people to come out of their coma and realize what the fuck is going on?

  And keep in mind…..it has nothing to do with party affiliation. The lying is endemic, it’s in the DNA of the National Security State. Presidents come and go, but the lying for war-making never stops. And no one is ever held accountable either. 

  It’s pretty fucking impressive, when you think about it.

  Keep this is in mind……one would think that, after this abhorrent track record, the appropriate response would be to assume that the narrative justifying the new war of the moment was not true and nothing but more of the same lying. But that NEVER happens. NEVER.

  How is that possible? Is it just a serious form of denial? Is it due to mental illness? Is it just some perverted form of patriotism? In what other realm is it possible to lie non-stop and never be held accountable? Even worse, to continue to have credibility despite a track record of pathological lying? 

  A friend of mine pointed out that, in the old USSR, people knew that the official news on their TV every night was nothing but lies. 

  So, this begs the question: Which system is more pernicious and has more effectively brainwashed its people? The one where people are controlled but they are aware that they are being fed nothing but lies, or the one that is constantly lied to but the people still believe they are being told the truth?

  To those keen insights, I made this reply:

  Our [American] system of lying is better! We have state/corporate media too, it’s just more subtle and advertised as “free.” We have our own “Pravda” except it rarely tells the truth, unless that “truth” is in the interests of the powerful.

  To which our BV keen reader replied:

  Exactly. But to suggest that we have our own version of “Pravda,” only worse because it has the cover of supposedly being “free,” is tantamount to treason, you realize.

  This is the reason why Julian Assange/Wikileaks was such a threat…for actually challenging the right of the National Security State to lie non-stop about its war making and never be exposed for its lying or held accountable.

  Of course, that is exactly why Assange was locked away in prison for so long and tortured, not because he was spreading lies but because he was revealing truths.

  And we can’t have that in America!

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 18:20

• Arizona State Senator Claims "Political Persecution" After Ticketed Doing 71 MPH In A 35 MPH Zone
  Arizona State Senator Claims “Political Persecution” After Ticketed Doing 71 MPH In A 35 MPH Zone

  After being caught driving 71 in a 35 mph zone, Arizona State Senator Justine Wadsack is claiming she is the victim of “political persecution”. 

  As a result, she’s refusing the sign the citation, according to reports from Jalopnik, citing the Tucson Sentinel. 

  According to the report, in Arizona, driving 20 mph or more over the speed limit is a Class 3 misdemeanor. The penalties include up to 30 days in jail, up to a year of probation, a $500 fine, and three points on your license.

  And in further proof our politicians get too much leeway, the incident occurred in March, but Wadsack wasn’t ticketed due to her legislative immunity. Legislators can be charged after the session ends, which this year was on June 15.

  At that point, when the Tucson PD tried to have her sign the citation, and officer said she “immediately became defensive and argued that she was in fact not speeding.”

  The officer continued: “I explained that there was probable cause to issue her a citation for criminal speeding and that she could present her arguments to the judge; however, she refused to meet to sign the citation and said she would not accept it.”

  

  She was “also was upset that she was being cited several months after the fact and I explained that was due to the legislative session was ongoing at the time of the traffic stop (thus legislative immunity to be issued a ticket on March 15) however it did not prevent her from receiving a ticket once the legislative session adjourned.” 

  Then, she demanded to speak with the manager with the chief of police and claimed “political persecution”. 

  City attorney Mike Rankin commented: “Citing someone – Ms. Wadsack or anyone else – for putting other people in danger by driving at speeds more than 20 miles per hour above the posted speed limit within city limits is not ‘persecution.’ It is prosecution.”

  When asked why she was driving more than twice the speed limit, Wadsack claimed she was rushing home because her 2015 Tesla Model S had a low battery.

  This excuse is illogical, as electric vehicles are less efficient at high speeds. Even if she had a more plausible reason, like needing a restroom, she was still caught driving 36 mph over the limit. This behavior is reckless and dangerous, the report said, especially near the University of Arizona, where pedestrians are common.

  Additionally, Wadsack’s claimed residence raises questions. She and her husband own a home outside the district she represents. She listed an apartment in the district when running for office but now allegedly lives in a different apartment.

  When stopped, she was about 10 blocks from her house, 17 miles from one apartment, and 19 miles from the other. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 18:00

• US Maternal Mortality Rates Remain the Highest Among High-Income Countries: Research
  US Maternal Mortality Rates Remain the Highest Among High-Income Countries: Research

  Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The United States continues to lead developed nations in maternal deaths, with some experts calling the recent rise unprecedented despite spending trillions on health care.

  Mental health issues, racial disparities, and a shortage of specialized care providers all contribute to this “crisis,” according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research foundation that focuses on health care issues.

  

  A Shortage of Health Care Professionals

  The recent analysis showed that the United States had a maternal mortality rate of 22 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022, significantly higher than other high-income countries—often more than doubling or even tripling their figures, according to the report. Half of the countries in the analysis reported fewer than five maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

  The increase is “stunning and unprecedented,” Dr. James Thorp, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Sisters of St. Mary’s Health System in Saint Louis, Missouri, told The Epoch Times, referring to an increase in maternal deaths over the past few years. “And it really went … kind of unrecognized, kind of just slipped under the door, so to speak,” he noted.

  Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy’s end from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management, excluding accidental or incidental causes. About 75 percent of maternal deaths worldwide are caused by severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, complications from delivery, and unsafe abortion, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

  In the United States, most maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period—especially the late postpartum period between 43 and 365 days after birth, as per the Commonwealth Fund’s research. This is a critical time when women face increased risks of severe bleeding, high blood pressure, and infection.

  The analysis highlights a shortage of maternal care providers in the United States, with just 16 midwives and obstetricians per 1,000 live births. Comprehensive postpartum support, including home visits from midwives and nurses, is vital to address maternal and mental health concerns and assess social health drivers, the authors wrote.

  The findings support those of a 2020 study published in The Lancet Global Health, which suggested that integrating midwives into health care delivery could provide 80 percent of essential maternal care, potentially reducing maternal deaths by 22 percent, neonatal deaths by almost 23 percent, and stillbirths by 14 percent.

  Many Factors Contribute to the Increase

  Several complex factors contribute to the high maternal mortality rates in the United States. These include an aging demographic, the ongoing obesity epidemic, and associated health problems.

  Research shows that more people are having children later in life or are becoming pregnant with chronic conditions such as obesity or cardiovascular disease. These factors increase the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

  The rising rate of cesarean sections may also play a role, as this procedure has been linked to increased mortality risks for both the mother (from blood clots or complications of anesthesia) and the child.

  A report by the U.S. Centers for Control and Prevention (CDC), published in September 2022, found that mental health conditions were the most common underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths where a cause was identified. These conditions, including death by suicide and overdose or poisoning linked to substance use disorders, contributed to 23 percent of fatalities, surpassing infection (9 percent), hemorrhage (14 percent), and cardiac conditions (13 percent).

  There is also a disparity in health care outcomes relative to spending, according to Dr. Thorp.

  The United States has higher maternal death rates than India despite spending far more on health care. While the United States spends about $14,000 per person annually, India spends only $21 per person. Yet India, with four times the U.S. population, has “a better grade than we do,” Dr. Thorp said.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 17:40

• 51 Days Later, Two Boeing Starliner Astronauts Still Stranded On International Space Station
  51 Days Later, Two Boeing Starliner Astronauts Still Stranded On International Space Station

  There is still no return date for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who remain stranded on the International Space Station due to thruster failures and a helium leak in their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, according to Space.com.

  On Thursday, NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich told reporters, “We don’t have a major announcement today relative to a return date,” adding, “We’re making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready to do that.”

  

  Stich said mission managers have yet to formulate a return date for Starliner. However, he emphasized that the ultimate goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on the spacecraft.

  A test-fire of Starliner’s 28-thruster reaction control system will be conducted on Saturday or Sunday. The results could determine how the space agency and Boeing should move forward and if the spacecraft is deemed usable or unusable for the return mission. 

  “We’re going to fire all those thrusters to a number of pulses, just to make sure before we undock, that whole system performs the way we expected and the way it did last time we checked it.” 

  “We’ll also get a chance to look at the helium system. It’s been six weeks since we last checked that helium system; that was on June 15. So we’ll pressurize manifold by manifold, and then hot-fire the thrusters, and then we’ll get a chance to look at the helium leak rates and verify that the system is stable,” Stich told reporters. 

  Fifty-one days ago, on June 5, Starliner’s inaugural crewed flight blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The low Earth orbit mission was scheduled for only a week. NASA has rated Starliner for 90 days in space.

  Starliner is one of two private spacecraft that ferry astronauts from Earth to the ISS, along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Boeing has lagged behind Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon for years. Starliner has faced years of challenges. 

  It’s day 51 of what was originally planned as Starliner’s 8-day mission. NASA engineers are addressing over 30 issues related to thrusters and helium leaks, with return date to be announced next week. The crew is safe as there are various options for their return. 🧯🧯🧯 pic.twitter.com/oA8a84HzMI

  — Berry Straw (@ddnnddc) July 25, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Stich admitted that one of the rescue plans under review would be using SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to return the astronauts to Earth. 

  Imagine that headline: ‘Elon Musk’s SpaceX Rescues Boeing Astronauts From ISS’…  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 17:20

• Rate Of Shoplifting Spikes Across US
  Rate Of Shoplifting Spikes Across US

  Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

  The rate of shoplifting saw a noticeable increase in the first half of 2024, even as the rates of other crimes fell to levels not seen since before the pandemic.

  

  According to the Daily Caller, a study by the Council of Criminal Justice (CCJ) determined that shoplifting rose by 24% in 23 different cities across the country, compared to the first half of 2023. That rate is also about 10% higher than the first half of 2019.

  Meanwhile, the rates of homicide and robbery fell to lower than the levels seen in 2019.

  “Shoplifting is a theft by someone other than an employee of the victim of an item displayed for sale,” the study clarifies.

  “After a notable decline in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic … shoplifting dropped 15% from 2019 to 2020 and declined another 10% in 2021,” the report reads.

  “Shoplifting increased 12% across the sample cities from 2022 to 2023, but by the end of 2023, the shoplifting rate was 10% lower than in 2019.”

  Several of the most prominent cities to see shoplifting increases include Boston, which saw its 11.9% rate of shoplifting in May of 2020 surge to 42.4% in June of 2024, and Chicago, which previously had a rate of 14.8% in May of 2020 but skyrocketed to 41.4% in June of 2024.

  Meanwhile, the first half of 2024 saw approximately 2% fewer homicides and 15% fewer robberies than the first half of 2019.

  “The average homicide rate for the entire sample was 2% lower in the first half of 2024 than in the same period in 2019,” the study notes.

  “The overall decline was driven by large drops in cities with traditionally high homicide rates, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Two-thirds of the sample cities (19 out of 29) actually had homicide rates that were higher in the first half of 2024 than in 2019.”

  The spike in crime in the United States, particularly shoplifting, began in 2020 amidst the nationwide COVID lockdowns and simultaneous race riots that destroyed hundreds of businesses, caused billions in damage, and killed over two dozen civilians.

  Looting was a frequent occurrence in cities struck by racial violence, which was overwhelmingly carried out by black nationalist groups like Black Lives Matter and the far-left anarcho-communist terrorist organization Antifa. Subsequent progressive efforts to curb the power of the police, including several cities outright defunding their police departments, led to the sustained and even increased rates of shoplifting and other crimes.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 17:00

• WTF Is Going On With The Fed's Reporting Of US Bank Deposits
  WTF Is Going On With The Fed’s Reporting Of US Bank Deposits

  The last two weeks have seen US bank total deposits rise by $33BN (on a seasonally-adjusted basis)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  But.. on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis, total US bank deposits have fallen $40BN…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Which makes us ask again – what exactly is a ‘seasonally-adjusted bank deposit’?

  But we will move on from that farce.

  Excluding foreign deposits, the picture gets even more malarkey-ful – a $9BN unadjusted deposit outflow is magically morphed into a $27BN inflow by The Fed’s fuckery.

  The unadjusted outflow was all from large banks while the adjusted deposits showed strong inflows into both large and small banks (+$19BN and +$8BN respectively).

   

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  That’s $31BN of (unadjusted) deposit outflows magically morphed into $62BN of deposit inflows in the last two weeks…

  Doe it even matter anymore?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 16:43

• Saving Our Democracy…
  Saving Our Democracy…

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  “Being insane is the new normal.”

  – Aimee Terese on “X”

  However it happened this week, “Joe Biden” passed the blowtorch to a new generation and got himself gone from the political battlefield. Delegates to the coming Democratic National Convention (August 19) were duly notified of the selected replacement, Veep Kamala Harris, and ordered to line up behind her.

  Not a peep of disagreement was heard among them. Amazing that no one had a different idea. Thus, is democracy saved.

  

  The curious details around this event remain shrouded in mystery.

  Reporters for The New York Times and the WashPo could not be bothered to inquire, and their readers are not inclined to ask how all this came to be. It just is. In a culture with no sense of consequence, things just happen or un-happen. It is your duty to recognize that the wind now blows from another direction and bend with it.

  One thing was obvious: the long-running prank of pretending that President “Joe Biden” is sound-of-mind fell apart after his mortifying appearance on the debate stage June 27th. Apparently, every last captain and foot-soldier in the Democratic Party ranks was taken completely by surprise to see their champion flicker out in real time, like a forty-watt bulb that has done years of duty on the front porch and suddenly leaves you in the dark. Three weeks followed with “Joe Biden” boldly campaigning as if nothing had happened. (Perhaps his mind did not register that things had changed.)

  And then there was the weird tweet on “X” Sunday afternoon when the whole country was outside waterskiing, grilling weiners, carjacking, and yelling at ballparks, and the deed was done. Someone, possibly even “Joe Biden” himself, wrote a letter pasted into the tweet that declared he was bowing out of the race. The White House staff didn’t even know until it was up-and-posted. Rumor had it that Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama read the riot act to “JB”, who was refusing to follow the script. There were plenty of carrots-and-sticks to finally lever his obdurate ass into motion: not least must have involved any pending legal outcome of the family’s influence-peddling operations, whispers of new whistleblower accusations about offshore bank accounts, perhaps with sweeteners in the deal as to how much schwag the clan could still hold onto in the end.

  Then, the valedictory speech on Wednesday, sort of a proof-of-life exhibition, to verify that Sunday’s janky tweet to the nation was for real. You heard a Homeric recitation of “JB’s” signal achievements in office, every one of them demonstrably false. He did not keep our country out of war, or grow the economy, or keep inflation down, or beat Big Pharma, or build anything, or defend personal freedoms, or “make it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever.” (In fact, the very next day, Thursday, pro-Hamas mobs attacked US Park police and vandalized federal property at Washington’s Union Station, and on Friday all charges were dropped against them — while scores of J6 Capitol trespassers rotted for years in the DC jail.)

  What “Joe Biden” actually accomplished in office was the near-total wrecking of the USA. He torpedoed the authority and legitimacy of just about every federal agency, turned the Department of Justice into a Gestapo, seeded the federal court benches with Woke lunatics, allowed an invasion of perhaps 20-million border-jumpers (including many thousands of professional terrorists), coerced injections of an ineffective and injurious vaccine into millions of citizens afraid of losing their livelihoods, promoted gross medical experiments on sexually troubled children, invited drag queens and mentally-ill degenerates to cavort in the White House, spent borrowed money at a rate that propelled the national debt past the event horizon into a black hole, made the seeking of incompetence the number one priority of the Pentagon, provoked a war in Ukraine that now teeters on the hazard of a nuclear exchange, and allowed the CIA to complete its takeover of the US government. “Joe Biden” will go down in history as the worst of all 46 US presidents.

  And, of course, in the rush of cascading events the past several weeks came the attempted assassination of the Democratic Party’s nemesis, Mr. Trump, an operation festooned with loose threads, suspicious agency failures, and intimations of Deep State blob engineering. You’ll have to stand by on any of that resolving soon. But many Democrats expressed disappointment that Mr. Trump was not killed, since that would be saving our democracy.

  Also not quite resolved is the case of who the Democratic Party truly intends to run for president this year as the days dwindle down to Nov. 5. The current delirium over Kamala Harris is like a relief rally in the financial markets when a crisis has been averted — or, at least, stalled. You have reason to doubt that the Democratic Party’s leadership crisis has actually been averted. Despite sedulous efforts to wipe her record, too many Americans know Kamala Harris as a hee-hawing ninny with a predilection for hapless Marxist fantasies. I’m not persuaded that she is at all comfortable in her sudden role as the party’s avatar. She is rumored to hit the bottle in moments of stress.

  The Party of Chaos will supposedly run a “virtual roll call” of delegates August 1st in order to meet the requirements to get on the ballot in several states. But then comes the actual convention with live bodies in murmuration on the floor of the arena, and in the back rooms and hallways, and there are more than three weeks between now and then for Kamala Harris to remind the world what a cackling lightweight she is. A lot can happen between now and then.

  *  *  *

  Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page or Substack

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/26/2024 – 16:20