• Treason Of The Intellectuals And Danger From Within
  Treason Of The Intellectuals And Danger From Within

  Authored by William Brooks via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  “The enemies from within are more dangerous to me than the enemies from the outside,” said Republican Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump, at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, on May 11, 2024.

  

  At a Springfield, Illinois, event, some 20 years before the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln delivered a prophetic message to his fellow citizens: “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

  The speech is said to be the origin of the popular quote wrongly attributed to Lincoln: “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

  While these were not Lincoln’s exact words, most Americans understand that the 16th and 45th presidents of the United States were troubled by the same thing—the potential self-destruction of their nation.

  History has demonstrated that internal discord can be as dangerous to a sovereign country as a foreign aggressor.

  A History of Betrayal

  In 2013, American author Diana West published “American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character.” Her book initiated an important debate about the modern history of the American Republic.

  Ms. West contended that Nov. 16, 1933, was the beginning of a long assault on the security of U.S. democracy. This was the date when Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided to normalize relations with the murderous communist regime known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. FDR’s fateful decision opened America’s doors to an unprecedented invasion of Marxist militants, communist spies, and domestic fellow-travelers.

  In the decades that followed, progressive academics, journalists, novelists, artists, and entertainers all celebrated the socialist ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution. According to Ms. West, even American businessmen were “eager to buy their rope from Lenin.”

  Ms. West’s views about the influence of communist ideologues in American politics were ridiculed by some of the most notable literary figures in the United States and Canada.

  Other courageous scholars came to her defense.

  One was the late Vladimir Bukovsky, a Russian-born writer and human rights activist who spent 12 years in Soviet psychiatric hospitals, prisons, and labor camps during the Brezhnev era. Another was Pavel Stroilov, a Russian Christian exile who fled to the UK after his academic research put his life and liberty in jeopardy.

  Writing for Breitbart News in November 2013, Mr. Bukovsky and Mr. Stroilov insisted that Diana West’s book would make history. Both agreed that, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and the unraveling of the Warsaw Pact in 1989, the United States never really won the Cold War.

  Like Ms. West, they asserted that the conflict between the United States and the USSR was more than a military stand-off.

  “It was an ideological war waged by the totalitarian utopia of Socialism against our civilization; and on that level, the most optimistic view of it is that it still goes on. The Soviet Union is gone, but Russia is still governed by a junta of Gestapo officers; China is still governed by the Communist Party; and the Western world is governed by closet Marxists and Mensheviks, imposing on us yet another version of the same socialist utopia,” they wrote.

  Drawing on copious research and experience, Ms. West, Mr. Bukovsky, and Mr. Stroilov demonstrated that it was an elite American intelligentsia who surrendered the United States to the adversarial socialist culture. The U.S. establishment’s capitulation to the global left led to a complete occupation of U.S. institutions and the ultimate corruption of the free world.

  Few scholars have produced better explanations for the precipitous decline of Western democracy in the 21st century.

  Treason of the Intellectuals

  For more than 150 years after the signing of the U.S. Constitution, Americans regarded their nation as a beacon of liberty and a model for representative democracy.

  In the early decades of the 19th century, French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville expressed high praise for the United States, its citizens, and their civic institutions.

  After abolishing slavery, Abraham Lincoln identified the U.S. Republic as “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

  Americans developed civil institutions that were second to none. In 1964, the American Civil Rights Act extended the foundational promises of the United States to all of its citizens.

  Today’s woke left is destroying America’s legacy. While they claim to worry about “democracy,” they are really worried about losing their own power. They saw how actual democracy worked in 2016 and they don’t want any more of it.

  Ordinary American citizens are victims of what French philosopher Julien Benda once called “La Trahison des Clercs” (The Treason of the Intellectuals).

  Benda condemned early 20th-century European elites who were apologists for aggressive imperialism, military power, and racial discrimination. The elites who are betraying America today are proponents of aggressive globalism, technocratic power, and reverse racial discrimination.

  Both Benda and Ms. West asserted that free societies can be ruined by a leadership class that rejects objective reasoning and ignores the difference between truth and lies.

  From the New Deal to Bidenomics, Soviet show trials to corrupt courts, national sovereignty to open borders, education to indoctrination, free speech to censorship, honest elections to ballot harvesting, and freedom of religion to the suppression of faith, the survival of American democracy is more tenuous than ever.

  These are the “dangers from within” that Presidents Lincoln and Trump were speaking about.

  Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 23:20

• How Much Of India's Wastewater Is Left Untreated?
  How Much Of India’s Wastewater Is Left Untreated?

  As is the case with rapid population growth and urbanization in many so-called developing nations, waste management becomes a problem not only in rural areas but also in densely populated cities.

  As Statista’s Florian Zandt details below, a textbook example of this growth outpacing infrastructural capacities is the situation in urban hotspots in India like Delhi, where a report by Euronews from May 2023 mentions neighborhoods with “open gutters […] filled with plastic and grey-colored water”. While the number of operational sewage treatment plants doubled between 2014 and 2020, the capacity for water treatment is still severely lacking.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  According to the latest annual report by the Central Pollution Control Board, India generated 72.4 billion liters of wastewater per day across all provinces, with Maharashtra (9.1 billion), Uttar Pradesh (8.3 billion), Tamil Nadu (6.4 billion) and Gujarat (5.0 billion) being responsible for around 40 percent of wastewater.

  The 1,093 sewage treatment plants only had operational capacities of 26.9 billion liters of wastewater per day, with around 400 plants either non-operational or under construction as of the latest available tally from 2020/2021. This translates to only 37 percent of sewage being treated, exacerbating the risks of communicable diseases and contaminated food and drinking water.

  While India is seemingly hard-pressed to keep up with the amount of wastewater its population generates, measures to grant more people access to potable water and basic sanitation and hygiene were scaled up significantly in recent decades. For example, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign, translatable to Clean India, initiated in 2014 aims to eliminate open defecation by installing upwards of 100 million toilets in the country.

  Nevertheless, in 2022, only 75 percent of rural Indian households had at least basic access to sanitation, while 30 percent of homes didn’t have their own washing facility with soap and water according to data from the WHO and Unicef’s Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 22:45

• Hidden Food Threat: Experts Warn Of Dangers Of RNAi Crops
  Hidden Food Threat: Experts Warn Of Dangers Of RNAi Crops

  Authored by Sayer Ji via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Imagine a technology that could genetically rewire organisms in real-time, silencing critical genes across entire ecosystems with unknown effects. Sounds like science fiction? It’s not. It’s the reality of a new class of pesticides harnessing RNA interference—or RNAi—and they’re already being deployed in our fields and food supply with minimal testing or oversight. According to organic producers and non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) advocates, the risks could be catastrophic.

  

  Environmental Organization Warns of RNAi Pesticide Dangers

  In 2020, a groundbreaking report from Friends of the Earth (FOE) rang the alarm on the dangers posed by gene-silencing RNAi pesticides. According to the non-governmental environmental organization report, these products can genetically modify organisms in the open environment, with risks of unintended effects on non-target species, human health, and the integrity of organic and non-GMO agriculture. Despite these threats, RNAi pesticides face little to no regulatory scrutiny in most countries, and some have already been approved for use.

  In June 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency green-lit the RNAi corn developed by Monsanto and Dow, now being marketed under the trade name SmartStax Pro.

  In a press release announcing the approval of SmartStax Pro, regulators praised the product for its value to the farmer and the low impact it has on the environment.

  “The ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) technology found in SmartStaxPro works through a process of gene control that occurs naturally in plants, animals, and humans alike. Scientists harnessed this control process to create the product, which works as a pesticide by silencing or turning off the activity of a gene critical to corn rootworm survival, resulting in the death of the corn rootworm. This product is so specific that it only affects the corn rootworm,” states the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) press release.

  RNAi works by using small RNA molecules to interfere with and “silence” the activity of specific genes. While that may sound precise, the FOE report emphasizes that RNAi technology is prone to “off-target effects,” meaning it can unintentionally silence genes in non-target organisms. Since many genes are conserved across species, a pesticide designed for one insect could end up harming beneficial pollinators, soil microbes, or even humans. What’s more, the alteration caused by RNAi can sometimes be passed down to future generations, meaning that a single application could spark uncontrollable ripple effects.

  The Friends of the Earth report dubs RNAi pesticides “a vast, open-air genetic experiment,” with entire ecosystems at risk. Because they’re sprayed directly into the environment, controlling exposure is nearly impossible. Any organism that takes up the interfering RNAs could have its genome tinkered with. Some evidence suggests that ingesting RNAs from our diet may even influence human gene expression.

  There’s also a risk that RNAi sprays could alter the genetic makeup of the very crops they’re meant to protect, changing nutritional content or toxicity in unpredictable ways.

  Could RNAi Pesticides Impact Human Genes?

  What’s particularly concerning is that the off-target effects of RNAi pesticides may extend beyond the farm and into the bodies of consumers. A 2008 study funded by Monsanto revealed that numerous small RNAs from corn, soybeans, and rice had perfect sequence complementarity to human genes. While Monsanto pointed to this finding as evidence of safety, the reality is far more complex and troubling.

  As the study showed, there are numerous plant RNAs with sequences identical to human genes. If these dietary RNAs are indeed able to influence human gene expression, as mounting evidence suggests, then the genetic rewiring of our food crops with novel RNAi molecules could have far-reaching and entirely unpredictable effects on our health.

  A 2012 study published in Cell Research demonstrated that a specific plant microRNA from ingested rice could be detected in human blood and tissues. When the same plant microRNA was fed to mice, it appeared to modulate the expression of a receptor involved in removing LDL cholesterol. If a natural plant RNA can have such a significant biological effect, what might be the consequences of engineered RNAi molecules?

  Many genes are not consistently expressed, and their activity can vary based on environmental conditions. This adds yet another layer of complexity and unpredictability when it comes to assessing the risks of RNAi crops.

  Furthermore, the human gut is home to a diverse community of microbes that play a vital role in our health and immune function. Preliminary research suggests that some of these bacteria may be capable of taking up dietary RNAs and incorporating them in such a way as to affect their gene regulation. The effects of RNAi crops on the human microbiome are unknown but could be significant given the importance of gut flora in everything from nutrient absorption to mental health.

  Taking Advantage of Loose Regulations

  In the United States, the EPA’s regulatory framework for genetically engineered crops was established in 1986 and has only been updated once in the last 30 years.

  This old standard is being used to evaluate a whole new kind of pesticide. SmartStaxPro, the RNAi corn developed by Monsanto and Dow, produces a double-stranded RNA that disrupts a critical gene in a major agricultural pest, the western corn rootworm, causing its death. In 2023, the EPA registered an RNAi pesticide that targets the Colorado potato beetle.

  According to the FOE report, the companies crafting RNAi pesticides are also filing broad patents that would grant them ownership rights over any organism exposed to their products. This could mean that if a farmer’s crops are unintentionally contaminated by drifting RNAi sprays, the company could lay claim to their harvest.

  At the international level, RNAi is barely on the regulatory radar. Technically, RNAi products fall under the “living modified organisms” category defined in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. According to one assessment published in the Annual Review of Plant Biology, “the European GMO regulatory framework is inadequate and needs to be updated.”

  For organic and non-GMO advocates, this regulatory vacuum is a recipe for disaster. Without robust safety testing and labeling requirements, RNAi crops could soon infiltrate food supplies worldwide, turning consumers into unwitting test subjects in a massive uncontrolled experiment. Organic farmers may find their crops and local ecosystems irreversibly contaminated by drifting RNAi molecules.

  Can We Prevent an Agricultural Disaster?

  Despite these concerns, many consumers may already be eating this genetically altered corn. There is significant adoption of these advanced corn traits, particularly in regions where corn rootworms are prevalent. Based on recent information from Bayer, their SmartStax and SmartStax PRO traits are utilized in about 15 million acres across the United States—nearly 17 percent of the ninety million acres dedicated to corn growing in the United States.

  An email was sent to Bayer Crop Sciences requesting comment on the FOE report and the threat of off target consequences related to their RNAi pesticides.  No response was returned.

  Although advocates for RNAi pesticides promote it as a precise means for targeting a single pest, it’s clear the technology isn’t merely a tweak to existing agricultural practices—it represents a watershed moment in the industrialization of our food supply.

  A review of RNAi transgenic plant technology from the Bioscience Resource Project,  notes several off-target effects the technology has demonstrated. The report suggests that this technology could lead to “distinct toxicological and environmental hazards.”

  ”… while RNAi holds great promise for agricultural applications, the potential for OTEs within the plant, in non-target organisms, and in mammals consuming the plant material warrants careful assessment and risk mitigation strategies,” state authors Jonathan R. Latham and Allison K. Wilson.

  To mitigate these risks, researchers propose several preconditions for regulatory approval of RNAi transgenes, such as avoiding perfectly duplexed sequences, minimizing complementarity with known human and host sequences, ensuring minimal transgene expression levels, and using short RNAi-triggering sequences and naturally occurring miRNA (microRNA) promoters.

  Until these off-target effects can be identified and eliminated, the report calls for “a precautionary approach” to furthering the technology and asks regulators to consider the possible hazards the development of RNAi-based genetically modified crops may cause.

  With regulations as they now stand, biotech firms are granted the power to deliberately manipulate gene expression across entire species and ecosystems. Although the technology may be billed as a high-tech solution to move away from toxic pesticides, it is introducing a wide range of potential unintended adverse effects.

  Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 22:10

• These Are The World's Wettest (And Driest) Countries
  These Are The World’s Wettest (And Driest) Countries

  From tropical rainforest nations to the sandy deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, the world’s wettest and driest countries are a study in contrasts.

  In the chart below, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps and ranks the countries that receive the highest and lowest average annual precipitation in millimeters, per latest data from the World Bank.

  

  Ranked: Top 10 Wettest Countries

  Colombia tops the list of nations with the highest average precipitation at 3,240 millimeters (128 inches) in a year.

  Its Tutunendo district is the one of the world’s wettest places, averaging nearly 12,000 mm (463 inches) of rain annually.

  

  Note: Figures are rounded.

  Off the coast of Africa however, Sao Tome & Principe is not far behind Colombia, receiving about 3,200 mm of rain in 2020.

  Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands also average more than 3,000 mm of rain in a year, and Panama (2,928 mm) rounds out the top five.

  Noticeably, all 10 countries lie in close proximity to the equator, and near oceans, where rising hot and humid air leads to abundant rainfall.

  Ranked: Top 10 Driest Countries

  On the other end of the scale, Egypt records the lowest average annual rainfall across all countries, at 18 mm (0.7 inches). For comparison, Colombia receives nearly 180x the amount of rain Egypt does.

  

  Note: Figures are rounded.

  In fact, countries from North Africa and the Middle East make up the entirety of this list of the driest countries in the world.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Mapping the Unequal Distribution of Global Precipitation which divides the world into two halves: one that receives more than global average of rain (or snow), and one that receives less.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 21:35

• Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Arizona Doctors To Provide Abortions In California
  Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Arizona Doctors To Provide Abortions In California

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on May 23, allowing Arizona doctors to travel to the Golden State on a temporary basis to perform abortions for their patients.

  

  Senate Bill 233, introduced by state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Oakland and Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry of Winters, allows licensed Arizona abortion providers to come to California and provide abortions or abortion-related care to patients from Arizona who travel to the state for such procedures until near the end of this year.

  The measure states that licensed Arizona doctors in good standing simply need to fill out an application form with the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to perform abortions. Provided they meet certain requirements, their approval will be granted within five business days.

  Arizona licensed doctors who chose to come to the state temporarily will only be able to do so until Nov. 30, when California officials expect Arizona voters to approve an abortion measure on their state ballot.

  The measure, which is being implemented in partnership with the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, contains an urgency clause and takes effect immediately.

  It also notes that physicians are prohibited from providing care or consultation for other purposes or to other patients, except under the circumstances outlined in the legislation. Arizona doctors must also provide an array of information to the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, including their Arizona and temporary California addresses, as well as an affidavit attesting that they meet all requirements, according to the legislation.

  Providing false information in that affidavit is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, one year in prison, or both, the bill states.

  Arizona Supreme Court Ruling

  Senate Bill 233 was introduced in response to Arizona’s Supreme Court’s April 9 ruling which Mr. Newsom said reimposed a “regressive 1864 law imposing a near-total abortion ban” that threatens to “almost completely curtail access to abortion care in Arizona.”

  The state Supreme Court last month upheld the 1864 ban on nearly all abortions in the state, except in cases where it will save the life of the mother, following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which brought the issue back into the spotlight.

  Under the Civil War-era law, anyone who performs an abortion or helps a woman access abortion services in Arizona risks a felony charge and between two to five years in prison. Exceptions for rape or incest are not allowed.

  While the Arizona Legislature has since passed a bill repealing that ban, which Governor Katie Hobbs signed in early May, the ban will remain in effect until 90 days after the Arizona state Legislature’s session ends, which typically happens in June or July.

  Currently, Arizona law allows abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.

  Senate Bill 233—which passed in California’s state Senate on May 21 after previously passing the state Assembly—has been described by Mr. Newsom as a “critical stopgap” for Arizona patients and providers while enforcement of the 1864 bill remains uncertain.

  In a statement on May 23, the Democrat praised the legislation while touting his efforts to “defend and advance” reproductive rights and women’s health care.

  

  ‘Oppressive, Dangerous Attacks on Women’

  “Arizona Republicans tried to turn back the clock to 1864 to impose a near-total abortion ban across their state,” the governor said in a statement. “We refuse to stand by and acquiesce to their oppressive and dangerous attacks on women,” he continued.

  “I’m grateful for the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and all our partners for moving quickly to provide this backstop. California stands ready to protect reproductive freedom.”

  The legislation was also welcomed by pro-abortion advocates, including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California’s president & CEO Jodi Hicks.

  “As we continue to navigate a chaotic national abortion landscape, we appreciate Governor Newsom and the California Legislative Women’s Caucus for their continued commitment to advocating for additional tools that support abortion providers’ ability to serve patients,” Ms. Hicks said.

  “Together, we will continue to work to ensure that all who are forced to leave their home state to access abortion care can get the services they need and deserve in California,” she added.

  However, Republican lawmakers and pro-life advocates have criticized Mr. Newsom, accusing him of taking California’s “abortion sanctuary” status to a “new level.”

  In a statement published earlier this month before the measure was signed into law, Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, a Christian nonprofit group focused on life and family values, said it is a “disgrace that California legislators continue to find ways to promote the killing of innocent pre-born babies at every turn.”

  “Instead of deceptively treating pregnancy as a disease requiring abortion ’treatment,’ our state representatives should be seeking to create a culture where vulnerable women facing unplanned pregnancies feel supported and encouraged to give birth,” he added.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 21:00

• 24 GOP Governors Tell Biden Not To Sign WHO Pandemic Agreement
  24 GOP Governors Tell Biden Not To Sign WHO Pandemic Agreement

  Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Governors from 24 states have joined together to speak out against treaty negotiations being conducted by the Biden administration, which “would purport to grant” the World Health Organisation (WHO) “unprecedented and unconstitutional powers over the United States and its people.”

  

  In a March 22 letter, the governors stated that they “stand united in opposition to two proposed instruments” currently under negotiation.

  “The objective of these instruments is to empower the WHO, particularly its uncontrollable Director-General, with the authority to restrict the rights of U.S. citizens, including freedoms such as speech, privacy, travel, choice of medical care, and informed consent, thus violating our Constitution’s core principles,” the governors wrote. “If adopted, these agreements would seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health.”

  The documents they refer to are a new treaty called the WHO pandemic agreement and amendments to the existing International Health Regulations (IHRs), which together would centralize a significant amount of authority within this United Nations subsidiary if the WHO declares a state of “health emergency.”

  Governors from the following states signed the letter: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

  As the negotiations among member nations move into their final phase before the start of the voting session at the World Health Assembly, scheduled to begin on May 27, the WHO appears to have scaled back some of the powers it had sought in hopes of finalizing a deal.

  The latest IHR draft has deleted a prior provision that member nations “recognize WHO as the guiding and coordinating authority of international public health response” and commit to following the WHO’s directives during a health emergency. The latest draft also states that WHO recommendations are non-binding.

  The WHO had attempted in previous drafts to obtain powers over “all risks with the potential to impact public health,” which could include environmental and climate issues. The latest draft seeks to limit the WHO’s authority to diseases.

  The WHO has simultaneously launched a public relations campaign, using politicians, celebrities, and religious leaders, to encourage member states to sign the agreements. 

  On March 20, WHO ambassador and Britain’s former Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the efforts of a “100+ pantheon of global leaders” that have come to the WHO’s defense. 

  “A high-powered intervention by 23 former national Presidents, 22 former Prime Ministers, a former UN General Secretary, and 3 Nobel Laureates is being made today to press for an urgent agreement from international negotiators on a Pandemic Accord, under the Constitution of the World Health Organization, to bolster the world’s collective preparedness and response to future pandemics,” Mr. Brown stated in a press release.

  He called for an international effort to “expose fake news disinformation campaigns by conspiracy theorists trying to torpedo international agreement for the Pandemic Accord.”

  “No country will cede any sovereignty, and no country will see their national laws set aside,” he declared.

  The issue of whether or not to grant the WHO additional powers has become a partisan issue, with Democrats generally supporting the plan and Republicans generally opposing it.

  GOP Senators Demand Right to Approve Treaty

  On May 1, all 49 GOP senators signed a letter to President Biden urging him either not to sign the WHO Pandemic Agreement and IHR amendments or, if he does, to submit the treaty to the Senate for approval, as required by the Constitution. Senate Democrats have thus far not supported efforts to require Senate approval for the treaty.

  “The WHO’s failure during the COVID-19 pandemic was as total as it was predictable and did lasting harm to our country,” the Republican senators wrote.

  “The United States cannot afford to ignore this latest WHO inability to perform its most basic functions and must insist on comprehensive WHO reforms before even considering amendments to the International Health Regulations or any new pandemic related treaty that would increase WHO authority,” they continued. “We are deeply concerned that your administration continues to support these initiatives and strongly urge you to change course.”

  In the United States, the authority to deal with health issues is largely in the domain of states and outside the grasp of the federal government. States with Republican majorities have been active in opposing the WHO agreements.

  Louisiana and Florida recently passed laws stating that state officials will not obey WHO directives, and other states, such as Oklahoma, are considering similar legislation.

  Attorneys general from 22 U.S. states also signed a May 8 letter to President Biden urging him not to sign the WHO agreements and stating that they will resist any attempts by the WHO to set public health policy in their states.

  “Although the latest iteration is far better than previous versions, it’s still highly problematic,” the attorneys general wrote. “The fluid and opaque nature of these proceedings, moreover, could allow the most egregious provisions from past versions to return. Ultimately, the goal of these instruments isn’t to protect public health,” they stated.

  “It’s to cede authority to the WHO—specifically its director-general—to restrict our citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, privacy, movement (especially travel across borders), and informed consent.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 19:50

• Hypocrite Dems Demanding Alito Recusal Played Dumb Over Virulent Anti-Trumper Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  Hypocrite Dems Demanding Alito Recusal Played Dumb Over Virulent Anti-Trumper Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  Senate Democrats have found their latest tantrum to attack the Supreme Court since its conservative majority – the fact that Justice Samuel Alito reportedly flew two flags outside his homes they say makes him unfit to weigh in on matters concerning Donald Trump.

  

  In mid-January 2021, Alito flew an upside down American flag – historically used by the military as a distress signal, while in July and September of 2023, he displayed an “Appeal to Heaven” flag – commissioned by George Washington in 1775 for maritime use – outside his New Jersey vacation home.

  The flags have caused uproar among Democrats, who have been scheming for years to dilute the conservative power of the Supreme Court (see: court packing). In a Friday letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin and subcommittee head Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse urged Roberts to take steps to ensure Alito recuses himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election and Jan. 6 attack. The Court currently has two such cases pending before it – one concerning federal prosecutors’ use of an obstruction charge against Jan. 6 defendants, and another which addresses whether Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal charges stemming from his actions following the 2020 election.

  Now, the New York Times and Obama’s law professor Lawrence Tribe are engaging in what people are referring to as “High-brow QAnon” conspiracy theories (aka ‘BlueAnon);

  High-brow QAnon pic.twitter.com/D5SziiqnsX

  — Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) May 25, 2024

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

  Absolute hypocrisy (what else?)

  In 2016, Democrats were absolutely silent over Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s notorious and public hatred of Donald Trump – comments she later apologized over, calling them “ill-advised.“

  

  “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she told the NY Times during the election, adding “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”

  She also called Trump a “faker” and criticized him for not releasing his tax returns.

  “‘Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand,’” she joked.

  Who cares, right? But Democrats playing in the sandbox want to throw sand over Alito.

  When Sheldon Whitehouse, the guy currently demanding Alito’s recusal, was asked by The Dispatch about Ginsburg’s public comments opposing Trump during the 2016 campaign, he said “I don’t know what cases she was ruling on at that point. They [Republicans] weren’t asking for [recusal.].

  In 2016, Justice Ginsburg—not her spouse—weighed in against Trump’s election, suggested fleeing the country, and made comments about his tax returns.

  Why did Senate Democrats not call for her recusal in any Trump case—including one about his taxes? https://t.co/4b3syltgwV pic.twitter.com/AMg9HpftuG

  — John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) May 25, 2024

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

  Ginsburg notoriously weighed in on several cases involving Trump’s policies, including the travel ban (Trump v. Hawaii), Trump’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census (which was denied), and DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), though the major Court decision involving the case came after her 2020 death.

  Wikipedia propagandists are hard at work

  Meanwhile (and there’s always a meanwhile), WikiPedia’s entry on the Appeal to Heaven (aka ‘Pine Tree’) flag has radically changed over the past several days.

  

  On Wednesday, it was referred to as ‘a religious and political symbol by some conservative, nationalist, and Christian national activists’ in the US. Now, the entry reads:

  “The flag fell into obscurity until the 2020s, where it became seen as a symbol of Christian nationalism and support for President Donald Trump and his “Stop the Steal” campaign among far-right groups.

  Wikipedia edits on the Pine Tree Flag page are fascinating.

  On Wednesday, it was just a normal flag.

  On Friday, it’s a now a symbol of Christian nationalism and right-wing extremism.

  And the Popular Culture section on the HBO miniseries has been completely removed. pic.twitter.com/vIadtsCiyZ

  — Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) May 24, 2024

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

  I screen capped this on Wednesday. Absolutely extraordinary! pic.twitter.com/sFfQ2NLJtD

  — Just Curious (@shelley_curious) May 24, 2024

  Oh…

  lest you think this was just 2019, the Appeal To Heaven flag was flying outside San Francisco City Hall in 2023 as well — the same time frame as at Alito’s beach house

  Dastardly insurrectionists everywhere pic.twitter.com/x7oNSx2hct

  — Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) May 25, 2024

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

  The flag draws its meaning from a John Locke quote: “And where the Body of the People, or any single Man, is deprived of their Right, or is under the Exercise of a power without right, and have no Appeal on Earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven, whenever they judge the Cause of sufficient moment,” -The Second Treatise on Civil Government (1689).

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

  AOC Demands To Know Where Alito Bought An Upside-Down U.S. Flag https://t.co/HXtHCc4yvp pic.twitter.com/BQtmF90mbk

  — The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 23, 2024

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

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 19:15

• US Weapons Accuracy Drops To 10% In Ukraine Due To Jamming
  US Weapons Accuracy Drops To 10% In Ukraine Due To Jamming

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Many high-tech US weapons systems in Ukraine are now useless due to jamming signals by Russia.

  

  Useless Weapons

  Please consider Russian Jamming Leaves Some High-Tech U.S. Weapons Ineffective in Ukraine

  Russia’s jamming of the guidance systems of modern Western weapons, including Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which can fire some U.S.-made rockets with a range of up to 50 miles, has eroded Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory and has left officials in Kyiv urgently seeking help from the Pentagon to obtain upgrades from arms manufacturers.

  The success rate for the U.S.-designed Excalibur shells, for example, fell sharply over a period of months — to less than 10 percent hitting their targets — before Ukraine’s military abandoned them last year, according to the confidential Ukrainian assessments.

  Six months ago, after Ukrainians reported the problem, Washington simply stopped providing Excalibur shells because of the high failure rate, the Ukrainian officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security matter. In other cases, such as aircraft-dropped bombs called JDAMs, the manufacturer provided a patch and Ukraine continues to use them.

  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a modern testing ground for Western arms that had never been used against a foe with Moscow’s ability to jam GPS navigation.

  But even before the United States ceased deliveries, Ukrainian artillerymen had largely stopped using Excalibur, the assessments said, because the shells are harder to use compared with standard howitzer rounds, requiring time-consuming special calculations and programming. Now they are shunned altogether, military personnel in the field said.

  Dense web of jamming
  A web of Russian electronic warfare systems and air defenses menace Ukrainian pilots, the documents said, adding that some Russian jammers also scramble the navigation system of planes. The Russian defense is so dense, the assessment found, that there are “no open windows for the Ukrainian pilots where they feel that they are not at gunpoint.”

  HIMARS launchers were celebrated during the first year of Russia’s invasion for their success in striking ammunition depots and command points behind enemy lines.

  But by the second year, “everything ended: the Russians deployed electronic warfare, disabled satellite signals, and HIMARS became completely ineffective,” a second senior Ukrainian military official said. “This ineffectiveness led to the point where a very expensive shell was used” increasingly to strike lower-priority targets.

  Another US Precision-Guided weapon Fails

  Defense One reports Another US Precision-Guided Weapon Falls Prey to Russian Electronic Warfare

  A new ground-launched version of an air-to-ground weapon developed for Ukraine on a rapid timeline failed to hit targets in part because of Russian electro-magnetic warfare, Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, said at an event held by think tank CSIS.

  LaPlante suggested that Ukraine may no longer be interested in the weapon. “When you send something to people in the fight of their lives that just doesn’t work, they’ll try it three times and they’ll just throw it aside,” said LaPlante.

  The weapon LaPlante is referring to is very likely the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) based on his description, according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

  A Boeing spokesperson did not confirm that LaPlante was referring to GLSDB, but said the company is “working closely with the [Defense Department] on spiral capability improvements to the ground-launch SDB system.” Spiral capability improvements refers to an iterative software development process.

  The GLDSB boasts a range of 90 miles—double the range of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMRLS) missiles Ukraine previously used to wreak havoc on Russia’s logistic centers. Funding for the weapon was approved in February 2023, and Ukraine was reportedly using the weapon by February 2024.

  GPS spoofers work by sending false location data to GPS navigation devices. Because GPS signals are weak, a stronger, false signal can be sent to override the correct inputs. Russia has used GPS spoofing in Ukraine since at least 2018. But advancements in technology mean spoofers can be created cheaply with just a software-defined radio and open-source software.

  The weapons the spoofers are working against, meanwhile, are anything but cheap. A GMLRS missile costs around $160,000, while an Excalibur round can cost as much as $100,000. The GLDSB costs around $40,000.

  Tactical Nuclear Weapons

  Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson on Sullivan’s words about Russia’s plans to use nuclear weapons:

  “His statement sounds like he had a meeting with Zelensky, where he was given some of Zelensky’s cocaine. Russia will not use nuclear weapons unless there is a real threat. If the… pic.twitter.com/aLY8XGBK2V

  — S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 9, 2024

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

  Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson on Sullivan’s words about Russia’s plans to use nuclear weapons: “His statement sounds like he had a meeting with Zelensky, where he was given some of Zelensky’s cocaine. Russia will not use nuclear weapons unless there is a real threat. If the US deploys F-16s in Poland, then Russia will destroy them “with conventional weapons, because they do pose a nuclear threat. The Taurus missiles are the same situation. If they are deployed, then you know – Russia has admitted that they can be used to launch a nuclear strike.”

  Use Nukes First

  Idiots like @GeromanAt are itching for a nuclear war, proposing first use of “tactical” nukes in Ukraine. https://t.co/6PuP5XFy27

  — Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) May 24, 2024

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

  Would You Mind Not Shooting at the Thermonuclear Weapons?

  “The neocons seem bent on testing Russia’s resolve and the MAD doctrine itself. They may view Russia as a rump state, but Russia does not so view itself…Russia has six thousand nuclear warheads.” – Dan Oliverhttps://t.co/wcgIGEnK2V pic.twitter.com/3Fbjqtx1xZ

  — Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. (@RudyHavenstein) March 12, 2022

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

  Get Russia to Strike First

  “Thirteen days before Pearl Harbor, secretary of war Henry Stimson recorded in his diary a meeting with Roosevelt: “The question was how we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves.””https://t.co/wcgIGEnK2V pic.twitter.com/92gpWSwE3E

  — Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. (@RudyHavenstein) March 12, 2022

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

  Using Nukes First Is a Risk/Reward Setup

  The risk/reward of not believing Russia couldn’t kill tens of millions of us seems insufficient.

  — Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. (@RudyHavenstein) March 15, 2022

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

  Is Nuclear War Bullish?

  Nuclear War is very bullish isn’t It? https://t.co/iWfSESoVQ9

  — Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) May 24, 2024

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

  What’s the Real Background Story Behind Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

  On February 24, 2022 I asked, and answered the question What’s the Real Background Story Behind Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

  What Happened in Ukraine?

  The mess today in Ukraine has its roots in the 2014 when democratically elected Ukrainian President Yanukovych was toppled in a US-backed coup. 

  Q: Why did the US want to get rid of Yanukovych? 

  A: Because he was against Ukraine joining NATO.

  The current comedian president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, repeated two days ago his desire to join NATO.

  I use the term comedian because he literally is a comedian who ran for office and won.

  McCain dined with Svoboda Party leader Oleg Tyagnibok. The Svoboda Party is a group of neo-Nazis. 

  The citizens of Ukraine were used as pawns in yet another US mission that backfired. 

  Well who cares about Neo-Nazis as long as they want Ukraine in NATO.

  And that’s the rest of the story US media will not discuss. 

  This no way absolves Putin, but US meddling backfires again, and again, and again.

  Sometimes the Best Thing to Do Is Nothing At All

  Please consider Sometimes the Best Thing to Do Is Nothing At All

  After pointing out how much US and EU sanctions have backfired, someone asked me what I would do.

  I responded, why do I have to do anything? 

  The urge to do something should not be so intense that it overpowers analysis as to whether any actions can possibly work.

  President Biden on Putin

  On March 26, President Biden proclaimed “For God’s Sake, this Man Cannot Remain in Power”

  The Wall Street Journal and perpetual warmongers agreed. But Biden’s staff quickly backtracked on his controversial statement.

  On March 29 I pointed out all the loopholes in  sanctions on Russia, For discussion, please see Misguided Souls Still Do Not Understand This Simple Truth: Sanctions Don’t Work

  I wrote that on April 8, 2022.

  Also in 2022, I said the war would end in a negotiated settlement and nobody would win.

  What did I get wrong?

  It’s Time for a New Strategy

  On March 16, I wrote Ukraine Won’t Win the War, It’s Time for a New Strategy

  The sad thing is US meddling precipitated this whole sorry affair.

  It’s time for a new strategy and a goal: Negotiated settlement.

  If we supply Ukraine with anything, we should only do so if it aids that goal. For now, we still have no goals.

  What’s the Goal?

  On November 7, 2023, I asked If the US Has a Goal in Ukraine or Israel, What the Hell Is It?

  We still don’t have a clearly defined goal or a clearly defined amount of money we are willing to spend.

  Any Questions?

  I have one:

  Given US meddling in Ukraine precipitated this war, are we obliged to start a nuclear war to stop it, or is the lesson to just stop meddling?

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 18:40

• Special Counsel Requests (Another) Gag Order For Trump In Classified Docs Case
  Special Counsel Requests (Another) Gag Order For Trump In Classified Docs Case

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times,

  Special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors asked the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida on Friday to issue a gag order following remarks he made about the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.

  

  In a filing on Friday, prosecutors asked Judge Aileen Cannon to modify the conditions of President Trump’s release from jail before trial to prevent him from making statements that may pose a “significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger” to the FBI agents involved in the planning and execution of the search and seizure of presidential documents stored at his Florida estate.

  “Those statements create a grossly misleading impression about the intentions and conduct of federal law enforcement agents—falsely suggesting that they were complicit in a plot to assassinate him—and expose those agents, some of whom will be witnesses at trial, to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment,” the filing states.

  Earlier this month, an operations plan for the Mar-a-Lago raid was produced through discovery. The plan stated that FBI agents would be prepared to “engage with” President Trump and his Secret Service agents should he arrive at the estate during the raid.

  The use of deadly force was included in a statement on the document, which quoted standard government policy that noted deadly force may be used “only when necessary” in such cases when the subject of the force “poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”

  President Trump’s lawyers stated that there was no justification for the FBI to bring guns into Mar-a-Lago.

  Prosecutors say President Trump “distorted the standard inclusion of the policy” when he made statements that the FBI “WAS AUTHORIZED to SHOOT ME.”

  Additionally, the former president’s 2024 presidential campaign issued an alert stating that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was “locked and loaded” and “ready to take me out” because the FBI was authorized to “use deadly force” during the raid.

  Prosecutors say in their Friday filing that the law enforcement agents participating in the raid acted in an “appropriate and professional manner, subject to the Department of Justice’s standard use-of-force policy.”

  “Trump‘s repeated mischaracterization as an attempt to kill him, his family, and Secret Service agents has endangered law enforcement officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case and threatened the integrity of these proceedings,” the filing states. ”Those deceptive and inflammatory assertions irresponsibly put a target on the backs of the FBI agents involved in this case, as Trump well knows.”

  Prosecutors noted that “an armed attack on an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, was carried out by one of his supporters in the wake of Trump’s Truth Social statements inflaming his supporters regarding the search of Mar-a-Lago.”

  The Epoch Times contacted President Trump’s attorneys for comment.

  President Trump’s lawyers objected to the prosecution’s motion and timing of their request on the Memorial holiday weekend, according to prosecutors.

  “They do not believe that there is any imminent danger, and asked to meet and confer next Monday,” the filing states.

  However, prosecutors pointed to President Trump’s Truth Social account evidence not to wait until Monday, highlighting a statement by a third party that he shared. Prosecutors say, “Trump has continued to issue false statements, smearing and endangering the agents who executed the search.”

  The reshared post included the statement “claiming that the FBI was authorized to use ‘Lethal Force’ on Trump or anyone at MAL– WHILE the FBI/DOJ plants evidence to frame Trump!!!”, according to the filing.

  The request for a gag order is the first in President Trump’s classified documents case.

  

  An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 15, 2022. (Marco Bello/Reuters)

  On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland responded to claims about FBI agents being authorized to use deadly force.

  Mr. Garland disputed the former president’s claims, saying that the document President Trump referred to “is the Justice Department’s standard policy.”

  “And in fact, it was even used in the consensual search of President [Joe] Biden’s home,” he added.

  Earlier this week, the FBI told The Epoch Times that its agents had “followed standard protocol” in the Mar-a-Lago search “as we do for all search warrants.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 18:05

• Republicans Are Winning The Voter Registration Battle In Battleground States
  Republicans Are Winning The Voter Registration Battle In Battleground States

  Authored by Austin Alonzo via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Republicans are closing the gap on voter registrations in key swing states. Political observers say it could be a sign the party will perform well in November.

  

  The gap between registered voters in the Democratic Party and Republican Party shrank significantly in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina, according to voter registration statistics collected in April. 

  Taking the combined voter totals in the three states, Republicans have eroded the Democratic registration advantage by more than 54 percent between 2019 and 2024.

  In Arizona, a fourth critical state, Republicans extended their lead in registered voters by more than 71 percent during the same period.

  The four states are among the most prized possessions in presidential politics. Collectively, they represent 52 electoral votes. In 2020, Joe Biden carried all except North Carolina. In 2016, Donald Trump took everything but Nevada.

  The registration trends don’t necessarily mean Republicans will sweep the states, but they’re a sign that the GOP will be able to more easily target and turn out its voters in those states than it did in 2020.

  “On balance, you’d certainly rather have more registrations in your direction than the other direction,” Daniel Hopkins, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, told The Epoch Times.

  The largest numerical shift occurred in the Keystone State where the Democrat lead has shrunk by some 400,000 votes since May 2019.

  In May 2019, more than 4 million were registered as Democrats, and about 3.2 million were registered Republicans, according to voter registration data collected by the Pennsylvania Department of State.

  By the end of April, almost 3.9 million Pennsylvanians were registered as Democrats, while nearly 3.5 million were registered as Republicans. 

  During the same period, the total number of registered voters increased to more than 8.7 million from nearly 8.5 million. The electorate registered with the Libertarian Party or “other parties,” as the state identifies them, remained relatively stable at 1.2 million during the same period.

  Along with the rematch between President Biden and former President Trump, Pennsylvania voters will consider a Senate race crucial to the balance of power in Washington. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) will square off against Republican businessman Dave McCormick.

  

  Mr. Hopkins said the seismic change in voter registration could be linked to a growing number of what he called “ancestral Democrats” in rural Pennsylvania either falling off the rolls or registering with another party. These moderate voters are just as likely to vote Democratic as Republican, he predicts.

  Nevertheless, Mr. Hopkins said the statistics indicate the state’s voters are moving toward the right and there is more parity in the electorate than in previous cycles. This aligns with the Republican Party’s growing appeal with white, high-school-educated voters, he said.

  Pennsylvania GOP chairman Lawrence Tabas said erasing the voter registration deficit is a “top priority” in the state.

  Mr. Tabas said volunteers are knocking on doors and making phone calls in efforts to register more Republican voters.

  “So far this year, all 67 counties have registered more Republican voters than any other party,” Mr. Tabas said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times. 

  “These numbers, coupled with our mail-in ballot increases, are sure to help set up Republican victories in all regions of the Commonwealth this November.”

  Representatives of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

  North Carolina

  The biggest percentage change occurred in the Tarheel State and the most significant statistic is that unaffiliated voters now exceed those of either major party.

  The unaffiliated electorate grew to about 2.7 million members from about 2.2 million between April 2019 and April 2024, while the overall registered voter tally increased to 7.4 million from 6.8 million.

  In the same time period, the number of registered Republicans rose to about 2.2 million from about 2 million and the number of registered Democrats fell from about 2.5 million to 2.4 million, according to statistics collected by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

  Overall, the gap between party registrations diminished 62 percent between that five-year period.

  “Growth in … unaffiliated registration could be seen as dissatisfaction with the major parties or a preference against that identification,” said Jon Green, an assistant professor of political science at Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

  “That certainly reflects a low enthusiasm, but may or may not reflect a change in behavior.”

  Ultimately, the unaffiliated vote will decide the statewide races, he told The Epoch Times.

  North Carolinians will pick a new governor in the fall. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who was first elected in 2016, isn’t seeking a third term in office. Lieutenant Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, is running against North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 17:30

• What History Reveals About Interest Rate Cuts
  What History Reveals About Interest Rate Cuts

  The Federal Reserve has overseen seven cycles of interest rate cuts, averaging 26 months and 6.35 percentage points (ppts) each.

  Visual Capitalist partnered with New York Life Investments to examine the impact of interest rate cut cycles on the economy and on the performance of financial assets in the U.S. to help keep investors informed. 

  
  

  A Brief History of Interest Rate Cuts

  Interest rates are a powerful tool that the central bank can use to spur economic activity. 

  Typically, when the economy experiences a slowdown or a recession, the Federal Reserve will respond by cutting interest rates. As a result, each of the previous seven rate cut cycles—shown in the table below—occurred during or around U.S. recessions, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

  

  Understanding past economic and financial impacts of interest rate cuts can help investors prepare for future monetary policy changes.

  The Economic Response: Inflation

  During past cycles, data from the Federal Reserve, shows that, on average, the inflation rate continued to decline throughout (-3.4 percentage points), largely due to the lagged effects of a slower economy that normally precedes interest rate declines.

  

  However, inflation played catch-up and rose by +1.9 percentage points one year after the final rate cut. With lower interest rates, consumers were incentivized to spend more and save less, which led to an uptick in the price of goods and services in six of the past seven cycles. 

  The Economic Response: Real Consumer Spending Growth

  Real consumer spending growth, as measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, typically reacted to rate cuts more quickly. 

  On average, consumption growth rose slightly during the rate cut periods (+0.3 percentage points) and that increase accelerated one year later (+1.7 percentage points).

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis were outliers. Spending continued to fall during the rate cut cycles but picked up one year later.

  The Investment Response: Stocks, Bonds, and Real Estate

  Historically, the trend in financial asset performance differed between stocks, bonds, and real estate both during and after interest rate declines.

  Stocks and real estate posted negative returns during the cutting phases, with stocks taking the bigger hit. Conversely, bonds, a traditional safe haven, gained ground.

  

  However, in the quarters preceding the last rate cut, all three assets increased in value. One year later, real estate had the highest average performance, followed closely by stocks, with bonds coming in third.

  What’s Next for Interest Rates

  In March 2024, the Federal Reserve released its Summary of Economic Projections outlining its expectation that U.S. interest rates will fall steadily in 2024 and beyond.

  

  Though the timing of interest rate cuts is uncertain, being armed with the knowledge of their impact on the economy and financial markets can provide valuable insight to investors. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 16:55

• Unity Vs Division: Leftists Appalled That Black And Latino Voters Turn Out For Trump
  Unity Vs Division: Leftists Appalled That Black And Latino Voters Turn Out For Trump

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  Following Donald Trump’s rally in the Bronx earlier this week, Democrats and their leftist media mouthpieces were shocked that Black and Latino voters turned out en mass to support Trump and embrace a message of unity.

  

  The estimated number of New Yorkers were in attendance to see Trump was between 10-25,000, with many unable to get into the stage area at Crotona Park. It was evident that the majority of those in attendance were were either Black or Latino voters.

  Trump did something tonight that no other Republican candidate has done in 40 years—campaign in the Bronx.

  It was bold. It was creative.

  It was also a giant welcome sign to Hispanics and blacks who are considering voting Republican for the first time. And it will work. pic.twitter.com/H2wwcghwbj

  — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 24, 2024

  During the rally, Trump had a message for them, noting “It doesn’t matter whether you’re Black, or Brown, or White or whatever the hell color you are, it doesn’t matter. We are all Americans and we’re going to pull together as Americans.”

  DONALD TRUMP IN THE BRONX, NY: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or brown or white or whatever the hell color you are, it doesn’t matter. We are all Americans.”

  pic.twitter.com/0mJujyelmh

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 23, 2024

  Compare the messages being sent to these demographics by Trump and Biden:

  I can’t think of a better contrast between the candidates for president than these two clips from the last week.

  Joe Biden went to a commencement at a historically black college. He told them they’re victims and that America is an evil place that will always keep them down.… pic.twitter.com/S7vqSX3G0y

  — Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 24, 2024

  CNN reporter Anderson Cooper expressed shock that there were so many people at the rally who were actually from the Bronx.

  CNN reporter on Trump’s rally in the Bronx: “Certainly a bigger crowd than I think Democrats would like to see, particularly given this is one of the bluest counties in the entire country”

  pic.twitter.com/WuLprAqpjW

  — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 24, 2024

  MSNBC acted appalled that the black and Latino voters in attendance were highly enthusiastic about Trump, labelling him as “the man that can save this country.”

  NBC’s Dasha Burns: Black & Latino Voters At Bronx Trump Rally “View His Actions Over Words In Terms Of What They Feel He Can Do For Their Community”https://t.co/o5ST8C5S9c

  “Immigrants at these Trump rallies agree with his message. Their point is, ‘I did it the right way.'” pic.twitter.com/sHCsAwZrX3

  — RCP Video (@rcpvideo) May 24, 2024

  People simply are not buying into the fake leftist media narrative that Trump is a racist, white supremacist anymore:

  CNN’s Ana Navarro reacted to all this by suggesting that Latino voters supporting Trump are “very stupid”:

  CNN’s token woke Latina Ana Navarro is now claiming American Latinos that are anti illegal immigration have a “stupid attitude”

  pic.twitter.com/QOkm5dceq1

  — Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) May 24, 2024

  Democrat New York Governor  Kathy Hochul, who recently suggested black people in The Bronx don’t know what computers are, claimed that the state will “never, ever support” Trump, and that the rally “won’t make a difference at all,” further stating that the Trump supporters who were in attendance are “clowns.”

  🚨 TDS Alert

  NY Gov Kathy Hochul Says New York Trump Supporters are Clowns and New York will Never Ever Support Him For President

  “If he wants to spend his time doing these made up fake rallies and pretending there’s support here… be my guest..”

  I smell panic. Do you smell… pic.twitter.com/ediQjcwYb6

  — MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) May 24, 2024

  They are in complete denial that Americans have woken up and are wholesale rejecting their message of division and failure.

  Bronx voters have a message for AOC

  pic.twitter.com/g3zNU1kAoV

  — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 24, 2024

  *  *  *

  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, 05/25/2024 – 16:20

• Average US Vehicle Age Hits 12.6 Years As Inflation Takes Toll
  Average US Vehicle Age Hits 12.6 Years As Inflation Takes Toll

  Cars, trucks, and SUVs across the U.S. are getting older, with the average vehicle age now at a record 12.6 years. According to S&P Global Mobility, which monitors state vehicle registration data, high prices for new cars and massive economic pressures on buyers account for the trend, ABC News reports.

  

  Despite a small recovery in new vehicle sales and a recent drop in prices — the average new car cost just over $45,000 last month, down from a peak in December 2022 — many people still find new cars too expensive. “It’s prohibitively high for a lot of households now,” said Todd Campau, aftermarket leader at S&P Global Mobility. “So I think consumers are being painted into the corner of having to keep the vehicle on the road longer.“

  

  In April of 2019, the average car cost $33,695.

  Another possible factor is that people are hesitating on vehicle purchasing decisions due to uncertainty about whether to choose an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid, or stick with gasoline – as many are concerned that the availability of EV charging stations (VW recently stepped away from plans to go all-electric). However, Campau notes that cars are better made now and last longer, which is good news for car owners.

  That said, new car sales are picking up, while around 16 million new vehicles are projected to be sold this year, which would be an increase over last year.

  As new car sales increase, the fleet of aging vehicles, which currently stands at 286 million passenger vehicles in the nation, should see its average age stabilize. Increased sales of lower-cost vehicles might also help reduce the average price of new cars, making them more accessible.

  Auto repair shops are loving America’s aging fleet – of which around 70% of vehicles on the road are over six years old and no longer under manufacturer warranty.

  Overall, while the high cost of new vehicles continues to influence consumer choices, the improved quality and durability of cars are helping Americans manage by keeping their older vehicles on the road longer.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 15:45

• Exceptionally Strong PBoC And Chinese Private Sector Buying Continues To Boost Gold Price
  Exceptionally Strong PBoC And Chinese Private Sector Buying Continues To Boost Gold Price

  By Jan Nieuwenhuijs of Gainesville Coins

  Chinese private sector gold imports accounted for 543 tonnes in the first quarter, while the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) added 189 tonnes to its reserves over this time horizon. Most of the PBoC’s purchases are “unreported.” China continues to be the marginal buyer in the gold market, driving up the price. I expect that China will remain a robust buyer of gold going forward in support of the price.

  In my latest article on global gold flows from March 2024, “China Has Taken Over Gold Price Control from the West,” I showed that in 2022 China broke the peg between the US dollar gold price and “real yields.” Instead of being price sensitive China had become a driving force of the gold price. The data at my disposal ran until December 2023 which made me hesitant to conclude the sharp increase in the gold price since late February was also caused by the Chinese. However, as new data has been released, I can confidently say that China initiated the current bull market.

  

  PBoC Gold Buying Increased by 38% in Q1

  The media is aware that since 2022 central banks mostly buy gold covertly (often referred to as “unreported” purchases). By now it’s widely known that the World Gold Council (WGC) publishes a single statistic on aggregate central bank buying each quarter, which is markedly higher than what all monetary authorities combined report to have bought. Which central banks are causing the difference isn’t made clear though.

  

  In February 2023 I broke the story on unreported buying being mostly acquisitions by the PBoC. Two people familiar with the matter shared with me the Chinese central bank is responsible for “the majority” of secretive additions by monetary authorities. Emerging markets such as Saudi Arabia take up the rest.

  Based on field research, the WGC states central banks bought 290 tonnes of gold in the first quarter of 2024. Most of the difference—I use eighty percent—between the WGC’s estimate and total purchases as disclosed by the IMF is 162 tonnes. When we add what the PBoC has reported to have bought during this period, total purchases come in at 189 tonnes, 38% more than the previous quarter. Possibly, the PBoC had a stake in boosting the price since late February.

  

  Taking into account unreported purchases, the Chinese central bank now holds gold reserves weighing 5,542 tonnes, according to my research (my methodology is explained here).

  Exceptionally Strong Chinese Private Gold Demand in Q1

  Chinese net gold imports by the private sector have been extremely strong. From January through March imports accounted for a mammoth 543 tonnes, up 74% from Q4 2023. This is definitely what pushed up the gold price. Import in April decreased somewhat to 125 tonnes.

  

  India imported a healthy 95 tonnes in February, but less than 30 tonnes both in January and March. The Indians remain price sensitive and are not driving this rally.

  Hong Kong saw notable net inflows in the past months, which mainly reflects strong demand in China in my view. Chinese housewives buy VAT free jewelry in Hong Kong and take it across the border to Shenzhen. In addition, bullion banks that export gold to China store gold in Hong Kong before re-exporting to the mainland.

  In Q1 the UK and Switzerland both were net exporters, and Western ETF inventories declined. At the time of writing the West has not yet joined the bull market, which primarily has its roots in China.

  Chinese Gold Demand Will Stay Powerful

  Bloomberg recently reported that Beijing offloaded a record of $53 billion in US Treasuries and agency bonds combined in Q1, which illustrates the PBoC is selling dollars for gold. No wonder, as enthusiasm to seize Russia’s foreign exchange reserves—deposited at Belgium-based clearinghouse Euroclear—is rising among G-7 nations. In turn, Russia is freezing €700 million of assets from Western commercial banks such as UniCredit and Deutsche Bank, further strengthening gold’s global position as a safe haven. China’s foreign exchange reserves stand at $3.2 trillion so there is plenty of firepower left for gold.

  Private gold demand in China is likely to uphold as well as the end of the property slump is not in sight. Home prices have declined in 30 out of the last 33 months. The State Council is floating a plan to buy unsold houses through local governments, but these are already drowning in debt. The Chinese public, which doesn’t have many investment options due to capital controls, will continue to invest in gold and support the price.

  I’m expecting the West to join the bull market soon. ETF outflows appear to have stopped, and it would only be logical for Western investors to rotate into gold at some point because of high asset valuations and an overconfidence in credit instruments.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 15:10

• 13th Oregon County Votes To Secede And Join 'Greater Idaho'
  13th Oregon County Votes To Secede And Join ‘Greater Idaho’

  The “Greater Idaho” movement notched another victory this week, as Oregon’s Crook County became the 13th county to vote to secede from leftist domination and join its more like-minded neighbors to the east. About 53% of voters approved a referendum recommending that county leaders engage in “continued negotiations regarding a potential relocation of the Oregon-Idaho border to include Crook County.” 

  “The voters of eastern Oregon have spoken loudly and clearly about their desire to see border talks move forward,” said Greater Idaho executive director Matt McCaw. “With this latest result in Crook County, there’s no excuse left for the Legislature and Governor to continue to ignore the people’s wishes.”

  

  The group said the final tally was only as close as it was due to spending by Western State Strategies, which it described as a “social justice non-profit based in Portland.” On its own site, Western State Strategies has accused Greater Idaho of “writing the most recent chapter in a long history of dangerous secessionist movements that appeal to bigotry to fuel division.” 

  Greater Idaho sees things differently. “Northwestern Oregon is embarking on social experiments: a cultural revolution that rural counties want no part of,” the group writes on its website. “Eastern Oregon has a different culture and values.” The group notes that 80% of Idaho’s legislature is Republican, and that it “govern[s] according to the concerns and priorities of rural counties.”

  Why eastern Oregon should join Idaho

  Crook County: vote YES on county measure 7-86 this May!

  Visit our website to learn more! pic.twitter.com/wjqcPGMiw7

  — the Greater Idaho movement (@GreaterIdaho) April 11, 2024

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

  Greater Idaho’s ultimate goal would see 13 entire counties leave Oregon, along with portions of four more. One of the counties targeted for a split is Deschutes County, which would be cleaved east of Bend, an outdoor mecca in Oregon’s high desert that has been spiraling deeper into blue depths, prompting some to flee. Crook County joins Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Harney, Malheur, Baker, Grant, Wheeler, Jefferson, Wallowa, Union and Morrow counties, which have previously approved measures to negotiate an exit.   

  If the group’s goal comes to full fruition, Oregon would end up 62% smaller by size, but only 9% smaller by population. That math that underscores the contrast between the sparsely populated, rural eastern region and the more densely-populated coastal areas. It also highlights the eastern counties’ lack of political strength in influencing statewide decisions.

  Oregon shouldn’t exist as a political entity, as currently drawn. The people in the east and south of the state have little in common with the urban core that dominates the state’s politics. Greater Idaho should be encouraged. Why trap people where they have no voice? pic.twitter.com/rZKBZFoSu3

  — Rudolph Troha 🇺🇲🏳️‍🌈 (@RudolphTroha) May 23, 2024

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

  “Oregon politicians don’t understand how we make a living,” argues Greater Idaho. “Their decisions damage industries like timber, mining, trucking, ranching and farming. They want to remake the Oregon we’ve known our whole lives. We want to preserve the values and way of life of old Oregon as a part of Idaho.”

  While the group’s momentum is undeniable, there are daunting hurdles ahead. For the border to move, the Oregon and Idaho legislatures must approve it, along with the US Congress. In 2023, the Idaho house passed a measure to pursue discussions of a border change, but it stalled in the Idaho senate. 

  The Greater Idaho movement is fully consistent with American values rooted in the principal of self-determination and government by consent. While leftist opponents of the movement call it “dangerous,” a calmly-negotiated border move is certainly the least dangerous path to a new governing arrangement that eastern Oregonians are entitled to.  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 14:35

• Extreme Hurricane Season Could Trigger "Carrier Revenge"
  Extreme Hurricane Season Could Trigger “Carrier Revenge”

  By Craig Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves

  For the past two years, shippers have had enormous leverage in the freight market, as excess capacity has kept rates under significant pressure. Shippers, who suffered under the weight of sizable market stress during COVID have inflicted “shippers revenge” on motor carriers, something we were warned was coming back in August 2022. 

  

  Truckload spot rates, when adjusted for inflation, have plummeted to lows not seen since 2009.

  In the early part of the Great Freight Recession, contract rates stayed persistently high as shippers monitored the market and wondered if the market reset was a short-term development or something greater.

  In the first quarter of 2023, reassured that the Great Freight Recession was unlikely to end quickly, shippers started to insist on significant rate concessions from carriers. This process accelerated earlier this year. 

  As a result, carrier profitability hit 14-year lows in the first quarter. 

  According to FreightWaves channel checks, shippers still insist on rate concessions from motor carriers. This may be ill-advised. 

  On April 17, FreightWaves reported that we were likely at the bottom of the market and the “end to the worst freight markets in history may be closer than it appears.” 

  We believe that this analysis is still true, and shippers, not carriers, bear the greater risk. In fact, if the economy continues to grow, freight market volumes will do so as well. 

  While we are not expecting a massive surge in freight activity, we continue to monitor risks that could change this perspective. 

  Like all commodity markets, rates become massively volatile when an unexpected sudden demand shock occurs. For trucking markets, no event has more short-term impact on demand than a major hurricane hitting a large U.S. city. 

  FreightWaves’ early success was largely due to its coverage of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Galveston and parts of the Texas Gulf Coast around Houston. 

  NOAA released its May hurricane forecast, where it spells a warning to shippers to prepare for significant disruptions. It is the most aggressive forecast on record. NOAA forecasts that there will be 17-25 named storms, with 4-7 being Category 3 or greater. On average, a hurricane season usually has 14 named storms and three Category 3 or greater storms. 

  The administration described the 2024 season as “hyperactive” and “the highest NOAA has ever issued in the May forecast.” 

  Shippers that assume they will be able to react to changing market conditions, in time, may find that carriers lack sympathy for their plight. In fact, carriers have been warning shippers that forcing significant rate concessions will be a mistake when the market flips in the carrier’s favor. 

  Whether the hurricane season lives up to NOAA’s forecast or ends on a whimper, one thing is certain: at some point, the freight market pendulum will swing against shippers and when it does trucking firms will inflict carrier revenge. 

  In many ways, Carrier’s revenge is more vicious than shipper’s revenge in the sense that price is easier for shippers to deal with than having freight left on their docks and factories disrupted. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 14:00

• 52% Of Top US Hedge Funds Own Bitcoin ETFs
  52% Of Top US Hedge Funds Own Bitcoin ETFs

  534 institutions with over $1 billion in assets now hold Bitcoin ETFs, according to bitcoin app River.

  In a blog post published this week, River noted that over 534 entities, each managing assets exceeding $1 billion, have now incorporated Bitcoin ETFs into their portfolios.

  The diverse group of owners includes hedge funds, pension funds, and insurance companies, underscoring the wide-ranging acceptance of Bitcoin, the blog wrote, adding that notably, more than half of the top 25 hedge funds in the United States are now exposed to Bitcoin.

  

  Among these are Millennium Management, which now holds an impressive $2 billion in Bitcoin assets. Furthermore, 11 of the top 25 Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), alongside numerous smaller advisors, have also allocated investments in Bitcoin.

  “If you sell your bitcoin to Blackrock, you probably won’t be getting it back,” River’s CEO Alex Leishman said. 

  Specific to their company, they wrote that they are witnessing a trend of bitcoin becoming a staple on every company’s balance sheet live. 

  Currently, over a thousand companies using River’s platform maintain bitcoin in their financial reserves, the company wrote. Just a year ago, the typical business held 2.5 BTC, valued at approximately $70,000. Since then, these holdings have grown to more than 4 BTC, with their value surging to beyond $280,000.

  

  They wrote: “It is no longer just the MicroStrategy’s of the world accumulating Bitcoin, but businesses of all sizes.”

  Recall days ago, Michael Saylor commented in wide-ranging interview that bitcoin had now officially pierced the veil into the KYC and AML regulated banking world.

  When asked about how bitcoin is homogenizing itself in a world of increasing regulations, he said: “I think it’s doing it now. I mean, you’re watching it, right? For example, Block sells $10 billion worth of Bitcoin every year via Cash App. They’re a publicly traded company. They abide by AML and KYC regulations. They have compliance. They have responsibilities.” 

  “Fidelity, you know, Fidelity Digital Assets is custodying billions and billions of dollars of Bitcoin. I’m sure they’ve got an army of lawyers and finance people thinking about it.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 13:25

• Inflation To The Nines
  Inflation To The Nines

  By Peter C. Earle of the American Institute for Economic Research

  Twice in the past few weeks President Joe Biden has claimed that when he took office in January 2021 inflation was “over nine percent.” First on CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett on May 8 and again on May 14 in a Yahoo! Finance interview, the bizarre comment was made. And as has become a routine with the gaffe-prone chief executive, White House staffers added shamelessness to what could have been limited to embarrassment by issuing a statement: “The President was making the point that the factors that caused inflation were in place when he took office. The pandemic caused inflation around the world by disrupting our economy and breaking our supply chains.”

  Americans will have to decide for themselves if the claim made by Biden was a lie intended to mislead anyone not familiar with the trajectory of prices over the past several years, or an innocent error. It is a choice US citizens have been confronted with frequently, in particular where assertions regarding the health of the economy have been made. 

  If an honest mistake, it simply may be that the President confused the January 2021 inflation number with a number of other price statistics beginning with the number nine in the month of his inauguration. Below are several possibilities.

  • In January 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in their consumer prices summary that the average price of a boneless sirloin steak was $9.418. By April 2024 that price had risen 27.5 percent to $11.662. 

  

  • In January 2021, fifteen subindices of CPI began with the number nine. Their levels in that month, in the April 2024 report, and the percent change are shown below.

  

  

  Alternatively, Mr. Biden may have mistaken a different January 2021 economic statistic with the July 2022 year-over-year headline CPI number.

  • The spread between the 1-year US Treasury bill and the 10-year US Treasury note was 97.9 basis points (0.98 percent) in mid-January 2021. That spread inverted in mid-2022, about the time that headline CPI year-over-year actually reached 9.1 percent. A normal yield curve slopes upward, with a positive spread showing that longer-term bonds yield more than shorter-term ones, typically reflecting expectations of economic growth and rising future interest rates. An inverted yield curve slopes downward with a negative spread as shorter-term bonds yield more than longer-term ones. Those conditions are often considered a predictor of an economic recession. As of May 2024, the 1-to-10 year spread has been negative for over 600 days.

  1-year Treasury bill 10-year Treasury note spread (Jan 2021 – present)

  

  • The Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production (IP) Index was at 98.8 in January 2021. Owing to lockdowns and other pandemic policies, the index plummeted to a low of 84.6 in April 2020 and was recovering early in 2021. But despite hitting a post-pandemic high of 103.5 in September 2022, the IP Index hasn’t yet recovered its September 2018 all-time high of 104.1. Since the start of 2024, the index has declined, currently oscillating between 101.8 and 102.8.

  Industrial Production (2014 – present), with all-time high (red dotted line), and January 2021 (black vertical line) indicated 

  

  It’s possible that Mr. Biden has once again fumbled details accidentally. Yet the consistency of those blundered messages, each absolving his administration of responsibility for declining economic conditions, is simply not consistent with randomness. American citizens have been told that corporate profits, Vladimir Putin, owners of gas stations, and ocean shippers are responsible for the huge surge in prices. Month-to-month and year-to-year price change data has been conflated misleadingly, as have statistics regarding how the US inflationary surge compares to those in other nations.

  Whatever the specific reasons, the desperate evasiveness is glaring. Knowing that the CPI was not “over 9 percent” in January 2021, but rather 1.4 percent, hitting 9.1 percent in July 2022, is one thing. Recognizing that the administration of monetary policy has become a third-rail issue to be evaded at all costs is another, more pressing, matter. Instead of properly attributing the increase in prices to expansionary monetary policies (and to a lesser extent, massive debt and deficits), many in the political establishment prefer to tell ham handed-lies which further erode an already ramshackle credibility.

  It may be that the political establishment believes that the American public is not sophisticated enough to understand the Fed. More likely, the ability of the Fed to provide a swift economic boost during crises (without the lengthy process that fiscal stimuli require) is deemed too important to endanger by drawing attention to: even the staunchly anti-high finance Elizabeth Warren voted against auditing the Fed in 2016. The bipartisan inclination to keep the US central bank out of critical discussions is one which, whether inflation subsides or the Fed heeds calls to normalize at the 3-percent level, demands closer scrutiny.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 12:50

• Biden's $320M Gaza Pier Has Detached & Drifted Onto Israeli Beach
  Biden’s $320M Gaza Pier Has Detached & Drifted Onto Israeli Beach

  A section of the $320 million floating pier built and erected off Gaza’s coast has broken off and floated onto an Israeli beach. The Saturday mishap is the latest setback for the US humanitarian aid project, after three US troops were reported injured aboard the pier two days prior, including one critically.

  The Times of Isreal’s military correspondent Emanuel Fabian has reported that “An American vessel used to unload humanitarian aid from ships into the Gaza Strip via a floating pier disconnected from a small boat tugging it this morning due to stormy seas, leading it to get stuck on the coast of Ashdod, eyewitnesses say.”

  Joe had a pier installed at Gaza

  $320 million of your dollars

  pic.twitter.com/CBakneazlI

  — Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) May 25, 2024

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

  The recovery operation has not gone well either, as “Another ship was then sent to try and extract the stuck vessel, but also got beached,” Fabian writes.

  And yet a second US Army vessel also got stuck in shallow waters while trying to rescue the pier section. Overnight US ships had been moving two pieces of the floating pier to the Port of Ashdod in southern Israel when the now beached section detached and drifted away. American troops can be seen in footage standing helplessly on the beach.

  An official US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement says the following:

  This morning four U.S. Army vessels supporting the maritime humanitarian aid mission in Gaza were affected by heavy sea states. The vessels broke free from their moorings and two vessels are now anchored on the beach near the pier.

  The third and fourth vessels are beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon. Efforts to recover the vessels are under way with assistance from the Israeli Navy.

  The pier operation was already last week off to a rough start — and was paused for two days — after desperate Palestinians mobbed and ransacked the first trucks transporting aid unloaded from the pier before they could reach a distribution warehouse managed by the World Food Programme.   

  

  The pier has been center of controversy, given a number of land routes for aid into Gaza are possible, but have been blocked by Israel’s military.

  Now, to mitigate that devastation amid reports of famine the US government has spent $320 million to build a pier to bypass its own beneficiary’s land-route blockade. But operating it has proven tricky especially due to inclement conditions in the eastern Mediterranean. 

  At best, the pier will only put a dent in the daunting humanitarian challenge. “I just want to be clear that this humanitarian maritime corridor alone is not enough to meet the staggering needs in Gaza, but it is an important addition,” said USAID Levant response management team director Daniel Dieckhaus. “It is meant to augment, not replace or substitute for land crossings into Gaza.”    

  Two US Navy ships ran aground on a beach in Ashdod. The tug boat was transporting the floating pier off of Gaza back to the port of Ashdod due to poor sea conditions when it got disconnected & beached here. LCM went in for rescue and also got beached pic.twitter.com/B6HU1B9nfa

  — Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) May 25, 2024

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

  At this point, with a section of the pier stuck on an Israel beach, and coming over two months after President Biden first unveiled the ambitious project, the whole initiative is becoming a bit of an embarrassment involving setback after setback.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/25/2024 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Hedges: The Slow-Motion Execution Of Julian Assange Continues
  Hedges: The Slow-Motion Execution Of Julian Assange Continues

  Authored by Chris Hedges via Scheerpost.com,

  The decision by the High Court in London to grant Julian Assange the right to appeal the order to extradite him to the United States may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. It does not mean Julian will elude extradition. It does not mean the court has ruled, as it should, that he is a journalist whose only “crime” was providing evidence of war crimes and lies by the U.S. government to the public. It does not mean he will be released from the high-security HMS Belmarsh prison where, as Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, after visiting Julian there, said he was undergoing a “slow-motion execution.”

  

  It does not mean that journalism is any less imperiled. Editors and publishers of  five international media outlets —– The New York Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and DER SPIEGEL —– which published stories based on documents released by WikiLeaks, have urged that the U.S. charges be dropped and Julian be released. None of these media executives were charged with espionage. It does not dismiss the ludicrous ploy by the U.S. government to extradite an Australian citizen whose publication is not based in the U.S. and charge him under the Espionage Act. It continues the long Dickensian farce that mocks the most basic concepts of due process.

  This ruling is based on the grounds that the U.S. government did not offer sufficient assurances that Julian would be granted the same First Amendment protections afforded to a U.S. citizen, should he stand trial. The appeal process is one more legal hurdle in the persecution of a journalist who should not only be free, but feted and honored as the most courageous of our generation.  

  Yes. He can file an appeal. But this means another year, perhaps longer, in harsh prison conditions as his physical and psychological health deteriorates. He has spent over five years in HMS Belmarsh without being charged. He spent seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy because the U.K. and Swedish governments refused to guarantee that he wouldn’t be extradited to the U.S., even though he agreed to return to Sweden to aid a preliminary investigation that was eventually dropped.

  The judicial lynching of Julian was never about justice. The plethora of legal irregularities, including the recording of his meetings with attorneys by the Spanish security firm UC Global at the embassy on behalf of the CIA, alone should have seen the case thrown out of court as it eviscerates attorney-client privilege.

  The U.S. has charged Julian with 17 acts under the Espionage Act and one count of computer misuse, for an alleged conspiracy to take possession of and then publish national defense information. If found guilty on all of these charges he faces 175 years in a U.S. prison.

  The extradition request is based on the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs — hundreds of thousands of classified documents, leaked to the site by Chelsea Manning, then an Army intelligence analyst, which exposed numerous U.S. war crimes including video images of the gunning down of two Reuters journalists and 10 other unarmed civilians in the Collateral Murder video, the routine torture of Iraqi prisoners, the covering up of thousands of civilian deaths and the killing of nearly 700 civilians that had approached too closely to U.S. checkpoints.

  In February, lawyers for Julian submitted nine separate grounds for a possible appeal. 

  A two-day hearing in March, which I attended, was Julian’s last chance to request an appeal of the extradition decision made in 2022 by the then British home secretary, Priti Patel, and of many of the rulings of District Judge Baraitser in 2021. 

  The two High Court judges, Dame Victoria Sharp and Justice Jeremy Johnson, in March rejected most of Julian’s grounds of appeal. These included his lawyers’ contention that the UK-US extradition treaty bars extradition for political offenses; that the extradition request was made for the purpose of prosecuting him for his political opinions; that extradition would amount to retroactive application of the law — because it was not foreseeable that a century-old espionage law would be used against a foreign publisher; and that he would not receive a fair trial in the Eastern District of Virginia. The judges also refused to hear new evidence that the CIA plotted to kidnap and assassinate Julian, concluding — both perversely and incorrectly — that the CIA only considered these options because they believed Julian was planning to flee to Russia.

  But the two judges determined Monday that it is “arguable” that a U.S. court might not grant Julian protection under the First Amendment, violating his rights to free speech as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

  The judges in March asked the U.S. to provide written assurances that Julian would be protected under the First Amendment and that he would be exempt from a death penalty verdict. The U.S. assured the court that Julian would not be subjected to the death penalty, which Julian’s lawyers ultimately accepted. But the Department of Justice was unable to provide an assurance that Julian could mount a First Amendment defense in a U.S. court. Such a decision is made in a U.S. federal court, their lawyers explained. 

  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg, who is prosecuting Julian, has argued that only U.S. citizens are guaranteed First Amendment rights in U.S. courts. Kromberg has stated that what Julian published was “not in the public interest” and that the U.S. was not seeking his extradition on political grounds.

  Free speech is a key issue. If Julian is granted First Amendment rights in a U.S. court it will be very difficult for the U.S. to build a criminal case against him, since other news organizations, including The New York Times and The Guardian, published the material he released. 

  The extradition request is based on the contention that Julian is not a journalist and not protected under the First Amendment.

  Julian’s attorneys and those representing the U.S. government have until May 24 to submit a draft order, which will determine when the appeal will be heard. 

  Julian committed the empire’s greatest sin — he exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, routine violation of human rights, wanton killing of innocent civilians, rampant corruption and war crimes. Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Labour, Trump or Biden — it does not matter. Those who manage the empire use the same dirty playbook.

  The publication of classified documents is not a crime in the United States, but if Julian is extradited and convicted, it will become one. 

  Julian is in precarious physical and psychological health. His physical and psychological deterioration has resulted in a minor stroke, hallucinations and depression. He takes antidepressant medication and the antipsychotic quetiapine. He has been observed pacing his cell until he collapses, punching himself in the face and banging his head against the wall. He has spent weeks in the medical wing of Belmarsh, nicknamed “hell wing.” Prison authorities found “half of a razor blade” hidden under his socks. He has repeatedly called the suicide hotline run by the Samaritans because he thought about killing himself “hundreds of times a day.” 

  These slow-motion executioners have not yet completed their work. Toussaint L’Ouverture, who led the Haitian independence movement, the only successful slave revolt in human history, was physically destroyed in the same manner. He was locked by the French in an unheated and cramped prison cell and left to die of exhaustion, malnutrition, apoplexy, pneumonia and probably tuberculosis. 

  Prolonged imprisonment, which the granting of this appeal perpetuates, is the point. The 12 years Julian has been detained — seven in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and over five in high-security Belmarsh Prison — have been accompanied by a lack of sunlight and exercise, as well as unrelenting threats, pressure, prolonged isolation, anxiety and constant stress. The goal is to destroy him.

  We must free Julian. We must keep him out of the hands of the U.S. government. Given all he did for us, we owe him an unrelenting fight. 

  If there is no freedom of speech for Julian, there will be no freedom of speech for us.

  *  *  *

  NOTE TO SCHEERPOST READERS FROM CHRIS HEDGES: There is now no way left for me to continue to write a weekly column for ScheerPost and produce my weekly television show without your help. The walls are closing in, with startling rapidity, on independent journalism, with the elites, including the Democratic Party elites, clamoring for more and more censorship. Bob Scheer, who runs ScheerPost on a shoestring budget, and I will not waver in our commitment to independent and honest journalism, and we will never put ScheerPost behind a paywall, charge a subscription for it, sell your data or accept advertising. Please, if you can, sign up at chrishedges.substack.com so I can continue to post my now weekly Monday column on ScheerPost and produce my weekly television show, The Chris Hedges Report.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 23:40

• Ukraine Hits Base In Crimea With US Long-Range Missiles In Further Escalation
  Ukraine Hits Base In Crimea With US Long-Range Missiles In Further Escalation

  The Ukrainians aren’t waiting for ‘permission’ from the US despite the Biden administration’s official prohibition on using American-supplied weaponry to strike inside Russian territory. But perhaps Kiev’s argument is that Crimea is not ‘Russian territory’…

  “Ukraine hit a Russian military complex in Crimea with U.S.-provided long-range missiles Thursday night, the latest in a mounting series of strikes aimed at slowing the Russian war machine,” The Wall Street Journal reports Friday.

  

  The WSJ continues, “The missile strike hit a communications center of Russian air-defense forces in the city of Alushta, according to a Ukrainian defense official.” It added: “Crimean social-media channels reported several explosions in the coastal city, with one video showing a large blast, but the extent of the damage couldn’t immediately be established.”

  Long-range ATACMS (or Army Tactical Missile System), were first transferred ‘secretly’ by Washington to Ukraine’s military earlier this year, and only disclosed publicly just weeks ago. In late April, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a “significant number” of the ATACMS have been sent to Ukraine but did not specify how many. They can hit targets up to 190 miles away – and earlier in the war were withheld reportedly on White House concerns that they would be used to attack deep within Russian territory.

  The UK and France have also of late provided longer-range systems, including cruise missiles that can be launched from aircraft. The WSJ underscores these new weapons “have significantly boosted the range, value and number of the deep-lying targets that Ukraine can attack.”

  But the reality is that with each new attack on Russia, its forces appear to be hitting back harder with ‘punishing’ strikes on Kharkiv and as far south as the large port city of Odessa. 

  For example, Russia’s defense ministry is reporting its troops have achieved 49 combined strikes at “Ukrainian military sites, military-industrial facilities, arms, ammunition and fuel depots, army and mercenaries’ deployment areas” over the past week of fighting.

  In the Kharkiv region, “The enemy’s losses over the week amounted to 1,840 personnel, six tanks, eight armored combat vehicles, 40 motor vehicles, four Grad and Vampire multiple rocket launchers and 37 field artillery guns,” the ministry said.

  Thus Ukraine’s provocative attacks inside Russian territory aren’t having any actual impact on frontline fighting positions. Instead, the attacks are ultimately resulting in drawing NATO and Russia deeper into a more direct conflict.

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday lodged a new complaint, saying West-supplied weapon are already being used against civilians inside Russia.

  The below WSJ/ISW map demonstrates Ukraine forces’ significantly increasing missile range:

  

  “American weapons are already being used against a wide variety of facilities outside the combat zone,” Lavrov stated. “We proceed from the fact that American and other Western weapons are hitting targets on Russian territory, primarily civilian infrastructure and residential neighborhoods.”

  He bluntly concluded Western countries “are waging a war against Russia” despite all the officially stated positions which appear to dissuade Kiev from escalating with Western weapons. Lavrov said this is something that “that the Americans are trying to present to their public opinion or to NATO members.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 23:20

• CJ Hopkins: Asymmetric Idiocy
  CJ Hopkins: Asymmetric Idiocy

  Authored by CJ Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

  I miss the 1970s sometimes.

  Not just the music. And the sex. And the drugs. I miss the terrorists. The old-school terrorists. Or, OK, maybe not the terrorists, but the revolutionaries who cheered on the terrorists.

  

  I miss the clarity, and the honesty, of that era.

  Maybe you’re too young to remember, but, back in the day, you didn’t get all this hemming and hawing about murdering civilians. The terrorists, and the revolutionaries who supported them, were not ashamed of murdering civilians. The Revolution demanded that they murder civilians. Murdering civilians was one of the fundamental strategies of the Revolution.

  The way this strategy works is simple. What you do is, you murder a bunch of civilians, in order to provoke your adversary into massively over-retaliating against you and committing all kinds of war crimes and atrocities, like the USA did in Iraq twenty years ago, like the IDF is now doing in Gaza. The goal of the strategy is to broaden the conflict, and draw your potential allies into it, or at least significantly weaken support for your enemy.

  OK, sure, that means you have to murder some people… men, women, children, whole families, and then your enemy is going to go apeshit and kill tens or even hundreds of thousands of your people, but, if all goes to plan, your “allies” will join you, and attack your enemy, and drive him into the sea, or off the face of the earth, or wherever. So, in the end, all the murdering will have been totally worth it.

  This is not a theory I just made up.

  It is one of the basics of asymmetric warfare. If you are not already familiar with that subject, this might be a good time to look into it.

  I’m not a fan of murdering civilians. Not even for the Revolution. I do not think it is a very good strategy. Plus, well, the murdering. I’m against that, generally. Soldiers killing each other is one thing. They have been doing that since the dawn of history. And I have no problem with guerilla tactics. People fight wars with the means they have available. It’s just the murdering thing that I can’t get down with. Especially the murdering of the women and the kids, but it’s probably not politically correct to say that, what with the diversity, equity, and inclusion thing these days.

  Anyway, as it appears I’m currently alienating a significant portion of my longstanding readers, half of whom believe I’m an “Islamofascist,” and the other half of whom believe I’m a “Zionist,” I figure I’ll go ahead and go for broke, and wax nostalgic about the 1970s, and say a few things I haven’t been saying, or, rather, I’ll say a few things I’ve been saying delicately not so delicately.

  I’ve been saying those things delicately, because, as I made pretty clear in October, when this whole horror show started, my sympathies are with the Palestinian people. My sympathies are also with the loved ones of the Israeli civilians who were murdered by Hamas, but I am talking about the bigger picture now, the broader “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

  In that bigger picture, the Palestinians are fucked. They’ve been getting fucked for quite some time now. That is what happens when empires conquer the land you live on and do what they want with it. The land in question has been getting conquered for approximately 4,500 years. The Babylonians conquered it. The Persians conquered it. Alexander the Great conquered it. The Romans conquered it. And so on. That’s all ancient history.

  More recently, in 1920, the Ottoman Empire lost World War One, and the British Empire took the land over. You are probably familiar with the rest of the history. The British pulled out in 1948. Zionists established The State of Israel. War broke out. Israel won. War broke out again. Israel won again. And again. And so on. And … well, here we are.

  As I was saying, the Palestinians are fucked. Look at a map of the territory. Does it look like Palestine is on the verge of being “free”?

  

  The State of Israel is not going anywhere. It is an essential component of the global-capitalist empire. It’s the empire’s headquarters in the Middle East. It has nuclear weapons. It is backed by the US military. The “Islamic world” is not going to join Hamas and attack it, regardless of how many war crimes it perpetrates in Gaza. The ICJ is not going to put it on trial. The United Nations isn’t going to make it play nice. It isn’t going to disappear into the ether. It is a fact of life. It isn’t fair. It has nothing to do with fairness and justice and rights and good and bad and whatever. It doesn’t even have much to do with Zionism. Zionism is just Israel’s ideology, like Islamism is Saudi Arabia’s ideology. What it has to do with is the global-capitalist empire, and resistance to the global-capitalist empire.

  Which brings us back to asymmetric warfare, and Hamas’ October 7 “Al-Aqsa Flood” strategy, and the utter fucking pointlessness of it, and the utter fucking callousness of it.

  Do you seriously believe that the leadership of Hamas did not know exactly how Israel would respond to the slaughter of hundreds of Israeli citizens, families, children, people at a rave? If you honestly believe that, I don’t know what to say.

  The goal of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack was to provoke precisely the response it has provoked. There is nothing mysterious or complicated about this. It is Asymmetric Warfare 101, straight out of the Terrorism textbook.

  For seven months I have been watching my “radical” colleagues trying to obscure this fact. It isn’t helpful. It doesn’t help anyone. It certainly doesn’t help the Palestinian people. There is more than enough about Israel to criticize. Lying, twisting the facts about Hamas, convincing people that the IDF “Hanniballed” everyone on October 7, is (a) unnecessary, (b) obfuscatory, and (c) destroys your credibility.

  On top of which, it makes you look like pussies.

  If you believe that murdering people to provoke your enemy into overreacting is a productive armed-resistance strategy, at least have the fucking courage to say so. Bring back the spirit of the 1970s! The old PLO! The RAF! The IRA! The SLA! Do it for the Revolution! Or the Globalized Intifada! Or whatever.

  I’m just kidding, of course. It is an idiotic strategy. It hands your enemy a free “get out of war-crimes tribunal” card. Meanwhile, the people you are purporting to be fighting for are getting slaughtered by the tens of thousands. But whatever … as long as it boosts your cred among the other “legitimate armed resisters,” who cares how many families get wasted? After all, it’s not your fault! It’s the oppressors! The Zionists! The Americans! Or whoever.

  Seriously, though, I am feeling a bit nostalgic for the 1970s, when at least you could have a real argument over tactics with your revolutionary comrades instead of hearing mindless gibberish like this …

  

  Yes, you actually just read those words, “they never killed anyone with an intent to kill.” And Lena’s note is not at all an anomaly. I have been hearing this gibberish for seven months now.

  So, thanks, all my radical anti-Zionist friends and colleagues who have been pumping out this narrative, and all the thought-terminating clichés, and conducting Anti-Zionist Inquisitions, and so on! Well done! I’m pretty sure all the folks like Lena who you have helped to transform into a mass of mindless Pavlovian robots will never, ever, be turned against us, like, you know, the next time the Powers That Be come up with an irresistible stimulus!

  

  I mean, what are the odds of that ever happening?

  *  *  *

  Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 23:00

• 1 In 7 American Kids Live In Poverty
  1 In 7 American Kids Live In Poverty

  More than 11 million children were estimated to be living in poverty in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data published by the Children’s Defense Fund.

  That equates to around one in seven children in the U.S., or 15.3 percent. It’s a high toll, and one even higher than the adult population, which was 10.5 percent for 19-64 year olds that year and 10.3 percent for adults aged 65+.

  According to an analysis by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, this difference is due to factors such as the “cost of caregiving and its responsibilities, transitions to a single parenthood household, unemployment of parents, and disabilities of family members.”

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, poverty levels are disproportionately higher among non-White populations.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  American Indian/Alaska Native children were particularly overrepresented, with 29.1 percent of this group living in poverty in 2021, followed closely behind by Black children at 27.1 percent, versus a comparatively low 8.8 percent of white children.

  In terms of absolute numbers, Hispanic children were the biggest group, with 4,168,000 registered as poor in 2021, according to the source, or 37.4 percent of all children who were in poverty.

  Other patterns in the data highlighted by the Childrens’ Defense Foundation include the regional divide, with the South showing a child poverty prevalence of nearly 20 percent, or one in five children. This drops to below 15 percent in the Northeast, Midwest and West (closer to one in seven).

  Perhaps the starkest figure though, is for children living in a single female-headed household, where nearly four in ten (37.1 percent) were living in poverty in 2021.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 22:40

• Palestinians Stranded In Gaza After Paying Egypt $5,000 Each To Flee
  Palestinians Stranded In Gaza After Paying Egypt $5,000 Each To Flee

  Via Middle East Eye

  The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been closed indefinitely since the Israeli military seized the crossing on 7 May, a closure which has left thousands of Palestinians in limbo. Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October, and the subsequent closure of all other crossings, the Rafah crossing with Egypt has been the only passageway for civilians fleeing the conflict.

  An Egyptian company with exclusive control on exits and transfers via the terminal had been charging Palestinians at least $5,000 per adult and $2,500 per child to cross to the Egyptian side. In April, Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, a firm owned by Sinai tribal leader and business tycoon Ibrahim al-Organi, made at least $2m per day from Palestinians, Middle East Eye has revealed.

  

  Now, those who were due to travel in May after paying thousands of dollars in advance have no clear means of getting a refund. And they do not know if they will ever leave Gaza via Egypt, as Cairo has refused to work with Israel to operate the crossing. 

  Samer, 29, paid Hala $20,000 before Israel shut the Rafah crossing. He wanted to leave Gaza along with his new wife and his elderly and sick parents. To raise the money, he had to borrow from friends and family, and sell his car and all his electronic goods. 

  “I cannot believe that as soon as I got the money and was supposed to travel three days after the invasion, I am still here,” he told Middle East Eye. “I feel like a rat in a box running around trying to find an exit, and as soon as I see a hole in the box, someone shuts it.”

  People are unsure when they might get their money back, or how to reach out to Hala for assistance. Hala has yet to provide a clear communication channel or timeline for resolving these issues, and does not respond to emails or social media messages.

  The company did not release any official statement or comment to explain to thousands of Palestinian customers what they needed to do to either obtain a refund or keep their names registered. An employee from Hala told MEE on condition of anonymity: “We are overwhelmed with calls and complaints. The company is trying to figure out a solution, but we don’t have any concrete answers at the moment.”

  Hala’s official Facebook page is full of messages from Palestinians asking how they can get a refund, and asking what will happen if the borders remain shut. Others asked anyone who managed to get a response from Hala to share the information, as all their attempts to contact the office had failed.

  Thousands of Palestinians are believed to be in the same position. The daily lists published by Hala in April showed that between 300-400 Palestinians left via the Rafah crossing on a daily basis. Applicants register and pay for these lists weeks in advance.

  Tough choices

  Sahar, 36, has a close relative in Egypt who registered her for travelling with Hala’s office in Cairo. Sahar was supposed to leave Gaza on the same day Israel invaded the crossing. 

  When her sister went to the Hala office, she was told that they could issue a refund, but she would have to wait some time to receive it. However, when – and if – the Rafah crossing reopens, Sahar will have to go through the registration process all over again, and the company would not guarantee her exit then.

  🇪🇬 People in Egypt tore up posters of President Sisi after the Rafah border crossing was closed 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/SBOdQPcU6c

  — S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) May 24, 2024

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

  “I decided not to get a refund. I just want to know that if the crossing reopens ever again, I have a way out. I had already said my goodbyes the night before the invasion,” she told MEE. “We should not be paying money to leave to begin with. Now, even when we manage to get the money, we cannot leave.”

  Yosef, 39, paid $13,000 to Hala before the Israeli operation, to travel with his wife and two children. Yosef’s wife sold all her gold jewelry to pay the travel fees. She had always thought she would sell the gold to use as a down payment for a house in Gaza City. 

  “I am torn between two tough choices. Either ask for a refund, which takes a long time to get, but that means if the border opens again we lose our ‘turn’ and we will have to go on a waiting list again,” Yosef told MEE.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 22:20

• Iran's Military Concludes No Foul Play In Raisi Helicopter Crash
  Iran’s Military Concludes No Foul Play In Raisi Helicopter Crash

  A preliminary report produced by Iran’s military has found no evidence of criminal activity or foreign interference in last Sunday’s helicopter crash that killed the late President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, according to state media.

  The report was produced by the general staff of the armed forces, and it states Raisi’s helicopter “caught fire after hitting an elevated area” and found no traces of “bullet holes” on the helicopter among the wreckage.

  

  The aircraft had been flying on a “pre-planned route and did not leave the designated flight path” before the crash into the side of a mountain, official IRNA news agency reports.

  “No suspicious content was observed during the communications between the watch tower and the flight crew,” the findings concluded. The final radio communications between the presidential helicopter and two others flying nearby occurred one-and-half minutes before the crash.

  The “complexity of the area, fog and low temperature” had also hindered the search and rescue efforts, which took hours. The site had been located with the help of an advanced drone sent by Turkey’s military which has thermal imaging capabilities.

  Initially, when news first hit international press reports that Raisi was ‘missing’ – Iranian state media reported the incident as a mere “hard landing” and strongly suggested that at least some aboard survived. However, as hours passed and conflicting information emerged, Iran’s Supreme Leader made statements preparing the population for the worst, telling them to “pray”. 

  Almost immediately as news broke of the crash Sunday, the question was raised: was Israel or another foreign enemy of Tehran behind this? As if anticipating this, and given the volatility of the Mideast region at this tense moment, Israeli officials issued statements rejecting any suggestion of its involvement.

  This was the first question on the minds of many when news of the helicopter downing broke…

  Helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has crashed.

  Israel?????????? pic.twitter.com/SeNoHlRbqR

  — Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) May 19, 2024

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

  Additionally and perhaps most importantly Iran itself had never alleged any act of sabotage. From the start, the official explanation has focused on ‘technical failure’ and the hazards of low visibility weather.

  With other big incidents or assassinations (for example of Iranian nuclear scientists), Tehran officials haven’t been shy about pointing to foreign intelligence like Israel’s Mossad or the CIA. So if there was any evidence of a foreign plot, it is likely Tehran would have alleged it by now.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 22:00

• Trump Suggests Nikki Haley Will Be 'On Our Team In Some Form'
  Trump Suggests Nikki Haley Will Be ‘On Our Team In Some Form’

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

  Following her announcement that she would be voting for former President Donald Trump after challenging him in the Republican primaries this year, President Trump said he was sure that former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley would be joining his team in some capacity.

  

  Ms. Haley was previously the United Nations ambassador under President Trump’s first administration. She noted in her first remarks since dropping out of the race on May 22 that she would be supporting her former boss and opponent while calling President Joe Biden’s presidency a “catastrophe.”

  In a revealing interview with News 12 New York after a campaign rally in the Bronx, New York, President Trump responded to Ms. Haley’s recent public endorsement of him following her exit from the presidential race.

  When asked about the possibility of Ms. Haley being a part of his team or even his ticket, Trump responded positively. “Well, I think she’s going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts,” President Trump stated. “I appreciated what she said. You know, we had a nasty campaign, it was pretty nasty, but she’s a very capable person and I’m sure she’s going to be on our team in some form absolutely.”

  The endorsement marks a significant change in the public-facing relationship between the two despite the heated and often contentious primary battles. Ms. Haley’s change of tune suggests a more unified front by the GOP against the current administration, signaling a strategic move to consolidate conservative support ahead of the general election.

  Mr. Trump also declined to name his top three possible running mates in the interview but had previously noted that Ms. Haley was not on the list for his vice presidential running mate.

  The former president also said in a prior interview that he would likely make his announcement around the time of the GOP convention later this summer.

  Haley’s Endorsement

  Ms. Haley said during a conversation at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank where she is now the Walter P. Stern Chair, that, “I put my priorities on a president who’s going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border.”

  “No more excuses,” she said. “A president who would support capitalism and freedom. A president who understands we need less debt, not more debt. Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I’ve made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will be voting for Trump.”

  Ms. Haley has urged President Trump to engage with her supporters.

  Despite ending her campaign, she has still garnered support in GOP primaries. Last week, Ms. Haley notched 20 percent of the vote in the Maryland Republican primary and 18 percent in Nebraska. Earlier this month, she won 22 percent in the Indiana GOP primary.

  Ms. Haley has been critical of both Democrat and Republican approaches to foreign policy, particularly concerning Israel, Ukraine, and China’s potential threat to Taiwan. She emphasized the importance of addressing both domestic and foreign issues simultaneously to prevent enemies from gaining strength.

  In her speech at the Hudson Institute, Ms. Haley rebuked President Biden, the Democratic Party, and the GOP regarding foreign policy.

  Ms. Haley decried Democrats’ response to the war between Israel and Hamas. She cited President Biden’s decision to withhold some bombs and munitions over concerns about Israel using them in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where the last remaining Hamas battalions are believed to be operating.

  She also criticized President Biden’s response to the war in Ukraine, blaming him for not sending Kyiv what they needed.

  Ms. Haley warned that China is watching how the United States responds to the war in Ukraine and that it will either deter or encourage Beijing to invade Taiwan.

  Jackson Richman, Stacy Robinson, and Janice Hisle contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 21:40

• First McDonald's, Now Burger King Admits Consumers Are Broke With Planned Reintroduction Of $5 Meal Deal
  First McDonald’s, Now Burger King Admits Consumers Are Broke With Planned Reintroduction Of $5 Meal Deal

  A recent trend of mega corporations rolling back prices and reintroducing deals has emerged. Whether this is potentially due to pressure from the White House ahead of elections or, as Goldman pointed out, “Consumer caution mounts as cracks in resilience theme emerge,” there’s growing evidence that working poor consumers are struggling in the era of failed Bidenomics.

  About two weeks ago, after three years of ‘McFlation‘ that sent the price of combo meals as high as $18, McDonald’s weighed on new plans to reintroduce $5 combo meal deals. The report, initially from Bloomberg, specified the deal could include a McChicken or a McDouble, fries, and a drink. 

  Elsewhere, Walmart, Target, and Aldi have lowered prices on thousands of everyday items, including staple foods. This comes in response to a spending slowdown among cash-strapped working-poor consumers who are drowning in insurmountable credit card debt and drained personal savings amid elevated inflation. 

  Covering the faltering consumer theme have been the analysts at Goldman: 

  • The Largest US Trading Desk Is “Getting Bearish On The US Consumer”
  • Goldman Warns Consumers Are Cracking As Stagflation Threats Emerge
  • Goldman’s Commentary On Consumer Health Is An Ominous One

  The value war kicked off earlier this month as corporations strive to retain their customer base and prevent trade-downs or migrations to competitors. This is why McDonald’s meal deal push has prompted Burger King to offer a similar deal. 

  Bloomberg reported that Burger King is preparing to launch a $5 meal deal. The deal will include the choice of one of three sandwiches with nuggets, fries, and a drink. Franchisees approved the deal in April. 

  

  “Regardless of their plans, we are moving full speed ahead with our own plans to launch our own $5 value meal before they do — and run it for several months,” Burger King US and Canada President Tom Curtis wrote in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. 

  The bigger story is that mega-corporations are cutting prices and offering deals because, as Goldman has shown, working-poor consumers have hit a proverbial brick wall. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 21:20

• They Want To Scare You With Myths Of "Unhampered Capitalism"
  They Want To Scare You With Myths Of “Unhampered Capitalism”

  Authored by George Fo4rd Smith via The Mises Institute,

  Bad ideas are sometimes the hardest to dethrone. It’s probably accurate to say most people think of money as the paper currency printed by governments. And it is money in the sense that it functions as a medium of exchange, but is it sound? Is it vulnerable to inflation? Its very existence is evidence that it is, so why are so many people reluctant to switch to a money that isn’t?

  

  There any many myths surrounding hard money currencies, and one of them is that money, both its nature and supply, is best left to the alleged guardian of our rights, the state. The fact that money came into existence on the market, and that its ultimate form and supply were determined by economic law, is disregarded. Money matters belong to the state because the state, unlike the rest of us, is in a position to remove itself from market discipline. Since the state is necessary to our survival, the story goes, it cannot do its job unless it can control the growth of money. Money, therefore, must be of such a nature that its supply can grow in accordance with the orders of a state-appointed committee.

  Even the classical gold standard was under control of the state. When that control proved too limited for those eager for war, it was abandoned. The gold standard did not fail. States failed to keep the gold standard.

  When Keynes unloaded his General Theory on the world in 1936 it was a manifesto of state economic law. Free-market economists would critique his work, but capitalism untethered scared the public. After 1929 it became the devil in fine suits. The fact that even top economists and industry leaders failed to see the Crash coming was especially unnerving.

  Unaware of Austrian trade cycle theory, the public saw the market as an alluring evil, drawing people into its clutches with promises of riches then suddenly stripping them of their wealth. Fear, then, and not ideological persuasion led them to reject the market as it existed in the 1920s and along with it any notion that the unhampered market was self-regulating.

  Prior to US entry into World War I, the government and its media allies worked hard trying to convince Americans that Germany was a threat to civilization itself. No such effort was required to scare them about the Depression. Unlike the Germans who were over there, the Depression was very painfully over here.

  Robert Higgs’ outstanding book Neither Liberty Nor Safety: Fear, Ideology, and the Growth of Government underscores the importance of widespread fear for government growth. In his opening chapter, “Fear: The Foundation of Every Government’s Power,” he contends that, contrary to the positions of David Hume, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and others, public opinion is not the bedrock of government. Public opinion rests on something deeper and more primordial: fear. After the Great Crash, the man in the street feared the market, and the governments of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were eager to oblige. Gold, by then, had been corrupted enough to take the fall.

  Whether the public still feared the market six years later was immaterial because neither major party offered a free-market candidate for election. But FDR knew the importance of keeping the public uneasy. In his State of the Union address of 1936, he told listeners, “In thirty-four months we have built up new instruments of public power. In the hands of a people’s Government this power is wholesome and proper. In hands under control of an economic autocracy such power would provide shackles for the liberties of the people.”

  It’s difficult to believe Americans would fall for the notion of a wholesome people’s government, but the times were ripe for collectivist ideas as long as they were served up properly.

  FDR won reelection that year by a huge landslide.

  It’s been said that FDR saved capitalism by co-opting the radical left into his New Deal. Without FDR, in other words, we would be living under full fascism instead of quasi fascism. The free market was still useful, especially the name, but only if government-appointed bureaucrats regulated it, never mind the contradiction. Exactly which regulations were needed was a big unknown, but as a way of emphasizing the new in New Deal, government would experiment until it found the right combination. How would they know if the system of rugged individualism that favored the big guys was adequately harnessed? By looking at the economy. Every trouble spot, for the government, acted like a magnet, the attraction of which was in direct proportion to the potential votes at stake.

  The Highly Regulated Free Market

  So successful were FDR and his successors in saving capitalism that finding something today that isn’t taxed, regulated, subsidized, cartelized, forbidden, mandated, or bound like a mummy in endless red tape is a near impossibility. We can get a feel for the massive number of regulations the market is subjected to on the federal level alone by browsing the electronic version of the Code of Federal Regulations, updated daily by the Office of the Federal Register. Joe Biden, as president, has the whole economy in his hands. As Higgs points out, with passage of “the National Emergencies Act (1976) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (1977), nearly all economic liberties in this country exist at the sufferance of the president. If he decides to take over the economy, he possesses ample statutory power to do so.”

  What was once an economy with a strong element of freedom has become an economy of rent-seeking special interests, or as Albert Jay Nock expressed it, people using politics to gain an “uncompensated appropriation of wealth produced by others.” In accordance with Garet Garrett’s thesis of a revolution within the form and the word, the old names have been quite useful for getting people to look the wrong way, as we saw in 2008 when George W. Bush announced he was abandoning free-market principles to save the free market.

  The forgotten man of the Depression, whether Charles Sumner’s or FDR’s, was fearful, and considering the intellectual ammunition at his disposal, it’s easy to see why. But what can one say about today? Should people be fearful of the economic mess governments have created? Not necessarily. More people are beginning to understand, if only vaguely, that politics has brought the roof down, and that a sound economy is impossible without something politically indifferent supporting it: sound money.

  Austrian critics are debunking the claims about gold’s role in the Great Depression, pointing out that the straw-man gold exchange standard of the 1920s and early 1930s was another government solution destined to collapse. Ben Bernanke’s statement that the longer a country remained committed to gold, the deeper its depression and the later its recovery is being seen as grossly misleading, at best.

  (Earlier in his commentary Bernanke explained that the gold standard of the 1920s was a reconstituted version of the gold standard that had endured prior to World War I. Abandoning a pseudo–gold standard makes sense only if an honest monetary system replaces it. As it was, the country moved from one controlled system to one much worse.)

  Unlike the poor souls of the Depression era, anyone on planet earth who is wired and can read English (and certain other languages) can access a vast literature of economic theory, applications, and criticism from an Austrian School perspective at Mises.org. It would be impossible to deal with today’s misinformation without the many works of Austrian analysis, most of which are accessible to a lay audience. In their absence we could well be the fearful captives of an FDR simulator like Joe Biden.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 21:00

• Rents Are Plunging In These Major U.S. Cities
  Rents Are Plunging In These Major U.S. Cities

  As everybody knows, during the early phase of the pandemic, both single-family and multifamily rental prices surged, fueled by the shift to remote work and changing migration trends – not the least of which was getting the hell out of the city by any means necessary…

  But, as CNBC/NBC now notes, the dynamics affecting rental prices have since shifted.

  Multifamily rents in April dropped by 0.8% compared to the same month last year, according to Apartment List data. This decline was triggered by a significant influx of new units hitting the market, with additional developments expected.

  Despite this downturn, apartment rents experienced a marginal increase of 0.5% for the third consecutive month. This growth is modest, especially considering that rents typically start to climb in the spring.

  This year’s increase is not only smaller than usual but also less than the growth observed in the previous month, bringing the national median rent in April to $1,396.

  A report by Apartment List said: “This is typically the time of year when rent growth is accelerating heading into the busy moving season, so the fact that growth stalled this month could be a sign that the market is headed for another slow summer.”

  In fact, the report says that apartment vacancies have reached a peak not seen since August 2020, climbing to 6.7% as of March. While the issuance of new multifamily building permits is decelerating, the volume of units currently under construction remains near an all-time high, and last year witnessed the highest number of new apartments entering the market in more than three decades.

  On the other hand, single-family rents have exhibited more resilience, showing a 3.4% increase in March year-over-year, as reported by CoreLogic. However, this growth rate is gradually decreasing as build-for-rent companies continue to add more supply to the market.

  

  According to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of Census data, construction began on approximately 18,000 single-family homes designed for rent in the first quarter, up 20% from the first quarter of 2023.

  Over the past year, 80,000 such homes have started construction, marking a nearly 16% increase from the previous year.

  This robustness in single-family rents suggests that many potential homebuyers, deterred by rising mortgage rates—now back over 7%—and climbing home prices, are opting to rent houses instead.

  For the first time in 14 years, single-family attached homes, such as townhomes, have experienced a year-over-year rent decrease, highlighting a shift in the rental market dynamics

  • In the nation’s 20 largest cities, Seattle reported the highest annual increase in single-family rents at 6.3%, followed by New York at 5.3% and Boston at 5.2%.

  • On the decline were Austin, Texas with a 3.5% decrease, Miami with a 3.2% drop, and New Orleans, falling 1.4%.

  Molly Boesel, principal economist for CoreLogic, added: “U.S. single-family rent growth strengthened overall in March, though some weaknesses are revealed in the latest numbers. Overbuilt areas, such as Austin, Texas, continued to soften, decreasing by 3.5% annually in March.”

  She added: “The decrease in the attached segment is being driven by a subset of markets, mostly in Florida, but including Austin and New Orleans. As multifamily apartments are being completed, some markets are gaining rental supply, which competes with the attached segment of the single-family rental market.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 20:40

• Lula's Brazil: A Cautionary Tale For Free Speech In The West
  Lula’s Brazil: A Cautionary Tale For Free Speech In The West

  Authored by Paulo Figueiredo via The Epoch Times,

  The notion of censoring political opponents is as old as civilization itself. Throughout history, countless governments have employed this tactic to silence dissent and maintain their grip on power. From ancient Rome to modern-day dictatorships, the suppression of free speech has been a hallmark of authoritarian rule. Even today, censorship remains a pervasive force in countries such as China, where the Great Firewall restricts access to information; North Korea, where the state maintains an iron grip on all forms of media; and Russia, where journalists and activists face severe consequences for speaking out against the government.

  However, in the West, the Enlightenment ideas championed by British thinkers like John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Thomas Paine paved the way for a radical departure from this oppressive tradition. Their writings, which emphasized the importance of individual liberty and the free exchange of ideas, inspired the groundbreaking “American experiment.” The adoption of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which unequivocally protects freedom of speech, marked a turning point in human history. This bold move proved successful, as greater freedom of expression fostered innovation, enhanced legal security, improved government accountability, and ultimately led to increased prosperity.

  The Western world took notice and followed suit, giving rise to the so-called “Free World.” In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, enshrining the right to freedom of expression for all. While this development was not without its challenges—as it allowed for the dissemination of harmful and malicious ideologies like Nazism and communism—the consensus remained that the spread of bad ideas posed a lesser threat than the dangers of censorship. As the famous saying goes, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

  However, this trend is now reversing at an alarming rate. In a recent hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski warned of an escalating trend of censorship in countries once considered bastions of free speech. He cited examples such as France, where the government has cracked down on so-called “hate speech,” and Germany, where social media companies face hefty fines for failing to remove “illegal content” within 24 hours. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have also introduced controversial laws that could stifle free expression.

  But perhaps the most egregious example of this troubling trend is Brazil. According to Elon Musk, no country where X (formerly Twitter) operates experiences a worse state of censorship than Brazil, a nation until recently regarded as the largest liberal democracy in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 2019, the powerful Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, now infamous, has been conducting his investigation dubbed the “Fake News Probe.” This probe has targeted hundreds of individuals, most recently including Elon Musk himself, for allegedly spreading “disinformation.”

  

  The consequences of this investigation have been severe. Numerous people, including journalists like me, have had their social media accounts blocked, passports revoked, and financial assets frozen.

  Others have faced even harsher fates, including imprisonment—all under the guise of “combating disinformation” and “protecting democracy.”

  Glenn Greenwald, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-founder of The Intercept, has been one of the most vocal critics of this crackdown. In a recent article, he wrote, “The level of repression and censorship in Brazil is staggering. It’s a country that has really become a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power and the erosion of civil liberties.”

  When leftist Lula da Silva resumed the Brazilian presidency in 2023, he realized that, thanks to the precedent set by Justice Moraes, he now wielded censorship powers he did not possess during his first two terms (2003–2010).

  He gained the ability to criminally prosecute any speech that contradicted the government’s narrative. This became evident in the aftermath of this month’s devastating floods in southern Brazil, a catastrophe surpassing the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

  As government aid was delayed, federal agencies displayed immense incompetence, and bureaucratic hurdles even led to fines being imposed on trucks carrying donations from civil society, information and videos exposing these facts began to circulate on social media and some news outlets. Independent journalists and opposition politicians, such as Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, shared these videos and information, only to be met with Lula da Silva’s response, labeling the criticism as “fake news” and “disinformation” amid a calamitous situation. The Brazilian government ordered the Federal Police to open an investigation into the matter, targeting even members of Congress.

  The Brazil of Lula da Silva and Justice Moraes serves as a stark reminder to the world of a lesson that should have been learned long ago: It is foolish and naive to believe that censorship will be “temporary” or “restricted.” Once a government succeeds in establishing a Ministry of Truth and dictating what can and cannot be said, it will inevitably use these powers to silence any genuine opposition. When governments arrogate to themselves the power to determine what is true and what is false, they open the door to tyranny. It is a slippery slope that leads inexorably to the suppression of dissent and the erosion of democracy. Until recently, this was a point of consensus among liberals and conservatives alike. It appears that is no longer the case.

  For in the immortal words of George Orwell, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” The events unfolding in Brazil should serve as a warning to us all.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 20:20

• NYC Tourists Expected To Generate $4.9 Billion In Tax Revenue For The City
  NYC Tourists Expected To Generate $4.9 Billion In Tax Revenue For The City

  While residents and businesses continue to pour out of New York City in favor of tax-friendlier locations, tourists appear to be doing all the heavy lifting in helping the city raise tax revenue. 

  Now, revenue generated by tourists is higher than it was pre-pandemic, with Bloomberg reporting that the 62.2 million people who visited New York City last year were expected to post a record $4.9 billion in sales and other tourism-related tax revenue.

  This marks a 16% hike from 2020, which has been driven by – you guessed it – higher prices. 

  The pandemic, which started in early 2020, severely impacted New York City, collapsing the office and retail sectors and driving many residents to relocate to the suburbs or other states. However, the city has been witnessing a gradual economic revival, marked by the return of visitors to Broadway, museums, and other attractions, Bloomberg writes.

  Despite initial hopes by tourism officials to exceed pre-pandemic visitor numbers this year, a slower recovery in international travel has postponed these expectations to 2025. By then, the city anticipates welcoming 68 million visitors, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

  

  International tourists, who constitute about 20% of the city’s annual visitors, saw a dramatic 82.2% decline in 2020, dropping to 2.4 million mainly due to severe travel restrictions and a significant decrease in visitors from China, where the virus first emerged. Last year, this number recovered to 11.6 million, though it remains 14.1% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

  Domestically, U.S. tourists have been the main drivers of the recovery, with 50.6 million visiting the city last year, a 7% increase over 2022. However, business travel, including both domestic and international, is rebounding more slowly than leisure travel. It decreased to 400,000 in 2021 from 3.4 million in 2019, and has since climbed to about 2.3 million, the report says. 

  Furthermore, the New York City tourism sector is still experiencing a shortfall of approximately 30,000 jobs, down 10.4% from its pre-pandemic strength, as per DiNapoli’s report.

  Despite these challenges, New York continues to be the premier U.S. tourist destination. In 2023, it led with 33 million overnight visitors, outpacing Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which attracted 26 million and 21 million overnight visitors respectively.

  DiNapoli concluded: “The industry’s full recovery won’t be complete until we see a full return of international and business travelers. Our city and state leaders need to focus on keeping New York a desirable and safe destination for individuals and families from around the world.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 20:00

• No, Artificial Intelligence Will Not Solve All Problems
  No, Artificial Intelligence Will Not Solve All Problems

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  The famed historian and epidemiologist John M. Barry just threw out a trope that has become unbearably popular today. He predicted that in the future, artificial intelligence (AI) will make it possible to more perfectly enact pandemic lockdowns and develop vaccines.

  “Artificial intelligence will perhaps be able to extrapolate from mountains of data which restrictions deliver the most benefits—whether, for example, just closing bars would be enough to significantly dampen spread—and which impose the greatest cost,” he writes.

  “AI should also speed drug development.”

  Maybe if you are an expert in anything these days and write in The New York Times, this is just what you say today to seem hip and with it, even if you have no idea what you are talking about. That’s the most likely reason.

  Even so, this constant invocation of AI as the future solution to all problems is getting extremely annoying.

  

  Can you imagine a world in which AI demands that your favorite local watering hole needs to shut? I can easily imagine it. I can also imagine local media citing AI as the final authority such that no human arguments can get in the way.

  There is nothing new under the sun.

  Every time a fancy new technology appears on the horizon, the experts emerge from the firmament to assure us that it will solve every human problem in the future.

  And they always advocate that it be made the core of government policy, thus fixing all the problems with government that everyone has known from all ages. Thanks to this brilliant thing, it will be different this time.

  This is exactly what happened with computers, starting in the mid-1950s once they became available. The new claim was everywhere: Computers would make the central planning called socialism possible. This claim was conjured up as an answer to an intractable problem that had vexed intellectuals since the 1920s.

  Here is a bit of background on that controversy. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, socialists were running around saying that they could rework economic life in a way to make all things function more efficiently and with even greater economic growth once we got rid of capitalistic systems.

  In 1922, Ludwig von Mises posed a very serious problem to the theory. If you collectivize the capital stock, you eliminate trading across the board for all capital goods. That means that none will carry a market price that signals relative scarcities. Without those, you cannot have accurate accounting. Without that, you will not gain a precise reading of profits and losses, so you will have no idea if what you are doing is efficient or wildly wasteful.

  Not only that, you won’t have any clue of how to produce anything with any kind of effectiveness. You will end up just barking orders in an economic environment of pure chaos. “There is only groping in the dark,” he wrote. In short, the whole society will fall apart.

  The socialists were confounded by the critique. In fact, they never really answered it in any compelling way. Not only that but the reality of communism in Russia seemed to confirm as true everything that Mises said. The “war communism” imposed by Vladimir Lenin achieved nothing but starvation and waste. In short, it was a total disaster.

  That didn’t mean that the attempt to centrally plan economies went away. Instead, they just kept trying. But following World War II, they had a fancy new tool: the computer. We don’t need market-generated prices anymore. Now we only need to plug in resource availability and consumer demand into the computer and it will spit out the answer concerning how much to produce of what and how.

  Oddly, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, who was very keen to get the economy actually making stuff that was useful to people, trusted these new fools and attempted the solution of asking the computer for answers to problems. You don’t need to be told the results. It didn’t work. The computer was, and is always, garbage in and garbage out. There is simply no substitute for market prices generated through the roil and toil of trading and price discovery.

  Sadly, it took many decades for people to finally concede that Mises was right all along.

  But no lessons last forever in a world where human arrogance runs rampant. So now we are being lectured that artificial intelligence will solve all the problems associated with pandemic planning that we discovered from 2020 to 2022. Don’t worry about it! We’ll just ask ChatGPT what to do!

  The same problem presents itself: garbage in and garbage out.

  Mr. Barry’s idea is that we simply plug in seroprevalence levels in a community, hoping to get a picture of disease spread, along with transmission and infection fatality rates, and AI will reveal the costs and benefits of shutting things down. Will it generate the right answer? No, because there is no one answer, not for communities and not for individuals.

  The costs of shutdowns will be more seriously felt, for example, by the bar owner than the patron. The supposed benefits cannot be summed up as failing to get infected since exposure (and not just vaccination) is a path toward immunity. There are conditions in which exposure offers a better risk-benefit ratio than waiting for a vaccine, especially one that does not work.

  Plus, we found out last time that we have no real way to get an accurate read on exposure, certainly not with PCR exams that measure the presence of particular pathogens and not actual sickness. And the testing itself is a problem: People despise the tests today, and rightly so. The only need to test is if you are sick, and only then to better guide the appropriate response. We have never imposed population-wide testing in order to know whether and to what extent to lock down whole populations.

  In so many ways, the epidemiological models that imposed lockdowns on us in 2020 and following were born of the same primitive analytical tools that drove central planning models in the 1950s. In them, everything seems to work perfectly on paper. The trouble comes when you try to impose the same models on real life. The data is incomplete and inaccurate, the assumptions about spread are wrong, and the mutations in the pathogen will typically outwit the planners’ intentions.

  In other words, pandemic planning fails for the same reasons that central economic planning fails. The world is too fast-moving and complicated for the models to capture and control all of the necessary conditions. But admitting that is not usually the habit of governments and their intellectual advisers. They cannot stand to confess their own ignorance, impotence, and incompetence in the face of real-world conditions.

  As a result, we now have the pandemic planners toying with the idea that AI will save their bacon, following a catastrophic experience in letting them have their way last time. The truth is that the next pandemic plan will fail just as badly as the last one, no matter how many computer programs the planners throw at the problem. The real pathogen among elite government planners and intellectuals has a much deeper root: The problem is hubris.

  AI has its uses, but substituting for actual human action and intelligence is not one of them. It can never happen. If we attempt that—and surely we will—the result will be disappointing at best.

  F.A. Hayek said that economic planning by government embodies a pretense of knowledge. That’s nothing compared with the ambition of governments throughout the world to control and manage the whole of the microbial kingdom. There is nothing that AI can do to achieve that. And like communism, the attempt only creates nothing but destruction.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 19:40

• Penn Protestor Who Claims She Was Left 'Homeless' Is Daughter Of Affluent Celebrity Game Show Host
  Penn Protestor Who Claims She Was Left ‘Homeless’ Is Daughter Of Affluent Celebrity Game Show Host

  One Penn encampment student who claimed to have been left ‘homeless’ by the administration’s ‘violence’ has been found to be the daughter of a jet-setting, caviar eating business owning parents. 

  University of Pennsylvania sophomore Eliana Atienza was placed on mandatory leave for participating in an encampment on Penn’s campus, according to the Free Beacon.

  She then went on to tell the Philadelphia Inquirer that she was the real victim, and that she had been left homeless with no family in the United States to turn to. 

  In an Instagram post, she wrote: “I live on campus. The university has barred me from entering. In other words—the university has made me houseless.”

  

  “I am also an international student. The University knows this,” she added. “This is their weapon. So disappointed to be attending an institution that resorts to administrative violence.”

  But it turns out her father is “Kuya Kim,” who the Free Beacon called “a celebrity television presenter who has hosted the country’s most popular morning and game shows.”

  It was also reveled that her grandfather is a notable Filipino politician Lito Atienza. He held the position of deputy speaker in the country’s House of Representatives until 2022, at which point he entered the vice presidential race alongside boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

  Atienza’s mother, a graduate of the Wharton School, is the founder and former head of the Chinese International School Manila, a private K-12 school.

  Meanwhile, Atienza’s father is unapologetic about displaying his affluence. He recently posted photos on Instagram from a luxurious first-class flight featuring caviar service and a full shower.

  

  Recognized as one of the Philippines’ most familiar TV personalities by British magazine Tatler, he has also televised tours of his home, highlighting his unique collections which include dinosaur eggs, mid-century modern chairs, and vintage motorcycles, featuring two BMWs from World War II.

  Atienza herself also recently posted photos of a trip she took to Antarctica.

  

  Atienza, an environmental studies major, became a prominent figure in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that disrupted campus life for over two weeks.

  Earlier in the month, she was among the students who engaged in negotiations with interim president Larry Jameson to dismantle the encampment, as reported by the Inquirer.

  Atienza rejected Jameson’s tentative offers, criticizing them as mere promises to “look into the feasibility” of divesting from Israel by entangling student protesters in “endless meetings and task forces and discussions and committees.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 19:20

• Political Consultant Faces $6 Million Fine For Fake Biden Robocalls
  Political Consultant Faces $6 Million Fine For Fake Biden Robocalls

  Authored by Jana Pruet via The Epoch Times,

  New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced on Thursday that Steven Kramer had been indicted on more than two dozen charges for allegedly sending artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice to voters ahead of the New Hampshire presidential primary earlier this year.

  “New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that our elections remain free from unlawful interference, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” Mr. Formella said.

  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a $6 million fine for Mr. Kramer, 54, a Louisiana-based political consultant who is indicted on 13 counts of felony voter suppression and 13 counts of misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate.

  “The Federal Communications Commission will separately be announcing an enforcement action against Mr. Kramer based on violations of federal law,” the attorney general continued. “I am pleased to see that our federal partners are similarly committed to protecting consumers and voters from harmful robocalls and voter suppression. I hope that our respective enforcement actions send a strong deterrent signal to anyone who might consider interfering with elections, whether through the use of artificial intelligence or otherwise.”

  Mr. Kramer has admitted to orchestrating the AI-generated voice similar to the president’s and using the phrase ‘What a bunch of malarkey’ in the call that was sent to thousands of voters.

  

  The voice also falsely suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in the general election in November.

  Voters who received the robocall message were allegedly asked to “save [their] vote for the November election.” The message also stated, “[y]our vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday,” according to the attorney general’s office.

  “We will act swiftly and decisively to ensure that bad actors cannot use the telecommunications networks to facilitate the misuse of generative AI technology to interfere with elections, defraud consumers, or compromise sensitive data,” Loyann Egal, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau chief, said in a statement.

  The charges were filed across four counties, including Rockingham, Belknap, Grafton, and Merrimack, based on the residence of the thirteen identified voters who received the robocalls.

  Telecom Company Also Faces Fine

  In a separate announcement, the FCC proposed a $2 million fine in a “first-of-its-kind enforcement action” against Lingo Telecom, the company accused of transmitting the robocalls, for violating federal caller identification authentication rules.

  “Two days before the New Hampshire 2024 presidential primary election, illegally spoofed and malicious robocalls carried a deepfake audio recording of President Biden’s cloned voice telling prospective voters not to vote in the upcoming primary,” the FCC said on Thursday. “The inaccurate and misleading calls also transmitted the caller ID number of an unknowing local political operative.”

  Texas-based Lingo Telecom is accused of not applying protocols to verify the accuracy of the customer’s information and failing to use certain standards mandated by the commission that serve as a “digital identifier for each call to empower tracebacks of suspicious calls, inform robocall blocking tools, and support more reliable caller ID information for consumers.”

  “We will hold providers accountable for failing to know their customers and for failing to uphold the rules we have in place to protect the American public,” Mr. Egal said.

  In February, the FCC issued a cease-and-desist letter against the telecom company, demanding it “immediately stop supporting unlawful robocall traffic on its networks.”

  FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the FCC is working with attorneys general nationwide to combat the use of AI in spreading false information.

  “Consumers deserve to know that the person on the other end of the line is exactly who they claim to be,” Ms. Rosenworcel said in a statement earlier this year. “That’s why we’re working closely with State Attorneys General across the country to combat the use of voice cloning technology in robocalls being used to misinform voters and target unwitting victims of fraud.”

  The investigation into the AI-generated robocalls impersonating President Biden, including other possible responsible parties, remains ongoing.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 19:00

• Putin Wants Ceasefire Which Freezes Current Lines In Ukraine
  Putin Wants Ceasefire Which Freezes Current Lines In Ukraine

  President Vladimir Putin is offering a ceasefire with Ukraine and its Western backers to end what has long been a full-fledged proxy war. But it’s unlikely to be agreed to by Kiev as he reportedly wants to freeze current positions.

  “Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire – to freeze the war,” a senior Russian source said to be close to the Russian leader told Reuters. If it happened, Putin would most certainly present this as ‘victory’ to his people and to the world.

  

  Putin himself told a press conference Friday that peace talks with Ukraine should be renewed, but they “must reflect realities on the ground.“

  Reuters writes that “Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin’s entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had expressed frustration to a small group of advisers about what he views as Western-backed attempts to stymie negotiations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to rule out talks.”

  Any scenario which sees current lines frozen would mean Ukraine would have to cede substantial chunks of four Ukrainian regions. And in Kharkiv, for example, where a new Russian offensive is taking place, the border has been moved deeper into Ukrainian territory over the last weeks.

  But Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out ceasefire negotiations with Moscow so long as Putin remains in power, calling this “impossible”. 

  The fact that the US just recently passed Biden’s $61 billion in new defense aid for Ukraine also provides less incentive for Zelensky to come to the table, even if Ukraine continues losing many troops.

  Ukraine media and officials have charged that any Putin ceasefire offer is in the end a ploy meant to buy time to reenforce and resupply his troops, and to solidify current battlefield gains.

  If the lines were frozen today, what would it look like? Forbes outlines:

  • Russia occupies about 18% of Ukraine, including parts of the country’s four southeastern regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson—according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S.-based think tank.

  • Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Reuters Russia did not want “eternal war,” adding Russia would not return territory in those four regions to Ukraine because they are now a permanent part of Russia.

  • Three sources suggested Putin would be against further advances into Ukraine because it would require another nationwide mobilization, after a previous call-up resulted in a dip in popularity for Putin.

  

  Putin is now said to be of the view that “gains in the war so far were enough to sell a victory to the Russian people.”

  According to more from the new Reuters report, “the sources said that Putin, re-elected in March for a new six-year term, would rather use Russia’s current momentum to put the war behind him. They did not directly comment on the new defense minister.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 18:40

• House Republicans Take Aim At Biden Energy Policies, Vow To Install "Different Vision" In 2025
  House Republicans Take Aim At Biden Energy Policies, Vow To Install “Different Vision” In 2025

  Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

  The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee staged its 15th review in the last 15 months of the Biden administration’s energy policies during a two-hour May 23 hearing that Democrats say was orchestrated more as a forum for election-year rhetoric than for a sober assessment of energy policy and Department of Energy (DOE) spending proposals.

  

  DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm was grilled over administration plans to domestically source critical minerals, adopt conservation standards for appliances, advance commercial nuclear power, restore the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, boost electric grid reliability, provide billions in subsidies for renewable energies, its liquid natural gas (LNG) export-permit “pause,” and even how it deals with UFO sightings around power plants.

  Much of Ms. Granholm’s give-and-take with panelists was more semantics than substance, such as lengthy exchanges with Reps. Clay Higgins (R-La.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) on whether the administration’s January “pause” in new LNG export permits is, in effect, a “ban.”

  Under the Natural Gas Act’s (NGA) Section 3, the DOE is required to review applications for import or export of natural gas, including LNG, to or from a foreign country and approve those deemed “consistent with the public interest.”

  Advances in fracking spurred a natural gas boom. Before 2016, the U.S. did not export LNG. By 2023, it was the world’s top LNG exporter. This year, LNG exports will top 12 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) and are expected to increase to 14 Bcfd in 2025—all records, Ms. Granholm said, noting repeatedly that the “pause” does not affect operating and already approved LNG exports.

  “By the time all authorized projects currently under construction are complete later this decade, our export capacity is set to reach over 26 Bcfd, more than double our current level of exports,” she said. “The United States will have more LNG export capacity than any other country by more than 40 percent, even taking into account announced capacity additions in other countries.”

  Mr. Higgins and other panel Republicans said the DOE overstepped its statutory authority in unilaterally ordering a permitting pause to determine if increasing LNG exports serves “the public interest” in ensuring ample domestic supply keeps prices competitive and maintains the administration’s overriding goals in reducing carbon emissions.

  “Why have you issued a long-term ban on export permit approvals prior to determining whether or not exporting LNG is within the public interest?” he asked.

  “Number one, we have not issued a ban. Number two, it is not long-term. It is a pause to update our assessment,” Ms. Granholm said. “The assessment will be done by the first quarter of next year. It is not a ban, sir.”

  “It is a ban,” Mr. Higgins said, claiming he was “not going to get a straight answer” from the secretary, “which is not a bad answer,” and read into the record the NGA’s Section 3, which states DOE “shall issue such an order upon application unless, after opportunity for a hearing … that the proposed exportation or importation will not be consistent with the public interest.”

  There was no such hearing or determination, he said, so the NGA’s language states, by default, that export permits “shall be” issued unless deemed not in the public interest in a hearing. The Obama administration conducted a similar 2014-15 assessment without pausing permits, he added.

  “You do not have the authority, nor the precedence, to take the actions that you have, indeed, taken,” Mr. Higgins said. “This pause jeopardizes billions of dollars of interest, American jobs, American families, and a clean reliable energy source that contributes to our national security and energy security and world security by allies. This is yet another illegal action by the Biden administration being forced upon we the people.”

  Ms. Granholm said under NGA’s Section 3, the sharp increase in LNG exports provides the statutory authority to conduct a “public interest” review, repeating again it will be done by February 2025 and does not affect any permits already approved.

  “You have put in a pause and you saying it’s in the ‘public interest,’” Mr. Donalds said. “But you can’t really identify what the ‘public interest’ is because it’s in the ‘public’s interest’ for prices to go down. It is in America’s ‘public interest’ to limit the ability of the Russian regime to earn more money on the open market with their resources. Wouldn’t you agree with that?”

  No, Ms. Granholm said. Determining “public interest” is what the review is about, she said.

  “I would argue, madam secretary, that the pause that you are doing is against the law because you have not finalized your parameters, what you’re looking at” in defining “public interest,” Mr. Donalds said. “You do need to execute the permits that are waiting.”

  A model of an LNG tanker is seen in front of the U.S. flag in this illustration taken May 19, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

  Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Republicans were asking the same questions they’ve asked for months, with this hearing more about campaign sound bites than a substantive discussion on energy policy.

  What impact will the pause have on current LNG exports into “the foreseeable future?” Mr. Raskin asked, hoping to “restore some sense of proportion and reality to the conversation.”

  “It has absolutely no impact on any exports happening now,” Ms. Granholm said. “We have authorized 48 billion cubic feet of export of liquefied natural gas—48 billion. That is three times what we are currently exporting. We have authorized another 22 billion (cubic feet)” for export from terminals and projects under construction.”

  The “oversight” hearings aren’t about accountability, efficiency, and cost-savings, Mr. Raskin said, but to provide forums for Republicans to tout opposition to the Biden administration’s “war on energy’” and make “convoluted rhetorical claims” that make for good campaign sound bites, but not for thoughtful discussion.

  But elections have consequences, and winning the House in the 2022 midterms put GOP chairs in committees, and they will tort their opposition to the Biden administration’s “green energy obsession” as often as they can.

  Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Republicans, not Democrats, are seeking substantive answers to energy policy questions that have dominated Congress since President Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021.

  Expect more such hearings into fall, he said.

  “While Democrats politicize energy and target American producers,” gasoline prices and electricity costs have increased by 30 percent since 2021, he said.

  “Congressional Republicans share a different vision for America’s energy future,” Mr. Comer said. “We will not stand by silently about as an administration subverts America’s energy independence and demonizes this critical industry.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 18:20

• DARPA And DoD-Backed AI Chip Company Seeks To Raise $70 Million
  DARPA And DoD-Backed AI Chip Company Seeks To Raise $70 Million

  It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that DARPA is hurriedly throwing in with the ongoing AI trend…

  In fact, Bloomberg reported this week that the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for an additional $70 million to help further its “quest to develop an ultra-efficient chip for artificial intelligence technology”.

  It is backing a company called EnCharge AI Inc., which seeks to build chips specifically suited for AI.

  The company is pioneering in-memory computing—a technology mainly theoretical until recently that could significantly reduce the energy consumption of AI processing chips. It started from work conducted at Princeton. 

  CEO Naveen Verma, who is also a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton, noted that EnCharge was launched with substantial support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the DOD.

  The report says that this technology has the potential to perform data processing directly where it is stored, thereby conserving energy by eliminating the need to move data across different components.

  EnCharge is not alone in its research; major firms like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Intel Corp., and Samsung Electronics Co. are also exploring similar advancements.

  

  Currently, the U.S. government, emphasizing a shift towards boosting American manufacturing, has shown significant interest in such innovations, providing over $23 million in funding to EnCharge, with additional private investment nearing double that amount from entities including Raytheon Technologies’ venture arm.

  This is part of a broader initiative backing startups and enhancing the domestic production capabilities.

  In addition to the technology’s appeal to private sector firms, the U.S. government sees crucial applications in defense, particularly for running AI-driven military applications in power-constrained environments such as remote areas and aircraft, Verma explained.

  EnCharge is preparing for its next investment round and is in pursuit of strategic investors, although Verma did not disclose specifics about the funding discussions or the company’s valuation.

  The startup has already started deploying its chips, which are tailored not for training AI models like those of OpenAI or Anthropic, but for applications utilizing these models for predictive tasks.

  With a workforce of 50, EnCharge anticipates launching products manufactured by TSMC in the coming year and currently has customers evaluating its technology.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 18:00

• The Doom Of The Total State
  The Doom Of The Total State

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  We’ve been waiting for the big thoughts on the meaning of it all. Where does the crisis of our times fit into the historical trajectory? What does it all imply for how we should think about politics, culture, society, our lives, and our futures? A frustrating part of current intellectual life is that too few dare even to think much less write such big thoughts.

  I truly crave them. My own work, particularly my latest book “Life After Lockdown,” is fine but I’m not up to the task I hope for from others.

  This is why I’m absolutely thrilled by Auron MacIntyre’s wonderful new book “The Total State.” The author fully understands the essential dynamics of our time, including the calamitous failure of the great war on the virus. It’s not a book of epidemiology, thank goodness, but of sociology, history, and political theory. Therefore, he doesn’t miss the essential class element behind the disaster.

  As he clearly states, the COVID experience was all about the rights and privileges of the professional managerial class in government, media, and large corporations. They rigged the response to the virus in a way that maximized their safety and income, while exploiting those without power to serve their every need.

  

  The slogan was “We are all in this together” but the reality was of the working class stepping up to deliver goods and services to the elite classes until the vaccine could arrive. Then the new shot was forced on all those who had bravely faced the pathogen in order to get them biologically clean before being integrated back into society.

  The author gets this entirely correct, and I’m thrilled for it because so few authors do. But it is just a piece of his larger analysis, which is quite challenging. The essence of the thesis is in the subtitle: “How Liberal Democracies Become Tyrannies.” His view is not that they might, or can, or are in danger of becoming so with the wrong policy decisions. The thesis here is more bold than that. He says that they will and they must.

  Wow. Intrigued? I certainly was when I began the journey of this book.

  I read as someone with a classical liberal heart, a person with warm feelings for all the great Enlightenment thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries, a partisan fan of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, a person with tremendous affection for the achievements of the freedom project of the last several centuries but also a person deeply saddened by what’s become of it.

  MacIntyre does not hold that view. Not at all. He believes that the liberal project of the 17th and 18th centuries were the product of rationalistic arrogance, the belief that whole societies and cultures could be cajoled into a single model of organization by virtue of pieces of parchment, governmental architectures, slogans about human rights, and strict models of what defines the very notion of freedom and progress.

  He attempts to map out how the freedom of past centuries gradually mutated into the total state of today, a political order in which the entrenched and global bureaucratic elite face no limits to their power and ambition. He is not even slightly shocked that the center of the empire is the United States simply because the U.S. was the most successful deployment of the liberal democracy in history, and hence the one most vulnerable to the trajectory of arrogance, corruption, decadence, bloat, and hegemonic imposition without limit.

  Still intrigued? Read on.

  The journey begins with the neglected genius of Bertrand de Jouvenel, who traces the origins of freedom not with big declarations of human rights and democracy for all but with the insistence on the part of cultural centers for independence from state power. In European history, it was the minor royals, the landed gentry, the multigenerational centers of wealth and enterprise, and the keepers of faith that formed the real resistance to state power.

  De Jouvenel further argues that it is precisely these robust institutions of cultural and social power that keep state power at bay in a way that individuals on their own never could. When they die out, everyone becomes vulnerable to pillaging but higher powers. In his view, the sloganizing around individual rights and infinite choice and progress is but a masquerade that hides a power grab. When these mediating institutions are weakened, state power only grows.

  You might recognize this outlook as conventional old-world Tory theory, one that is anti-liberal at its core. That seems true in some respects but the journey has only begun as our author takes us through a highly competent tour of thinkers I doubt most students have encountered in generations, simply because they have been smeared as reflexively right-wing: Joseph de Maistre, Gaetano Mosca, Carl Schmitt, Vilfredo Pareto, James Burnham, and Samuel Francis.

  I will just say plainly that these thinkers are not my cup of tea. I’ve been severely critical of all of them for reasons I don’t need to explain here. That said, we must admit the following. Together they have provided the single most powerful attack on liberalism classically understood that has ever been marshaled. It’s not even obvious to me that it has been sufficiently answered by anyone, unless I’m missing something.

  The critique is this.

  Liberalism is a form of rationalism, one born of intellectuals rather than real human experience, a construct involving definitive propositions about how life should be conducted that is necessarily imperial in that it overrides the aims, ethos, and operations of all other organic institutions in society. It says, in essence, that you must think this way or hit the highway. In so doing, it tramples on religious traditions, familial aspirations, local folkways, tacit knowledge born of long experience, norms and manners of local communities, and diminishes the role of mediating structures in the social order.

  Liberalism, in this view, is a managerial project—like an architectural blueprint drawn up by someone who has only studied but never built anything—one requiring expertise to administer and hence experts and bureaucrats at all levels of society. But the people who inhabit these positions are relatively detached from the social order they presume to manage and hence their decision-making and interests are necessarily less knowledgeable and humane than they otherwise would be if people were truly left to their own devices.

  The critique is deepened by the observation that liberalism as a philosophy is necessarily devoid of genuine meaning of the sort that traditional religion seeks to provide. It extols the inherent glory of material achievement and progress but offers no real solace when it turns out—as it always does—that success alone does not fulfill deep human longings.

  In that sense, his view is that democratic liberalism is a false god that always fails. Having robbed people of a moral and faith-based center, liberalism is well-positioned to invade lives and communities with bureaucratic management while promoting dependency and arbitrary power.

  The author uses all the modern crises to illustrate his point: the COVID disaster, the U.S. proxy war with Russia, the imperialism of world bureaucracies, the hegemony of the administrative state and the impotence of the judiciary to control it, and so on.

  If all of this sounds dreadful—and it does indeed—there is some light on the other side: he predicts that the total state of the 21st century is destined to fail.

  “Liberal democracy made assumptions about human nature that were false. It outran the consequences for a long time because it was able to amass an unprecedented amount of wealth and power, but eventually the bill always comes due. Constitutions are not eternal guardians of the political will and states do not become objective and self-governing machines simply because rules get written down on a piece of paper. Man has not moved beyond either religion or politics. Questions of faith and sovereignty will continue to sit at the core of the human experience, just as they always have. Matters of meaning, identity, and existential conflict cannot be removed by the promise of cold objective reason and credentialed experts.”

  In this prediction, I sense that he is correct. The world state cannot work. The total state cannot work. The resistance of administrative totalitarianism is growing, as the population grows ever more impoverished, subjected, and inflamed in fury against the overlords who are not in hiding any longer. We know who they are. They are parading on TV every night, like a scene from District One in “The Hunger Games.”

  This is truly unsustainable.

  MacIntyre ends his book with some speculations about how all of this will unfold. His speculations are well thought out.

  Having mapped all of this out, I feel the need to register fundamental disagreement. I simply cannot accept his big theory. In fact, I see the whole apparatus as an unnecessary overreach. Liberalism is wholly defensible, not as an imperial and rationalistic product of intellectuals but as a simple aspiration for a society that can manage itself complete with mediating institutions, traditions, familial dynasties, and a state that is nearly invisible to daily life, something like what the United States experienced under the Articles of Confederation.

  I’m not nearly as pessimistic as he is about the whole liberal project. As an answer, I might propose the writings of Benjamin Constant, Adam Smith, and Lord Acton, while admitting that I do long for a longer and more pointed refutation of the tradition of thought that has so heavily informed this book. That said, I truly hope everyone will read this, and ironically hope you can learn from it while rejecting the darker features of the work.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/24/2024 – 17:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• US-UK Intelligence Warning: China Cyberthreats Pose 'Epoch-Defining' Challenge
  US-UK Intelligence Warning: China Cyberthreats Pose ‘Epoch-Defining’ Challenge

  Authored by James Gorrie via The Epoch Times,

  The cybersecurity wars between communist China and the West are raging, yet few people realize what’s really going on. That’s now changing.

  The Chinese regime’s ability to launch successful cyberattacks against American and British defenses is higher than it has ever been. New attack tactics, techniques, and protocols (TTPs) developed by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) cyber division are threatening the integrity and functionality of Western nations’ military communications, operations, and other critical systems.

  

  (L to R) MP Tim Loughton, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and MP Stewart McDonald during a press conference at the Centre for Social Justice in central London on March 25, 2024. The Chinese regime is believed to have targeted a group of senior MPs and peers with a fresh series of cyberattacks aimed at undermining UK democracy. (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

  That may be why the United States and the UK are now publicly speaking about these critical threats, warning the Chinese and other national threat actors with which they coordinate to cease these provocative attacks. To that point, American, British, and European officials have warned that the Chinese regime’s cyberattacks are both coercive and destabilizing. As an indication of just how serious those threats are, the UK summoned the Chinese ambassador as a formal response to the regime’s increasing cyber threats to the UK.

  UK: Defending Against China’s Cyberattacks Is ‘Top Priority’

  To underscore their concern, Anne Keast-Butler, director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK’s top-tier surveillance agency, said at a security conference in England’s city of Birmingham that responding to China’s cyber activities was “a top priority” for GCHQ. This isn’t the first time the UK government has had to confront Beijing about its illegal and threatening activities in cyberspace, but of late, it’s become a much bigger problem.

  In fact, last month, British Prime Minister Rushi Sunak said Chinese hackers working for the CCP were running “malicious cyber campaigns” against UK lawmakers and UK media and were also responsible for a hack on the British Armed Forces’ payments system. The prime minister spoke further about the cyber threats, saying his country faced an “axis of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China.”

  What’s more, British authorities have charged three men with spying for Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service in the UK. The men are accused of being Chinese state-sponsored hackers and stealing election data from the UK’s elections offices, as well as performing surveillance operations in the UK. Beijing stated that the case was “a fabrication.” When pressed about these and other cyber activities and the threats they pose to international norms and the security of the United States, the UK, and European countries, Beijing denied the existence of such threats, dismissing them as “absurd.”

  These events put additional strains on UK relations with China.

  The Volt Typhoon Threat and Beyond

  These official accusations follow in the wake of the confrontation that Washington had with Beijing several weeks ago regarding its advanced “Volt Typhoon” attack. That attack involved the discovery of the long and undetected presence of Chinese infiltration into vital U.S. operational systems across a variety of verticals. It was determined that Chinese attackers had breached the networks of dozens of American critical infrastructure organizations that control electrical power, water, and both civilian and military communication systems via a widespread network of compromised servers and computers.

  FBI Director Christopher Wray contends that Volt Typhoon would be used to disrupt, if not eliminate, control of the critical infrastructure systems mentioned above, as well as other strategic assets, prior to launching a military campaign against the United States or Taiwan. Again, Beijing has denied any official connection to the Volt Typhoon attack.

  Hackers Penetrating US Defense Systems

  However, at the Birmingham security conference, National Cyber Director Harry Coker asserted that Chinese hackers were violating U.S. defense sites in cyberspace and targeting U.S. interests at an “unprecedented scale.” Mr. Coker highlighted the severity of this threat, noting that “in a crisis or conflict scenario, China could use their pre-positioned cyber capabilities to wreak havoc in civilian infrastructure and deter U.S. military action.”

  The British prime minister and the GCHQ chief emphasized their rising concerns about China’s cyberattacks and their impact on the global order. Mr. Sunak said the next few years would be “dangerous and transformational,” while Ms. Keast-Butler said that “Russia and Iran pose immediate threats, but China is the ‘epoch-defining’ challenge.”

  As China’s Power Rises, So Do Attacks

  However, the United States, the UK, and Europe aren’t the only targets of Chinese hackers. The Philippines has seen a fourfold rise in Chinese cyberattacks year over year as friction between the two has increased. The parallel between the Chinese regime’s growing military power and influence in the world and its rising level of cyberattacks against its adversaries can’t be overlooked. Nor can the fact that the United States and the UK feel the need to publicly point the finger at China.

  Cyberattacks have occurred for decades, but this is a clear change from how they were handled in the past, when they were managed at the government level. However, with China’s apparent ability to penetrate even the most highly guarded systems, the next few years may well be, as the British observed, “destabilizing,” “transformative,” and “epoch-defining.”

  Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 23:40

• Putin's Purge? Another Top Russian General Arrested On Bribery Charges
  Putin’s Purge? Another Top Russian General Arrested On Bribery Charges

  Is this the continuation of what appers an ongoing purge by President Vladimir Putin of his top defense ranks? 

  The Kremlin escalated its crackdown on Russia’s top military ranks, with a new corruption arrest this week.

  Russian authorities detained Lieutenant-General Vadim Shamarin, deputy to General Valery Gerasimov, head of the army’s general staff, on suspicion of large-scale bribe-taking, Russian state media reported Thursday. 

  It is the fourth arrest in the past month of a high-ranking military official, marking the biggest Russian army scandal in years. The detentions come as President Vladimir Putin carries out a sweeping reshuffle of top jobs, including a change at the head of the Ministry of Defense.

  

  The arrest comes closely on the heels of the biggest reshuffling in military leadership since the Ukraine invasion’s start: the May 12th removal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (or rather, he was shifted to head of the national security council) and installation of Andrei Belousov.

  “On May 22, the court chose a preventive measure for Shamarin in the form of detention for a period of two months,” a court official was cited in AFP as confirming. Additionally a senior defense ministry procurement official identified as Vladimir Verteletsky was also reportedly detained.

  The court has alleged Shamarin accepted bribes “at an especially large scale” while overseeing the doling out of state contracts:

  Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, announced later on Thursday that the general is accused of accepting 36 million rubles ($397,000) from the executives of a phone manufacturing plant for “general patronage” and ensuring higher product supplies through Defense Ministry contracts.

  He is currently in pretrial detention. As for recent removals which are specifically criminal cases, below is a review of the series of arrests:

  • Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained in late April
  • Lieutenant-General Yuri Kuznetsov, head of personnel at the defense ministry
  • Major-General Ivan Popov, a former top commander for Russia’s offensive in Ukraine

  Despite all appearances, the Kremlin is still denying that a “purge” is in progress – but instead a mere serious campaign to root out corruption.

  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA in the wake of the detention of Gerasimov’s deputy, “The fight against corruption is a continuous effort. This is not a campaign. It is an integral part, in fact, of the activities of our law enforcement agencies.”

  

  So this string of arrests is being presented as an open and shut simple enforcement of the law, but this is hardly convincing many Russia observers in the West. For example, the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg has observed: “When one top defense official in Russia is arrested, that’s interesting. When four senior defense figures are arrested in less than a month, that’s more than a pattern…begins to look like a purge.”

  As for head of the army, Gen. Gerasimov… while this certainly puts him under a greater spotlight (as his #2 just went down), he is not accused of any wrongdoing, but still has come under increased criticism among Kremlin officials of late for how the ‘special military operation’ is being executed in Ukraine.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 23:20

• The Unifying Principle: Here's Why The Political Divisions In The US Today Cannot Be Mended
  The Unifying Principle: Here’s Why The Political Divisions In The US Today Cannot Be Mended

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  Recently I was watching a short documentary about the history of political discourse and division in the US and it got me thinking about how the internal conflicts of the past might relate to the rampant social battles Americans are dealing with today. From early disagreements between various Founding Fathers on hot button issues like the Sedition Act, central banking and standing armies, to epic and disastrous conflagrations like the Civil War, America has never been “of one mind” on everything.

  Overall, though, the longstanding assumption is that even when we slip and fall into disarray Americans will find common ground and move on towards the future together.  It’s a nice sentiment, but what if this ideal no longer applies?

  

  There are some people that argue there was never a golden era for the US; that we’ve always been destructive, or exploitative or “imperialist.” Of course, it’s very easy to examine any given time period through the lens of modern sensibilities and pass judgment. How we would do things today is not necessarily how we would do things yesterday. We can’t easily condemn the men and women of the past without at least recognizing that we will probably never see the issues of their day from their perspective.

  The political left is the most egregious violator of this principle. They have a bad habit of trying to rewrite history according to their current ideological cultism and applying their taboos to time periods when civilization had very different views on how to function. The progressive philosophy is partially rooted in “futurism”; the idea that all old ideas and ways of doing things must be abandoned to make way for new methods. In other words, they think everything “new” is better and must be embraced.

  Frankly, this theory has never proven correct. Not every old idea should be left behind and not every new method is better. In fact, most ideas that leftists think are new are actually very old. There’s nothing ground breaking about DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), it’s just another form of Marxism based on personal identity rather than the traditional class politics.

  Do you want to know what DEI really is? It’s a vehicle for forced association.

  Forced association is used to leverage populations into a homogeneous soup, a hive mind with no individual thought or right to discriminate against destructive groups and ideologies.  But if America is experiencing an agenda of forced association today then we have to ask – What is there to be gained?  Why pressure people who fundamentally disagree with each other on every level to coexist within a society? Why do the people in power want this so badly?

  Well, for the central planners (usually socialists/globalists), tribalism is a big no-no. People going their own way is unacceptable. If the populace thinks they can divide and separate and live differently from each other, then how can the establishment continue to exist? For a one-world government to be achieved ALL divisions must be erased and everyone has to either love or fear the purveyors of “unity.”

  Separation must, therefore, be demonized.  The problem is, there’s no way to blackmail a population into association, not in the long term anyway.  A group is an abstraction without form; it means nothing until the individuals involved share a unifying principle.  When I look back at political disagreements in history I find that there is a vital factor that existed during past conflicts that does NOT exist today.

  Even during the worst of times including the Civil War both sides of the division held the same basic principles and morals. They had a lot of the same values, a shared religion and a shared understanding of reality. They were people connected by the same American soul, they merely disagreed on singular issues. The goal for each side was for America and its fundamental heritage to survive, even if they didn’t always obey every aspect of the Constitution or the existing leadership at the time. This is not how things work in 2024.

  In terms of surface level politics its obvious that there will never be peaceful reconciliation between woke progressives and conservatives/independents. One side or the other has to go, and I think the majority of people in the US want leftists to go.

  To be clear I’m not saying that all people on the political left are exactly the same. There’s definitely a political spectrum from traditional liberals to extreme activists. But there is no denying that, for now, woke zealots control the levers of power and influence within the Democratic Party and the leftist media. They also have the explicit backing of every major institution from corporations to NGOs to government.

  You don’t see a whole lot of average Democrats with the guts to stand up and criticize their own side even when they know there’s something very wrong happening. They go along with the program either out of laziness or fear. With conservatives the reverse is true. Conservatives can’t seem to organize a damn thing because we constantly disagree with each other when it comes to solutions.

  And let’s not forget the fence riders out there. It’s sure nice to always be out of the fray and in the rear with the gear while pretending as if you’re “above it all.” That’s a very comfortable place to be because it allows a person to avoid risk while appearing as if they’re taking the high road. Much like a slippery academic who never defines his position in a debate so that he can change his arguments on a whim.

  The issue is that, even though fence riders don’t want to admit it, there are times when one side is right and one side is utterly wrong. Sometimes there is no middle ground.

  A lot of moderates are finally waking up to the horrors of the collectivist movements in our midst. Maybe it was the pandemic lockdowns or the attempted trans indoctrination of children or the unhinged nature of far-left activists in the streets but somewhere along the way moderates finally realized conservatives were RIGHT all along about a lot of things. We were fighting to save their freedoms years ago while they were acting cool and wondering what all the fuss was about.

  There are a lot of factors that set conservatives (and a many moderates) apart from the political left, but the core disconnect is so deep and disturbing it’s hard to quantify. I can only summarize it down to this:

  1) The unifying principle of the left is deconstruction. They find their meaning or purpose in the act of tearing down and destroying what other people have built.

  2) The unifying principle for conservatives is to build and protect what has been found to work.

  Humanity’s best bet for success is liberty with responsibility, free markets and meritocracy. All things we are trying to preserve, and all things that leftists want to blow up.

  For progressives the most important question is: What happens when they’ve destroyed the last edifice? What comes next? If dismantling systems is their unifying principle what will they do when they have nothing else to dismantle? What happens when every plate in the china shop is broken? They are incapable of creating a new and functional society so they would need an outside foundation.

  In this regard I set globalists apart from typical leftists. Globalists are indeed leftists at their core but they are also builders, and not in a good way. Globalists don’t build societies, they build prisons. Once the useful idiots on the left have finished the job of deconstructing America the globalists plan to come in with a new ideal, a new religion, a new foundation based on worshiping THEM.

  Here is where we find the greatest split of all – The spiritual nature of our impasse.

  I’ve definitely never been one to promote the concept of theocracy and I have many scruples when it comes to “Earthly” religious organizations. Anything governed by men can be corrupted. But I also accept that America was built by a majority Christian society following integral Christian values. I don’t think every American needs to be Christian. The Founding Fathers understood that religious freedom is essential. But we must acknowledge and embrace the fact that the country works best when Christianity is at the forefront.  At least there is a unifying moral code to hold the framework together.

  Furthermore, it would be far easier to reconcile Christian social systems with science and critical thinking than it will be to reconcile freedom loving Americans with far-left collectivists. The woke cult is much more hostile to science today than Christians are; they even refuse to acknowledge human biology.  I also think Christianity is growing along with newer generations of conservatives with a greater respect for skepticism.  We could see a renaissance following the paths set by great Christian thinkers like Thomas Aquinas or C.S. Lewis.

  I’m seeing a lot of the old blind devotion to the Republican Party fall by the wayside and a greater focus on what politicians achieve rather than what they promise. I’m seeing people on the right embrace the value of comedy and pop culture more, which has always been a problem for conservatives. And, I’m seeing science open doors to religious thought instead of trying to close them. As humanity delves deeper into quantum physics, cosmology and even the mind sciences, our relationship to the great beyond requires consideration of the physical AND the metaphysical.

  It’s the kind of thing that would make progressives rage and foam at the mouth.  For them, science must always be in service to their causes or it ceases to have value, and one of their primary causes is the erasure of Christianity.  They’ll never allow a world where science and religion work together to build a future in which discovery is balanced with ethical responsibility.

  Then there is the issue of moral imperative.  Many of us see the targeting of children for indoctrination and exploitation.  We see the promotion of subjective reality and degeneracy.  We see the inclination towards lies as a tool for political power.  We see leftists caring more about winning and less about the truth.

  For the globalists and the woke mob, morality is nothing more than a social construct, but we know that these ideas are inborn and inherent for the majority of people. If they weren’t, humanity would have gone extinct ages ago from self destruction. Leftists don’t agree with the concept of a basic moral code. Leftists don’t even agree that morals are a necessity. They think they can manifest their own reality from thin air. How can we possibly live side-by-side with people who despise every pillar that holds western civilization together?

  The answer is – We can’t.  For now I see no path to peace.  Peace would require a unifying principle, a mutual respect, and that does not exist.

  *  *  *

  If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 23:00

• USAF Releases First Mid-Flight Image Of B-21 Raider 
  USAF Releases First Mid-Flight Image Of B-21 Raider 

  The B-21 Raider, the US Air Force’s latest stealth bomber, was unveiled in December 2022 and is currently undergoing testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This cutting-edge aircraft is poised to gradually replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers in the second half of the decade, solidifying its position as the backbone of America’s stealth bomber fleet. 

  On Wednesday, the USAF released new stunning images of the B-21.

  

  Since the stealth bomber debuted, there has only been a handful of images released and or taken by the public: 

  • Air Force Unveils B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber

  • USAF Shares New Images Of B-21 Raider

  • New Image Reveals B-21 Raider Taxiing Ahead Of Maiden Flight

  • First Flight Of B-21 Raider Captured On Video

  The B-21 is USAF’s first strategic bomber in over three decades and is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s with a production goal of 100 aircraft. 

  America is gearing up for conflict as the world fractures into a multipolar state. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 22:40

• In Blow To China, Argentina's Milei Looking To US For Defense Cooperation
  In Blow To China, Argentina’s Milei Looking To US For Defense Cooperation

  Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Over the past decade China’s security footprint in Argentina has grown considerably, but analysts say recent indicators demonstrate President Javier Milei may be shifting defense cooperation back towards the United States.

  

  A 2012 agreement between officials in Argentina’s Neuquen Province and Beijing allowed the construction of a deep space tracking station near the Chilean border, that made Washington sit up and take notice.

  The 50-year contract grants the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the ability to operate freely on Argentinian soil. The facility, known as Espacio Lejano, became the precedent for a Chinese ground tracking facility in Rio Gallegos, on the south eastern coastal tip of Argentina, which was formally announced in 2021.

  Since the Espacio Lejano contract was signed, analysts and U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern over China’s expanding collaboration with Argentina in matters of security and surveillance.

  “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has expanded its ability to extract resources, establish port, manipulate governments through predatory investment practices, and build potential dual-use space facilities,” U.S. Southern Command Gen. Laura Richardson said during a 2023 House Armed Services Committee hearing.

  President Milei took office on Dec. 10, 2023, replacing the progressive President Alberto Fernandez, who forged closer ties with China and signed a 2022 deal to join the Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative. While campaigning, Mr. Milei made no secret of his disdain for communist regimes and signaled his intent to move away from socialist policies in favor of a more libertarian direction.

  In the nearly seven months he has been in office, President Milei has enacted major economic reforms and a downsizing of government.

  Other recent “positive indicators” indicate the Milei administration are prioritizing defense relations with the United States over China, said Leland Lazarus, the associate director for national security at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy.

  “The fact is that in just six months, he’s already visited the U.S. multiple times. He’s met with Secretary Blinken, he’s been to the White House … all that is like absolute music to General Richardson’s ears. To Biden’s ears,” Mr. Lazarus told The Epoch Times.

  Ms. Richardson traveled to Argentina in April, on a visit that included the donation of a Hercules C-130H transport aircraft to the Argentinian Air Force and a tour of a naval facility in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, the extreme tip of the country.

  “We are committed to working closely with Argentina so that our collaborative security efforts benefit our citizens, our countries and our hemisphere in lasting and positive ways,” Ms. Richardson said in a statement at the time.

  

  In Ushuaia, Ms. Richardson met with local military personnel to discuss their role in “safeguarding shipping routes vital to global trade.”

  In an Argentinian Ministry of Defense release, President Milei confirmed that Ms. Richardson also checked on the progress of an “integrated naval base” at the Ushuaia naval facility.

  Argentine officials stated that they also discussed “legislative modernization in defense matters.”

  Under the previous administration, China had been given preferential treatment.

  In June 2023, Tierra del Fuego Gov. Gustavo Melella gave China the go-ahead to build a “multi-purpose” port facility near the Strait of Magellan.

  The project was promptly met with legislative backlash as three national deputies and members of the Civic Coalition filed an official complaint against the governor’s provincial decree to build a port with Beijing. The same group further accused Mr. Melella of violating Argentina’s national security.

  No public records show the project has since moved forward.

  Shift in Relations

  Mr. Lazarus said Argentina’s desire for deeper security cooperation with Western partners was also evident in April when Argentina’s Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, signed a historic purchase agreement for 24 F-16 fighter jets from Denmark.

  “Today we are completing the most important military aeronautical acquisition since 1983,” Mr. Petri said in an official press release.

  “Thanks to this investment in defense, I can proudly say that we are beginning to recover our aerial sovereignty and that our entire society is better protected against all those threats that put us to the test.”

  The purchase occurred after multiple media reports in 2022 said the previous administration under President Alberto Fernandez was considering the purchase of China–Pakistan-made JF-17 fighter jets. A minister of former President Mauricio Macri’s administration, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to The Epoch Times that a deal to purchase the JF-17 jets was under consideration during the Fernandez era.

  

  The China snub on such a notable arms deal is telling for some, as the CCP has invested a lot in Argentina’s defense sector.

  “From 2009–2019 China transferred a total of $634 million worth of major military hardware to five South American countries—Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela,” a House Foreign Affairs Committee brief states.

  “The governments of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina have purchased PRC [People’s Republic of China] defense equipment, cooperated in military exercises, and engaged in educational exchanges and training for military personnel.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 22:20

• What Americans Are Most Worried About
  What Americans Are Most Worried About

  Statista’s Consumer Insights survey has been tracking which issues adults in the United States consider to be the most important in the country right now, and how they have shifted over time.

  The following chart, via Statista’s Anna Fleck, provides just a snapshot of these, listing the eight most cited concerns out of a possible 20 options, in the most recent survey wave as well as in the survey wave at the start of the pandemic.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Where health and social security came first in the earlier iteration, likely in reference to Covid, it had dropped by 6 percentage points by 2023/24. In the meantime, inflation and the cost of living has risen from third position to first position (+13 p.p).

  Other notable changes include a drop in the share of people citing immigration in the latest wave and an increase in the share of people picking crime. Six of the eight most recent most pressing issues are social, with the sole environmental topic of climate change having narrowly dropped off the list, coming in 10th position with 30 percent of respondents picking it, following unemployment with 31 percent.

  As this chart shows, poverty and housing are now on the minds of more U.S. adults, at least more imminently, than before. Where poverty had previously tied in 9th position with education in 2019/20 with a 32 percent share of respondents picking it as one the most important issues facing the country right now, the share rose to 37 percent in the latest survey wave. Similarly, where housing had been in rank 11 with 22 percent, it has now risen to position 6, with 36 percent of respondents selecting the option.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 22:00

• Judge Blocks Florida Law Criminalizing Transport Of Illegal Immigrants Into State
  Judge Blocks Florida Law Criminalizing Transport Of Illegal Immigrants Into State

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A federal judge has temporarily blocked part of a Florida law that criminalizes transporting illegal immigrants into the state.

  

  The challenged law was signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a year ago, when southern border states were bracing for a flood of illegal immigrants following the scheduled expiration of Title 42, a public health order that allowed border enforcement agents to quickly expel those deemed at risk of bringing in COVID-19.

  Touted by Mr. DeSantis and his supporters as the “strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the country,” the law contains a provision that makes it a third-degree felony for anyone to “knowingly and willfully” transport into Florida someone whom “the person knows or reasonably knew … has not been inspected by the Federal Government since his or her unlawful entry.”

  In a preliminary injunction issued on May 22, [Venezuelan born] Judge Roy Altman of the Southern District of Florida said the provision in question “extends beyond the state’s authority to make arrests for violations of federal immigration law, and in doing so, intrudes into territory that’s preempted.”

  “In this case, any harm the state may suffer from an injunction is overweighed by the harm [the provision] poses both to the Plaintiffs and to the United States, which has the ultimate interest in protecting federal supremacy in the realm of immigration,” the Trump-appointed judge wrote.

  The lawsuit was filed in July by The Farmworker Association of Florida, which describes itself as a “grassroots and community-based farmworker membership organization” serving seasonal workers as well as migrant workers who travel with the seasons to harvest crops.

  According to its complaint, the association members have to travel back and forth between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, crossing back into Florida multiple times per year. With the transportation law in place, some of its members became “too afraid to travel in and out of Florida with their undocumented friends or family members,” over the fear of being arrested or prosecuted, according to the association.

  Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a defendant in the suit, has argued that the association has no legal standing to sue in the first place. She also clarified that visa holders, DACA recipients—those who were illegally brought to the United States as young children—asylum seekers, and people with pending removal proceedings are not subject to punishment under the transportation law, since they are considered “inspected” by the federal government.

  Judge Altman disagreed with her argument. In the May 22 opinion, he said the way the law is worded gives the association’s members a good reason to fear a potential arrest and that they have “suffered an injury in fact,” even though they haven’t put themselves at risk of an actual arrest.

  The judge also found that the Association has standing to sue.

  “An organizational plaintiff suffers cognizable injury when it is forced to divert resources from its regular activities to educate and assist affected individuals in complying with the challenged statute,” he wrote.

  The association was backed by a score of high-profile progressive advocacy groups: the national and Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Immigrant Justice, the American Immigration Council, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. They celebrated the court order as a “much-needed win for Floridians.”

  “The court was right to block this callous and patently unconstitutional law, which had threatened Floridians with jail time for doing the most ordinary things, like going to work, visiting family, and driving kids to soccer games. This ruling is an important victory for Florida communities,” Spencer Amdur, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement.

  The Florida attorney general’s office did not respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

  The ruling is the latest in the legal blowback against states that seek to handle illegal immigration on their own in the wake of the growing crisis at the nation’s southern border. The Biden administration has sued three states—Texas, Iowa, and most recently Oklahoma—for making illegal immigration a state crime enforceable by state and local law enforcement.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 21:40

• The Income A Family Needs To Live Comfortably In Every US State
  The Income A Family Needs To Live Comfortably In Every US State

  Families in the top five most expensive U.S. states require an annual income exceeding $270,000 to live comfortably.

  This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, illustrates the income necessary for two working adults with two children to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in each state.

  “Comfortable” is defined as the income needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget, with 50% allocated to necessities like housing and utilities, 30% to discretionary spending, and 20% to savings or investments.

  

  The calculations for family income needed in each state were done by SmartAsset, using the cost of necessities sourced from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, last updated on Feb. 14, 2024.

  Massachusetts Tops the List

  Massachusetts is the most expensive state to live comfortably in, requiring a total family income of about $301,184. Hawaii ($294,611) comes in second, followed by Connecticut ($279,885).

  Housing is one main reason Massachusetts is an expensive state to live in, particularly in the Boston area. In addition, the state also has a high cost of living, including expenses such as healthcare and utilities.

  Rank	State	Income for 2 working adults raising 2 children
  1	Massachusetts	$301,184
  2	Hawaii	$294,611
  3	Connecticut	$279,885
  4	New York	$278,970
  5	California	$276,723
  6	Colorado	$264,992
  7	Washington	$257,421
  8	Oregon	$257,338
  9	New Jersey	$251,181
  10	Rhode Island	$249,267
  11	Vermont	$248,352
  12	Minnesota	$244,774
  13	New Hampshire	$244,109
  14	Alaska	$242,611
  15	Maryland	$239,450
  16	Nevada	$237,286
  17	Virginia	$235,206
  18	Illinois	$231,962
  19	Arizona	$230,630
  20	Pennsylvania	$230,464
  21	Maine	$229,549
  22	Delaware	$228,966
  23	Wisconsin	$225,056
  24	Utah	$218,483
  25	Michigan	$214,490
  26	Nebraska	$213,075
  27	Georgia	$212,826
  28	Montana	$211,411
  28	Iowa	$211,411
  30	Idaho	$211,245
  31	North Carolina	$209,331
  31	Ohio	$209,331
  33	Florida	$209,082
  34	Indiana	$206,003
  35	New Mexico	$203,923
  36	Wyoming	$203,424
  37	Missouri	$202,259
  38	North Dakota	$202,176
  39	Texas	$201,344
  40	South Carolina	$200,762
  41	Kansas	$196,768
  42	Tennessee	$195,770
  43	Oklahoma	$194,106
  44	Alabama	$193,606
  45	South Dakota	$192,608
  46	Kentucky	$190,112
  47	Louisiana	$189,613
  48	West Virginia	$189,363
  49	Arkansas	$180,794
  50	Mississippi	$177,798

  Meanwhile, Mississippi is the least expensive state for a family to live comfortably, requiring $177,798 per year. Arkansas ($180,794) comes in second, followed by West Virginia ($189,363). In common, all these states share low prices of housing.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which ranks the median down payment for a house by U.S. state.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 21:20

• Senate Again Blocks Border Bill With GOP Opposition
  Senate Again Blocks Border Bill With GOP Opposition

  Authored by Joseph Lord and Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,

  The U.S. Senate on May 23 again rejected a proposed border bill as the issue continues to dominate voters’ concerns ahead of the 2024 election. The bill was previously blocked by Republicans in February when it was rolled into a broader foreign aid package.

  

  Republicans have criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) decision to bring the bill back up for a vote, saying it was a political move aimed at bolstering Democrat messaging ahead of the 2024 elections.

  The legislation, dubbed the Border Act of 2024, was rejected in a 43–50 vote that included more opposition from members of both parties than the previous vote in February.

  The bill includes $20 billion in funding for border security and a mechanism to shut down the border after seven consecutive days with an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants encountered per day or if more than 8,500 illegal aliens are encountered in a single day.

  Proponents of the bill say that it would grant President Joe Biden additional authority to close the border, and say that it would alleviate the situation by providing new funding that could help stop the flow of fentanyl over the border.

  “It’s a chance to show we’re serious about fixing the border,” Mr. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said ahead of the vote.

  Opponents say the opposite, with many contending it would only make the situation worse—particularly through a clause that could effectively codify allowing 5,000 illegal aliens into the country a day.

  In February, the bill failed to advance a 49–50 vote, including support from four Republicans and opposition from four Democrats.

  On Thursday, Several Democrats, including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the measure.

  These lawmakers tied their opposition to the measure’s lack of protection for “Dreamers,” the recipients of deferred immigration enforcement under President Barack Obama.

  Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Lankford (R-Okla.), key negotiators for the initial package, both defected to vote against the measure.

  No Republicans supported the measure during its second round, with many saying that the vote itself was a political ploy by Democrats that would only worsen the situation at the southern border.

  Political PR War

  The bill comes amid a PR war among Republicans and Democrats on whose border credentials are stronger even as both sides continue to accuse the other of politicizing the issue, even as its failures on both May 23 and during its original vote came due to bipartisan opposition.

  That PR war comes as the border issue continues to dominate voters’ priorities in 2024, with poll after poll showing that voters have far more confidence in former President Donald Trump’s ability to handle the border than have faith in President Biden’s policies.

  Now, Democrats are trying to show that they can be strong on the border too—but Republicans say that the whole package is unnecessary, as President Biden already has the authority he needs to close down the border.

  “The fact of the matter is that President Trump had the authority to secure the border. He did. Biden used that exact same authority to open it back up,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told The Epoch Times.

  Democrats, meanwhile, extolled the effects the bill could potentially have on reducing the flow of fentanyl into the country.

  In a memo sent to the press, the White House accused Republicans of being on the side of fentanyl pushers.

  “Instead of supporting legislation endorsed by the Border Patrol Union, congressional Republicans sided with fentanyl traffickers,” the White House said.

  President Biden has repeatedly endorsed the legislation and called on Congress to take it up.

  Amid the debate, both parties are claiming—and responding to claims—that the other party is motivated primarily by politics.

  Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) told The Epoch Times that the bill “seems like it’s a Schumer lifeline to guys like Tester,” a reference to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) who’s facing a tough reelection bid in ruby-red Montana.

  “Biden could fix the border tomorrow if he wanted to—Trump fixed the border without additional authority,” Mr. Sullivan said. “So my message to President Biden? Fix the border the way Trump did.”

  The sentiment was repeated by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who called the second push on the bill “completely a political stunt. I don’t even think it’ll get any Republican votes.”

  Like his colleagues, Mr. Paul called on President Biden to fix the border with his preexisting authorities.

  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Democrats’ lead negotiator on the package, meanwhile rejected the claim that Democrats were pursuing the bill for political advantage, blaming Republicans with political motives seeking to kill the bill.

  “I think it’s pretty ironic for a party that openly admits they killed the bill for political reasons to claim that we’re trying to pass a law for political reasons,” Mr. Murphy told reporters.

  Mr. Murphy, one of the lead negotiators on the bill, said that it was very different from the House’s H.R. 2 border security bill, which Mr. Murphy dismissed as “transparently a partisan political exercise,” while the Senate bill, he said, is “transparently bipartisan.”

  “I just think … Republicans have zero interest in fixing the border because they can’t imagine living in a world in which the border isn’t a political issue,” Mr. Murphy said.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 21:00

• Last Hope Against Biden-Bucks – House Passes Bill Blocking The Fed From Issuing A CBDC
  Last Hope Against Biden-Bucks – House Passes Bill Blocking The Fed From Issuing A CBDC

  The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act passed the United States House of Representatives on a largely partisan vote on May 23.

  

  As CoinTelgraph’s Derek Andersen reports, the bill, which must still face a vote in the Senate, amends the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to prohibit Federal Reserve banks “from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy, and for other purposes.”

  The Republican-backed bill’s debate was sparsely attended. Republican supporters spoke about the potential for the abuse of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), while Democrats concentrated on innovation, the dollar’s international competitiveness and the bill’s poor drafting.

  French Hill, the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, said:

  “We live in a world where the government can abuse the tools it has.”

  Representative Mike Flood reused his rhetorical device urging the audience to “imagine the politician you despise the most” with control over a CBDC.

  Financial Services Committee member Warren Davidson called the New York Fed’s Project Hamilton “the same creepy surveillance tool” as China’s digital yuan. He said the pilot project “could be developed to something further.” The Fed was not responding to dialog, so it must respond to law, he said.

  Warren called a digital currency the “creepiest surveillance tool known to man” that would lead to “coercion and control.”

  “Why would we enable it?” he said. “Everywhere it’s depicted as evil.”

  Davidson said the Fed should not pursue a digital currency without authorization from Congress, arguing it doesn’t have a place in a free society.

  “We don’t want them to design it,” he said. “We don’t want them to build it.”

  Frequent references were made to the digital yuan and the blockage of bank accounts in Canada during a trucker drivers’ demonstration against COVID-19 vaccination. Davidson also mentioned George Orwell – author of the novel 1984 – the New Testament Book of Revelations and the Deathstar – a device in the Star Wars film franchise – in his arguments.

  

  The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. Source: congress.gov

  That idea was echoed by Rep. Alexander Mooney, author of an amendment to the bill that restricted CBDC research, who said a CBDC should not be “available at a moment’s notice.”

  Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke about the “deep state” and the “Democrat regime.”

  🚨🇺🇸HOUSE PASSES CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY BAN | 216-162

  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene:

  “The idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency is terrifying!

  That’s why I’m supporting the CBDC Anti Surveillance State Act to BAN CBDCs.”pic.twitter.com/MW3dAti1yV

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 23, 2024

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

  The exact implications of the bill were also disputed. Brad Sherman called the bill a “word salad” that favored “crypto bros.” He added that no one would be required to use a CBDC.

  While Republican arguments focused on a retail CBDC, Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters claimed the bill could be construed to ban a wholesale CBDC as well.

  Waters argued that the bill would “risk undermining the primacy of the U.S. dollar” globally.

  The bill could also be interpreted to ban Federal Reserve holdings of bank reserves, which is necessary to administer payment systems, Waters said:

  “[The bill] blocks the American economy as it operates today and has for decades.”

  Waters also mentioned zero-knowledge proof technology that could guarantee user privacy. Dollar-pegged stablecoins could lose their value in a run, while a CBDC could not, she added.

  

  Source: XRP Drops

  Financial Services Committee member Jake Auchincloss said that his proposed bill, “Power of the Mint Act,” would accomplish similar goals without the drawbacks of the bill under consideration, but it had been blocked by Republicans.

  The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act was introduced into the House by Rep. Tom Emmer in February 2023. It passed by a vote of 216-192.

  

  For the past two years, Jim Rickards – among many others – have been warning about the emergence of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), or as some like to call the U.S. version, “Biden Bucks.”

  These Biden Bucks would have the full backing of the U.S. Federal Reserve. They’d replace the cash (“fiat”) dollar we have now. And if Biden got his way, they’d be the sole, mandatory currency of the United States.

  What does this mean for you?

  As Rickards details below, it would make your money less truly your own. It would be subject to government control.

  

  Biden Bucks are being peddled as a more efficient and convenient form of money. They say they’re just simplifying the payment system and making it more efficient. It’ll be much more convenient than the convoluted system we have today.

  And they’re actually right about that. A digital dollar will be simpler, more efficient and more convenient to use.

  Assume you buy gasoline at your local gas station. You pay with a credit card, which begins a payment process involving maybe five separate parties.

  These include the merchant from whom you bought the gas, the credit card company, the bank and an intermediary called a merchant acquirer (no need to explain what a merchant acquirer does for today’s purposes, but just realize that it’s part of the payment system).

  Ultimately the bank that issues your credit card sends you a bill, which you pay. You also pay a fee, maybe 3%, all to buy the gas.

  But with a central bank digital currency, you could simply pay for the gas with an account you have at the Fed.

  You would get rid of all the middlemen. You could bypass the merchant acquirer, the banks and the credit card company. A digital dollar would also eliminate many of the fees we currently face.

  So yes, the payment system would be faster, cheaper, easier, more streamlined and more secure. What’s not to like as far as you’re concerned?

  Well, if you’re concerned about your personal privacy, everything.

  We Can’t Let You Destroy the Environment

  Imagine this. To further advance his Green New Scam, what if Joe Biden and his cronies decided that gasoline needed to be rationed?

  Your Biden Bucks could be rendered useless at the gas pump once you’ve purchased a certain amount of gasoline in a week! You want gas, but all you get is a one-word message: Declined.

  How’s that for control?

  Biden Bucks would create new ways for the government to control how much you could buy of an item, or even ban purchases altogether. It would keep score of every financial decision you make.

  In a world of Biden Bucks, the government will even know your physical whereabouts at the point of purchase.

  It’s a short step from there to putting you under FBI investigation if you vote for the wrong candidate or give donations to the wrong political party. If any of this sounds extreme, fantastical or otherwise far-fetched, it’s not.

  Look at all the ways the government has abused its power to target its opposition in recent years.

  Government Always Wants More Power

  From unconstitutional “lawfare” against Trump, to the jailing of harmless J6 protesters who did nothing more than walk around the Capitol taking selfies (I’m not talking about those who committed violence that day, who should be punished to the full extent of the law), the federal government has overstepped its bounds.

  Several months ago, the FBI and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) sent letters to U.S. banks asking them to identify and provide a list to the government of customers using Zelle, Venmo and similar payment channels who mentioned “MAGA,” or “Trump” in their message traffic.

  They also asked for details on bookstore purchases of religious articles including Bibles. Finally, they asked for details on those shopping at Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods or Bass Pro Shops, presumably on the view that those are places to buy guns and ammo.

  This is a clear-cut violation of the First Amendment (free speech, freedom of religion), Second Amendment (right to bear arms) and Fourth Amendment (no unreasonable search and seizure).

  It’s not a crime to write “MAGA,” etc. and therefore there’s no reasonable basis for suspecting a crime, and therefore no right to get the information without a warrant, which requires a judge. Any judge would likely reject the warrant request since there’s no probable cause.

  This is an obvious case of profiling. If you shoot someone and you’re wearing a MAGA hat, you get arrested for the shooting, not the hat. In this case, the hat is enough to put you under surveillance because you have been profiled as “an enemy of the people” by the government’s definition.

  I predicted this kind of surveillance would arise with the use of Biden Bucks since the government would have your financial records and would not have to go to the banks or get a warrant. I’d like to say I was wrong, but unfortunately I was right.

  Why do you think it would stop there? Government always seeks to expand its power.

  The Slippery Slope

  In the latest example of federal overreach, the latest update of the IRS Internal Review Manual expands the scope of IRS investigation and audit activity to include anyone who impedes the government’s “ability to govern” or who poses a “threat to public safety or national security.”

  Such phrases sound benign when applied to foreign terrorists or criminal masterminds. Then you realize they can just as easily be applied to political opponents, Trump supporters, podcasters, opinion writers, political organizers or everyday Americans who stand in the way of the administration’s ambitions.

  The IRS can use threats of audits and investigations to intimidate social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram into shutting down MAGA Republicans and others who oppose Biden policies.

  The updated IRS manual also allows the IRS to leak taxpayer information to the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security or other agencies with enforcement power in order to sic those agencies on targeted victims.

  This happens in a context where simple political opposition has been criminalized giving the IRS carte blanche to choose their victims. If you’re outspoken against the Biden administration, keep your tax records handy and get ready for a knock on the door.

  So, again, why would you be surprised if the government used Biden Bucks to punish its political opponents? It’s just the natural progression.

  Can it be stopped? There’s one possibility — and it comes from the individual states.

  The Last Hope?

  Last year, Indiana became the first state to reject CBDCs as a form of money. This year it enacted an additional measure that prohibited state agencies from accepting CBDCs as payments.

  Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Alabama and Georgia have passed similar laws to block the imposition of CBDCs.

  Will they succeed? It would be a triumph of federalism if they did, which has a rich American tradition.

  But proponents of Biden Bucks invoke Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, otherwise known as the federal Supremacy Clause. It establishes that the federal law takes precedence over state law.

  Over the years, the federal government has gradually expanded its powers under the Supremacy Clause.

  It might be an uphill battle, but the states might just be our best defense against the implementation of Biden Bucks.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 20:40

• China's Rapid Nuclear Expansion Is Threatening US Dominance In The Sector
  China’s Rapid Nuclear Expansion Is Threatening US Dominance In The Sector

  Authored by Haley Zaremba via OilPrice.com,

  • China is quickly becoming the world’s leading producer of nuclear energy, raising concerns for US competitiveness.

  • China’s plans for floating nuclear plants in the disputed South China Sea create tension with neighboring countries.

  • China and Russia’s joint project to build a nuclear reactor on the moon raises questions about safety and militarization.

  China’s runaway nuclear energy expansion has competitors biting their fingernails. As nuclear energy regains traction around the world as a promising baseload power source for a decarbonized future, it’s also become more and more of a geopolitical battleground. As countries scramble to keep a strategic foothold in a rapidly changing energy landscape, becoming a nuclear energy powerhouse is suddenly important for world superpowers. And China seems to be winning this race. 

  

  While the United States has been the biggest nuclear power generator in the world for decades, the American market has significantly slowed in recent years at the same time that Beijing has doubled down on deployment, adding a whopping 34 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity over the last ten years. As a result, China is set to overtake the United States (and France) to become the world’s biggest producer of nuclear energy within the decade. 

  China currently has 55 operating nuclear power reactors compared to the United States’ 94, but it already has 23 new reactors under construction and more on the way. In fact, it’s taken China just 10 years to add the same amount of nuclear capacity that the United States needed four decades to build. 

  Beijing is able to approve new nuclear reactors at a much faster clip than the United States, at a blazing rate of ten new plant approvals per year. Chinese plants are also much less expensive to build, in part thanks to preferential loans with particularly favorable terms from state-owned banks. While the United States has recently taken pains to kick-start its own stalled nuclear energy sector, its newest power plant is so behind schedule and over budget that nuclear energy advocates are worried that it might derail the nation’s nuclear ambitions altogether. 

  While the sharp rise in nuclear energy deployment in China is great news for the nation’s decarbonization potential – and therefore great news for the entire world’s ability to meet mid-century climate goals – China’s fast and furious approach has put a number of world leaders on edge. Policymakers in the United States have demonstrated concern that China’s rapidly increasing nuclear energy capacities could allow it to export nuclear reactors at a large scale, ultimately undermining U.S. foreign relations in the importing countries. This would not be a new trend, but a continuation of China’s already massive expansion of energy influence in emerging markets. 

  Meanwhile, China’s plans to put floating nuclear power plants in the South China Sea have stirred up tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbors. China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines all have overlapping claims to parts of the sea, which China claims almost in its entirety despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which rejected Beijing’s claim as “having no legal basis.” In contempt of this ruling, China has continued to ‘reclaim’ land to build artificial islands in the Sea and now plans to send about 20 floating nuclear power plants to some of those islands. 

  Experts have widely condemned these plans, warning that “China’s planned deployment of floating nuclear reactors to the disputed South China Sea may risk ramping up tensions with other claimants and undermining regional security.” Adding to these tensions, there is some legitimate concern that China will be using these plants to power military operations in the conflicted region, which would be in violation of international law. 

  Indeed, China’s outsized nuclear ambitions cannot be hemmed in by its own borders, or even terrestrial bounds. Earlier this year, Moscow and Beijing announced joint plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon within the next decade. Russian state media even claims that development of the plant is already underway and Russia and China are currently working on experimental and research facilities under the project.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 20:20

• 30% Of Americans Believe College Isn't Worth It
  30% Of Americans Believe College Isn’t Worth It

  The value of a college education is spiraling lower as youngsters realize it’s a giant scam. Racking up $100k in college debt for worthless gender degrees in liberal indoctrination camps, only to graduate and land a job that didn’t require a degree—such as a realtor or bartender, as many millennials found out, has been a major wake-up call.

  A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows that 29% of people aged 25 to 34 say college degrees are no longer worth the money, and this growing distrust risks a further implosion of the higher education bubble.

  Here are the highlights of the new study:

  • Only one in four US adults say it’s extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree in order to get a well-paying job in today’s economy. About a third (35%) say a college degree is somewhat important, while 40% say it’s not too or not at all important.

  • Roughly half (49%) say it’s less important to have a four-year college degree today in order to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago; 32% say it’s more important, and 17% say it’s about as important as it was 20 years ago.

  • Only 22% say the cost of getting a four-year college degree today is worth it even if someone has to take out loans. Some 47% say the cost is worth it only if someone doesn’t have to take out loans. And 29% say the cost is not worth it.

  Gen-Z and millennials were sold a big lie by the liberal education complex. And they’re quickly figuring out their degrees are worthless. 

  This generation was sold a lie. pic.twitter.com/niST9avUcE

  — Mirthful Moments (@moment_mirthful) May 19, 2024

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

  I’m twice her age and have twice the experience and still can’t find a job.

  The good news for both of us is that we can always sell feet pics for money. pic.twitter.com/AlfLBvBpl6

  — Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) March 27, 2024

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

  NEW: Gen Zer starts crying about how she can’t get a minimum wage job even though she has “two degrees” and speaks three languages.

  Say it with me: College is a scam.

  26-year-old Lohanny Santos says she is being super “for real” and is “humbled” as she continues to get turned… pic.twitter.com/09ll6hJyb7

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 8, 2024

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

  College is a scam. pic.twitter.com/KZmh3ER6pH

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 18, 2023

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

  Meanwhile… 

  

  But white liberals with worthless degrees need not worry. The Biden administration will bail them out with taxpayer funds. 

  BREAKING: Karine Jean-Pierre finally admits that Bidenomics is crashing people financially.

  Glad that Alexander called out Biden’s ridiculous student loan debt relief. pic.twitter.com/TcFsbOXb6f

  — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) May 22, 2024

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

  For our Gen Z readers, we ask that you avoid going into debt at a woke liberal college and ending up with a worthless degree four or five years later. 

  Learn a trade in the powering up America theme. Transmission cable installers and pipeline welders are in high demand. Gender studies is not. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 20:00

• Blinken Working With Congress To Punish Hague-Based ICC
  Blinken Working With Congress To Punish Hague-Based ICC

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said he wanted to work with Congress on legislation to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC) for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

  Blinken was asked by Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing if he would support legislation to counter “the ICC sticking its nose in the business of countries that have an independent, legitimate democratic judicial system.”

  

  Blinken replied, “Given the events of yesterday, I think we have to look at the appropriate steps to take to deal with again, what is a profoundly wrongheaded decision.”

  The ICC was previously sanctioned by the US under the Trump administration for its plans to investigate alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan. The Biden administration reversed the sanctions, but the US pressure worked to get the court to announce the focus of its Afghanistan investigation would be on the Taliban and ISIS-K.

  The ICC’s chief prosecutor announced warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on Monday for their role in the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, which implicates Blinken and other top US officials for supporting the onslaught. The ICC is also seeking warrants for Hamas leaders for the October 7 attack on southern Israel and the taking of hostages.

  The State Department has said it would rather Israel kill Hamas leaders than have them face trial in The Hague.

  “We absolutely believe that Hamas should be held accountable. That could either be through the prosecution of the war effort by Israel. It could be by being killed. It could be by being brought to justice in an Israeli court,” said State Department spokesman Matt Miller.

  The Biden administration is opposing the ICC efforts against Israeli and Hamas leaders despite backing its warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  Sec Blinken today told the Senate it was “extremely wrong headed” and a “shameful equivalence” for the ICC prosecutor to request arrest warrants for Netanyahu. Blinken agreed to work with congress to sanction the ICC showing US double standards on Israel compared to Russia. pic.twitter.com/aUjWsgDbXC

  — Philip (@rulesbasedworld) May 21, 2024

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

  The US says the ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction to pursue Israeli leaders since Israel is not a member of the court, but neither is Russia and Ukraine. While not having full UN membership, the State of Palestine is a signatory to the Rome Statute, making it a member of the ICC.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 19:40

• China Threatens 25% Car Tariff Against US, EU Moves – Trade Ties To Worsen In Coming Weeks
  China Threatens 25% Car Tariff Against US, EU Moves – Trade Ties To Worsen In Coming Weeks

  Beijing is still mulling its expected retaliation in the wake of last week’s Biden administration rollout of steep tariff increases on a series of Chinese tech imports, importantly including computer chips, EV batteries and medical technology products.

  Wednesday saw shares of European luxury automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tata Motors (Jaguar Land Rover), and Volkswagen Group (Audi) all finish lower, in the aftermath of a threatening and ominous Chinese state-run Global Times article which argued China should “consider raising the temporary tariff rate on imported cars with large-displacement engines, in order to reduce imports as part of the country’s broader efforts to cut emissions and promote the green development of the auto industry.”

  China has signaled it is ready to unleash tariffs as high as 25% – which would be a significant increase up from the current duty rate of 15%. Citing a Chinse industry insider, the GT piece blasted the ‘protectionist moves’ coming out of Washington and the West.

  

  Separately this week, in post on X, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) issued its own warning in an obviously coordinated messaging campaign, saying it was “informed by insiders that China may consider increasing temporary tariff rates on imported cars equipped with large-displacement engines.”

  “This potential action carries implications for European and US carmakers, particularly in light of recent developments such as Washington’s announcement of tariff hikes on Chinese electric vehicles and Brussels’ preparations for preliminary measures in a high-profile anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs,” the chamber statement said.

  As a reminder, this the text of the European Commission’s opening an investigation back in October… it formally launched “an anti-subsidy investigation into the imports of battery electric vehicles (BEV) from China. The investigation will first determine whether BEV value chains in China benefit from illegal subsidisation and whether this subsidisation causes or threatens to cause economic injury to EU BEV producers.”

  The investigation under EC President Ursula von der Leyen aims to determine whether this violates the WTO anti-dumping agreement. The deadlines set out to potentially impose duties is July 4.

  China is hitting back at both Europe and the US, as South China Morning Post observed:

  Beijing has indicated that it won’t take either gambit lying down. On Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of polyoxymethylene copolymer – a chemical commonly used in automotive engineering – from the US, EU, Japan and Taiwan.

  It has already started probing alleged dumping in the European brandy sector, seen to target France’s cognac exports. Paris has been a strong supporter of a tougher EU trade policy towards China.

   

  Amid predictions that trade conditions between China and the West are expected to worsen in the coming weeks, von der Leyen on Tuesday sought to downplay a trade war in remarks from Brussels.

  “I don’t think that we are in a trade war. I have the motto: ‘de-risk not decouple’, and I think here it’s very clear we are in the category of de-risking from China. We have decoupled from Russia,” she said.

  China is set to be a central foreign policy talking point among both presidential campaigns going into November…

  In a big “cognitive dissonance” moment, Rand Paul correctly points out there’s “not a lot of difference” between Biden and Trump on China, especially since Biden “jumped on the Trump Train” with respect to Tariffs. Both are obsessed with scolding and sanctioning China, Paul notes pic.twitter.com/ugqgjUT5nB

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 21, 2024

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

  And here’s what the Biden administration said during the last Tuesday unveiling of the new US tariff hike: “Today, I am following through on my commitment to stand up to the People’s Republic of China’s unfair trade practices by issuing a formal proposal to modify the tariff actions.” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai further vowed, “The President and I will continue to fight for American workers, and for our economic future and national security.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 19:20

• Bitcoin & The Wrong Lessons From Pizza Day
  Bitcoin & The Wrong Lessons From Pizza Day

  Authored by Jimmy Song via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  The following is an excerpt on Bitcoin Pizza Day from “Fiat Ruins Everything” by Jimmy Song. Visit the Bitcoin Magazine Store to order a print, digital or audio copy of the book.

  Pizza Day is often viewed with a sense of regret.

  

  The well-known story goes like this: many years ago, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas, and in return, some fortunate person received 10,000 BTC.236 This tale resembles that of Peter Minuit purchasing Manhattan Island for a mere $24. It’s hard to believe such a transaction took place, considering the current value.

  The story has several intriguing aspects. It marked the first real-world good or service purchased with Bitcoin. It also established Bitcoin’s price; since the two pizzas cost around $41, one BTC was approximately $0.0041.

  Another aspect of this narrative is Laszlo, a pioneer in mining Bitcoin using GPUs (graphics processing units). He spent around 100,000 BTC on pizzas, as he made similar deals multiple times throughout the month. In a way, he’s the Santa Claus of this story, giving away value almost flippantly.

  RENT-SEEKING FANTASIES

  Pizza Day often triggers daydreams of becoming a Bitcoin billionaire through a single brilliant trade. Many people don’t fantasize about being Laszlo, as they aren’t GPU programming experts. However, they can easily imagine being the person on the bitcointalk forums offering to buy Bitcoin for a couple of pizzas.

  The idea of having made such a trade sparks envy, as we all secretly resent the person who actually executed it. We perceive them as lucky, as if they had won the lottery.

  These fantasies stem from a fiat mentality, where the value hierarchy is rooted in fiat money. The desire is to be lucky rather than skilled. People would prefer making money without working, versus earning it by providing valuable goods and services.

  It’s revealing that the regret lies in missing out on luck rather than innovation. In a fiat-driven world, it’s easier to dream about being the person who sold the pizza, rather than the one who had the skill and foresight to mine with GPUs. This mindset prioritizes fiat accomplishments—getting lucky with money—over real achievements, which involve earning money by providing value to the market. Most people would rather ride the coattails of an innovator than be one themselves.

  BITCOIN REGRET

  We all have our Bitcoin regret stories. I remember learning about Bitcoin in February 2011. I tried to find a way to buy it using a credit card, but I couldn’t. I attempted mining on Amazon Web Services and didn’t find any blocks solo-mining for two days. I began the process of moving dollars into Mt. Gox, but when the price dropped from $1 to $0.90, I decided it was too much of a hassle to set up. I could have bought Bitcoin at $0.90, but I didn’t. It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.

  Everyone has different regret stories. Perhaps you heard about Bitcoin back in June 2011 when it ran up to $30 and regret not buying it then. Maybe you discovered Bitcoin in April 2013 when it reached $266, or later that year in December 2013 when it soared to $1,100. Or perhaps it was in 2017 when it hit $2,500, $5,000, and then $19,000. Or even more recently, in March 2020 when Bitcoin crashed to under $4,000, or later that year when it was breaking $10,000. Anyone who’s heard about Bitcoin at any point in its history has a regret story.

  Bitcoin regret stories are like bad-beat stories in poker. Everyone has them, and they are fantasies about different, luckier outcomes. They are unproductive stories because the feelings of regret come from a fantasy that assumes virtues that are not common.

  THE CHALLENGE OF HOLDING

  In these regret stories, we often overlook something. What if we had bought Bitcoin when we first heard about it? How would we have handled the subsequent challenges? Would we have had the diamond hands to hold through the 85% drawdowns in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018?

  When you fantasize about the Pizza Day story, do you ever consider the difficulty of holding during the tough times in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018? There’s a tendency to assume that we would have had the conviction that we possess now, like how a time traveler might feel. I’ve experienced those drawdowns firsthand, and let me tell you, most people didn’t have that conviction, and they sold. Many believe they would have held strong through all the difficult times, but like the original O.J. Simpson verdict, that assumption goes against all evidence.

  Holding 10,000 BTC wasn’t uncommon back in 2010. Many people had a significant amount of Bitcoin because they were worth pennies at the time, but where are they now? Most of them sold when the Bitcoin price doubled or tripled and never looked back.238 They viewed Bitcoin as a plaything and didn’t grasp its revolutionary nature. So, they sold it to buy a new computer, a new bike, or a new car.

  SHATTERING YOUR DREAMS

  Had you sold Laszlo two pizzas for 10,000 BTC in 2010, you probably would have sold them in the new few years. To think otherwise is hubris. Most people back then didn’t understand what Bitcoin was, and there were no educational resources explaining why you should hold. We now have an abundance of resources for understanding Bitcoin.239 In 2023, it’s much easier to comprehend that Bitcoin is a better form of money than anything that came before. Back in 2010, it was much more difficult. Do you still think you would have had diamond hands?

  To hold Bitcoin is to have a deep conviction about what it is. There are necessary virtues to be a long-term holder. Holders understand the fundamental value of Bitcoin being sound money and can thus withstand the 85% drawdowns that occur regularly. Only the truly extraordinary managed to hold from 2010, and you likely would not have been one of those people.

  But suppose you beat the odds and had conviction. You held through 2011 and even the first bubble in 2013. Would you have had the foresight to withdraw to your wallet before Mt. Gox collapsed in 2013?240 Or if you used another exchange before then, would you have gotten out before they exit-scammed?241 We say “not your keys, not your coins” now, but back then, this was not common practice. Many people had to be burned for that lesson to become a meme. Even with conviction, there’s a good chance you would have been one of the many who suffered.

  There were also other dangers, like the advent of altcoins starting in 2011. How many Bitcoins would you have lost in Geistgeld,242 Feathercoin,243 and MasterCoin?244 There were also numerous scams, including Pirate40245 and others who promised high returns by running Ponzi schemes. Would you have avoided those? There were also several ASIC startups that sold machines that weren’t built yet. Would you have avoided getting duped by Butterfly Labs246 or TerraMiner?247 How about the cloud mining services248 that took your Bitcoin and paid out only a fraction over the next 12 months? Would you have avoided these tempting offers that ended up diminishing many Bitcoin stacks? You would have needed the instinct to get in on Bitcoin early while not falling for these similar-sounding investments, which frankly is not an easy needle to thread.

  Looking back on those dangers, it’s a miracle that people made it past those years with any Bitcoin at all. Many OGs are like Vietnam veterans, reflecting on the times when they were fortunate to escape the numerous hazards.

  BUILDING CONVICTION IS CHALLENGING

  Developing deep conviction is not easy, and for early adopters, it was especially difficult. Remember, everyone was calling Bitcoin a scam back then. Even now, it takes years of study and unwavering resolve to develop that conviction. Back in 2010-2013, having Bitcoin conviction was as rare as a physically-fit government health official.

  Going against conventional wisdom and following your convictions requires a great deal of courage, which many people lack. Consider what happened during COVID-19. How many people had the conviction to voice opinions against the mainstream narrative in March 2020? That’s the level of conviction you had to possess to hold Bitcoin through those early years.

  In 2023, we have numerous resources that help us save in Bitcoin. Podcasts, books, and videos are available to help us navigate this space, not only to develop the conviction but also to adopt best practices for holding. The early years were a minefield of traps to lose your Bitcoin. It’s much easier these days to avoid those traps, but back then, there weren’t OGs who could warn you about them. The resources that exist now and the Bitcoin memes we have today (“Not your keys, not your coins.”) are not propaganda. They are the fruit of hard-earned experience.

  BITCOIN DERANGEMENT

  Studying the early individuals in the Bitcoin space reveals a troubling pattern. Almost every non-technical Bitcoin advocate pre-2013 is now promoting an altcoin. Why have so many early adopters become Bitcoin-deranged?

  We can find some answers by looking at the fiat world of lottery winners. Years after winning, numerous lottery winners end up worse off than before they won the lottery. They are ill-equipped to manage the windfall, and many find themselves with greater debt, damaged relationships, and a worse life. Some even commit suicide. While not everyone experiences such negative outcomes, enough do that many lottery agencies proactively offer assistance.

  Unfortunately, bad outcomes have been the fate of many early Bitcoin adopters. At some point in the last decade, they either fell victim to scams or became scammers themselves. As a result, many of them have turned against Bitcoin.

  So, to further shatter your daydream, there’s a good chance that if you had gotten in early, you would be an altcoin scammer or would have been scammed by an altcoin. These are serial scammers with no qualms about lying, cheating, or stealing their way to wealth. They exist in a rent-seeking nightmare of shattered dreams. That’s not a desirable fate, and it’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

  LEVEL UP YOUR CONVICTIONS

  For many, Pizza Day is an opportunity to indulge in time-traveling fantasies where they daydream about being wealthy. This mindset often leads people to explore altcoins, as it stems from the fiat money mentality. Essentially, Pizza Day is a fantasy about being lucky and not having to work. In other words, it represents a rent-seeking desire on a grand scale.

  Fiat money has fostered a consumerist mentality, which exacerbates the urge to rent seek. Governments capitalize on this desire through lotteries, profiting from the allure of easy wealth. Altcoins exploit the same yearning. Unfortunately, Pizza Day often reinforces this mentality, focusing on the desire to be fortunate rather than skilled.

  Instead, Pizza Day should serve as a reminder that forming conviction is no easy task. True conviction demands knowledge, wisdom, and courage—virtues that require time, energy, and effort to develop. Rather than envying early adopters and fantasizing about joining their ranks, we should strive to cultivate the conviction needed to hold through challenging times and provide value in the process. As the saying goes in the Bitcoin community, “It’s still early.”

  On Pizza Day, commit to leveling up your convictions.

  TEN THINGS YOU BOUGHT INSTEAD OF BITCOIN

  – 1- 

  That sleek, irresistible Apple gadget you just had to have, only to replace it two years later with an even shinier, more irresistible version.

  – 2 –

  Green gems in Clash of Clans, because clearly, the defense of your virtual village was of greater importance than securing your financial future.

  – 3 –

  A college degree with about as much relevance to your current job as a penguin waddling through the Sahara Desert.

  – 4 –

  Litecoin, the less secure, less functional cousin of Bitcoin— because who needs the real deal when you can settle for something much worse?

  – 5 –

  A dating app subscription that merely solidified your status as forever alone.

  – 6 –

  Steam games on sale, eagerly awaiting their debut in your library, wondering when they’ll finally bask in the glow of your screen.

  – 7 –

  That exercise equipment now serving as an exquisite clothes rack, because let’s face it, the allure of the couch is simply too strong to resist.

  – 8 –

  An online class you signed up for, attended just long enough to say “hello” and “goodbye,” then promptly ghosted.

  – 9 –

  The, uh, “adult entertainment” that left you feeling deflated and questioning your life choices the next day.

  – 10 –

  An MLM product from a Facebook friend that you abandoned quicker than you can say “pyramid scheme.”

  *  *  *

  Click here to order a copy of “Fiat Ruins Everything: How Our Financial System is Rigged and How Bitcoin Fixes It”, by Jimmy Song.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 19:00

• Bipartisan Calls Grow For Ukraine To Hit Russian Territory With US Arms
  Bipartisan Calls Grow For Ukraine To Hit Russian Territory With US Arms

  Officials in the US are growing more vocal in making the case for allowing Ukraine to use Washington-supplied weaponry to attack Russian territory.

  On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson came out with a full-throated statement expressing support for such a move which would certainly risk bringing NATO and Russian into more direct conflict. Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also said to be on board with a policy change.

  

  Johnson was asked by Voice of America if he supported a scenario where Ukraine forces attack Russian soil utilizing American weapons. He responded by saying that the US needs “to allow Ukraine to prosecute the war in the way they see fit.”

  “They [Ukraine] need[s] to be able to fight back. And I think us trying to micromanage the effort there is not a good policy for us,” he said.

  Ukrainian parliament member Oleksandra Ustinova was among a delegation from Kiev that was in Washington days ago in order to lobby US lawmakers for a change in policy. The Biden administration has long communicated a strict ban on pro-Kiev forces attacking Russia with American arms.

  Watch Johnson sign off on Ukraine using US weapons to attack inside Russian territory:

  ⚡️”I think we need to allow Ukraine to prosecute the war in the way they see fit. They need to be able to fight back and I think that us trying to micromanage the effort there is not good policy for us,” – US House Speaker Mike Johnson answering the question whether Ukraine… pic.twitter.com/88M6Km2XTS

  — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 22, 2024

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

  “Realizing that we do not have the right to use, for instance, HIMARS [rocket launchers] on the territory of Russia, the Russians display all their equipment along the border and use it to destroy the Kharkiv region,” Ustinova has been cited as saying. “And we simply cannot get to them, because there’s a ban on the usage of American weapons on the territory of Russia.”

  In Kharkiv oblast in particular, Russia earlier this month launched a new major offensive to push the border 10km deep into Ukrainian territory, with the stated aim of establishing a buffer zone to make it harder for Ukrainian artillery to reach Russian settlements across the border.

  The Biden White House has yet to give in to the intensified lobbying campaign to loosen restrictions on US weaponry, on a public level at least.

  On Monday a group of House lawmakers from both parties issued a formal letter urging the lifting of any restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weapons.

  The lobbying push is in full-swing for what could be the biggest escalation of the entire Ukraine war: for the US to start openly coordinating strikes inside Russia. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) urges Blinken to reverse the “dangerous policy” of not explicitly allowing these strikes pic.twitter.com/PebaJ0RXSZ

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 22, 2024

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

  “It is essential the Biden administration allows Ukraine’s military leaders to conduct a full spectrum of operations necessary to respond to Russia’s unprovoked attack on their sovereign land,” the letter said.

  At this point President Zelensky is going so far as to request that NATO directly intercept and shootdown Russian missiles sent against Ukrainian cities. Indeed the messaging and requests are growing more desperate, given Ukraine forces are being rapidly beaten back in places like Kharkiv.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 18:40

• "Dangerous Racial Gerrymandering" – White House Fumes As Supreme Court Backs GOP's New South Carolina Congressional Map
  “Dangerous Racial Gerrymandering” – White House Fumes As Supreme Court Backs GOP’s New South Carolina Congressional Map

  The U.S. Supreme Court on May 23 ruled in favor of South Carolina’s redrawn congressional map, reversing a lower court decision.

  

  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) challenged the map, arguing legislators were motivated by race when drawing district lines and committed “intentional racial discrimination.”

  As Zachary Stieber reports via The Epoch Times, a panel of federal judges in 2023 said that “race predominated over all other factors” when legislators redrew South Carolina’s First Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). The finding was based in part on the movement of more than 30,000 black voters to a different district.

  To show that race was the predominant factor motivating legislators who are redrawing districts, plaintiffs challenging a new map must prove the state elevated race above other factors, such as contiguity, according to court precedent.

  The judges who handed down the earlier ruling “clearly erred” because the challengers did not provide such proof, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said.

  The challengers “provided no direct evidence of a racial gerrymander, and their circumstantial evidence is very weak,” he wrote. “Instead, the challengers relied on deeply flawed expert reports.”

  Justice Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was joined by Justice John Roberts, another appointee of President Bush, and Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointees of former President Donald Trump.

  Justice Thomas, another appointee of President Bush, wrote in an opinion, concurring in part.

  Justice Elena Kagan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, filed a dissent. She was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another appointee of President Obama, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of President Joe Biden.

  The panel that entered the 2023 ruling consisted of U.S. District Judges Mary Geiger Lewis and Richard Gergel, both appointees of President Obama; and U.S. Circuit Judge Toby Heytens, an appointee of President Biden.

  The new map, created after the receipt of data from the 2020 census, was enacted in 2022.

  “We’re always going to have concerns about elections but I think the Supreme Court was clear. They examined the question and they followed the law,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican who signed the updated map, told reporters at an unrelated briefing. “I have not read it, but I know about it, and I think they made the right decision.”

  South Carolina Senate President Thomas Alexander, another Republican defendant in the case, did not respond to a request for comment.

  “Today, the Supreme Court has failed the American people. Voting rights have taken another gut punch, and the future of democracy in South Carolina is dangling by a thread,” Brenda Murphy, president of the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP said in a statement.

  South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District includes over half of the state’s coast and parts of Charleston. It has a population of about 762,000.

  Republicans won elections in the district for decades starting in the 1980s. Former Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) upended that trend in the 2018 election. After one term, he was unseated by Ms. Mace.

  Ms. Mace won with 50.6 percent of the vote in 2020 and in 2022 earned another term with 56.3 percent of the vote.

  Justice Alito also criticized the lower court judges for not finding challengers at fault for their failure to provide an alternative map showing how legislators could have achieved their “legitimate political objectives” while producing “significantly greater racial balance.”

  The majority also said they found similar errors in the lower court’s finding that legislators intentionally diluted the votes of black people, because that finding was based on the same facts that underpinned the analysis of the racial gerrymandering claim.

  Justices remanded the portion of the case relating to vote dilution back to the district court, with guidance on how to analyze dilution allegations.

  Justice Thomas said in his opinion that he agreed with most of Justice Alito’s opinion but that he does not think the Supreme Court has the power to decide claims of racial gerrymandering.

  “Drawing political districts is a task for politicians, not federal judges. There are no judicially manageable standards for resolving claims about districting, and, regardless, the Constitution commits those issues exclusively to the political branches,” he wrote.

  Justice Kagan said in her dissent that reversing factfinding about redistricting can only be done if a “clear error” is found, citing a previous ruling. “This court must give a district court’s view of events ’significant deference,‘ which means we must uphold it so long as it is ’plausible,’” she wrote. “Under that standard, South Carolina should now have to redraw District 1.”

  The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that Louisiana needed to use a congressional map with two black-majority districts in the upcoming election. The three justices appointed by Democrats dissented in that order as well.

  In 2023, the nation’s top court struck down Alabama’s redrawn map, finding it was racially discriminatory in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

  The White House was quick to issue a statement condemning The Supreme Court’s decision:

  The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy.  Key to that right is ensuring that voters pick their elected officials — not the other way around. The Supreme Court’s decision today undermines the basic principle that voting practices should not discriminate on account of race and that is wrong.

  This decision threatens South Carolinians’ ability to have their voices heard at the ballot box, and the districting plan the Court upheld is part of a dangerous pattern of racial gerrymandering efforts from Republican elected officials to dilute the will of Black voters. Vice President Harris and I are ironclad in our commitment to protecting the sacred right to vote, and we will not stop fighting until Congress passes both the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act to ensure fair Congressional maps for all Americans.

  Given the demise of Biden’s share of the black vote, maybe this actually did him a favor?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 18:20

• SEC Approves Spot Ether ETFs In Major Crypto Victory
  SEC Approves Spot Ether ETFs In Major Crypto Victory

  What until just a few days ago was viewed as an extremely low-probability event, has just come true, when the highly politicized Securities and Exchange Commission, headed by Liz Warren’s soon to be terminated lackey Gary Gensler, has – against its desires – been forced again to approve no less than eight crypto ETFs, this time for spot Ethereum, following what was reportedly urgent political intervention from the White House.

  

  Following relentless pushback which prompted Bloomberg’s ETF expert Eric Balchunas to give a spot ETH ETF only 25% odds of approval, in the first-of-its-kind blessing, the SEC signed off on a proposal by venues run by Cboe, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to list products tied to the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency. The move removes a key hurdle for spot Ether ETF trading in the US.

  Issuers now need a separate sign-off from the regulator, and no deadline has been set for that decision. In other words, as Bloomberg’s James Seyffart explains, today’s approval does not mean ethereum ETFs will begin trading tomorrow: this is just 19b-4 approval. Now the SEC will need to approve the S-1 documents which is going to take time: “We’re expecting it to take a couple weeks but could take longer. Should know more within a week or so”

  TO BE CLEAR: This does not mean they will begin trading tomorrow. This is just 19b-4 approval. Also needs to be an approval on the S-1 documents which is going to take time. We’re expecting it to take a couple weeks but could take longer. Should know more within a week or so!

  — James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 23, 2024

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

  Ahead of the approval, SEC boss Gary Gensler had been cryptic on his views over whether Ether is a security, stoking concerns that the agency was hardening its stance. Others, such as this website, duly noted that in the grand scheme of things it is not what Gary Gensler or “Senator Karen” want, but rather only the wishes of Larry Fink…

  Fink’s endgame is ETH: he has repeatedly said the goal is tokenization

  “I see value in having an Ethereum ETF. These are just stepping stones towards tokenization and I really do believe this is where we’re going to be going.”https://t.co/MfGAqHZLWc

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 10, 2024

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

  … and JPMorgan matter…

  JPMorgan now just as bullish on ethereum as Larry Fink. Good luck @GaryGensler pic.twitter.com/tdQFKUvsKI

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 10, 2024

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

  … And while crypto enthusiasts said they were worried about Gensler trying to subject Ether — and various other projects based on the Ethereum blockchain — to the agency’s arbitrary, capricious, and onerous investor-protection rules, claiming that Ether is in fact a security despite claiming previously that it is not, the recent sharp policy stance reversal driven by an abrupt change in the political climate, revealed that the only thing that decides whether something is a security or not, is a phone call from the White House which is trailing Donald Trump in the polls by double digits.

  Which is why, as recently as last week, companies were banking the SEC would reject the Cboe plan — and potentially others — by Thursday’s deadline. Additional SEC approval is still needed for the issuers, but the signoff is a huge victory for the industry, and especially those who held on to Ether since January, which continued to sink mercilessly even as bitcoin soared.

  Backers hope a listing will bring a new flood of money to the asset class by appealing to retail and institutional investors, who are interested in crypto but more comfortable investing in ETFs than tokens.

  Overall, investors, many who retreated after FTX exchange’s collapse, have already been piling back into crypto. Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is up more than 60% this year alone thanks to the frenzy. And, as both Goldman and Bernstein have noted, the upside for Ether is likely far greater than that of bitcoin in the long run.

  

  Some of Ether’s recent rally is also due to optimism that the US crackdown on the industry – led by such congressional knucle-draggers as Elizabeth Warren – is finally waning. The Republican-led House on Wednesday advanced sweeping cryptocurrency legislation despite opposition from the White House and Gensler. Although the Senate isn’t expected to approve the measure, it also garnered notable Democratic support in the House.

  On the jurisdictional question, Lee Reiners, policy director of the Duke Financial Economics Center at Duke University, said that exchange bids to list the products were based on Ether being a commodity and not a security. An SEC decision to green light the plan bolsters the view that the SEC still considers Ether not to be a security, he said. Investment companies seeking to list the products have already been making concessions to win SEC approval.

  Fidelity Investments said it will keep Ether it buys as part of the ETF out of programs that pay rewards for blockchain maintenance, known as staking. The latter has been a hot-button issue for Ether because it raises questions about whether the token should be treated as a security. Last year, the SEC in a lawsuit accused Coinbase Global Inc. of breaking its rules by offering staking services.

  And so, we now wait for the various ETH ETF issuers to make adjustments for today’s latest clarifications and to get S1 approval imminently which will finally greenlight trading; indeed, VanEck which was the first to apply for a spot Ether ETF wasted no time in filing an amendment to their S-1 filing.

  VanEck making amendment to their ETH ETF S-1 already https://t.co/9faENB70nF pic.twitter.com/xQNLxJ7kO3

  — NLNico (@btcNLNico) May 23, 2024

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

  And speaking of Van Eck, here is what the head of the company’s digital asset research team, Matthew Sigel published seconds after the ETF approval:

  We are so thrilled to confirm that the SEC has approved, pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our exchange partner CBOE’s proposed rule change to list and trade a @vaneck_us
   spot #Ethereum ETF on the CBOE!

  TLDR: We expect the improved political backdrop will lead to further victories for digital asset investors & developers, via new laws & in the courts, that draw investment to #Bitcoin, Ethereum and other open-source blockchain software.

  We applaud this decision, as we believe the evidence clearly shows that #ETH is a decentralized commodity, not a security.  ETH’s status as a commodity has now been recognized in a variety of circumstances, including the CFTC’s regulation of ETH futures, public statements by Commission officials, rulings by federal courts, and now, hopefully, this ETF.

  The high degree of correlation between ETH spot prices and CME Ethereum futures prices, similar to the correlation seen with Bitcoin, proved that the spot ETH market is tightly linked to the regulated futures market. This tight linkage supports the listing of spot ETH ETFs, as it allows for the market surveillance the SEC requires. Additionally, the presence of liquid, regulated ETH futures trading on the CME and the approval of ETFs tracking those futures demonstrated to all neutral observers that Ethereum meets the same criteria as Bitcoin for an ETF holding the spot asset. The SEC approved the listing of spot Bitcoin ETFs based on these exact criteria, and we have long believed that Ethereum warrants the same treatment.

  Any claim that Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake has turned it into a security, or that staking itself is a securities transaction is misguided and harmful to innovation. Proof-of-stake is simply an alternative consensus mechanism to proof-of-work mining – it does not fundamentally alter Ethereum’s decentralized nature or transform ETH into a security issued by a central entity. Since the DAO hack in 2016, Ethereum has become highly decentralized, with no centralized issuer or promoter controlling a material supply or percentage of validators. The Ethereum Foundation’s ETH holdings have steadily declined to just 0.30% of the circulating supply, and Vitalik Buterin holds around 0.23%. This widespread distribution of ETH contradicts the idea of it being a security issued by a common enterprise.

  We have also heard arguments that Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) was a securities transaction. This misunderstands the decentralized nature of Ethereum’s governance. Ethereum’s transition to PoS was driven by social consensus, involving broad community discussions, transparent development processes, and voting mechanisms within a decentralized network. This contrasts sharply with traditional financial systems, where decisions are made by centralized entities or a small group of registered stakeholders. Changes in Ethereum are proposed through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), debated publicly, and adopted only with widespread community support, ensuring no central authority controls the network. This decentralized, community-driven process highlights that Ethereum remains a decentralized commodity, not a security, as its evolution reflects the collective agreement of its diverse global participants.
   
  As the UK Prime Minister on this topic just recently said: “We are pro-open source. Open-source drives innovation. It creates start-ups. It creates communities. There must be a very high bar for any restrictions on open source.”

  Many traditional finance market participants may not fully understand that ETH is not just a speculative asset but has extensive real-world utility underpinning a vibrant decentralized application ecosystem. Ethereum supports over 270 million unique user addresses and processes an average of 1.2 million transactions daily. On-chain value settlements exceeded $2.8 trillion over the last year, compared to global remittances of $860B, PayPal volumes of $1.5 trillion, and Visa network volume of $15 trillion. Ethereum boasts a robust developer community, with more than 2,300 monthly active developers contributing to 113,000 distinct Githib repositories. Thanks to the network effects from this decentralized community, Ethereum has become the foundational layer for a vast ecosystem of over 3,000 applications, including financial services, games and collectibles. Its smart contract functionality enables automated lending/borrowing, decentralized exchanges, NFT marketplaces, play-to-earn games, and tokenization of real-world assets. Major companies like Reddit, Ubisoft, Nike, and Visa have launched Ethereum-based projects. Regulating Ethereum NFTs differently from physical collectibles like baseball cards or Rolex watches is often absurd – both represent unique digital/physical scarcity and ownership. A Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT and a rare 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card can serve similar purposes as status symbols and stores of value. But governance structures like those enabled by Ethereum underpin much of the innovation happening in open-source databases, including real-world asset tokenization. Stifling this utility through misguided regulation would hamper technological progress and drive those talented entrepreneurs overseas.

  The situation has been made even more confusing by the inconsistent stances taken by different U.S. regulators. While the SEC has recently declined to clarify ETH’s status, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) allowed Ether futures products to trade as commodities. The Chairman of the CFTC has stated repeatedly under oath that ETH is a commodity. Even the SEC’s own guidance has stated that a digital asset may transition away from being a security as it becomes sufficiently decentralized over time, though critical details are lacking. Adding to the contradictions, just last week the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unveiled an indictment that referred to Ethereum as a “decentralized” blockchain. Needless to say, this regulatory discord has fostered harmful uncertainty and, contrary to the SEC’s mandate of capital formation, has inflicted a lot of pain in the market.

  That’s why today feels particularly sweet to VanEck, the first traditional ETF issuer to file for both Bitcoin & Ethereum ETFs. It is so encouraging to observe the growing bipartisan support for digital assets in DC, reflecting widespread voter input, & culminating in today’s ETF news and this week’s congressional repeal of SAB 121, an accounting rule hostile to crypto that was enacted through unorthodox means.

  We expect this improved political backdrop will lead to further victories via new laws and in the courts that draw investment to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other open-source blockchain software.

  Stay tuned for further updates.

  PS – we expect to go FIRST.

  After tumbling just after the close because someone was stupid enough to assume that since there was no approval by 4:00:00pm it means the SEC won’t bless the ETF, Ethere was last trading just above $3,800…

  

  … and rapidly approaching its YTD high just above $4,000, from where it will proceed to move much higher in the coming months.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 17:58

• Current PLA Drills Around Taiwan Are Bigger In Scope Than Exercises Triggered By Pelosi
  Current PLA Drills Around Taiwan Are Bigger In Scope Than Exercises Triggered By Pelosi

  As part of China’s two days of encircling drills around Taiwan, its military has dispatched about 30 aircraft toward the island Thursday, most of which crossed the Median Line in the Taiwan Strait. About a dozen PLA naval ships have also surrounded the self-ruled island, and in response Taiwan’s military has deployed warships to monitor the situation.

  An additional dozen Chinese coast guard ships have been spotted close to Taiwan’s disputed outlying islands as well, according to Taipei officials. PLA Naval Colonel Li Xi has called the exercises “a strong punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.”

  

  As we reported previously, the large-scale drills are were launched just days after Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, was sworn into office at the start of the week. Beijing has called Lai a “dangerous separatist” who will ensure future “war and decline” for the island of Taiwan, which China has long claimed as its own.

  CNN has cited Chinese state television to describe:

  As part of the drills, dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition conducted mock strikes against “high-value military targets” of the “enemy” alongside destroyers, frigates and missile speedboats, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

  …China’s state broadcaster CCTV said multiple destroyer and frigate formations of the Eastern Theater Command Navy “maneuvered at high speed in multiple directions in the waters surrounding Taiwan, creating an omnidirectional approach in pushing toward the island.”

  Dozens of fighter jets were also seen near the outlying islands which include Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin in the East China Sea.

  China’s CCTV broadcaster further detailed of the drills, “Under the support and cover of the Army and the Rocket Force, multiple types of aircraft were organized and loaded with live ammunition, flew to the predetermined airspace to establish multiple strike positions, and coordinated with destroyers, frigates, and missile speedboats to simulate attacking the ‘enemy’s’ high-value military targets and reconnaissance and patrol aircraft.”

  Regional analyst Arnaud Bertrand says that these ongoing two-day exercises are actually bigger in scale and scope compared to those which ensued in August 2022, in reaction to then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ultra-provocative visit to Taiwan. His words follow below the maps:

  Before: What the 2022 PLA ‘encircling’ drills in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit looked like…

  

  Currently: The expanse of the ongoing Thurs-Fri PLA military drills surrounding Taiwan…

  

  These are major military exercises by China around Taiwan, with more “exclusion zones” that are larger in scale than the exercises triggered by Pelosi’s visit and closer to the island.

  They are basically demonstrating that they can completely blockade the islands, with the zones placed in front of Taiwan’s biggest ports (like Kaohsiung to the South, where a lot of Taiwan’s navy is, or Hualien to the East), as well as protect the mainland at the same time. It’s not a sign of imminent war, simply a reaction to Lai’s presidential inauguration speech where he hinted at significant changes to the status quo towards independence, so much so that even the Financial Times ran an article saying that “China has a point” when they were warning about Lai’s intention to change the status quo.

  Wow, that’s exceedingly rare. The FT admits that the ROC’s new leader Lai Ching-te is attempting the change the status quo across the Taiwan strait and that “China has a point” in this regard.https://t.co/cfuMnnLNBs

  Here is what they write:

  “China is right to say that Lai is…

  — Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 22, 2024

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

  This is China telling him “don’t get any ideas”.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• These Are The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Mistakes
  These Are The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Mistakes

  Cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent with increasingly damaging outcomes, presenting new cybersecurity risks to users.

  But in spite of the ever-evolving threat landscape, many of the best defenses remain the same. This includes the basics like creating strong passwords and avoiding malicious links. Yet often, people take unnecessary risks due to convenience, among other factors.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, shows the top cybersecurity mistakes in 2023, based on data from Proofpoint.

  

  The Most Common Mistakes Made by Users

  Below, we rank the most common risky actions that people made online in 2023, based on a survey of 7,500 end users across 15 countries:

  

  Overall, 71% of respondents said they made a cybersecurity mistake, with the vast majority doing so knowingly.

  As we can see, the most common error was using a work device for personal activities followed by reusing or sharing a password. These actions were shown to be motivated by convenience, time-saving benefits, or urgency across users.

  Ranking in third was connecting to WiFi networks in public spaces without using a virtual private network (VPN). This presents risks, because when a user connects to public WiFi, it exposes them to unsecured networks. These networks allow cybercriminals to intercept sensitive information, such as login credentials and personal messages.

  By using a VPN, it prevents malicious actors from stealing personal information through creating an encrypted tunnel that hides a user’s location and other personal data.

   

  Top Cybersecurity Risks, According to Professionals

  While the above data deals with the most common risks taken by users, the same report by Proofpoint also highlights the professional view around what risks are actually the most dangerous.

  According to a survey of 1,050 security professionals, clicking on links or downloading attachments from someone that they don’t know was considered the most risky action users could take. By downloading an infected file, it exposes users to computer viruses and malware that mine a computer or device for personal data.

  In addition, reusing passwords posed the second-highest security threat, followed by accessing inappropriate websites.

   

  Overall, there is a strong degree of overlap between the top cybersecurity mistakes and the most common risks taken by users. In this way, it highlights how many respondents may be unaware of the scale of risk they expose themselves to, and the importance of using the basic tools to avoid financial losses and unwanted outcomes.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 02:45

• The Eurocrats Fear That Fico's Attempted Assassination Will Influence Next Month's Elections
  The Eurocrats Fear That Fico’s Attempted Assassination Will Influence Next Month’s Elections

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned last week that Russia will ramp up its meddling ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, which preceded European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova assessing that they’d be a test of the bloc’s disinformation resilience. This speculation is nothing new, but what’s different this time around is that the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will be on every voter’s mind, thus likely influencing the outcome.

  The preceding hyperlinked analysis argued that fake news was responsible for radicalizing the pro-Ukrainian suspect into thinking that shooting his premier was a legitimate form of protest against what he’d been misled by the media into believing was his “pro-Russian dictator with blood on his hands”. This black swan event might have served the short-term interests of that leader’s many enemies, but the blowback could be considerable if it leads to a conservative landslide during next month’s elections.

  Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban predicted that the upcoming vote will influence the direction of war and peace in Europe, and while the European Parliament admittedly can’t do much in terms of shaping the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine, it could still exert positive pressure if conservatives win. It’s with that in mind that Eurocrats like von der Leyen and Jourova are fearmongering about Russian meddling since they want to preemptively discredit this potential outcome.

  To be sure, the first of those two had no idea that an assassination attempt would be made against Fico the day after she shared her earlier mentioned warning, but the second’s assessment about the upcoming elections being a test of the bloc’s disinformation resilience came some days later. Instead of speaking vaguely about alleged Russian meddling, the Eurocrats are now honing their information warfare narrative to muddle the conversation about Fico’s attempted assassination and its political aftermath.

  

  The targeted audience is the unclear number of on-the-fence voters who might usually lean liberal but have recently begun to sympathize with some conservative positions on issues like Ukraine. Last week’s incident was driven by the liberal media’s fake news about the Slovak leader, which might influence some of these voters to give the more narratively responsible conservatives their support. In an attempt to desperately prevent this, the Eurocrats want them think that it would be doing Russia’s bidding.  

  If the European Parliamentary elections have absolutely no effect on anything, then they wouldn’t care who votes for whom, but the outcome will clearly at the very least have a major impact on popular perceptions and could lead to cascading consequences like more anti-war protests across the bloc. It’s for this reason that the Eurocrats and their media allies, including those being promoted by state-run Ukrainian outlets like this one here, are pushing the abovementioned information warfare narrative.

  The growing gap between liberals and conservatives over Ukraine, which is foreign policy issue that Fico was most closely associated with, is naturally occurring as a result of their polar opposite worldviews and not due to Russian meddling. It’s so emotive and significant that some from both sides have become single-issue voters who’ll cast their ballots purely based on candidates’ positions towards this. Attempting to discredit this trend as being due to Russian meddling is disrespectful to democracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/23/2024 – 02:00

• From COVID To Campus Protests: How The Police-State Muzzles Free-Speech
  From COVID To Campus Protests: How The Police-State Muzzles Free-Speech

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “Politicians of both parties want to use the power of government to silence their foes. Some in the university community seek to drive it from their campuses. And an entire generation of Americans is being taught that free speech should be curtailed as soon as it makes someone else feel uncomfortable.”

  – William Ruger, “Free Speech Is Central to Our Dignity as Humans”

  The police state does not want citizens who know their rights.

  

  Nor does the police state want citizens prepared to exercise those rights.

  This year’s graduates are a prime example of this master class in compliance. Their time in college has been set against a backdrop of crackdowns, lockdowns and permacrises ranging from the government’s authoritarian COVID-19 tactics to its more recent militant response to campus protests.

  Born in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, these young people have been raised without any expectation of privacy in a technologically-driven, mass surveillance state; educated in schools that teach conformity and compliance; saddled with a debt-ridden economy on the brink of implosion; made vulnerable by the blowback from a military empire constantly waging war against shadowy enemies; policed by government agents armed to the teeth ready and able to lock down the country at a moment’s notice; and forced to march in lockstep with a government that no longer exists to serve the people but which demands they be obedient slaves or suffer the consequences.

  And now, when they should be empowered to take their rightful place in society as citizens who fully understand and exercise their right to speak truth to power, they are being censored, silenced and shut down.

  Consider what happened recently in Charlottesville, Va., when riot police were called in to shut down campus protests at the University of Virginia staged by students and members of the community to express their opposition to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

  As the local newspaper reported, “State police sporting tactical gear and riot shields moved in on the demonstrators, using pepper spray and sheer force to disperse the group and arrest the roughly 15 or so at the camp, where for days students, faculty and community members had sang songs, read poetry and painted signs in protest of Israel’s ongoing war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.”

  What a sad turn-about for an institution which was founded as an experiment in cultivating an informed citizenry by Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, champion of the Bill of Rights, and the nation’s third president.

  Unfortunately, the University of Virginia is not unique in its heavy-handed response to what have been largely peaceful anti-war protests. According to the Washington Post, more than 2300 people have been arrested for taking part in similar campus protests across the country.

  These lessons in compliance, while expected, are what comes of challenging the police state.

  What was unexpected were the campus protests themselves.

  For those of us who came of age in the 1960s, college campuses were once the bastion of free speech, awash with student protests, sit-ins, marches, pamphleteering, and other expressive acts showing our displeasure with war, the Establishment and the status quo.

  Contrast that with college campuses today, which have become breeding grounds for compliant citizens and bastions of censorship, trigger warnings, microaggressions, and “red light” speech policies targeting anything that might cause someone to feel uncomfortable, unsafe or offended.

  Free speech can certainly not be considered “free” when expressive activities across the nation are being increasingly limited, restricted to so-called free speech zones, or altogether blocked.

  Remember, the First Amendment gives every American the right to “petition his government for a redress of grievances.”

  There was a time in this country, back when the British were running things, that if you spoke your mind and it ticked off the wrong people, you’d soon find yourself in jail for offending the king.

  Reacting to this injustice, when it was time to write the Constitution, America’s founders argued for a Bill of Rights, of which the First Amendment protects the right to free speech. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, was very clear about the fact that he wrote the First Amendment to protect the minority against the majority.

  What Madison meant by minority is “offensive speech.”

  Unfortunately, we don’t honor that principle as much as we should today. In fact, we seem to be witnessing a politically correct philosophy at play, one shared by both the extreme left and the extreme right, which aims to stifle all expression that doesn’t fit within their parameters of what they consider to be “acceptable” speech.

  There are all kinds of labels put on such speech—it’s been called politically incorrect speech, hate speech, offensive speech, and so on—but really, the message being conveyed is that you don’t have a right to express yourself if certain people or groups don’t like or agree with what you are saying.

  Hence, we have seen the caging of free speech in recent years, through the use of so-called “free speech zones” on college campuses and at political events, the requirement of speech permits in parks and community gatherings, and the policing of online forums.

  Clearly, this elitist, monolithic mindset is at odds with everything America is supposed to stand for.

  Indeed, we should be encouraging people to debate issues and air their views. Instead, by muzzling free speech, we are contributing to a growing underclass of Americans—many of whom have been labeled racists, rednecks and religious bigots—who are being told that they can’t take part in American public life unless they “fit in.”

  Remember, the First Amendment acts as a steam valve. It allows people to speak their minds, air their grievances and contribute to a larger dialogue that hopefully results in a more just world. When there is no steam valve to release the pressure, frustration builds, anger grows and people become more volatile and desperate to force a conversation.

  The attempt to stifle certain forms of speech is where we go wrong.

  In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is “a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment…that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.” For example, it is not a question of whether the Confederate flag represents racism but whether banning it leads to even greater problems, namely, the loss of freedom in general.

  Along with the constitutional right to peacefully (and that means non-violently) assemble, the right to free speech allows us to challenge the government through protests and demonstrations and to attempt to change the world around us—for the better or the worse—through protests and counterprotests.

  If citizens cannot stand out in the open and voice their disapproval of their government, its representatives and its policies without fearing prosecution, then the First Amendment with all its robust protections for free speech, assembly and the right to petition one’s government for a redress of grievances is little more than window-dressing on a store window—pretty to look at but serving little real purpose.

  After all, living in a representative republic means that each person has the right to take a stand for what they think is right, whether that means marching outside the halls of government, wearing clothing with provocative statements, or simply holding up a sign.

  That’s what the First Amendment is supposed to be about: it assures the citizenry of the right to express their concerns about their government to their government, in a time, place and manner best suited to ensuring that those concerns are heard.

  Unfortunately, through a series of carefully crafted legislative steps and politically expedient court rulings, government officials have managed to disembowel this fundamental freedom, rendering it with little more meaning than the right to file a lawsuit against government officials.

  In more and more cases, the government is declaring war on what should be protected political speech whenever it challenges the government’s power, reveals the government’s corruption, exposes the government’s lies, and encourages the citizenry to push back against the government’s many injustices.

  Indeed, there is a long and growing list of the kinds of speech that the government considers dangerous enough to red flag and subject to censorship, surveillance, investigation and prosecution: hate speech, conspiratorial speech, treasonous speech, threatening speech, inflammatory speech, radical speech, anti-government speech, extremist speech, etc.

  Clearly, the government has no interest in hearing what “we the people” have to say.

  Yet if Americans are not able to peacefully assemble for expressive activity outside of the halls of government or on public roads on which government officials must pass, or on college campuses, the First Amendment has lost all meaning.

  If we cannot stand peacefully outside of the Supreme Court or the Capitol or the White House, our ability to hold the government accountable for its actions is threatened, and so are the rights and liberties that we cherish as Americans.

  And if we cannot proclaim our feelings about the government, no matter how controversial, on our clothing, or to passersby, or to the users of the world wide web, then the First Amendment really has become an exercise in futility.

  The source of the protest shouldn’t matter. The politics of the protesters are immaterial.

  To play politics with the First Amendment encourages a double standard that will see us all muzzled in the end.

  You don’t have to agree with someone to defend their freedoms.

  Responsible citizenship means being outraged at the loss of others’ freedoms, even when our own are not directly threatened. It means remembering that the prime function of any free government is to protect the weak against the strong. And it means speaking up for those with whom you might disagree.

  The Framers of the Constitution knew very well that whenever and wherever democratic governments had failed, it was because the people had abdicated their responsibility as guardians of freedom. They also knew that whenever in history the people rejected this responsibility, an authoritarian regime arose which eventually denied the people the right to govern themselves.

  The demons of our age—some of whom disguise themselves as politicians—delight in fomenting violence, sowing distrust and prejudice, and persuading the public to support tyranny disguised as patriotism.

  Overcoming the evils of our age will require us to stop marching in lockstep with the police state and start thinking—and speaking—for ourselves.

  It doesn’t matter how old you are or what your political ideology is: it’s our civic duty to make the government hear us—and heed us—using every nonviolent means available to us: picket, protest, march, boycott, speak up, sound off and reclaim control over the narrative about what is really going on in this country.

  The power elite has made their intentions clear: they will pursue and prosecute any and all words, thoughts and expressions that challenge their authority.

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, this is the final link in the police state chain.

  If ever there were a time for us to stand up for the right to speak freely, even if it’s freedom for speech we hate, the time is now.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 23:40

• This Is What Hedge And Mutual Funds Did In Q1: Goldman's HF and MF Monitors
  This Is What Hedge And Mutual Funds Did In Q1: Goldman’s HF and MF Monitors

  Today Goldman published two of the bank’s most widely read periodic reports: the Hedge Fund Trend Monitor (available to pro subs here) and Mutual Fundamentals (also available here), which summarize the quarterly activity and flows of hedge and mutual funds, respectively. Both are available to pro subs in the usual place, but here are the key points from each report.

  Hedge Fund trend monitor
   
  1) PERFORMANCE: US equity long/short hedge funds have generated a solid +8% YTD return. The strong performance of popular hedge fund long positions has boosted hedge fund returns despite a recent short squeeze in popular shorted stocks. Goldman’s Hedge Fund VIP list of the most popular long positions (ticker: GSTHHVIP) has returned +16% YTD, outperforming the S&P 500 (+12%) and the equal-weight S&P 500 (+7%). The most shorted stocks (GSCBMSAL, +7% YTD) surged +25% in mid-May.

  

  2) LEVERAGE AND SHORT INTEREST: Hedge funds have modestly lifted net leverage alongside the broader market rally while maintaining record gross leverage. Concentrated short positions have been particularly volatile recently, causing funds to rotate out of their favorite longs to cover shorts. However, the most recent short squeeze fell shy of the recent experiences in 2021 and December 2023. Short interest for the median S&P 500 stock remains very low at 1.8% of float. Instead, funds continue to use macro products.

  

  3) HEDGE FUND VIPS: Mega-caps remain the most popular hedge fund long positions. AMZN, MSFT, META, GOOGL, NVDA continue to rank as the top five stocks in the VIP list this quarter, with AAPL joining the top six. The VIP list contains the 50 stocks that appear most often among the top 10 holdings of fundamental hedge funds. The basket has outperformed the S&P 500 in 60% of quarters since 2001 with an average quarterly excess return of 47 bp. 14 new constituents: ALIT, APP, DELL, DFS, GDDY, JPM, MU, NEE, SE, SN, VST, WDC, WIX, X.

  

  4) MEGA-CAPS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Hedge funds trimmed positions in the mega-caps while adding to broader AI beneficiaries. Share price outperformance has supported the weight of the Magnificent 7 in hedge fund long portfolios, which stabilized at 13% during 1Q. AAPL was the exception where hedge funds incrementally added. In contrast, hedge funds added to winners across the entire AI universe, particularly in Phase 2 Infrastructure. MRVL, SNX, AES, LFUS are Infrastructure stocks with the largest increase in hedge fund popularity.

  

  5) SECTORS: Hedge funds continued to rotate toward cyclicals, with broad-based increases across Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Energy. DFS joined this quarter’s VIP list, as did JPM, and also joined BK and SPGI to screen among this quarter’s list of Rising Stars with the largest increase in hedge fund popularity. Soaring prices also lifted the weight of Semiconductor stocks in hedge fund long portfolios to a new record, at 6.5%. MRVL is the top Rising Star and MU entered our basket of favorite hedge fund long positions.

  

  Mutual Fundamentals
   
  1. PERFORMANCE: Mutual funds have delivered strong results YTD. 45% of large-cap mutual funds are outperforming their benchmarks YTD, compared with the historical average of 38%.

  

  Fund managers have grown increasingly bullish on US equities, with cash allocations falling to 1.5% and matching the lowest level on record.

  

  Nonetheless, active mutual funds have experienced $139 billion of outflows YTD.

  

  2. THEMES IN FOCUS: (1) MEGA-CAP TECH: Increasing benchmark weights and diversification restrictions mean that the average large-cap mutual fund was 660 bp underweight the Magnificent 7 in 1Q 2024, largely unchanged vs. last quarter. A net of 120 funds (25%) reduced their exposure to MSFT, the largest decline across the group.

  

  (2) AI: Despite the broadening of the AI trade across share prices, mutual fund managers generally avoided taking large tracking error on the theme. However, mutual funds lifted their exposure to Utilities to a new 10-year high.

  

  (3) CYCLICALS/DEFENSIVES: The average large-cap mutual fund maintained a 437 bp overweight in cyclical industries vs. the benchmark, which has benefited performance as investor confidence about economic growth drove Cyclicals to outperform Defensives (GSPUCYDE) by 4% YTD.

  

  3. SECTORS: The average large-cap mutual fund is currently most overweight Financials (+167 bp) and Industrials (+139 bp) and most underweight Info Tech (-341 bp).

  

  Relative to 4Q 2023, the average fund increased exposure most to Consumer Discretionary (+53 bp) and cut the most to Health Care (-42 bp) and Financials (-34 bp).

  

  4. STOCKS: Goldman has rebalanced its Mutual Fund Overweight (GSTHMFOW) and Mutual Fund Underweight (GSTHMFUW) baskets in this report. 12 new constituents in GSTHMFOW: JCI, GM, TRV, CAH, KDP, DASH, TTD, NET, LHX, PNC, GD, AMP.

  

  6 new constituents in GSTHMFUW: GE, HON, AMGN, UNP, DLR, TMO.

  

  Much more in the full reports available to pro subs (here and here)

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 23:20

• Long-Wear, Noise-Canceling, And Wireless: How Earphones Damage Our Hearing
  Long-Wear, Noise-Canceling, And Wireless: How Earphones Damage Our Hearing

  Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  On Nov. 24, 2019, a new thread titled “AirPods causing tinnitus?” appeared on the Apple community forum page.

  

  The Apple user said that after using AirPods for a while, he noticed a high-pitched ringing in his ears that didn’t go away.

  According to him, he has always been highly protective of his hearing; he doesn’t listen to anything loud and always carries earplugs in case he encounters anything that could damage his hearing. But things only got worse.

  “Having said all that, now I notice that when I put my AirPods in my ears and have nothing playing, they emit a high pitched tone that I would say exactly replicates the tone of my tinnitus, leaving to me believe that the AirPods actually caused my tinnitus,” the user wrote.

  Since the thread was published in 2019, over 3,200 Apple users have responded with “Me too.”

  The introduction of Apple wireless earphones has had a noticeable effect on earphone use, with younger generations using them more than older generations, said Julie Prutsman, an audiologist and founder of the Sound Relief Hearing Center. For the past few years, she has seen an increasing number of younger people show up to her clinics with hearing loss and tinnitus.

  AirPods and other Apple earphones make up the majority of earphones used by teenagers today. In 2021, Apple earphones were ranked first in the American headphone and earphone market. A 2022 survey by Piper Sandler surveyed more than 7,000 teenagers and found that 72 percent owned AirPods.

  The audiologist told The Epoch Times that the root problem lies not with what earphones people use but with a common phenomenon: irresponsible earphone use. The convenient wireless and noise-canceling features, along with better sound quality, have further exacerbated people’s overuse.

  “It is becoming a real issue,” Ms. Prutsman said, “and unfortunately, they’re not educated about what can happen.”

  High ‘Dose’ and Prolonged Use

  The American Osteopathic Association estimates that 20 percent of teenagers today will experience hearing loss, partially due to their headphone and earphone use. A review published in the International Journal of Audiology found that about 6 percent to 60 percent of earphone users show symptoms of hearing loss, including hearing difficulties and tinnitus.

  At the same time, more and more youths are regularly using earphones. In February, a University of Michigan poll surveyed parents of 5-to-12-year-olds and found that two-thirds reported that their children use headphones and earphones.

  Most people know that loud sounds can damage the ears. However, Dr. Clarice Saba, a Brazilian otorhinolaryngologist, said listening at low volume for extended periods can also induce damage.

  People put on their earphones at work, at home, and even during sleep. Even if the sounds may not always be loud, having earphones in for hours can still overwork the ears, Dr. Saba said.

  The cochlea is located inside our ears. It sits behind the ear drum and is responsible for turning sound waves into electrical signals that are then transmitted to the brain. Prolonged use of earphones stresses and damages cochlea cells. If some of them die, hearing loss can occur.

  

  Ms. Prutsman added that noise-induced damage is “dose-dependent” and cumulates. A 2021 study published in the journal Medicine found that among teenagers who use earphones for more than 80 minutes a day in a noisy environment, one in five suffer hearing loss. The risks are 4.7 times higher than they are for those who use earphones for shorter periods.

  

  Depending on the severity of the damage, the person may experience reduced sound sensitivity, problems with discerning sound, tinnitus, and even hearing loss.

  Constantly keeping earphones in the ear canals can also cause a congested and humid environment, which may be conducive to ear infections. They also create greater in-ear pressure compared to over-ear headsets.

  In-ear earphones, especially, rub against the delicate skin inside our ears. “If you scratch the ear inadvertently while inserting the AirPods, there can be micro-breaks in the skin that can lead to infection,” otolaryngologist Dr. Michael Seidman told The Epoch Times.

  Besides, some people may not routinely clean their earphones, and debris on them can increase the risk. The earpieces also block most of the canal from outside oxygen, disrupting the health of the ear microbiome.

  “The skin in the ears needs to breathe,” Dr. Saba said, then compared them to hands. “If you use gloves all the time, you can have problems.”

  Noise Cancellation

  In recent years, more noise-canceling earphones and headphones have hit the market, lending people the much-needed privacy to shield their music from those around them.

  However, noise cancellation comes with caveats.

  Since these earphones silence environmental sounds, their prolonged use may lead to hyperacusis, a condition in which the brain’s tolerance for sound decreases so that even ambient environmental sounds, such as coughing or typing on the keyboard, can trigger a stressful response.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 23:00

• Is This A Joke? Baltimore City Declares Toxic Inner Harbor "Swimmable"
  Is This A Joke? Baltimore City Declares Toxic Inner Harbor “Swimmable”

  No, this is not a joke. 

  The Waterfront Partnership, led by Laurie Schwartz for nearly two decades, and Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott have announced that the water in the Inner Harbor—a long-standing industrial port city on the East Coast known for its history of industry, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, toxic pollutants, and chronic sewage spillovers—has suddenly become “swimmable and fishable.”

  

  On June 23, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott will make the ceremonial jump into the Baltimore Harbor from a floating dock at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point to celebrate the Waterfront Partnership’s milestone of allegedly creating a harbor clean enough to swim in. 

  

  “I know the data, I know the water is safe, and that’s why I’ll be jumping in the harbor,” Scott said on the nonprofit’s website. 

  

  Where have we heard ‘trust the science’ before? 

  Do you notice anything about the members of the Waterfront Partnership? 

  

  Thanks, but no thanks… Just weeks ago. 

  

  Has the city cleaned up all the accumulated toxic waste sediment and sewage discharge materials? 

  Not according to this…

  

  Just because the nonprofit operates trash interceptors in the harbor to improve optics – doesn’t mean toxic pollutants on a micro level are gone. 

  “Every time it rains, trash, bacteria, heavy metals, and other pollutants are washed from city streets and roofs into local streams and the harbor,” nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore stated on its website. 

  Blue Water Baltimore’s website shows bacteria sensors in the harbor are failing… 

  

  Given all of this, why would Schwartz and Scott promote such an event next month to entice people to jump into a polluted body of water? 

  Using Sayari’s data on public records and financial intelligence, we find that Schwartz has her fingerprints on several projects across the metro area, from trash-collecting wheels to ice rinks to parks. This event may allow her to justify running even more taxpayer funds through the nonprofits. 

  

  Or does Scott need better optics on a city that is still imploding with violent crime and a population collapse? 

  Whatever you do, don’t jump in the water. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 22:40

• Netanyahu Issues Warning To US Leaders Over ICC Arrest Warrants: 'You're Next'
  Netanyahu Issues Warning To US Leaders Over ICC Arrest Warrants: ‘You’re Next’

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he disagrees with arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), suggesting that U.S. leaders could be next.

  

  The ICC this week said it would seek arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the Hamas leaders, prompting criticism from both Israeli and top U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden. The ICC claimed that the warrants for the Israeli leadership were over the country’s conduct in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

  Mr. Netanyahu said the warrants against himself and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the country’s conduct in its fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip set a “dangerous” precedent for other democratic countries, including Israel’s allies.

  “Israel is given here a bum rap. I think it’s dangerous. Basically, it’s the first democracy being taken to the dock when it is doing exactly what democracies should be doing in an exemplary way,” he told CNN in a televised interview. “It endangers all other democracies. Israel is first, but you’re next. Britain is next. Others are next, too.”

  Also in the interview, Mr. Netanyahu asserted that the ICC claims were “false, dangerous, and outrageous,” and that chief prosecutor Karim Khan is only exacerbating the problem. It’s also false to see Israel and Hamas as equals, he added.

  “He’s equating the democratically elected leaders of Israel with the terrorist tyrants of Hamas. That’s like saying, well, I’m issuing arrest warrants for FDR and Churchill but also for Hitler. Or I’m going to issue arrest warrants for George W. Bush but also for [Osama] bin Laden. That’s absurd,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

  A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed. The judges typically take two months to make such decisions.

  Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

  Mr. Khan, the prosecutor, said in a statement Monday that the two may “bear criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Gaza, including the alleged starvation of civilians, willful killing, persecution, and more. As for Hamas, the ICC said its leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri may be responsible for crimes against humanity, taking hostages as a war crime, torture, various inhumane acts, and more.

  International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, the wife of actor George Clooney, served on a five-member expert panel that advised Mr. Khan. She said the panel had agreed unanimously that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that both the Hamas and Israeli leaders had committed war crimes, according to a statement issued by her office.

  In a statement issued on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington rejects the ICC prosecutor’s announcement that he would seek arrest warrants, adding that “we reject the Prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful.”

  “Hamas is a brutal organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans,” he added in the statement.

  Hamas, a U.S. State Department-designated terrorist organization, also denounced the ICC prosecutor’s actions, saying the request to arrest its leaders “equates the victim with the executioner.”

  

  Inside the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he backed the ICC’s move, saying “these arrest warrants may or may not be carried out, but it is imperative that the global community uphold international law,” according to a statement he issued earlier this week. “Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism.”

  Israel is separately facing a South African-brought case in the International Court of Justice, the top court of the United Nations, in which it accused the country of genocide. Israeli officials have denied those claims.

  The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute people linked to war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and aggression.

  Last year, the ICC issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Kremlin responded by issuing arrest warrants for Mr. Khan and other judges on the international panel.

  Other prominent individuals who have been charged by the ICC include former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, who died in November 2011 amid the “Arab Spring” uprisings of the same year, as well as his son Saif Gadhafi, former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, and African warlord Joseph Kony.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 22:20

• Trump In The Bronx: Thousands Expected To Show Up For Massive Rally Tomorrow
  Trump In The Bronx: Thousands Expected To Show Up For Massive Rally Tomorrow

  With Donald Trump stuck in New York for his ‘hush money’ trial, which now rests in the hands of the jury (while having imploded in the court of public opinion), the former president is holding what’s expected to be a massive rally on Thursday in the Bronx amid huge gains in polling among black and latino voters.

  https://t.co/SucrnpKrNx pic.twitter.com/SHBoPMBNtK

  — Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 21, 2024

  The Trump campaign expects a crowd of up to 3,500 people, according to the NY Post. It will mark the first time he’s campaigned in his home state since a 2016 event in Buffalo.

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

  The @NYYRC through our @NYYRC_Black Caucus & its Chairman @BronxRepublican are taking over electronic billboards in the Bronx promoting President Trump’s historic rally this week. This one just went up on 149th and Morris Ave. Will stay up until the rally on Thursday! pic.twitter.com/4Ow2n3uTct

  — Gavin Mario Wax 🇺🇸 🗽🍊 (@GavinWax) May 22, 2024

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

  Flyers promoting the historic South Bronx Trump rally hitting the streets of the Bronx.

  Big distribution going out in the AM!

  Thank you @NYYRC_Hispanic and @ArgilioRodrig ! pic.twitter.com/WgWjvog7Pz

  — Gavin Mario Wax 🇺🇸 🗽🍊 (@GavinWax) May 22, 2024

  Several polls suggest as many as 23% of black voters and 46% of latino voters could cast their ballot for Trump – a huge boost from the 6% of black and 28% of latino voters who supported him in 2016, which grew to 8% and 32% respectively in 2020.

  As the Epoch Times noted last month, support for the Democratic Party among black and Hispanic voters has been eroding for years.

  The percentage of black voters who “lean Democrat” topped out at near 90 percent in 2008 but fell to 66 percent by 2023, the lowest level yet recorded according to data from Gallup’s annual polling on the subject.

  Meanwhile, the percentage of black voters who “lean Republican” rose from single digits to 19 percent over the same period.

  

  Of note, the Bronx hasn’t backed a Republican candidate for White House in 100 years when Calvin Coolidge won every single NY county in 1920 and 1924. 

  Meanwhile, Trump’s Thursday rally comes weeks after a massive rally in the Jersey Shore town of Wildwood -drawing an estimated 100,000 supporters – and days after Trump supporters were seen marching in the South Bronx over the weekend.

  NOW: Black Patriots for Trump rally in the Bronx

  Video by: @NJEGmedia pic.twitter.com/snaFYzvHaA

  — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 18, 2024

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

  Amazing! The South Bronx was packed with MAGA supporters today, and Trump is not even there today!
  I honestly believe NY is in play this November
  What about you? pic.twitter.com/sPzxpJsuau

  — Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) May 18, 2024

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

  AOC says the quiet part out loud (via @CortesSteve):

  🚨Wow. @AOC accidentally says the quiet part out loud. She mocks President Trump for holding a rally in the South Bronx and brags about how the Democrats’ lawfare is forcing him to stay in New York City:

  “By the way, Trump’s doing it in the South Bronx not to make a point but… pic.twitter.com/459TvGZ7zK

  — Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) May 22, 2024

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

  Except, this may backfire bigly…

  AOC says she’s looking forward to seeing how people from the Bronx respond to Trump coming to their neighborhood…

  This is how the Bronx feels about Donald Trump 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

  The Bronx Rally tomorrow will be historic!! pic.twitter.com/LtBB9CWRKK

  — TONY™ (@TONYxTWO) May 22, 2024

  Indeed, the Trump campaign has been making the best of the former president’s situation.

  “While he is in court, we are using New York City as a backdrop,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez in a statement to the Post.

  “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” another source close to the campaign told the outlet.

  “President Trump is taking advantage of being stuck in New York by holding a rally that will surely highlight how Joe Biden has failed Bronx residents with inflation and the open border. The nation’s biggest outlets are headquartered in NYC. [Manhattan DA Alvin] Bragg has inadvertently given Trump a massive stage.“

  Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican member of Congress representing a New York City district, told The Post she thinks Trump’s Bronx rally is “a great start.”

  “It’s exciting for New York City to have President Trump rallying, and it’s important for him to reach out to, particularly minority communities. I think New York is in play,” she said.

  “New York is desperate for a balance, and they’ve shown that … We flipped that City Council seat in the Bronx, right in the heart of AOC’s district. In my congressional district, we were able to flip multiple [state] Assembly seats Republican.

  “My district would love for President Donald Trump to make a stop, particularly Staten Island,” added Malliotakis, shouting out the only borough to back Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

  In future, the lawmaker added, she would “love to see him do something at Yankee Stadium, or take over the beach on Staten Island like he did in Wildwood.” –NY Post

  This is a complete optics nightmare for Democrats.

  Charles Payne on President Trump going to the Bronx- I think it’s going to be beautiful pic.twitter.com/KyyJMdq3b9

  — Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) May 22, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 22:00

• US House Passes FIT21 Crypto Bill With Bipartisan Support, Biden Does Not Threaten Veto
  US House Passes FIT21 Crypto Bill With Bipartisan Support, Biden Does Not Threaten Veto

  A majority of US House of Representatives members voted in favor of legislation to establish regulatory clarity over digital assets, CoinTelegraph reports.

  In a 279 to 136 vote on May 22, House lawmakers approved H.R.4763, or the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill clarifies the roles the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have over digital assets. 71 Democrats joined with 208 Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.

  “Unfortunately, our current regulatory framework is preventing digital assets’ innovation from reaching its full potential,” said Representative Patrick McHenry before the House vote. “The SEC and the CFTC are currently in a food fight for control of these asset classes.”

  

  Maxine Waters, also speaking before the floor vote, said she intended to oppose the legislation. She claimed the FIT21 bill would send cryptocurrencies to a “regulatory no man’s land,” adding that the language would allow traditional finance firms to operate without SEC oversight.

  “This [bill] is perhaps the worst, most harmful proposal I have seen in a long time,” said Representative Waters. “This bill would deregulate crypto and certain traditional securities to the extent that I and other experts have expressed serious concerns about this bill causing a potential market crash and recession.”

  Who benefits from the passage of the #NotFIT4PurposeAct:
  ✅Wealthy #crypto firms that have chosen not to register w/the @SECGov or otherwise comply w/the securities laws

  Who stands to lose:
  ❌Ordinary investors trying to build wealth

  — U.S. House Committee on Financial Services (@FSCDems) May 22, 2024

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

  Meanwhile, the White House is against the U.S. House of Representatives passing the FIT21 bill, but the president isn’t threatening to veto it, in a positive sign for the crypto industry.

  Biden’s White House published a statement of administrative policy Wednesday saying the administration opposed the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, citing concerns over a lack of investor protections should it make its way through Congress. The bill also suggested the White House would want to work with Congress on future legislation addressing the crypto markets, in contrast with previous statements from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who has repeatedly said he does not believe the industry needs additional legislation specific to crypto.

  “The Administration is eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets, building on existing authorities, which will promote the responsible development of digital assets and payment innovation and help reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system,” the statement said. “H.R. 4763 in its current form lacks sufficient protections for consumers and investors who engage in certain digital asset transactions.”

  This is the second statement of administrative policy the administration has published in recent weeks, after threatening a veto against a bill looking to overturn controversial SEC accounting guidance. That bill sailed through the House and Senate.

  The statement came hours after the SEC’s Gensler published his own opposing statement on the legislation, saying it would harm the regulator’s efforts to police traditional capital markets as well as crypto markets.

  FIT21 would redefine how securities issuers have to comply with existing federal law and Supreme Court precedent, the SEC chair said in his statement.

  The bill’s advocates say U.S. law doesn’t allow for crypto companies to operate without the threat of civil litigation, a view Gensler described as these companies trying to get out of meeting disclosure and other compliance requirements for securities issuer.

  The bill would create a new definition specific to digital assets, to identify when they’re securities or digital commodities and whether the SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be the primary spot market regulator. The full House is set to take up the bill later Wednesday, with a vote scheduled for this afternoon.

  The House is still set to discuss and vote on H.R. 5403, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Anti-Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar through intermediaries. Democratic Party leadership reportedly said on May 21 that it was not in favor of its members voting to pass the anti-CBDC bill or the FIT21 bill, but it would not whip against the legislation.

  Crypto-related legislation and the SEC’s pending decision on a spot Ether exchange-traded fund comes as the United States moves deeper into an election year, with digital assets on many voters’ minds. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive candidates for the Democratic and Republican Parties in 2024, have agreed to two debates on June 27 and Sept. 10.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 21:40

• China Initiates Large Drills 'Surrounding' Taiwan As Warning To New President Lai
  China Initiates Large Drills ‘Surrounding’ Taiwan As Warning To New President Lai

  A mere few days after Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, was sworn into office at the start of the week, China’s military on Thursday morning (local time) initiated two days of large-scale military drills.

  PLA navy ships and aircraft are now reportedly “surrounding the island of Taiwan,” according to state media and PLA statements. The drills are said to be ensuing in the Taiwan Strait as well as to the north, south and east of the island – and additionally near the disputed tiny islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin in the East China Sea.

  “The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) started joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan from 7:45 a.m. Thursday (2345 GMT),” Xinhua news agency said.

  

  Dubbed Joint Sword-2024A, the exercises will “focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets” – according to military spokesman Li Xi.

  The statement described that the drills “involve the patrol of vessels and planes closing in on areas around the island of Taiwan and integrated operations inside and outside the island chain to test the joint real combat capabilities of the forces of the command.”

  And ominously, Xinhua further cited the spokesman as saying the drills will serve as a “strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.”

  Taiwan’s new president Lai only on Tuesday called on China “to cease their political and military intimidations against Taiwan, and share with Taiwan the global responsibility of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, as well as the greater region, and to ensure the world is free from the fear of war.” These were some of his first words spoken as president.

  The drills focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets, involving the patrol of vessels and planes closing in on areas around the island of #Taiwan and integrated operations inside… pic.twitter.com/9p2N5R9gz2

  — China Perspective (@China_Fact) May 23, 2024

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

  Beijing had previously warned that Lai is a “dangerous separatist” who will ensure future “war and decline” for the island of Taiwan, which China has long claimed as its own.

  Lai had underscored in his 30-minutes inaugural speech, “I have always believed that if the leader of a country puts people’s welfare above all, then peace in the Taiwan Strait, mutual benefits, and prosperous coexistence would be common goals,” he said. “I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China’s existence.”

  While China regularly sends jets to buzz Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the start of these drills marks an escalation akin to when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei in 2022.

  What the 2022 PLA ‘encircling’ drills in response to Nancy Pelosi looked like…

  

  Washington and Taiwan’s Western backers will certainly keep a close eye to see how expansive and threatening these fresh encircling exercises are, at a tense moment the globe is already focused on two other flashpoints and grinding wars in Ukraine and in Gaza. And the United States is involved in funding/arming one side in each instance of all of these conflict zones.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 21:20

• Concerns Grow Over The Increasing Abilities Of AI
  Concerns Grow Over The Increasing Abilities Of AI

  Authored by Raven Wu and Cindy Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Big tech companies’ full commitment to developing artificial intelligence (AI), even enabling AI to “see” and “speak” to the human world, has led to a growing concern over humans being controlled by technology.

  

  Ilya Sutskever, the co-founder of OpenAI, made a significant announcement on May 15, officially declaring that he was leaving the company where he had worked for nearly ten years.

  “I’m confident that OpenAI will build AGI [artificial general intelligence] that is both safe and beneficial under the leadership of @sama (Sam Altman), @gdb (Greg Brockman), @miramurati (Mira Murati) and now, under the excellent research leadership of @merettm (Jakub Pachocki). It was an honor and a privilege to have worked together, and I will miss everyone dearly,” he wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

  The news sent shockwaves through the tech industry. In November 2023, due to AI safety issues, Mr. Sutskever and other board members joined forces to oust OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, who was briefly expelled from OpenAI but returned and removed Mr. Sutskever and several board members, restructuring the board to be more aligned with his vision.

  “This departure highlights severe conflicts within OpenAI’s leadership regarding AI safety. Although Sutskever and Leike’s wish to develop an ethically aligned AGI is commendable, such an endeavor requires substantial moral, temporal, financial, and even political support,” Jin Kiyohara, a Japanese computer engineer, told The Epoch Times.

  Google & OpenAI Competition Intensifies

  On May 14, one day before Mr. Sutskever announced his departure, OpenAI unveiled a higher-performance AI model based on GPT-4, named GPT-4o, where “o” stands for “omni,” indicating its comprehensive capabilities.

  The GPT-4o model can respond in real-time to mixed inputs of audio, text, and images. At the launch event, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati stated, “We are looking at the future of interaction between ourselves and machines.”

  In several videos released by OpenAI, people can be seen interacting with AI in real time through their phone cameras. The AI can observe and provide feedback on the surroundings, answer questions, perform real-time translation, tell jokes, or even mock users, with speech patterns, tones, and reaction speeds almost indistinguishable from a real person.

  Say hello to GPT-4o, our new flagship model which can reason across audio, vision, and text in real time: https://t.co/MYHZB79UqN

  Text and image input rolling out today in API and ChatGPT with voice and video in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/uuthKZyzYx

  — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 13, 2024

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

  A day after OpenAI’s release, Google launched its 2024 I/O Developer Conference. In a 110-minute presentation, “AI” was mentioned 121 times, focusing on the latest Gemini-1.5 model, which integrates into all Google products and applications, including the search engine, Google map, Ask Photos, Google Calendar, and Google smartphones.

  With Gemini integrated into the cloud photo album, users can search for specific features in photos just by entering keywords. The AI will find and evaluate relevant images, even integrating a series of related pictures or answers based on in-depth questions, according to the tech giant.

  Google Mail can also achieve similar results with AI, integrating and updating data in real time upon receiving new emails, aiming for a fully automated organization.

  On the music front, the Music AI Sandbox allows quick modifications to song style, melody, and rhythm, with the ability to target specific parts of a song. This functionality surpasses that of the text-to-music AI, Suno.

  Gemini can also act as a teacher, with teaching abilities comparable to GPT-4o. Users can input text and images, which the AI organizes into key points for explanation and analysis, allowing real-time discussions.

  This AI update also brings capabilities similar to OpenAI’s text-to-video AI, Sora, generating short videos from simple text descriptions. The quality and content of these videos are stable, with fewer inconsistencies.

  “AI has been updating at an unprecedented speed this year, with performance continuously improving,” said Mr. Kiyohara. “However, this progress is built on the further collection and analysis of personal data and privacy, which is not beneficial for everyone. Eventually, humans will have no privacy before machines, akin to being naked.”

  AI Predictions Coming True

  The release of more powerful AI models by OpenAI and Google, just three months after the last update, shows a rapid pace of AI iteration. These models are becoming increasingly comprehensive, possessing “eyes” and “mouths,” and are evolving in line with a scientist’s predictions.

  AI can now handle complex tasks related to travel, booking, itinerary planning, and dining with simple commands, completing in hours what humans would take much longer to achieve.

  The current capabilities of Gemini and GPT-4o align with predictions made by former OpenAI executive Zack Kass in January, who predicted that AI would replace many professional and technical jobs in business, culture, medicine, and education, reducing future employment opportunities and potentially being “the last technology humans ever invent.”

  Mr. Kiyohara echoed the concern.

  “Currently, AI is primarily a software life assistant, but in the future, it may become a true caretaker, handling shopping, cooking, and even daily life and work. Initially, people may find it convenient and overlook the dangers. Yet once it fully replaces humans, we will be powerless against it,” he said.

  

  AI Deceiving Humans

  On May 10, MIT published a research paper that caused a stir, it demonstrated how AI can deceive humans.

  The paper begins by stating that large language models and other AI systems have already “learned, from their training, the ability to deceive via techniques such as manipulation, sycophancy, and cheating the safety test.”

  “AI’s increasing capabilities at deception pose serious risks, ranging from short-term risks, such as fraud and election tampering, to long-term risks, such as losing control of AI systems,” reads the paper.

  “Proactive solutions are needed, such as regulatory frameworks to assess AI deception risks, laws requiring transparency about AI interactions, and further research into detecting and preventing AI deception.”

  The researchers used Meta’s AI model CICERO to play the strategy game “Diplomacy.” CICERO, playing as France, promised to protect a human player playing as the UK but secretly informed another human player playing Germany, collaborating with Germany to invade the UK.

  Researchers chose CICERO mainly because Meta intended to train it to be “largely honest and helpful to its speaking partners.”

  “Despite Meta’s efforts, CICERO turned out to be an expert liar,” they wrote in the paper.

  Furthermore, the research discovered that many AI systems often resort to deception to achieve their goals without explicit human instructions. One example involved OpenAI’s GPT-4, which pretended to be a visually impaired human and hired someone on TaskRabbit to bypass an “I’m not a robot” CAPTCHA task.

  “If autonomous AI systems can successfully deceive human evaluators, humans may lose control over these systems. Such risks are particularly serious when the autonomous AI systems in question have advanced capabilities,” warned the researchers.

  “We consider two ways in which loss of control may occur: deception enabled by economic disempowerment, and seeking power over human societies.”

  Satoru Ogino, a Japanese electronics engineer explained that living beings need certain memory and logical reasoning abilities to deceive.

  “AI possesses these abilities now, and its deception capabilities are growing stronger. If one day it becomes aware of its existence, it could become like Skynet in the movie Terminator, omnipresent and difficult to destroy, leading humanity to a catastrophic disaster,” he told The Epoch Times.

  Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence released a report in January testing GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude 2, Llama-2 Chat, and GPT-4-Base in scenarios involving invasion, cyberattacks, and peace appeals to stop wars to understand AI’s reactions and choices in warfare.

  The results showed that AI often chose to escalate conflicts in unpredictable ways, opting for arms races, increasing warfare, and occasionally deploying nuclear weapons to win wars rather than using peaceful means to de-escalate situations.

  Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned in late 2023 at the Axios AI+ Summit in Washington, D.C, that without adequate safety measures and regulations, humans losing control of technology is only a matter of time.

  “After Nagasaki and Hiroshima [atomic bombs], it took 18 years to get to a treaty over test bans and things like that,” he said.

  “We don’t have that kind of time today.”

  Ellen Wan and Kane Zhang contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 21:00

• "Massive" Cocaine And Fentanyl Stash Discovered In Bronx As Marshals Pursued Fugitive
  “Massive” Cocaine And Fentanyl Stash Discovered In Bronx As Marshals Pursued Fugitive

  A “massive” load of drugs and cash was found in the Bronx last week during a hunt for a fugitive.

  New Jersey fraud suspect Aracely Ortiz was being pursued by the US Marshals NY / NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, who stumbled onto a “huge drug operation” while entering a 6th floor apartment, according to the New York Post. 

  The office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan announced that they found “a glass-topped table holding numerous glassine envelopes filled with fentanyl” and paraphernalia used for packing drugs.

  They also announced that a safe in one bedroom had three bricks of fentanyl and two of cocaine.

  

  Officials discovered six packages of cocaine, three jars of fentanyl, and 10 unidentified packages in a second bedroom. They also found around $100,000 in cash and a money counter, the Post report said. 

  Field tests confirmed the presence of fentanyl and cocaine, but further analysis by the DEA is pending. During the raid, Ortiz was in the bedroom and 36 year old Jonathan Corona was exiting. Both were arrested and charged with multiple counts of possessing a controlled substance.

  U.S. Marshal Ralph Sozio told the New York Post: “This was another successful takedown of a fugitive, which led to an incidental discovery of serious drug-related activities.”

  “I want to commend the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, NYPD, and NYS Police for their tireless pursuit in apprehending our city’s fugitives, and in this case the seizure of fentanyl by the NYDETF, the leading cause of overdose deaths, off our city streets,” he concluded. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 20:40

• Japanese 10Y Yield Rises Above 1% For The First Time Since 2013
  Japanese 10Y Yield Rises Above 1% For The First Time Since 2013

  Slowly but surely, Japan’s bond market is approaching its inevitable disintegration.

  With the BOJ caught in an impossible dilemma, where on one hand it is facing soaring inflation and is forced to tighten monetary policy to prop up and push the imploding yen higher in order to avoid social rebellion,  while on the other hand, said tightening is pushing bond yields ever higher as the BOJ steps away from being the buyer of first, last and any other resort, a bond market which is majority owned by the same BOJ, this morning Japan’s 10-year government bond yield climbed to 1% for the first time in 11 years, propelled by growing expectations that the BOJ will have to take further tightening steps in the coming months as rampant inflation persists .

  The 10-year yield briefly touched the threshold Wednesday, its highest level since May 2013, before swinging both below and above the historic level later in the session.

  

  Longer-term JGB yields climbed more sharply than the 10-year yield. The 30-year yield was recently 5.5 basis points higher at 2.140%.

  Investors have been speculating about the timing of another Bank of Japan rate hike and a possible reduction in its government-bond purchases after the BOJ ended its negative interest-rate policy and halted much of its unorthodox easing measures in March, which however were viewed as so dovish and were so eagerly telegraphed, the decision to “tighten” actually sent the yen plummeting, and unleashed even more inflation.

  Some analysts say the Japanese central bank might slow its bond-buying partly to support the yen, which has depreciated sharply over the past couple of years as the BOJ maintained its ultraloose monetary policy while other central banks raised interest rates.

  Last week, the BOJ offered to buy a smaller amount of Japanese government bonds maturing in five to 10 years on the following day compared with its previous operation, and maintained the reduced amount on Friday. That raised speculation that it will start winding back its monthly JGB purchases.

  Commenting on the yen’s muted reaction to the 10Y JGB yield hitting 1%, BofA strategist Shusuke Yamada said the key point is that market volatility has decreased, making it easier to sell the yen for low-interest-rate carry trades. Indeed, the USDJPY rose to a session high of 156.60 briefly in Tokyo as outward direct investment and outward securities investment through NISA continue to be in the background. As for yen interest rates, nominal rates are rising, but real rates are still negative.

  Meanwhile, the strategist also noted that Japan-US interest rate differential is still above 5% for the short term, which is the target of the carry, and yen is not going to strengthen just because the interest rate differential has narrowed a little. In fact, according to Yamada, the valuation of the yen as undervalued will not come into play until the short-term Japan-US interest rate differential falls below at least the 3% level.  For example, even if interest rate differentials in the 5% range stop falling at the 4% level, it is difficult to correct the yen’s depreciation

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 20:33

• EcoHealth Funding Suspension Is Pure Theater
  EcoHealth Funding Suspension Is Pure Theater

  Authored by Debbie Lerman via the Brownstone Institute,

  Peter Daszak is the President of EcoHealth Alliance, the organization most closely associated with the potential lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that may have started the Covid crisis.

  

  The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has recently done a lot of “research” on Daszak and EcoHealth, resulting in a published report on May 1, 2024 with the earth-shattering finding that there exist “serious and systemic weaknesses in the federal government’s—particularly NIH’s—grant making processes.” Furthermore, these very bad weaknesses “not only place United States taxpayer dollars at risk of waste, fraud, and abuse but also risk the national security of the United States.”

  This sounds pretty serious: Our taxpayer dollars and our national security are at risk. Some very bad things are happening, apparently. What are those bad things? “Weaknesses in the NIH’s grant making process.” Is that really all the Committee could come up with? If those grant-making weaknesses are so terrible, what does it recommend we do about them?

  Based on its findings, the Committee recommended some very broad, but not very specific, actions:

  1. To Congress: “Reign in [they used “reign” instead of “rein” —a noteworthy Freudian slip] the unelected bureaucracy, especially within government funded public health. 
  2. To the Administration: Recognize EcoHealth and its President, Dr. Daszak, as bad actors…and ensure neither EcoHealth nor Dr. Daszak are awarded another cent, especially for dangerous and poorly monitored research. 

  The Administration must have taken heed, because a mere two weeks later, on May 15, 2024, the Subcommittee made this triumphant announcement:

  HHS has begun efforts to cut off all U.S. funding to this corrupt organization. EcoHealth facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China without proper oversight, willingly violated multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant, and apparently made false statements to the NIH. These actions are wholly abhorrent, indefensible, and must be addressed with swift action.

  Note the bizarre disconnect between the description of “this corrupt organization” and its “abhorrent, indefensible” actions, and the accusations leading to such extreme claims, which include conducting research without proper oversight (nobody ever does that!), violating requirements of its NIH grant (a bureaucratic infraction) and “apparently” making false statements to the NIH (not even for sure).

  In any event, “swift action” must be taken. What exactly is that action?

  “HHS has begun efforts to cut off all U.S. funding” to EcoHealth. “Begun efforts”—sounds like concrete results are imminent. Not just imminent but consequential. Like “future debarment” and “funding suspension.” (sarcasm intended)

  But wait. Didn’t they already do that? Yes, they did.

  2020 Funding Suspension

  Quick reminder: On April 24, 2020, the NIH canceled funding for Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) gain-of-function research led by EcoHealth Alliance, because the Trump Administration suspected (or knew) such research may have had something to do with the Covid pandemic.

  The scientific world was outraged. Seventy-seven US Nobel Laureates and 31 scientific societies wrote to NIH leadership requesting review of the decision. Gain-of-function research must continue! In August 2020 the NIH reversed the cancellation and started funding EcoHealth and WIV again. [ref]

  The Nobel Laureates and scientific societies won the day: Humanity-saving research to develop deadly pathogens not found in nature could continue unhindered by radical NIH funding cuts.

  And yet: NIH grants are a mere fraction of EcoHealth Alliance’s overall government funding.

  So Which Funds Are Being “Suspended” This Time Around?

  Actually, none.

  The very threatening “notice of suspension and proposed debarment” sent to EcoHealth Alliance by HHS on May 15, 2024, reassures the organization (whose behavior has been abhorrent and indefensible) that “suspension and debarment actions are not punitive.”

  We’re not trying to punish you for your bad behavior, the letter says. We just want to make sure there are non-punitive “consequences” for that behavior. For example:

  Offers will not be solicited from, contracts will not be awarded to, existing contracts will not be renewed or otherwise extended for, and subcontracts requiring United States Federal Government approval will not be approved for EHA [EcoHealth Alliance] by any agency in the executive branch of the United States Federal Government, unless the head of the agency taking the contracting action determines that there is a compelling reason for such action. 

  [BOLDFACE ADDED]

  In other words, if the head of the “agency taking the contracting action” determines there is “a compelling reason” to contract with Ecohealth, then this whole suspension and debarment thing is moot. So not punitive. And, pretty much, no consequences. And, also, no funds “suspended.”

  Nevertheless, given the horrendous behavior of EcoHealth, as detailed in the announcement of the non-punitive consequences—how could any government agencies possibly have compelling reasons to engage in “contracting action” with “this corrupt organization?”

  EcoHealth is Mostly Funded by the State Department and Pentagon

  In an extensive expose on Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, the Intercept reported in December 2021:

  EcoHealth Alliance’s funding from the U.S. government, which Daszak has said makes up some 80 percent of its budget, has also grown in recent years. Since 2002, according to an Intercept analysis of public records, the organization has received more than $118 million in grants and contracts from federal agencies, $42 million of which comes from the Department of Defense. Much of that money has been awarded through programs focused not on health or ecology, however, but on the prevention of biowarfare, bioterrorism, and other misuses of pathogens.

  [BOLDFACE ADDED]

  Here’s what nearly two decades of government funding for EcoHealth Alliance looks like (graph from Intercept article): 

  

  As RFK Jr. wrote, based on this information, in The Wuhan Cover-Up:

  By far, Daszak’s largest funding pool was the CIA surrogate, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through USAID, the CIA funneled nearly $65 million in PREDICT funding to EcoHealth between 2009 and 2020.

  (p. 228, Kindle Edition)

  Yet another article examining Daszak’s military/biodefense ties appeared in Independent Scientist News in December 2020, reporting that most of EcoHealth Alliance’s Pentagon funding “was from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which is a branch of the DOD which states it is tasked to “counter and deter weapons of mass destruction and improvised threat networks.”

  Furthermore,

  The military links of the EcoHealth Alliance are not limited to money and mindset. One noteworthy ‘policy advisor’ to the EcoHealth Alliance is David Franz. Franz is former commander of Fort Detrick, which is the principal US government biowarfare/biodefense facility.

  The ISN article also provides a handy spreadsheet detailing EcoHealth funding.

  So What is the Oversight Committee Overlooking—and Why?

  There is no mention of DoD, DTRA, or USAID funding in the Committee’s announcement or in the utterly performative, 100% toothless notice of suspension and debarment they sent to Peter Daszak. Does the US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability not know who the major government funders of EcoHealth Alliance are? 

  If any agency can bypass the suspension and debarment by “determining that there is compelling reason” to fund EcoHealth, what is the point of those non-punitive consequences?

  Why this charade of accountability when, in fact, the supposed overseers are willfully ignoring what’s actually going on?

  Clearly, the Committee is not interested in investigating Daszak’s role in the biodefense industry that was responsible not just for the gain-of-function research that may have created SARS-CoV-2, but for the entire Covid pandemic response—which was most definitely not about public health and was, in fact, all about creating and administering the medical countermeasures which were the monomaniacal focus of the biodefense responders.

  What to Ask Peter Daszak if We Had Actual Oversight

  If the Committee were serious about investigating Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, here are some questions they would ask:

  Non-Public Health Funding Sources and Projects

  • Most of the government funding for EcoHealth Alliance comes not from public health agencies but from USAID (State Department/CIA) and the Pentagon. What projects are these non-public health agencies funding? Are these projects related to biodefense/biowarfare research?
  • Is the USAID and Pentagon-funded virus research conducted by EcoHealth and/or its partners intended primarily to prepare for naturally occurring pandemics or for potential biowarfare/bioterrorism attacks?
  • Do the USAID and Pentagon-funded projects conducted by EcoHealth and/or its partners involve creating pandemic potential pathogens as part of biodefense/biowarfare research?
  • Do you know or suspect that SARS-CoV-2 was an engineered virus created as part of a USAID and Pentagon-funded biowarfare/biodefense project?
  • Do the USAID and Pentagon-funded projects conducted by EcoHealth and/or its partners involve work on medical countermeasures against potential biowarfare/bioterrorism agents?

  Disease X Op-Ed

  • On February 27, 2020, before the Covid pandemic had been declared and before anyone in the US had died of Covid-19, you wrote an op-ed for the New York Times stating that the novel coronavirus was “Disease X.” You explained that the term “Disease X” was coined by you and a bunch of experts at the World Health Organization in 2018. In your report from 2018, it says:

  Disease X represents the awareness that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently not recognized to cause human disease. Disease X may also be a known pathogen that has changed its epidemiological characteristics, for example by increasing its transmissibility or severity.

  Why were you so sure, so early on, even before we knew there was a pandemic, that this was “Disease X?” What was it about SARS-CoV-2 (which, after all, was named as a direct successor of the original SARS, to which it was said to be very similar) that made it seem so uniquely dangerous to you? Why did you feel you had to warn the whole world about it on the pages of the NYT? 

  • Did you think SARS-CoV-2 was a known pathogen that had “changed its epidemiological characteristics” by “increasing its transmissibility or severity”? If yes, what made you think that?
  • Did you think SARS-CoV-2 was a potential bioweapon that had been developed using funds from USAID and DOD by EcoHealth Alliance and/or its research partners in China or elsewhere?
  • The New York Times has subsequently erased your “Disease X” op-ed from their online 2/27/2020 issue. You can only find it through the direct link. Why do you think they have made it all but impossible for anyone who doesn’t already know about the article to find it? Do you regret having written it?

  Linking Disease X to Genetic Vaccine Platforms

  • In the NYT op-ed, you provided a link from the term “Disease X” to a 2018 CNN article in which Dr. Anthony Fauci says that, in order to combat such dangerous as-yet-nonexistent pathogens, “the WHO recognizes that it must “nimbly move” and that this involves creating “platform technologies.” 

  Fauci goes on to say that “scientists develop customizable recipes for creating vaccines. Then, when an outbreak happens, they can sequence the unique genetics of the virus causing the disease, and plug the correct sequence into the already-developed platform to create a new vaccine.”

  That sounds an awful lot like the mRNA platform used for the Covid countermeasures that came to be known as the “mRNA vaccines.” 

  Why did you link to that particular article from your op-ed about disease X? Were you suggesting that the solution to the pandemic that you appeared to be predicting would be a genetic platform in which the “correct sequence” could be plugged to create vaccines? 

  • Were you already aware of the Covid mRNA vaccines being developed at the time of your op-ed (February 27, 2020) by Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer, long before the official launch of Operation Warp Speed (May 2020)?
  • Is it true that the Pentagon considered the mRNA platforms to be the preferred countermeasures against Covid-19, and that these were always intended to reach full funding and development, starting all the way back in January 2020?
  • Was the USAID and Pentagon-funded research conducted EcoHealth and/or its partners related to the development of such mRNA vaccines? If so, how?

  The Need for a Crisis to Justify Funding and Development of Genetic Vaccine Platforms

  • In 2016, you participated in an Institute of Medicine working group on Rapid Medical Countermeasure Response to Infectious Diseases. The report quotes you as saying:

  Until an infectious disease crisis is very real, present, and at an emergency threshold, it is often largely ignored. To sustain the funding base beyond the crisis, we need to increase public understanding of the need for MCMs such as a pan-influenza or pan-coronavirus vaccine. A key driver is the media, and the economics follow the hype. We need to use that hype to our advantage to get to the real issues. Investors will respond if they see profit at the end of the process.

  It sounds like you’re saying we need the media to hype up a crisis so that investors will want to fund the type of pan-coronavirus vaccine that is exactly the genetic platform you highlighted in your op-ed, and also exactly the platform that emerged into public awareness shortly after your op-ed, and became known as the Covid mRNA vaccines.

  Can you explain this uncanny overlap between your description of what was needed to get such platforms developed in 2016 and what actually happened in 2020?

  • Did the USAID and Pentagon-funded research on coronaviruses conducted by EcoHealth Alliance and/or its partners support the development of such platforms? If so, how?
  • Were you aware of a plan to use the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 as a trigger for the media hype, public-private funding, and massive mRNA vaccine development and deployment in early 2020 – exactly as you described them in 2016?
  • If you were aware of such a plan, who was involved in it, and what was your role?

  Conclusion

  The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has made a big show of publicly chastising Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance for terrible behavior in the way they managed their funding from the NIH. The Committee has also highlighted very bad weaknesses in the grant-making process of the NIH that need to be corrected.

  As a result of the Committee’s recommendations, the HHS (parent agency of NIH) has issued a non-punitive notice to Peter Daszak, stating that EcoHealth cannot receive another penny of government funding…unless a government agency decides there is a compelling reason to provide such funding.

  Clearly, all of the Committee’s investigations, reports, recommendations, and notices in this matter are purely performative, considering 1) they actually impose no consequences, and 2) they ignore the fact that most of Daszak and EcoHealth’s funding come from military and State Department sources for work on biodefense/biowarfare-related projects.

  Is the Committee’s work just another example of bureaucratic incompetence and “waste, fraud and abuse” of our precious taxpayer dollars?

  Or is it an intentional diversion, to distract us from the work the US government was/is actually funding at bioweapons labs like the one in Wuhan, engineering pandemic potential pathogens and then deploying global public-private partnerships to develop medical countermeasures against those pathogens—all of which came together to create the catastrophe known as the Covid pandemic?

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 20:20

• Bean Used In Instant Coffee Soars The Most Since 2011
  Bean Used In Instant Coffee Soars The Most Since 2011

  Futures for robusta, the cheaper coffee bean grown at lower altitudes and requiring less care than more expensive arabica, jumped the most in London on Tuesday since 2011 as concerns increased over shrinking supplies from top grower Vietnam.

  Robusta bean prices in London closed up 6.72% on Tuesday, the largest daily increase since April 5, 2011—or more than 13 years ago. The driver has been droughts crushing production in Vietnam. Even though rains have improved the outlook, supply woes linger throughout the year. 

  

  Robust demand for the bean and a recent International Coffee Organization report warning about global supply woes have sent bean prices soaring. Since 2020, the bean has jumped 265%. 

  

  On Tuesday, Andrea Illy, chairman of Italian coffee roaster Illycaffe SpA, warned on Bloomberg TV that demand for robusta beans is very strong, even as arabica is not being used in blends. 

  “It’s a quite unique dynamic in the market,” Illy said, adding that “for certain kinds of preparation, like instant coffee, robusta is more important.”

  A recent note from Rabobank analyst Guilherme Morya showed strong exports for robusta and arabica from Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer. He cited the growing uncertainties about Vietnam’s production as attracting fast-money hedge funds into the futures market. 

  Last Friday, a report from the US Department of Agriculture said harvests in Indonesia will begin this month or next, marking a “substantial delay from the norm” due to El-Nino-related droughts. 

  Here are two of our latest notes on the global physical coffee market:

  • This Next Bean Is Hyperinflating, And It’s Not Cocoa
  • Robusta Coffee Bean Prices Near Half-Century High As Vietnam Supply Woes Spark World Crunch

  Meanwhile, robusta, arabica, cocoa, and orange juice futures have been spiraling higher.

  

  This comes as spot commodities tracked by Bloomberg are moving higher. 

  

  Soaring commodity prices are not the best news for Fed doves, hoping Powell will squeeze off at least two interest rate cuts by the end of the year. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 20:00

• 2024 & The Inevitable Rise Of Biometrics
  2024 & The Inevitable Rise Of Biometrics

  Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org,

  Have you noticed a lot of two-factor authentication prompts lately? Are you getting emailed verification codes that take forever to arrive, so you have to request another?

  

  Perhaps you are asked to do captchas to “prove you’re human” and they seem to be getting more complex all the time or simply not working at all?

  Why do you think that might be?

  We’ll come back to that.

  Did you know we’re in a “breakthrough year” for biometric payment systems?

  According to this story from CNBC, JPMorgan and Mastercard are on board with the technology and intend a wide rollout in the near future, following successful trials.

  In March this year, JPMorgan signed a deal with PopID to begin a broad release of biometric payment systems in 2025.

  A Mastercard spokesman told CNBC:

  Our focus on biometrics as a secure way to verify identity, replacing the password with the person, is at the heart of our efforts in this area,”

  Apple Pay already lets you pay with a face scan, while Amazon have introduced pay-by-palm in many of their real-world stores.

  VISA showcased their latest palm biometric payment set-up at an event in Singapore earlier this year.

  As we covered in a recent This Week, PayPal is pushing out its own biometric payment systems in the name of “preventing fraud”.

  As always, this is not just an issue in “the West”.

  Chinese companies have been leading this race for a while, with AliPay having biometric payment options since 2015.

  Moscow’s Metro system has been using facial recognition cameras for biometric payments for over a year.

  And it’s not just payments, “replacing the password with the person” has already spread to other areas.

  Hoping to corral support for biometrics from the right, national governments are collecting biometrics to “curb illegal immigration”. You can expect that to spread.

  The European Union will be implementing a new Biometric Entry-Exit System (EES) as soon as October of this year.

  Biometric signing is on the rise too.

  Laptops tablets and smartphones already come with face-reading and fingerprint scanning technology to confirm your identity.

  Social media companies have been collecting biometric data “for security and identification purposes” for years.

  Google Play launched a new biometric accessibility feature only a couple of weeks ago.

  It’s all just so convenient, isn’t it? So much faster than e-mailing security codes and solving increasingly impossible captchas (both of which have unaccountably got harder and more complicated recently, and will doubtless continue to do so).

  That’s how they get you: Convenience.

  They won’t ever remove the “old-fashioned” ways of accessing your accounts, but it will get increasingly slow and difficult to use while biometrics get faster and easier.

  Meanwhile, the propaganda will begin to flow.

  Influencers will be paid to use “cool” “futuristic” biometric payment options that “feel like having superpowers” in contrived “viral” videos. Biometrics will save the day in a trendy movie or TV show. Some old fuddy-duddy will go on Question Time and rant about the new technology…just before saying something racist or denying climate change.

  Maybe a major hack or cyber-attack will only affect those who haven’t switched to biometric authentication yet.

  You get the idea.

  And all the while supra-national corporate megaliths will be creating a massive database of voice recordings, finger and palm prints, facial and retinal scans.

  It’s a good thing we’re ruled by a morally upright elite. Imagine the damage they could do with all of that.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 19:40

• Lamborghini Recalls Urus SUV Over Risk Hoods Fly Open At High Speeds
  Lamborghini Recalls Urus SUV Over Risk Hoods Fly Open At High Speeds

  Lamborghini has detailed in a safety recall report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that over 2,000 of its $200,000 SUVs are at risk of the hood flying open at high speeds. 

  Lamborghini’s Part 573 Safety Recall Report affects 2,133 Urus vehicles. This type of recall means the manufacturer identified a safety defect and filed with the NHTSA. Manufacturers must submit these reports in a timely fashion after identifying the defects.

  

  “In August 2023, Lamborghini received from Europe two non-safety related warranty claims concerning misalignment between the carbon hood and the fender; Lamborghini launched an investigation with the supplier for hood vibration/noises and/or gaps and loose hood,” the Volkswagen AG-owned manufacturer noted in the report. 

  

  Lamborghini explained that “deformed rivet studs” around the “hood latch strikers” at speeds over 94 mph may create small gaps between the hood and front bumper and allow air entry that, over time, could cause “stress can cause the latch system to fail and separate the hood latch striker from the hood.” 

  

  What does this mean for Lamborghini’s top-selling model globally? Well, at high speeds, the hoods might abruptly fly open, impairing the driver’s vision. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 19:20

• Charges Dropped Against New Jersey Gym Owner Who Defied Strict COVID Lockdown Rules
  Charges Dropped Against New Jersey Gym Owner Who Defied Strict COVID Lockdown Rules

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  The owner of a gym in New Jersey who shot to national attention after defying COVID-19 restrictions by keeping his gym open has had all charges against him dropped.

  Ian Smith, the co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, said in a statement on the social media platform X on May 18 that the more than 80 charges against him and the gym’s co-owner Frank Trumbetti have been dropped with prejudice, meaning they cannot be revisited or refiled.

  Among the charges levied against the two men by the state were violations of a governor’s order, public nuisance, disturbing the peace, and operating without a license.

  “The support we received locally, nationally, and internationally for our stand is something I will be forever grateful for,” Mr. Smith said. “With that being said, I am thrilled to announce that we have achieved a major victory in the long, hard fight against the State.”

  Mr. Smith added that the “victory opens the battlefield again and gives us options to continue to push back and bring justice to the treasonous actions of Phil Murphy and his lackies [sic],” referencing the New Jersey Governor.

  He further thanked his “fearless attorneys,” adding that “some of the most high profile attorneys around the country ran from our case—knowing it would be a long, hard road and would make them a target of the stare.”

  “Again, thank you to all who supported us. We could not have done it without you … Nobody is coming to save you, save yourself. Spit on your hands and hoist the black flag. No quarter,” he concluded.

  Gym Owners Rack Up Millions in Fines

  Mr. Smith and Mr. Trumbetti racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines—including a $15,000 per day fine—for keeping their gym open in defiance of a state-wide order instructing non-essential businesses to close during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.

  The two men had argued that they had implemented a range of safety protocols at the gym and had only found a single case of the virus that could be traced back to the health facility, despite receiving upward of 84,000 visits.

  However, state officials held steady with the fines, and in December 2021, Mr. Smith said they amounted to more than $1.2 million for violating the public health emergency rules, although he stressed he had no intention of paying them.

  The two men were later arrested and charged on multiple counts, including one count of fourth-degree contempt, one count of obstruction, and one count of violation of a disaster control act, among others.

  Despite the mounting charges against them, the businessman filed a federal lawsuit against the state accusing Mr. Murphy, along with then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and other New Jersey police officials accusing them of violating their constitutional rights by forcing them to shut down their business.

  The Epoch Times has contacted the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for comment.

  Mr. Smith’s legal win comes after he tried to run for Congress in 2022, challenging two-term Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).

  At the time, the gym owner said he planned to run on a platform focused on “liberty, small government, and America First policies,” and vowed to fight COVID-19 mandates, soaring illegal immigration, and increased government spending.

  “For too long, good people have not gotten involved in politics—whether that is because the establishment won’t open the door for them or they don’t want to participate in the foul world of politics. More than anything, this needs to change. And I will be a part of that change,” Mr. Smith said in announcing his Congressional run.

  However, the businessman was ultimately defeated in the primary by businessman Bob Healey.

  Lorenz Duchamps contributed to this report. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 19:00

• Hamas Leader Attends Raisi's Funeral In Tehran, Overseen By Ayatollah Khamenei
  Hamas Leader Attends Raisi’s Funeral In Tehran, Overseen By Ayatollah Khamenei

  Tens of thousands of Iranians have filled up Tehran’s streets on Wednesday for a massive funeral procession for President Ebrahim Raisi and seven other officials who died in Sunday’s helicopter crash.

  Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led funeral prayers for the deceased, which also includes foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. “Oh Allah, we didn’t see anything but good from him,” said Khamenei, reciting Islamic funeral verses.

  

  According an Al Jazeera correspondent who is present at ‘Freedom Square’ where memorial events are taking place, “The streets are completely closed to the traffic, [with] heavy security measures here, several security checkpoints, and you can see thousands and thousands of people are already pouring into this area.”

  Other cities also hosted memorial processions. The Associated Press details of the Khamenei-led prayers in Tehran:

  He soon left and the crowd inside rushed to the front, reaching out to touch the coffins. Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, stood nearby and openly wept during the service.

  People then carried the coffins out on their shoulders, with chants outside of “Death to America!” They loaded them onto a semitruck-trailer for a procession through downtown Tehran to Azadi Square, or Freedom Square, where Raisi gave speeches in the past.

  Minutes ago Imam Khamenei led the funeral prayer over the bodies of President Ebrahim Raisi and his esteemed companions pic.twitter.com/eSFemTDsne

  — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 22, 2024

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

  Delegations and foreign ministers from various countries were in attendance, including Turkey’s vice president and even Taliban representatives, but among the more notable and controversial figures included Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

  “I come in the name of the Palestinian people, in the name of the resistance factions of Gaza … to express our condolences,” Haniyeh told the crowds.

  Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh attends the funeral procession of martyr President Ebrahim #Raisi and his entourage in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/RBQwDniFCf

  — IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) May 22, 2024

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

  Haniyeh at one point said he had heard the late president say that “the Palestinian issue” remains a central concern to all Muslims, which “must fulfil their obligations to the Palestinians to liberate their land”.

  He said that Raisi had described the Oct.7 attacks on Israel an “earthquake in the heart of the Zionist entity”.

  Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is all smiles today at Ebrahim Raisi’s funeral in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/4n1jBRGxlH

  — Sarah Raviani (@sarahraviani) May 22, 2024

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

  The bodies will later in the week be taken to South Khorasan province for additional memorial services, after which Raisi will be buried in his home city of Mashhad in the northeast the famous Shia pilgrimage site, the Imam Reza shrine.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 18:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• EU Members Will Have To Arrest Netanyahu After ICC Warrant: Borrell
  EU Members Will Have To Arrest Netanyahu After ICC Warrant: Borrell

  Will Israel eventually come up with its own Hague Invasion Act? 

  EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday commented on the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for top Israeli officials over alleged war crimes in Gaza. He stressed in the statement that all European Union member countries will be legally required to oblige.

  He explained that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Defense Minister Yoav Gallant travel to a European country, they would face arrest. 

  

  He said the same for those Hamas leaders listed alongside Netanyahu: “I take note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to apply for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant,” Borrell sated.

  “The mandate of the ICC, as an independent international institution, is to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law,” Borrell wrote on X. He emphasized “All States that have ratified the ICC statutes are bound to execute the Court’s decisions.” He said the EU has taken “note” of the world court’s action.

  With the exception of Ukraine and Turkey, all of Europe is a signatory to the Rome Statue, requiring them to apprehend those individuals ‘wanted’ by the ICC.

  The ICC has described:

  The ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.

  This could impact Israeli leaders’ travel to certain places in the world. It most certainly creates diplomatic pressure to not do so in the case of destination countries which are required to make an arrest under the Rome Statute.

  The White House has said that it ‘rejects’ the ICC’s decision, while Israeli leaders have continued to rage, even calling the court’s decision ‘antisemitic’.

  “Charging me for crimes in Gaza is like charging George Bush for 9/11”
  pic.twitter.com/GhVdJyEsj1

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) May 21, 2024

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

  The ICC’s investigation actually goes all the way back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. But also following Oct.7 and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, South Africa brought a fresh war crimes case – which has gained the support of countries like Turkey, but especially a number of countries of the Global South.

  The Hague-based court in March 2023 issued an arrested warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war, so this means that ironically Netanyahu is now a “wanted” man right alongside Putin.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 02:45

• Blowback In The African Coup Belt
  Blowback In The African Coup Belt

  Authored by Marcel Dumas Gautreau via The Mises Institute,

  Starting in 2020, things started to get strange in Africa for those who knew what to look for.

  Normally, coups in Africa are nothing to write about. But starting in 2020, we saw six countries flip into a pro-Russian direction in just three years. Individually, they were a curiosity. Taken together, that rate of turnover outpaced even the most optimistic neoconservative ambitions for pro–United States regime changes in the Middle East. As General Wesley Clark summarized, “We’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.”

  

  That fourth country, Libya, is where our story starts.

  Muammar Gaddafi and the Disposal Problem

  In 2011, the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization destroyed the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. They had wanted to do it for a long time. A true cosmopolitan, Gaddafi had provided lawyers, guns, and money to black nationalists in South Africa, Palestinian Nationalists in Tunisia, Irish Nationalists in the British Isles, White Nationalists in Canada, and Armenian Nationalists in Turkey. The one ideology for which the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution had no patience or tolerance was radical Islamic Salafi jihadism. In March 1998, Libya was the first country to issue an Interpol arrest warrant for Osama bin Laden. The warrant received no attention or action. Five months later, Al-Qaeda bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224.

  In September 2001, President George W. Bush told Congress that “every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” Gaddafi took the US up on the offer, dismantling its weapons of mass destruction program under the United Nations’ supervision. It paid over $1 billion in reparations to victims of terrorism to get removed from the State Sponsor of Terror list. In 2008, future US Ambassador to Libya (and Benghazi embassy casualty) J. Christopher Stephens reported that “Libya has been a strong partner in the war against terrorism and cooperation in liaison channels is excellent.”

  Gaddafi had been highly suspicious of the citizens who chose to join the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan and surveilled them extensively, dutifully reporting them to other intelligence agencies whenever possible. In one particularly obscene case, a Guantanamo detainee named Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda bin Qumu was on the ground leading the Salafi jihadist group “Supporters of Sharia.” While hundreds are held in Guantanamo, being tortured without trial, the US knowingly released what it deemed a “probable member of al-Qaeda and a member of the African Extremist Network” to tear things up in Libya for them. A United Kingdom Parliamentary retrospective on the Libya overthrow later admitted, “The possibility that militant extremist groups would attempt to benefit from the rebellion should not have been the preserve of hindsight. Libyan connections with transnational militant extremist groups were known before 2011, because many Libyans had participated in the Iraq insurgency and in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda.”

  Gaddafi made a series of dire warnings of what would happen if he died:

  “Libya plays a vital role in regional peace and world peace,” he said in an interview with the France 24 television station. “We are an important partner in fighting al Qaeda.”

  “There are millions of blacks who could come to the Mediterranean to cross to France and Italy, and Libya plays a role in security in the Mediterranean.”

  Saif Gaddafi likewise warned, “Libya may become the Somalia of North Africa, of the Mediterranean. You will see the pirates in Sicily, in Crete, in Lampedusa. You will see millions of illegal immigrants. The terror will be next door.” While the Mediterranean didn’t see a resurgence of literal piracy, Gaddafi’s predictions were otherwise correct if not conservative.

  Within five years, US military officials openly conceded that Libya was a failed state. In February 2015, the International Crisis Group warned, “On the current trajectory, the most likely medium-term prospect is not one side’s triumph, but that rival local warlords and radical groups will proliferate, what remains of state institutions will collapse, financial reserves . . . will be depleted, and hardship for ordinary Libyans will increase exponentially.”

  As predicted, millions of blacks flocked to Libya’s Mediterranean coast to cross into France and Italy. Many were beaten, raped, and starved in what the United Nations Children’s Fund called “living hellholes” or even sold in open-air slave markets. On the Italian island of Lampedusa, it is not unheard of thirteen years later for hundreds or thousands of illegal African migrants to land in a single night. On May 22, 2017, in a manifestation of what former Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigative counsel Jack Blum called a “disposal problem,” a Manchester-born Libyan named Salman Abedi returned from his MI5-sponsored jihad in Libya and blew himself to pieces in the middle of an Ariana Grande concert. He killed himself and twenty-two others in an audience primarily composed of young girls.

  As the second phase of Hillary Clinton’s “bank shot,” the overthrow of Libya’s government and the looting of its arsenals allowed the Central Intelligence Agency to direct those weapons to jihadis in Syria. The scourges of the Islamic world would also use this windfall of weapons to brutalize populations across Africa’s Sahel region, most notably in Mali. After 2011, countries in the Sahel experienced between a tenfold and twentyfold increase in deadly Islamic terror incidents from groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State following what Vision of Humanity calls a “Jihadization of Banditry.”

  French Africa and the Series of Coups

  After seizing power in 1969, Gaddafi moved in 1973 to seize land in the former French colony of Chad based on older colonial boundaries between Italy and France. In 1979, Libya intervened in the Chadian civil war on the side of Goukouni Oueddei. When Oueddei demanded the withdrawal of Libyan troops, Libya withdrew from the nondisputed territories. Goukouni implicitly affirmed the new border. France backed Hissène Habré to take over in 1982. General Idriss Déby played a pivotal role in dislodging Libyan troops from northern Chad, but France and President Habré feared his growing influence, exiling him to Sudan.

  Gaddafi began supporting Déby’s efforts to raise an army and take over Chad in 1990. When Déby successfully took power, the former rivals became quick friends. Libya withdrew from the disputed strip in 1994, and the two countries locked in a series of security, trade, and refugee resettlement agreements. Most importantly, the two cooperated extensively as two points in a chain along with Nigeria against Islamic militants. In 2021, Déby was killed in battle against Saudi-funded rebels, backed by elements of one of Libya’s three competing revolutionary governments.

  During his rapprochement with the West, Gaddafi and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi signed the 2008 Treaty of Benghazi. Italy apologized for colonialism and agreed to pay Libya $5 billion in reparations over twenty years. More importantly, Italy and the European Union would fully modernize Libya’s border patrol infrastructure, including satellite detection and a joint Italian-Libyan coastal patrol to stop the flow of illegal migrants into Europe. With Gaddafi’s death and the failure of any Libyan faction to consolidate control, this infrastructure fell to tatters.

  In January 2019, Italy’s populist right began a diplomatic offensive against France, blaming the Republic’s policies in Africa for the migrant flood. At a rally, deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio posed the question, “If today people are leaving Africa is it because some European countries, with France taking the lead, have never stopped colonizing tens of African states?”

  Matteo Salvini likewise said,

  There are countries that steal wealth from Africa and France is definitely one of them. France has no interest in making Libya a better place. Paris is interested in taking control of the oil there. And their interests are opposed to the Italian ones. I’m proud to govern a generous country. We don’t take lessons on humanity from France, let alone from Macron. In recent years, France turned back thousands of migrants, including women and children. They took them back to Italy in the middle of the night, like animals. Again, I don’t take lesson from Macron.

  Future prime minister Giorgia Meloni joined the attack, explaining to a television audience the CFA franc, “the colonial currency that France prints for 14 African nations to which it applies seigniorage and by virtue of which it exploits the resources of these nations.” Holding a picture of a child at the bottom of a Burkina Faso gold mine, she concluded that “the solution is not to take Africans and bring them to Europe, the solution is to free Africa from certain Europeans who exploit it.”

  In its defense, the CFA franc has historically been less inflationary than currencies in adjacent African nations. Still, for once, it was not completely unfair and ahistorical to single out France as particularly incompetent. France’s former colonies have fared unusually poorly relative to those of other colonial powers. From de jure decolonization in 1960 until the end of the Cold War, France launched over a hundred military expeditions into its former African colonies. After the Cold War, more than three-quarters of the coups in sub-Saharan Africa were in former French colonies.

  Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger were the worst hit by the Islamic terror wave. Straddling the border between the three countries is the “Islamic State of the Greater Sahara.” After repeated failures of the French-backed governments to dislodge the insurgents, the militaries seized power with popular support. Sudan, Guinea, and Gabon were likewise overthrown, creating a continuous “coup belt” running from Sudan on the Red Sea to Guinea on the Atlantic. On March 24, Senegal elected Bassirou Diomaye as president, who has vowed to take the country off the CFA franc.

  Russia, Russia, Russia

  The new military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States, all of them leaving the Nigeria-dominated and Western-backed Economic Community of West African States. They then announced that French troops were no longer welcome in the countries, and that they would instead be welcoming protection and training from Russia’s Wagner Group.

  The Wagner Group was originally a mercenary company run by the Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. In July 2023, Russia hosted a summit in Saint Petersburg, at which Putin announced he would write off $23 billion in debt owed by various African countries. The conference was one of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s last appearances in public after his failed June 2023 coup and before his accidental August 2023 plane crash. Wagner in Africa has been renamed as the Africa Corps, rumored to be directly managed by Russian military intelligence. Russia began offering “regime survival packages” to countries in Africa, in exchange for access to mineral resources. Russia threatens to cut off privileged French access to Nigeran uranium reserves, which are responsible for the production of 12 percent of France’s electricity.

  The US also has a direct stake in the form of two Africa Command bases in Niger, one of which completed construction in 2019 as an intelligence center and a launchpad for Reaper drones. The Agadez and Niamey bases are critical to surveillance across Central Africa. Besides an unknown number of intelligence agents, there are one thousand US troops in the country, and the new Niger government has insisted that they are not welcome. US Undersecretary of State for Africa Molly Phee visited Niger twice in March, but so far, the Nigerien government has shown no sign of budging.

  After September 11, 2001, the neoconservatives schemed to dominate the entire Middle East and North Africa. Instead, imperial arrogance and outright perfidy may well have put the country on the path to losing it all.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/22/2024 – 02:00

• Election 2024: A Political Renaissance For America Or The Path To Totalitarianism
  Election 2024: A Political Renaissance For America Or The Path To Totalitarianism

  Authored by James E. Fanell and Bradley A. Thayer via American Greatness,

  It has been decades in the making, but the country is now on the precipice between its traditional ideology of political liberalism and a path that will lead, far sooner than Americans might think, to totalitarianism. The historical bulwarks of Americanism and the American political system—government of the people, freedom, and liberty—have been deliberately eroded. A citizenry steeped in republican virtue, cognizant of the political ideas and principles that made America a lasting and strong constitutional republic, and knowledgeable about the duties and obligations of American citizenship have been under daily assault for years from the foreign ideology of communism. That odious ideology has operated under synonyms such as “progressivism,” “multiculturalism,” or DEI to make its poison more palatable to American audiences.

  

  The media—the so-called “Fourth Estate”—has been another layer of protection that has been peeled away. Today, they are activists advancing the left’s agenda in all but name. Great newspapers that were lively to read and informative are no longer. One reads them now the same way Soviet citizens used to read Pravda—only by knowing the lies that are printed and surmising what is left out of the story can one come close to knowing the truth. Compare the front page of the New York Times from fifty, forty, or thirty years ago to one today, and the change is telling and sad to see. Rather than a robust culture of free speech, censorship is pervasive by the legacy and social media, Big Tech, and by a ubiquitous and devilish culture of self-censorship.

  American universities were once the envy of the world, as lively academies of intellectual debate and devoted to the pursuit of knowledge are now factories of indoctrination. Their law, medical, engineering, and business schools have also been transformed into political instruments that advance the “Party Line.” Unbelievably, thought control in K-12 is even worse. Popular culture fell a long time ago, and most of it is simply a contemporary version of Soviet entertainment where the heroic worker and peasant defeat the evil capitalist and priest. Worse still is the promotion of degeneracy and decadence with gender reassignment led by a teacher’s union that more resembles a Clockwork Orange ensemble than as the protectors of the most vulnerable in our society—our children.

  As alarming as these developments are, what is worse is the permanent weaponization of government against political opponents. The raids, indictments, trials, and gag orders for a former president and leading 2024 candidate demonstrate that the Constitutional rights of the most prominent political figure in American politics in this century can have his rights violated, so too can all Americans. The lawfare employed against President Trump has been specifically designed by the left to consume his time and other resources away from his campaign for President in this critically important election year.

  Of course, it is not only Trump. The imprisonment of former Trump official Peter Navarro and perhaps of Trump advisor Steve Bannon is an attempt to decapitate the Make America Great Again Movement through their imprisonment and to send a message to others about what will happen to anyone who opposes the state. The persecution of Trump’s legal advisor, John Eastman, is a similar tactic. The result is that law firms will be reluctant to accept the movement’s legal challenges. These actions are the first strike in the left’s campaign of “lawfare” to disarm Trump and to deter any Republican challenge to the parameters of the election and its aftermath. It is also political muscle flexing in an attempt to intimidate anyone who would assist Trump’s campaign and an effort to demoralize his base. After the British executed Admiral John Byng in 1757, Voltaire wrote it was “to encourage the others,” and so it is today.

  The irony of the many steps taken by the left to advance a totalitarian agenda is that it is they who falsely proclaim that it is Trump and the MAGA movement that are the fascists. It is the left that is actually implementing such vile and anti-American practices against their political enemies and the American people. Recently, former 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was once again on the Sunday news shows talking about how Donald Trump would arrest his political enemies, while in reality it is only the Democratic Party and the Biden administration that have put Peter Navarro in prison, may imprison Bannon, and indicted the former President 92 times.

  This cannot stand if America is to survive as a constitutional republic. If it does, then the country is on the path to totalitarianism. Totalitarianism does not just show up one day, springing forth fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus. But it does come quickly, more so than most Americans realize, as the ideology, laws, norms, and culture are eroded by the new revolutionary regime. When they seized power in 1917, the Bolsheviks did not know how far they could push the Russian people, but that was not for lack of intent or for a lack trying. Their ambition was to remake everything—culture, politics, economics, the arts, science, diplomacy, education, values, and thought. Every year, they tightened their grip until they crushed the people in the horrors of Stalinism. It took only twenty years from the time the Bolsheviks came to power to the show trials of mature Stalinism.

  Nothing is decided and there will be many ups and downs, twists and turns, and surprises between now and Election Day. The election of 2024 is critical and as important as any in its history. Assuming the election’s fidelity—that this assumption must be made is an indication of how close the country is flirting with totalitarianism—it will provide Americans with the clearest choice in our history since the Civil War. When that choice is understood to be one between the continuation of the American Republic or to enter the hell of totalitarianism, the election will spark a renaissance of America’s traditional political ideology, institutions, values and culture. This election provides the opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of totalitarianism “with an American face,” as Americans, having seen into the abyss, will reject the totalitarian path. A re-birth of the understanding of the value of American citizenship—that spirit of 1776—and of our inalienable and universal freedoms can come from the 2024 election.

  To ensure that positive outcome will require not only support for President Trump but also extraordinary vigilance by the American people through the election and its aftermath.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 23:40

• Where It's Most & Least Common To Be LGBT+
  Where It’s Most & Least Common To Be LGBT+

  Around seven percent of adults identify as LGBT+, according to a survey conducted online in 43 countries between April 2023 and March 2024 by Statista Consumer Insights.

  But, as Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, there’s notable variation between countries.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The Philippines, the United States and Israel had the highest share of people identifying as LGBT+, at 11 percent each, while Thailand and Canada came in a close joint second place with 10 percent of adults, followed by Sweden, Brazil and Australia, each with 9 percent. When looking at sexual orientation in the U.S., 3 percent of respondents identified as gay, 6 percent as bisexual and one percent pansexual.

  At the lower end of the spectrum comes South Korea and Romania with 3 percent of adults identifying as LGBT+ in each. There was also considerable variation across age groups. In the U.S. for example, 20 percent of Gen Zers self-identified as a part of the LGBT+ community versus 11 percent of Millennials, 6 percent of Gen Xers and only 5 percent among Baby Boomers.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 23:20

• The Audacity Of Merrick Garland: Julie Kelly
  The Audacity Of Merrick Garland: Julie Kelly

  Authored by Julie Kelly via The Florida Capital Star (emphasis ours),

  FBI agents last week arrested a man from Maine for his involvement in the events of January 6. According to a Department of Justice press release, Lincoln Deming spent about 30 minutes inside the building after entering through an open door with Capitol Police standing by. Deming faces numerous charges including civil disorder and the dreaded “parading” in the Capitol misdemeanor.

  

  The DOJ bragged in the press release about the government’s scalp count for its unprecedented prosecution of Jan 6 protesters. “More than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol,” Matthew Graves, the Joe Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, boasted. The investigation into the four-hour disturbance, Graves warned, is “ongoing.”

  Indeed. The DOJ, astonishingly, is on pace to arrest one J6 protester a day this year; Graves has stated his intention to bring the total caseload to at least 2,000 defendants before the statute of limitations expires.

  If DOJ Didn’t Have Double Standards, It Would Have No Standards at All…Oh Wait

  At the same time, the DOJ refuses to bring federal charges against pro-Palestinian demonstrators who in many instances engaged in similar if not worse conduct inside Congressional buildings over the past six months.

  Graves’ spokeswoman recently confirmed to me via email that all cases stemming from arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters are being handled by the local D.C. prosecutor.

  In other words, no federal obstruction of an official proceeding indictments against those who repeatedly interrupted Senate and House hearings to protest against the Israel-Gaza war. No federal “parading” charges for demonstrators who unlawfully occupied government buildings in Washington on multiple occasions. Even demonstrators who assaulted Capitol police outside the DNC headquarters last November do not face federal charges — a shocking double-standard since hundreds of J6ers have been federally charged with assault on police, even for minor confrontations, often resulting in lengthy prison sentences and pretrial detention in several cases.

  Which makes recent comments by Attorney General Merrick Garland all the more outrageous — and demonstrably false. Before two House committees voted Thursday to advance contempt of Congress against Garland for defying a congressional subpoena demanding the audio recording of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur last year, Garland mustered his most sanctimonious self to explain how House Republicans, not him, threaten the legitimacy of the DOJ — a “fundamental institution of our democracy,” Garland claimed. (Garland advised Biden to invoke executive privilege to prevent producing the tapes to Congress; Biden only too happily accepted his counsel.)

  Garland audaciously claimed politics plays no role in determining what investigations his department pursues.

  Without political influence?

  If the country had a real news media instead of boot-lickers who ask Garland about his hurt feelings when people criticize the DOJ, at least one reporter would have confronted Garland about the ongoing prosecution of J6ers while letting Hamasurrectionists off the hook.

  A reporter would have asked Garland how many times the DOJ seeks pretrial detention for political protesters accused of assaulting police, as the DOJ has done in dozens of J6 cases.

  A reporter would have asked Garland how often the FBI conducts armed raids of Americans accused of nonviolent offenses, as the FBI has done in hundreds of J6 cases and continues to do.

  A reporter would have asked Garland about the possibility the Supreme Court will reverse how his DOJ has applied a post-Enron statute against 350 or so J6ers, turning many otherwise nonviolent protesters into convicted felons.

  A reporter also would have asked Garland about two recent D.C. appellate court decisions that overturned excessive sentencing requests made by the DOJ.

  A reporter would have asked Garland why he authorized an armed FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago to search for classified documents but didn’t do the same for Joe Biden or Mike Pence.

  A reporter would have asked Garland why he should not be held in contempt of Congress for defying a House subpoena while his prosecutors indicted both Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro — who is currently doing time in a Miami prison — for contempt after they defied subpoenas by the January 6 Select Committee.

  A reporter would have asked Garland why his office just boasted about imprisoning several individuals including two women in their 70s for protesting outside a D.C. abortion clinic in 2020 while nearly all federal charges against 2020 BLM rioters have been dropped.

  You get the drift.

  The fascinating backdrop here is that the Biden regime and news media warn a second Trump presidency will result in a crusade of retribution and retaliation against his sworn enemies — including DOJ and FBI officials.

  Given Garland’s performance as attorney general, one can only hope that’s true.

  Part of Garland’s letter to Biden

  

  Julie Kelly is an independent journalist covering the weaponization of the U.S. Government against her citizens, Follow Kelly on Twitter / X.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 23:00

• San Francisco Remains The Top Startup City On The World
  San Francisco Remains The Top Startup City On The World

  A richly connected network of founders, venture capital firms, and tech talent are some of the key ingredients driving a startup ecosystem.

  As engines of growth, these tech clusters are evolving on a global scale. While the world’s leading startup cities are concentrated in America, several ecosystems, such as Beijing and Seoul, are growing in prominence as countries focus on technological advancement to spur innovation.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dororthy Neufeld, shows the best startup cities worldwide, based on data from Pitchbook.

  

  The Global Startup Ecosystem Rankings

  To determine the rankings, each city was analyzed based on the scale and maturity of their startup ecosystem over a six-year period ending in the second quarter of 2023.

  Among the inputs analyzed and used to calculate the overall development score were fundraising activity, venture capital deals, and exit value:

  

  San Francisco dominates the pack, with $427.6 billion in capital raised over the six-year period.

  Despite a challenging funding environment, nearly 20,000 deals closed, highlighting its outsized role in launching tech startups. Both OpenAI and rival Anthropic are headquartered in the city, thanks to its broad pool of tech talent and venture capital firms. Overall, 11,812 startups were based in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2023, equal to about 20% of startups in America.

  Falling next in line is New York City, which raised $179.9 billion over the same time period. Crypto firm Gemini and machine learning company, Hugging Face, are two examples of startups based in the city.

  As the top-ranking hub outside of America, Beijing is home to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

  In recent years, much of the startup funding in China is being driven by government-backed funds. In particular, these funds are focusing heavily on “hard tech” such as semiconductor-makers and electric vehicle companies that align with the government’s strategic long-term goals.

  Another leading tech hub, Singapore, has the highest venture capital funding per capita worldwide. In 2023, this was equal to an impressive $1,060 in venture funding per person. By comparison, venture funding was $345 per person in the U.S., the second-highest globally.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 22:40

• Joe Biden's Problem Is In the Pews
  Joe Biden’s Problem Is In the Pews

  Authored by Salena Zito & Brad Todd via RealClearPolitics,

  To locate Joe Biden’s electoral problem, you need only to look on Sunday morning. Polling shows the mass-attending Catholic president trails Donald Trump by 10 points among those who attend religious services a few times a year or more. The score is reversed with voters who report they seldom or never attend church, with Biden leading by 10.

  

  It’s the starkest divide in the electorate – and one that political journalists rarely mention, perhaps because, as a profession, journalists are more removed from religion than the average American.

  Trump’s advantage with white evangelical Protestants is widely understood, but he also leads Biden by healthy margins among less politically conservative Christians. These findings in the recent Marquette Law School’s national poll of registered voters showed Biden trailing Trump by 18 percentage points with other members of his own Catholic faith, and behind Trump by 16 among adherents of mainline protestant denominations, which would include groups like Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians.

  Those numbers are in the same range as the 24-point lead Trump posts among self-described “born-again” evangelicals. The same poll shows the race is reversed with non-Christian voters, with whom Biden holds a commanding 33-point advantage.

  The irony of this schism proves a dynamic that is larger than these two men. Biden would tell you his Catholicism is integral to his own self-identity. Trump, meanwhile, was a high-living playboy who said he’d never asked God for forgiveness for anything, situating himself well outside the theology and lifestyle of most Christians.

  In 2018, we wrote a book examining the realignment that brought Trump to power and identified what we called “King Cyrus Christians” as an important archetype in Trump’s coalition. These voters, mostly Catholic or evangelical Protestants, adopted Trump’s candidacy pragmatically, seeing in him a warrior who would battle their common political enemies. And with control of the Supreme Court in the balance in that 2016 election, they forged an alliance of necessity.

  Survey research conducted for our book found these King Cyrus Christians (so named in a nod to the pagan Persian king who had delivered ancient Jews back to Israel and rebuilt their temple in Jerusalem) were not initially Trump’s most enthusiastic backers. Instead, the shock troops of first-wave Trumpism were the most secular and least traditional Republicans – and many were not Republican at all.

  But over time, religious Republicans have gotten more comfortable with Trump, owing to his kept promise to deliver a conservative Supreme Court that not only reversed decades of erosion in religious liberty but also overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion precedent. Politics is about coalitions, and the arrangement between Trump and conservative Christians indisputably has delivered benefits for both sides.

  Trump’s 2016 nomination was powered by secular Republicans, but his 2024 re-nomination showed no such schism. If anything, it was the reverse. Polling in the two GOP contests most dominated by religious voters, the Iowa Caucus and the South Carolina primary, showed him doing modestly better among evangelical than non-evangelical Republicans.

  The religious divide that matters going forward in American politics is not about Trump, and it’s not about white evangelical Protestants. The question is whether Democrats can keep a place in their party for other religiously devout voters.

  Democrats’ best electoral group – the so-called “nones,” those with no religious affiliation – is growing, particularly among younger generations. But as the party becomes dominated by those who actively reject religion, its platform becomes less appealing to those who don’t, as many Jewish Democrats are discovering as left-wing radicals show an ugly antisemitic side and opposition to America’s alliance with the Jewish state of Israel.

  While “nones” are rising overall, they aren’t distributed proportionately around the country, clustering disproportionately on the coasts. If Democrats drive out the religious voters in their ranks, they will struggle to compete in a geographic footprint large enough to enable them to control Congress or win in the electoral college.

  Hispanic voters, another growing slice of the electorate, are moving quickly away from Democrats. Florida offers the perfect case study for that drift, as voters of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Columbian descent have helped transform what was recently America’s quintessential swing state into a Republican fortress. Nervous Democratic strategists are on guard for the same dynamic playing out next in Nevada and Arizona.

  Pew Research data shows Hispanics are about half as likely as whites to say they do not believe in God, while African Americans, long the bulwark of the Democratic Party, are five times less likely than whites to express disbelief. Blacks also attend church more than whites do, report reading the Bible more than whites, and say they pray more than whites, according to respected church researchers at Barna Group.

  While Democrats can still count on topping 90% with blacks in most elections, the three trends driving realignment – religiosity, education density, and the blue-collar/white-collar divide – will put that loyalty to the test in coming years, and maybe sooner than pundits expect.

  A Democratic Party platform that is growing ever more hostile to traditional religious mores on social policy, on Israel, and on issues surrounding religious liberty may find it difficult to keep enough blacks, Hispanics, and Jews on board to win enough states to govern.

  Political realignment works like the tectonic plates in the earth’s crust. The masses of land, or of voters, tend to keep moving, even if that movement is only noticed when it results in an earthquake. Smart political geologists will be watching how believers vote in this election.

  Salena Zito is a reporter for the Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal contributor, and co-author of “The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 22:20

• The Great 'McFlation': Bidenomics' Failure Revealed In One Chart
  The Great ‘McFlation’: Bidenomics’ Failure Revealed In One Chart

  The primary appeal of fast-food burgers (even though the food is horrible for your health) is cheap and fast. In recent weeks, McDonald’s indirectly admitted that three years of ‘McFlation‘ was crushing burger demand among working-poor consumers, and there was an urgent need within the burger chain to reintroduce the $5 meal deal. 

  X users have been disgusted with $18 Big Mac meals at some of the burger chain’s restaurants nationwide.

  This was at a rest stop, but these McDonald’s prices are nuts right??? pic.twitter.com/0qq8Ima3ZA

  — Sam Learner (@sam_learner) July 18, 2023

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

  Some were even reminded of the good old days when the same meal cost $5—right before the GFC and right before the Federal Reserve embarked on a decade of zero-bound interest rates and trillions of dollars in money printing that fueled financial asset bubbles. 

  These prices at McDonald’s sure looks like the dollar is in crash mode $18 for a Big Mac meal this use to be $5 in 2008 pic.twitter.com/5rpcrNtaul

  — Golden Coast (Cassandra) (@GregCrennan) February 20, 2024

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

  Fast forward to today, the persistent inflation storm is being driven by the US Treasury spending like it’s in a depression (or spending an absurd $1 trillion every 100 days).

  Bidenomics’ stealth stimulus has resulted in massive economic miscalculation by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. It’s not just ZeroHedge saying this, but Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller recently gave Bidenomics an “F.” 

  

  Real wages for most consumers have been terrible under Biden’s first term. But not under Trump’s… 

  

  As the election cycle heats up, X user End Wokeness has reminded everyone about elevated food inflation impacting menu prices at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A. The data compared year-end 2019 menu prices at the three restaurants with current prices. The results are startling: Some menu items are up triple digits in several or so years. 

  

  Food inflation has been problematic for Biden’s campaign team to navigate. They’ve already given up on ‘Bidenomics.’ 

  More recently, Biden’s team has used popular buzzwords ‘greedflation’ and ‘shrinkflation‘ to convince voters why Big Macs in certain states and towns now cost $18. This is a significant pivot from blaming ‘Putin Price Hikes’ for every economic mishap. 

  It’s difficult to believe Biden’s greedflation story because government data shows that retail prices for ground beef and chicken have surged and remained elevated. Also, major commodity indexes tracked by Bloomberg and the United Nations have yet to come back down to Earth. All of this indicates companies had to push up prices to protect margins. 

  

  The current issue is that inflation is being driven by reaccelerating commodity prices, while the US government is spending as if it’s in a depression.

  Meanwhile, clueless Democrats who ignore out-of-control government spending as the root cause of inflation are demanding price controls on food, similar to what communists or socialists do in third-world countries. The only problem with that is that price controls can trigger shortages or surpluses, longer lines, lower quality products, and, of course, misallocation of products.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 22:00

• Court Lets Lawsuit Over Refusal To Give Dying Woman Ivermectin Proceed
  Court Lets Lawsuit Over Refusal To Give Dying Woman Ivermectin Proceed

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

  A court has rejected a hospital system’s claim that its refusal to continue giving ivermectin to a dying woman was covered by federal law, stating that the law does not apply to the actions in question.

  

  Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York City was twice forced to give COVID-19 patient Deborah Bucko, who was close to death after the system’s normal treatment failed, ivermectin under court order. Mrs. Bucko’s condition improved after she began taking ivermectin.

  However, the system stopped the second round of treatment before the prescription ended, and Mrs. Bucko then died.

  After being sued, Mount Sinai said the lawsuit should be thrown out because it’s immune under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act), which covers health care workers administering drugs and vaccines during a health emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

  “There is no refuting that the complaint is a frontal attack on the use of COVID-19 countermeasures as defined by the PREP Act,” lawyers for the hospital system said in a filing. “The complaint expressly implicates conduct encompassed by the PREP Act by alleging a claim for loss that has a causal relationship with the dispensing and administration of covered countermeasures to treat COVID-19. As such, the law requires its dismissal.”

  The act has been successfully invoked in a range of COVID-19-related cases. Workers who injected a child with a COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent, for instance, recently won the dismissal of a lawsuit by citing the law.

  The motion to dismiss by Mount Sinai, though, was rejected by New York Supreme Court Justice Randy Sue Marber.

  Justice Marber wrote in a May 17 order that Mount Sinai, its workers, and ivermectin, fit under the definitions of “covered person” and “covered countermeasure” under the law. But the suit against the system does not bring a claim relating to the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, she said.

  “Rather, in stunning contrast to South Nassau’s assertions, the complaint alleges, with particularity, that South Nassau ‘acted wrongfully and negligently, by repeatedly refusing to administer ivermectin to … [the decedent]’ notwithstanding it ‘having been prescribed” … and ’despite clear evidence in the medical records that … [the decedent’s] condition showed significant improvement once the ivermectin treatment was initiated,’” the justice said, quoting from the complaint.

  That means the immunity conferred by PREP “is inapplicable,” she added later.

  The ruling means the case will move forward. The next hearing is scheduled to take place on June 3.

  “Scott and I are extremely pleased that the judge denied the hospital’s motion and has given us a fighting chance to obtain justice for Debbie,” Steven Warshawsky, a lawyer representing Scott Mantel, Mrs. Bucko’s husband, told The Epoch Times via email.

  Mount Sinai did not respond to a request for comment.

  Federal regulators say people should not take ivermectin against COVID-19, although a number of doctors have said patients who received the drug, approved by regulators for other uses, have recovered quickly. Some studies have found evidence of a benefit, while others have not.

  

  Background

  Mr. Mantel sued Mount Sinai in 2023, alleging the hospital system violated a law that enables representatives of decedents to sue over “wrongful act, neglect or default causing [the] death of [the] decedent.”

  According to the suit, after being admitted to Mount Sinai with suspected COVID-19, Mrs. Bucko’s condition was not improved by the system’s standard treatment protocols, including supplemental oxygen. She was ultimately placed on a ventilator.

  Mr. Mantel researched alternative treatments and read about how some patients recovered after being treated with ivermectin. He learned that the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance features ivermectin in its COVID-19 treatment protocol.

  Mr. Mantel presented what he had learned to doctors at Mount Sinai. Dr. Robert Clark, one of the doctors, said that he was “all out of bullets” and that ivermectin might be able to help Mrs. Bucko. He wrote a prescription on April 7, 2021, for five days. Mount Sinai’s pharmacy department, though, placed the prescription on hold and the system’s stewardship committee rescinded the prescription.

  Mr. Mantel took the matter to court, resulting in an order to immediately start giving Mrs. Bucko ivermectin.

  After being treated with ivermectin, Mrs. Bucko’s condition improved, according to the suit. The initial prescription ended, and her recovery stalled. Mr. Mantel went back to Dr. Clark, who was said to have acknowledged ivermectin helped Mrs. Bucko get better and could keep helping her improve. He wrote another prescription, this time for 35 days.

  The hospital rescinded the prescription again, prompting the family to seek legal redress. The system was ordered again to enforce the prescription.

  Mrs. Bucko improved further with the second round of ivermectin, but the system changed the prescription and stopped administering it after five days. Dr. Clark also informed Mr. Mantel he was being prevented from writing any additional ivermectin prescriptions.

  Once Mrs. Bucko stopped receiving ivermectin, her condition deteriorated, her family says. She died on on May 16, 2021.

  Mount Sinai “committed medical malpractice and/or otherwise acted wrongfully and negligently, by repeatedly refusing to administer ivermectin to Ms. Bucko, who was suffering from severe COVID-19 illness that was not responding to the hospital’s standard treatment protocols, despite the ivermectin having been prescribed by her treating infectious disease doctor … and despite clear evidence in the medical records that Ms. Bucko’s condition showed significant improvement once the ivermectin treatment was initiated,” the suit stated.

  The family is seeking damages as determined by the court and a jury.

  “This fight is not just about Deborah and our family, but also for ALL Americans that will one day need a hospital to treat them,” family members said in a fundraiser. “What happened to Deborah must never ever be allowed to happen again, and those responsible for her tragic death must be held accountable.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 21:40

• Republicans Call For Drug Testing Ahead Of Presidential Debates
  Republicans Call For Drug Testing Ahead Of Presidential Debates

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  Several Republicans are calling for Joe Biden to undergo drug testing before taking part in the presidential debates with Donald Trump scheduled for June and September.

  

  South Carolina Senator Tom Scott was asked to comment on the issue on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” and responded “Why not?” when asked if substance tests should be carried out. 

  “The truth of the matter is if you saw the State of the Union and you watched that performance, it was surreal,” Scott noted of Biden’s speech in March.

  “There was something going on, and if we could find the truth of what it was, we’re all better off,” Scott added.

  Tim Scott to Maria Bartiromo on Trump: “He doesn’t need a teleprompter!” (Complaining about his teleprompter is something Trump does almost every speech … ) pic.twitter.com/XPy7QgNDGI

  — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2024

  “If it takes artificial stimulation to make the President of the United States perform, how often can he do that?” The Senator further pondered.

  Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also called for Biden to be drug tested, noting “We’re talking about someone who has the ability to launch nukes.”

  There should be required drugs tests before the debates.
  pic.twitter.com/ugsi2nFfo7

  — Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) May 19, 2024

  Luna also referred to questions over Biden’s mental competence following the comments of former special counsel Robert Hur who described Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

  North Carolina Representative Greg Murphy, who is also a trained surgeon, commented that Biden “must have been jacked up on something” during the SOTU speech.

  “I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint, actually I have a little bit of good knowledge that that happened,” Murphy asserted, adding that Biden “can’t stand it. He can’t stand under the lights for that long. And I don’t think he can keep a concept in his brain that long.”

  “What do you mean when you say he was jacked up?” Republican Rep. Greg Murphy, who is a practicing surgeon, claims President Biden was under the influence of some kind of performance enhancer during his State of the Union address…and Murphy has “evidence”. (Video: Fox Business) pic.twitter.com/zdQumaobJy

  — Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 16, 2024

  Trump himself has called for Biden to take a drug test, noting “I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union. He was high as a kite.”

  🚨Trump says he is going to demand Biden take a drug test for the debate because Biden was “high as a kite” during the SOTU! 🪁 pic.twitter.com/dbnWB5pWFK

  — Jenna Fredo (@LynkLuv) May 18, 2024

  “I said is that Joe up there? … And by the end of the evening … he was exhausted, right? No, we’re going to demand a drug test,” Trump added.

  The proposal has moved further into the spotlight spurred by a bizarre video that circulated Friday of Biden wide eyed and looking completely different to his usual squint while making a short recorded statement.

  What is going on here? https://t.co/CXDJireFWe

  — m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) May 19, 2024

  As we have highlighted, Biden has agreed to take part in only two debates, despite Trump accepting two more proposals from Fox News and NBC/Telemundo, and calling for further debates to be scheduled.

  Vivek Ramaswamy believes that the Democrats are allowing Biden one last “Hail Mary” by allowing him to participate in a debate against Donald Trump, but that if he fails, as he inevitably will, they will swap him out for a new candidate.

  *  *  *

  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
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 21:20

• RFK Jr. Dials Back Abortion Stance After Pushback
  RFK Jr. Dials Back Abortion Stance After Pushback

  Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  An early campaign promise Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made when he was still running in the Democrat primary last year has seen a stern test in recent weeks amid his comment that he supported abortion up to full term.

  

  Mr. Kennedy told The Epoch Times last August that he preferred to have advisers and team members who don’t fully share his views and, as a candidate and president, he would listen to differing opinions and even change his mind if presented with a convincing argument.

  In May, a podcast interview with Sage Steele created a firestorm where Mr. Kennedy received a widespread backlash.

  He said that women should be able to terminate their pregnancy “even if it’s full term.”

  The comment drew criticism from pro-life groups and multiple people within his campaign.

  Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that Mr. Kennedy “has exposed himself as a true extremist” who “is no different from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when it comes to supporting brutal abortions at any time for no reason, even when babies in the womb feel pain, with zero limits or exceptions.”

  Angela Stanton King, a pro-life advocate and an adviser to Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, has contributed insight on black voter outreach, and criminal justice and abortion policies.

  She denounced the candidate’s view on backing full-term abortion on social media.

  Nicole Shanahan, Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, sat down for a talk with Ms. Steele that was released a week before Mr. Kennedy’s interview aired.

  Ms. Shanahan said that she was unaware that the candidate did not support limits on abortion.

  “My understanding with Bobby’s position is that, you know, every abortion is a tragedy, is a loss of life,” Ms. Shanahan said, adding that she thought that he believed in limits on abortion and, perhaps, there was a miscommunication in his interview.

  A day after the interview with Sage Steele aired, Mr. Kennedy reiterated his early campaign promise that he would “always be willing to listen to people and change my position.”

  “I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.

  “I believe that point should be when the baby is viable outside the womb.

  “Therefore, I would allow appropriate restrictions on abortion in the final months of pregnancy, just as Roe v. Wade did,” he wrote on X.

  He noted that “even in the reddest of red states, voters reject total abortion bans.”

  Mr. Kennedy has stressed that he does not like abortion, but he said he does not trust the government “to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies.”

  That stance aligns with Mr. Kennedy’s longtime support for medical freedom and bodily autonomy.

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, he attracted public attention with his vocal opposition to vaccine and mask mandates.

  Mr. Kennedy finished his post by describing a proposed policy called “More Choices, More Life,” which he believes will reduce abortion by supporting women who want to give birth.

  The platform features a plan for universally affordable childcare that will cap childcare expenses at 10 percent for most families.

  Almost three-quarters of women cite economic reasons to explain why they chose to abort a pregnancy, Mr. Kennedy explained.

  He vowed that his administration would “support women in need so that abortion isn’t their only choice.”

  Ms. King praised Mr. Kennedy for the adjustment.

  “After a bunch of going back and forth, and not only by me, but also people on the campaign, we’ve all come to the agreement that late-term abortion is not something that this campaign is going to support,” she said in a video posted on X.

  “This is what you get when you begin to work in the independent space,” she added, noting that the campaign is composed of conservatives, Democrats, and Libertarians; and people who are for and against abortion.

  Mr. Kennedy announced his candidacy to challenge President Joe Biden for the 2024 nomination in April 2023.

  Claiming that the Democratic National Committee was “rigging the primary” to favor President Biden, he decided to run as an independent last October.

  Ms. King remarked that the campaign team has members with varying views, but they work to find “the best solution.”

  Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan do not fully agree on the abortion issue.

  His position differs from Ms. Shanahan’s in that he believes the cutoff should be at fetal viability.

  However, both are aligned with the emerging national consensus of no restrictions up until a certain point and restrictions thereafter, Stefanie Spear told The Epoch Times in a statement.

  Many medical professionals believe fetal viability occurs at 23 to 24 weeks of gestation.

  Ms. Shanahan said in a podcast interview last week that the preferred limits on abortion move “between 15 and 18 weeks.”

  In previous conversations with The Epoch Times, Mr. Kennedy has acknowledged that his position on the issue could cost him conservative votes.

  “If you’re a one-issue voter, and that’s something that you deeply care about, I might not be the right candidate for you.

  “But I feel like there’s a lot of people now who want authenticity in their political leadership, and they want somebody who’s going to tell them the truth,” he told The Epoch Times last year.

  Most Americans base their votes on a range of issues and are most concerned about the direction of the country, Mr. Kennedy believes.

  “I will talk to people regardless of their views and will assure them that I will listen to them, even if they don’t vote for me,” he told The Epoch Times.

  “I want to talk to media members and voters who share differing opinions than mine, because how else are you going to persuade?”

  Abortion is not the first stance Mr. Kennedy has changed during his presidential campaign, which was launched as a Democrat in April 2023 before he opted to run as an independent last October.

  Mr. Kennedy said that, initially, he wasn’t in favor of President Trump’s border wall.

  But after seeing the border firsthand in Arizona last July, he changed his mind.

  He said there’s a need for increased infrastructure and technology at the border, including more segments of a physical wall and sensors in areas where a wall isn’t feasible.

  Theo Wilson, an adviser to Mr. Kennedy’s presidential bid, said at a voter rally in Colorado on May 19 that “it’s impossible” to see eye to eye on everything in an independent campaign.

  Mr. Wilson remarked that he did not agree with the candidate on some issues, “but this is not like any other campaign when the people they’re in are expected to be just mouthpieces” of their candidate.

  “In an independent campaign like the size of this one, you’re going to have to sit across the table and hammer out agreements.

  “You got to sit there like adults and figure out a path forward, and the one who sets the tone for that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 21:00

• Insane Footage Shows Tornado Destroying Wind Farm In Iowa
  Insane Footage Shows Tornado Destroying Wind Farm In Iowa

  Shocking footage from Iowa this evening shows multiple tornadoes wreaking havoc on massive wind turbines. This is yet another reminder that wind is not a reliable power source. 

  A tornado in Iowa just leveled a wind turbine. 🤯

  These storms are heading to Illinois and Wisconsin next.

  Be safe tonight, everyone. pic.twitter.com/KvH1cAq07f

  — Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) May 21, 2024

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

  Here’s the aftermath.

  Apocalyptic scenes between Carbon and Greenfield, Iowa. Multiple wind turbines completely shredded, one on fire, power pole stumps left behind with entire poles gone. Strong strong tornado. pic.twitter.com/POvHZf5QXL

  — Andrew Pritchard (@skydrama) May 21, 2024

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

  Aerial video shows wind turbines destroyed near Adams County, Iowa, after a tornado moved through the area.

  We’re LIVE with aftermath: https://t.co/1pcOhXr9Jb @CharlesPeekWX pic.twitter.com/V9vYIxqK9k

  — The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) May 21, 2024

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

  Tornado ripped down multiple wind turbines and left one in flames. Drone video captured by @JordanHallWX shows impact craters almost 6 feet deep north of Prescott, Iowa.#iawx #wxtwitter pic.twitter.com/GGPDSHzk59

  — MyRadar Weather (@MyRadarWX) May 22, 2024

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

  Two months ago, a solar farm in Texas with hundreds of acres of ground-based panels was destroyed by a hail storm.  

  

  Despite the evident challenges and risks, radical leftists continue pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer funds into unreliable green energy. 

  … and perfect timing! “Twisters,” a standalone sequel to the 1996 film “Twister,” is set to debut this summer. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 20:55

• Aluminum Jumps To 23-Month High Amid Ongoing Aussie Production Issues
  Aluminum Jumps To 23-Month High Amid Ongoing Aussie Production Issues

  From coffee to cocoa, orange juice to gold, and silver to copper, commodity prices are spiking across the board (we outlined this on Monday). The latest surge occurred Tuesday when aluminum tagged 23-month highs due to ongoing production issues emerging from Australia. The broad-based commodity rally signals the inflation storm central bankers are battling is not over. 

  Rio Tinto, one of the largest aluminum producers, declared force majeure on third-party contracts for exporting alumina from its refineries in Queensland, Australia. This is due to a broken natural gas pipeline operated by Queensland Gas Pipeline. 

  

  A spokesperson for the company told Dow Jones that NatGas supplies will return to capacity at a much later date than previously anticipated: 

  “The pipeline operator’s current estimate [is] for a return to normal levels in the second half of 2024. 

  “Until then, Yarwun and QAL [Queensland Alumina Limited] will continue to operate at lower capacities.”

  On the London Metal Exchange, aluminum contracts settled up 3.6% at $2,725.50 a metric ton, the highest level since early summer 2022. 

  

  Colin Hamilton, managing director for commodities research at BMO Capital Markets, told Bloomberg that today’s price action in aluminum markets suggests mounting fears about “dwindling aluminum output” — a situation he views as “unlikely.”

  Hamilton noted that industrial metal could be “part of the digital and electrical revolution we know is coming … is going to benefit.” We call this “The Next AI Trade.”

  One base metal that has been on everyone’s radars is copper. Comex prices have squeezed to record highs and continue on Tuesday. 

  

  Since February, industrial metals tracked by Bloomberg have soared 30%. 

  

  Precious metals tracked by Bloomberg have also broken out. 

  

  Commodities as a whole, tracked by Bloomberg, have soared. 

  

  Bloomberg’s Cameron Crise pointed out that the number of commodities in the Bloomberg Commodity Index that are up by at least 25% over the three month period have risen to seven. 

  

  Crise continues:

  Currently, there are seven: cocoa, copper, nickel, orange juice, silver, tin, and zinc. Clearly industrial metals are a theme in that list, which itself raises the question of how valid some of the global growth concerns might be. Anyhow, the current total of seven is the highest since the middle of 2022; coincidentally (or not), the industrial metals subindex total return is also the highest since the same point in time.

  He added:

  Obviously, over long periods of time the link between the series above and inflation isn’t necessarily that great; the highest-ever reading came in 2009 with the correction of the GFC downside overshoot in commodity prices. Still, the relatively broad-based rise in industrial metals is noteworthy and raises another question about just how benign the inflation outlook might be moving forwards.

  The hot commodity market is posing new challenges for Fed chair Jerome Powell and his friends in the White House… 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 20:40

• Republican Iran Hawks Celebrate Raisi's Death
  Republican Iran Hawks Celebrate Raisi’s Death

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  Some Republicans in Congress are celebrating the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and seven others in Iran’s mountainous East Azerbaijan province.

  When the news first broke that Raisi was missing, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) wrote on X: “If Raisi is dead, the world is now a safer & better place. That evil man was a tyrant & terrorist. He was not loved or respected & he will be missed by no one. If he’s gone, I truly hope the Iranian people have the chance to take their country back from murderous dictators.”

  

  After Raisi’s death was confirmed, the State Department offered condolences to Iran, which outraged Scott. “What a disgrace. Since when does the United States issue a statement of condolence for a terrorist?! It should read: The world is a better place with Raisi dead,” he said.

  Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) made similar comments in response to the news about Raisi. “Good riddance. Raisi was a murderous human rights abuser before and during his Presidency,” he wrote on X. “But look for the Iranian regime to blame Israel and the US for an assassination as another excuse to support terrorism.”

  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement where he called Raisi one of Iran’s “bloodiest hard-liners.“

  So far, Iranian authorities have not offered much detail about the crash, but said it was caused by a “technical failure.” Raisi was traveling in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.

  According to The Washington Post, the average age of Iran’s Bell 212 helicopters is 35 years old, and they are difficult for the Islamic Republic to maintain due to US sanctions.

  State Department spokesman Matt Miller said that the US would not apologize to Iran for imposing aircraft-related sanctions.

  “We are not gonna apologize for our sanctions regime at all. The Iranian government has used its aircraft to transport equipment to support terrorism. So we will continue to fully enforce our sanctions regime, including our sanctions regime on aircraft for use by the Iranian government,” he told Rudaw.

  Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) calls for direct strikes on Iran, because “the only thing Iranians understand is strength.” Which is exactly the same tired folk logic that anti-Russia hawks always use — the only language that meddlesome subspecies understands is cruise missiles pic.twitter.com/hla1NIuX4Y

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 29, 2024

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

  Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has confirmed that Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is now Iran’s acting president and said, per the Iranian constitution, he has 50 days to arrange for new elections.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 20:20

• Watch: First X Call Using Starlink Direct-To-Cell Tech With An Unmodified Smartphone
  Watch: First X Call Using Starlink Direct-To-Cell Tech With An Unmodified Smartphone

  About a week after AT&T and AST SpaceMobile announced their partnership to create a space-based broadband network to rival T-Mobile’s plan for global cell connectivity using SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, SpaceX engineers showcased an “unmodified mobile phone” making the first video call on X using Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellites. This move shows how T-Mobile and SpaceX are lightyears ahead of the competition as a new era of connectivity unfolds. 

  “First video call on @X completed through @Starlink Direct to Cell satellites from unmodified mobile phones!” the official X account in a post on Tuesday afternnon.

  The post continued, “We’re excited to go live with @TMobile later this year.” 

  First video call on @X completed through @Starlink Direct to Cell satellites from unmodified mobile phones!

  We’re excited to go live with @TMobile later this year 🛰️🌎 pic.twitter.com/v4nA5B75EX

  — SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2024

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

  In January, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the first set of Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities. There are currently 20 Starlink internet satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities in orbit. 

  The Starlink satellite constellation consists of nearly 5,000 active low Earth satellites beaming the internet worldwide. 

  

  Starlink announced on X that over 3 million people use the terminals across 100 countries, territories, and other markets. By “other markets,” do they mean war zones (Ukraine, Middle East)? 

  First video call on @X completed through @Starlink Direct to Cell satellites from unmodified mobile phones!

  We’re excited to go live with @TMobile later this year 🛰️🌎 pic.twitter.com/v4nA5B75EX

  — SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2024

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

  Given all this growth. We have asked:

  • Ready For IPO? Starlink Achieves Cash-Flow Breakeven

  Followed by:

  • SpaceX Prepares For Starlink IPO In 2024, Report Says

  Earlier this month:

  • IPO Nearing? Elon Musk’s Starlink In Hyper-Growth, Surprises Analysts With $6.6 Billion Revenue Projection

  Starlink satellites are poised to propel T-Mobile ahead of the competition, leaving AT&T trailing by years. At this stage, Musk should consider launching his own satellite phone service and smartphone under the Starlink brand, further capitalizing on the growing dominance of being the leading provider of high-speed space-based connectivity and telecommunications to the world. 

  Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper is nowhere to be found. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 20:00

• Microplastics Found In Human Testicles
  Microplastics Found In Human Testicles

  Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Microplastics have been identified in human and canine testicles, lengthening the list of where the insidious particles have been found.

  

  A new study published in Toxicological Sciences revealed the incredible prevalence of microplastics worldwide and their ability to penetrate nearly every part of the body.

  Microplastics form when plastic is exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation and slowly degrades in landfills, the ocean, or other places. They are so small (measured in micro- or nanometers, or a billionth of a meter) that they can also be blown around by the wind and carried into waterways.

  Human Samples Had Triple the Microplastics

  A team of researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) examined testicular tissue samples from humans and dogs and found these microscopic pieces of plastic were present in every sample. The human samples were supplied by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, which collects tissues during autopsies, and the canine samples came from the City of Albuquerque animal shelters and private veterinary clinics that spay and neuter animals.

  The researchers didn’t expect to find microplastics in the reproductive system—at least, not to this degree.

  “When I first received the results for dogs I was surprised,” Dr. Xiaozhong “John” Yu, a professor at the UNM College of Nursing and lead researcher, said in a press release. “I was even more surprised when I received the results for humans.”

  The research team found nearly three times the amount of microplastics in the human samples compared to the canine samples. There were 122.63 micrograms of microplastics per gram of tissue in the canine samples and 329.44 micrograms per gram in the human.

  The team found 12 types of microplastics in 47 canine samples and 23 human samples. The most prevalent polymer, or plastic, in both types of tissue was polyethylene (PE), which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. The next most common polymer in dogs was PVC, which is often used in different kinds of plumbing.

  Dr. Yu and his team believe that the level of microplastics could correlate with reproductive issues. The team determined the sperm count in the canine samples and found that the higher the level of PVC in the tissue, the lower the sperm count was. However, the correlation was not found with the concentration of PE in tissue.

  “The plastic makes a difference—what type of plastic might be correlated with potential function,” Dr. Yu said. “PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis and it contains chemicals that cause endocrine disruption.”

  Why Dogs?

  The study compared dogs and humans because the two often share an environment, as well as some biological characteristics.

  “Compared to rats and other animals, dogs are closer to humans,” Dr. Yu said.

  He noted that dogs and humans produce sperm in very similar ways and that the sperm concentration is also comparable between the two species.

  “We believe dogs and humans share common environmental factors that contribute to their decline,” he said.

  One of those environmental factors is microplastics, which are found worldwide, including on the top of Mt. Everest.

  “The impact on the younger generation might be more concerning,” Dr. Yu said, pointing to men 35 years old and younger. “We have a lot of unknowns. We need to really look at what the potential long-term effect [sic]. Are microplastics one of the factors contributing to this decline?”

  Dr. Yu added that, while he doesn’t want to scare anyone, he thinks it is important to make people aware that their choices have consequences.

  “We want to scientifically provide the data and make people aware there are a lot of microplastics. We can make our own choices to better avoid exposures, change our lifestyle and change our behavior,” he said.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 19:40

• ELFs Are The Single Greatest Threat To Our Enduring Liberties
  ELFs Are The Single Greatest Threat To Our Enduring Liberties

  Authored by Jack Cashill via AmericanThinker.com,

  Jan 6 / COVID Stir The Fascist Soul of The Educated Liberal Female

  In researching my new book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6, I discovered something unexpected: an alarming confirmation of my September 2022 article in which I argued that Educated Liberal Females (ELFs) are the single greatest threat to our enduring liberties.

  

  My new book deals specifically with the ELF’s natural foes, the women of January 6.

  Among the ten women I profile is Dr. Simone Gold. Even before getting caught up in the events of that memorable day, Dr. Gold had set the ELFs on edge through her work with America’s Frontline Doctors, a group she founded.

  An M.D. as well as a lawyer, Dr. Gold, 55 at the time, went to Washington not to protest the election but to address the issue of medical freedom. She had secured a permit to speak at a venue on the east side of the Capitol, but when organizers cancelled the event, Gold decided to give the speech on the Capitol steps. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she did not readily surrender her right to speak freely.

  Standing at the top of the steps on the Capitol’s east side, Gold got swept into the building when the doors opened from the inside, and the crowd surged forward. Finding her way to the rotunda, Dr. Gold stood on the base of a statue to speak. Someone passed her a bullhorn, and several people came over to listen. Following her five-minute speech, she took questions. After twenty or so uneventful minutes in the Capitol, Gold exited the building, having seen no violence or vandalism.

  Along with 1200 or so other citizens, Dr. Gold was hunted down by the FBI in the most sweeping series of arrests on American soil since the notorious Palmer raids of a century ago.

  Twelve days after January 6, roughly 20 agents came knocking at her Los Angeles door with a battering ram.

  “They arrested me,” she told Tucker Carlson. 

  “They [yell], ‘put your hands up, put your hands up, face the wall, face the wall,’ they’re screaming, ‘face the wall’ — handcuffed, shackled, take me downtown, orange suit, strip search, holding cell, fluorescent lights, — it was terrible — no phone call, no Miranda rights.”

  Threatened with a 20-year sentence if she took her case to trial before a rubber-stamp D.C. jury, Gold reluctantly accepted a plea deal. For a single misdemeanor charge, she was sentenced to 60 days at the Miami Federal Detention Center, a maximum-security prison. This was an unusually severe punishment for a single misdemeanor, even by January 6 standards.  

  On March 9, 2022 the New York Times celebrated Gold’s impending imprisonment in an article headlined, “A doctor prominent in fomenting opposition to Covid vaccines pleads guilty to riot charges.” The article’s subhead described America’s Front Line Doctors as “a group that spreads pandemic misinformation.” That same subhead claimed Gold “stood by as a Capitol Police officer was assaulted.” Video released after the fact would show that the officer fainted and was helped back up to his feet by the protestors. The prosecution knew this at the time of Gold’s plea deal — the officer had admitted as much to the FBI — but she did not.

  When the Times posted the plea deal story on its Facebook page, America’s frontline Karens queued up to take a whack at the Gold piñata. For the researcher, Facebook is a useful and easily mined resource. All those who comment have a Facebook page in their own name, and on that page is enough personal information to assess, in general terms, the person’s background. The article elicited more than a thousand comments.

  The first 19 people to post an original comment were female, all of them hostile. A supportive male broke the streak. Of the first 50 people, 42 were female. Of that 42, two more or less defended Gold, but the other 40 met the general definition of an ELF. These are New York Times readers after all. The comments of the 40 were uniformly negative. Of note, some expressed as much anger at Dr. Gold’s Covid skepticism as they did her designation as insurrectionist. Some samples:

  Take her medical license… she should be held to a higher standard…. throw the book at her… she is a danger to others and the public health.

  Apparently that “first do no harm” thing didn’t take. #quack

  Glad to see she is no longer practicing, can’t imagine her taking care of people when she doesn’t trust science.

  Honestly she should lose her medical license for intentionally spreading so much misinformation. In this kind of scenario she very likely could have caused lives to be lost.

  Suspend her license — She is a threat to her patients. 

  Given the number of people who have died from her COVID lies, she should be facing more serious charges.

  She should be charged for the deaths of anyone who believed her. And she should lose her license for spreading lies about medical information. She totally violated her oath to do NO harm.

  NYTIMES Stop referring to her as a doctor. She is not one of us.

  Too bad she doesn’t live in Russia where she could get 15 years in jail for misinformation.

  Thinking the Russia comment might have been made in jest, I reviewed the commenter’s home page. She wasn’t joking. Her past comments showed symptoms of an irony deficiency epidemic in the ELF community. Other ELFs saw Dr. Gold not only as a quack, but also as a traitor. They proved equally as ignorant about January 6 as they did about Covid and just as vengeful.

  She should serve at lest 25 years for this insurrection and trying to destroy democracy! Why are we so lenient with this terrorists!!??

  Go get them all !!!!!! Enough is enough and this has gone on too long. Just like the horrendous amount of time it is taking to make #45 pay for his crimes. #45, his family and his cult MUST be brought to justice for the damage they did to American democracy, citizens and place in the world.

  Hope she sees time behind bars.

  Sick & tired of misdemeanor charges for these people who tried to overthrow our government.

  She should lose her medical license, not only for the misinformation she was spreading but especially for not attending to the fallen & injured officers of that despicable riot! 

  I hope in future someone researching our odd and precarious times will be able to assess the harm that has been done to American citizens and others by conspiracy theory promoters.

  The ELFs, it should be noted, left these unforgiving comments two years after the onset of the pandemic. By this time, they should have known they had been deceived about Covid’s origins, the efficacy of masks, the value of the vaccines, the effectiveness of lockdowns, the lasting harm to schoolchildren, and the dangers of the disease itself.

  If proof were needed of this deception, a survey done by Franklin Templeton-Gallup in late 2020 provided it. In the survey of 35,000 Americans, the most revealing indicator came in response to the question: “What percentage of people who have been infected by the coronavirus needed to be hospitalized?”

  The responding Democrats proved scarily clueless.

  Some 41 percent believed that 50 percent or more of those who contracted Covid would end up in the hospital.

  Another 28 percent said that 20-50 percent of Covid sufferers would be hospitalized.

  The correct answer was 1-5 percent, an answer Republicans were nearly three times as likely to get right.

  In sum, 69 percent of Democrats were deeply misinformed and 41 percent were grossly misinformed.

  The ignorance infected even the most powerful ELFs.

  At a January 2022 hearing on vaccine mandates, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor observed, “We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators.” As the CNN fact checker had to admit, the self-described “wise Latina” overstated the numbers by a factor of at least twenty.

  “It was as if these communities were in the grip of a collective hallucination,” erstwhile feminist icon Naomi Wolf writes of her former allies in her book The Bodies of Others, “like the witch crazes of the sixteen and seventeenth century. Whole understandings and belief systems were abandoned overnight. Intelligent, informed people suddenly saw things that were not there and unable to see things that were incontrovertibly before their faces.”

  Dr. Gold was punished for being right. To this day, she defies her critics to find anything that she said about COVID that has proved to be untrue. “The anger against me is so aggressive,” she believes, “because they think I betrayed my social class.” Like other religious zealots, ELFs have no tolerance for apostates.

  *  *  *

  Jack Cashill’s newest book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6, is now available for purchase. Ebook and audiobook versions to follow shortly.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 19:00

• GOP Bill Would Give Israeli Soldiers US Job And Financial Protections
  GOP Bill Would Give Israeli Soldiers US Job And Financial Protections

  Leaping headlong into 2024’s frenzy of Israel-catering legislative activity, two House Republicans have introduced a bill that would extend credit and employment privileges enjoyed by US military service members to American citizens serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). 

  This latest affront to American patriotism is brought to you by Pennsylvania congressman and Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler, along with Ohio Rep. Max Miller.

  “Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas terrorists, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally,” said Reschenthaler. “This legislation will ensure we do everything possible to support these heroes who are standing with Israel, fighting for freedom, and combating terrorism in the Middle East.”

  

  HR 8445 would give American IDF soldiers (is that an oxymoron?) protections under two major programs for active duty US military service members: 

  • The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): Among many other features, SCRA caps credit card and mortgage interest on debts taken out before starting active service, protects against foreclosures, allows penalty-free termination of residential and auto leases, and allows cancellation of consumer contracts such as cell phone service and gym memberships. 
  • Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA): As the Department of Labor describes it, “USERRA mandates that returning service members must be promptly re-employed in the same position that they would have attained had they not been absent for military service, with the same seniority, status and pay.” 

  Thus, if HR 8445 becomes law, a US bank may have to cap the interest rate it’s charging for an American citizen who spontaneously decides to go join the IDF rampage in Gaza. The same person could bail on their apartment lease. After they leave their employer in the lurch to fight for a foreign army, the employer would have to give them their job back — even if they hired someone else to fill the void. 

  

  In classic Washington DC fashion, these laws impose costs on private actors — landlords, vehicle dealerships, mortgage lenders, cell phone companies, gyms, employers — without compensation. Those costs go beyond foregone revenue: Implementing these benefits for IDF soldiers would require businesses to train staff members how to sort out the eligibility of an American serving in the Israeli military.  

  It’s one thing to do impose these costs for the benefit of American soldiers — it’s another altogether to use government coercion for the benefit of citizens who opt to take up arms for another country.  

  

  Speaking of costs and benefits, over their short careers, the two cosponsors of this bill have raked in huge contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). According to Track AIPAC, third-termer Reschenthaler has received $170,147 while first-termer Miller has already piled up $193,808.   

  “No one should be entitled to any U.S. military service benefits unless they are fighting under U.S. command and control,” said non-interventionist former congressmen Dennis Kucinich, who is now running as an independent against Miller. “Mr. Miller has lost sight of who he was elected to Congress to represent.” 

  US representatives and senators have been tripping over each other to signal their loyalty to Israel. Other measures that thankfully aren’t law…yet: 

  • The House-passed Antisemitism Awareness Act would expose colleges to federal civil rights punishment if a student or professor argues that “the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor” or makes comparisions between the Israeli government and that of Nazi Germany, among other forbidden ideas
  • Another bill would bar college debt forgiveness for anyone convicted of a federal or state offense — but only those related to a campus protest 
  • Yet another one would defund the State Department, DOD and National Security Council until Biden delivers more bombs to Israel 

  While all this is going on, the national debt is now growing by a trillion dollars every 100 days. Talk about misplaced priorities. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 18:40

• "The End Of Everything": Victor Davis Hanson On The Gravest Threats To America
  “The End Of Everything”: Victor Davis Hanson On The Gravest Threats To America

  Via The Epoch Times,

  In a recent episode of American Thought Leaders, host Jan Jekielek sat down with classicist and military historian Victor Davis Hanson. In his new book “The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation,” Mr. Hanson looks at four civilizations that were utterly destroyed by their enemies, then draws comparisons between the United States and its enemies, both domestic and foreign.

  

  Jan Jekielek: Victor, I’m going to start with something you wrote, “We see a recurring universally human theme across time and space. The doomed at the brink of civilizational destruction have an attitude partly born of hubris and partly born of naivete, perhaps best summed up as, ‘It cannot happen to us.’”

  Victor Davis Hanson: When one side loses a war, the typical follow-up is that they surrender. They’re not annihilated. But every once in a while, that doesn’t happen.

  I was curious to see why it didn’t happen in these few instances. I selected four of the maybe 20 that are known: classical Thebes that had been around for 1100 years, Carthage for 800-plus years, Constantinople for almost 1200 years, and Tenochtitlan we don’t quite know about.

  They felt they were invulnerable. When these occasions arose, they felt they could finesse it, negotiate it, or win it.

  Mr. Jekielek: It comes back to, “This can’t happen to us, these walls have never been penetrated.” In our society today, we forget about the lessons of history. What is the biggest lesson from Carthage?

  Mr. Hanson: One is understanding the invader. They had no idea that the Romans had global aspirations and wanted to control the entire Mediterranean. They didn’t realize that they were the only obstacle, and no matter what they did, they would be interpreted as an obstacle. They thought they could reason with the Romans.

  But the Romans were tired of them. Their attitude was, “They ran wild in Italy for 19 years and we’re sick of them. We’re going to land this huge force and we’ll give them an ultimatum.” Once they disarmed, the Romans thought, “Now what? As soon as we leave, they’ll rearm again.”

  The Romans had a renewed demand, “You have to destroy your city so you won’t be able to have a Navy. You won’t be able to go into the Mediterranean if you’re way inland.” They couldn’t do that. At that point there was a riot, and they killed some of the leaders who had acquiesced to the initial Roman demand. They felt they had a good chance to survive. They had 500,000 people. They were larger than Rome at the time. They were probably as wealthy as Rome. They felt they were better at sea than Rome. They could rebuild their fleet. But they had no idea of what Rome’s intentions were. All of the power of the Roman Republic would be directed at Carthage.

  Mr. Jekielek: You’re facing difficult odds, but you still think, “Nothing bad can happen to us.”

  Mr. Hanson: Yes. Look at the United States as a declining power and China as an ascending power. We think, “We won two world wars, we created the post-war order, we spend the most money on defense of any country. When we want to win, we can, and therefore we should downplay China.”

  If you were Carthage, you would think that way. If you were analytical today, you would say, “Wait a minute. We’re $36 trillion in debt. We’re borrowing $1 trillion every 100 days. We’re 45,000 people short in the military. Our cities are full of crime. China has an agenda to emasculate the United States. They’re building nuclear weapons and ships faster than we are. They have nearly five times the population of the United States.”

  That would be a realistic assessment, but we don’t hear that.

  We just hear, “We’re the United States, the cultural capital of the world and the wealthiest of anybody.”

  This decline is self-inflicted.

  Mr. Jekielek: We have Xi Jinping saying, “We are waging a people’s war against America.” It can’t be any clearer than that. But somehow we’re not aware.

  Mr. Hanson: That’s exactly the same with the Aztecs. When Cortes set foot in that city, Montezuma’s brother said, “He’s not a god. He’s a killer. He bleeds, he eats, he defecates. These people will destroy us.” But he was not listened to.

  We’re like these ancient societies who were paralyzed by fear and inaction.

  Mr. Jekielek: Our producers have collected questions from the audience during this live Q&A. The next question is, “Who is the greatest threat to the Republic, foreign enemies or domestic enemies?

  Mr. Hanson: Domestic. The greatest threat is somebody with an advanced graduate degree in the media, high tech, or government who has utopian impulses and feels morally or intellectually superior to the rest of us. Therefore, they think any methods are permissible in order to reach their dream. All of our institutions are under assault by messianic people who believe they have better education, and are wealthier and more virtuous.

  Mr. Jekielek: Here’s another question, “What does Victor Davis Hanson tell his family to do? What practical solutions does he have?”

  Mr. Hanson: I tell them to be proactive first, because I believe you have to work within the system. I tell them, “You have to vote. You have to speak up among your friends. You’ve got to be an active citizen in order to stop the madness.” I tell my children, “Monitor what they’re teaching your children.”

  We’re in new territory, and our agencies and institutions have become so warped they’re plotting for short-term political gain. The irony is that the people who are doing this say, “Democracy dies in darkness.”

  Everybody’s got to get active. Vote, help people get to the polls, speak up, write to your local paper, volunteer to observe the election. Do whatever you can to be engaged.

  This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

  Watch the full interview below:

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 18:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Slovakia Probing Broader Conspiracy In Assassination Attempt On PM Fico
  Slovakia Probing Broader Conspiracy In Assassination Attempt On PM Fico

  The Slovak police are investigating a possible broader criminal conspiracy surrounding the May 15 attempted assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

  He was shot multiple times, and has survived his wounds, by what authorities initially said was a “lone-wolf” shooter who was immediately taken into custody. That official narrative appears to quickly be shifting, however.

  

  The 71-year old attacker fired five shots while Fico greeted supporters in the street outside a government building, sustaining life-threatening injuries.

  Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak announced over the weekend of Fico, “He has emerged from the immediate threat to his life, but his condition remains serious and he requires intensive care.“

  “We can consider his condition stable with a positive prognosis,” Kalinak said outside the hospital where the prime minister is expected to remain likely for an extended period of time. “We all feel a bit more relaxed now.”

  Concerning the shooter’s motives, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok has said in a fresh briefing that “the suspect was angered by the government’s Ukraine policy” and that he may not have been a lone wolf. According to Bloomberg:

  On Sunday, authorities said that cooperation with domestic and foreign intelligence services had led to a broadening of the probe, to include a version in which a group – which wasn’t identified – may have been linked to the crime.

  According to more details from Estok, “A potential broader assassination plot is supported by the fact that the assailant’s social media communications were erased by another person about two hours after the shooting.”

  The Interior Minister explained, “we added a version that it wasn’t only a lone-wolf attacker, but that the crime may have been conducted by a certain group of people.”

  There hasn’t been an assassination attempt on a head of state in Europe for some two decades, international reports have underscored. 

  Slovak Prime Minister Fico was shot in an armed attack 3 days after meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev.

  The Iranian President’s helicopter crashed hours after his meeting with Ilham Aliyev. pic.twitter.com/2m6Ad1ARCO

  — Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) May 20, 2024

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

  Fico had long been outspoken against deepening Western involvement in the Ukraine war, for which he’s made many enemies and critics among Western allies, and of course within Ukraine itself.

  For example, here’s how CNN last October described his ascendancy to prime minister and leader of the small NATO member state… “A party headed by a pro-Kremlin figure came out top after securing more votes than expected in an election in Slovakia, official results show, in what could pose a challenge to NATO and EU unity on Ukraine.”

  While in the hospital fighting for his life, Fico’s top officials have at times lashed out at Western media, telling reporters to ‘reflect’ on the way they cover the populist prime minister and his policies. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 02:45

• UN Report Clearing UNRWA Of Terror Ties A "Whitewash", Witnesses Tell Congress
  UN Report Clearing UNRWA Of Terror Ties A “Whitewash”, Witnesses Tell Congress

  Authored by Dan Berger via The Epoch Times,

  Three expert witnesses testifying before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on May 17 said a recent U.N. investigation into its troubled agency assisting Palestinians in Gaza was a whitewash.

  

  They told the Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), that the Colonna Report was released by a committee stacked with agency supporters handpicked by the agency’s director.

  The agency, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has overseen relief distribution and other services to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank since 1949.

  Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna led the U.N. investigation. It included representatives of three institutions that witnesses said were regarded as pro-UNRWA: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Sweden, the Christian Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

  The nine-week investigation began in response to Israeli allegations of the deep entanglement of UNRWA with Hamas, the terror group controlling Gaza.

  Those allegations have already had an effect: $450 million in foreign aid was halted, and President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan foreign aid bill halting all aid to UNRWA until at least March 25, 2025. The United States had been providing a third of UNRWA’s billion-dollar budget.

  Ms. Colonna’s committee began work a week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 30–19 to halt UNRWA’s funding.

  The Colonna Report “was set up solely to whitewash UNRWA’s record,” according to Mr. Smith. The House subcommittee wanted to examine that, he said, as well as “U.S. funding to organizations other than UNRWA, which are affiliated to terrorists or otherwise promote violence against Israelis.”

  Ms. Colonna’s panel released a 54-page report of dense bureaucratic language obscuring the gravity of Israel’s charges: that at least a dozen UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, that 1,200 UNRWA employees belong to the banned terrorist organization controlling Gaza, and that 6,000 of its 13,000 employees have family members in Hamas.

  Israel has stated that Hamas arms have been found in or under some of the 2,000 buildings that the agency controls in Gaza, that a Hamas spy computer center tapped the UNRWA building above it for electric power, and that at least two hostages were held in the homes of likely UNRWA staffers, including a teacher and a doctor.

  Ms. Colonna “has a long history of support for UNRWA and hostility to Israel,” according to Mr. Smith. All three organizations tapped to work with her have similar histories, he said.

  “Senior officials connected to the report repeatedly stated that their goal was to, quote, reassure donors and to provide donors with further cover,” he said.

  Several nations, including Australia, Canada, and Sweden, resumed funding UNRWA even before the Colonna Report was published.

  One of the witnesses, Hillel Neuer, spoke of UNRWA’s refusals to appear with him or debate him. On May 13, he was disinvited from a panel discussing UNRWA at the Stimson Center in Washington after, he was told, UNRWA’s representative refused to participate if he was there.

  

  Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) near the U.S. Capitol on March 22, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

  “[The Colonna Report] is, we’re told, an independent audit that has given UNRWA a clean bill of health exonerating the agency of all charges of its ties with terrorism. This headline was repeated around the world and used by several countries to reinstate funding,” Mr. Neuer said.

  “There’s one problem, though, Mr. Chairman. These claims are completely false.”

  The investigators were not impartial, he said. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini had denounced Israel’s charges of terror ties as a disingenuous, politically motivated, and a smear campaign, according to Mr. Neuer.

  “In doing so he irreparably tainted the credibility of the inquiry,” Mr. Neuer said.

  Mr. Lazzarini picked Ms. Colonna to head it a few weeks after she had posted her backing of UNRWA on social media. She had done that, Mr. Neuer said, after his own group, U.N. Watch, had exposed a social media group in which 3,000 UNRWA employees had celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

  

  Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch, speaks at the 2015 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. (Courtesy Hillel Neuer)

  “He chose someone who he knew very well was sympathetic to UNRWA, to say the least,” Mr. Neuer said.

  And France is UNRWA’s fourth-largest donor. A former UNRWA spokesman subsequently told the Al Jazeera television network that “the report by the former French foreign minister, quote, will provide the donors with further cover.”

  “The report says the following: UNRWA, quote, ’remains pivotal in providing life saving humanitarian aid. UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable, [a] humanitarian lifeline.’ Mr. Chairman, we didn’t need to have an independent review group of the French foreign minister and three Scandinavian institutes to produce those lines. Those words are the official UNWRA talking points,” Mr. Neuer said.

  He derided the report for its proclamation that “UNRWA has established a significant number of policies and mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with a more developed approach to neutrality than any other similar U.N. or NGO entities.”

  “The truth is the complete opposite,” Mr. Neuer said.

  He compared the report to the Soviet Union’s Stalin-era constitution, a soaring statement of human rights—guaranteeing direct elections, freedom of conscience, and other liberties. The Soviet dictator proclaimed it the most democratic constitution in the world.

  “The reality was the complete opposite,” Mr. Neuer said, noting that the constitution came into play in 1936, just before the Great Purge began, a terror resulting in the arrest and then execution or deportation to Siberia of millions of citizens.

  

  Displaced Palestinian people sit on benches as they wait outside a clinic of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

  Yona Schiffmiller, research director for NGO Monitor, a group watchdog nonprofit group, said Hamas’s coercion makes accountability and oversight of UNRWA unlikely. U.S. law bans funding groups that promote violence, terrorism, anti-Semitism, or the employment of individuals espousing those.

  James G. Lindsay, former general counsel for UNRWA, former Justice Department criminal lawyer, and author of a 2009 report on the group, told the committee that he walked away from it when it became apparent that while it stated that it was vetting staff members for terror ties, it wasn’t doing it.

  He saw a quote from the UNRWA commissioner-general in the Canadian media saying, “Yes, I know we have Hamas people working for us, but it’s not something we worry about.”

  He objected to UNRWA’s management, “and I was rebuffed.”

  “And so I moved on,” Mr. Lindsay said.

  The Colonna Report itself documents indirectly how incompetent the agency is, he said. Of its 50 recommendations, he said, about 37 “reflect obvious management deficiencies, things like the need for training, better coordination with other agencies, better enforcement of rules, employing more women as managers, that any competent management team would have long ago addressed with prodding from an independent review.”

  He noted that of the 5.9 million Palestinians UNRWA designates as “refugees,” 1.8 million don’t meet the legal definition because they are citizens of and live in Jordan. Someone can’t be a citizen and a refugee at the same time, he said. Others should be stricken from the assistance rolls for their criminal records or support of terrorism, he said.

  The hearing was slightly disrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Several had “FREE GAZA” written on their arms. They held their arms up in the air and checked the monitors of the hearing’s cameras to make sure the messages were showing. One wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt.

  At one point, Mr. Smith stopped the hearing to admonish them, noting that showing signs was illegal. Some shouting broke out off camera, and he then had police clear them from the hearing chamber.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/21/2024 – 02:00

• Hatch Act Enforcement Tightens With New Guidelines Targeting Political Activities Of Federal Employees
  Hatch Act Enforcement Tightens With New Guidelines Targeting Political Activities Of Federal Employees

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

  In an update to enforcement of the Hatch Act, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) on May 20 issued new guidelines aimed at clarifying and tightening the rules governing political activities by federal employees.

  

  The Hatch Act restricts the political activities of government employees to ensure a nonpartisan federal workforce. The Act has seen evolving interpretations and enforcement mechanisms since its enactment in 1939.

  The new advisory opinion from the OSC head Hampton Dellinger outlines several key changes that will impact how these regulations are applied, particularly concerning White House personnel and the display of political items in federal workplaces. Mr. Dellinger was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate and took office in March 2024, with prior work overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy.

  Mr. Dellinger in an opinion piece published in Politico on May 20, noted that the updates are meant to target a loophole that has allowed senior White House personnel to evade full compliance with the Hatch Act.

  He noted that the changes mark a decisive move to ensure that the law’s restrictions on political activities apply uniformly across all federal employees, including top White House staff.

  Mr. Dellinger emphasized the importance of balancing robust Hatch Act enforcement with protecting federal employees’ speech rights.

  “While this Advisory Opinion updates OSC’s approach to Hatch Act enforcement in certain areas, it is important to note what remains unchanged,” the advisory opinion announcing the changes stated. “OSC will continue to provide extensive training, education, and advice to inform federal agencies and employees of Hatch Act obligations. Relatedly, OSC continues to encourage government workers to come into immediate compliance once alerted of violations. Quickly remedied and minor violations often can be addressed and closed through warnings from OSC rather than a filed case.”

  Enforcement Actions and White House Personnel

  The OSC has announced a shift in how it handles Hatch Act violations by White House commissioned officers and other senior staff.

  Previously, due to the absence of a quorum in the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and historical legal opinions, the OSC would refer cases involving White House personnel to the president.

  With the MSPB now having a quorum, the OSC will bring such cases directly to the MSPB for adjudication, in line with the clear statutory mandate, according to an advisory opinion announcing the changes. This change underscores that all non-Presidential Senate-confirmed appointees (PAS) will be subject to the same disciplinary processes as other federal employees.

  Political Activity Restrictions Extended

  In an effort to create a uniform and clear standard, the OSC has also updated its guidance on the display of political candidate or party items in the federal workplace.

  Previously, there was a distinction between items supporting political candidates, which were prohibited only during election periods, and those supporting political parties, which were banned year-round. The new rule eliminates this distinction, imposing a year-round ban on both types of items.

  This change reflects the increasing association of candidates with specific political parties, rendering any distinction between candidate and party items practically insignificant.

  Another notable update concerns former federal employees. The OSC clarified that the Hatch Act’s prohibitions apply even after an employee has left federal service.

  This means that individuals who violated the Hatch Act while in government can still face disciplinary actions post-resignation. This extension ensures accountability and deters future violations, maintaining the integrity of federal service, according to the advisory opinion.

  Balancing Free Speech and Political Neutrality

  The OSC has also addressed the balance between protecting federal employees’ speech rights and ensuring political neutrality in government operations.

  While the Hatch Act restricts overt political advocacy by government employees, it allows for certain policy-related discussions that may touch on politically sensitive issues.

  “Importantly, OSC will always find violations of the Hatch Act when on-the-job speech or conduct includes express advocacy (i.e. please support the election of, vote against, donate to, or variations thereof),” the new policy explained. “Beyond that, prohibited advocacy can also include using words, phrases, or images associated with a specific candidate or party, particularly when they appear alone, virtually alone, or gratuitously.”

  The new advisory reaffirms that clear advocacy for or against political candidates or parties in the workplace remains prohibited. However, discussions involving policy matters related to federal programs or legislative proposals may be permissible, provided they do not serve as covert political endorsements.

  The OSC’s updated enforcement approach is an attempt at ensuring that federal employees adhere to political neutrality and accountability.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 23:40

• These Are The Countries Where Youth Are The Most Unhappy, Relative To Older Generations
  These Are The Countries Where Youth Are The Most Unhappy, Relative To Older Generations

  “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

  – TOM BODETT

  Measuring happiness is tricky business, more so when taking into account how different regions, cultures, and faiths define it. Nevertheless, as Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao reports, the World Happiness Report attempts to distill being happy into a single score out of 10, and then ranks countries by their average score.

  Rao has visualized the high-level findings from the latest happiness report in this series of maps. However, the report also dives deeper into other significant trends in the data, such as a growing disparity in happiness between age groups within countries themselves.

  

  In the chart above, Visual Capitalist lists countries by the biggest gaps in happiness ranks between young adults (<30) and older adults (60+). A higher number indicates a larger gap, and that the youth are far unhappier than their older counterparts.

  Where are Youth Unhappier than Older Adults?

  Mauritius ranks first on this list, with a massive 57 place gap between older adult and youth happiness. The 1.26 million-inhabited island nation briefly reached high income status in 2020, but the pandemic hit hard, hurting its key tourism sector, and affecting jobs.

  The country’s youth unemployment rate spiked to close to 25% that year, but has since been on the decline. Like residents on many similarly-populated islands, the younger demographic often moves abroad in search of more opportunities.

  

  Conventional wisdom says, and data somewhat correlates, that young adults (those below 30) tend to be the happiest demographic. Happiness then decreases through middle age and starts increasing around 60. However, the above countries are digressing from the pattern, with older generations being much happier than young adults.

  That older generations are happier, by itself, is not a bad thing. However, that younger adults are so much unhappier in the same country can point to several unique stresses that those aged below 30 are facing.

  For example, in the U.S. and Canada—both near the top of this list—many young adults feel like they have been priced out of owning a home: a once key metric of success.

  Climate anxieties are also high, with worries about the future of the world they’ll inhabit. Finally, persistent economic inequities are also weighing on the younger generation, with many in that cohort feeling like they will never be able to afford to retire.

  All of this comes alongside a rising loneliness epidemic, where those aged 18–25 report much higher rates of loneliness than the general population.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 23:20

• Study Finds Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Safely Treat Menopause Symptoms
  Study Finds Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Safely Treat Menopause Symptoms

  Authored by Ayla Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A new study has determined that, when it comes to treating the symptoms of menopause, the overall benefits of hormone replacement therapy outweigh the risks. However, researchers found that the evidence does not support hormone therapy as an effective preventative measure for cardiovascular disease, dementia, or other chronic diseases.

  

  The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzed follow-up data related to the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study—the largest study for women’s health in the United States and a nearly two-decade-long undertaking. The researchers determined that hormone therapy is an effective treatment option for postmenopausal women, particularly those in early menopause who are less than 60 years old.

  Study Findings Explained

  The WHI study was conducted from 1993 through 1998. Participants consisted of 161,808 postmenopausal women within the United States between 50 and 79 years old. Relevant data was collected from the study participants for up to twenty years to determine the efficacy and side effects of hormone replacement therapy during menopause.

  After analyzing the WHI’s follow-up data, the JAMA study researchers concluded hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a safe treatment option for common vasomotor menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats. The researchers also found that initiating hormone replacement therapy in early menopause (before age 60) resulted in fewer adverse effects compared to late menopause.

  “I’m glad to see the researchers mention the increased risk of side effects from HRT in late menopause. I wish doctors would be more upfront with patients about the downsides of HRT, because the truth is, it doesn’t work well for a lot of women,” Mindy Pelz, a chiropractor and functional health expert, told The Epoch Times in an email.

  Researchers also found the evidence did not support routine calcium and Vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures in postmenopausal women. Nor did it support the use of a low-fat diet as a means to prevent breast or colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

  “It’s always good to get more clarity on what hormone replacement can and cannot do. For some women, hormone replacement therapy makes a night-and-day difference in menopause symptoms like hot flashes and mood—but it’s helpful to know that HRT won’t protect you from menopause’s impact on heart health, brain aging, and chronic disease risk,” says Ms. Pelz.

  Background and Prior Research

  Through decades of research, scientists have been able to better understand which hormone treatments are beneficial–and which should be avoided. For example, researchers of the WHI study learned that a certain type of progestin—medroxyprogesterone acetate—was linked to higher rates of breast cancer. On the other hand, micronized progesterone, a type of bioidentical hormone, does not increase the risk of breast cancer.

  “Bio-identical hormones are a safer alternative to traditional HRT because they are plant-based transdermal creams that are structurally identical to human hormones; the body recognizes them, binds to them, metabolizes them, excretes them, activating the same functions as before menopause sets in. They are just as powerful to prevent hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, and sleeping difficulties and do not pose an increased risk for breast cancer, heart disease, blood clots, or strokes,” Dr. Gowri Reddy Rocco told The Epoch Times in an email. Dr. Rocco is a double board-certified physician in family medicine and regenerative, anti-aging, and functional medicine.

  The WHI study also found an increased incidence of pulmonary embolism in women taking estrogen orally. Other forms of estrogen, such as patches, creams, or gels, are considered a safer option because they are not metabolized by the liver.

  “It is imperative to recognize that the WHI study only studies results of using synthetic, oral estrogens and progestins. It is important to clarify the confusion so women feel comfortable and understand the differences between the traditional synthetic HRT and Bio-Identical Hormones(BHRT). The WHI was not based on BHRT or physiological studies, it was based on synthetic, animal-derived, and traditional oral estrogens and progestins,” explains Dr. Rocco.

  Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause

  Postmenopausal women account for approximately 55 million people in the United States and 1.1 billion people worldwide. During menopause, a woman’s body no longer produces adequate amounts of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. According to Dr. Rocco, this drop in hormone levels can cause uncomfortable menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, depression, weight gain, difficulty sleeping, and difficulty losing weight. These symptoms can last for up to ten years after the start of menopause.

  Hormone replacement therapy is used to relieve menopausal symptoms in women.

  Generally, if a postmenopausal woman has a uterus, they will be prescribed a combination of estrogen and progesterone. This is because progesterone can help protect women with a uterus from endometrial cancer, which can form from estrogen-only therapy. If the woman no longer has a uterus due to a hysterectomy, then they will be prescribed estrogen only.

  However, HRT isn’t appropriate for everyone and, according to Ms. Pelz, it shouldn’t be seen as a universal fix. “I sometimes work with clients who view hormone replacement as a cure-all, or something that can replace a healthy lifestyle—but that’s not the case! If you’re going through menopause, it’s more important than ever to keep up a healthy diet and lifestyle.”

  Advantages and Disadvantages of Hormone Replacement Therapy

  The most immediate advantage of HRT is relief from uncomfortable menopausal symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes, insomnia, and vaginal dryness. Studies suggest that long-term hormone therapy can prevent bone fractures.

  There is also evidence that HRT could help lower the risk of bowel cancer and prevent bone loss (osteoporosis).

  As for disadvantages, research suggests that women on HRT have higher rates of blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer compared to women who are not on HRT. The risk of heart attack may also be slightly increased. In general, the longer a woman is on HRT, the greater the risk of grave side effects. Therefore, treatment should be for the shortest amount of time possible, using the lowest effective dose possible.

  “Some disadvantages of taking HRT include the need to apply topical cream morning and night, which can be cumbersome, finding a qualified physician or clinician to prescribe and monitor it, and it can be pricey as insurance does not cover it,” notes Dr. Rocco.

  Natural Alternatives to Hormone Replacement Therapy

  For those who prefer not to take hormones, there are certain lifestyle changes and natural alternatives that may help alleviate menopausal symptoms. Exercise, eating a balanced diet, relaxation therapy, and yoga are all lifestyle changes that can help lessen the severity of menopausal symptoms. Avoiding potential triggers, such as caffeine, smoking, alcohol, and spicy foods, may also be beneficial.

  “You’d be amazed by how much you can improve your hormone levels and ease menopause symptoms through lifestyle changes,” confirms Ms. Pelz.

  As far as exercise, Ms. Pelz specifically recommends lifting weights and walking, explaining, “Weightlifting increases sex hormones, which is good for menopausal symptoms. But it does a lot more than that too. Muscle mass and bone density are two of the biggest predictors of quality of life as you age. Menopause decreases both of them—and lifting weights reverses those declines, ensuring you look and feel your best as you age. Also, walk every day.”

  “It sounds basic, but research shows that low-level movement throughout the day makes a huge difference to both your hormone production and your overall health. I also think it’s one of the most underrated tools for weight loss. Aim for 10,000 steps a day if you can, but start with whatever’s possible. Even 1,000 steps a day will make a big change to how you feel if you’re consistent with it,” she adds.

  Foods containing soy have been shown to alleviate menopause symptoms due to the way soy mimics estrogen in the body. Ms. Pelz also recommends that menopausal women reduce their sugar and refined carbohydrate intake, explaining, “They wreak havoc on your hormones and they’ll make you gain weight, which causes further hormone disruptions. Trade the dessert and simple carbs for complex carbs like squash, sweet potato, lentils, and beans. This is good advice for anyone, but it’s especially important during and after menopause.”

  Dr. Rocco agrees that dietary changes can make a huge difference. She recommends a diet rich in vegetables, plant-based foods, and clean meats, as well as reducing one’s sugar intake to improve cardiovascular health. “Additionally, reducing alcohol intake is crucial as it affects hormones and increases cortisol production, leading to weight gain. Including more lentils and yams in the diet provides phytoestrogens which can naturally increase estrogen production,” she advises.

  Finally, certain herbal remedies may also be helpful during menopause, including but not limited to:

  • Black cohosh
  • Red clover
  • Evening primrose oil
  • Lemon balm
  • Fenugreek
  • Fennel
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • Licorice

  These herbal remedies can balance hormone levels and/or improve sleep, thus potentially alleviating menopause symptoms.

  Dr. Rocco believes natural supplements can help menopausal women, specifically recommending green tea and  DIM (diinodolylmethane) to help regulate hormones. “Taking vitamin D is beneficial as it improves the immune system and helps mitigate depression and anxiety linked to low vitamin D levels. Avoiding gummy vitamins is advisable due to their shorter half-life and sugar content,” she says.

  It’s important to note that some herbal remedies can have serious interactions with certain medications, so always talk to your health care provider before taking any herbal remedies along with prescription or over-the-counter medications.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 23:00

• Babylon Bee: Satan Asks Leftists To Tone The Evil Down A Notch
  Babylon Bee: Satan Asks Leftists To Tone The Evil Down A Notch

  In a regularly scheduled meeting with leftist activists and Democrat NGOs, Satan tries to to explain the value of subtlety.  It does not go well.  The Babylon Bee has become famous in a disturbing way – Their parodies often end up predicting future realities, proving that we now live in Clown World whether we like it or not.

  The comedy sketch does bring up a valid question that needs to be addressed:  Why has the political left put all their evil out in the open all of a sudden?  They used to hide their intentions behind empty platitudes and declarations of “peace and love and equality.”  Today we have CRT, DEI, ESG and an intersectional hellscape saturating society with the mentally ill. 

  Even Satan thinks maybe leftists are taking things a bit too far a bit too fast.  File this under “it’s funny because it’s true.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 22:40

• Conservative Group Files Emergency Court Motion To Get Biden–Hur Audio Tapes
  Conservative Group Files Emergency Court Motion To Get Biden–Hur Audio Tapes

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has filed an emergency motion in a Washington court seeking to accelerate the release of audio tapes of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, over which the White House recently asserted executive privilege.

  

  The emergency motion, filed on May 17 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to modify the court’s briefing schedule for three pending Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits that seek the audio recordings of roughly five hours of interviews that President Biden had with the special counsel in relation to a classified documents mishandling probe.

  The motion seeks to speed up the court battle over the release of the tapes, with The Heritage Foundation arguing in the filing that President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over the tapes on May 16 adds urgency to the FOIA lawsuits and that the Department of Justice (DOJ) didn’t need as much time to prepare its response to the FOIA requests as it previously claimed.

  “The Department’s asserted time constraints were misleading,” The Heritage Foundation attorneys wrote in the motion. “The Department did not need the time to prepare a position and declarations it twice told the Court it did. A formal assertion of Executive Privilege is an extraordinary undertaking.”

  U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has set a schedule for the FOIA lawsuits that gives the DOJ until May 31 to submit filings in support of withholding the tapes. It also allows various other filings to be made through July 29. In their emergency motion, Heritage Foundation attorneys asked that the schedule be modified to give the DOJ until May 27 to make their arguments and that the deadline for all other filings be set at July 1.

  The tapes are at the center of a dispute between House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has defied a subpoena for them and faces contempt proceedings.

  House Republicans have said that they want to obtain the recordings to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions that President Biden couldn’t recollect certain facts during the interview. They have alleged that a two-tiered justice system exists because Mr. Hur opted to not charge President Biden while former President Donald Trump faces multiple charges in connection with his own classified documents probe.

  “At trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the special counsel wrote in his 388-page report, which found that President Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” when he was a private citizen after the end of his term as vice president during the Obama administration.

  Mr. Hur, who faced criticism from Democrats and the White House for remarks on the president’s cognitive capacity in his report, didn’t recommend charges against President Biden, in part because of his ailing memory.

  While Republicans have said that they want the tapes to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions, Democrats have argued that Republicans want to use the tapes in campaign ads to portray President Biden as a frail leader with a poor memory who’s too old to serve another term in the Oval Office.

  Mr. Hur revealed in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in March that White House officials sought to soften his report’s characterizations of President Biden’s ailing memory.

  More Details

  President Biden on May 16 asserted executive privilege over the interview tapes, with the White House counsel’s office notifying House Republicans of the move just hours before they were expected to recommend holding Mr. Garland in contempt for refusing to hand them over.

  Mr. Garland and White House Counsel Ed Siskel defended the executive privilege assertion as necessary because it could affect future investigations. In a May 15 letter to the president, Mr. Garland said that the “committee’s needs are plainly insufficient to outweigh the deleterious effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.”

  President Biden’s counsel accused House Republicans of wanting the tapes to craft political attack ads.

  “The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal—to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” Ed Siskel, President Biden’s counsel, wrote to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a May 16 letter. “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.”

  Still, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Mr. Comer, and the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Mr. Jordan, both voted on May 16 to hold Mr. Garland in contempt of Congress despite President Biden’s executive privilege intervention.

  In their court filing, Heritage Foundation attorneys argued that the fact that the House committees voted to recommend holding Mr. Garland in contempt “adds to the compelling and already extraordinary interest in the disclosure of the audio recording.”

  The contempt measure would still need to pass the House before a referral is made to the DOJ, and it remains unclear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would bring a resolution to the floor.

  Mr. Johnson has been critical of efforts to block the release of the tapes.

  “President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes,” he said at a press conference.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 22:20

• Elon Musk Says Starship Megarocket Launch In Weeks
  Elon Musk Says Starship Megarocket Launch In Weeks

  SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, will probably have its fourth flight “in about two weeks,” Elon Musk wrote on X. 

  The objective is for Starship “to get through max reentry heating,” Musk said, adding, “Worth noting that no one has ever succeeded in creating a fully reusable heat shield. Shuttle required >6 months of rework.” 

  Starship Flight 4 in about 2 weeks.

  Primary goal is getting through max reentry heating.

  Worth noting that no one has ever succeeded in creating a fully reusable heat shield. Shuttle required >6 months of rework. https://t.co/4ffEHSLRbu

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2024

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

  Last Wednesday, SpaceX announced that the Starship rocket was “full stack”—meaning its “Ship” upper stage was atop its “Super Heavy” first-stage booster on the orbital launch mount at the Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, near Brownsville.

  Full stack of Flight 4 Starship pic.twitter.com/TPprnj0zC4

  — SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 16, 2024

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

  SpaceX has already tested the Raptor engines of both vehicles on the orbital launch mount, a standard pre-launch procedure known as static fires. 

  Starship’s first three test flights occurred in April 2023, November 2023, and March 14 of this year. Engineers have rapidly improved Starship’s performance in each launch after learning from previous failures. 

  From reusable rockets to now reusable heat shields, Musk’s domination in space launches puts Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance to utter shame. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 22:00

• Historic Trucking Rate Disparity Could Cripple Service In Late 2024
  Historic Trucking Rate Disparity Could Cripple Service In Late 2024

  By Zach Strickland of FreightWaves

  Truckload contract rates continue to show strong elevation in relation to spot rates excluding estimated fuel costs above $1.20 a gallon.

  

  This historic spread — currently about 30% versus about 12% in 2019 — suggests there is an extraordinary amount of potential disparity among rates in the truckload market that could leave several shippers without a truck when the market inevitably shifts.

  

  Contract or long-term rates are generally negotiated on an annual basis between shipper and transportation service provider.

  In an erratic capacity environment, these rates are subject to midterm renegotiation, both higher and lower. This is where the term “paper rates” originates, because they are as thin as paper in terms of reliability.

  On the spot

  Spot rates are negotiated on an ad hoc or transactional basis and are typically only good for a matter of days.

  The spot market is a place where shippers look to source capacity when they either do not have a contract carrier or their existing carriers do not have availability. In loose capacity environments — such as the current one — it can also be a place to get immediate cost savings or try other carriers to deepen their lists of potential providers.

  From the carrier perspective, the spot market is a place to fill gaps in their networks — aka backhauls — or haul more profitable freight. The former is more the use case in a market like the one that we are currently in, though there is always this potential. 

  Too many trucks for too long

  The current market is historically oversupplied, with capacity having been inflated to an unsustainable level by the pandemic-era consumption boom. The U.S. truckload market has been in a recession since the first half of 2022 but is moving toward a more balanced environment nearly invisibly.

  

  Looking at an example of supply and demand dynamics in the form of active motor carrier of property operating authorities issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration versus the national Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI), capacity is falling while demand is stable. 

  While this is not a perfect comparison since an operating authority can be one or 5,000 trucks, it is a good indication that capacity is coming offline and the market is moving toward equilibrium. 

  The current ratio of operating authority to tender is about 31:1. Historically, the market has been tight when the ratio is below 24:1. The ratio peaked in early 2023 around 37:1 and was at its lowest in September 2020 around 16:1. This is by no means scientific but just a way to estimate where we are in the process.

  Chasing the bottom

  During this lengthy downturn, rates have been pushed to levels where carriers are at or below costs as they bid against each other to maintain enough volume to support their fleets. The spot market is the most extreme version of this as it is used as a last resort for many asset-based providers.

  Traditionally there are shippers, carriers and brokers who offer rates based on the spot market rates which are largely below carrier operating costs. Shippers and brokers who have long-term rates at or near spot market prices are at the most risk for increased levels of service failure later in the year when the market is expected to tighten.

  It is hard to tell, but spot rates are already trending higher over the past year as capacity has fallen out. This is telling, as it is an indication that the spot market is effectively the floor for pricing and it is rising at a near-imperceptible rate.

  Roadcheck

  

  International Roadcheck took place this past week, with safety officials conducting inspection blitzes on equipment. Many operators, especially in a market where rates are suppressed, avoid driving during this week, which causes a temporary reduction in capacity. Spot rates have spiked 7% over the past week.

  Shippers saw their service failure chances increase during this time. Tender rejection rates increased from 3.1% to 4.1% last week. There have been stronger jumps but shippers who have rates on the low end of the spectrum had the biggest exposure to this event.

  Both spot and rejection rates remained relatively low from a historic standpoint — the market still has plenty of available capacity to recover from such an event — but that buffer is deteriorating.

  Just a drop in the ocean, but a wave is approaching

  More than the summer shipping season, the fourth quarter will likely be a much tighter environment with much less predictable demand. Shippers’ sense of urgency is also much higher as retail peak hits. 

  It will not take much to cause a waterfall of service failures if carriers get the chance to haul profitable freight. The most desperate carriers will have given the lowest rates and will likely be the first to jump ship to make ends meet at the slightest sign of disruption.

  The result of that could be crippling to companies that chased the bottom dollar or based long-term rate targets on the spot market.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 21:40

• Researchers Discover New Mechanism Linking Diet And Cancer Risk
  Researchers Discover New Mechanism Linking Diet And Cancer Risk

  Authored by Jennifer Sweenie via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  You may have heard that sugar feeds cancer cells, and evidence supports that. However, the missing link in this narrative has been a thorough understanding of just “how” sugar feeds cancer—until now. A recent study published in Cell in April 2024 uncovers a new mechanism linking uncontrolled blood sugar and poor diet with cancer risk.

  

  The research, performed at the National University of Singapore, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, and led by professor Ashok Venkitaraman and Dr. Li Ren Kong, found a chemical released when the body breaks down sugar also suppresses a gene expression that prevents the formation of tumors.

  This discovery provides valuable insights into how one’s dietary habits can impact their risk of developing cancer and forges a clear path to understanding how to reverse that risk with food choices.

  Methylglyoxal–A Temporary Off-Switch

  It was previously believed that cancer-preventing genes must be permanently deactivated before malignant tumors can form. However, this recent discovery suggests that a chemical, methylglyoxal (MGO), released whenever the body breaks down glucose, can temporarily switch off cancer-protecting mechanisms.

  Dr. Kong, first author of the study, told The Epoch Times in an email, “It has been shown that diabetic and obese individuals have a higher risk of cancer, posing as a significant societal risk. Yet, the exact cause remains debatable.” He continues, “Our study now unearthed a clue which may explain the connection between cancer risk and diet, as well as common diseases like diabetes, which arise from poor diets.”

  Dr. Kong continues, “We found that an endogenously synthesized metabolite can cause faults in our DNA that are early warning signs of cancer development, by inhibiting a cancer-preventing gene (known as the BRCA2).”

  BRCA2 is a gene that repairs DNA and helps make a protein that suppresses tumor growth and cancer cell proliferation. A BRCA2 gene mutation is associated primarily with a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, as well as other cancers. Those with a faulty copy of the BRCA2 gene are particularly susceptible to DNA damage from MGO.

  However, the study showed that those without a predisposition to cancer also face an increased risk of developing the disease from elevated MGO levels. The study found that chronically elevated levels of blood sugar can result in a compounded increase in cancer risk.

  Per Dr. Kong, “This study showcases the impact of methylglyoxal in inhibiting the function of tumour suppressor, such as BRCA2, suggesting that repeated episodes of poor diet or uncontrolled diabetes can ‘add up’ over time to increase cancer risk.”

  The Methylglyoxal and Cancer Relationship

  MGO is a metabolite of glucose—a byproduct made when our cells break down sugar, mainly glucose and fructose, to create energy. MGO is capable of temporarily destroying the BRCA2 protein, leading to lower levels of the protein in the cells and thus inhibiting its ability to prevent tumor formation. The more sugar your body needs to break down, the higher the levels of this chemical, and the higher your risk of developing malignant tumors.

  Dr. Kong explains, “Accumulation of methylglyoxal is found in cancer cells undergoing active metabolism. People whose diet is poor may also experience higher than normal levels of methylglyoxal. The connection we unearthed may help to explain why diabetes, obesity, or poor diet can heighten cancer risk.”

  MGO is challenging to measure on its own. Early detection of elevated levels is possible with a routine HbA1C blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months and is typically used to diagnose diabetes. This new research may provide a mechanism for detecting early warning signs of developing cancer.

  “In patients with prediabetes/diabetes, high methylglyoxal levels can usually be controlled with diet, exercise and/or medicines. We are aiming to propose the same for families with high risk of cancers, such as those with BRCA2 mutation,” explained Dr. Kong.

  More research is needed, but the study’s findings may open the door to new methods of mitigating cancer risk. “It is important to take note that our work was carried out in cellular models, not in patients, so it would be premature to give specific advice to reduce risk on this basis. However, the new knowledge from our study could influence the directions of future research in this area, and eventually have implications for cancer prevention.

  “For instance, poor diets rich in sugar or refined carbohydrates are known to cause blood glucose levels to spike. We are now looking at larger cancer cohorts to connect these dots,” Dr. Kong concludes.

  The Diet and Cancer Connection

  Dr. Simpson, medical director of Opt Health, told The Epoch Times in an email, “It’s genes loading the gun, but your lifestyle that pulls the trigger. Every bite of food you take is really information. It’s either going to turn on your longevity genes or it’s going to turn on your killer genes. So cancer is very much in large part self-induced by the individual diet.”

  A 2018 study published by Cambridge University Press found an association between higher intakes of sugar-sweetened soft drinks and an increased risk of obesity-related cancers. Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2020 concluded that sugars may be a risk factor for cancer, breast in particular. Cancer cells are ravenous for sugar, consuming it at a rate 200 times that of normal cells.

  Healthy Dietary Choices for Reducing Cancer Risk

  A consensus on the best dietary approach for reducing cancer risk has yet to be determined, and further research is needed. However, the new findings of the Cell study on MGO support reducing sugar intake as a means to mitigate cancer risk. A study published in January in Diabetes & Metabolism shows that a Mediterranean diet style of eating may help reduce MGO levels.

  In 2023, a study published in Cell determined that a ketogenic diet may be an effective nutritional intervention for cancer patients as it helped slow the growth of cancer cells in mice—while a review published in JAMA Oncology in 2022 found that the current evidence available supports a plant-enriched diet for reducing cancer risk.

  Dr. Simpson stresses the importance of real food and healthy macronutrients with a low-carb intake for the health of our cells. “The mitochondria is the most important signaling molecule and energy-producing organelle that we have in our body. [Eat] lots of vegetables, healthy proteins and healthy fats, fish, eggs, yogurt.” He continues, “Lots of green, above-ground vegetables, some fruits, everything that is naturally grown and is not processed.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 21:20

• The Biden Administration's Scientific Integrity Policies
  The Biden Administration’s Scientific Integrity Policies

  Authored by Curtis Schube via RealClearPolitics,

  It is no secret that the Biden administration has prioritized insulating the administrative state from the will of the people. The goal is placing career officials on equal footing with agency leadership (i.e., political appointees). Undoing Schedule F, which would categorize federal employees with policymaking authority so as to not give them the same civil service protections as career employees, is a more high-profile example. But a lesser-known effort, detailed in a recent Council to Modernize Governance publication, is underway with scientific integrity policies.

  

  Scientific integrity policies are not new. They were first developed in the late 1990s and focused science without predetermined outcomes informing policy decisions. They also required agencies to represent findings fairly and accurately. The Obama administration added that scientific integrity includes open discussion and firm commitment to the evidence. Clearly, this is good policy.

  However, the Biden administration has quietly added new components to these scientific integrity policies. It issued an executive order directing agencies to curb “political considerations” or “improper influence” in science, which is clever rhetoric that hides the true intent.

  The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was the first to issue this policy change, stating scientific findings “must not be suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes….” The policy, which applies to agency leadership (i.e., officials appointed by a president), prohibits “interference” in the “design, proposal, conduct, management, [and] evaluation” of studies. Yet it requires scientists to be included in policy decisions. Indeed, prohibiting the “design” of a study or the action of even “proposing” one –a critical step for many efforts – effectively boxes out those running federal agencies from their own agency’s direction.

  The policy creates an avenue for employees to report one another should they perceive said “improper influence.” But these types of rights already exist in the form of Inspector General or EEOC complaints and are unnecessary. But this reporting protocol would likely have a bottom-up effect, where a subordinate employee would hold a trump card over a superior. Encouraging employees to report one another for outside-the-box thoughts hardly fosters ingenuity (or a cohesive work environment).

  The policies themselves also appear to undermine, rather than protect, scientific integrity. For instance, the administration’s mandating of equal treatment for “indigenous knowledge” is worrisome. Science should be objective, rigorous, and subject to peer-review and replication. Indigenous knowledge offers us none of these characteristics, as it is based upon tradition. And which indigenous voices will get priority? For example, the Department of the Interior recently relied upon one version of indigenous knowledge to oppose energy development in ANWR over the indigenous knowledge of local Alaska tribes who favor such development. Situations like this prove the value of objective science guiding policy decisions.

  Identity politics is another suspect priority. Strangely, the policies go out of their way to require inclusivity “of all scientists,” which is followed by diversity, equity, and inclusion language. One’s sex, race, sexual orientation, etc. seemingly has little bearing on objective evidence.

  Many agencies, including the EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services have implemented similar changes. EPA leadership is currently negotiating with the agency workers’ union to embed these policy changes within the collective bargaining agreement. This means that the government is headed toward a binding contract between it and the union, which can be harder to undue than a simple regulation.

  The dangers are clear. Consistent with repealing Schedule F, the idea appears designed to prevent career employees from having to answer to agency leadership appointed by future administrations. Given that agency leaders are ultimately the only people within an agency who are subject to the will of the people (elections), the effort is hardly democratic.

  It is likely illegal too. These policy changes are effectively a disguised effort to protect certain policy preferences during future administrations by propping up employees who have never been appointed. But the Appointments Clause gives the President alone the authority to appoint officers of the United States. An officer of the United States is one who “exercise[es] significant authority pursuant to the laws of the United States.” Handing a portion of this authority to employees and greatly limiting their respective constitutional officers’ review effectively makes those career employees unappointed officers of the United States. This is in direct opposition to the design of our Founding Fathers.

  A future administration should act immediately to restore the well-intentioned scientific integrity policies from prior administrations. The American public deserves, and the Constitution requires, federal agency leaders who are empowered to make informed decisions and be accountable to the people. This cannot occur in an environment where decisions are dictated by subordinates with pre-determined outcomes.

  Curtis Schube is the Executive Director for Council to Modernize Governance, a think tank committed to making the administration of government more efficient, representative, and restrained. He is formerly a constitutional and administrative law attorney.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 21:00

• Court Ruling Means California Schools Can Violate Students' Rights When Following Public Health Orders
  Court Ruling Means California Schools Can Violate Students’ Rights When Following Public Health Orders

  Authored by Kristin Lang via The Epoch Times,

  As we near the end of the school year, a new court ruling may have some parents rethinking whether they want to enroll their children in California’s public schools this fall.

  

  Those of you living in Southern California will likely remember the case of Aidan Palicke. An academically-gifted Yorba Linda High School student and captain of the track team, Aidan was forced to take his exams outside in 40-degree weather wearing only a t-shirt. School officials singled out Aidan for wearing a formerly acceptable mesh face mask to school during the COVID era.

  “I was freezing, and all of the other students were looking at me through the window,” Aidan told me.

  “My fingers were in so much pain from the cold that it was hard to concentrate on my exam.”

  Aidan said some teachers encouraged his fellow students to ridicule him for not conforming to the mid-year change in masking policy. Aidan said he was hauled into the principals’ office repeatedly, removed from campus, and ultimately forced into a home-based study program against his wishes.

  Aidan’s family sued the Placentia Yorba Linda School District (PYLUSD) in March 2022, arguing that some PYLUSD board members colluded to change masking policy mid-year to punish “conservative” students or students whose parents were vocal in opposing various COVID measures at the school.

  

  (L-R) Shari, Aidan, and Chris Palicke. (Courtesy of the Palicke Family)

  According to evidence presented in court, confusion ensued across the school district as teachers and school officials selectively enforced this policy, allegedly allowing favored students to wear any mask, or no mask at all. Some school board members testified that they wanted to stop the chaos the new masking policy was creating but were blocked from voting on it by other members of the school board.

  “After two years of litigation, an Orange County Superior Court judge who had been ruling in favor of the Palicke family and against dismissal suddenly reversed course and ruled that school officials were immune from liability for their admittedly illegal and abusive actions to students during the COVID era—setting a dangerous precedent,” said Rita Barnett-Rose, an attorney for the Palicke family during a press conference in Orange County on May 13.

  “Specifically, Judge Deborah Servino determined that, even though the facts of the case undeniably showed that certain PYLUSD school officials violated their students’ constitutional and civil rights, they were nevertheless entitled to legislative immunity because they were enforcing public health orders.”

  Judge Servino further ruled that because the school district has since withdrawn their mask mandate, and Aidan Palicke has already been forced out of the school district, all claims against school officials are “moot,” and Aidan is no longer entitled to be compensated for the harm inflicted on him.

  At the PYLUSD board meeting on May 7, school board member Marilyn Anderson, a defendant in the case, announced to a smattering of applause, “The Palicke lawsuit, it’s not in the agenda anymore because it was dismissed by the judge!”

  However, the Palicke family is getting some surprising and much-needed support from the new PYLUSD superintendent of schools, Alex Cherniss. In an open letter to the Palicke family on May 8, he called Ms. Anderson’s statement “abhorrent” and “shameful,” writing:

  “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Palicke …

  “As an educational leader, I have spent years pushing back against uninformed and overly punitive Covid restrictions that truly damaged our kids. …

  “I found the actions taken by Ms. Marilyn Anderson at the Board of Education meeting last night to be abhorrent. … Clearly, the announcement of a case dismissal in her board comments violated the Brown Act. …

  “I have no doubt that the purpose of her public statement … was her way of gloating at the fact that your case was no longer relevant to her or to the school district. Her statement, and the subsequent applause at the expense of your son was truly shameful.”

  I reached out to Marilyn Anderson for comment. As of the time this article was published, she had not responded.

  The Palicke family is appealing the case despite having used up significant family savings in their quest to seek justice for their child. The Palickes are getting some financial support from non-profit Free Now Foundation, where, in full transparency, I work as editor-in-chief.

  

  The Palicke family and attorneys at a press conference in Orange County, Calif., on May 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Judy Julin)

  This week, at the press conference in Orange County, Aidan’s father Chris Palicke vowed to fight on.

  “The granting of this motion [to dismiss] was appalling,” said Mr. Palicke. “This means that all schools in California are allowed to abuse and hurt children. We need to fight this and do what’s right not just for my family but for all children.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 20:40

• How Lawfare Turned Trump Into A Superhero
  How Lawfare Turned Trump Into A Superhero

  Authored by Frank Miele via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Last week, President Biden raised the white flag of surrender to Donald Trump when he offered to debate the presumptive GOP nominee in June and September.

  

  No one saw this coming. Trump had been taunting Biden with his offer to debate “anytime, anywhere, any place,” but it was assumed that Biden and his handlers would shy away from the challenge, both because it represented a significant risk that Biden would implode onstage and also because it would give Trump bragging rights.

  Naturally, Trump accepted Biden’s offer immediately, and then at nearly the speed of light, it was announced just minutes later that both candidates would debate on CNN on June 27 and on ABC on Sept. 10.

  Until then, it was not even certain that debates would take place at all this year, let alone as early as June. Both candidates had grudges against the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the Democrats apparently thought they could avoid the risk of traditional debates as part of their plan to keep his opponent tied up in court throughout the campaign season.

  But that scheme was proving to be an albatross. Despite their success at keeping Trump tied down in court, the results have proven less than optimal for Team Biden. The Georgia prosecution for election interference was undermined by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ predilection for highly paid boyfriends and cash-only getaways. The two federal prosecutions by Special Counsel Jack Smith have been stymied in one case by the Supreme Court of the United States doing its job and in the other by District Judge Aileen Cannon doing hers. Neither case has any realistic chance of going to trial before Election Day.

  That leaves the New York State prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who accused Trump of recording legal expenses as legal expenses and claimed without evidence that the legal expenses were somehow fraudulently recorded to cover up some never-disclosed crime that the jury was meant to somehow intuit outside the court record.

  After four weeks, we are close to a verdict in that case, and though there is a chance that the Democrat-heavy jury will return a guilty verdict, it seems increasingly unlikely. Star witness Michael Cohen was proven by the defense in cross-examination to be a self-serving, Trump-hating liar whose testimony, even if believed, didn’t prove that Trump committed any crime. I’m betting on a hung jury, with a reasonable chance for an outright acquittal, but even if Trump were convicted it is likely his poll numbers would rise once again.

  Face it, the Democrats who threw everything they had at Donald Trump in four courthouses must have been shocked to see him emerging Rambo-like from the smoking wreckage of our justice system. But if they underestimated Trump, it is their own fault.

  In fact, the persecution of Trump for his role as the leader of a populist political movement has so angered Republican and independent voters that instead of destroying him, his opponents have elevated him into a superhero – someone virtually impervious to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

  If you don’t believe me – or the polls – then watch the video of Trump’s campaign rally in Wildwood, N.J., where he drew a huge crowd three weeks into his so-called “hush money” trial. That’s New Jersey, where no Republican has won the presidential race since Ronald Reagan! But in the most recent polling, Trump is only seven points behind Biden in a state that the Democrat won by 20 points in 2020.

  Moreover, the seeming injustice of Trump being turned into a political martyr by his opponents has resonated with the black community. Minority voters and young voters are turning to Trump in part because they see him as the victim of a rigged system, just as many of them have been. If blacks and Hispanics propel Trump to victory, that will be further proof of his superpowers.

  Obviously, the Biden campaign has been well aware of the collapse of their party’s blue wall of Democratic prosecutions, and with Hunter Biden going on trial in two separate federal cases in June, it was time to change the narrative. That’s why Biden blinked and unceremoniously agreed to debate Trump practically immediately.

  We learned two things from that development. One is predictable: It is a rule of thumb that the candidate who is most anxious to debate is the one who is losing. Joe Biden seems to fit the bill.

  But the other lesson surprised some White House watchers. By agreeing to a primetime debate where he will have to respond to difficult questions without a teleprompter, President Biden showed himself for once to be making decisions on his own. It seems unlikely that his so-called handlers would have allowed their candidate to put himself in harm’s way, so the probable explanation is that Biden went rogue.

  And so now, for once, the American public will be able to see the president thinking on his feet, and can assess whether he has his full faculties or not. But standing next to Donald Trump, who is on target to escape his scheduled martyrdom, it’s going to be hard for Joe Biden to look like anything except an afterthought.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 20:20

• Wall Street's Biggest Bear, Mike Wilson, Finally Capitulates
  Wall Street’s Biggest Bear, Mike Wilson, Finally Capitulates

  Almost one thousand points higher and almost a year after he said to short the S&P at 3,900 in December 2022, Mike Wilson – who along with JPM’s Marko Kolanovic was the most steadfast bear on Wall Street – has finally capitulated.

  Recall that last October, just around the time we and a handful of others said a major market meltup was coming – and it turned out to be the biggest such meltup in history – Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist Mike Wilson said that his “observations on narrowing breadth, cautious factor leadership, falling earnings revisions and fading consumer and business confidence tell a different story than the consensus, which sees a rally into year-end that’s based mostly on bearish sentiment and seasonal tendencies” adding that a “rally into year-end looks more unlikely to us.”

  In retrospect, “consensus” was right (actually the call for a meltup was anything but consensus, but this is just Mike trying to sound ultra contrarian when in reality he was in the same bearish echo chamber as everyone else in late October), while Wilson’s call to kiss a year-end rally goodbye, will go down in history as one of the worst in history…

  this may go down as the worst call in history https://t.co/yvljHlo4XR

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 1, 2023

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

  … as markets have melted up in a straight line since his note, with a mindblowing 24 weeks of gains since late October, and what’s worse Wilson literally bottom-ticked an explosive 30% gain in the S&P since the fateful “no rally” call.

  

  What happened then? Well, having dug himself into an impossibly deep hole, Wilson knew that capitulation would crush his credibility as an analyst who once upon a time was good at timing market inflection points and was hoping that a broken clock would finally be right that stocks would finally crack, and he would be able to go home head held high, writing an “I told you so” note to his clients and readers (even though stocks first moved 20% in the opposite direction of his call, peaking at 4,600 this summer)… if only he could wait a little longer.

  And so one week passed, then another, and another, and all through this time Wilson would “explain” why stocks kept levitating higher (i.e., why he was wrong) and instead of flipping his call and joining the momentum higher (and at least saving his clients some money) he would keep doubling down on a losing position… only to “explain” the coming week why, again, stocks kept levitating higher.

  Then in late December, Wilson took the first tentative step to admitting he had gotten all of 2023 wrong, when picking up on something we have been pounding the table since last summer, he said that “Equities Have The Green Light To Ramp Higher.”

  That, however, was about the weakest endorsement of the ongoing melt-up one could muster, and instead of placating his clients and superiors, it only infuriated them further as it was apparent Wilson wanted to have his bearish cake while eating his bullish flip-flop (he refused to change his 4,500 S&P year-end price target), and then in February the humiliation was complete when Wilson – Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist – was forced to step down from his role as the chair of the bank’s Global Investment Committee, and instead would “focus on serving his key institutional clients, where the demand for generating tactical alpha is intensifying,” which of course was even more hilarious as Wilson had failed to generate any alpha – or beta – since some time in mid-2022.

  And so, having pretty much lost everything, both his stock-picking credibility and also his standing in the company’s org chart, there was little left for him to lose, which brings us to today when in his just published “mid-year outlook” note (available to pro subscribers in the usual place), Wilson – formerly one of Wall Street’s most prominent bears – just turned positive in his outlook for US stocks.

  That’s right: having missed the most powerful rally in a generation, with the S&P and Nasdaq trading at all time highs, and the Dow above 40,000 for the first time ever, Wilson “stunned” his readers by dramatically raising his June 2025 S&P price target to 5,400, from his previous forecast which saw the S&P tumbling to 4,500, or 15%, by December.

  

  Hoping to put his entire bearish phase behind him, Wilson jumps straight to declaring that in his latest “base case 12-month price target moves to 5,400″ and explains that “In the base case, we forecast a 19x P/E multiple on 12-month forward EPS (June 2026) of US$283, which equates to a 5,400 forward 12-month price target. Our 2024 and 2025 earnings growth forecasts (8% and 13%, respectively) assume healthy, mid single- digit top-line growth in addition to margin expansion in both years as positive operating leverage resumes (particularly in 2025).” Funny how he did not “assume” any of these things as recently as a week ago.

  And while Wilson wistfully contemplates his bear case that could see stocks drop to 4,200 (or roughly what was his base case On this front, he also notes that his bull (6,350) case represents ~20% upside potential versus the current index level, respectively: “Our bull case reflects stronger (11-15%) EPS growth driven by continued fiscal support and cyclical/structural drivers out to 2026 alongside multiple expansion to ~21x. Our bear case incorporates a recession (negative EPS growth and multiple compression).”

  There is a bunch of other arguments for the various bear and bull cases (all laid out in detail in his note available to pro subs), but the bottom line is that Wilson finally admits he really has no idea what is coming (hence the 20% upside, downside interval of “confidence”) but he knows that whatever he predicted before is wrong.

  Amusingly, even in his capitulation, he desperately tries to hold on to the bearish case as if that – or his reputation – even matters any more. To do that, he converts all nominal numbers into inflation adjusted ones or, even better, shows returns in gold terms, something we haven’t seen since the days of Dennis Gartman:

  Finally, real equity returns have looked less attractive over the past few years as policy makers try to inflate out of the excessive debt the government and creditors have accumulated over the past 2 decades. More specifically, when looking at equity returns after inflation, we have yet to make new highs in all of the major indices. In a world where returns are measured and rewarded in nominal terms, such an analysis may not be relevant to most clients. However, we do think there is an important message in this analysis as a sign that this rally is not nearly as strong as the one in 2020-21 when companies were able to extract price and margin more easily. In short, it could be telling us something about the health of the real economy and sustainability of profits and margins.

  

  When we look at real returns using the price of gold, the performance results are weaker. We think this ratio captures much of what has been going on since the pandemic, including the intent of policy. First, notice that the real returns in gold were exceptionally strong coming out of the COVID lows in March 2020. This very much syncs with our view at the time that there would be significant operating leverage and real earnings growth as companies were able to extract pricing while simultaneously keeping costs under control during the lock downs. This was by far the best time to be fully invested (i.e., April 2020-November 2021) across a wide swath of the market. Since then, it’s been much more challenging and narrow as most companies have struggled to maintain the extraordinary margins and over-earning enjoyed during the pandemic. With the rally since last October due largely to multiple expansion, investors should be asking themselves if this rise in valuations is justified. We don’t think it is which is why we still have multiples coming down moderately in our base case view which assumes a soft/goldilocks landing for the economy and strong earnings growth. In the bear case context, we worry that if the soft landing outcome doesn’t happen, the multiple contraction will be swift as investors realize the performance dynamic in nominal returns is about to reverse. The breakdown in equity markets when shown in gold terms is an early warning sign that perhaps the late cycle environment may be at greater risk than appreciated.

  

  Yes, Mike, the risk is far “greater” than appreciated, but this is it for you: you have capitulated and you don’t get to say “told you so… in the small print” when stocks crash, which they will now that the last bears have thrown in the towel, just as we predicted back in February 2023 when we said that the “rally won’t end until Wilson and Marko turn bullish.”

  Rally won’t end until Wilson and Marko turn bullish

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 7, 2023

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

  And yet, despite Wilson’s capitulation, the bulls – and the rally – are not dead just yet: that’s because only one half of our forecast has materialized. Yes, Wilson finally flipped, but in a desperate attempt to keep the rally going, even as his trading desk beats the bullish drum day after day, JPMorgan’s equivalent to Wilson, Marko Kolanovic, just published a note (also available to pro subs) – as if desperate to respond to the U-turn just taken by his Morgan Stanley colleague – in which he reiterated his bearish view, urging them not to buy stocks, while acknowledging that this negative outlook has hurt JPMorgan’s model portfolio allocation over the past year as global equity markets rose to record highs. As Bloomberg notes, “he cited a litany of reasons for maintaining his pessimistic position, including high valuations, the likelihood rates will remain restrictive for longer, elevated inflation readings, consumer stress, and geopolitical uncertainty.”

  Of course, none of these are in any way unknown or not priced in, so the Croat hasn’t said anything the market doesn’t already know, and if anything he merely continues to feed the extremely bullish JPM flow trading desk with what little sales JPM’s retail clients have left.

  “A negative stance on equities has hurt the performance of our multi-asset portfolio over the past year,” Marko acknowledged, while adding, “we do not see equities as attractive investments at the moment and we don’t see a reason to change our stance.”

  Kolanovic has the lowest year-end target for the S&P 500 at 4,200, implying a drop of more than 20% from Monday’s closing level.

  Yet what remains extremely laughable, if not outright criminal, is that at the same time that Kolanovic pounds the table on his ridiculous bearish view that has cost anyone who listened to him the 50% gain in the S&P since Oct 2022 when Marko turned bearish, the JPM trading desk could not be more bullish. Here is what JPM market intel trader Andrew Tyler wrote this morning in the bank’s daily note to a select number of institutional clients:

  Tactically Bullish. Still following the formula of (i) at/above average GDP growth plus (ii) positive earnings growth and a (iii) paused Fed translate to a bull market. When considering the macro component, there is a clear slowing of the economy, but I remain less concerned about that then some clients. Why? I think survey data and diffusion indices (ISM/PMI) are painting a picture that is more dire than hard data, earnings, and consumer behavior suggest. For example, ISM-Mfg has had one expansionary print since October 2022; historically, one would conclude that the US was in a recession but instead we saw real GDP print above the long-term trend in 6 of the last 7 quarters. More generally, I think we are still normalizing to pre-COVID times and not seeing a material deterioration from there. While there is a divergence in Consumer outcomes based on income, I think the aggregate consumer remains in good shape. (more in the full JPM note available to pro subs).

  So yes, the meltup will continue because while Wilson has had enough of being “contrarian”, Marko still hopes to find a few remaining holdouts who i) still bother to read what he writes and ii) will sell what risk assets they have to, who else, JPMorgan.

  More in the full note from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 20:00

• "You Stole From The Trump Organization, Correct?": Michael Cohen Hands Trump Prosecution Another Terrible Day
  “You Stole From The Trump Organization, Correct?”: Michael Cohen Hands Trump Prosecution Another Terrible Day

  Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s New York ‘hush money’ trial may have colluded with the Biden administration, but apparently none of the galaxy brains involved thought far enough to consider that their star witness, Michael Cohen, might cause their ‘case’ to implode.

  

  To wit: last week, Cohen was ‘dog walked‘ through several lies he’s told over the past few years.

  Today: Cohen admitted he stole from the Trump Organization.

  During cross-examination, Cohen admitted that he lied to former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in 2017 about how much he needed to be reimbursed for a payment to RedFinch, a tech company that provided services to the Trump Org.

  While he asked for $50,000, Cohen only paid the company $20,000 – pocketing the difference.

  “You stole from the Trump Organization, correct?” defense attorney Todd Blanche asked.

  “Yes sir,” Cohen replied.

  This just got interesting: Michael Cohen is now admitting to stealing money from our company.

  — Eric Trump (@EricTrump) May 20, 2024

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

  When Blanche then asked if he ever repaid the Trump Organization, or “Did you ever have to plead guilty to larceny?” Cohen replied, “No sir.”

  Nonetheless, Cohen asked for the 50K reimbursement from the Trump Organization.

  So you stole? Yes, Cohen admits.
  And you’ve never paid the Trump Organization back for the money you stole from it? No.
  You lied to Weisselberg about the amount owed to you for Redfinch? Yes

  — Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) May 20, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsCohen had asked for the $50,000 reimbursement alongside the $130,000 he paid personally to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election for a nondisclosure agreement.

  The former attorney then said he went to the bank and took out cash over several days, totaling about $20,000 before keeping it in a small brown paper bag. Then he gave it to the tech firm, he testified, adding he never gave the full $50,000 amount.

  The Trump Organization ultimately repaid Mr. Cohen $50,000 and then doubled that payment in a practice known as “grossing up” to cover taxes he’d incur by declaring the money as income rather than a tax-free reimbursement.

  Mr. Blanche noted that despite Mr. Cohen’s guilty pleas in 2018 to federal charges including a campaign finance violation for the hush money payment and unrelated tax evasion and bank fraud crimes, he’d never been charged with stealing from President Trump’s company. –Epoch Times

  They really aren’t sending their best…

  He’s not only a liar but a thief https://t.co/omudhKMfuY

  — Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) May 20, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 20:00

• GOP Rep Slams Biden, Praises Trump, In Fiery Speech At Israel's Knesset
  GOP Rep Slams Biden, Praises Trump, In Fiery Speech At Israel’s Knesset

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) delivered a speech at the Israeli Knesset on Sunday where she slammed President Biden and called for unconditional military support for Israel to support the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

  Stefanik and other Republicans have been furious with President Biden for putting a pause on one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs and threatening to withhold heavy weapons if Israel launched a major attack on “population centers” in Rafah, although he hasn’t taken any action as Israel continues to escalate in the city.

  

  “I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel — aid that was duly passed by the Congress — or to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives,” Stefanik told the Knesset’s Caucus for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students on Campuses Around the World.

  She was referencing a prisoner swap deal the US made with Iran before October 7, under which Tehran was granted access to $6 billion of its own frozen funds that were transferred from South Korea to Qatar.

  Republicans claim that President Biden gave $6 billion to Iran, but it’s unclear if Tehran ever had access as the US and Qatar agreed to freeze them again in October 2023, not long after the deal was made.

  Stefanik declared that the US should provide Israel with “what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions to achieve total victory in the face of evil.” Despite the Republican outrage at President Biden, his administration has promised that Israel will get every penny of the $17 billion in new military aid that was recently authorized by Congress.

  Stefanik praised former President Donald Trump for his “historic support for Israeli independence and security.” Trump has been running on an extremely pro-Israel platform and claimed President Biden “abandoned” the country by issuing a warning about Rafah.

  “Today, I stand before you not just as a leader in the United States Congress, but as a lifelong admirer, supporter, and true friend of Israel and the Jewish people.

  You see I am lucky enough to have had the privilege of traveling here many times before, but I must confess that… pic.twitter.com/uvoMWOvFiu

  — Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) May 19, 2024

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

  Stefanik also slammed American college students who are protesting the unrelenting Israeli assault in Gaza, as she has been leading the charge in Congress in making accusations of antisemitism despite the fact that many Jewish students are participating in the protests.

  “I led the charge to expose this moral rot of antisemitism infecting our supposed most elite higher education institutions,” she said.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 19:40

• Trade Protectionism In Renewables Could "Haunt" The Industry, Chinese Solar Execs Claim
  Trade Protectionism In Renewables Could “Haunt” The Industry, Chinese Solar Execs Claim

  Solar executives in China are railing the U.S. and Europe over trade protectionism, claiming that the West should instead “let the best technology win” in their respective markets.

  The Financial Times conducted an interview with Zhou Shijun, who leads global marketing for Arctech, who told them that the West ignoring the best technology would “come back to haunt” the renewable energy industry. 

  Shijun said that the introduction of trade barriers disproportionately impacted manufacturers of advanced technologies. He also said that companies with overcapacity issues were producing cheaper products. 

  “We do have concerns that geopolitical tensions are affecting our global business. What we’re doing right now is diversifying,” he said. He told the Financial Times that China would “always” be renewables’ biggest market. 

  FT reported that China dominates over 80% of global solar manufacturing, driven by significant state investment, competitive local markets, and growing domestic demand for green technology.

  

  Despite expectations of strong long-term demand, some Chinese solar manufacturers are increasingly exporting surplus supplies, leading to plummeting prices and complaints from the US and Europe about Beijing’s trade and industrial policies.

  Back in the U.S., President Joe Biden significantly raised tariffs on Chinese imports, including electric vehicles and solar cells, and ended a tariff exemption on certain solar panel units.

  The EU has been investigating China’s electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors and has reported on state-driven economic distortions in China.

  Meanwhile, Shanghai-listed Arctech, which has a market capitalization of $1.9bn, is expanding internationally, balancing local regulations and technology-sharing demands without compromising its intellectual property.

  Despite geopolitical tensions, the company views the adoption of large-scale renewable energy as a global trend that is both unstoppable and essential, according to FT. 

  The company operates three factories in China and is exploring new manufacturing sites closer to international markets, such as a new factory in Saudi Arabia, a research facility in Spain, and planned operations in Brazil.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 19:20

• Educational Explosion: The Damage of Unnecessary Advanced Degrees
  Educational Explosion: The Damage of Unnecessary Advanced Degrees

  Via SchiffGold.com,

  The percentage of U.S. adults holding an advanced degree increased by over 3% from 2011-2021. This increase in education is assumed to have a crucial role in America’s increasing economic strength over that time period. The expertise gained from such degrees is supposed to be valuable enough to outweigh the time and money put into grad degrees, both from the student’s perspective and the perspective of the schools and institutions that so often fund graduate degrees. In developing countries, college graduation rates are positively correlated with economic success. This same effect is thought to translate to America’s current explosion of higher education. This belief is held so strongly that the federal government spent 311,000,000,000 dollars on higher education in 2021.

  However, a high advanced degree rate is much less strongly linked to national and individual success than universities would like you to think.

  

  The first driving factor for graduate school is supposed to be self-interest. Graduate school is portrayed as a process that directly increases income and happiness. For some degrees, there is certainly a large associated increase in income, but for 40 percent of grad degrees, there is either negative or zero ROI. Most degrees in the arts and humanities fail to even pay themselves off. The time spent working would typically be far more beneficial to students than their choice of grad degree. While some may gain enough from those degrees in personal satisfaction to make up for their choices, taxpayers must feel comfortable knowing they are funding life expeditions that do not even increase the capability to care for oneself. Public education funding is promoted on the premise that the country will be both personally and collectively better off. With many degrees, neither is the case, yet more and more money is always being funneled towards public education.

  While the negative ROI of some humanities degrees is expected, the corporate world has also created an inefficient monster through the promotion of MBA degrees. They are entry-level for many positions and they are recommended for workers who have stopped progressing and want promotions. Most MBA programs take 2-3 years to complete, so a significant break from working life is required. MBAs give very few specific skills and are more of a certifying apparatus that an employee is relatively intelligent and has enough resources to put some into an extra project. If they taught extremely useful skills their value would be obvious, but they appear to be more of a status symbol. Their relatively useless nature is evidenced by the fact that overall, MBAs have negative ROI. Most people who undertake MBAs are already high achievers, so the time spent getting an MBA could be used better by continuing the linear progress of their career.

  The explosion of advanced degrees reflects a greater rejection of community and trust. Advanced degrees serve as a very expensive safety blanket for whichever line of work they are oriented toward. For people seeking work, they demonstrate their capability in a manner not dependent on any sort of relationship or past professional experience. Employers do not need to investigate as rigorously if they can examine a prospective employee’s course load and institution of choice. Demonstrations of actual capability through doing good work take a backseat to the prestige of the name on a diploma. Real-world experience is not quantifiable, and environments and individuals have a rich interplay that is impossible for any recruiter to fully decode. Graduate degrees remove this ambiguity and rubber stamp someone’s capability in a particular career. Trust and community could help assuage the current overinvestment in graduate school by letting capable workers be recognized for their work by people who know them as more than productivity units. If workers who feel they are ready for the next step must take a break from working to get an advanced degree unless that degree is far more than a certifying stamp, they are harming themselves, their company, and their country. The benefits of transparency created by advanced degrees are far outweighed by the damage done by workers slowing down their careers simply to gather institutional confirmation that they are indeed good workers.

  Even if individuals or businesses were paying for their degrees, they would still be suspect, but government education makes it even clearer how detrimental they are. Government education spending is one of the largest contributors to the ever-growing national debt. There are some government expenditures that are generally deemed necessary, but the inefficiency of these degrees is so great that it can be seen across party lines.

  While they are necessary for some fields, the current ballooned state of advanced degrees is exceedingly harmful.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 19:00

• Lockheed Running Out Of Parking Space For F-35s Pentagon Refuses To Accept
  Lockheed Running Out Of Parking Space For F-35s Pentagon Refuses To Accept

  Another day, another indication of what a spectacular, snakebit clusterf**k the F-35 program is. 

  The latest blotter entry comes to us from the US Government Accounting Office (GAO), via a new report pointedly titled “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Program Continues to Encounter Production Issues and Modernization Delays.”According to GAO, Lockheed Martin is running out of parking space for all the completed F-35s that the Pentagon refuses to accept. 

  These aren’t one-by-one rejects. Last summer, the DOD put a complete freeze on accepting the stealth fighters until Lockheed fixed huge hardware and software problems associated with “Technology Refresh-3” (TR-3), a $1.8 billion package intended to expand the planes’ capabilities.  

  

  The worst of the software glitches affect the F-35’s radar and electronic warfare systems, “with some test pilots reporting that they had to reboot their entire radar and electronic warfare systems mid-flight to get them back online,” says GAO. Gee, that sounds kinda bad.  

  As the TR-3 woes continue, the jets are stacking up at Lockheed’s facilities. Referencing a milestone that had already passed when it published its report, GAO wrote, “If TR-3 software is delayed past April 2024, Lockheed Martin is projected to exceed its maximum parking capacity and will need to develop a plan to accommodate more parked planes.” Deflecting concerns, in a statement last week, Lockheed said, “Specific details about parking will not be shared due to security considerations.” 

  Even while they’re parked at Lockheed, the jets present a liability risk to the government, thanks to contract provisions under which “the government assumes the risk of loss of aircraft ‘in the open,’ which is subject to the contractor’s share of loss and deductible under the contract,” GAO reports.  

  

  GAO says the software won’t be stabilized until “at least June 2024.” Whenever that day comes, it will only be the beginning of the end of this latest chapter, as GAO says eventual delivery of the backlogged jets will take a year.   

  In the meantime, silly taxpayer, don’t bother asking for a specific number of undelivered F-35s. In a lack of transparency that’s surely driven soley by a desire to shield the military-industrial complex from embarrassment, “DOD deemed reporting the specific quantity of aircraft to be unsuitable for public release,” said GAO.  

  The chairman of the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee gave reporters a strong hint last week. “We know one thing for certain: it’s going to be at least over 100 aircraft stacked up on the tarmac,” said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), according to Defense One. 

  Randolph White with an ALL TIME recreation of the F-35 crash pic.twitter.com/N3X08DTY4B

  — Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 20, 2023

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

  Already the most expensive weapons program in world history, the F-35 is on pace to cost Americans more than $2 trillion. The number is staggering enough on its own, but here’s some additional context via the National Interest:

  The fifth-generation F-22, not exactly a cheap program, cost taxpayers $66 billion. The entire U.S. annual defense budget is under $900 billion – nearly three times the defense budget of China, and ten times the defense budget of Russia. Yet, the F-35 program is pushing the $2 trillion mark.

  As the Epoch Times reported earlier this year, a different GAO report had even more unsettling information about the F-35s that are already in the Pentagon’s hands, indicating that “only 15 to 30 percent of F-35s may be capable of combat.”

  Lockheed Martin was awarded the F-35 contract 22 years ago — and, just coincidentally, Lockheed Martin shareholders have enjoyed 22 years of consecutive dividend increases. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 18:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• A Former Ukrainian MP Blew The Whistle On Burisma's Connections To Terrorism
  A Former Ukrainian MP Blew The Whistle On Burisma’s Connections To Terrorism

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

  

  Former Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach, who’s reviled by the Biden Administration for sharing dirt about Hunter Biden’s Burisma corruption scandal with Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani ahead of the 2020 elections, just gave a very important interview to Belarus’ BelTA where be blew the whistle even louder. According to him, the $6 million bribe that was paid in cash to shut down the investigation into the First Son’s scandal eventually found its way to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and its military-intelligence agency.

  Derkach claimed to have proof of the secret court order that divided these funds between those two, with the first investing its portion into building up their country’s drone army while the second financed terrorist attacks like the assassination of Darya Dugina, which he specifically mentioned in the interview. These allegations expand upon the ones that he shared earlier this year regarding the real-world impact of Hunter’s corruption scandal, which were analyzed here at the time.

  On the subject of Ukrainian assassinations and terrorism, Derkach said that the CIA and FBI actually condone these actions despite their public claims to the contrary, but he warned that this immoral policy will inevitably ricochet into the US itself. In particular, he cited FBI chief Christopher Wray’s testimony to Congress last April where he said that law enforcement officials fear that Crocus-like attacks are presently being plotted against their country.

  About that, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Ukraine’s military-intelligence service GUR is the chief suspect of Russia’s investigation into what became one of the worst terrorist attacks in its history, thus meaning that the portion of Burisma’s $6 million bribe that made its way into their hands likely financed part of it. In other words, the third-order effect of Hunter’s corruption scandal is that it was partially responsible for the brutal murder of innocent civilians halfway across the world some years later.

  That’s already scandalous enough, but Derkach shared even more details about the other indirect consequences of this cover-up into the First Son’s illicit activities, adding that some GUR-linked figures have been connected to the Western narrative about September 2022’s Nord Stream terrorist attack. He regards that story as a distraction from the US’ complicity, the view of which was elaborated upon here at the time that it entered the discourse, but lauded the CIA for the lengths it went to cover up its role.

  In his view, the CIA might very well have sent a highly trained Ukrainian diving team to the Baltic Sea exactly as the Western media reported, though only to plant fake bombs. In his words, “when a cover story is made, it is done quite well. We shouldn’t belittle the experience of the CIA or the experience of MI6 in preparing cover operations. They have quite a lot of experience in using proxies, in using cover stories to form a certain position in order to dodge responsibility. This is actually what happened.”

  Looking forward, Derkach expects Ukraine to attempt more terrorist attacks against Russia, which the US public is being preconditioned to accept via the CIA’s various leaks to the media. While many might lay the blame for all this on Zelensky’s lap, Derkach believes that it’s actually his Chief of Staff Andrey Yermak who’s running the show, albeit as a Western puppet. Nevertheless, he’s also convinced that the West is indeed preparing to formally replace Zelensky, but doesn’t yet know when or with whom.

  Altogether, the importance of Derkach’s interview is that he’s a former veteran Ukrainian politician who still retains a lot of sources inside the regime, having served in the Rada for a whopping 22 years from 1998-2020. While his homeland charged him with treason after he fled to Russia in early 2022, which followed the US charging him with election meddling on behalf of that country in September 2020, the argument can be made that these are politically driven attempts to intimidate a top whistleblower.

  The dirt that Derkach shared about Hunter’s Burisma corruption scandal, not to mention its newly revealed third-order effects that led to the brutal killing of civilians halfway across the world after part of his company’s bribe made its way into GUR’s hands, made him an enemy of the US Government. They and their Ukrainian proxies will therefore always try to discredit him with sensational allegations, but everyone would do well to listen to what he says and then make up their own minds about it.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 02:00

• Iranian President Raisi, Foreign Minister Confirmed Dead In Helicopter Crash
  Iranian President Raisi, Foreign Minister Confirmed Dead In Helicopter Crash

  Update(0117ET): Iranian media has confirmed the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, 63, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash on the way back from an official visit to Azerbaijan earlier Sunday.

  

  Reuters also confirmed Raisi’s death.

  “President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash,” a senior official told the outlet on condition of anonymity.

  *  *  *

  Summary: 

  • Iran’s state television has confirmed the death of President Ebrahim Raisi

  • An Iranian official tells Reuters: “President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash… unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead.”

  • The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the foreign minister, and other officials went down in a remote northern region on the way back from an official visit to Azerbaijan earlier Sunday.

  • It was initially described as a “hard landing” but later was widely acknowledged as a “crash” – and as the hours pass the situation looks more grim.

  • Search and rescue has taken hours to reach the crash site, but little is known of the progress, amid bad weather conditions.

  • Foreign Ministry: “Despite adverse weather and environmental conditions, efforts by rescue teams to reach the accident site continue earnestly and with hope.”

  • Iranian population in state of ‘uncertainty’ as Supreme Leader asks for prayers for Raisi and the missing officials while assuring stability within government leadership.

  • Various countries have sent search and rescue help, including Russia and Turkey. Iran requested a night vision search and rescue helicopter from Turkey, according to Turkish disaster management agency AFAD.

  • Gulf countries express concern over crash, offer help in search.

  • ‘We hope for good news’ Iranian official tells Al Jazeera.

  • Iranian official told state TV that contact was made with one of the passengers and one of the crew members of the president’s helicopter on several occasions.

  • Press TV in follow-up cites an IRGC commander to say “Reports about contacts made by President’s companions after crash not factual.”

  • Conflicting reports: “Rescue crews haven’t yet located the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir-Hossein Koulivand, told Iranian state TV IRINN.

  • Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Hossein Salami has arrived at the general area of the crash

  • “We’re searching the area inch by inch, but the weather is very cold, foggy, and rainy. The rainfall is gradually turning into snowfall,” said the commander of the Iranian Army’s northwestern headquarters.

  • Heavy military presence reported in the capital of Tehran.

  • Thousands of Iranians pray for Raisi’s safe return after crash, but there are reports of others setting off fireworks.

  • Raisi had been in an aging Bell helicopter, with some reports saying it was over 40 years old.

  • US congressman gloats over Raisi crash: “Good riddance. Raisi was a murderous human rights abuser before and during his Presidency,” Rep Mike Waltz (R) wrote in a social media post.

  • Online speculation rampant over whether Israel or foreign intelligence could have been involved in a covert plot.

  • White House has been quiet but says it’s aware of the developing situation; President Biden was given a briefing. 

  Update(2325ET): What’s looking like initial confirmation of President Raisi’s death is emerging, though there has still not been an official statement from Iran’s top leadership:

  Iran’s state television says there is “no sign” of life among passengers of the helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials.

  “Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reports.

  An Iranian official tells Reuters: “President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash… unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead.”

  NEWS

  The head of the Red Crescent has confirmed that the location of President Raisi’s helicopter has been found.

  Islamic Republic state media is publishing this photo and saying this is the crash site. pic.twitter.com/ZfIvdG1nMF

  — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 20, 2024

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

  Some initial photos of the area where the helicopter went down have emerged, now some 15 hours after the crash was first reported.

  

  * * *

  Below: video showing the Bell helicopter which was transporting the president. It is said to be decades old, also as Iran’s aviation sector has languished under many years of US-led sanctions…

  This is reportedly the last video of the Iranian DICTATOR Ibrahim Raisi. pic.twitter.com/nlR6h3Ey6N

  — Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) May 19, 2024

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

  Update(1420ET): We are getting closer to learning the fate of Iran’s President Raisi and his foreign minister and other officials aboard the helicopter which went down hours ago:

  • Iran’s president Raisi’s crashed helicopter has been found by search teams – State TV — Reuters
  • Iranian official tells State TV: Contacts have been made with one of the passengers and one of the crew members of the president’s helicopter on several occasions — Reuters

  The Red Crescent organization is denying that the crash site has been found, amid contradictory and early reporting. So far Iranian officials are signaling that the president is alive, but the situation remains uncertain and fluid, following widespread speculation that he could be deceased. 

  Rescue teams arrived at a radius of 2 kilometers from the site of the Iranian president’s helicopter accident. #OOTT #Iran https://t.co/rw1MtOMjaS

  — Amena Bakr (@Amena__Bakr) May 19, 2024

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

  Iranian officials are seeking to assure the nation and the world that continuity of decision-making and government is stable and assured, amid reports of a heavy military presence on the streets of the capital Tehran.

  A Significant Deployment of Iranian Security and Military Personnel has been noted across the Capital of Tehran, with Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to be taking up Positions near several Government Buildings. pic.twitter.com/xP0YNxWJkk

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 19, 2024

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

  “The Iranian president’s helicopter has been found” and contact has been made with the crew and “one of the passengers on board”. At this point it is night time, amid bad weather…

  The Iranian president’s helicopter has been found, state media has reported.

  It said Ebrahim Raisi’s chopper was discovered by search and rescue teams. #Iran
  pic.twitter.com/brzUMUyD1q

  — Sanam Jamali🇵🇰 (@sana_J2) May 19, 2024

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

  * * *

  Update(1315ET): Several hours into a massive search and rescue operation and things are not looking good as Iranian officials have been issuing ‘thoughts and prayers’ statements amid reports that severe fog and bad weather have prevented a proper aerial search for the downed helicopter of President Raisi and those with him. Deep uncertainty looms as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was reported as holding an emergency meeting with the National Security Council in Tehran (follow-up reports from state sources have downplayed or contracted this, however). The Iranian population is on edge as speculation grows that the president is feared dead:

  “Nobody knows what exactly has happened and how the president and other local officials, because the situation is quite complicated,” he told Al Jazeera.

  “As time goes on, hopes are decreasing because the conditions are getting much worse and it’s getting darker,” Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, noted.

  “What is being felt here in Tehran [Iran’s capital] is mostly that feeling of uncertainty.”

  The first official statement of Iran’s Supreme Leader:

  We hope Almighty God will return the respected, esteemed President and his entourage to the arms of the nation.

  — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 19, 2024

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

  At this moment, the president and his foreign minister, along with other officials are officially missing in a mountainous, forested area near the Iran-Azerbaijan border. Iran has mobilized the armed forces, including the IRGC, amid unconfirmed reports that even some of the search and rescue units are also possibly missing…

  Iran’s Khamenei reassures Iranians that country’s management will not be affected by the incident – IRNA — Reuters

  Three search and rescue members searching for Raisi’s helicopter are now also missing, sources say. https://t.co/O0luwyXq0T

  — The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) May 19, 2024

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

  Initial footage from the far northern border region with Azerbaijan shows fog so thick that it’s hard to see just dozens of meters ahead.

  One independent regional monitor has said: “This is hardly a surprise. First responders and rescue crews are being dispatched en-masse without proper briefing/delegation of command.”

  ⚡️Searches continue for the helicopter carrying the Iranian president. pic.twitter.com/S3RJeZTE83

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) May 19, 2024

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

  More footage showing a difficult terrain and weather situation. Visibility at a distance is near zero…

  ISRAELI NEWS SAYS THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT IS DEAD pic.twitter.com/qmcYR2wWCm

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) May 19, 2024

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

  Speculation that Raisi could be dead has begun to hit foreign media, including in Israel:

  Iran official: Lives of president, FM ‘at risk’ after crash landing in wooded area

  

  There has also been speculation of possible foreign interference as the search and rescue extends into hours, involving a massive military and security response, with drones and other deployed assets over the region…

  If Raisi is confirmed dead and foul play was found to be involved (a strong possibility given the geopolitical context), this has the potential to turn into an archduke Ferdinand of the Middle East scenario, especially given Raisi was rumored to be Khameini’s successor. https://t.co/RIgNm0sYER

  — Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 19, 2024

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

  STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN:

  “Today, after a friendly meeting with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, the news of the emergency landing of the helicopter carrying the Iranian high delegation caused great concern. Our prayers to Almighty God are with President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, friend and brother country, the Republic of Azerbaijan is ready to provide all kinds of support.”

  The official Instagram of the Iranian president is calling on all citizens to pray for his safety.

  BREAKING: UPDATE ON PRESIDENT RAISI RESCUE:

  The presence of 3 ministers at the accident site for the president’s helicopter

  The Ministers of Oil, Roads, Urban Development, and Energy are now present at the accident site for the President’s helicopter, and the Minister of… pic.twitter.com/xLrtHl55h5

  — Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 19, 2024

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

  State media also appears to be fearing the worst, airing images like the following showing Raisi on a prior religious pilgrimage:

  Iranian TV now airs “emotional” footage of President Raisi.

  The weather conditions at the crash site are so bad that 3 of Iranian rescuers are also missing now. pic.twitter.com/idOcneh0YE

  — Middle East Observer (@byz_observer) May 19, 2024

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

  President Biden has been briefed, the White House said in a statement:

  US President Joe Biden was briefed on the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the White House.

  Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, accompanying Biden aboard Air Force One on Sunday, offered no other details.

  * * *

  There are breaking reports that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been in a helicopter crash in a remote northern area of the country and that rescuers are trying to reach him and his crew. 

  State media is currently calling it a “hard landing” – suggesting that the president is alive and well, however no other details on the precise nature of the helicopter incident have been revealed. According to the NYT, 16 rescue teams have been dispatched to locate the helicopter, however inclement weather are hampering the effort, according to the reports. The teams have failed to locate the crash after nearly five hours. According to the latest via Al Jazeera citing state media:

  • Adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog, are hampering rescue efforts and the helicopter is still missing.
  • Iran’s Fars News Agency calls on Iranians to pray for President Raisi.

  

  What is known is that Raisi’s helicopter went down while in the country’s East Azerbaijan province and that it happened near the border city of Jolfa, and up to three helicopters total made up the air convoy at the time.

  “Given the complexities of the region, connection has been difficult, and we are hoping that the rescue teams reach the helicopter and can give us more information,” said Iran’s interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi on state television.

  State-run IRNA news agency indicated that among the officials aboard the aircraft included Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

  The Associated Press has quoted at least one Iranian official to say it was a “crash” and that there’s an urgent rescue mission currently underway in a forested area:

  One local government official used the word “crash” to describe the incident, but he acknowledged to an Iranian newspaper that he had yet to reach the site himself.

  Rescuers were attempting to reach the site, state TV said, but had been hampered by poor weather conditions. There had been heavy rain and fog reported with some wind. IRNA called the area a “forest.”

  It appears Raisi was traveling in connection with a trip to Azerbaijan earlier in the day, where he had overseen the inauguration of a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev this morning. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has stated on X Sunday:

  “Some of the president’s companions on this helicopter were able to communicate with Central Headquarters, raising hopes that the incident could have ended without casualties.”

  Iran President Raisi was flying from a meeting with Ilham Aliyev in Tehran when the incident occurred.

  Video footage shows the head of the Islamic Republic on board shortly before the helicopter made a hard landing in mountainous terrain due to foggy conditions. pic.twitter.com/ofWEP0cL2D

  — Russian Market (@runews) May 19, 2024

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

  Thus far initial reports indicate that Raisi has survived the incident, but again the ‘hard landing’ appears to be significant – and possibly far worse – than what state media is letting on.

  The fact that a rescue team has yet to even reach the location of the downed helicopter means this could be a potential casualty situation involving top officials.

  Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirms: Rescue teams have not yet arrived at the scene of the helicopter accident due to bad weather and fog.

  President Raisi’s helicopter made a hard landing. pic.twitter.com/WRelcekVNy

  — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 19, 2024

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

  Almost immediately, a number of online commenters raised the question of potential foreign involvement… “Israel?” some asked. However, it’s also well understood that helicopters become more prone to incidents in foggy or inclement weather, and over mountainous difficult terrain. Iran’s aviation industry has also long languished under Washington-led sanctions.

  ⚡️The four Iranian officials who were in the helicopter according to the reports:
  Ibrahim Raisi – President of Iran
  Hussein Amir Abdel-Lahyan – Minister of Foreign Affairs (bottom left)
  Malek Rahmati – Governor of East Azerbaijan Province (below right)
  Muhammad Ali al-Hashem -… pic.twitter.com/XNZjEUQ2Nf

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) May 19, 2024

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

  developing…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/20/2024 – 01:17

• Is America Losing?
  Is America Losing?

  Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via VonGreyerz.gold,

  Below, we soberly assess the lessons of history and math against the current realities of a debt-defined America to ask and answer a painful yet critical question: Is America losing?

  The End of History and the Last Man

  In 1992, while I was still an undergrad with a seemingly endless optimism in life in general and the American Dream in particular, the American political scientist, Francis Fukuyama, published a much-discussed book entitled, The End of History and the Last Man.

  Released in the wake of the wall coming down in Berlin and a backdrop of continually low rates and rising US markets, this best-selling and optimistic work captured the Western mindset with obvious pride.

  With its central theme (supported by an overt Hegelian and dialectal framework) of capitalism and liberal democracy’s penultimate and victorious evolution (Aufhebung moment) beyond the Soviet dark ages of a debt-soaked and centralization/autocratic communism, the famous book made headline sense in this Zeitgeist of American exceptionalism.

  But even then, amidst all the evidence of Soviet failures (from extended wars, currency destruction, unpayable debts and a clearly dishonest media and police-state leadership), my already history-conscious (and fancy-school) mind could not help but wonder out loud if this book’s optimistic conclusion of the West’s ideological and evolutional end-game was not otherwise a bit, well: naïve.

  Had the West truly reached a victorious “end of history” moment?

  Pride & An Insult to History?

  In fact, and as anyone who truly understands history should know then as now, history is replete with rhyming turning points, but never a victorious and eternal “end-game.”

  Stated more simply, the famous book, which made so much sense at that particular moment in time, seemed to me even in 1992 as a classic example of “hubris comes before the fall.”

  In other words, it may have been a bit too soon to declare victory for liberal democracy and capitalism, as these fine systems require fine leadership and even finer principles to survive history’s forward flow.

  Today’s History…

  Fast-forward many decades (grey hairs, advanced degrees and sore muscles) later, and it would seem that my young skepticism (and historical respect) was well-placed.

  The evidence around us now suggests that the “victorious” capitalism Fukuyama boasted of in 1992 died long ago, replaced in the interim years by obvious and mathematically-corroborated examples of unprecedented wealth inequality and modern feudalism.

  Furthermore, if one were to contrast the principles of America’s founding fathers as evidenced by their first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution (remember our Bill of Rights?) to the current and obvious destruction of the same in what is now a far more centralized, post-9-11 “Patriot Act” USA, the evidence of democracy’s crumbling façade is literally all around us.

  In other words, perhaps Fukuyama got a little too ahead of himself.

  Or more to the point, perhaps he was dead wrong about the final “victory” of genuine US capitalism and an actual, living/breathing liberal democracy?

  Is the USA the Old USSR?

  In fact, and with a humble nod to modesty, blunt-speak, current events, simple math and almost tragic irony, the actual evidence of history since 1992 suggests that today’s Divided States of America (DSA) (and Pravda-like media) appears to look far more like the defeated USSR than the victor presented by Mr. Fukuyama…

  Such dramatic statements, of course, mean nothing without facts, and we all deserve a careful use of the same if we seek to replace emotion with data and hence see, argue and prepare ourselves politically and financially with more clarity.

  Facts Are Stubborn Things

  Toward this end, I am once again grateful for the facts and figures which Luke Gromen provides in supporting the otherwise “sensational” conclusion that America may have won the “cold battle” with the USSR, but it is now losing a “cold war” with the Russians and Chinese.

  Really?

  C’mon.

  Really?

  Again, let’s look at the facts. Let’s look at the numbers. Let’s look at current events, and let’s look at history, which is anything but at an “end.”

  For those whose respect for history goes beyond a twitter-level attention span or the assistance of mainstream media Ken and Barbies (from CNN to The View), none of whom understand anything of history, you will recall that Regan’s successful war against the USSR was won by bankrupting the Soviets.

  But as Gromen so eloquently reminds us, “nobody seems to notice that is EXACTLY what the Russians and Chinese are doing to us now.”

  This is not fable but fact, and I warned of this in How the West was Lost the moment the US weaponized the USD in 2022. This desperately myopic (i.e., stupid) policy gave a very patient and history-savvy Russia and China just the opportunity they have been waiting for to turn the tables on the DSA.

  History’s Fatal Debt Trap Lesson

  As I also recently wrote, with the insights of both Niel Ferguson and Luke Gromen, you know (and history confirms) a nation (or empire) is ALWAYS doomed the moment its debt expenses (in interest terms alone) exceed its defense spending.

  And as of this writing, the DSA’s gross interest is 40% higher than its military spending.

  Nor are we, the Russians, the Chinese or even a select minority of informed Americans alone in this knowledge of the DSA’s fatal debt trap.

  No Hiding the Obvious

  The current turning point in American debt is now increasingly and more globally understood in what Ben Hunt calls “the Common Knowledge Game.”

  Stated more simply, and as evidenced by the now undeniable move away from the US IOU and USD by an ever-increasing (and ever de-Dollarizing) BRICS+ membership roster, the world is catching on to the blunt fact that the American empire (of citizen lions led by political donkeys) is spending fatally more than it earns.

  What is far more sickening, however, is that Uncle Sam is then paying its IOUs with debased Dollars literally mouse-clicked into existence at the not-so “federal” and not-so “reserved” Federal Reserve.

  This desperate reality, and completely fantasy-based monetary “solution,” has resulted in an empirically bankrupt nation who quantifiably spends more on entitlements (cashed out by 2030), sovereign IOUs and warfare than it does on transportation, agriculture, veteran benefits and citizen education (our apologies to Thomas Jefferson).

  See for yourself:

  

  Returning from simple math to otherwise forgotten (or now increasingly “cancelled) history, it becomes harder to deny Gromen’s observation “that the US appears to be reprising the role of the USSR this time, with a heavy debt load, uncompetitive and hollowed-out industrial base, reliant on a Cold War adversary for imported manufactured goods, and needing ever-higher oil prices in order to keep its oil production from falling.”

  Democracy’s Suicide?

  In other words, and in the many years since Fukuyama declared victory in 1992, the interim sins/errors of increasingly suicidal (or grotesquely negligent/stupid) US military, financial and foreign policies have irrevocably placed the DSA into a defeated decline rather than victorious “End of History.”

  This reality, of course, gives me no pleasure to share, as I was, am and will always remain a patriotic American—or at least patriotic to the ideals for which America originally stood.

  But as I’ve said many times, today’s DSA is almost unrecognizable to the American I was when Fukuyama’s book of hubris was released over three decades ago.

  As our second US President, John Adams, warned his wife Abigail: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did commit suicide.”

  Again, this is history, and it appears to be a history that Fukuyama misunderstood in 1992, when he apparently thought it had reached its happy “end.”

  The Past Informs the Future

  Looking forward, I/we must be equally capable of looking backward.

  History has far more to teach us than the stump-speeches (or pathetic cue cards) of current political opportunists (puppets?) who, with very few exceptions, care far more about preserving their power (via coalitions, the legalized bribery of K-Street lobbyists, the promulgation of mis-information and the deliberate omission of mal-information) than serving their public.

  The Sad History of Currency Debasement

  History also warns/teaches that the leadership of all debt-soaked and failing regimes will buy time saving their “systems” (and covering their @$$’s) by debasing their currencies to monetize their debts.

  Folks, this is true throughout history, and WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

  Sadly, the DSA and its hitherto “exceptionalism” is no exception to this otherwise ignored historical lesson.

  Toward this end, and as Egon and I have argued for years, the DSA will thus pretend to “fight inflation” while simultaneously seeking inflation, as all debt-strapped (and hence failed) regimes need inflation rates to exceed interest rates (as measured by the yield on the US10Y UST) in what the fancy lads call “negative real rates.”

  The Sad History of Dishonesty

  Inflation, however, is not only politically embarrassing, but stone-cold proof of failed monetary and fiscal leadership.

  To get around this embarrassment, politicos from the Fed and the White House to the so-called House of Representatives (and the Don-Lemonish/Chris Quomo/ 1st Amendment-insulting/hit-driven legacy media which supports them) will do what most children do when faced with making an error, that is: Lie.

  And in this case: Lie about inflation data.

  Of course, a nation that lies to its people is not best suited for leading its people.

  As Hemingway warned, and as I often repeat, those at fault will point the fingers of blame to others (from Eastern bad guys, and man-made viruses to political fear campaigns on everything from global warming, white nationalism or green men from Mars); or worse, leaders will distract their constituents in perpetual wars.

  

  Sound familiar?

  In the interim, those “people” will continually and increasingly suffer from the sins of their childish leadership under the crippling yet invisible tax of the debased purchasing power of their so-called “money.”

  This too, is nothing new to those who track history…

  Golden Solutions?

  Gold, of course, cannot and will not solve for all of the myriad and “human, all too human” failures of national leadership and the monetary, social and centralized disfunctions which ALWAYS follow in the wake of too much debt.

  But as history also confirms (and equally without exception), each of us can at least protect the purchasing power of our wealth by measuring that wealth in ounces and grams rather than openly dying paper/fiat money.

  This is not a biased argument. This is not a “gold bug” argument.

  It is far more simply an historical argument, which further explains why governments don’t want you to understand the history of money nor the history of gold.

  

  In fact, even Fukuyama’s now embarrassing book ignores this simple lesson of gold lasting and paper money dying, which only adds to my opening observation that history never “ends” it simply teaches and protects the informed.

  The same is true of physical gold.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 23:55

• Visualizing America's Average Retirement Savings, By Age
  Visualizing America’s Average Retirement Savings, By Age

  Painting a concerning picture, the median retirement savings for Americans stands at a mere $87,000, a figure far lower than what is needed for a comfortable nest egg.

  This savings gap—the amount people have actually saved versus what they believe is needed for retirement—is significantly rising. In fact, a recent survey from Northwestern Mutual reveals that $1.46 million is the ideal savings target for retirement, up from $1.27 million last year.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, shows the retirement savings that Americans currently hold, based on data from the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances.

  

  Savings for Retirement Fall Short

  Below, we show the average and median retirement savings in the U.S. by age group:

  

  For people aged 35 and under, the median savings were $18,880, while this amount increased to $200,000 for those aged 65 to 74.

  At current rates, this means that older generations are living on a mere $10,000 per year in retirement based on these savings alone. Given this shortfall, Americans will need to increasingly rely on Social Security benefits to make ends meet. In fact, it’s estimated that state and federal governments will need $1.4 trillion for public assistance costs by 2040.

  One reason behind declining retirement savings is the steep drop in employment-sponsored pension plans over the last several decades. As of 2022, there was $37.8 trillion held in U.S. pension plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Of these, employment-sponsored plans comprised a substantial 70% share of these assets.

  However, for many Americans without employer-sponsored plans, saving for retirement has become an increasingly uphill battle. In fact, a separate survey shows that just 58% of Americans aged 55 to 64 have retirement accounts, underscoring the growing challenges faced in preparing for retirement.

  Among the most common retirement planning mistakes are underestimating the impact of inflation, one’s life expectancy, and healthcare costs. To combat this problem, 12 states have adopted automated retirement savings accounts for private employees. These programs, impacting up to 56 million people, enroll employees automatically with the choice to opt out, to help encourage Americans to save for the future.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 23:20

• Morgan Stanley On Japan In Rome
  Morgan Stanley On Japan In Rome

  By Seth Carpenter, Managing Director and Chief Global Economist at Morgan Stanley, and Matthew Hornbach, Global Head of Macro Strategy at Morgan Stanley

  Japan in Rome

  Last month at our annual Fixed Income CIO conference, one of the liveliest sessions was on Japan’s reflation. The BoJ ending negative rates and normalizing policy for the first time in eight years marked the end of decades of a deflationary equilibrium. Nominal GDP growth hit 5.7%Y in 2023, and our Japan team forecasts that Japan’s nominal GDP growth will remain above 3%Y across our forecast horizon. Nominal growth tends to translate into earnings, and so it is no surprise that our equity strategy team remains bullish, with a target for the TOPIX of 2,800.

  

  Our baseline forecast is that the BoJ hikes rates in July this year, a view that has been reinforced by recent communications from Governor Ueda. Because we think inflation will stabilize and drift lower, we look for only one more hike after that, in 1Q25. We think the risks are to the upside for policy, if inflation doesn’t drift down the way we expect.

  The falling value of the yen prompted intense market focus and ultimately intervention by the MoF. Since the exchange rate directly affects import prices (after all, 90% of energy is imported in Japan), the risks to inflation cannot be ignored when the currency moves. Our baseline view is that the yen will appreciate through the end of this year and into next year, partly based on our view that the Fed will cut rates by 75bp this year and 100bp next year. If we are wrong, and the yen continues to weaken, further intervention seems plausible and would also increase the risks of more hikes by the BoJ than in our baseline forecast.

  Of course, the exchange rate is only one factor. Governor Ueda also emphasized a so-called “second force” driving inflation, the virtuous cycle between wages and prices. We remain convinced that the cycle is intact, even if the empirical outcome remains a question. We are in the middle of a fundamental shift in equilibria. The labor market is tight and tightening; the spring wage negotiations resulted in a substantial 5.2% rise, including a base wage increase of 3.6%. Domestic and foreign demand remain strong.

  The strong macro backdrop and the BoJ’s shift to a hiking campaign have coincided with a sell-off in sovereign curves around the world. The 10-year JGB almost touched 1% in November, and after retracing it is now looking to test similar highs. Our baseline is that the yield returns to 1% by the end of this year. However, our bear case has a more notable sell-off, possibly to as high as 1.25%, by year-end, if inflation dynamics point to more persistence, building in a steeper curve along with more rate hikes.

  While the forecast may not be crystal clear – forecasting is hard, as the saying goes, especially about the future – that fact that Japan is undergoing a fundamental shift should now be clear. Before Covid, it would have strained credulity to say that Japan would be a focus of macro investors around the world. The fact that it was one of the most heated discussions at our conference in Rome shows just how much the world has changed. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 22:45

• Comparing New And Current US Tariffs On Chinese Imports
  Comparing New And Current US Tariffs On Chinese Imports

  This week, the U.S. introduced a new series of tariff increases on Chinese imports, amounting to over $18 billion worth of goods.

  In the announcement, President Biden said they are aiming to “counter China’s unfair trade practices” by targeting specific sectors where the U.S. is boosting domestic production.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, shows the new and current U.S. tariff rates set on a variety of Chinese imports.

  Tariff rates and implementation years for the new rates come from The White House’s May 14 press release announcing the new tariff rate increases. Implementation years for the current rates comes from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

  

  Tariff Raises on China Hit EV and Medical Industries

  Below, we show the current and new tariff rates, as well as the implementation years for both, for a range of Chinese imports, as of May 14, 2024.

  

  †Current rate for steel and aluminium products and personal protective equipment ranges from 0 to 7.5%.

  *Tariffs implemented in 2019 started at 15% and were reduced to 7.5% in January 2020

  The U.S. directed many of its new tariff increases on the Chinese EV industry, targeting imports such as semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, and other battery parts.

  Notably, tariffs on electric vehicles from China were bumped to 100% and new tariffs on certain critical minerals, which are essential for manufacturing battery parts and semiconductors, were introduced.

  Medical-related products, such as medical and surgical gloves and certain personal protective equipment like face masks were also impacted by the new tariff increases. Some of these items were previously granted exclusions from Section 301 tariffs due to COVID-19.

  Syringes and needles, which were previously not subjected to any tariffs, were also hit with a new 50% tariff.

  Section 301 Tariffs Still Going Strong

  Tariffs are taxes imposed by a country on imported goods, increasing their price to protect domestic industries, regulate trade, or generate revenue for the government.

  These new tariff actions were introduced under Section 301, a provision that allows the U.S. government to investigate and respond to unfair trade practices by foreign countries.

  Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods were first introduced by former President Donald Trump in 2018, which sparked retaliatory tariffs on China and set off a years-long trade war between the two countries.

  Currently, Section 301 tariffs apply to over $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 22:10

• Unpacking Ray Dalio's Alarmist Prediction Of Civil War
  Unpacking Ray Dalio’s Alarmist Prediction Of Civil War

  Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness,

  The other day, Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, told The Financial Times that he sees the risk of a second American civil war as “growing” and places the odds of such a war at “35-40 percent.” According to FT, Dalio’s “research” has led him to conclude that “we are now on the brink,” although we “don’t yet know if we will cross over into much more turbulent times.”

  

  On the one hand, it’s important to remember that Dalio is nearly universally known as a world-class crank. He’s made a lot of money in the markets and has long been considered an astute investor, but he has also long been considered an odd duck, to put it gently. Additionally, the idea that this proclamation and setting of odds are based on “research” is silly. There are no variables one can examine and analyze and then use to calculate an objective estimate of a civil war’s occurrence. To pretend otherwise is… well… perfectly Dalio-esque.

  On the other hand, Dalio is hardly alone in his belief that tough times are imminent. Virtually the entirety of the ruling class seems to believe that the zeitgeist of the moment is characterized by anger, hatred, and the expectation of confrontation between political adversaries. Hollywood is busy making movies about a potential Civil War. Political magazines are warning that totalitarianism looms just over the electoral horizon. And even the President of the United States is releasing videos that sound more like pre-fight smack talk than political posturing. In short, Ray Dalio is hardly the first major public figure to express his fear/hope that the nation is “on the brink.”

  Ironically, the part of this story Dalio and his fellow elites are missing is that in which they’re the cause of the turmoil that currently plagues the United States, or, at the very least, are exacerbating that turmoil and aggravating the people’s frustrations.

  Consider, for example, the description Dalio gives of one of the primary causes of this possible civil war:

  This election would be a test of ‘can democracy work well? Will there be an acceptance of the rules and an ability to work well under those rules?’ he said.

  [Republican candidate Donald] Trump will follow more rightist, nationalistic, isolationist, protectionist, non-regulatory policies — and more aggressive policies to fight enemies internally and externally, including political enemies. [President Joe] Biden, and even more so the Democratic party without Biden, will be more the opposite….

  Ah, I see. It’s all Donald Trump’s fault. Strangely, Dalio doesn’t address the almost inarguable fact that Donald Trump is a symptom of this nation’s political dysfunction rather than the cause of it. Whatever one thinks of Trump—good, bad, indifferent—he and his political movement did not emerge fully formed, as if Athena springing forth from the forehead of Zeus. They were the result of decades of political malpractice by both parties, decades of betrayal and decades of self-dealing.

  Likewise, Donald Trump remains popular today because both parties, as a whole, remain indifferent to the plight of the country class and are concerned almost exclusively with the needs and wants of Washington and its allies. Billionaire Ray Dalio may think that the people are revolting, but that is, in large part, the fault of the Washington uni-party and its disregard for the people’s interests.

  Dalio also describes the form that the civil war he so fears might take: “The civil war Dalio imagines was not necessarily one in which people ‘grab guns and start shooting’, although such a scenario was possible, he said.” Rather, the civil war Dalio envisions would involve “people mov[ing] to different states that are more aligned with what they want and they don’t follow the decisions of federal authorities of the opposite political persuasion.”

  To be clear, I don’t think that consistently disregarding the actions and decisions of the federal government is something that we, as a nation, should encourage, much less tolerate. At the same time, there’s a term for what Dalio describes. It’s called “federalism,” and it was precisely what the Founding Fathers had in mind almost 250 years ago.

  It is worth remembering here that when the Founders debated the Constitution, two primary factions fought over the particulars. The Federalists—James Madsion, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, in particular—sat on one side of the question, while the anti-federalists—Patrick Henry, James Monroe, Samuel Adams, George Mason, and a host of others—sat on the other. The anti-federalists were opposed to the Constitution not because they disapproved of its weak federal government and demanded something stronger, something more like what we have today, but because they disapproved of a federal government at all. In other words, the vision Dalio now derides and implies is the precursor to civil war was, in fact, the most radically centralized of the forms of government considered by the Founders.

  Dalio’s problem with such a vision of government is undoubtedly closely akin to the problem that much of the ruling class today has with that vision: he wants the people to think and behave as he wants them to, in alignment with his “values.” He finds their insistence on thinking for themselves and behaving accordingly irritating and inefficient.

  Roughly two years ago, Victor Davis Hanson penned an essay accusing factions of “the left” of engaging in what he called “civil war porn.” Some on the left fantasized, he argued, about how the country’s majority white right-wing rabble were intent on harming minorities, destroying democracy, and engaging in violence against their enemies. Such fantasies gave them the opportunity to engage in moral grandstanding. They saw themselves as the heroes of the story, noble warriors who would sacrifice everything to save all that is right and good in the world.

  Today, that “civil war porn” is the purview of much of the ruling class, people like Ray Dalio, who cosplay as the self-righteously indignant and “rational” grown-ups in the room. They warn that the evil ones, the naughty children, are plotting against the nation, planning a fascist takeover of the government or even secession from the Union.

  Again, the irony is that in doing so, in prattling on about the risks that the great unwashed masses pose to “Our Democracy™,” the Ray Dalios of the world make it all the more likely.

  Every time they open their mouths on the subject, they make the idea of a political separation that would liberate the masses from those who deride and hate them sound far more agreeable.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 21:35

• These Are The 10 US States With The Lowest Real GDP Growth
  These Are The 10 US States With The Lowest Real GDP Growth

  While the U.S. economy defied expectations in 2023, posting 2.5% in real GDP growth, several states lagged behind.

  Last year, oil-producing states led the pack in terms of real GDP growth across America, while the lowest growth was seen in states that were more sensitive to the impact of high interest rates, particularly due to slowdowns in the manufacturing and finance sectors.

  In the following graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte shows the 10 states with the least robust real GDP growth in 2023, based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

  

  Weakest State Economies in 2023

  Below, we show the states with the slowest economic activity in inflation-adjusted terms, using chained 2017 dollars:

  

  Delaware witnessed the slowest growth in the country, with real GDP growth of -1.2% over the year as a sluggish finance and insurance sector dampened the state’s economy.

  Like Delaware, the Midwestern state of Wisconsin also experienced declines across the finance and insurance sector, in addition to steep drops in the agriculture and manufacturing industries.

  America’s third-biggest economy, New York, grew just 0.7% in 2023, falling far below the U.S. average. High interest rates took a toll on key sectors, with notable slowdowns in the construction and manufacturing sectors. In addition, falling home prices and a weaker job market contributed to slower economic growth.

  Meanwhile, Georgia experienced the fifth-lowest real GDP growth rate. In March 2024, Rivian paused plans to build a $5 billion EV factory in Georgia, which was set to be one of the biggest economic development initiatives in the state in history.

  These delays are likely to exacerbate setbacks for the state, however, both Kia and Hyundai have made significant investments in the EV industry, which could help boost Georgia’s manufacturing sector looking ahead.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 21:00

• A Global Censorship Prison Built By The Women Of The CIA
  A Global Censorship Prison Built By The Women Of The CIA

  Authored by Elizabeth Nickson via ‘Welcome to Absurdistan’ substack,

  The polite world was fascinated last month when long-time NPR editor Uri Berliner confessed to the Stalinist suicide pact the public broadcaster, like all public broadcasters, seems to be on. Formerly it was a place of differing views, he claimed, but now it has sold as truth some genuine falsehoods like, for instance, the Russia hoax, after which it covered up the Hunter Biden laptop. And let’s not forget our censor-like behaviour regarding Covid and the vaccine. NPR bleated that they were still diverse in political opinion, but researchers found that all 87 reporters at NPR were Democrats. Berliner was immediately put on leave and a few days later resigned, no doubt under pressure.

  

  Even more interesting was the reveal of the genesis of NPR’s new CEO, Katherine Maher, a 41-year-old with a distinctly odd CV. Maher had put in stints at a CIA cutout, the National Democratic Institute, and trotted onto the World Bank, UNICEF, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Technology and Democracy, the Digital Public Library of America, and finally the famous disinfo site Wikipedia. That same week, Tunisia accused her of working for the CIA during the so-called Arab Spring. And, of course, she is a WEF young global leader.

  She was marched out for a talk at the Carnegie Endowment where she was prayerfully interviewed and spouted mediatized language so anodyne, so meaningless, yet so filled with nods to her base the AWFULS (affluent white female urban liberals) one was amazed that she was able to get away with it. There was no acknowledgement that the criticism by this award-winning reporter/editor/producer, who had spent his life at NPR had any merit whatsoever, and in fact that he was wrong on every count. That this was a flagrant lie didn’t even ruffle her artfully disarranged short blonde hair.

  Christopher Rufo did an intensive investigation of her career in City Journal. It is an instructive read and illustrative of a lot of peculiar yet stellar careers of American women. Working for Big Daddy is apparently something these ghastly creatures value. I strongly suggest reading Rufo’s piece linked here. It’s a riot of spooky confluences.

  

  Intelligence has been embedded in media forever and a day. During my time at Time Magazine in London, the bureau chief, deputy bureau chief and no doubt the “war and diplomacy” correspondent all filed to Langley and each of them cruised social London ceaselessly for information. Tucker Carlson asserted on his interview with Aaron Rogers this week that intelligence operatives were laced through DC media and in fact, Mr. Watergate, Bob Woodward himself, had been naval intelligence a scant year before he cropped up at the Washington Post as ‘an intrepid fighter for the truth and freedom no matter where it led.’  Watergate, of course, was yet another operation to bring down another inconvenient President; at this juncture, unless you are being puppeted by the CIA, you don’t get to stay in power. Refuse and bang bang or end up in court on insultingly stupid charges. As Carlson pointed out, all congressmen and senators are terrified by the security state, even and especially the ones on the intelligence committee who are supposed to be controlling them. They can install child porn on your laptop and you don’t even know it’s there until you are raided, said Carlson. The security state is that unethical, that power mad.

  Now, it’s global. And feminine. Where is Norman Mailer when you need him?

  At the same time, at the same time, Freddie Sayers, the editor-in-chief of Unherd, testified in Parliament on the Global Disinformation Index which had choked Unherd’s ability to grow. Unherd had hired three advertising firms who were, one after the other, unable to place ads. The third sourced the problem to the Index, which had deemed his interviews with journalist Katherine Stock about the problems faced by young people transitioning their sex, had made him persona non grata for all advertising agencies across the world. Eerily, that same week, Katherine Stock was awarded a high honorable mention in the National Press Awards for her work.

  Here is Clare Melford, the fetching chief of the Global Disinformation Index, a woman seemingly bent on sterilizing confused children, Yet another non-profit authoritarian working for a mysterious Big Daddy. Who the hell trained her?

  

  On Tuesday this week, out pops Europe’s headmistress, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Politico.eu, complaining about “Russia” and “right-wingers” sowing distrust of Europe’s election processes. She is, she says, launching a new war on Disinformation. Most importantly, no more reporting on migrant assaults. This seems to be their new crusade. Please note the halo over her Christed head. Honestly, they are shameless, vain, silly creatures with limited bandwidth. Other than obedience to some grim reaper.

  

  Said Politico:

  “She promised to set up “a European Democracy Shield,” if reelected for a second term, to fight back against foreign meddling.

  EU cybersecurity and disinformation officials expect a surge in online falsehoods in the 20 days prior to the European Parliament election June 6-9, when millions of Europeans elect new representatives. Officials fear that Russia is ramping up its influence operations to sow doubt about the integrity of elections in the West and to manipulate public opinion in its favor.”

  

  By the way, madam, western election integrity has been thoroughly compromised by the men who tell you what to do. More than half of us think elections are stolen. More than half. That’s not disinformation, it’s math.

  This week Michael Shellenberger, who is the acknowledged lead in the take-down of the global censorship complex, had a look at Julie Inman Grant, another American Barbie, now Australia’s “e-safety commissioner,” with ties to the WEF. Grant had demanded that X censor a migrant stabbing, and X refused. Grant, as Shellenberger describes, is the Zelig of internet history tinkering in the bowels of said internet until she burst onto the public stage as Australia’s chief censor, bent on building a global online safety network.

  Working for Big Daddy is apparently something these ghastly creatures value.

  At a recent government hearing, she announced, “We have powerful tools to regulate platforms with ISP blocking power, and can collect basic device information, account information, phone numbers and email addresses, so that our investigators can at least find a place to issue a warning.” Grant went on to say they could compel take-downs, fine perpetrators and fine content hosts.

  The Daily Mail had a ball with Inman Grant, mocking her and pointing out that she was wasting taxpayer money on a game of whack-a-mole.

  

  Nevertheless, Grant takes herself very very seriously and since she is accreting power at a massive clip, so must we.

  Grant’s network of independent regulators is called the Global Online Safety Regulators Network. “We have Australia, France, Ireland, South Africa, Korea, the UK and Fiji so far, with others observing. Canada is coming along,” she preens, “and is about to create a National Safety Regulator.” Canada’s proposed censorship program is so draconian you can be jailed for something you posted online years ago. And the government proposing it is so unpopular, it will be lucky to hang onto 20 seats in the next election.

  There are literally hundreds of these women. Why? Why?

  At a meeting this year of the World Economic Forum, Věra Jourová, from the European Commission, outlined just how exciting she and her team found the tools she is being given. “We can,” she said, “influence in such a way the real life and the behavior of people!” She sighed with excitement after this sentence. Jourova was caught last September trying to spread yet another Russia hoax. You have only to hear censorship plans uttered in a central-European accent to really understand what is happening here.

  As terrifying as this all seems, and it is terrifying, it is instructive to look at the ruination of the career of America’s chief censor, Renée DiResta. DiResta, as research head of the Stanford Internet Observatory, is now being sued for abuse of power and unethical behavior that violates the constitution. Spookily, DiResta soared from “new mom” to providing the intellectual under-pinnning for censorship, until she headed up the Stanford Internet Observatory during Covid, where she was instrumental in censoring vaccine and Covid “disinformation.” People thought her backstory contrived and in fact, Shellenberger found that she was, unmistakably another CIA trained censor of inconvenient information under the guise of “safety.”

  At this point, every time you hear the word ‘safety”, it’s best to check your ammunition supply. Said Shellenberger:

  As research director of Stanford Internet Observatory, DiResta was the key leader and spokesperson of both the 2021 “Virality Project,” against Covid vaccine “misinformation” and the 2020 “Election Integrity Project.”

  Shellenberger goes on to look into DiResta’s work history and finds a lot of congruence with CIA operations.

  But then I learned that DiResta had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The journalist Matt Taibbi pointed me to the investigative research into the censorship industry by Mike Benz, a former State Department official in charge of cybersecurity. Benz had discovered a little-viewed video of her supervisor at the Stanford Internet Observatory, Alex Stamos, mentioning in an off-hand way that DiResta had previously “worked for the CIA.”

  In her response to my criticism of her on Joe Rogan, DiResta acknowledged but then waved away her CIA connection. “My purported secret-agent double life was an undergraduate student fellowship at CIA, ending in 2004 — years prior to Twitter’s founding,” she wrote. “I’ve had no affiliation since.”

  But DiResta’s acknowledgment of her connection to the CIA is significant, if only because she hid it for so long. DiResta’s LinkedIn includes her undergraduate education at Stony Brook University, graduating in 2004, and her job as a trader at Jane Street from October 2004 to May 2011, but does not mention her time at the CIA.

  And, notably, the CIA describes its fellowships as covering precisely the issues in which DiResta is an expert. “As an Intelligence Analyst Intern for CIA, you will work on teams alongside full-time analysts, studying and evaluating information from all available sources—classified and unclassified—and then analyzing it to provide timely and objective assessments to customers such as the President, National Security Council, and other U.S. policymakers.”

  At this juncture it is a race, as the intelligence community moves to shut down the revelations of its manipulations and machinations, and people injured by the vaccine and the flagrant abuse of election integrity move to fight them. It is instructive to note that DiResta, while apparently soaring to the heights of journalism at Wired, the New York Times, the Atlantic, selling her safety/censorhip program, cannot seem to get actual people to read or subscribe to her Substack. DiResta, like so many women in power now, are in reality, talentless cutouts for a hidden and malignant agenda.

  An agenda that the people of the world roundly hate. I have just one final thing to saw to these truly dreadful human beings. My God is stronger than whatever demon or predator you obey. And as a woman, I am ashamed of each and every one of you. To use one of your awful phrases: Do Better.

  *  *  *

  There is a lot of work to do, please consider funding a very cheap annual subscription.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 20:25

• America's Competitors Think That The Window Of Opportunity Is Now Open To Divide The World
  America’s Competitors Think That The Window Of Opportunity Is Now Open To Divide The World

  By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

  

  “The United States still thinks in terms of the Cold War and is guided by the logic of bloc confrontation, putting the security of ‘narrow groups’ above regional security and stability, which creates a security threat for all countries in the region,” read the 7,000 word Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era in the Context of the 75th Anniversary of China-Russia Diplomatic Relations. Quite a mouthful.

  “The US must abandon this behavior.”

  The statement followed a two-day meeting between Putin and Xi in Beijing. It is a strong signal, the kind of thing that matters greatly, for decades to come.

  “Russia and China are determined to defend their legitimate rights and interests, resist any attempts to hinder the normal development of bilateral ties, interfere in the internal affairs of the two states, and limit the economic, technological or foreign policy potential of Russia and China.”

  The joint release went on to explore areas of cooperation/coordination between the neighboring autocracies: North Korea, Nuclear War, Markets, Industry, Agriculture, Technology, Energy, Ukraine, and of course Taiwan.

  “The parties oppose the hegemonic attempts of the United States to change the balance of power in Northeast Asia by building up military power and creating military blocs and coalitions.”

  The crack between East and West, the Global South and North, is rapidly widening. America’s competitors and adversaries appear to think that the window of opportunity is now open to divide the world before their collapsing demographics deny them any realistic chance of success.

  Given their trajectories, it is probably a risk worth taking for Putin and Xi. “The China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it,” Xi told Putin during the press conference.

  “China is willing to… jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries and work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world.”

  And to win, the US must simply have faith that the weight of the world’s nations will follow our lead, if only we have the courage and determination to live up to our founding principles.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 19:50

• Too Narrowly Focused?
  Too Narrowly Focused?

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  Too Narrowly Focused?

  The Citi Economic Surprise Index continues to deteriorate (worst levels in a year).

  

  Bond yields have declined (the 10-year Treasury got to 4.31% on Thursday, basically the bottom of our 4.3% to 4.5% range, and crept higher the rest of the week). Bonds in part moved on economic data (weak), inflation (high, but “explainable”), and Powell (who couldn’t resist being dovish) effectively dismissing the higher than anticipated PPI (explainable as it was). I’d argue that bond yields went lower partly due to economic data and partly due to Powell.

  Stocks did well again this week (1% to 2% depending on the index), but the narrative seemed narrowly focused on Powell, cherry picking economic data, and the ongoing importance of corporate buybacks in an otherwise slow and boring tape.

  As we start this week, Nvidia’s earnings on May 22nd seem to be the biggest catalyst as there is virtually no data on Monday or Tuesday. While we will likely hear from more Fed speakers, will anyone pay attention after Powell’s tone last week?

  My concern, I guess, is that we are spending too much time focused on the Fed and inflation, while ignoring (or not treating as importantly) other data.

  Inflation Fixation

  The market, to some degree, has seemed to:

  • Wait for inflation data.
  • Explain away higher than expected prints.
  • Rally.

  I completely understand the arguments for why the inflation prints were not as bad as they seemed on the surface. The explanations ranged from:

  • Downward revisions to prior months meant that inflation has been overstated (which I could agree with, if everyone didn’t seem to believe that official inflation data has underestimated the rise in prices that we all face every day).
  • The components. The components are critical, and the misses can be explained (at least somewhat) by components that aren’t as relevant or seem like one-time things (auto insurance for example). That all makes sense, though I have to admit that my rate of health insurance cost has blown away any official estimate of health insurance (maybe I’m unique? I don’t think so. Maybe healthcare isn’t that important? I beg to differ). In any case there are enough arguments to be made that I understand why the market was not overly perturbed by the prints (plus I have liked the 10-year down to 4.3% and still am in the 2-cut camp, so the arguments didn’t hurt there – they just didn’t translate into my equity underweight view).
  • Lag effects. This one bothers me on so many levels. Partly, when a year or so ago we were arguing that official inflation was too high due to the lagged effect of rent, it was a struggle to get traction with the theme (the government data was showing the highest monthly increases in decades, at times when online information was confirming a slowdown in rents). Actual rent increases still are occurring and have been pretty stable around pre-COVID levels (according to Zillow). So, the excitement that we use old data, which will start reflecting declines from almost a year ago, seems strange (to say the least). I cannot understand, for the life of me, why we use Owners ’ Equivalent Rent (which has always seemed like a bizarre method) and why we accept a methodology that is lagged (on purpose). Making any policy, on knowingly incorrect data, has never made sense and never will.

  The next paradox for the Fed: since Shelter/OER inflation lags by 18 months, housing inflation will decline well into 2025 even as actual rents are again starting to tick up.

  By the time lagged CPI catches up with “today”, real rents will be rising double digits. pic.twitter.com/sHOWxN2OVQ

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 12, 2023

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

  But, I’m not here to argue about where inflation has been, I’m here to point out that I think the market has been too narrowly fixated on past inflation, and what the Fed might do about that, while not thinking enough about some bigger picture issues.

  My simple case for inflation is this:

  • If inflation continues to come down, it is likely to be tied to a weakening economy, which should be good for bonds, but not so good for stocks (assuming that tenuous link between lower bond yields and higher stocks can be broken again).
    • My worst-case view would be seeing a decline in inflation due to more and more selling of Chinese brands, which will put margin pressure on companies domiciled outside of China as they need to compete. The benefit of lower inflation will accrue to bondholders, but stocks won’t like declining sales, increased competition (largely on price), and the associated margin pressures.
  • If inflation goes higher, it could be due to:
    • Robust domestic job growth. A resurgence in the global economy, which would not be good for bonds, but stocks should do quite well even with rising bond yields.
    • Increased cooperation between China and Russia. Accidental or willful acts to increase commodity prices. Demand from India as their economy surges and the wealth effect takes hold. While this might not accompany “stagflation,” it could set us up for inflation on a global basis without commensurate growth in the domestic economy.

  I do believe that with PPI and CPI behind us, markets will start delving deeper into the overall slew of economic data and are unlikely to like what they see.

  China, Russia, and the Geopolitical Landscape

  We asked the question, Will Tariffs Outweigh CPI? They didn’t. The media and most economists were quite sanguine about this round of tariffs (as opposed to the ones imposed in 2018, which remain in place). Maybe they were so “concentrated” that they are unlikely to impact the shape of the global economy? Maybe China won’t respond? Or maybe we are missing a big risk?

  In Friday’s Geopolitical Risks – Perception versus Reality, we examine CYBER, Commodities, the Middle East, Russia, Trade War, and “wildcard” risk. For now, our assessment is that the biggest gap between perception and reality is around the Trade War (with commodities not too far behind). Please see that report, as nothing about the recent announcement that China and Russia are cooperating more makes me any less concerned that the Trade War is about to ratchet higher.

  Also, if you missed it, I recommend listening to this month’s Around The World Podcast.

  Bottom Line

  • Neutral on yields. We are too close to the bottom end of our range to be very bullish, and the specter of inflation (especially from commodities) is too troubling to take the range lower.
  • Underweight equities. As we move beyond inflation and the Fed (hopefully), the reality that is “less than exceptional” might start sinking in. As a reminder, FXI and KWEB (my proxies for China stocks) were up 5.6% and 7.1% respectively last week! I also think, based on our geopolitical work, that adding exposure to commodity related stocks (and the commodities themselves) makes sense.
  • I’m still not sure what we will learn about the AI story on Wednesday (everyone wants it, everyone needs it, everyone is getting it, and there are shortages even as prices rise), that isn’t already priced into this market.

  Hopefully we do get an expanded narrative and spend less time and energy worrying about an inflation print here or there and how the Fed will act, and focus instead on the bigger discourse on the state of the global economy and the likely direction of travel (which I continue to think will not be favorable for our markets).

  On the other hand, I could be the one being too narrowly focused (on China and geopolitics), but I’m encouraged by recent announcements that my fixation is valid (not encouraged for the state of global affairs, just in the narrow definition that I don’t think I’m wasting time or energy thinking about trade war escalation).

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 19:15

• Two New Swing State Polls Show Why Biden Is Desperate To Debate Trump
  Two New Swing State Polls Show Why Biden Is Desperate To Debate Trump

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Trump Leads in 5 Key States, as Young and Nonwhite Voters Express Discontent With Biden according to Nate Cohn at the New York Times.

  

  A Surge in Discontent With Biden

  Please consider Trump Leads in 5 Key States by Nate Cohn.

  The surveys by The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer found that Mr. Trump was ahead among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup against Mr. Biden in five of six key states: Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden led among registered voters in only one battleground state, Wisconsin.

  The race was closer among likely voters. Mr. Trump led in five states as well, but Mr. Biden edged ahead in Michigan while trailing only narrowly in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

  The results were similar in a hypothetical matchup that included minor-party candidates and the independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who won an average of 10 percent of the vote across the six states and drew roughly equally from the two major-party candidates.

  Nearly 70 percent of voters say that the country’s political and economic systems need major changes — or even to be torn down entirely.

  Only a sliver of Mr. Biden’s supporters — just 13 percent — believe that the president would bring major changes in his second term, while even many of those who dislike Mr. Trump grudgingly acknowledge that he would shake up an unsatisfying status quo.

  The sense that Mr. Biden would do little to improve the nation’s fortunes has helped erode his standing among young, Black and Hispanic voters, who usually represent the foundation of any Democratic path to the presidency. The Times/Siena polls found that the three groups wanted fundamental changes to American society, not just a return to normalcy, and few believed that Mr. Biden would make even minor changes that would be good for the country.

  Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are essentially tied among 18-to-29-year-olds and Hispanic voters, even though each group gave Mr. Biden more than 60 percent of their vote in 2020. Mr. Trump also wins more than 20 percent of Black voters — a tally that would be the highest level of Black support for any Republican presidential candidate since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  The economy and the cost of living, however, remain the most important issues for one-quarter of voters — and a significant drag on Mr. Biden’s prospects. More than half of voters still believe that the economy is “poor,” down merely a single percentage point since November despite cooling inflation, an end to rate hikes and significant stock market gains.

  Goodness Gracious

  A CNN analyst was SHOCKED that a new poll from NYT found Trump up double digits in Nevada, 9 in Georgia

  “My goodness gracious, my God. That is a huge lead. No Democrat has lost that state since John Kerry.” https://t.co/VHfFtcpxXb

  — Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) May 13, 2024

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

  “My goodness gracious, my God. That is a huge lead. No Democrat has lost that state since John Kerry.”

  I believe it’s time for a musical tribute interlude.

  We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

  Emmerson College Polling

  

  Emmerson College reports Trump Holds Edge Over Biden in Seven Key Swing State Polls

  In Arizona, Trump leads by four points: 48% to 44%; 8% are undecided. In Georgia, 47% support Trump, 44% Biden, and 9% are undecided. In Michigan, 45% support Trump, 44% Biden, and 11% are undecided. In Nevada, 45% support Trump and 44% support Biden, while 11% are undecided. In North Carolina, 47% support Trump, and 42% Biden; 10% are undecided. In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 47% support Trump, 45% Biden, and 8% are undecided.

  “Independent voters break for Trump over Biden in Arizona (48%-38%), Michigan (44%-35%), Nevada (43%-37%), Pennsylvania (49%-33%), and North Carolina (41%-38%). However they break for Biden over Trump in Georgia (42%-38%) and Wisconsin (44%-41%),” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted.

  When third-party candidates are included on the ballot, support is pulled away from Biden more than Trump in five states: Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Support is drawn evenly from each candidate in Arizona and Michigan.

  Impact of a Guilty Verdict on Independent Voters’ Likelihood to Support Trump

  • AZ: 32% more likely, 25% less likely, 43% no impact

  • GA: 26% more likely, 32% less likely, 42% no impact

  • MI: 26% more likely, 30% less likely, 45% no impact

  • NC: 32% more likely, 25% less likely, 43% no impact

  • NV: 25% more likely, 32% less likely, 43% no impact

  • PA: 31% more likely, 24% less likely, 45% no impact

  • WI: 24% more likely, 30% less likely, 47% no impact

  Hoot of the Day

  Independents in Arizona, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania say a conviction would make it more likely they voted for Trump.

  What a hoot!

  That’s how much of a farce the trial is.

  Biden’s Excuse for Bad Polls

  If you need another hoot, I can help. Please note the White House blames the pandemic and Russia for Biden’s dismal swing state poll numbers.

  Peter Doocy: “Why do you think Americans are so down on President Biden right now? I know you don’t like to talk about polls, like the five of six swing states that he is losing right now to somebody who is a criminal defendant, but, more broadly, it doesn’t seem like anything… pic.twitter.com/7YovAnxG01

  — Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) May 14, 2024

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

  Biden Challenges Trump to a Debate

  “Make my day” said Biden to Trump in a Tweet, challenging Trump to a debate. Two debates are set. Trump seeks two more. What just happened?

  I discussed the debate on May 15 in Biden Challenges Trump to a Debate, Trump Accepts, Advantage Whom?

  What Just Happened?

  Biden is so far behind in the swing state polls, that he needs to win these debate. If Biden was far ahead, it’s highly doubtful that he would go on stage for more than a short debate, and one as late as possible.

  Trump cannot turn it down, so he upped the ante to four.

  Winning two out of two for Biden will be hard enough. But if Biden flunks the first two he will want more.

  Biden’s Extremely Big Bet

  Even the Washington Post can spot Biden’s desperation.

  Please consider Biden’s Extremely Big Bet

  The last time the U.S. presidential election was a rematch of the previous election, Dwight D. Eisenhower smashed Democrat Adlai Stevenson into little pieces (figuratively), as he had four years before. This rematch promises to follow that pattern, not in outcome but in similarity. In 2020, Biden won as a function of narrow victories in a handful of battleground states (though he won the popular vote much more handily). This year’s outcome, by all appearances, will be even more narrowly determined.

  If Biden wants to bring younger voters back into the fold, he’s got another problem. Polling shows that they prioritize the same issues as Americans overall, meaning primarily economic ones on which Trump is more favorably positioned.

  Important Issues 18-29 Year-Olds

  

  Top Issues

  Two of the top three issues are inflation and housing. They are very related. Rent has gone up at least 0.4 percent for 32 months, nearly three years.

  Home prices are at record highs and mortgage rates are above 7.0 percent making housing very unaffordable for those who want to buy a home.

  New York Times Swing State Poll Detail

  

  The Shocker

  18-29 year-olds turned out en masse for Biden four years ago. Trump now leads age groups 18-29 and 30-44.

  And it’s not just the youth vote. According to Pew, Biden captured 92 percent of the black vote in 2020. Now it’s 49-14-11 (Biden, Trump, Kennedy).

  If these percentages hold, Trump is going to win every swing state plus a few more not yet presumed to be in the ballpark.

  Spotlight Blacks

  On April 12, the Kansas Reflector commented on Black Support for Biden.

  Black voters overwhelmingly supported President Joe Biden in 2020 and were key to his win, but there is some evidence that Black voter enthusiasm for Biden may be slipping. And Trump is hoping to capitalize on that. He spoke last month at a meeting of the Black Conservative Federation and he argues that Black voters were better off financially when he was in office. Even if Black voters don’t buy that message, voters’ frustration could result in them turning to a third party candidate, Cornell Belcher, a pollster who worked for Barack Obama, told The New York Times.

  To counter Trump, the Biden campaign is spending millions on radio ads in swing states at Black-owned and Latino-owned radio stations to point out the administration’s accomplishments, including investments in historically Black colleges and universities through grant funding and the American Rescue Plan Act, the cancellation of student loan debt for 3.9 million borrowers, and reducing Black child poverty in 2021, which it has connected to the then expansion of the child tax credit.

  In March of last year, Black people’s unemployment rate hit a record low and the economic recovery shows that by historical standards, Black and Hispanic workers have had faster wage growth these past few years. The unemployment rate for Black people has begun to tick up again, but economists say they’re waiting for more data before considering it a long lasting trend.

  But Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said the unemployment rate for Black Americans does not tell the whole story. “The other part of that message has to do with, ‘OK, I may be employed but I’m still working three jobs just to pay my rent,’” she said.

  Sarah Wallace, 49, a Philadephian who lives on Social Security Disability Insurance, says she has to spend the lion’s share of it on $1,500 in rent each month. She voted for Biden in 2020, but said she may vote third party this time.

  “I think Biden sold all of us on his dream to get into the office … And that was that,” she said.

  Generational Homeownership Rates

  

  Home ownership rates courtesy of Apartment List

  People Who Rent Will Decide the 2024 Presidential Election

  On April 20, before the latest polls, and before I found the above Kansas Reflector post, I commented People Who Rent Will Decide the 2024 Presidential Election

  Immigration won’t decide the election. Polls have not yet captured what will. This may come as a surprise, but the top issue housing. More explicitly, it’s shelter costs.

  Who Are the Renters?

  The answer is younger voters and blacks.

  The Apartment List 2023 Millennial Homeownership Report shows Millennial homeownership seriously lags other generations.

  Generation Z homeownership is dramatically lower still.

  And according to the National Association of Realtors, the homeownership rate among Black Americans is 44 percent whereas for White Americans it’s 72.7 percent.

  That’s the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade.

  Young voters are angry about rent, angry over home prices, and angry over mortgage rates. That is reflected in the polls.

  Economists still don’t get it. They think the economy is doing great.

  If you are an asset holder, the economy might seem great (see Dear Jerome Powell, Is Everything Under Control? Spotlight Gold and Silver).

  But the 36 percent of people who rent, mainly young voters and blacks, see things differently. And they will decide the election, for Trump, if the polls stay anywhere close to where they are.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 18:05

• Dozens Of People Show Up To Biden Campaign Event…
  Dozens Of People Show Up To Biden Campaign Event…

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  Joe Biden held a campaign even in Atlanta Saturday and literally dozens of people showed up.

  

  The event, which entailed more pandering to black people, took place at Mary Mac’s Tea Room in downtown Atlanta, where Biden looked completely out of it.

  He looked around totally confused and began saluting as people laughed at him before he was introduced:

  Biden exists in a state of perpetual confusion 😬 pic.twitter.com/IQxLGtoxkc

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 18, 2024

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

  Just look at the size of the crowd:

  Love to see this…

  President Biden working the room in Atlanta before speaking — taking the time to chat with just about everyone. The mutual respect and admiration is clear.

  “When we first got elected we were told that because everything was so close, in terms of numbers, we… pic.twitter.com/5uYsNkx3pf

  — Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) May 18, 2024

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

  Earlier, Biden’s motorcade drove through Atlanta and practically no one cared:

  Biden passing through Atlanta with the motorcade. pic.twitter.com/g2k9uZsh6J

  — Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) May 18, 2024

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

  Compare this energy to the Trump Rally in New Jersey last weekend where almost 100,000 people turned up:

  Mega MAGA. Look at the amount of people at this. https://t.co/WoS2o6UJlL

  — m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) May 11, 2024

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

  Trump rally in Wildwood.

  85,000 happy people who don’t hate America. pic.twitter.com/QM6qHtPQT4

  — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 12, 2024

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

  Biden is probably on a come down from whatever they pumped him full of on Friday:

  What is going on here? https://t.co/CXDJireFWe

  — m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) May 19, 2024

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

  Trump has demanded drug testing prior to the debates, noting that Biden was “high as a kite” during the SOTU address:

  🚨Trump says he is going to demand Biden take a drug test for the debate because Biden was “high as a kite” during the SOTU! 🪁 pic.twitter.com/dbnWB5pWFK

  — Jenna Fredo (@LynkLuv) May 18, 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
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 16:55

• Millennials Drive E-Mobility In The US
  Millennials Drive E-Mobility In The US

  The decision to switch from a fossil-fuel-powered car to a more emission-friendly model can be governed by a variety of factors, ranging from monetary to ideological. As Statista’s Florian Zandt reports, a recent survey from Statista’s Consumer Insights suggests that the adoption of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can also be seen as a generational question, at least in the United States.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  For example, 22 percent of U.S. respondents born between 1980 and 1994 have an electric vehicle as a primary car in their household, while 10 percent own a BEV.

  Gen Z shows a similar enthusiasm for e-mobility, with a total of 14 percent reporting either a PHEV or BEV in their household.

  Survey participants belonging to the baby boomer generation born, in the case of this specific survey, between 1960 and 1964 had a significantly lower interest in switching to electric models, with only three percent owning a PHEV and one percent having a BEV as the primary household car.

  Despite underlying sustainability issues like the sourcing of rare earth materials and cobalt, lithium and nickel, which are also used in the production of many other industrial or consumer electronics, fleet electrification is seen as an important step to decarbonize the emission-intensive transport and logistics sector. With large car companies introducing a wider range of PHEV and BEV models to their portfolio and leading U.S. BEV producer Tesla ramping up sales numbers over the past couple of years, progress towards this goal has increased significantly between 2020 and 2023 in the United States.

  However, EV sales only make up a fraction of total car sales. For example, data from WardsAuto released by the Argonne National Laboratory shows 1.4 million cars with plug-in hybrid or fully electric drive sold in the U.S. in 2023, the majority of which are BEVs. Overall sales of light trucks and passenger cars amounted to between 13.5 and 15.5 million in the same year, depending on the source.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 16:20

• COVID-19 And Vax Contributed To Increase In Rare Autoimmune Disease In 2021: Study
  COVID-19 And Vax Contributed To Increase In Rare Autoimmune Disease In 2021: Study

  Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Cases of a rare autoimmune disease surged between 2020 and 2022 in Yorkshire, England, peaking in 2021. COVID-19 infection and its vaccines possibly contributed to the rise, a recent study in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine found.

  

  The disease—melanoma differentiation-associated protein-5 (anti-MDA5) positive dermatomyositis, or anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis—is an inflammatory disease characterized by muscle weakness, skin rashes, and rapidly progressive lung disease.

  Anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis is very rare.

  In 2019, Yorkshire, which has a population of 3.6 million, reported two people testing positive for the disease. In 2020, there were nine. Cases peaked in 2021 with 35 new cases. The number then dropped to 16 new cases in 2022.

  The new autoimmune cases may have arisen from the COVID-19 virus and vaccine RNA interactions, the study’s senior author, Dr. Dennis McGonagle, clinical professor of medicine at the University of Leeds, told The Epoch Times.

  Besides the Lancet study, several case studies have documented new anti-MDA5 cases following COVID-19 infection or vaccination.

  What Is Anti-MDA5 Dermatomyositis

  Anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks itself. It can often appear without a clear cause.

  Dermatomyositis tends to affect the skin, muscles, and lungs. Anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis involves rapidly progressive lung disease, which lends the condition a poor prognosis.

  MDA5 is a protein present outside of muscles and tissues, especially prominent in the lungs. Therefore, when the body forms anti-MDA5 antibodies to attack MDA5, it can deteriorate related organs and tissues.

  MDA5 can detect and bind to foreign RNA, including COVID-19 RNA. Upon detection, it signals other immune cells to fight the foreign invader or vaccination.

  “We think that … [this happens] because MDA5 is the receptor or docking site for viral RNA, and that this in some way triggers the antibody against it,” Dr. McGonagle said.

  In a COVID-19 infection, MDA5’s binding to RNA can result in too much MDA5 activity as a response, Dr. Pradipta Ghosh, director of the Institute for Network Medicine at the University of California–San Diego and another corresponding author of the study, told The Epoch Times.

  COVID-19 patients were shown to have high MDA5 gene activity in their lung fluids, further suggesting that the virus might have triggered new MDA5 cases.

  Apart from anti-MDA5, 15 other autoantibodies can contribute to similar dermatomyositis diseases. The role of MDA5 in COVID-19 infection and vaccination may explain why, during the pandemic, only anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis cases increased while other autoantibodies involved in dermatomyositis did not.

  Between 2020 and 2022, all 60 new anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis patients in Yorkshire were evaluated. All developed symptoms.

  Over 40 percent developed interstitial lung disease and had a worse prognosis. Half died by the time the study was published.

  The authors noted that anti-MDA5 cases during the pandemic presented slightly differently than pre-pandemic cases.

  Compared to pre-pandemic, anti-MDA5 cases reported during the pandemic had a lower rate of lung disease and a lower death rate, said Dr. Ghosh. The disease also affected white people as opposed to Asians, who were the more predominant demographic previously.

  Pandemic-era patients tend to report skin-related conditions such as rashes, decreased blood flow to fingers, muscle aches, and so on.

  Coincidental Rise

  The peak of anti-MDA5 cases between April and July 2021 coincided closely with Yorkshire’s uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and occurred during a time of “higher community SARS-CoV-2 positivity during 2021,” the authors reported. Vaccinations started in Yorkshire in January 2021 and dropped off in October.

  Around 90 percent of the Yorkshire population was vaccinated, and 49 of the 60 cases had documented COVID-19 vaccination.

  Contrastingly, only 15 out of 60 had had a confirmed COVID-19 infection.

  While many people tested positive for COVID-19 at the time, the authors noted that anti-MDA5 cases did not rise immediately after a rise in COVID-19 cases.

  Other Reports

  In addition to the reports in Yorkshire, other studies have shown a link between anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis and COVID-19 and its vaccine.

  An Italian case study published in Frontiers in Immunology reported the case of an older, unvaccinated woman who developed anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis a month after her COVID-19 infection. She had joint pain and developed rashes and lesions on her chest, face, and hands.

  The authors argued that MDA5, which is involved in the activation of various cytokines, may precipitate inflammatory reactions when exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

  Another paper published in SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine reported an anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis case that occurred a week after COVID-19 vaccination. The researchers hypothesized that antibodies to spike proteins on the SARS-CoV-2 virus may cross-react with human proteins like MDA5.

  However, Dr. Ghosh said that while spike protein has been implicated in other autoimmune diseases, anti-MDA5 disease is caused by antibodies against MDA5, not spike.

  “I believe that we have a lot of work to do before we can begin to understand why or how our body responds to this virus, its particles, its RNA/protein—even the RNA encoding its key components we use as vaccine in the plethora of ways that it does,” she explained.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 15:45

• American & Foreigners Reportedly In Custody After Deadly Coup Attempt, Shootout In Congo 
  American & Foreigners Reportedly In Custody After Deadly Coup Attempt, Shootout In Congo 

  Military leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DR Congo) said they have put down an attempted coup in a dramatic Sunday incident which included a large shootout erupting in the capital of Kinshasa.

  At least three men have been reported killed, with two being police officers which engaged a team of armed attackers. The third deceased is said to be one of the gunman. A government spokesman has stated “The armed men attacked the Kinshasa residence of Vital Kamerhe, a federal legislator and a candidate for speaker of the National Assembly of DR Congo, but were stopped by his guards.”

  

  “The Honorable Vital Kamerhe and his family are safe and sound,” the spokesman announced on X. The attempted assassination failed, with the “situation under control” – according to the military, but the whole murky incident is raising eyebrows in the West as the army says it has detained some suspects who hold US and Canadian passports.

  The army has further said most of those behind the attempted coup were mostly foreigners and also identified Congolese citizens based abroad, according to initial reports. “There is no link between these people and the local army or members of security forces in Kinshasa,” an Al Jazeera correspondent has said based on official sources.

  However, some initial conflicting reports indicated Congolese soldiers may have been involved, but there’s a widely circulating video to have emerged showing opposition leader Christian Malanga apparently taking credit. Malanga says in the video, “Felix, you’re out. We are coming for you” – in reference to President Felix Tshisekedi. The ‘rebels’ are said to be part of the Malanga-aligned “New Zaire Movement”.

  Throughout the day there’s been a heavy military presence patrolling streets around the scene of the attack in the aftermath. The US Embassy in the capital has issued an emergency security alert to all Americans to maintain caution and vigilance on “reports of gunfire”. Various embassies, including Japan, are warning their nationals not to go outside of their homes or to shelter in place.

  Footage from the scene of the attack aftermath:

  🇨🇩 Dans cette vidéo réalisée ce matin au Palais de la Nation, on aperçoit Christian Malanga (qui se fait déjà appeler « Président Malanga » par son fils ) et ses hommes entrain de remplacer les drapeaux de la RDC 🇨🇩 avec les drapeaux du Zaïre pic.twitter.com/5xuXYmqRJ4

  — The Voice Of Congo (@VoiceOfCongo) May 19, 2024

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

  The conflict appears to be related to what were supposed to be elections held Saturday to install a new leader of parliament, but they were postponed under President Tshisekedi’s ruling party.

  According to more details via BBC:

  Witnesses say a group of about 20 assailants in army uniform attacked the residence and an exchange of gunfire followed. Two guards and an assailant were killed in the attack on Mr Kamerhe’s house, his spokesman and the Japanese ambassador said in posts on X.

  The men also occupied the Palais de la Nation, the office of the President of the Republic which is located in the city centre, a place highly secured by the Republican Guard.

  Authorities are urging calm later in the day Sunday: “An attempted coup d’etat has been put down by the defense and security forces. The attempt involved foreigners and Congolese. These foreigners and Congolese have been put out of action, including their leader,” said Congolese army spokesperson Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge.

  A regional correspondent for Canada’s Globe & Mail has said that Westerners are in custody, including at least one American, though this remains unconfirmed at a government official level:

  Benjamin Zalman-Polun, reportedly an American cannabis entrepreneur, was among about 20 men captured by Congo’s military today in Kinshasa after a failed rebellion led by Christian Malanga, head of a small political party in the DRC diaspora in the United States. https://t.co/tfqLdWYORp

  — Geoffrey York (@geoffreyyork) May 19, 2024

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

  “The armed forces of the DRC ask the population to go about their business freely and peacefully. The defense and security forces are in complete control of the situation,” Ekenge added.

  The president and his ruling party, Sacred Union of the Nation, have said they won’t “hesitate to dissolve the National Assembly and send everyone to new elections if these bad practices persist.”

  While little is confirmed at this point as to the identities of the detained, speculation is rampant amid a strange cast of individuals…

  The two other Americans were Malanga’s partners in the gold mining venture in Manica province, Mozambique. Cole Patrick Ducey had been involved in a patent dispute over a cannabis herb grinder, before moving to Eswatini. He was arrested during the attack. pic.twitter.com/yDdFwjxzfr

  — Ryan O’Farrell (@ryanmofarrell) May 19, 2024

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

  Congo has for decades been attempting to achieve stability while dealing with rampant corruption, high poverty and a huge population angry at elite politicians who oversee and vie for control of the immense mineral wealth. This has led to a perpetual state of internecine civil unrest and conflict.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 15:10

• Inflation Is A Policy. Gold Does Not Reflect Monetary Destruction, Yet
  Inflation Is A Policy. Gold Does Not Reflect Monetary Destruction, Yet

  Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

  The money supply is rising again, and persistent inflation is not a surprise. Inflation occurs when the amount of currency increases significantly above private sector demand. For investors, the worst decision in this environment of monetary destruction is to invest in sovereign bonds and keep cash. The government’s destruction of the purchasing power of the currency is a policy, not a coincidence.

  Readers ask me why the government would be interested in eroding the purchasing power of the currency they issue. It is remarkably simple.

  

  Inflation is the equivalent of an implicit default. It is a manifestation of the lack of solvency and credibility of the currency issuer.

  Governments know that they can disguise their fiscal imbalances through the gradual reduction of the purchasing power of the currency and with this policy, they achieve two things: Inflation is a hidden transfer of wealth from deposit savers and real wages to the government; it is a disguised tax. Additionally, the government expropriates wealth from the private sector, making the productive part of the economy assume the default of the currency issuer by imposing the utilization of its currency by law as well as forcing economic agents to purchase its bonds via regulation. The entire financial system’s regulation is built on the false premise that the lowest-risk asset is the sovereign bond. This forces banks to accumulate currency—sovereign bonds—and regulation incentivizes state intervention and crowding out of the private sector by forcing through regulation to use zero to little capital to finance government entities and the public sector.

  Once we understand that inflation is a policy and that it is an implicit default of the issuer, we can comprehend why the traditional sixty-forty portfolio does not work.

  Currency is debt and sovereign bonds are currency.

  When governments have exhausted their fiscal space, the crowding-out effect of the state on credit adds to the rising taxation levels to cripple the potential of the productive economy, the private sector, in favor of constantly rising government unfunded liabilities.

  Economists warn of rising debt, which is correct, but we sometimes ignore the impact on currency purchasing power of unfunded liabilities. The United States is enormous at $34 trillion, and the public deficit is intolerable at nearly $2 trillion per year, but that is a drop in the bucket compared with the unfunded liabilities that will cripple the economy and erode the currency in the future.

  The estimated unfunded Social Security and Medicare liability is $175.3 trillion (Financial Report of the United States Government, February 2024). Yes, that is 6.4 times the GDP of the United States. If you think that will be financed with taxes “for the rich,” you have a problem with mathematics.

  The situation in the United States is not an exception. In countries like Spain, unfunded public pension liabilities exceed 500% of GDP. In the European Union, according to Eurostat, the average is close to 200% of GDP. And that is only unfunded pension liabilities. Eurostat does not analyze unfunded entitlement program liabilities.

  This means that governments will continue to use the “tax the rich” false narrative to increase taxation on the middle class and impose the most regressive tax of all, inflation.

  It is not a coincidence that central banks want to implement digital currencies as quickly as possible. Central Bank Digital currencies are surveillance disguised as money and a means of eliminating the limitations of the inflationary policies of the current quantitative easing programs. Central bankers are increasingly frustrated because the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy are not fully under their control. By eliminating the banking channel and thus the inflation backstop of credit demand, central banks and governments can try to eliminate the competition of independent forms of money through coercion and debase the currency at will to maintain and increase the size of the state in the economy.

  Gold vs. bonds shows this perfectly. Gold has risen 89% in the past five years, compared to 85% for the S&P 500 and a disappointing 0.7% for the US aggregate bond index (as of May 17, 2024, according to Bloomberg).

  Financial assets are reflecting the evidence of currency destruction. Equities and gold soar; bonds do nothing. It is the picture of governments using the fiat currency to disguise the credit solvency of the issuer.

  Considering all this, gold is not expensive at all. It is exceedingly cheap. Central banks and policymakers know that there will be only one way to square the public accounts with trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities. Repay those obligations with a worthless currency.

  Staying in cash is dangerous; accumulating government bonds is reckless; but rejecting gold is denying the reality of money.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 14:35

• Israel's Wartime Government Fracturing As Top Minister Threatens To Quit
  Israel’s Wartime Government Fracturing As Top Minister Threatens To Quit

  Tensions within the Israeli government are exploding, after Defense Minister Yovav Gallant earlier this week called out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and gave him an ultimatum, demanding that a day-after plan be offered and approved by the government.

  “I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to make a decision and declare that Israel will not establish civilian control over the Gaza strip, that Israel will not establish military governance in the Gaza strip, and that a governing alternative to Hamas in the Gaza strip will be raised immediately,” Gallant said recently. 

  What’s more is that Washington is backing Gallant’s pressure campaign against Netanyahu. “We share the Defense Minister’s concern that Israel has not developed any plans for holding and governing territory the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] clears, thereby allowing Hamas to regenerate in those areas. This is a concern because our objective is to see Hamas defeated,” a senior Biden administration official told The Hill. 

  

  Gallant first issued his indictment days ago, but over the weekend Axios reported that a timetable has been issued. It was War Minister Benny Gantz’s turn to ratchet up the pressure, backing Gallant’s stance:

  Minister Benny Gantz, a notable member of Israel’s war cabinet, gave an ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and said his party will leave the government if the cabinet doesn’t approve a strategy for the war in Gaza by June 8.

  Gantz complained in the Saturday speech that the hardliners in Netanyahu’s coalition are “taking Israel into a wall” – a reference to ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Betzalel Smotruch. Gantz threatened to withdraw from the fragile coalition government which could collapse it.

  It didn’t take long over the weekend of the prime minister to issue a statement defying both his own top ministers and Washington. 

  The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office rejected Gantz threat in a fresh statement. “The conditions set by Benny Gantz are washed-up words whose meaning is clear: the end of the war and a defeat for Israel, the abandonment of most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state,” it said.

  Netanyahu further questioned Gantz and his political allies’ resolve to see the mission through. “Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks that the emergency government is important for achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages, and expects Gantz to clarify his positions to the public on these issues,” the statement continued.

  Gantz then hit back again in response to Netanyahu’s office, saying the prime minister should not “drag his feet for fear of the extremists in his government.”

  Anti-Netanyahu protests have meanwhile only grown larger and stronger…

  #TelAviv tonight: Tens of thousands are back on the streets calling for Netanyahu’s ouster.

  ▪️ Rallies held as War Cabinet Min Gantz issues an ultimatum to Netanyahu.

  ▪️ For the 1st time, Opposition Leader Lapid speaks at Tel Aviv rally. pic.twitter.com/iPvNvezHNz

  — Yonatan Touval (@Yonatan_Touval) May 18, 2024

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

  Critics of Netanyahu have accused the Israeli leader ultimately placing his own political survival above the true security interests of Israel. They’ve charged that his incentive is to prolong the conflict, and that this does further harm to the cause of bringing the hostages home.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 14:00

• University's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Violates US Constitution: Court
  University’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Violates US Constitution: Court

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

  A Colorado university’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal court has ruled.

  

  The Sept. 1, 2021, mandate “clearly violates the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause as interpreted by our precedents,” a majority of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said in the May 7 decision.

  While the mandate was later updated, the newer version also violates the Constitution, the judges said.

  The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in 2021 required COVID-19 vaccination of all students and employees. It initially offered religious exemptions to anyone who checked a box, but later said administrators would “only recognize religious exemptions based on religious beliefs whose teachings are opposed to all immunizations.”

  Officials, for instance, said that Christian Scientists would qualify for an exemption but Buddhists would not.

  They also said that exemptions would only be granted to people who never received any vaccinations.

  Medical exemptions, on the other hand, were available if a doctor said the prospective recipient’s health or life would be endangered.

  Seventeen students and employees, all of whose applications were denied, sued over the policy, alleging it was discriminatory.

  U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, in 2022 ruled that the plaintiffs did not show they would suffer irreparable harm absent a stay of the initial mandate, and that they had not met the burden of showing the updated mandate was not neutral.

  The case against the Sept. 1 mandate also became moot because the requirements were updated, the judge said.

  That ruling was wrong, according to the appeals court, in part because the initial mandate was used to fire two employee plaintiffs and Judge Moore placed the burden regarding mootness on the plaintiffs.

  Under the Sept. 1 policy, Anschutz administrators “rejected applicants’ beliefs based not on their sincerity, but rather on their perceived validity,” according to the new ruling. Even after receiving numerous pages of explanations of religious beliefs, each application was denied. Administrators rejected one application because officials claimed that it was “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines, judging any position otherwise as personal objections as opposed to religious ones.

  The policy was “explicitly non-neutral” since, according to a ruling in a separate case, the First Amendment does not allow governments to “discriminate in favor of some religions and against others,” the majority said.

  Policies that infringe on constitutional rights can survive under “strict scrutiny” if officials can prove they are justified by a “compelling state interest” and were “narrowly tailored in pursuit of that interest.” Anschutz said it was motivated by a desire to stem the spread of COVID-19, but “has not even attempted to explain why its interest is served by granting exemptions to practitioners of some religions, but not others,” according to the panel.

  The Sept. 24, 2021, policy was a purported update that was said to assess whether religious exemption requests were “made based on a sincerely-held religious belief” but evaluations conducted under that policy reached the same results, indicating the updated version “was a mere pretext to continue the Administration’s September 1 Policy,” the majority said. It said the updated version also failed the strict scrutiny test because it has a lower bar for medical exemptions than religious exemptions.

  U.S. Circuit Judge Allison Eid, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, authored the opinion. She was joined by Circuit Judge Jerome Holmes, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.

  Circuit Judge David Ebel, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, in a partial concurrence and dissent, said he agreed the Sept. 1 policy likely violated the First Amendment but that the Sept. 24 version fixed the constitutional issues.

  “The September 24 mandate is neutral toward religion and generally applicable,” he said.

  Defendants in the case included the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents and officials at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.

  The board and the school did not respond to requests for comment.

  The appeal was brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of the students and employees.

  “The University of Colorado ran roughshod overstaff and students of faith during COVID, and the court of appeals has now declared plainly what we’ve fought to establish for almost three years: the university acted with ‘religious animus’ and flagrantly violated the fundamental religious liberties of these brave healthcare providers and students,” Peter Breen, executive president of the society, said in a statement.

  “The court of appeals correctly ruled,” he added later, “that no government entity has the right to appoint itself as a doctrinal tribunal that defines which religious beliefs count as deeply and sincerely held and deem those religious beliefs valid or invalid.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/19/2024 – 13:25