• The Democratic Party Changed While We Stayed In Place
  The Democratic Party Changed While We Stayed In Place

  Authored by Josh Stylman via The Brownstone Institute,

  Let me start by saying I loathe politics. I’ve always been drawn to liberal ideas—individual freedom, protecting the vulnerable, questioning authority, and the fundamental belief that consenting adults should be free to live their lives however they choose as long as they’re not harming others. These aren’t political positions to me; they’re basic human principles. But the game of politics itself repulses me. What I’m about to share isn’t about politics; it’s about our shared reality and how we’ve lost touch with it.

  

  The Mindvirus

  What’s truly mind-numbing to me is how people don’t see what’s happening right in front of them. The media has devolved into nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the establishment, programming people to react rather than think. I’ve experienced this firsthand: When I drew historical comparisons between vaccine mandates and 1933 Germany’s early authoritarian policies, I was instantly labeled an extremist and cancelled by my NYC community. Yet now, these same people casually call everyone at Trump’s MSG rally Nazis. The irony would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

  My Liberal Foundation

  I still believe deeply in core liberal principles:

  • Genuine free speech, not the controlled corporate version we see today
  • Standing against establishment overreach
  • Opposing unchecked corporate power
  • Fighting against unnecessary wars
  • Complete bodily autonomy – your body, your choice, in ALL contexts
  • Defending individual rights consistently, not selectively

  These aren’t just political positions—they’re principles about human dignity and freedom.

  The Democratic Party’s Transformation

  The Democratic Party’s drift from these values didn’t happen overnight. Many of us, exhausted by Bush’s brutal wars, lies about weapons of mass destruction, and the Patriot Act’s assault on civil liberties, invested our hopes in Obama’s promise of change. But instead of the transformation we sought, we got what felt like Bush’s third and fourth terms.

  Under Obama, we watched as corporate influence grew stronger, not weaker. The Snowden revelations exposed massive surveillance programs. The housing crisis devastated ordinary Americans while Wall Street got bailouts. Rather than challenging institutional power, the Democratic establishment became increasingly entangled with it.

  The betrayal of liberal values became even clearer with Bernie Sanders. Like Trump, Bernie tapped into something real—a deep frustration with a system that had left ordinary Americans behind. Both men, from vastly different perspectives, recognized that working people were suffering while elites prospered. But the Democratic establishment couldn’t allow an actual progressive challenger. They used every trick in the book—from media manipulation to primary shenanigans—to block him from the nomination. Most disappointing was watching Bernie himself bend the knee to the same establishment he had railed against, leaving millions of supporters feeling betrayed and politically homeless.

  When Hillary Clinton emerged as the nominee, we were told rejecting her meant rejecting women’s leadership. But we weren’t rejecting female leadership—we were rejecting warmongering and corporate cronyism. What we needed was a leader embodying the feminine divine: qualities of compassion, understanding, nurturing wisdom, and the ability to truly listen. Instead, we got another hawk in the corporate establishment’s pocket. And when that failed, they doubled down on cynical identity politics with Harris.

  Today, the situation relating to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. perfectly exemplifies how far the party has fallen. Here was a lifelong Democrat, a member of the party’s most popular family, who wanted to challenge these corrupting influences—and they wouldn’t even let him on the debate stage. I firmly believe that had they given him the opportunity, he could have united the country and beaten Trump.

  But that reveals the truth: this was never about beating Trump. It was about ensuring they maintained control by installing another establishment stooge who wouldn’t challenge their power structure. His departure from the party isn’t just about one candidate; it’s the culmination of a long betrayal of liberal principles.

  The Politics of Distraction vs. Real Issues

  Take abortion rights. This is an incredibly nuanced issue with deeply held convictions on all sides. I’ve spoken with several constitutional lawyers who’ve explained that overturning Roe was legally sound—not a political decision but a constitutional one about federal versus state authority. That makes it even more telling that Democrats, when they had a supermajority, chose not to codify these protections into federal law. Instead, they’ve kept this issue unresolved, using it as a reliable tool to drive voter turnout every four years.

  While abortion access matters deeply to many Americans, we’re facing multiple crises that threaten the very foundation of our republic: inflation is crushing working families while Wall Street posts record profits; government surveillance of citizens has reached dystopian levels; and our regulatory agencies—the FDA and CDC—have been completely captured by corporate interests, approving one toxic product after another while our children are being poisoned by processed foods, environmental toxins, and experimental drugs.

  The climate crisis (or what some see as deliberate geoengineering) threatens our very survival. Our border is in complete chaos—while we send billions to foreign conflicts most Americans barely understand. All this while our own infrastructure crumbles and our nation grows more divided than ever.

  The hypocrisy around women’s rights is particularly telling. The same party that claims to champion women’s bodily autonomy pushed for mandatory experimental medical interventions, despite documented evidence of mRNA vaccines affecting women’s reproductive cycles and fertility. These effects were known from early trials, yet raising concerns got you labeled as “anti-science.” Meanwhile, they’ve insisted that biological males have access to women’s spaces—including locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports competitions—prioritizing fashionable ideologies over women’s safety and fair competition.

  The Democrats permanently lost any moral authority on bodily autonomy the moment they advocated for mandatory medical procedures—yet they continue to lecture us about it without a hint of self-awareness. Liberal principles aren’t a Chinese menu where you get to pick and choose which freedoms matter.

  Take Kamala Harris—she literally campaigned on “My body, my choice” while simultaneously mandating experimental Covid shots for her own campaign staff. You can’t claim to champion bodily autonomy in one breath and deny it in the next based on political convenience. Either you believe in individual liberty and bodily autonomy, or you don’t. There’s no à la carte option when it comes to fundamental human rights.

  

  The Corporate-State Fusion

  What we’re seeing today aligns disturbingly well with Mussolini’s definition of fascism: the merger of state and corporate power. Look at Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum promoting “stakeholder capitalism,” where corporations and governments form partnerships to control various aspects of society. The WEF’s corporate membership reads like a who’s who of Democratic Party megadonors: BlackRock, which donated millions to Biden’s campaign while pushing ESG policies that benefit their bottom line; Pfizer, which poured over $10 million into Democratic coffers while securing massive government contracts; Google and Meta, which not only donate heavily but actively suppress information challenging Democratic narratives.

  This isn’t a coincidence; it’s coordination. These same companies shape policy that enriches them: BlackRock advises on financial policy while managing government assets, Pfizer helps write drug approval guidelines while selling mandatory vaccines, and Big Tech collaborates with federal agencies to control information flow. We saw this play out in real time: from day one of the Biden administration, they created backdoor channels into social media companies to censor Americans’ speech about Covid, the 2020 election, and other sensitive topics.

  This isn’t a theory—it’s documented fact. Every major policy decision seems to benefit these corporate partners: vaccine mandates, digital currency initiatives, censorship programs, climate policies—all funneling money and power to the same corporations that fund the Democratic machine. When corporations and government work together to control information and behavior, that’s precisely the corporate-state fusion that classical liberals once fought against. The Democratic Party has become the party of corporate fascism while claiming to fight against it.

  The Democratic Facade

  The current administration embodies everything wrong with our system. Look at Kamala Harris—she dropped out of the 2020 presidential race before any primary, polling below 1%. Biden then selected her solely because he limited his pool to black women—not because of her qualifications, but because of identity politics. Her record as Senator was abysmal—she sponsored zero significant legislation and missed 84% of votes during her brief tenure. Then as Vice President, her role as border czar has been an unprecedented disaster—one the administration now tries to pretend never happened.

  And here’s the ultimate irony: this is the party screaming loudest about “threats to democracy,” yet they literally installed Harris as their candidate when nobody voted for her—she dropped out before a single primary vote was cast due to dismal polling. They wouldn’t even let their own members participate in primary debates. They’re lecturing us about democracy while actively suppressing democratic processes within their own party. When they say “democracy is on the ballot,” what they really mean is their controlled version of democracy where they pick the candidates and we’re supposed to fall in line.

  Nobody voted for her, and honestly, nobody really likes her—they just hate Trump more. They could prop up a steaming pile of manure as a candidate, and people would vote for it just to vote against Trump. But here’s the real question: If Trump is truly the democracy-ending threat they claim, why didn’t democracy end during his first term? And if Harris is the solution to our problems, why hasn’t she fixed anything while in office?

  The Trump Enigma

  My view on Trump has evolved, though not in the way many might expect. I didn’t vote for him in 2016 or 2020. Growing up in this region, I knew him only as a second-generation real estate developer—Woody Guthrie had written those critical lyrics about his father, “Old Man Trump.” At the time, I thought Donald was just another entitled heir who happened to opportunistically tap into something real. 

  But there’s so much more to this story. His connections to secret societies and the occult run surprisingly deep. His Trump Tower penthouse is essentially a Masonic temple, designed as a replica of Versailles with deliberate esoteric symbolism throughout. His mentor was a 33° Scottish Rite, and Roy Cohn’—master of blackmail and dark arts—shaped his early career. Most intriguingly, his uncle John Trump was the MIT scientist tasked with reviewing Nikola Tesla’s papers after his death—papers that allegedly contained world-changing technologies, from free energy to more exotic possibilities. I don’t know what it all means, but there’s clearly more to this story than the “orange man bad” narrative we’re fed.

  At this point, I see only three possibilities:

  1. He’s playing his part in a grand political wrestling match (WWF style)
  2. He’s a dueling bad guy (genuinely a thorn in the establishment’s side)
  3. He’s actually the hero of this story (which would be the most hilarious plot twist imaginable from the vantage point of someone like me)

  The Path Forward

  Candidly, I don’t know and at this point, any of these seem plausible. What I do know is what the blue team represents—their actions have made that crystal clear. But Trump remains a bit of a mystery to me. I have a hard time believing any politician could be our savior—real change has always come from the bottom up, not the top down. But something interesting happened that gave me a glimmer of hope: RFK, Jr. jumping on board.

  The RFK, Jr. situation is fascinating. Here’s a Kennedy—essentially Democratic royalty—teaming up with Trump after being shut out by his own party. This isn’t just any political alliance. RFK, Jr.’s deep understanding of the administrative state, from public health institutions to regulatory agencies, combined with his proven track record of exposing corporate capture and fighting pharmaceutical corruption, makes this particularly intriguing. Maybe, just maybe, this alliance could protect our children from harmful policies and unnecessary wars?

  I struggle with what comes next because I understand the gravity of our situation. Our republic is incredibly fragile—more fragile than most people realize. The Founders knew this, warning us about the difficulty of maintaining a democratic republic. But I refuse to give up on dialogue, even when it feels hopeless. If people don’t see what’s happening by now—the censorship, the mandates, the war-mongering, what appears to be intentional schismogenesis (I wrote about this idea here)—will they ever?

  The powers that profit from our division; they’ve mastered the art of keeping us fighting each other so we don’t look up to see who’s really pulling the strings. These aren’t just political issues—they’re existential challenges that require reasonable people to discuss complex solutions. Your neighbor who voted differently isn’t your enemy—they likely want many of the same things you do: safety, prosperity, freedom, and a better future for their children. They might just have different ideas about how to get there.

  I know this is heavy stuff. You might disagree with everything I’ve said, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is letting these disagreements destroy our relationships and communities. The choice isn’t just about who we vote for—it’s about how we treat each other, how we discuss our differences, and whether we can find common ground in our shared humanity.

  The way forward isn’t through hatred or fear. It’s through understanding, open dialogue, and most importantly, love. We might be living through the death throes of the American experiment, or we might be witnessing its rebirth. Either way, we’re in this together, and our strength lies in our ability to work through these challenges as a community, as neighbors, and as friends. Let’s choose wisdom over reaction, understanding over judgment, and love over fear. Our future depends on it.

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 23:20

• Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says
  Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says

  By Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times

  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the federal government will send a “a state-of-the-art drone detection system” to her state after a number of drone sightings across New York and New Jersey in recent days.

  

  While she did not elaborate on the system that will be deployed, it “will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” she said in a statement on the morning of Dec. 15.

  “I am grateful for the support, but we need more. Congress must pass a law that will give us the power to deal directly with the drones,” the governor wrote on social media platform X around the same time. She urged Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act that will give states “the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today.”

  It’s not clear whether the federal government sent a similar system to New Jersey, where most of the drone sightings have occurred, or in other states. Over the weekend, swarms of drones were spotted in other states along the East Coast, including Maryland.

  On Dec. 14, Hochul said that a drone sighting shut down Stewart International Airport, a small airport located in Orange County within the Hudson Valley.

  “Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace,” the governor said in a statement. “This has gone too far.”

  Hochul then called on the federal government to provide assistance in dealing with the unmanned vehicles, adding that federal rules make it difficult for the state to deal with drones.

  “Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential,” the governor also said. “Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”

  Federal officials in the past week have stressed that there is no evidence the drones pose a security or public safety threat to the United States, while also asserting the drones are not being operated by a foreign adversary such as Iran or China.

  On the morning of Dec. 15, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas suggested in an ABC News interview that the drones also were not flying around sensitive military sites.

  Despite the assurances from federal officials, multiple elected officials have called on the government to shoot the drones down.

  “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge,” President-elect Donald Trump wrote on social media over the weekend. “I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down.”

  Continue reading at The Epoch Times

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 22:10

• Suspicious OpenAI Whistleblower Death Ruled Suicide
  Suspicious OpenAI Whistleblower Death Ruled Suicide

  The November death of former OpenAI researcher-turned-whistleblower, 26-year-old Suchir Balaji was ruled a suicide, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

  

  According to the medical examiner, there was no foul play in Balaji’s Nov. 26 death in his San Francisco apartment.

  Balaji had publicly accused OpenAI of violating US copyright law with ChatGPT. According to the NY Times;

  He came to the conclusion that OpenAI’s use of copyrighted data violated the law and that technologies like ChatGPT were damaging the internet.

  In August, he left OpenAI because he no longer wanted to contribute to technologies that he believed would bring society more harm than benefit.

  “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he said during a recent series of interviews with The New York Times.

  The Times named Balaji a person with “unique and relevant documents” that the outlet would use in their ongoing litigation with OpenAI – which claims that the company, and its partner Microsoft, are using the world of reporters and editors without permission.

  In an October post to X, Balaji wrote: “I was at OpenAI for nearly 4 years and worked on ChatGPT for the last 1.5 of them. I initially didn’t know much about copyright, fair use, etc. but became curious after seeing all the lawsuits filed against GenAI companies. When I tried to understand the issue better, I eventually came to the conclusion that fair use seems like a pretty implausible defense for a lot of generative AI products, for the basic reason that they can create substitutes that compete with the data they’re trained on. I’ve written up the more detailed reasons for why I believe this in my post. Obviously, I’m not a lawyer, but I still feel like it’s important for even non-lawyers to understand the law — both the letter of it, and also why it’s actually there in the first place.”

  He then made a lengthy post on his personal blog outlining why he thinks OpenAI violates Fair Use. Four weeks later he was dead.

  Balaji, who grew up in Cupertino, California, studied computer science at UC Berkeley – telling the Times that he wanted to use AI to help society.

  “I thought we could invent some kind of scientist that could help solve them,” he told the outlet.

  But in 2022, after two years with OpenAI, Balaji grew concerned over the data he was assigned to gather for the company’s GPT-4 program, which was trained on virtually the entire internet. He told the Times that this violated US “fair use” laws.

  “Microsoft and OpenAI simply take the work product of reporters, journalists, editorial writers, editors and others who contribute to the work of local newspapers — all without any regard for the efforts, much less the legal rights, of those who create and publish the news on which local communities rely,” the Times said in its lawsuit.

  OpenAI has refuted the claims, saying all of its work is covered under fair use.

  “We see immense potential for AI tools like ChatGPT to deepen publishers’ relationships with readers and enhance the news experience,” the company said.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 21:35

• Cold Shoulder: Democrats Ignore Tulsi Gabbard's Request To Meet
  Cold Shoulder: Democrats Ignore Tulsi Gabbard’s Request To Meet

  Authored by Phillip Wegmann via American Greatness,

  The return of Tulsi Gabbard to Capitol Hill began with breakfast in the Senate dining room courtesy of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, followed by back-to-back meetings with other Republicans, all of whom were happy to welcome the former Hawaii Democrat and discuss her nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community.

  

  But members of her old political party, including one-time House colleagues, largely ignored her. It’s still early in the process, but Gabbard has been unable to schedule a single meeting with Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

  Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, outgoing chairman of the committee, has not responded to her requests for a meeting, according to a source directly familiar with Gabbard’s efforts. Others have replied to her outreach but remain hesitant about putting anything on the books. At least one Democrat scheduled a sit-down this week only to abruptly cancel.

  The cold shoulder comes nearly a month after President-elect Donald Trump picked Gabbard to be his director of national intelligence, two years after she quit a Democratic Party that she called “an elitist cabal of warmongers,” and immediately after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

  Gabbard met with the now-deposed dictator twice in 2017 while on a “fact-finding mission” to the war-torn country. These meetings proved to be an impediment when she ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

  “What do you say to Democratic voters who watched you go over there, and what do you say to military members who have been deployed repeatedly in Syria, pushing back against Assad?” Kasie Hunt asked two years later during an MSNBC interview.

  Gabbard replied that U.S. troops deployed there “without understanding what the clear mission or objective is.”

  Gabbard added that Assad was “not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.” Hillary Clinton promptly accused Gabbard, then a major in the Hawaii National Guard, of being a “Russian asset.”

  The Republicans who will control the Senate next year do not see the meeting with Assad eight years ago as disqualifying or insurmountable. Despite the suggestion of Democrats such as Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who recently worried that Gabbard “couldn’t pass a background check,” Republicans point out that as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Gabbard already has a top-secret security clearance. More than 250 military veterans co-signed a letter published Monday endorsing her as “a warrior whose vote cannot be bought.”

  Trump remains unbothered by the meeting with Assad. Asked by NBC News if the meeting “compromises her,” the president-elect all but rolled his eyes. “I met with Putin,” he said of the Russian president now sheltering the Syrian dictator. “I met with President Xi of China. I met with Kim Jong-un twice. Does that mean that I can’t be president?”

  Nonetheless, Gabbard will be grilled about her Syria meeting. Defense hawks, Republicans and Democrats alike, are expected to press her for details in committee and challenge her foreign policy views that some have described as “isolationist.” Allies of the president-elect prefer the term “America First.” And it is increasingly the new orthodoxy among a GOP base wary and weary of overseas entanglements.

  There is some evidence that skepticism of a muscular foreign policy has gained traction among younger Democrats and independents in the last four or five years. When Hillary Clinton questioned Gabbard’s logic and loyalty, Gabbard punched back. In a series of tweets, she called the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee “the queen of warmongers” and “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.”

  Upstart presidential candidate Andrew Yang took Gabbard’s side. “Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this,” Yang tweeted. “She literally just got back from serving our country abroad.”

  As Gabbard made the rounds Monday, the nominee mostly ignored shouted questions from reporters. The only public statement Gabbard made was a reiteration of the Trump policy announced over the weekend that the U.S. would stay out of Syria.

  “My own views and experiences have been shaped by my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism,” Gabbard said.

  “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bringing about an end to wars, demonstrating peace through strength, and putting the national security interests and the safety, security, and freedom of the American people, first and foremost.”

  Gabbard would oversee a vast intelligence apparatus if confirmed, a role of tremendous influence and significant authority over presidential intel briefings and issues of declassification. Sympatico with Trump, she has already earned support from very different corners of the GOP. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a skeptic of foreign intervention, endorsed her last month as did the much more hawkish South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who previously served in the same Army reserve unit with the nominee.

  She still holds out hope for Democratic support. The Senate Intelligence Committee, which prides itself on bipartisanship, unanimously advanced the nomination of Avril Haines, President Biden’s director of national intelligence, before the Senate confirmed her 84-10.

  But Gabbard isn’t starting from scratch. She knows at least one member of the committee already. New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, who now sits on the intel committee, once campaigned on behalf of Gabbard and called the then-little-known Hawaii politician “a rising star.”

  Republicans now lay claim to the lapsed Democrat, and the president-elect sees in Gabbard an opportunity to cement the political “realignment” that he heralded after winning the election.

  While Trump locked down the Republican faithful, he won the election by expanding his base to include what his longtime pollster John McLaughlin calls “disaffected Democrats.” These voters jumped ship, like Gabbard, and became MAGA converts, also like Gabbard. The question as Trump begins his second term, and as Republicans look to the next election without him atop the ticket, is whether the GOP can keep them.

  “Right now, these Trump voters, the Republican Party is just renting them,” McLaughlin told RealClearPolitics. Putting an ex-Democrat like Gabbard in a Republican cabinet, he said, would go a long way toward making those voters “permanent.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 21:00

• Trump Considers Privatizing US Postal Service That Lost $9.5 Billion In FY2024
  Trump Considers Privatizing US Postal Service That Lost $9.5 Billion In FY2024

  Donald Trump is fired up about finally giving the money-losing US Postal Service its long-overdue shove into the private sector, according to three sources who talked to the Washington Post. 

  Trump is said to have discussed the idea with Howard Lutnick, who’s co-chairing his transition team and who’s been tapped to serve as Commerce secretary in the new administration. He also held a meeting with various transition officials to exchange thoughts on privatization of the huge organization. Separately, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has held its own discussions about drastic action. 

  

  Last month, USPS disclosed that it posted a net loss of $9.5 billion for the 2024 fiscal year — a loss that was 46% worse than the service’s $6.5 billion deficit in 2023. The plunge came alongside a slight uptick in revenue enabled by the latest annual increase in postage rates, pursuant to the 2021 Delivering for America plan. That program was supposed to help the perennially-profitless behemoth “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence.” The service also has a crummy balance sheet, with nearly $80 billion in liabilities. 

  

  After reviewing the numbers, Trump stated his opinion that the Postal Service shouldn’t be subsidized by the government, the Post’s sources said. Casey Mulligan, a University of Chicago economics professor who served on Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, tells the Post it’s time for a major change:  

  “The government is slow, slow, slow — decades slow on adopting new ways of doing things, and there’s a lot of [other] carrier services that became legal in the ’70s that are doing things so much better with increased volumes and reduced costs. We didn’t finish the job in the first term, but we should finish it now.”

  

  The Postal Service is politically powerful — starting with its raw headcount: While you may not guess it given the long lines that typify a visit to a post office, USPS has a staggering 650,000 employees, who become  very active whenever privatization gains momentum. It’s also popular among Americans — 72% view it favorably, compared just 21% who view it unfavorably, according to a 2024 Pew Research poll. 

  Meanwhile, though a belief in small government is supposedly a GOP cornerstone, the postal service is particularly valued by people living in rural, Republican districts. Earlier this month, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley angrily confronted Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over a plan to save costs by slowing delivery for some mail, something that would affect rural areas more than urban ones. “I hate this plan and I’m going to do everything I can to kill it,” said Hawley in a Senate hearing.   

  

  In addition to having GOP control of the Senate and the House in the next legislature, Trump is positioned to fill three vacancies on the Postal Service’s 11-member board. (Biden has submitted nominees, but you can expect the Senate to ignore them through Jan 20.) Of the incumbents, three are Republicans, with two of them appointed by Trump in his first term. 

  Even if privatization doesn’t happen, Trump’s mere threat of pursuing it could help drive changes to the organization. As the Lexington Institute‘s Paul Steilder tells the Post… 

  “At the end of the day, the Postal Service is going to need money, it’s going to need assistance, or it’s going to have to come up with some radical, draconian measures to break even in the near term. That gives both the White House and Congress an awful lot of power and an awful lot of leeway here.”

  Sound good on paper…but, as evidenced by the “profit”-and-loss chart above, Congress has long shown a lack of urgency about seeing the USPS “break even in the near term.” Even with a president who’s fired about it — for now — we’re not convinced it will be any different this time. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 20:25

• This Week's Fed Meeting Is Barely On The Radar Screen
  This Week’s Fed Meeting Is Barely On The Radar Screen

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  It is unusual to say that I don’t really care that much about the FOMC meeting, but I don’t. Everything seems incredibly well telegraphed coming into this meeting.

  • Markets are pricing in a 93% chance of a 25 bp cut. We will get it.
  • Markets are pricing in an 87% chance of no cut in January. We won’t get a cut.

  The Fed tends not to deviate that much from market expectations, and the next two meetings appear pretty cut and dry right now, without some unforeseen large data (or geopolitical) surprises.

  The hawkish sentiment expected is appropriate:

  • The only real weakness in the jobs data recently has been in the often (and rightfully) maligned Household Survey. The margin for error in the Establishment Survey is big enough to drive a truck through it, and the Household Survey margin for error would let you drive a tanker ship (while blindfolded in rough seas) through it. The two surveys often deviate, significantly and over extended periods of time, but if we get any “normalization” we should see unemployment rates decrease in the coming months.
  • Inflation is proving to be sticky. As companies purchase inventory ahead of potential tariffs, we will see inflation remain sticky. Many investors and business owners are seeing the surge in NFIB Small Business Optimism (as one concrete example) and we are likely to see people prepare for that growth, which should keep prices elevated.
  • Seasonality. We have argued that the seasonal adjustments have been off for two main reasons:
    • Shifting demographics. Basically, any upward adjustment for construction in the winter to account for Northeast slowdowns is erroneous now that the bulk of construction has shifted away from that region.
    • Including COVID-era data. The timing of COVID lockdowns and re-openings has been included in the data and tends to create adjustments that overstate the strength of the economy in the winter and understate it in the summer.
  • So seasonal adjustments should contribute to (artificially) higher inflation and jobs data in the coming months. It won’t be as impactful as last year, or the year before, but it will be a factor and will “manufacture” or “create” data that keeps the Fed on the sidelines.

  Even the Neutral Rate seems to have settled into around 3.75% towards the end of 2025, which is hard to argue with (I think it should be 4%, but that would be quibbling since we had the move from 2.875% over the past few months). Nothing the Fed says at this presser is likely to move the needle on the neutral rate, since I think they had every intention of getting the market to price it higher, and they have been successful.

  Drones are the 1st Thing I Search For (mostly on X and news sources, not the skies)

  Drones, especially the ones that have been over New Jersey for weeks (but are apparently being seen elsewhere), have become fascinating. Even President-elect Trump tweeted about them (though I’d be shocked if he hasn’t been briefed, or at least had the opportunity to be briefed).

  It is fascinating and makes me think a lot about Twilight Zone episodes (just in time for hopefully some Twilight Zone marathons during the holidays).

  Academy’s Geopolitical Intelligence Group has been discussing them, but so far, nothing conclusive is emerging, which again adds to the “Twilight Zone nature” of this drone phenomenon.

  As we get info that can be shared (and we have a high degree of faith in its accuracy), I’m sure we will send out a SITREP, but in the meantime, everyone is left speculating. However, while the rough consensus is that these are almost certainly ours, we aren’t really sure why the details aren’t being released (especially when there is so much curiosity).

  Some Trump 1.5 Pleasant “Surprises”

  Two things struck me as very interesting in the past week. I would say “out of character,” but they aren’t really out of character once you think about them.

  Inviting Xi to the inauguration. Given all the rhetoric about China, unfair practices, tariffs, etc., it was easy to be surprised by this invitation. But that’s only because “we” forgot to account for how much Trump believes he can influence people in personal meetings. It is very interesting, though in the back of my mind, this time seems “different.” According to a few of our GIG members, he feels strongly that Xi failed to live up to promises on the purchases of certain agricultural products.

  Getting rid of Daylight-Saving Time. I don’t think it was a campaign promise, but who doesn’t agree with the idea of keeping it lighter later in the day? Let’s remember not to forget that Trump wants people to like him, so why wouldn’t he embrace something that very few people would seem to disagree with (and I really can’t think of the reasons to disagree with this).
  In the meantime, while President Biden is still the president and making headlines of his own, it is pretty clear that wherever possible, people have moved on to positioning themselves for the new Trump administration. Hence our use of the term – “Trump 1.5.”

  I still expect some “chaos” as Trump thrives (or believes he thrives) in chaotic environments and things seem to be a little too complacent right now.

  How High Can Yields Go?

  

  While I don’t care that much about this week’s FOMC, I do care a lot about where longer dated yields are headed.

  • I haven’t liked how the moves to higher yields have generally been unidirectional (if that is a word). Despite all the positive messaging from DOGE, there is renewed concern about the path of the deficit.
  • I did enjoy Treasury Secretary Yellen expressing “regret” that they didn’t do more to contain the deficit, since it wasn’t very apparent that any time was spent on trying to control the deficit. Until the voters make it clear that the deficit scares them (and I don’t really think that was part of the message that voters sent at this election), both sides will continue to spend, because it generally helps them.
  • If we are correct on inflation, jobs, and seasonal effects, there are some more problems out there for the rates market. We thought 4.4% and higher in the aftermath of the election was overdone and highly susceptible to a short squeeze. I don’t see that right now (and we haven’t seen it since it was at 4.2%). If anything, while we have been steadfast that the risk of a gap higher of 50 bps is far more likely than a similar gap to lower yields, we must take our range up to the 4.4% to 4.6% area on 10s.

  Bearish the longer end of the yield curve (10s through 30s), though we will see how the market responds here to what seems like resistance.

  Refine Baby Refine

  While guest hosting on Bloomberg TV Tuesday morning (link), I was able to ask Ellen Wald (an energy expert) about not just “drill baby drill,” but also about refining (starts at the 36:25 mark).

  Her response fit perfectly into a couple of our themes:

  • We need to not just focus on the extraction of commodities, but also on the processing!
    • She did say that “Refine Baby Refine” would be a more important goal for the U.S. (citing that under 20% of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve can be refined in the United States).
  • Challenging NIMBY (not in my backyard) and reviewing regulations that were put in place when we were the sole superpower (economically and militarily) and the world seemed to be on course for further globalization, rather than deglobalization with a series of hot wars!

  I think that betting on infrastructure and anything critical that we are required to extract from the earth (and process), especially in areas of importance to the nation’s ability to be independent of foreign suppliers, will do very well in the coming year. Yes, the stock market is all about a handful of stocks again, but we think that this thesis will be our biggest recommendation to start the new year.

  Crypto

  We spent time on this in last weekend’s The Genius of Mariah Carey, but I think I have underestimated how much higher this can all go.

  • The donations were so big and so one-sided that they definitely contributed significantly to the win. That is unlikely to be ignored. The wealth being created in the crypto space allows for even bigger donations going forward. I had thought about that, but was convinced by one of our advisory board members that I was heavily underestimating the power that this donation base currently provides to the administration. It does seem a bit like a Twilight Zone episode, but it is a convincing argument (and the administration is filled with crypto advocates).
  • Trump can control it. We’ve argued that Trump likes things that he can “control” and if his goal is to have it go higher (and that appears to be his goal) then he certainly can do a lot to make it go higher. He can probably do a lot more to move the price of Bitcoin significantly (in a direction of his choosing) than he can with the dollar! While I think over time he won’t have that connection, I’m probably wrong that the timing is any time soon.

  Not sure I can make myself buy up here. Virtually every historical use case has failed, except that now the “limited supply” theme seems to be helping it rise. I have to admit, the “digital gold” rebranding is also interesting as advocates beg big governments to adopt it as a reserve asset.

  Maybe I can convince myself to add some ETH to the portfolio? Logically I struggle with the value proposition, but this market has always been about flow and adoption, and it seems to be on their side right now.

  Bottom Line

  The FOMC will be boring, but that won’t stop 10-year yields from rising further.

  Stocks have had almost no breadth, we’ve seen some valuations hit extreme levels, and we just had the Nasdaq 100 rebalancing announced, etc., but it is difficult to fight especially when a major player in the chip industry can still surprise the market to the point that it had a record setting rise (for them) which was big enough to drag that entire sector of the market higher. As a contrarian, it is difficult to judge sentiment and positioning when so many people seem checked out, so keep looking for some trading ranges, and wait for a real “consensus” type of trade as we near the new year. I think (officially) the Santa rally starts this week.

  I will “refine” the “refine baby refine” viewpoint as I do think that could be the best risk/reward theme out there, if we can identify it properly.

  Credit, boring. I cannot say that I like it here and now, but spreads still seem unlikely to do much. I will stick to my argument that I do NOT like credit on an all-in yield basis, and investors should still be reducing their yield exposure, while corporations should take advantage of the ongoing window to issue more!

  Crypto, feels like another pump and dump, but this pump seems like it could have a lot more legs to it.

  Have a great week, and we can only hope that we find out what all these drones are up to sooner rather than later as, to quote Rod Serling: “So, if you’re ever feeling like you’ve entered a strange new world, just remember, you might have crossed into….the Twilight Zone.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 19:50

• Bird Or Drone? Mystery Behind What Struck AAL Flight 1722 During Departure From NYC
  Bird Or Drone? Mystery Behind What Struck AAL Flight 1722 During Departure From NYC

  An American Airlines flight departing from LaGuardia and bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, was forced to make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday night after what authorities described as a “bird strike” that caused an engine fire. However, given the ongoing mystery of drone sightings in the New Jersey-New York City airspace, one can’t help but wonder…

  American Airlines flight AAL1722 departed LaGuardia on Thursday night en route to Charlotte and suffered what authorities said was a bird strike on departure. A spokesperson for the airline said none of the 190 passengers or six crew members were hurt during the incident. 

  According to NBC New York, the plane landed without incident at JFK minutes later. 

  

  A verified video of the incident from a passenger’s smartphone shows the moment an object was sucked into one of the plane’s jet engines. 

  NBC New York cited a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration that explained the object was, in fact, a “bird.” 

  However, not everyone was convinced. 

  REPORT: COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT HITS DRONE?
  American Airlines Flight 1722 From LaGuardia, New York Thursdat Night To Charlotte Reportedly Suffered A “Bird Strike” Causing Emgine Damage.
  The Flight Made Emergency Landing.
  Freeze Frames Appear To Show A POSSIBLE DRONE, Not A Bird. pic.twitter.com/ukKBchfFNW

  — John Basham (@JohnBasham) December 14, 2024

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

  Meteorologist John Basham wrote on X, “Freeze Frames Appear To Show A POSSIBLE DRONE, Not A Bird.” 

  

  Hmm.

  Yep!

  — John Basham (@JohnBasham) December 14, 2024

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

  “Looks Too Big To Be A Bird. I’d Love For @AmericanAir To Post Images Of The Damage To The Engine. If There Was A Bird Strike, I’d Expect To See Biological Remnants,” Basham pointed out.

  Looks Too Big To Be A Bird.
  I’d Love For @AmericanAir To Post Images Of The Damage To The Engine.
  If There Was A Bird Strike, I’d Expect To See Biological Remnants.

  — John Basham (@JohnBasham) December 14, 2024

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

  Thursday night’s incident comes amid exploding mass hysteria surrounding drone sightings in the area. Some speculate the drones may be part of the government’s nuclear drone sniffer taskforce, while others suggest it could be a psyop.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 19:15

• Abu Mohammad al-Julani: Putting Lipstick On A Pig
  Abu Mohammad al-Julani: Putting Lipstick On A Pig

  Via The Cradle

  Just in time for the Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) lightning conquest of Syria, a western PR campaign was launched to rebrand the terror group’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani. 

  The BBC assured their readers that Julani, now commonly referred to as Ahmed al-Sharaa – which is his real name – had “reinvented himself,” while the Telegraph insisted that the former deputy to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is now “diversity friendly.”

  

  On December 6, just days before entering the capital Damascus, Julani sat down with CNN journalist Jomana Karadsheh for an exclusive interview to explain his past.

  “Julani says he has gone through episodes of transformation through the years,” CNN wrote, after he assured Karadsheh “no one has the right to eliminate” Syria’s Alawites, Christians, and Druze.”

  But why was Julani so eager to convince the American public that he had no plans to exterminate Syria’s religious minorities? This question looms larger when recalling the massacre of 190 Alawites in Latakia on August 4, 2013, and the taking of hundreds more as captives. 

  Back then, militants from HTS (then the Nusra Front), ISIS, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) attacked 10 villages, slaughtering civilians in ways documented by Human Rights Watch: gunshot wounds, stabbings, decapitations, and charred remains. “Some corpses were found in a state of complete charring, and others had their feet tied,” the report stated.

  Another useful US asset 

  Fast forward to recent years, and Julani’s “transformation” seems less about repentance and more about utility. Despite HTS remaining on the US terror list – and an American bounty of $10 million reserved for Julani himself – former US special envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, described the group as a strategic “asset” for US operations in Syria. 

  Under the guise of countering extremism, Washington pursued a dual strategy: enforcing crushing economic sanctions on Syria – of the sort that killed 500,000 Iraqi children in the 1990s –  while ensuring its wheat-abundant and oil-rich regions remain under US control. 

  Ambassador Jeffrey admitted to PBS in March 2021 that Julani’s HTS was the “least bad option of the various options on Idlib, and Idlib is one of the most important places in Syria, which is one of the most important places right now in the Middle East.”

  But how did Julani ascend to power in Idlib? His Nusra Front spearheaded the 2015 conquest under the banner of Jaish al-Fatah (the Army of Conquest), a coalition that combined Nusra suicide bombers with Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters equipped with CIA-supplied TOW missiles. Foreign Policy hailed the campaign’s swift progress, crediting this synergy of jihadists and western arms.

  Years later, US official Brett McGurk would label Idlib “the largest Al-Qaeda safe haven since 9/11.” Yet, the crucial role of US weapons and strategic aid in this outcome went unmentioned. 

  Assistance from Tel Aviv and Brussels too 

  This assistance extended beyond arms: the Financial Times (FT) reported that in response, EU foreign ministers “lifted an oil embargo against Syria to allow rebels to sell crude to fund their operation.” 

  While the FSA claimed control of the oil fields, activists openly acknowledged that the Nusra Front was the true beneficiary, trucking barrels to Turkiye for refining or export to Europe. The arrangement netted Nusra millions before ISIS seized the fields a year later.

  Academic and Syria expert Joshua Landis noted the importance of controlling the oil fields, explaining that “Whoever gets their hands on the oil, water, and agriculture holds Sunni Syria by the throat” and that “the logical conclusion from this craziness is that Europe will be funding Al-Qaeda.”

  Behind the scenes, western and regional powers facilitated Julani’s ascent. Israeli airstrikes supported Nusra during clashes with Syrian forces, while outgoing Israeli Army Chief Gadi Eisenkot admitted to supplying “light weapons” to rebel groups – essentially acknowledging what the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had been reporting for years to “discredit the rebels as stooges of the Zionists.”

  Previous reports in the Wall Street Journal showed that Israel had for years provided humanitarian and medical aid to “rebels” in southern Syria, including by bringing Nusra fighters across the border into Israel for treatment. 

  In an interview with The American Conservative in border village Beit Jinn, militants revealed that Israel had been paying salaries – to the tune of $200,000 per month – for the entire year before HTS troops were expelled from the area by the SAA and fled to Idlib.

  Meanwhile, the US oversaw a “cataract of weaponry” to Syria’s opposition, as described by the New York Times. Though publicly earmarked for the FSA, these arms frequently ended up in Nusra’s hands.

  Julani’s meteoric rise began years earlier, seeded by his ties to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and its Jordanian leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The latter, whose activities conveniently justified the US invasion of Iraq, operated with tacit US acknowledgment. 

  pic.twitter.com/HePk8igzKa

  — Narragonia4 (@Laellenkoenig) December 11, 2024

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

  Julani followed a similar trajectory, emerging as a key player in the Nusra Front, which conducted bombings in Damascus and other cities in 2011 and 2012, with attacks initially misattributed to the Syrian government.

  A salafist principality

  Why did the EU choose to “fund Al-Qaeda” by dropping oil sanctions? Why did the US provide a “cataract of weaponry” to Nusra?

  An August 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report revealed that the US and its regional allies supported the establishment of a “Salafist principality” in eastern Syria and western Iraq as part of the effort to depose president Bashar al-Assad and divide the country.

  The DIA report said a radical religious mini-state exactly of the sort later established by ISIS as its “caliphate” was the US goal, even while admitting that the so-called Syrian revolution seeking to topple Assad’s government was being driven by “Salafists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and al-Qaeda.”

  The seeds of the Salafist principality were planted when late ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi dispatched Julani to Syria in August 2011 – at that time, Baghdadi’s group was known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

  Prominent Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada, who was embedded with Al-Qaeda fighters from Lebanon in Syria, met Julani in the central Syrian city of Homs at this time. Mortada informs The Cradle that Julani was being hosted by the Farouq Brigades, an FSA faction based in the city.

  Contrary to media reports, Farouq commanders insisted the group was not comprised of defectors from the Syrian army. Instead, they said Farouq was a sectarian Salafist group that included fighters who had fought for Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) after the 2003 US invasion. 

  A few months later, Julani and his fighters secretly entered the war against the Syrian government by carrying out multiple terror attacks. In Damascus on December 23, 2011, Julani sent suicide bombers to target the General Security Directorate in Damascus, killing 44, including civilians and security personnel.

  Two weeks later, on 6 January 2012, Julani sent another suicide bomber to detonate explosives near a bus in the Midan district of Damascus, killing some 26 people.

  The establishment of the “Support Front for the People of the Levant,” or the Nusra Front, was revealed after a videotape was provided to journalist Mortada showing Julani and other masked men announcing the group’s existence and claiming responsibility for the attacks, which opposition activists had blamed on the Syrian government itself.

  The great prison release

  Julani’s rise, however, was facilitated years earlier. In what has been dubbed the “Great Prison Release of 2009,” the US military freed 5,700 high-security detainees from Bucca Prison in Iraq. Among these was Julani, alongside future ISIS leaders like Baghdadi. Craig Whiteside of the US Naval War College described Camp Bucca as “America’s Jihadi University,” emphasizing the role of these releases in revitalizing the Islamic State of Iraq – which had been nearly defeated by Sunni tribal uprisings.

  “The United States is often unjustly blamed for many things that are wrong in this world, but the revitalization of ISIL [ISIS] and its incubation in our own Camp Bucca is something that Americans truly own,” Whiteside wrote. 

  “The Iraqi government has many enemies, and the United States helped put many of them out on the street in 2009. Why?” Whiteside wondered, not realizing they would be sent to Syria as part of the US’s covert war to topple Bashar al-Assad.

  More alarming today is the prospect of HTS releasing thousands of ISIS fighters from US–Kurdish prisons in Syria’s north to expand their ranks. It wouldn’t be the first time. This past July, American-backed Kurds released around 1,500 ISIS prisoners from detention camps, which the US military describes as an ISIS “army in waiting.”

  The question of who Abu Mohammad al-Julani is – his motivations, ideologies, and transformations – is ultimately less important than what he represents. Over the past two decades, one fact remains consistent: Julani is a tool of US and Israeli strategy.

  From his early days in Iraq to his rise as the leader of the Nusra Front and later HTS, Julani has played a pivotal role in advancing the geopolitical interests of his benefactors. Whether branded a terrorist or a “blazer-wearing” moderate, his actions have consistently served as a means to destabilize Syria and the wider West Asian region. 

  Julani’s “reinvention” is no more than a veneer designed to mask the enduring reality of his role: a strategic asset in a game where ideology is secondary to power.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 18:40

• Jordan Peterson Flees "Totalitarian Hellhole" Canada For U.S. Due To Censorship, Taxes
  Jordan Peterson Flees “Totalitarian Hellhole” Canada For U.S. Due To Censorship, Taxes

  There were a number of celebrities claiming they’d move to Canada if President Trump was re-elected, but now there’s one Canadian who’s doing the opposite.

  World famous psychologist Jordan Peterson has said Canada is turning into a “totalitarian hellhole” by suppressing free speech and has fled Canada as a result, according to the New York Post.

  In a recent episode of his daughter’s podcast, Peterson revealed he moved to the U.S. due to Canada’s contentious Bill C-63 and his dispute with the College of Psychologists of Ontario.

  Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, seeks to curb hate speech by holding social media platforms accountable for reducing harmful content.

  Peterson said: “The issue with the College of Psychologists is very annoying, to say the least, and the new legislation that the liberals are attempting to push through, Bill C-63, we’d all be living in a totalitarian hellhole if it passes.”

  

  The New York Post writes that the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association warned the bill could lead to wrongful convictions, while others criticized it for allowing complaints based on mere “fear” of a hate crime. In response, the Canadian government recently decided to split the bill into two parts, separating free speech concerns from child protection measures.

  Meanwhile, Jordan Peterson, facing criticism for his views on transgenderism, racism, and COVID-19, remains at odds with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. The college threatened to revoke his license unless he completes social media re-education training—a decision upheld by Canada’s Supreme Court in August after Peterson’s appeal was dismissed.

  Peterson also cited Canada’s high cost of living under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a factor in his decision to leave.

  “The tax situation is out of hand,” he concluded. “The government in Canada at the federal level is incompetent beyond belief, and it’s become uncomfortable for me in my neighborhood in Toronto.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 18:05

• Israel To Deploy Remote Automated Weapons In West Bank For First Time
  Israel To Deploy Remote Automated Weapons In West Bank For First Time

  Via Middle East Eye

  The Israeli military is preparing to deploy remotely controlled automated weapons across occupied West Bank checkpoints to target Palestinians, according to a report by the Israeli Army Radio on Sunday.

  The system, named “Roeh-Yoreh” (“See-Fires”), is an advanced weaponry structure developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It includes a tower with sophisticated surveillance equipment and a remote-controlled lethal fire mechanism. 

  

  Since its introduction into the Israeli military arsenal in 2008, the system has been exclusively used in Gaza, where it was deployed along the security fence to target Palestinians approaching the barrier. 

  According to Army Radio, the move to use the system in the West Bank comes despite its limited effectiveness in repelling the Hamas-led October 7 attacks out of Gaza. 

  In the early hours of the assault, Hamas used drones to hit the tower-mounted weapons, disabling them with ease and allowing fighters to cross the boundary into Israel. 

  The Israeli military plans to deploy dozens of Roeh-Yoreh systems in strategic locations across the West Bank, including settlement entrances and key control points, according to the report.

  The goal, it added, was to prevent armed attacks and infiltrations into illegal Israeli settlements. The manufacturing of these systems for the West Bank has already begun. 

  Initially, they will be installed at high-risk locations by the Israeli military, with plans to expand deployment to additional sites.

  According to the report, the 636 Reconnaissance Unit of the West Bank Division will operate the systems, amid rising Israeli concerns about growing security threats in the territory. 

  Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, which have been constructed since they were captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Under international law, settlement construction in an occupied territory is illegal.

  

  Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October last year, violence by the army and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has skyrocketed. 

  At least 800 Palestinians from the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war began, with around 6,500 more wounded, according to Palestinian health officials. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 17:30

• Police In China Test Indestructible Ball Shaped Robot That Can "Identify And Chase Suspects"
  Police In China Test Indestructible Ball Shaped Robot That Can “Identify And Chase Suspects”

  Move over, BB-8: police in China are now testing a ball-shaped robot that “can identify and chase suspects” for the first time. 

  The spherical police robot in Wenzhou, China, features cameras, flashing lights, and a self-stabilizing design, according to the South China Morning Post. Equipped with tools like tear gas, it supports law enforcement and “cannot be smashed”.

  Authorities say it is also “resilient in hostile environments.”

  Developed by Zhejiang University’s College of Control Science and Engineering, the 125kg spherical robot addresses challenges faced by wheeled and legged robots. According to Associate Professor Wang You, it can reach a top speed of 35km/h in just 2.5 seconds, Wenzhou Daily reported.

  Wang You said: “This robot can cope with dangers such as falling or being beaten, and can perform tactical actions such as enemy identification, tracking and capture after modular modification.”

  

  “Because it can complete tasks in hostile environments, it can make up for the deficiencies of [Wenzhou police] drones and robot dogs,” Wang added. 

  The SCMP writes that the spherical robot remains functional even under attack, navigating crowds and harsh environments with ease. Equipped with speakers, net guns, and tear-gas sprayers, it enhances patrol efficiency and crisis response.

  The robot is part of China’s push for hi-tech innovation in policing. In March, the Ministries of Public Security and Industry issued a call for robot applications in areas like patrols, border defense, and evidence collection.

  Examples of robot use will be showcased later for promotion in future initiatives. This week, Chengdu police deployed robots in commercial areas to prevent mob violence. In a simulated fight, a robot flashed lights, announced, “Win the fight, go to jail; lose the fight, go to the hospital,” and alerted nearby officers via text.

  What could go wrong?

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 16:55

• Pelosi Recovering After Hip Surgery In Europe
  Pelosi Recovering After Hip Surgery In Europe

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

  Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) underwent hip replacement surgery in Europe on Dec. 14, according to her spokesperson, who said the California Democrat is well on her way to recovery.

  “Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend,” Pelosi’s spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement Saturday morning.

  The spokesman conveyed Pelosi’s gratitude to U.S. military staff at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany and to medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their “excellent care and kindness.” LRMC is the largest American military hospital outside the United States, while Hospital Kirchberg is a civilian hospital providing a range of medical services. It’s not clear at which facility Pelosi was operated on.

  “Speaker Pelosi is enjoying the overwhelming outpouring of prayers and well wishes and is ever determined to ensure access to quality health care for all Americans,” the spokesperson added.

  A day prior, Krager announced that Pelosi sustained an injury while on an official engagement as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg and had to be hospitalized. He did not provide any further details about the injury but noted that Pelosi was receiving “excellent treatment” and “continues to work.”

  

  Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who joined the trip, shared on social media that he was “praying for a speedy recovery” for Pelosi. A group photo taken Friday at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg showed the two lawmakers holding hands.

  “I’m disappointed Speaker Emerita Pelosi won’t be able to join the rest of our delegation’s events this weekend as I know how much she looked forward to honoring our veterans. But she is strong, and I am confident she will be back on her feet in no time,” McCaul wrote.

  McCaul is leading the congressional delegation. Participants plan to take part in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in both Luxembourg and Belgium, along with veterans and their families, active duty service members, government and military officials, and foreign dignitaries.

  Over a career spanning seven presidential administrations, Pelosi has been a prominent figure in Washington. She first served as House speaker from 2007 to 2011 and again in 2019 after Democrats regained control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

  In November, Pelosi secured reelection in California’s 11th Congressional District, which includes most of San Francisco. The victory marked Pelosi’s 20th term in the House of Representatives. She stepped down as House speaker in 2023 but continues to serve in the chamber.

  Pelosi also played a pivotal role in passing President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2022.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 16:20

• Dramatic Video Shows Black Sea Storm Splitting Russian Oil Tanker In Half
  Dramatic Video Shows Black Sea Storm Splitting Russian Oil Tanker In Half

  Two Russian oil tankers sustained severe damage in heavy seas in the Kerch Strait, a strait in Eastern Europe that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.

  

  The Telegraph reports that the Volgoneft-212 tanker and Volgoneft-239 were damaged near Moscow-annexed Crimea, with one of the vessels breaking apart, killing at least one sailor, and causing an oil spill.

  Volgoneft-212 was transporting 4,300 tons of fuel oil. Likely similar load on the Volgoneft-239. Both were over 130 meters long.
  Last GPS location showed 212 just north of the Kerch Bridge, while 239 was just south of the bridge. pic.twitter.com/2fMZMyHENW

  — Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) December 15, 2024

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

  Additional reporting from the Telegraph:

  Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible “safety violations” after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking, footage published by state media showed, with waves washing over its deck.

  The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said.

  “There was a spill of petroleum products,” said Russia’s water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot.

  A second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was drifting after sustaining damage, the emergency ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973.

  Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes oil products.

  “Two Russian tankers carrying fuel oil — Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 — are sinking in the Kerch Strait,” Belarusian media outlet NEXTA wrote on X. 

  This is an unverified video. 

  Two Russian tankers carrying fuel oil — Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 — are sinking in the Kerch Strait. pic.twitter.com/XjeUlj1i8N

  — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 15, 2024

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

  On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin ordered Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev to lead a rescue mission for the sailors on board the two tankers and mitigate the fuel spill. This directive was conveyed via the Kremlin’s Telegram channel.

  Ukraine has previously deployed kamikaze stealth boats in the area to attack Russian military vessels. However, Kyiv has not commented on the current situation in the strait.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 15:45

• "Falling Off A Cliff": This Chart Proves That We Are In A Major Economic Downturn Right Now
  “Falling Off A Cliff”: This Chart Proves That We Are In A Major Economic Downturn Right Now

  Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

  The number of job openings in the United States has been “falling off a cliff”, and that is a major red flag.  

  

  The last four years have been an economic nightmare for most Americans, and that is one of the primary reasons why Donald Trump won the election.  But as we approach 2025, things are starting to get frighteningly bad.  When the number of job openings in the U.S. drops by 2 million or more, that normally signals that we are either in a recession or that one is about to happen.  Well, as you can see from this chart that was posted by Bravos Research on Twitter, we are witnessing a collapse in job openings that is absolutely unprecedented…

  

  I was floored when I saw that chart.

  I knew that job openings were falling, but I didn’t know that things had gotten this bad.

  Not too long ago, there were about 12 million job openings in the United States.  Unfortunately, here in the second half of 2024 that figure has fallen below 8 million…

  There were an estimated 7.4 million unfilled jobs on the last day of September, a drop from August’s revised tally of 7.86 million openings, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The largest drop-offs in openings were in industries that have driven much of the job growth in recent years: health care and social assistance, and government, according to the report.

  Meanwhile, major employers continue to shed workers all over the nation.

  For example, the U.S. lost a total of 78,000 manufacturing jobs during a recent three month period…

  The manufacturing sector continued to shed jobs in October, bringing its tally of job losses to 78,000 over the past three months.

  The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released its jobs report for October, which found that the manufacturing sector lost 46,000 jobs last month, according to the agency’s preliminary analysis.

  That followed a loss of 6,000 jobs in September, which is also a preliminary figure, as well as a decline of 26,000 jobs in August.

  Every day, there are more layoff announcements in the news, and the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits increased much more than experts were projecting last week…

  The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time jumped significantly last week (from 225k to 242k – well above expectations of 220k) – the highest since the first week of October.

  On an un-adjusted basis, claims exploded higher (highest since January)…

  Throughout the second half of this year, I have been arguing that the U.S. economy is rapidly heading in the wrong direction.

  Now we have even more confirmation that this is indeed happening.

  Once we get past the holiday season, retailers are going to be dropping like flies.

  According to the Daily Mail, it appears that Party City could soon be forced to declare bankruptcy…

  A major party and craft retailer with 850 stores across the nation is considering filing for bankruptcy.

  Party City has been faced with the possibility of mass closures just a little over a year after the company surfaced from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  The celebration retailer, known for selling balloons and essential party supplies, is currently behind on rent at some of its locations, people close to the matter told Bloomberg.

  And it is being reported that 670 Family Dollar stores have already been shut down…

  Discount behemoth Dollar Tree has shuttered 670 of its underperforming Family Dollar stores so far, about two-thirds of the nearly 1,000 it plans to close, as it considers whether to sell or spin off the struggling chain.

  The Chesapeake, Virginia-based retailer provided an update on its portfolio optimization efforts when it reported is fiscal third-quarter earnings. Dollar Tree officials also said they were still reviewing options for Family Dollar, with no set deadline or timeline to complete that process.

  Overall, thousands upon thousands of retail stores in the U.S. have been shuttered in 2024, and thousands upon thousands will be shuttered in 2025.

  In many areas of the country, the landscape is absolutely littered with once thriving businesses that have now been boarded up.

  More than a decade ago, I warned that we were headed for a future when impoverished areas of the U.S. would be filled with boarded up businesses and abandoned buildings.

  Now we are there.

  On top of everything else, inflation is starting to surge once again, and one recent survey discovered that about a third of all U.S. households have been forced to cut back spending just to keep the lights on…

  With the cost of things like food and housing still straining people’s budgets, many U.S. households over the past year have found themselves having to pare their spending on basic necessities just to keep the lights on at home.

  That’s according to a recent Lending Tree study which analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data from Aug. 20, 2024 to Sep. 16, 2024 to find the percentage of Americans 18 and older that had cut back on necessary expenses to pay their energy bill, kept their home at an unsafe or unhealthy temperature, or was unable to pay the full amount on an energy bill at least once over the preceding 12 months.

  The study found that more than 34% of respondents said they have had to cut back or skip spending on certain necessary expenses at least once over the past year in order to pay their energy bill.

  As I discussed the other day, prior to the election most Americans believed that we were already in a recession.

  Since the election, conditions have only gotten worse.

  Many are hoping that our economic momentum can be reversed once the new administration takes over.

  We should all be hoping that is true.

  But right now we are on a freight train that is steamrolling in the wrong direction, and that is not good news at all.

  *  *  *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 15:10

• CNN "Discovers" Syrian Prisoner Left Behind In Gulag – Skeptics Claim Incident Was Staged
  CNN “Discovers” Syrian Prisoner Left Behind In Gulag – Skeptics Claim Incident Was Staged

  Has the establishment media lost their touch when it comes to theatrical propaganda, or is the public becoming more savvy?  CNN’s reputation for accuracy has been extensively damaged over the past several years; their vitriol over Donald Trump and their defense of fraudulent pandemic narratives are often cited as likely contributors to their embarrassing audience losses.  It has gotten to the point where people don’t trust anything the outlet does anymore.

  A recent broadcast by CNN’s chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, has come under fire this week from skeptics who claim the outlet “staged” a dramatic encounter with a lone Assad prisoner trapped in a gulag in Damascus who was allegedly kept in a dark cell for years and did not realize the regime had fallen.

  The prisoner, who is found laying under a blanket but looking well dressed, well fed and well groomed, thanks the reporter profusely for saving him, then proceeds to walk outside into the bright daylight without any need to adjust his eyes after his long imprisonment in darkness.

  This is so fake haha

  To be expected from CNN

  pic.twitter.com/UqeMeQoT8q

  — Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) December 14, 2024

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

  “In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed,” Ward wrote on her X page.

  It is fair to say that the interaction comes off as scripted.  If so, this does not necessarily mean that CNN or Clarissa Ward was aware of the strange nature of the prisoner or his story.  They may very well have believed that the man was a real prisoner trapped in a cell without windows and tortured until Assad was deposed.          

  In a June 2021 interview with CBS News, Clarissa Ward, openly expressed her fascination with the Syrian “revolution” and her admiration for anti-government “rebels.”  “Yeah, I mean, you know, I will cop to the fact that I think I crossed the line in Syria. I became so emotionally involved, and I was crushed by the US response and the US policy,” she admitted to host Michael Morell, advocating for more aggressive “regime change” measures beyond the imposition of crippling sanctions.

  

  CNN was the first Western media to interview Mohammed Al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant group backed by the US and Israel.  The Biden Administration is currently discussing the possibility of removing the HTS terrorist designation.  The US media has invested a considerable amount of positive spin for the Syrian insurgents, and videos like CNN’s report from the prison in Damascus are likely to become commonplace over the next few months. 

  Image management was one of the biggest failures of western intelligence agencies after their initial support for rebel groups in Syria, with many of the same fighters ultimately forming the ISIS terror network and engaging in genocidal activities.  Media reports painted the insurgents as pure patriots ready to die for freedom, until videos began to surface of their horrific actions against minority groups including Syrian Christians.  The question is, why is the establishment so desperate for the public to have a positive opinion of these rebels?        

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 14:35

• Is Google's Willow Processor A Threat To Bitcoin?
  Is Google’s Willow Processor A Threat To Bitcoin?

  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

  Just a couple of days ago I wrote a piece reminding readers that, despite looking at bitcoin more favorably the last year or so, it still remains an unprecedented and opaque area of markets where risk could rear its head quickly, unexpectedly, and before chaos in broader equity and bond markets.

  Collectively worth about $3 trillion now, cryptocurrency is like catnip for risk takers right now, I wrote. Then, I looked at the question of quantum computing:

  I’ve also often raised the question of what comes next after SHA-256 hash functions and whether or not Bitcoin will be safe amidst the jump to quantum computing.

  The prevailing sentiment has always been that to protect the Bitcoin network, miners and those invested in developing the network will have to stay on the forefront of technological change and encryption capabilities to ensure the network doesn’t lose a beat as the world of microprocessing advances. The ‘bull case’ thoughts about this risk, at least according to Michael Saylor the last time I talked to him, was that if you had the power to crack SHA-256 encryption right now, there would be much bigger potential targets to go after than the Bitcoin network, seeing as how the very same encryption ensures the integrity of almost all major, consequential defense, military, and government computer networks worldwide.

  Saylor makes a valid point, but as Bitcoin’s market cap grows, so does the incentive to hack or compromise its network. With a $1.8 trillion bounty effectively on the line, the temptation for bad actors increases. Fortunately, Bitcoin’s network is built with significant redundancy and safeguards, but the true risks, especially from quantum computing, will only become clear as technology advances.

  And in my original case for being less skeptical on bitcoin, out in Spring of this year, I made note of the quantum computing risk I have always mentioned when discussing bitcoin. I wrote:

  It’s like the potential impact of quantum computing—I’ve heard both sides of that case and have pretty much acquiesced to the position that it’s a bridge we will have to cross when we get to it.

  Finally, back in 2021, in a debate between Peter Schiff and (now indicted) Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, quantum computing was asked and answered in the same fashion, with the prevailing sentiment being ‘we’ll get to it when we get to it’:

  When talking about quantum computing, Mashinsky admits that bitcoin is going to have to be modified over the next decade as quantum computing advances. No one knows what those advancements or changes will look like and who is to say whether the bitcoin you buy today will adhere to the same rules and same mathematical certainties it will after such a modification is made.

  Well, to make a long story short, we’re going to have to ‘get to it’ a hell of a lot faster than most people may have thought. That’s because this week, Google introduced its new quantum processor, Willow.

  

  Even for not being a semiconductor nerd, I know the chip marks a groundbreaking leap in quantum computing. It is capable of solving problems in under five minutes that would take traditional supercomputers trillions of years, Willow addresses one of quantum computing’s major hurdles—reducing errors as systems scale.

  This advancement positions Google as a leader in the quantum field, even as some experts believe commercial uses are still years away, likely around 2030. But needless to say, the announcement has perked up the ears of many, including the cryptocurrency community.

  Protos wrote about two ways Google’s new chip and Bitcoin this week. They write the new chip has sparked fears it could pose a serious threat to Bitcoin’s security in two key ways: overtaking Bitcoin’s mining network and targeting Satoshi Nakamoto’s dormant coins.

  The piece argues that Willow’s breakthrough capabilities allow it to solve problems in minutes that would take supercomputers trillions of years — and that such power could hypothetically outpace Bitcoin’s global mining network, which secures transactions by solving complex cryptographic puzzles.

  If Willow could perform this work faster and cheaper than the network, it might seize control of Bitcoin’s blockchain, enabling it to reorder, censor, or even double-spend transactions.

  The second potential threat involves Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who owns over 1 million BTC stored using an older cryptographic format (P2PK) that exposes public keys on the blockchain. A quantum computer could exploit this vulnerability by brute-forcing private keys, potentially unlocking Nakamoto’s holdings. Modern Bitcoin addresses are more quantum-resistant, as they hide public keys until transactions are initiated, reducing the risk of exposure.

  ---

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  It’s now officially a race, with Coinspeaker noting that the Bitcoin community is actively researching quantum-resistant solutions to safeguard against future advancements in quantum technology.

  And while Bitcoin may ultimately come out on top when all is said and done this time, it’s these types of unprecedented risks and uncertainties that, to me, continue to make gold the granddaddy of all stores of value and safety.

  Bitcoin trades like a risk asset because it will face countless new tests like this that gold has already endured over the past 5,000 years. One by one, Bitcoin will need to ‘pass’ each of these tests if it aims to maintain value over anywhere near the time horizon gold has achieved.

  If nothing else, the announcement of Willow and the ensuing discussion should serve as a wake-up call to the dormant nervous systems of Bitcoin holders and maximalists. They must remember that while Bitcoin has passed every test over the past 15 years, there will undoubtedly be more bumps in the road along its adoption curve.

  I continue to own some Bitcoin but still firmly believe that gold remains the ultimate store of value and the best way to preserve wealth when opting out of the fiat money system.

  

  QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 14:00

• Georgia's New President, An Ex-Soccer Player, Solidifies Anti-EU Leadership
  Georgia’s New President, An Ex-Soccer Player, Solidifies Anti-EU Leadership

  The Republic of Georgia has a new president, and he is a former professional footballer for Manchester City: 53-year old Mikheil Kavelashvili of Georgian Dream party.

  He emerged victorious on Saturday, but was the only candidate, after 224 out of 225 members of Georgia’s electoral college voted him in. This is after the country’s main opposition groups declared a boycott of parliament, claiming the October elections which saw the Dream Party sweep were rigged.

  

  Large pro-EU protests have since been a mainstay in the capital of Tbilisi. “According to the results provided by the secretary general [of the Central Election Commission/CEC], Mikhail Kavelashvili has been elected president,” CEC Chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili announced this weekend.

  Kavelashvili’s inauguration is set for December 29, and that too is likely to be heavily protested, amid police deploying riot control methods against larger and larger crowds all this month.

  Western media describes him as “far right” and a hardline critic of the West, as well as ‘conspiratorial’ given he has in the recent past claimed that Western interests are seeking to drive Georgia into conflict with Russia.

  Who is Mikheil Kavelashvili?

  One European source provides the following brief backgrounder…

  It has been an unlikely path to the presidency for Kavelashvili, who emerged from Dinamo Tblisi’s youth system as a promising young footballer in 1989. He went on to build a successful career as a striker, becoming a regular for his local team before moving to Russian side Spartak Vladikavkaz in 1995.

  He then joined English side Manchester City for two seasons before playing for several different Swiss Super League teams and retiring in 2006. During his playing career, he amassed 46 appearances for the Georgian national team and scored nine goals.

  Just 10 years after his retirement from the football world, he was elected to Georgia’s parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket. In 2022, he co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and became known for its strong anti-western rhetoric.

  

  He has been criticized for lack of governing credentials, despite having previously been an MP. More from EuroNews:

  Kavelashvili has often been mocked by the opposition in Georgia for lacking higher education. On the day of his election as president, protesters outside the parliament building brought their own university diplomas, while others kicked around footballs.

  Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

  Day 18th of non-stop protests.
  Tbilisi. Now#GeorgiaProtests

  pic.twitter.com/wGY1Sf6wI3

  — Tata Chemia 🇬🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@tchemia) December 15, 2024

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

  The dividing lines for Georgia’s current crisis, which has seen the Dream Party solidify complete control of the government – but with unrest in the streets – is much like Ukraine’s political divide in 2014. But let’s hope the situation doesn’t turn to open conflict involving the US or Russia, which is something officials in Tbilisi have long been worried about.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 13:25

• US In 'Direct Contact' With Designated Terror Group HTS, Blinken Admits
  US In ‘Direct Contact’ With Designated Terror Group HTS, Blinken Admits

  The US has made “direct contact” with the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under Abu Mohammad al-Jolani which now holds Damascus and most major Syrian cities in the wake of Assad’s fall.

  “We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said following talks with Arab diplomats in Aqaba, Jordan.

  

  This is the first official acknowledgement that the Biden administration is interacting with HTS, which has long been an officially US-designated terror organization, as it originated as Syrian al-Qaeda. Jolani also was once the personal envoy of ISIS terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

  NBC News has underscored, “The U.S. designates HTS a terrorist organization, making it legally impossible to work with the group, but contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation as the U.S. and its allies look to support Syria’s transition from Assad rule.”

  A statement from Blinken’s meetings in Aqaba and signed by representatives of the US, EU, Turkey and several Arab countries called for a “a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future”. It urged the protection of women and all ethnic and religious minorities, and for the preventing of “the reemergence of all terrorist groups.”

  Also, Jordan’s foreign minister stressed that regional powers don’t want to see post-Assad Syria “descend into chaos”. Given that it remains formally listed as a terror group, HTS was not represented in the Jordan meeting.

  The EU has also listed HTS as a terror group. Jolani still has a $10 million bounty on his head. Ironically he has been seen openly at well-known areas of Damascus, and the US could target him if it wanted to – but is clearly not.

  “As we see Syria move in that direction and, in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, take these steps, we in turn will look at various sanctions and other measures that we’ve taken and respond in kind,” Blinken said from Aqaba.

  Blinken affirmed the US position on Syria has been “communicated” to the new HTS leaders. Ironically, this comes after years of the US refusing to engage diplomatically with Bashar al-Assad, who was a secular ruler.

  The US had shuttered its embassy and severed relations going all the way back to 2012. Since then there have been minimal back-channel efforts to communicate with Assad officials.

  Is Jolani’s beard becoming shorter every week or is it me pic.twitter.com/KbdI4apbVC

  — Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 14, 2024

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

  Meanwhile, there have been reports that the Biden White House, with a mere weeks to go until Trump enters office, could actually remove HTS’ terror designation. This despite its long documented links to both Al Qaeda and Islamic State in the not too distant past.

  Washington has since 2011 pursued regime change against Assad, and though Syria emerged victorious by the early 2020s, the Army and country appeared demoralized after years of US-imposed strangling sanctions, and with US troops occupying the country’s oil and gas fields in the northeast.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 12:15

• 20 (Or So) Obvious Questions About January 6
  20 (Or So) Obvious Questions About January 6

  Authored by Jack Cashill via American Thinker,

  Even before Donald Trump ascends to the presidency on January 20, his appointees should ask themselves the questions that follow — all of them simple and straightforward.  With Christopher Wray stepping down from the FBI directorship, they will have a much better chance of getting straight answers quickly.

  

  Trump’s team should then share those answers widely.  This information will make President Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 Americans much more comprehensible to the American public and much less controversial.

  –Although now the FBI admits to having 26 confidential human sources in the crowd on January 6, how many total “assets” did the FBI and other entities plant, and what roles did they play?

  –Was Ray Epps working for an entity? And if so, under what terms?

  –Who planted the pipe bombs outside the DNC and near the RNC headquarters?

  –Who instructed Kamala Harris to conceal the fact that she was at the DNC when the bomb was found and why?

  –Why did Harris allow hundreds of J6ers to be prosecuted for threatening her designated space at the Capitol when she wasn’t at the Capitol?

  –Who were the “two law enforcement officials” who told the New York Times that “pro-Trump rioters” fatally struck Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with a fire extinguisher, inflicting “a bloody gash in his head”?

  –Who orchestrated the 100-day-plus suppression of Sicknick’s autopsy report?

  –If Sicknick was not murdered, as the DOJ finally conceded, why did a federal judge give Julian Khater an 80-month prison sentence for spritzing Sicknick with an over-the-counter pepper spray?

  –Has there been an official inquiry into the subsequent suicide deaths of four USCP officers, and if not, why has the DOJ routinely blamed the J6ers for causing those deaths?

  –Why was there no crime scene investigation in the likely homicide of Rosanne Boyland?

  –Who chose to ignore the obvious video evidence of Boyland being suffocated as a result of a police action and to falsely blame her death on an amphetamine overdose?

  –Who suppressed the Boyland autopsy report for 90 days and stonewalled her family at every turn?

  –Why was Lila Morris, the Metropolitan P.D. officer caught on video repeatedly bashing the unconscious Boyland over the head with a tree branch, not even disciplined?

  –Why was Metropolitan P.D. lieutenant Jason Bagshaw promoted despite having been caught on video bashing the defenseless Victoria White bloody?

  –Why did the DOJ not interview the eyewitnesses to the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt?

  –Why did the USCP coddle and promote Babbitt’s killer, Michael Byrd, despite a shooting that, according to use-of-force expert Stan Kephart, “violated not only the law but his oath”?

  –Who ordered the “shock and awe” raids on the homes of hundreds of non-violent protesters and why?

  –Why has the so-called “Scaffold Commander” not been arrested despite multiple clear images of his face?

  –Why has the man who constructed the mock gallows on the Capitol grounds not been arrested despite multiple clear images of his face?

  –Why did the USCP allow the gallows to stand unmolested on Capitol grounds for more than four hours before the crowds gathered?

  –Why was Emanuel Jackson quickly set free despite having been caught on video swinging a baseball bat at police officers over a two-hour period?

  –If there was no insurrection, as the DOJ conceded, why were the sentences given to the J6ers so much more severe than the $30–50 fines given to the protesters who physically obstructed the Kavanaugh hearings?

  These are the simple questions, the ones off the top.  I am sure readers will think of others I may have overlooked.  To be sure, more probing questions need to be asked about the January 6 Select Committee report as well as the charging documents for the J6ers.

  Having read through much of this material, I am impressed by how casually — and routinely — our elected officials and federal jurists distort the facts to protect the party line.  In short, they lie, and some have done so under oath.

  I am impressed, too, by the shamelessness of a DOJ that can boast of its success rate in securing convictions, knowing that the accused were allowed no change of venue and faced juries pulled from a pool 95 percent anti-Trump.  This needs to change.

  More questions need to be asked as well about the security failures at all levels on January 6.  In his otherwise worthy book, Government Gangsters, Kash Patel more or less exonerates the Pentagon.  He should not have.  Incompetence explains much of what went wrong on January 6, but so does treason.

  Nearly 1,600 American citizens were arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights on January 6, and roughly half of them have been incarcerated.  Save for the insurrectionists among them — if there were any — the rest deserve not just commutation of their sentences, but a full pardon.  Many may deserve compensation.  And all deserve the truth.

  To learn more, see Jack Cashill’s newest book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 12/15/2024 – 11:40

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• Online Shopping: Charting The Holiday Surge
  Online Shopping: Charting The Holiday Surge

  In the fourth quarter of 2023, online shopping was a record-breaking 17% of all retail sales. Put another way, one out of every six dollars was spent online.

  This graphic from Visual Capitalist’s Jenna Ross, in partnership with BGO, highlights the spike in ecommerce that occurs every year during the holiday season.

  

  The Growing Popularity of Online Shopping

  Over the last 15 years, the percentage of money consumers are spending online has more than tripled. The most online shopping always occurs in the fourth quarter due to Black Friday and holiday spending.

  In the table below, we show online shopping as a percentage of total retail sales over time.

  

  Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Data accessed November 19, 2024.

  With people stretched for time during the busy holiday season, many opt for quick online orders and home deliveries. 

  Beyond convenience, deals also draw people to their screens. For instance, Amazon’s October Prime Day and Cyber Monday both offer deals catered to online shoppers. In 2024, Cyber Monday drew over 64 million U.S. shoppers—nearly three times higher than the 23 million people who shopped in stores.

  To handle the increase in online shopping orders, U.S. retailers will need to have a plan for storing their products and transporting them to customers.

  The Logistics of Online Orders

  Free and fast shipping are top priorities for online shoppers. Nearly 40% would abandon a retailer with high shipping costs, while 32% would stop buying because of late deliveries. These high expectations, and the increase in ecommerce, is driving demand for real estate that can process online orders.

  BGO’s industrial warehouse and logistics properties are strategically located to help reduce expenses and transport goods to consumers more quickly. During the busy holiday period, these properties run at full efficiency to meet the surging demand.

  Learn what’s moving markets in BGO’s The Chief Economist newsletter.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 22:45

• Possible Foreign Policy Shifts In The New Administration
  Possible Foreign Policy Shifts In The New Administration

  Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,

  With an incoming administration that will be installed on Jan. 20, 2025, will there be shifts in America’s foreign policies for the next four years that could affect the security of California and the other states?

  

  It’s likely that some of the positions in the Biden administration will be maintained, but President-elect Donald Trump’s stamp on future policies could reflect stances taken during his first term. How will Trump, 47th president, compare with Trump, 45th president?

  Trump, similar to Teddy Roosevelt, will likely often speak softly and carry a big stick. He will get along with our adversaries to gain leverage but will also inform authoritarian leaders in no uncertain terms that aggressions against America and its global partners will not stand.

  During Trump’s first term, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia were limited to routine saber-rattling on the world stage. However, during President Joe Biden’s tenure, China’s bullying became more overt, Iran greenlighted the invasion of Israel, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time, and North Korea launched more test missiles than ever and sent troops to Ukraine. These brazen activities will be difficult to halt, but Trump has indicated he will strive to mitigate them.

  First, Trump will enhance border security to a much greater degree than the prior administration. He might have to cut off funding to sanctuary cities and states that oppose his deportation plan for criminals. In addition, it shouldn’t take the threat of tariffs against Canada and Mexico for those two nations to carry out the legwork to secure their sides of the border with the United States.

  Trump will also likely persuade Panama to shutter the Darien Gap, a lawless migration hub. The Department of Homeland Security also urgently needs more Border Patrol agents, and the border wall with Mexico must be completed to maintain an orderly immigration process. Moreover, additional immigration judges will be required to expedite the process of immigration for genuine asylum cases and legal immigration cases.

  Border security is a critical part of the overall national security strategy in order to vet immigrants and prevent criminal gangs and terrorists from entering the country. Many of these criminals are involved in arms, drugs, and human trafficking that are devastating to vulnerable minors, while our social services are stretched to the breaking point.

  Unlawful immigrants who seek to game the system and take advantage of tax-funded social services should be turned back at the border. If an immigrant breaks the initial law of entering the country illegally, what is to stop them from circumventing other laws in an attempt to take shortcuts to permanent residency?

  Next, Trump will continue to support Israel and Ukraine in their fight against tyranny to a certain extent, but he will also work to bring the hostile parties together to negotiate for cease-fires or a cessation of conflict. Moscow promised Kyiv in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 that if Ukraine’s nuclear weapons were turned over to Russia, there would be no invasion. Ukraine complied, but Vladimir Putin broke the pact and invaded twice. That is why any treaties with Russia must be assessed with a trust-but-verify posture.

  Trump will likely sign off on greater sanctions against Iranian and Russian assets in order to wind down the wars and curtail the flow of weapons to nefarious actors within reach of the combat zones. He will concur with Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas must never again govern in the Gaza Strip. Trump might also apply leverage to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to persuade him to withdraw his troops from the Russian battle-space adjacent to Ukraine.

  Third, America’s national security could be enhanced if Trump shores up our freedom-loving global partners and also reaches out to developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

  This cultural and commercial outreach can provide a counterweight to China’s malign activities in those continents. The European Union could also contribute to Europe’s’ security and stability abroad.

  Fourth, Trump will likely adopt foreign policy that utilizes both the carrot and stick of diplomacy and military power.

  Building a strong military force can actually mitigate the need to apply armed power as it projects peace through strength, according to President Ronald Reagan. It is highly critical that our armed forces stay ahead of the curve vis a vis our adversaries in the spheres of training and weapons platforms.

  Fifth, hopefully Trump will allow Congress to appropriate adequate resources to the armed forces in order to maintain capability, capacity, and readiness to deter China’s potential blockade or invasion of Taiwan. It would take an entire book to catalog the atrocities carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on a daily basis as it conducts unrestricted warfare against its own people and the West. Trump ought to approach the CCP and its predatory practices from the perspective of cold, hard reality.

  Any trade with China should involve reciprocity, and if China doubles down on trade barriers, tariffs can be imposed. If Beijing wants to enter foreign markets, buy land, and set up shop, then it should allow Western companies to do the same in China. Moreover, the United States ought to decouple from any Chinese goods or services that adversely affect national security.

  Finally, Trump will pursue an America First agenda in foreign policy by using both arm-twisting and horse-trading. He will place the interests of the U.S. above the demands of other nations in order to advance free markets, liberty, peace, and an accepted rules-based order.

  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, 12/14/2024 – 22:10

• American Citizen Flown Out Of Syria By US Military 
  American Citizen Flown Out Of Syria By US Military 

  An American man has been flown out of Syria by the US military from an undisclosed location, after he was handed over by Syria’s new governing authorities, HTS.

  The US citizen has been identified as Travis Timmerman, who had been held in a Syrian prison since his arrest under the Assad government seven months ago. Several international reports said he had walked into Syria from Lebanon, presumably with no visa and not utilizing a customs or proper border checkpoint. 

  

  AP and Reuters confirmed Friday Timmerman was handed over to “the American side” and flown out of Syria. Timmerman is from Missouri, but was last seen in Hungary but his family hadn’t heard from him since. 

  He said he had entered Syria on a spiritual “pilgrimage” and it appears his arrest resulted from entering Syria by illegal means and without an issued visa. Americans and Westerners have frequently traveled in Syria, even over the last few years, but they have gotten valid visas typically from the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, or at the border of entry.

  He has described in Western media interviews that he was treated well in prison, and he is in good health. BBC describes of the past days:

  On Monday, a day after rebels took control of Damascus and toppled Assad, Mr Timmerman said two men armed with a hammer broke open his prison door. It was “busted down, it woke me up”, he said.

  “I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being… Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting.”

  The 30-year-old said he left prison with a large group of people and had been attempting to make his way to Jordan.

  Since Assad’s fall people have clamored to break open prison doors and set all prisoners free. Currently there’s a search for American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012 after embedding with anti-Assad militants.

  Exclusive: The American citizen found near the Syrian capital Damascus is named Travis Timmerman, and is not missing US journalist Austin Tice. He tells Al Arabiya he was in prison for 7 months but was treated well. pic.twitter.com/UKLimmKGuh

  — Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 12, 2024

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  Despite his being in an area with al-Qaeda jihadists and armed gangs at the time, the US government has always blamed the Assad side for his disappearance, which Damascus always vehemently denied. The search across the country is still on for any clues of what might have happened to him.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 21:35

• ADHD Or Something Else? One In 4 Adults Are Self-Diagnosing
  ADHD Or Something Else? One In 4 Adults Are Self-Diagnosing

  Authored by Amy Denny via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Imagine being the school band director and waking up at 1 a.m. on the day of a big parade to realize that you never booked the school bus to transport your students.

  

  For Lisa Burden, this experience was more than a nightmare. It was a wake-up call to her own shortcomings. While exceptionally bright and creative, she also had to contend with another side of herself. She’d struggled since childhood with challenges like being able to keep track of things and being told she talked too much.

  “There were responsibilities that I would just forget to do. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to do them,” she told The Epoch Times. “I came to a point when I had to admit I could not keep it all in my head. I’ll have a thought, and then I don’t know when I’ll have that thought again.”

  While attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that can undermine a person’s ability to navigate our modern age, in some ways, it is more helpful to think of it as a mismatch of mental abilities. ADHD involves symptoms of inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity, among others.

  People with ADHD have brains that think differently in a world that’s become more sedentary and rigid. Experts say seeing ADHD through a new lens can help adults strengthen their thinking, improve their relationships, and accentuate their strengths.

  Maybe It Is ADHD

  About 15.5 million—or 6 percent—of American adults have been diagnosed with ADHD. About half were diagnosed as adults, with one-third of those diagnosed receiving treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  To be diagnosed with ADHD as a child, one needs to have six symptoms involving inattentiveness, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. An adult diagnosis requires five.

  Those symptoms include the following:

  • Trouble paying attention or being easily distracted
  • Being disorganized
  • Procrastinating
  • Inability to plan or organize
  • Difficulty recalling daily tasks
  • Losing things frequently
  • Being extremely talkative or frequently interrupting
  • Trouble multitasking or focusing on larger projects
  • Finding it hard to follow instructions or finish projects
  • Inability to sit still for lengthy periods
  • Fidgeting
  • The need to be constantly moving
  • Prioritizing immediate rewards over future rewards

  There are a few other criteria, too, including symptoms that have been around since before age 12, with clear evidence that they are severe, frequent, and persistent enough to cause problems in at least two areas of life, such as at work, school, church, or home.

  Finally, hormonal and mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or a psychotic disorder, must be ruled out. However, there is no definitive diagnostic tool, such as bloodwork or brain scans, for ADHD.

  Beyond Stereotypes

  Experts understand ADHD better than they did two decades ago. The stigma is lifting, and awareness is growing, according to Marcy M. Caldwell, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment and assessment of adult ADHD.

  She told The Epoch Times that social media has given voice to people who are describing their experiences with ADHD and raising it as a possibility for many people who might not have considered it previously.

  For a number of years, ADHD was stereotypically considered a disorder associated with young boys. That, particularly, left a lot of girls undiagnosed in childhood who went on to be diagnosed as adults.

  However, professionals are beginning to better understand that symptoms can vary depending on race, sex, and age, Caldwell said. They are also noting that children often don’t outgrow ADHD, as was previously believed in most cases. Rather, she said symptoms relapse and remit throughout life depending on other circumstances.

  “In that waxing and waning, the symptoms can come up again around major life events,” Caldwell said. “In normal life, the major events come up at different times. But in 2020, we were all hit with a major life event, so there was a big upsurge in diagnosis that happened after COVID as everyone was adjusting to very new circumstances.”

  Pillars of Brain Health

  Caldwell described the ADHD brain as working as an off-on light switch, whereas a neurotypical brain can adjust lighting with a dimmer switch. That is, for those with ADHD, the light switch is either on—hyperfocusing, usually with enjoyable tasks—or off for tasks that aren’t as pleasurable.

  It takes far more energy, she said, for someone with ADHD to use their brain like a dimmer switch, though it can be done. That energy can come from the following foundational health pillars:

  • Sleep
  • Exercise
  • Nutrition
  • Medication
  • Meditation
  • Connection

  “Those are six really hard things, and there’s a lot involved with them. You don’t have to do all of them,” she said.

  However, on a day when you don’t get much sleep, you can try one of the others to boost your brain energy, typically exercise, according to Caldwell.

  

  Movement as Fuel

  Any exercise is great for boosting energy, though specific exercises may be more tolerable to different brain states, said Caldwell. Rowing, running, and walking are helpful for those who are inattentive. Meanwhile, sports like soccer or karate—during which you must respond to a constantly changing environment—are good for those struggling with hyperactivity and impulsivity.

  The problem, Caldwell added, is that most people try to change how their brains work so they can function in the world rather than changing the world for how their brains work. That means if you need to move more, as many with ADHD do, consider using a standing or treadmill desk, take frequent breaks, and exercise before work to build up energy stores.

  “A lot of people start out with more ability to regulate their tasks and attention, and as the day goes on, they have less capacity to do that,” she said. “Save things that aren’t as taxing for later in the day.”

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 21:00

• Assad's Fall Is A Major Blow To Russia
  Assad’s Fall Is A Major Blow To Russia

  Authored by Andrew Latham via RealClearWorld,

  Russia’s 2015 military intervention in Syria was a bold assertion of its great power ambitions, rescuing Bashar al-Assad’s regime and projecting influence in the Middle East. However, recent rebel advances and Assad’s sudden deposal threaten to isolate Russia’s Khmeimim airbase and Tartus naval facility, undermining both the practical and symbolic foundations of Moscow’s global power status.

  

  The fall of Assad promises to be a major blow to Russia, which is already bogged down in Ukraine. Its ramifications are likely to be felt across Moscow’s foreign policy, which could soon face some stark and unenviable choices.

  The Russian presence in Syria is central to the Kremlin’s broader strategy of force projection. Its Mediterranean bases allow Moscow to sustain military operations in the Levant, North Africa, and beyond, countering U.S. influence. With the key city of Homs having fallen to the rebels, supply routes to Khmeimim and Tartus have been severed, forcing reliance on vulnerable air and sea routes. This will weaken Russia’s operational readiness and its ability to influence events in neighboring theaters, including Africa.

  Khmeimim also serves as a logistical hub for Russian private military contractors (PMCs) like the Wagner Group, active in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic. These contractors are central to Moscow’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa, providing security and securing lucrative economic deals. With Khmeimim isolated, sustaining these operations would become costly and inefficient, reducing Moscow’s ability to achieve its geopolitical objectives on the continent.

  The isolation of Khmeimim and Tartus will severely constrain Russia’s ability to sustain military operations in Syria and beyond, undermining its ability to conduct airstrikes, reconnaissance, and rapid-response missions. PMCs, reliant on robust logistics, will face disruptions, emboldening opposition forces and exposing the fragility of Russia’s African partnerships. These setbacks will ripple through Moscow’s strategic calculations, undercutting its influence and economic goals.

  The symbolic consequences of a rebel victory will be even more damaging. Moscow has portrayed its intervention in Syria as a demonstration of its reliability as an ally and its ability to uphold the sovereignty of client states. The loss in Syria will puncture this narrative, exposing the limits of Russian power and credibility. Regional actors, including Iran, Turkey, and the Gulf states, will recalibrate their perceptions of Moscow’s influence, while African partners might pivot toward more reliable alternatives such as China or the West.

  Domestically, the repercussions of a diminished role in Syria will be significant. President Vladimir Putin has marketed the Syrian intervention as a triumph of Russian statecraft, portraying it as a cornerstone of Russia’s resurgence on the global stage. While critics of Russia’s foreign interventions have questioned their costs for years, the fall of Assad could amplify these doubts in ways the prolonged conflict in Ukraine has not. Syria’s collapse would symbolize a failure of Russia’s ability to safeguard allied regimes, striking at the narrative of strategic competence that Putin has worked to project. Public perceptions of Russian strength, carefully curated through state-controlled media, could falter, creating broader political vulnerabilities. Moreover, Syria has served as a testing ground for Russian weapons systems, and reduced visibility in the region would weaken their appeal to buyers, further diminishing Russia’s geopolitical leverage and economic gains from arms exports. The rebel victory in Syria will resonate globally. For the United States and its allies, it will validate strategies to contain Russian influence and embolden further countermeasures. NATO could leverage Russia’s difficulties to underscore the limitations of its global reach, while China might accelerate efforts to dominate regions like Central Asia and Africa, further sidelining Moscow in regions where it traditionally competes.

  Russia now faces a stark choice: escalate its military commitment to protect its strategic interests, such as its naval facility in Tartus and airbase in Khmeimim, or accept a diminished role in the region. Escalation would aim to preserve these assets and reassert influence but risks clashes with other regional powers and would strain resources already stretched by commitments in Ukraine and Africa. Retrenchment, however, would signal a devastating blow to Russia’s credibility as a reliable guarantor of allied regimes worldwide, sending a clear message to its partners in Africa, the Middle East, and beyond that Moscow cannot be counted on to defend its allies in times of crisis. This erosion of trust would undermine Russia’s broader global strategy and invite further challenges to its influence elsewhere.

  Already there is evidence Russian warships have left Tartus, raising questions about Russia’s commitment to its Syrian bases. As Russia navigates this crisis, it must confront the limits of its resources and the fragility of its aspirations. Great power status requires not just military might but strategic resilience. The outcome of the Syrian conflict will shape the future of Russia’s role in the evolving international order. For Moscow, the stakes could not be higher.

  Andrew Latham is Professor of Political Science at Macalester College and a Non-Resident Fellow at Defense Priorities.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 20:15

• Video Games Have Become Rife With DEI And Some Fans Aren’t Buying It
  Video Games Have Become Rife With DEI And Some Fans Aren’t Buying It

  Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  BioWare, developer of the wildly popular Mass Effect and Dragon Age video game series, is at the center of a new battle.

  Following the failed launch of two costly triple-A titles, the studio was banking on a win. Its latest offering is the fourth title in the Dragon Age series; the last was released 10 years ago.

  

  Initial reactions to trailers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard were decidedly negative. Longtime fans of the series criticized the softer, stylized art of the new game, comparing it to a Disney-Pixar movie.

  But after BioWare invited a group of streamers and critics to a private, hands-on demo of the game, hope was rekindled. Those who had experienced Veilguard firsthand were generally positive, and encouraged fans of the series to wait for the full release.

  Days before its release, clips of Veilguard were leaked, revealing that the game was rife with transgender ideology and messaging based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

  One scene showed a character doing pushups as penance for forgetting to use “they/them” pronouns, and then lecturing about how a simple apology was not enough for the crime of “misgendering.”

  Another scene, in a high fantasy setting with dragons and elves, showed a character revealing to her parents that she identified as nonbinary.

  The game’s character customization system does not allow for the creation of curvy female characters but it does allow players to add mastectomy scars.

  Laura Kate Dale, “queer representation critic and consultant” and author of “Gender Euphoria,” posted on social media platform X about having worked on the project.

  Corinne Busche, Veilguard’s game director, is also transgender. Busche told co-workers that the goal for the Dragon Age team at BioWare is to use games to create a safe space for the LGBT community.

  “It’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted. It’s so deeply meaningful for so many,” Busche said in a developer interview on BioWare’s website.

  While it is true that previous Dragon Age titles featured LGBT characters—and allowed players to romance same sex characters in-game—Veilguard’s approach seems to have struck a different chord this time.

  

  Critics’ Reviews

  While some fans were still scratching their heads at the leaked clips, early critic reviews for Veilguard were mostly positive.

  The game received the thumbs-up from Eurogamer, Game Rant, and GamingBible—all of whom awarded it a perfect 100 out of 100. Even Finger Guns, which gave it a lower-end score of 60, called it “a solid, albeit, unspectacular RPG experience.”

  IGN—notorious for giving scores of seven—gave Veilguard a nine out of 10. [ZH: lol]

  That review was received differently when it was revealed the critic identifies as transgender; IGN released an alternate, less positive review shortly thereafter.

  Some critics were more tepid in their response.

  Games journalist Skillup gave the game a “cannot recommend” evaluation. He didn’t mention the progressive content and instead referred to the game’s “silly and childish” tone, and lack of narrative subtlety.

  “This game cannot surface any ideas without just saying them aloud,” he said.

  “Every interaction sounds like HR is in the room.”

  He—and others—also criticized the “hollow and repetitive” gameplay loop. “Zero variety in mission design,” he noted. He said he eventually lowered the game’s difficulty settings, just so he could rush through it more quickly.

  The disparity between professional critic reviews and those by consumers is stark: Metacritic shows the game’s audience score is 3.8 out of 10 for Playstation users; the score for PC users is 2.5.

  

  Costly Business

  Triple-A game development is a risky, expensive business. Games can cost hundreds of millions and take years to develop; one failure may drive a studio out of business.

  Official sales numbers for Veilguard have not been released—a common practice unless a game does very well—but speculation abounds. It is unlikely the real numbers will be known before EA’s earnings call in February

  One way of gauging sales is to look at the number of concurrent players on STEAM, the world’s largest digital PC video game marketplace. Veilguard reached a maximum of just over 89,000 players on Nov. 3.

  By comparison, Farming Simulator 25 peaked at more than 135,000 concurrent players.

  Veilguard is reported to have sold more than a million copies—not a great result for a triple-A title that may have cost between $80 million and $200 million to develop.

  By contrast, Game Science’s recent release Black Myth: Wukong sold 18 million copies within its first two weeks.

  And while Veilguard was given positive reviews by gaming media, Wukong’s development team was accused of sexism, fat-shaming, and homophobia just ahead of the release.

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 19:50

• Saudi 2034 Selection Raises Eyebrows As Global Footprint Of FIFA World Cup Grows
  Saudi 2034 Selection Raises Eyebrows As Global Footprint Of FIFA World Cup Grows

  As expected, FIFA confirmed this week that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the 2030 World Cup.

  In addition, in view of the centenary of the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, there will also be a ceremony in the country’s capital Montevideo, as well as three opening matches being played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

  The 2030 World Cup will therefore have an unprecedented format, as it will be held in six countries and on three continents (Africa, Europe and South America). Until now, the World Cup has never been held in more than two countries or on different continents. In 2002, South Korea and Japan held it jointly, while in 2026 it will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

  Despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailing how “In a divided world, FIFA and football are coming together,” the plans have come in for some initial harsh criticism – mainly for the effect the geographical spread will have on the tournament’s carbon footprint.

  Concerns have also been raised that, due to a change in hemispheres, some teams will end up having to play the competition in two different meteorological seasons.

  As Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the infographic below, since 1930, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has been held every four years, with only two interruptions caused by the Second World War, in 1942 and 1946.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, a decision that drew its fair share of criticism as well.

  

  By making sure that only federations from Asia and Oceania could bid for the 2034 World Cup and setting a deadline too tight to meet for other applicants, FIFA effectively fast-tracked Saudi Arabia’s hosting ambitions, shortly before announcing a multi-year global partnership with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant.

  In its official “Bid Evaluation Report”, FIFA largely swatted human rights concerns aside, giving the Saudi bid an overall score of 4.2 out of 5 – the highest score ever awarded.

  According to the report, the inclusion of human rights within the criteria for evaluating bids is “about making decisions based on evidence of how effectively bidders intend to address human rights risks connected with a tournament. It is not about peremptorily excluding countries based on their general human rights context”.

  Reacting to the report, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said:

  “As expected, FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid is an astonishing whitewash of the country’s atrocious human rights record. There are no meaningful commitments that will prevent workers from being exploited, residents from being evicted or activists from being arrested.”

  As Statista’s chart shows, Saudi Arabia’s “general human rights context” is in fact sub-optimal, as the country routinely ranks near the bottom of international indices on governance and human rights.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  So, evidently, the same sport that pride-fully pushes a strong LGBTQ+ agenda seems more than willing to put all that aside when it comes to money, giving World Cups to the explicitly homophobic sharia law theo-monarchy of Saudi Arabia.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 19:15

• 'Gladiator II' Is A MAGA Metaphor
  ‘Gladiator II’ Is A MAGA Metaphor

  Authored by Richard Porter via RealClearPolitics,

  Hollywood sequels rarely achieve the magic of the original, but “Gladiator II” comes close.  Except for the familiar populist framework of a lone man taking on “the system” against all odds, the echoes to the original are sufficiently distant that the new movie feels fresh and original. 

  

  Plus, it turns out that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster is a timely, if unwitting, metaphor for Donald Trump’s own sequel, which is off to a better start than his original. This time he won the popular vote and his transition is smoother, most recently featuring Trump’s triumphant trip to Paris, Kash Patel’s appointment to lead the FBI, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s obeisant visit to Mar-a-Lago.  

  This is what Trump’s “revenge” looks like. Compared to a Gladiator-inspired populist revolt, it’s both genteel and more satisfying: What red-blooded American viewer doesn’t enjoy seeing Trump arm-wrestling with Macron again and making a nanny-state bully like Trudeau heel, or seeing him appoint bold populists like Patel, Bobby Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard to lead, and turn upside down, politicized government agencies that sought to do him in?

  Ancient Rome has always been both an inspiration and a cautionary tale for America’s leaders. George Washington modeled on Cincinnatus by relinquishing his military power to enhance civilian government, and he frequently quoted the Roman senator Cato, who sacrificed his life in support of the Roman Republic. The Founders chose an eagle as our national symbol – the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter used to represent Roman power. Both John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams idolized the Roman orator Cicero. More ominously, Abraham Lincoln’s stage-actor assassin John Wilkes Booth played the role of Mark Antony in an 1864 New York City performance of “Julius Caesar,” with his brother Edwin playing Brutus. And as he leapt from the president’s box in Ford’s Theater, Booth shouted “Sic semper tyrannis,” the words attributed to Brutus as he killed Ceasar.

  Over the course of our nation’s history, comparisons between the United States and ancient Rome have focused on the fall of the latter as a caution for the former. The comparisons range from financial mismanagement to far-flung and over-extended military commitments.

  So, Roman lessons for the U.S. are nothing new. Ridley Scott, who produced and directed “Gladiator II,” drew parallels between his movie and contemporary American politics in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, but – this is fun! – he’s spectacularly wrong about both. 

  Scott told the Hollywood Reporter that he modeled the heavy in Gladiator II – a creepy, Machiavellian opportunist whom Denzel Washington brings to life – on Donald Trump. “He evolved into a very rich merchant selling shit to the Roman armies – food, oil, wine, cloth, weapons, everything,” Scott said. “He maybe had a million men spread around Europe. So he was a billionaire at the time, so why wouldn’t he [have ambitions toward the throne]? ‘Why not me?’ He’s also a gangster – very close to Trump. A clever gangster. He creates chaos and from chaos he can evolve.”

  Is anyone surprised that a Hollywood liberal misses the point about Trump in his own movie? Ridley Scott has it precisely backwards: The Trump parallel is not the scheming creature of the Roman political swamp, but the hero, a prince who would not bow to those who sought to crush and kill him. It’s Trump’s rivals, scheming, duplicitous power seekers seeking to whip up hate, who are whispering in the ear of a non-compos mentis leader.

  And what ultimately drove the young prince to become the populist leader of Rome? As he approaches the inevitable climatic death match, the Gladiator himself reprises the core idea from the first film: “The dream that was Rome.” It’s a fragile dream of a Republic that will only be achieved by taking back power from corrupt, weak leaders and scheming politicians.

  The gladiator’s speech about Rome applies to contemporary America. It’s about recapturing the American Dream and refreshing government of, by, and for the forgotten people – instead of the powerful – the very ideas that bring cheers to a Trump rally.

  With that in mind, consider the words ascribed to Marcus Aurelius – words that the film’s hero and villain both quote: “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” or “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”

  Trump’s many enemies, the folks whipping up fear that he will use government power to go after political enemies as the Democrats did to him, misunderstand MAGA “revenge,” as Trump made clear again during his long Sunday interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” Government institutions that have been infused with politics and corrupted away from their purpose are not reformed by changing the politics, but by purging the politics. 

  Trump’s revenge is to be different, to empower allies to reveal and reform corruption, and to reduce the power of government over the people instead of expanding it.

  Nothing will crush his haters more than being a great president. “I’m really looking to make our country successful,” Trump told Kristen Welker. “I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success. If we can make our success â?? this country successful, that would be my greatest, that would be such a great achievement. Bring it back.”

  Trump’s 2024 victory against all the forces arrayed against him is just the opening act of his sequel. Now the fun really begins. Someday, Hollywood will understand what most Americans already see: Donald Trump is a gladiator for the dream that is America.

  Richard Porter is a lawyer in Chicago and a former policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 18:40

• Trump Says He'll Kill Daylight Saving Time, But Maybe He Really Wants It To Be Permanent
  Trump Says He’ll Kill Daylight Saving Time, But Maybe He Really Wants It To Be Permanent

  President-elect Trump on Friday said he and fellow Republicans would make a full effort to liberate Americans from daylight saving time and its twice-yearly clock adjustments — which take a human toll that ranges from annoyance to death.

  “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” wrote Trump in posts to his own TruthSocial platform as well as X. 

  While his statement was welcome news to many people across the political spectrum, it prompted immediate confusion about what exactly he was proposing. There are two approaches to ending those aggravating clock adjustments on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November:

  • Eliminating daylight saving time, which would mean year-round “standard time” 
  • Making daylight saving time permanent 

  Many people who detest the changing of the clocks casually call for “doing away with daylight saving time,” not appreciating that, taken literally, it would mean their summers would have earlier sunrises and sunsets. It’s not clear if Trump unintentionally fell into using that language, or if he really wants to see permanent standard time — which is already the state of affairs in Arizona and Hawaii.  

  Correct vibes but I think we actually want PERMANENT daylight savings, right?

  Or has the vampire lobby won https://t.co/VKqq8KVaCF

  — Christian Keil (@pronounced_kyle) December 13, 2024

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  Like so many of the nation’s ills, daylight saving time sprang from the warfare state: It was first introduced during World War I with the goal of conserving fuel. Woodrow Wilson’s interventionist idiocy unjustly killed 115,516 American service members, and daylight saving time keeps on taking lives on the home front. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that around 30 traffic-accident fatalities a year may result from the disruption in sleep rhythms, while another study found a 3% daily spike in total mortality in the week after the spring clock adjustment.   

  Permanent daylight saving time is appealing to people who want to enjoy more daylight when they leave work. It also has the support of retailers, restaurants, recreation leagues and other organizations that do better with more light at day’s end. Criminals may oppose it: Research has found that dangerous crime increases 7% when daylight saving time ends each fall.  

  That’s not to say permanent daylight saving time is a no-brainer. That option comes at the price of many more Americans in northern states waking up to darkness at 8am and even later during the winter months. “A lot of people prefer to have that daylight at the end of the day instead,” University of Pennsylvania clinical psychology professor Philip Gehrman told the New York Times. “But those mornings are going to get dark.” Those dark mornings are cited as a potential safety risk to children waiting at bus stops and walking to schools.  

  I’ll work with anyone to make DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME permanent. It’s time to stop changing our clocks for no reason at all. pic.twitter.com/LZeHhMhCfI

  — Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) December 13, 2024

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  Meanwhile, many sleep experts say permanent standard time is the healthier option for the human body. “If you get too much light too late in the evening, it disrupts your sleep, and we are essentially creating a months-long environment in which we are actually receiving light at a time that is later in the day than is optimal for our health,” public health professor Dr. Adam Spira of Johns Hopkins told CNN.  

  A 2021 AP-NORC poll found that only 25% of Americans want to keep flipping the clocks back and forth, while 43% said they wanted standard time all year, and 32% said daylight saving time should be  made permanent. It’s likely many respondents would change their stances — in both directions — if they had a deeper understanding of each option’s implications.

  In November, Trump wing-men Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — who are heading up his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — both hinted that they’d like to see an end to the clock changes. Trump’s son, Don Jr, immediately chimed in, saying, “Leave it daylight saving time always.” 

  It’s inefficient & easy to change.

  — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 27, 2024

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

  In 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent passed the Senate via unanimous consent, but hit a brick wall in the House. That “Sunshine Protection Act” was introduced by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who’s been nominated to serve as Trump’s Secretary of State.   

  It’s a topic many people are passionate about, which is why it’s a shame Trump didn’t throw it into this year’s presidential election mix. In the wake of his announced opposition to the clock changes, social media lit up with people sharing their own views on the topic: 

  Standard time is normal — daylight saving is artificial.

  The end. pic.twitter.com/vmOEZwpSpp

  — Calvin╭ರ_⊙ (@TisMoreorLess) December 13, 2024

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

  Me in the middle of December 2025 after Trump ends Daylight Saving Time pic.twitter.com/af1YzJ640H

  — Trumps Good Ear (@TrumpsGoodEar24) December 13, 2024

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

  Standard Time is actually good and making Daylight Saving Time year round is a bad idea https://t.co/vt5viSpjoU pic.twitter.com/3AsmCeMiHs

  — Ian Miller (@ianmSC) December 13, 2024

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

  If Donald Trump maintains Daylight Savings Time year round, he will be the greatest president ever.

  — Natalie Jean Beisner (@NJBeisner) December 14, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 18:05

• Peter Schiff Exclusive: This Economy Is "On Borrowed Time"
  Peter Schiff Exclusive: This Economy Is “On Borrowed Time”

  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

  I was happy to welcome my friend Peter Schiff back on to Fringe Finance this past week, where I was able to get his take on a couple of the items I wrote about on the blog last week – most importantly, whether or not he thinks markets will crash up (hyperinflation) or down (deflationary depression).

  Schiff and I also talked about his perspectives on markets, government policies, and the future of Bitcoin and gold. I also asked Schiff about his miscalculations, primarily underestimating the length of time it would take for economic reckoning and on bitcoin.

  Speaking from his residence in Puerto Rico, Schiff painted a dire picture of the U.S. economy, marked by excessive debt, misguided monetary policies, and misplaced optimism.

  

  Schiff’s outlook on the markets remains grim. “The market is already very expensive,” he observed, highlighting that “the optimism factored in is misplaced.” He warned of an impending reckoning, exacerbated by years of deficit spending and inflationary policies: “We have a $36.2 trillion debt that’ll soon reach $40 trillion. This is unsustainable.”

  “The market is already very expensive. It’s hard to see parabolic upside when optimism is misplaced. The markets are expecting good things to happen that aren’t going to happen.” – Peter Schiff

  On whether markets are set to “crash up or crash down,” Schiff remarked, “Higher inflation is baked in, but that’s not good for the dollar. The markets are wrong to think it is.” His skepticism extends to the Federal Reserve, which he accused of sacrificing long-term economic health for short-term stability: “The Fed is a one-trick pony. Its solution to every problem is to inflate, mask the problem, and hope it goes away.”

  ---

  🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever

  ---

  Schiff remains an unwavering advocate for gold, dismissing Bitcoin as a speculative bubble. He criticized Bitcoin’s lack of utility, stating, “It’s not digital gold; it’s not digital anything.” Contrasting it with gold, Schiff argued, “Gold has intrinsic value and has been a store of wealth for millennia. Bitcoin has failed to be money for 15 years.”

  Taking aim at Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. government to sell its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin, Schiff called it “a horrible idea” and dismissed Saylor’s comments as “self-serving.” He continued, “Bitcoin is not a reserve asset; it’s a speculative tool that has concentrated risk.”

  Schiff also lambasted the speculative frenzy surrounding Bitcoin ETFs and institutional purchases: “Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s total supply. That’s a bubble waiting to burst.”

  

  “Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have already cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s supply. That’s concentration risk in a speculative bubble,” Schiff said. “Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. to sell its gold for Bitcoin is not just a bad idea—it’s delusional. It’s putting all your eggs in one highly speculative basket.”

  Schiff highlighted the worsening state of the U.S. economy: “People are working harder for less real income, drowning in debt, and paying 25% interest on credit cards. This is the reality behind the so-called recovery.” He lambasted the bipartisan reluctance to address deficits: “Trump promised to cut deficits but signed every debt-busting bill put on his desk. Nothing will change under his leadership.”

  We also discussed:

  • Market outlook: Speculation on whether markets will experience an inflationary rise or deflationary crash
  • Federal Reserve policies: Predictions about the Fed’s actions concerning inflation and interest rates
  • Inflation expectations: Discussion about how inflation impacts the economy and the U.S. dollar
  • Government deficits: Criticism of rising budget and trade deficits under various administrations.
  • Trump’s economic policies: Evaluation of Trump’s promises versus the reality of government spending and deficits
  • Impact of tax cuts: Debate over whether tax cuts would stimulate the economy or worsen the deficit
  • Military and welfare spending: Criticism of increases in military and welfare spending despite calls for fiscal restraint.
  • Gold and currency: The comparative value of gold versus the U.S. dollar and other assets.
  • Bitcoin and cryptocurrency: Analysis of Bitcoin’s perceived value, speculative nature, and potential risks.
  • Comparative risk of assets: Comparison between speculative investment in Bitcoin and traditional markets.
  • Historical trends in gold ETFs: Analysis of gold’s stability and its market dynamics versus Bitcoin.
  • Government intervention in Bitcoin: Concerns over potential government involvement in Bitcoin markets
  • Critique of modern monetary theory (MMT): Dismissal of MMT as a sustainable economic approach
  • Economic bubbles and malinvestment: Concerns over the allocation of capital into unproductive sectors
  • Debt servicing crisis: Warnings about rising interest payments on national debt
  • Future economic predictions: Forecasts of a potential dollar crisis or significant inflationary period

  You can watch the entire hourlong interview here. 

  

  QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 17:30

• ABC To Pay Trump $15 Million For Defamation, Issue Apology
  ABC To Pay Trump $15 Million For Defamation, Issue Apology

  ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $15 million, after Stephanopoulos asserted that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case while interviewing Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) last March.

  

  After the network played a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked: “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”

  “You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” the host continued, referring to the case brought by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.

  Here is the video 🚨

  Trump sued George Stephanopoulos after this interview with Nancy Mace for defamation, and Stephanopoulos is now scheduled for a deposition next week

  Raise your hand ✋️ if you hope Trump gets every dime he can outta Stephanopoulos pic.twitter.com/kGZnsHML6G

  — @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) December 13, 2024

  During his contentious discussion with Mace, Stephanopoulos repeated the claim 10 times despite the fact that a jury only found Trump liable for “sexual abuse” – which under New York law is distinctly different from rape.

  After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a later ruling that just because Carroll failed to prove rape “within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”

  …

  The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees. -Fox News

  After Trump sued for defamation, Stephanopoulos was a pissy little midget – telling CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert that he wouldn’t be “cowed out of doing my job because of a threat,” Fox notes further.

  “Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss.”

  The settlement came after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid recently ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to attend an in-person deposition hearing next week ahead of the Dec. 24 deadline for the defendants to file a motion for summary judgment, in order to avoid a trial.

  In his lawsuit against Stephanopoulos and ABC, Trump was represented by Florida attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh, who also represent the president-elect in his legal case against CNN. The settlement with ABC was filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court where both parties signed and agreed to the terms. -Fox News

  The settlement is the latest in a string of legal victories for Trump – ranging from the dismissal of his 2020 election fraud lawsuit, to his classifieds records case. Trump was also granted a request to file a motion to dismiss in his New York ‘Stormy Daniels’ case.

  Trump is separately suing CBS News for $10 billion in damages over “deceptive conduct.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 16:55

• Natural Gas – Not Nuclear – Is the Key To Powering North America's Future
  Natural Gas – Not Nuclear – Is the Key To Powering North America’s Future

  Authored by Gwyn Morgan via The Epoch Times,

  After decades on the outs with environmentalists and regulators, nuclear power is being heralded as a key component for a “net zero” future of clean, reliable energy. Its promise is likely to fall short, however, due to some hard realities.

  

  As North America grapples with the challenge of providing secure, affordable, and sustainable energy amidst soaring electricity demand, it is time to accept this fact: Natural gas remains the most practical solution for powering our grid and economy.

  Nuclear power’s limitations are rooted in its costs, risks, and delays. Even under ideal circumstances, building or restarting a nuclear facility is arduous. Consider Microsoft’s much-publicized plan to restart the long-dormant Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. This project is lauded as proof of an incipient “nuclear revival,” but despite leveraging existing infrastructure it will cost US$1.6 billion and take four years to bring online.

  This is not a unique case. Across North America, nuclear energy projects face monumental lead times. The new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs), often touted as a game-changer, is still largely theoretical. In Canada—Alberta in particular—discussions around SMRs have been ongoing for years, with no concrete progress. The most optimistic projections estimate the first SMR in Western Canada might be operational by 2034.

  The reality is that nuclear energy cannot scale quickly enough to meet urgent electricity needs. Canada’s power grid is already strained, and electricity demand is set to grow significantly, driven by electric vehicles and enormous data centres for AI applications. Nuclear power, even if expanded aggressively, cannot fill the gap within the necessary time frames.

  Natural gas, by contrast, is abundant, flexible, low-risk—and highly affordable. It accounts for 40 percent of U.S. electricity generation and plays a critical role in Canada’s energy mix. Unlike nuclear, natural gas infrastructure can be built rapidly, ensuring that new capacity comes online when it’s needed—not decades later. Gas-fired plants are cost-effective and capable of providing consistent, large-scale power while being capable of rapid starts and shut-downs, making them suitable for meeting both base-load and “peaking” power demands.

  Climate-related concerns surrounding natural gas need to be put in perspective. Natural gas is the lowest-emission fossil fuel and produces less than half the carbon dioxide of coal per unit of energy output. It is also highly adaptable, supporting renewable energy integration by compensating for the intermittency of wind and solar power.

  Nuclear energy advocates frequently highlight its zero-emission credentials, yet they overlook its immense challenges, not just the front-end problems of high cost and long lead times, but ongoing waste disposal and future decommissioning.

  Natural gas, by comparison, presents fewer risks. Its production and distribution systems are well-established, and North America is uniquely positioned to benefit from the vast reserves underlying all three countries on the continent. Despite low prices and ever-increasing regulatory obstacles, Canada’s natural gas production has been setting new records. Streamlining regulatory processes and expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity would help revive Canada’s battered economy, with plenty of natural gas left over to help meet growing domestic electricity needs.

  Critics argue that investing in natural gas is at odds with the “energy transition” to a glorious net zero future, but this oversimplifies the related challenges and ignores hard realities. By reducing reliance on dirtier fuels like coal, natural gas can help lower a country’s greenhouse gas emissions while providing the reliability needed to support economic growth and renewable energy integration.

  Europe’s energy crisis following the recent reduction of Russian gas imports underscores natural gas’s vital role in maintaining reliable electricity supplies. As nations like Germany still phase out nuclear power due to the sheer blind ideology of their left-wing parties, they’re growing more dependent on natural gas to keep the lights (mostly) on and the factories (partially) humming.

  Europe is already a destination for LNG exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast, and American LNG exports will soon resume growth under the incoming Trump administration. Canada has the resources and know-how to similarly scale up its LNG exports; all we need is a supportive federal government.

  For all its theoretical benefits, nuclear power remains impractical for meeting immediate and medium-term energy demands. Its high costs, lengthy timelines, and significant remaining public opposition make it unlikely to serve as North America’s energy backbone.

  Natural gas, on the other hand, is affordable, scalable, and reliable. It is the fuel that powers industries, keeps homes warm and provides the stability our electricity grid needs—whether or not we ever transition to “net zero.” By prioritizing investment in natural gas infrastructure and expanding its use, we can meet today’s energy challenges head-on while laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s innovations.

  *  *  *

  The original, full-length version of this article was recently published in C2C Journal.

  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, 12/14/2024 – 16:20

• We Are Not Looking For A Fight With Israel: HTS Leader Jolani 
  We Are Not Looking For A Fight With Israel: HTS Leader Jolani 

  Israel has already conducted at least 300 major strikes on Syria since Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over Damascus and much of the country, with President Assad having fled to Moscow, where’s he’s been given asylum.

  Israeli warplanes have been able to launch attacks with impunity, having decimated airbases, missile storehouses, and even chemical weapons facilities. Israel has finally degraded and destroyed what was once among the most feared anti-air defense system and network in the region (which is why previously Israeli warplanes only launched attacks on Syria from over Lebanese airspace). 

  Throughout this past week, HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (who is now reverting to his birth name of Ahmad al-Sharaa) remained noticeably silent on the non-stop Israeli attacks which have kept all of Damascus awake at night and involved low flying Israeli warplanes.

  

  But on Saturday Jolani is seeking to give Israel ‘assurances’ – also as IDF tanks and troops have crossed into Syria and have expanded occupation of more parts of the south. He said his new government has “no intention of confronting Israel.”

  “We are not looking to engage in a conflict with Israel and cannot bear such a battle,” Jolani continued, and further pointed out he’s not looking for war with Iran either.

  He signaled intent for “no hostilities with the Iranian people” but also called Assad’s ouster “a victory over the dangerous Iranian project in the region.”

  He said Syrian state “should not be governed with a revolutionary mindset, and we need laws and institutions [to this end]” – as he pledges to bring stability and has said he won’t let his forces embark on revenge killings.

  There have been reports of Sunni Islamist militants targeting Alawite villages in the Latakia or possibly central Syrian countryside, but thus far no evidence of attacks on ethno-religions minorities in Damascus or major cities have emerged.

  The Druze community, which is an Islamic offshoot in the south and considered heretical by hardline Sunnis, is deeply fearful and some tribes near Golan are actually seeking Israeli production. The Druze leadership doesn’t trust the jihadists of HTS and are actually petitioning Israel to annex their villages:

  In a video posted to X on Friday that features captions in English, a Hader resident claiming to be a representative of the Druze people, an esoteric ethnoreligious group, urged a large crowd to consider what their future will be like. The village is located within the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, which IDF troops entered last week.

  “If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil,” he said. “And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the [Israeli] Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way,” the man added, apparently referring to the HTS, which was formerly known as the Al Nusra front – an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Syria.

  BREAKING: The Druze leader of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria issued a statement for his village.

  “We will not agree to live under the rule of the rebels, who are identical to ISIS, we want to live under Israeli rule and become part of Israel.”
  pic.twitter.com/x5y1IqSqrM

  — Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 13, 2024

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

  The man warned, clearly in reference to the armed jihadist factions now all over Syria: “That evil might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses.”

  Israel has meanwhile signaled it plans to keep its military presence in southern Syria, and will maintain a forward operating base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 15:45

• Sigh… Gen Z Interns Are Still Tweeting About Project 2025 From Biden's X Account
  Sigh… Gen Z Interns Are Still Tweeting About Project 2025 From Biden’s X Account

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  President Trump won the election over a month ago. Yet ‘Joe Biden’ sent out a post on X Friday saying that he’s “praying” Trump will not implement “Project 2025”.

  

  They just can’t stop with this nonsense.

  I pray to God that the president-elect throws away Project 2025. I think it would be an economic disaster.

  I believe the only way for a president to lead America is to lead all of America.

  — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 12, 2024

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

  They don’t know what else to do with themselves.

  I see the Gen Z staffer from your party’s brutal loss hasn’t been fired.

  — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 12, 2024

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

  They’re STILL going with this 🤣 https://t.co/BbhUwDIm8H

  — Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) December 12, 2024

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

  They’re like Wall-E the garbage droid that keeps collecting garbage for eternity after humanity has left Earth for a different planet.

  Need to make him into a garbage cube like wall-e pic.twitter.com/lDRC2W2TKs

  — Keigofucker6969 (@RacoonsInPasta3) August 2, 2024

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

  Speaking of garbage…

  …those who are garbage and those who voted for Harris.

  — Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) December 12, 2024

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

  The post doesn’t even make sense.

  Why would Trump have to throw it away? It’s not his. https://t.co/IRrdHU6nxL

  — The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) December 12, 2024

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

  He said 900 times he hasn’t read it – it’s NOT his. You’re trying to create linkage that doesn’t exist. Quit trying to divide. No one believes you. https://t.co/nRYcNRNgKz

  — Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) December 13, 2024

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

  Why would anyone listen to the Biden Administration about what constitutes sound economic policy?

  Forgive me for ignoring anything YOU call “economic disaster”
  You give all our money to Ukraine!

  — LibertyJ (@LibertyJen) December 13, 2024

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

  Ebenezer Scrooge says what?

  Speaking of economic disasters… https://t.co/wNKs9nCTYC pic.twitter.com/ZEPFUEdjss

  — DuchessOfSalt👑💎 (@SaltyMom10) December 13, 2024

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

  *  *  *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 15:10

• "Watch Credit Spreads" For Crash Signals – Insights From Pento & Roberts On 2025 Positioning
  “Watch Credit Spreads” For Crash Signals – Insights From Pento & Roberts On 2025 Positioning

  Are markets headed for a cliff? Most analysts flipped bullish following the Trump win with promises of peace, lower taxes, and business-friendly regulation. But one strategist, Michael Pento, is calling for a major crash as severe as 50% off the S&P.

  Friday night concluded another ZeroHedge live-premium debate with Pento, founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies, and Chief Investment Strategist at RIA Advisors Lance Roberts. 

  Expertly moderated by Real Vision’s Ash Bennington, we’ve compiled key moments below but encourage all readers to listen to the full debate (linked at the bottom).

  Credit Spreads Canary

  Unlike the stock market, driven by sentiment and speculation, credit markets are “fundamentally based” on assessing inflation, credit risk, and returns — according to Roberts.

  He points out that these spreads have historically served as a “good early warning indicator” of bear markets. Roberts concedes Pento’s thesis about the precarious state of the market and even admits, “we’re going to crash” (but strongly advises against all-cash and shorting, explained later).

  “If there’s anything you’re going to watch to tell you a crash is going to come, watch credit spreads.”

  pic.twitter.com/ND3KGlVihm

  — ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 14, 2024

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

  Fed Is Finished

  Pento argues that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to intervene aggressively in the event of another economic crash due to significant changes since pre-COVID conditions. He challenges the assumption that “the Fed’s got your back” by pointing to current constraints that make a return to policies like zero interest rates (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) less feasible.

  Pento: “It’s a little sophomoric to say, ‘well, the Feds got your back. Well, the Fed’s just going to print money.’” 

  “Look at what happened in 2020. The Fed’s balance sheet went from $4 trillion to $9 trillion from 2020 to 2022… the reason why the Fed is going to be loathe and reticent and reluctant to do that again, is because we had inflation in this country for the first time really since 1981. And if you measure inflation the way they did pre-Boskin in 1996, inflation was really about 20%.”

  “Inflation has already wiped out the bottom four quintiles of the middle class.”

  pic.twitter.com/lAQGGjMH19

  — ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 14, 2024

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

  Even if the Fed tries to put up a fight, says Pento, there’s no guarantee that they can save markets. Japan has thrown the kitchen sink at its markets to levels well beyond the American central bank but to no avail:

  “Japan has zero percent interest rates. The Bank of Japan owns every JGB that’s ever issued. They own half of the ETF market, and their market is below where it was 35 years ago.”

  pic.twitter.com/RM6Skuu0Mz

  — ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 14, 2024

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

  Harmful Doomer Predictions 

  Roberts blasts doomsday predictions for causing massive losses for retail investors, encouraging them to remain permanently out of markets while the S&P climbs to new highs. 

  “If you’re going to say a crash is coming… it’s got to have a specific timeframe.” 

  He highlights the market’s resilience during events like the 2020 shutdown. “If there was ever a reason the market should be down 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, it should have been that event.” Though Roberts concedes that the federal government kept stocks afloat with stimulus checks, debt forgiveness, zero interest rates, and $120 billion in monthly quantitative easing.

  Overall, he strongly discourages investors against crash predicting because current conditions, fueled by liquidity and support, may sustain the rally longer than expected. “They might be surprised how long this can last because of what’s still fueling the underlying market.”

  pic.twitter.com/EvzvoUZNDh

  — ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 14, 2024

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

  To hear Pento’s entire case for the 50% crash and his full discussion with Roberts that went for over an hour, you must sign up for the ZeroHedge Premium or Professional tiers. Pro subs additionally gain access to institutional research from the major banks to help you gain an edge when trading. Also tune in this Tuesday evening for a debate between Jonathan Turley and GW Professor Dave Karpf on free speech and Elon’s acquisition of Twitter, moderated by Gene Epstein of the SoHo Forum.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 14:35

• "We're Kinda Worried…" – Judicial Watch Helps Unearth 911 Call Made By Trump Shooter's Dad
  “We’re Kinda Worried…” – Judicial Watch Helps Unearth 911 Call Made By Trump Shooter’s Dad

  Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

  Thanks to the help of the non-profit transparency group Judicial Watch, Headline USA has obtained a recording of the 911 call Thomas Crooks’s father made on the day his son allegedly tried assassinating Donald Trump during his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

  

  Allegheny County—where Crooks lived with his parents, Matthew and Mary Crooks—provided the call to Headline USA on Friday after a four-month legal process.

  The call lasts roughly 2 minutes before abruptly ending. Matthew Crooks initially called Allegheny County 911 dispatch, which transferred him to the Bethel Park Police Department.

  Headline USA · crooks-911-call-headlineusa

  “Hi, yes. Uh, my name is Matthew Crooks. I was calling in regards to my son, Thomas. Uh, he belongs to the Clairton Sportsman Club in Clairton, and I don’t have the number for Jefferson Police on hand. The reason I’m calling is he left the house here at about a quarter to two this afternoon, and we’ve gotten no contact from him, no text messages, nothing’s been returned, and he’s not home yet,” Matthew said.

  “That’s totally not like him. So we’re kind of worried, not really sure what we should do.”

  The recording ended after Matthew confirmed his son was 20 years old. Headline USA is filing an appeal in an attempt to obtain the rest of the recording—if it exists.

  Obtaining the 2-minute recording was a lengthy process in the first place.

  After requesting the call on Aug. 12, Bethel Park Police denied disclosure nine days later— citing Section 708(b)(18) of the RTKL, which exempts 911 recordings from public disclosure.

  However, the exact same RTKL paragraph cited by Bethel Police also states that law enforcement can release 911 recordings that are in the public interest.

  Headline USA appealed accordingly, but an appeals officer ruled that he didn’t have the power to force disclosure. Only a police department or a court has the power to force disclosure of 911 calls, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruled in October. The Office of Open Records made a similar ruling that same month in an appeal filed by NBC News, which also sought the call.

  That’s where Judicial Watch came in. The non-profit watchdog agreed to take on this publication’s case, filing a lawsuit in late October in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas to force Bethel Park Police to disclose the 911 call.

  “Disclosing the 911 recording would further aid the public’s interest in completing a timeline of events surrounding the attempted assignation of President Trump on July 13, 2024,” attorney J. Chadwick Schnee argued on behalf of Judicial Watch and Headline USA—asking the court to reverse the appeal office’s decision and to deem the 911 recording to be in the public interest.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t obtain the 911 phone call

  BUT THE MAN WITH THE LARGEST ARMS IN WASHINGTON DC COULD!!!!@JudicialWatch @TomFitton https://t.co/R3nNBbbG19 https://t.co/O7HNRm2543 pic.twitter.com/jPS7krVSIH

  — Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) December 13, 2024

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

  However, a judge never had the chance to rule on Judicial Watch’s lawsuit. Last week, ABC News published a story about the call, reporting that it obtained the 911 call via a Right to Know Law request—the same method by which both Headline USA and NBC had requested it. Though Headline USA’s request was with Bethel Park Police, NBC had tried obtaining the recording via Allegheny County—and the county fought NBC all the way to appeal, and won.

  It’s not clear why Allegheny County disclosed the call to ABC after denying it to NBC—and successfully arguing in October that it wasn’t in the public interest. However, Allegheny County only disclosed the call after Judicial Watch filed its lawsuit.

  ABC did reveal that the call was made at 10:56 p.m., which settles conflicting reports of whether the father called before or after his son shot at Trump at 6:11 p.m.—grazing Trump’s ear, killing a firefighter, and seriously wounding two others before dying from law enforcement’s return fire.

  The timing of the call wasn’t included in the response Headline USA received.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 14:00

• Fury Erupts As Biden Commutes Sentence Of Infamous 'Kids-For-Cash' Judge
  Fury Erupts As Biden Commutes Sentence Of Infamous ‘Kids-For-Cash’ Judge

  Earlier this week, President Biden broke the record for the largest one-day act of clemency, dishing out 39 pardons and commuting 1,499 sentences. Now, as journalists and citizens begin sifting through that massive pile, some troubling discoveries are coming to light — perhaps none more disturbing than Biden’s commutation of a sentence given to a Pennsylvania judge convicted of railroading children to prison in exchange for $2.1 million in kickbacks from the private prison’s operator to himself and Judge Mark Ciaverella.    

  In a truly sinister scandal that came to be known by the nickname “Kids-for-Cash,” Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan pled guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. By some estimates, the scheme affected more than 2,500 juveniles. In many cases, the minors were provided no defense counsel, and the crooked judges creatively applied laws in order to lengthen sentences. In a case handled by Ciaverella, a 15-year-old girl who created a MySpace page to mock her school’s assistant principal had a 90-second, no-lawyer trial, and was sentenced to three months in confinement.

  

  Sandy Fonzo is among those who are outraged by Biden’s commutation of Conahan’s sentence. Her son, a star wrestler with college scholarship prospects, was sentenced to confinement for his senior year on a minor drug paraphernalia charge. He emerged depressed and angry, and would late commit suicide. “I am shocked and I am hurt,” said Fonzo. “Conahan‘s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son‘s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power.”

  Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was among those rushing to condemn Biden’s move. “I do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro at a Friday event — held, believe it or not, on “Biden Street” — in the president’s first hometown, Scranton. “[Conahan] deserves to be behind bars, not walking as a free man.”

  I grew up in the Scranton area. All you have to say is “Kids for Cash” and people will know the deep scar you’re referencing that was left on the area.

  — Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) December 13, 2024

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

  Amid the uproar, a Biden administration official told Politico that the specifics of Conahan’s situation weren’t taken into account; instead, the commutations were dished out en masse to anyone who fit a general set of criteria. (Is that supposed to make it sound better?) As Politico explains, “those commutations were extended to people on Covid-related home confinement after federal authorities verified that their offenses were nonviolent and not a sex offense or terrorism related.”

  Joe “fuck them kids” Biden commuted Judge Michael “Kids For Cash” Conahan’s sentence. One of the worst presidents of my lifetime.

  — That radical social work chick (@sandinistaoliva) December 13, 2024

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

  Those sloppy parameters left plenty of room for serious evil-doers — like Conahan and who knows how many else — to be set free.  As GOP Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Baker asked, “Where does ruining the lives of vulnerable kids in order to enrich oneself warrant a presidential commutation?”

  The firestorm comes two weeks after Biden issued a blanket pardon of his son Hunter for any federal crimes he “has committed or may have committed or participated in” between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2024. Coming after promises that he would not issue such a pardon, the move received condemnation from Republicans and Democrat alike, and an AP-NORC poll found only two out of ten Americans approve it. 

  Kids for Cash is Biden’s entire family model. https://t.co/0iHlkT3Uuw

  — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 13, 2024

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

  “I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities,” said Biden in a statement issued alongside last week’s pardons and commutations.

  There’s a great, sickening irony in Biden shortening the sentence of a man who unjustly lengthened the sentences of others — out of pure greed. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 13:25

• Trump Appoints Former Fox Anchor Kari Lake To Lead Voice Of America
  Trump Appoints Former Fox Anchor Kari Lake To Lead Voice Of America

  Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  President-elect Donald Trump has named former Fox 10 Phoenix news anchor Kari Lake to lead the federally funded international broadcasting network Voice of America (VOA).

  

  “I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America,” Trump said in a number of announcements for positions in his administration on Dec. 11.

  “She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World fairly and accurately, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media.”

  VOA was founded on Feb. 1, 1942, with a non-American audience in mind, to share the “policies of the United States clearly and effectively.” At the time, its goal was to combat Nazi propaganda.

  Lake ran in both the 2024 U.S. Senate election and Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election, with her Democratic competitors named winners in both races.

  “I am honored that President Trump has asked me to lead the Voice of America,” Lake said in a post on social media platform X shortly after being named.

  “VOANews is a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth,” she said of the network that has an audience of 326 million people across 48 languages.

  “Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide,” she said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

  Other Appointments

  Also on the night of Dec. 11, Trump nominated Michael J. Rigas as deputy secretary of state for management and resources. The position requires confirmation by the Senate.

  “Michael will bring accountability to the State Department as he did Government wide, when he served in my First Term as the Deputy and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and the Acting Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget,” Trump said of the Harvard alumnus.

  “Mike is a conservative warrior who knows how Government works, and will help Make America Great Again!”

  Trump also named Daniel J. Newlin as his administration’s ambassador to Colombia.

  An entrepreneur and former lawman, Newlin dedicated a 28-year career to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, where he investigated major crimes, including armed robbery, gang violence, human trafficking, and illegal gun and narcotics trafficking.

  “With his Law Enforcement expertise enabling him to navigate complex international issues, and his business insights fostering economic partnerships, Newlin stands as a powerful advocate for U.S. interests, and a Champion for strengthening ties, and making a difference in the World. Dan will do a great job!” Trump said.

  The president-elect also named philanthropist and physician Dr. Peter Lamelas as ambassador to Argentina and Leandro Rizzuto Jr., as ambassador to the Organization of American States.

  Lamelas, a refugee from communist Cuba, is known for creating the largest urgent care health care company in Florida. He was previously chosen by Trump to serve on the Department of Justice’s Medal of Valor Review Board to recognize first responders.

  Rizzuto, son of chairman and co-founder of the Conair Corporation Leandro Rizzuto, formerly served as U.S. consul general to Bermuda in the first Trump administration.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 12:50

• NJ Drone 'Invasion' Just In Time For Congress To Reauthorize Orwellian Law
  NJ Drone ‘Invasion’ Just In Time For Congress To Reauthorize Orwellian Law

  A series of drone sightings over New Jersey that began in mid-November has left residents and lawmakers spooked about the possibility of foreign adversaries breaching US airspace with drone swarms. While officials have attempted to reassure the public, some lawmakers have stoked fear, leading to widespread panic on social media, with people interpreting anything moving in the night sky as a potential drone (even commercial jets and stars). 

  

  Days ago, the FBI and the US Homeland Security Department released a statement indicating, “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” 

  “Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft,” the federal agencies said. 

  White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said many of the purported drone sightings are commercial jets with no evidence of a national security or public safety threat. 

  If actual ‘truck-sized’ drones (some say Iranian origin) were flying in some of the world’s most restricted airspace, let’s use common sense—the Pentagon would have scrambled F-22s and F-35s on the East Coast almost immediately. Since that hasn’t happened (as far as we know), we can’t help but be suspicious about the whole drone situation. Additionally, no private satellite data shows that Iranian drone carriers are parked off the coast; in fact, these vessels are located 7,500 miles away.

  Let’s take a step back and review some of Elon Musk’s tweets on X:

  • Sept. 30: “Drone swarm battles are coming that will boggle the mind” 

  • Sept. 29: “Epic drone wars coming” 

  • Jan. 5, 2023: “The Drone Wars are already a big deal, but we ain’t seen nothing yet …” 

  What did Elon know ahead of time?

  

  Even President-elect Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don (sic) think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shot (sic) them down!!! DJT.” 

  Fox News reporter Bill Melugin asked Musk on X his thoughts on the situation… “Alien spaceships controlled by Iran obv,” Musk replied.

  Alien spaceships controlled by Iran obv

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 13, 2024

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

  No actual drones have been recovered, and footage on X frequently features amateur videos mistaking drones for commercial aircraft. Furthermore, as far as we know, the FAA has not closed large sections of airspace or diverted planes. While we are not dismissing the possibility of foreign adversary-operated drones breaching heavily restricted airspace, we are pointing out the extraordinary hype on social media (with no substance), which has caused widespread panic with some users on X calling this a “psyop.” 

  This is a psyop in and out. I have been tracking flights in and out of the NY, NJ region while these drones were in the sky, and not a single airspace alert or diversion was issued for flights passing overhead. If the US government suspected foreign controlled, possibly hostile,… pic.twitter.com/ilmrqiGKB2

  — Kobus Swart (@k0busswart) December 11, 2024

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

  Elon Musk put this out months before the current drone psyop over New Jersey ..

  Wait for the prepackaged “solution” from this latest government manufactured crisis to come in the form of Elon’s Starshield and Peter Thiel’s Palantir pic.twitter.com/CMkagUncEH

  — Nightwatch N8 (@NightwatchN8) December 14, 2024

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

  Is this the cause of the drone uproar? The FAA reauthorization act of 2018 expires on Dec 20th. The “replacement” being pushed is a bigger grab at taking our freedoms.

  New H.R.8610 (Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act of 2024) which will include… https://t.co/UtNSGZ2IGY

  — B Husker (@blittle47) December 14, 2024

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

  The “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018” expires on December 20th of this year.

  So the Federal Government is literally using a terrorism drone mystery psyop against you to manipulate Congress into passing the new H.R.8610 (Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and…

  — Wyatt (@austerrewyatt1) December 14, 2024

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

  Let’s say some of these drone sightings were real. Then, maybe… 

  pic.twitter.com/a8NHe1HIJa

  — Bob’s News (@dyversityhire) December 14, 2024

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

  X user mcm_ct_usa makes the point the purported drone sightings could be a “psyop against you to manipulate Congress into passing the new H.R.8610 (Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act of 2024) which will include appropriations and enhanced government powers to control you, and they’re even going so far as to use it to push for acts of war against other countries.” 

  DRONE MYSTERY SOLVED

  The “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018” expires on December 20th of this year.

  So the Federal Government is literally using a terrorism psyop against you to manipulate Congress into passing the new H.R.8610 (Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and… https://t.co/4to0q3xx15

  — @mcm_ct_usa (@mcm_ct_usa) December 14, 2024

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

  It’s coincidental that last week, a Homeland Security joint subcommittee held a hearing on H.R.8610, the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would renew and reform counter-UAS legal authorities and strengthen the FAA’s oversight powers of drones.

  

  “The reason we need legal authority is that without it, use of the most effective types of drone detection and counter-drone technologies could violate criminal laws, including those that prohibit destroying or disabling aircraft in flight and intercepting signals and communications,” said Brad Wiegmann, the DOJ’s deputy assistant attorney general for national security.

  With current drone-countering authorities set to expire on Dec. 20, the sudden surge in purported drone sightings and the accompanying MSM and social media panic might make a bit more sense—as an effort to push for the reauthorization of Orwellian drone laws.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 12/14/2024 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Global South's Energy Rebellion At COP29 Signals A New Future
  Global South’s Energy Rebellion At COP29 Signals A New Future

  Authored by Vijay Jayaraj via RealClearWire,

  The climate movement’s annual showpiece, the United Nation’s Conference of Parties (COP), held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan, has been exposed to an unprecedented level of disinterest—even dissent—from developing nations.

  

  Leaders of some of the world’s most resource-rich, economically aspiring countries have opted to sit this one out, sending only low-level delegates, if any. This is the latest signal of a growing resistance to an anti-fossil fuel “gospel” advanced by the United Nations.

  Last year’s COP28 in the Middle East, where oil wealth underpins entire economies, forced the climate community to confront its contradictions. Today, COP29 in central Asia continues this reckoning and presages the demise of an unscientific and anti-developmental policy framework wrecking global economies.

  Host of COP29 Educates Climate Woke Delegates

  The tone of COP29 itself is a marked departure from prior gatherings. In Azerbaijan, where oil and gas production are integral to the national economy, the summit’s host, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, called fossil fuels “a gift from God,” lauding their contribution to global prosperity and stability.

  Fossil fuels have moved from being a taboo “elephant in the room” to a subject of open discussion at COPs. The leaders of countries in Africa and Latin America are freely questioning the premise of banning their use of fossil fuels while much of the developed world continues to consume record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas. The notion that high-income nations can dictate the energy agenda is seen as a remnant of a power structure that primarily serves the interests of the world’s most privileged.

  The International Energy Agency projects that developing countries will see substantial growth in energy demand over the next decade, an expansion that cannot be met by renewables. Leaders in these regions understand that hydrocarbons are critical to achieving their development goals.

  Unprecedented Pullout From COP Conference and Resistance From Global South

  In a surprising move, Argentina’s newly elected president, Javier Gerardo Milei, withdrew his country’s 80-person delegation from Baku less than a third of the way into this year’s 11-day COP. He cited the need for pragmatic energy policies that encourage development rather than stymie it.

  For Milei, whose presidential campaign was based on a pro-business, anti-bureaucracy platform, the message is clear: Policy must serve the economic needs of his country first. Argentina’s ongoing energy crisis, its untapped shale gas reserves and a crippling economic situation demand a level-headed approach that prioritizes national interests over global climate ideals that are both batty and corrupt.

  Milei’s political philosophy resonates with a growing number of leaders in the Global South who view economic growth as paramount and recognize that access to energy is fundamental to achieving it.

  Argentina’s departure from COP29 is a turning point that should serve as a wake-up call to the U.N. and its allies. The time for one-size-fits-all mandates is over. The rigid orthodoxy of fossil fuel divestment pushed by the U.N. and wealthy nations is losing ground, challenged by leaders who refuse to sacrifice their national interests to a destructive agenda.

  For much of the Global South, the idea of an immediate energy transition remains, at best, aspirational and, at worst, profoundly out of touch. The reality is that fossil fuels still power 80 percent of global energy consumption. This isn’t just an inconvenient truth; it’s an inescapable basis of modern civilization that developing nations understand viscerally.

  As the COP29 circus concludes in Baku, the world is seeing the crumbling of the long-held illusion that a global transition to green energyis feasible, much less fair and desirable. Developing nations are proclaiming that they will not be deprived of necessary energy sources by nations that continue to feast on the very fossil fuels they frown upon. The disconnect between rhetoric and reality is stark, and developing countries are calling attention to it.

  Fossil fuels are not a relic of the past; for many countries, they are the key to a prosperous future—truly “a gift from God.”

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 23:25

• Russian Forces Positioned To Take Key City Of Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Manpower Falters
  Russian Forces Positioned To Take Key City Of Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Manpower Falters

  The key logistical hub of Ukraine’s eastern front, Pokrovsk has been under steady contention for the past three months. Russian forces have spent the better part of that time pushing westward to flank just south of the city.  They have now taken Kurakhove and cut off supply routes coming from Pokrovsk to a large portion of the front line.  Some reports indicate that Ukrainian troops trying to leave Kurakhove may be cut off.  The slow motion flanking maneuver has set the stage for Pokrovsk to be enveloped from the south.  

  

  Since the beginning of the war the area has been the primary staging ground for resupply of Ukrainian troops across the east.  After Pokrovsk is cut off or taken, it is expected that Russia will then be able to gain significant ground across the entire front and move closer to controlling all of Donetsk.  

  Losses for Ukraine have been stacking up in 2024 and lack of manpower has been the overarching theme.  Though numerous western officials and think-tanks (including The Institute For The Study of War) claim that Russian gains have been paid for with “massive casualties”, they’ve provided no concrete proof so far to support their stats.  The “Russian meat grinder” narrative is beginning to sound like a coping mechanism or propaganda as it becomes clear that Russia is gaining troop strength instead of losing momentum.

  

  (There has been similar propaganda surrounding mass casualties of North Korean troops in Kursk – There are still no verified reports or video footage of actual DPRK troops in combat against Ukraine.  Rumors abound, like the “Ghost of Kyiv”)

  What we do know is that Ukraine is desperate for new soldiers to refresh their defensive lines.  NATO leaders and the Biden White House have been putting pressure on Vladimir Zelensky to draft men from the 18-25 age bracket; a move Zelensky has avoided to prevent the complete loss of a generation.  The average age of conscripts is now well over 40 years old.  

  This may be why Joe Biden recently gave the green light for Ukraine to use long range missiles (ATACMs and Storm Shadows) within Russian territory.  Every time Ukraine faces a strategic failure, NATO offers up new weaponry as a public distraction.  They said Abrams tanks would be a game changer for Ukraine, then they said the F-16s would be a game changer.  Now they claim the long range strikes using smart weapons will be a game changer.

  Most military analysts agree that these weapons have had little effect on the course of the war.   

  Russia’s typical methodology for dealing with urban centers has been to surround and then bombard with artillery and FABs until the majority of buildings and defenses are rubble.  A renowned Ukrainian military officer, Serhii Filimonov, commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion of the 59th Motorised Brigade, described Pokrovsk’s defense as a “disaster”.  Senior officers are placing “unrealistic” demands on units and are unfamiliar with circumstances on the front line, Filimonov wrote on his Telegram channel this week.   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 23:00

• Amazon To Donate $1 Million to Trump's Inauguration Fund, Live Stream On Prime Video
  Amazon To Donate $1 Million to Trump’s Inauguration Fund, Live Stream On Prime Video

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Amazon said Thursday it will donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund and an additional $1 million in-kind donation by live-streaming the historical event on Prime Video.

  

  Amazon’s announcement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, coincided with news that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.

  The move marks a shift for tech leaders who appear to want to improve the previously rocky relations with Trump, who will take office next month.

  Trump has previously criticized the Amazon- and Jeff Bezos-owned The Washington Post over political coverage. Bezos has publicly condemned some of Trump’s rhetoric and accused him of bias in a 2019 lawsuit over a $10 billion Pentagon contract.

  Bezos has recently softened his stance, expressing optimism about Trump’s second term and endorsing proposed regulatory reforms while at a business summit last week.

  Bezos and Trump are set to meet next week, potentially marking a turning point in their relationship.

  Amazon’s donation and live-streaming offer, as well as Meta’s donation, signal a strategic effort to improve relations with Trump and his incoming administration after years of tension.

  Trump’s relationship with Meta was strained by the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts in January 2021, following the breach of the Capitol. The company attributed the deplatforming to what they said was Trump’s “praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

  The company restored his accounts in early 2023 and announced stiffer penalties for public figures who repeatedly violate its policies “in ways that incite or celebrate ongoing violent events or civil unrest.”

  This heightened scrutiny was later revoked on July 12, one day before the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

  Zuckerberg expressed praise for Trump following his brush with death, and called him.

  “Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most bad-[expletive] things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg told Bloomberg days after the shooting.

  Trump’s stance on Zuckerberg has also softened since the call, he revealed on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast. Trump said during the interview that he appreciated the tech leader’s call and praised him for “staying out of the election.”

  This was a reference to the $400 million Zuckerberg and his wife donated $400 million to election offices around the country during the 2020 elections, with 90 percent directed toward Democrat-leaning counties in key swing states.

  In recent months, Zuckerberg has publicly supported some of Trump’s economic plans.

  Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, has said Zuckerberg wants to support and assist the president-elect in implementing national reforms. The donation marks a turning point in the billionaires’ previously rocky relationship.

  The Associated Press and Samantha Flom contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 22:35

• Court Denies TikTok Request To Delay US Ban Set For Jan 19
  Court Denies TikTok Request To Delay US Ban Set For Jan 19

  By Catherine Yang of The Epoch Times

  

  A federal appeals court on Dec. 13 denied TikTok’s request to delay the Jan. 19, 2025, deadline for it to cut ties with the Chinese communist regime, shortly after the app filed its final argument for a delay.

  In an unsigned, expedited order, the three-judge panel denied the request and found there was no precedent for granting this type of request.

  TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and a group of TikTok users had challenged the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) that went into effect in April, arguing the law was unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. PAFACA forbids apps that operate in the United States from being owned by a foreign adversary. ByteDance argues that it is effectively a ban because the Chinese regime will not allow the sale of TikTok and its proprietary algorithm.

  The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week denied the petitioners’ challenge, finding the law did not violate the First Amendment. The Justice Department, representing the government, argued that the law targeted ownership of an entity by a foreign adversary, not content on the app.

  When President Joe Biden signed the law in April, it started a 270-day countdown for ByteDance to either divest of TikTok by Jan. 19, 2025, or cease operations in the United States.

  TikTok then requested the court pause the countdown while it seeks appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court. The DOJ had opposed the delay, arguing three branches of government had already affirmed that TikTok presented a national security risk.

  “The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court,” the order reads.

  The judges found that TikTok and the petitioners relied on First Amendment arguments that the court had already rejected in order to make their case for an extension.

  “As to those claims, this court has already unanimously concluded the Act satisfies the requirements of the First Amendment under heightened scrutiny,” the order reads.

  TikTok may ask the Supreme Court to issue an emergency injunction, effectively stopping the countdown, while the high court considers its petition. There is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will take any case.

  In its emergency request for relief, TikTok said delaying enforcement of the law would “simply create breathing room for the Supreme Court to conduct an orderly review and for the incoming Administration to evaluate this matter—before one of this country’s most important speech platforms is shuttered.”

  The platform said that a temporary shutdown would “have devastating effects on TikTok Inc.’s business” while halting the law would “impose no material harm on the Government.”

  A separate filing showed TikTok creators declaring that the law would cause them harm. For example, Brian Firebaugh, a cattle rancher who has the “cattleguy” account on TikTok, told the D.C. circuit court that he earns most of his income through selling ranch products promoted on the platform.

  “Not only would a TikTok ban quickly dismantle my business and my family’s way of life, it would also immediately eliminate the most effective tool for me to communicate with and support the agricultural community in Texas,” he said.

  DOJ’s response said that TikTok and others were downplaying national security concerns.

  “TikTok’s continued operation in the United States under its current ownership poses substantial harms to national security by virtue of TikTok’s data-collection practices and the covert intelligence and surveillance efforts of the Chinese government,” DOJ’s response read.

  Continue reading at Epoch Times

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 22:15

• Trump Slams Long-Range Missile Strikes On Russia
  Trump Slams Long-Range Missile Strikes On Russia

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  President-elect Donald Trump has said that he “vehemently” disagrees with the US supporting long-range missile strikes inside Russian territory, which President Biden authorized last month.

  “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?” Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine for an issue that named him Person of the Year.

  

  “We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” Trump added.

  Biden took the step to support Ukrainian strikes on Russia using US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles even after Moscow made clear it would risk a nuclear escalation.

  Russia responded to Ukraine’s initial ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes by firing a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile known as the Oreshnik.

  Ukrainian forces fired more ATACMS into Russia this week, and the Russian Defense Ministry has vowed there will be another response:

  “This attack by Western long-range weapons won’t be left unanswered, and corresponding measures will be taken,” the ministry said.

  Trump campaigned on ending the proxy war in Ukraine but has not articulated how exactly he plans to do that. He was asked in the Time interview if he would “abandon” Ukraine and responded:

  “I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon. You understand what that means, right?”

  The president-elect stressed in the interview that he was concerned with the death toll in the conflict, saying it was much higher than what’s been reported. He said the “numbers of dead young soldiers lying on fields all over the place are staggering. It’s crazy what’s taking place.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:45

• Moody's Cuts France In Surprise Downgrade Amid Mounting Political Chaos
  Moody’s Cuts France In Surprise Downgrade Amid Mounting Political Chaos

  Two weeks ago, at the end of November, when many were expecting Moody’s to downgrade France’s Aa2 rating (after it was put on negative outlook in October), the rating agency chickened out as there was still hope that Macron might salvage some of the political chaos engulfing Europe’s second biggest economy, and well aware that telling the truth in Europe is very costly. Alas, after Marine Le Pen toppled Barnier’s government in a dispute over deficit reduction one week ago, Moody’s no longer could pretend that France is anything but a flaming dumpster fire of a political circus, and late after the Friday close, in a downgrade that came outside of Moody’s regular review schedule for France, Moody’s cut its rating of the euro area’s second biggest economy to Aa3 from Aa2, three levels below the maximum rating, and with a “stable outlook”, for now. Moody’s was the last holdout: France has already been cut to equivalent levels by Fitch and S&P.

  

  The downgrade comes hours after President Emmanuel Macron named on Friday veteran centrist politician and early ally Francois Bayrou as his fourth prime minister this year. His predecessor Michel Barnier failed to pass a 2025 budget and was toppled earlier this month by left and right-wing lawmakers opposed to his 60 billion euro belt-tightening push that he had hoped would rein in France’s spiraling fiscal deficit.

  The political crisis forced the outgoing government to propose emergency legislation this week to temporarily roll over 2024 spending limits and tax thresholds into next year until a more permanent 2025 budget can be passed.

  The decision “reflects our view that the country’s public finances will be substantially weakened over the coming years,” Moody’s said in a statement. “Looking ahead, there is now very low probability that the next government will sustainably reduce the size of fiscal deficits beyond next year.”

  “As a result, we forecast that France’s public finances will be materially weaker over the next three years compared to our October 2024 baseline scenario,” it added.

  Barnier had intended to cut the budget deficit next year to 5% of economic output from 6.1% this year with a 60 billion euro package of spending cuts and tax hikes. But a majority of lawmakers were opposed to much of the belt-tightening drive and voted a no confidence measure against Barnier’s government, bringing it down.

  Bayrou, who has long warned about France’s weak public finances, said on Friday shortly after taking office that he faced a “Himalaya” of a challenge reining in the deficit.

  Outgoing Finance Minister Antoine Armand said the downgrade reflects the recent parliamentary developments and uncertainty around the budget. “The nomination of Francois Bayrou as prime minister and the reaffirmed will to reduce the deficit will provide an explicit response,” Armand said in a social media post.

  The government’s collapse and the scrapping of France’s 2025 budget added to months of political upheaval that has already hammered business confidence, with the country’s economic outlook steadily deteriorating.

  Barnier’s budget foresaw significant belt tightening by historical standards to bring the deficit to 5% of economic output from 6.1% this year. The next government will likely have to pare back those ambitions in order to get support from some of the lawmakers who toppled Barnier, but economists say the final outcome may even be no improvement. Plans to repair public finances were already derailed this year by poor tax revenues as consumer spending and corporate profits disappointed.

  The political crisis put French stocks and debt under pressure, pushing the risk premium on French government bonds at one point to their highest level over 12 years, with the yield on French bonds surpassing that of Greece.

  *FRANCE 10-YEAR YIELD PREMIUM WIDENS 8BPS, THE MOST SINCE JUNE

  Congrats, Greece is now less risky than France! pic.twitter.com/xK2rdZ8b1h

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 2, 2024

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

  Ironically, back during the peak European sovereign debt crisis, it was France that was among the countries that came to Greece’s rescue. Alas, nobody in Europe is big enough to rescue France. Expect the EURUSD to tumble when trading reopens on Monday, on its way to parity with the dollar.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:39

• California Docs, Hospitals Sued For Rushing 12-Year-Old Into Gender Transition
  California Docs, Hospitals Sued For Rushing 12-Year-Old Into Gender Transition

  A 20-year-old woman has filed suit against California hospitals and doctors, saying they rushed to conclude she suffered from gender dysphoria and then “fast-tracked [her] onto the conveyor belt of irreversibly damaging” medical interventions that included puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and a double-mastectomy at age 14.  

  According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles, Kaya Clementine Breen says she was sexually abused as a young child and that, around age 11 or 12, “began struggling with the thought of developing into a woman and began to believe that life would be easier if she were a boy.” When she shared those feelings with a school counselor, the counselor told Breen that she must be transgender, and then called her parents to push the same assumption as a fact. 

  

  Breen’s parents sought out “experts” at the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, including Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, one of the world’s most vocal advocates for the gender-transitioning of children. “At her very first visit, after mere minutes, Dr. Olson-Kennedy diagnosed Clementine with gender dysphoria and recommended surgical implantation of puberty blockers,” according to the complaint, which also alleges that Olson-Kennedy neglected to perform a mental-health assessment or inquire about past trauma or abuse. 

  Echoing a grievance that commonly surfaces in the gender-transition realm, the complaint alleges Olson-Kennedy told Breen’s parents that their daughter would “commit suicide if she did not begin taking testosterone…At that time, Clementine had never had any thoughts of suicide, and she certainly had never expressed anything along those lines to Dr Olson-Kennedy.” According to The Economist, Olson-Kennedy’s own notes made no mention of suicidal ideation. Ironically, it was only after enduring transition procedures and “therapies” that Breen would later attempt suicide as her mental health declined and she contended with extreme depression and anger. 

  This is how it ends 🙏

  “I wish I could have told myself that there is no right way to be female, and if I hate myself for being female that doesn’t mean there is something physically wrong with me that I need to buy a cure for.”

  Clementine Breen is a beautiful, articulate,… pic.twitter.com/1GlnzONOlb

  — Beth Bourne (@bourne_beth2345) December 12, 2024

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  The fateful Dec. 27, 2016 consultation with Olson-Kennedy led to years of drastic medical alterations of Breen’s body. These included puberty-blockers at age 12, cross-sex hormones starting from age 13 through 19 and a “gender-affirming” double-mastectomy at just 14 years old. She was also “urged” to have a hysterectomy at age 17, though it’s unclear from the complaint if she did so. The mastectomy surgeon is among the many defendants, and is accused of his own negligence in carrying out the drastic procedure, having only met Breen for about 30 minutes on the very morning of the life-altering surgery.  

  

  It was only via mental health care that she started receiving near the end of high school that Breen eventually concluded she was not “trans” after all. She stopped identifying as a male named “Finn,” and has begun de-transitioning — to the extent it’s possible. Summarizing Breen’s experience as “a despicable, failed medical experiment and a knowing, deliberate, and gross breach of the standard of care,” the complaint lays out a long and disturbing list of enduring harms:

  She has suffered physically, socially, neurologically, and psychologically. Her voice has permanently deepened. Her female body did not develop, and she has a very masculine body structure. Her fertility is almost certainly destroyed from the combination of years on puberty blockers and testosterone.

  And even if she could conceive and deliver a child, she would not be able to breastfeed because her healthy breasts were removed when she was only 14. And she has to seethe scars from that unnecessary surgery every day. She has experienced vaginal atrophy, and her sex life has been materially impacted. She is also at risk for bone-related problems later in life.

  Breen’s experience closely matches the picture Megyn Kelly painted in her searing indictment of “gender-affirming care” during her October appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”: 

  Must-watch clip of Megyn Kelly on Bill Mahar discussing transgenderism and children.

  How did we even get to this point? pic.twitter.com/gIXtG5fZqF

  — Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 26, 2024

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  Olson-Kennedy came under fire earlier this year when she admitted to withholding the findings of her team’s research, which found puberty blockers did not result in mental health improvements for children, telling the New York Times, “I do not want our work to be weaponized. It has to be exactly on point, clear and concise. And that takes time.” Earlier this year, a British study concluded that a great many children who think they may be transgender have mental health issues that spring from abuse or difficult family situations.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:20

• Yes, It Was A Landslide
  Yes, It Was A Landslide

  Authored by J.T.Young via American Greatness,

  Having lost the election, demoralized Democrats now argue their defeat wasn’t a landslide. Nice try. Their reaction is more than knee-jerk petulance; instead, it arises from fears of permanence. With Trump gaining momentum, even before his inauguration, Democrats rightfully fear that they could fare even worse in 2028 and beyond.

  

  Before the election, the Democrats’ presidential complaint was the Electoral College. Certain they would win the popular vote, Tim Walz, speaking in October, voiced what other Democrats thought: “I think all of us know the electoral college needs to go.” On the night of November 5, their concern changed. Now Democrat apologists (CNN, NYT, LAT, and more) are all arguing to diminish Trump’s victory—and thereby his momentum.

  While Democrats and their supporters’ need is understandable, Trump’s landslide gets bigger the more it is scrutinized.

  Even on the surface, its particulars are impressive. Trump was the Republicans’ first presidential candidate to beat a Democrat in the popular vote in 20 years. He won more popular votes than any Republican presidential candidate in history. He won each of the contest’s seven swing states—and he came close to flipping several (NJ, VA, NM, NH, and MN) seemingly solid blue states. And he won the electoral vote 312-226.

  Conversely, compared to Biden in 2020, Democrats’ popular vote percentage dropped in 50 of 51 states and the District of Columbia, going up only in Utah by a scant 0.2 percentage points.

  Big as Trump’s win was on the surface, closer examination shows it was bigger still.

  Trump’s victory came despite finishing behind Harris by over four million votes in California and New York combined and despite these states combining for 84 electoral votes. Dismissing the result in these two states, Trump won by five percentage points in the other 48 states and 312 to 142 in electoral votes. Take away the results of Massachusetts and Washington, and Trump won by almost seven percentage points in the popular vote and 312-121 in the electoral vote.

  Basically, apart from the coasts, Trump won overwhelmingly: where 80 percent of the presidential electoral votes are, Trump won three-quarters of them.

  Next, put these impressive numbers into the context of their occurrence.

  Trump amassed these numbers while being enormously outraised and outspent. Harris had hundreds of millions more to fuel her campaign than Trump did. And she had to only focus on the seven swing states that everyone knew were the fulcrum of the contest. Yet, Trump still swept all seven—something that neither he nor Biden had been able to do in 2016 and 2020.

  Trump also rang up his numbers despite eight years of unrelenting negativity from the establishment media. For almost a decade, there has been nothing approaching balanced coverage: regardless of his opponent—Hillary, Biden, and Harris—each received a strong establishment media tailwind. Yet despite this, Trump increased his general election popular vote percentage each time.

  And that establishment media bias was never stronger than in the aftermath of Biden’s withdrawal.

  For over 100 days, the establishment media gave Harris a pass: on press conferences, on interviews, on evading questions, on softball venues when she did appear, on often not answering questions in even these friendly confines, and on nonsensical responses when she did speak.

  And Trump won despite having almost the entirety of America’s self-styled elite opposing him.

  In academia, in Hollywood, in music, in sports, the coolest of the cool and the biggest of the big were overwhelmingly and vocally against him. Not surprisingly, in the face of all this opposition, Trump’s favorability rating was below Harris’s.

  Yet, Trump still racked up his impressive numbers.

  Despite every conceivable disadvantage, Trump beat not one, but two Democrat nominees to win the presidency. Outright – not only in electoral votes but by almost 2.5 million votes.

  That is the definition of a landslide.

  Of late, Americans have suffered a surfeit of Democrats and their apologists saying something isn’t true when it patently is—that Joe Biden was capable of being president, that the Democrat elite wasn’t deposing Joe Biden when they drove him from the ticket, that Kamala Harris was his qualified replacement, that Joe Biden wouldn’t pardon Hunter. The list is endless; it stretches back in time and extends uninterrupted into it. But nowhere is Democrat denial greater than in their attempt to deny Trump’s November presidential landslide.

  Their reason is as obvious as the truth they are seeking to deny. They fear its repetition.

  They worry that Republicans will continue Trump’s conservative populism, and they know that next time 2024’s overwhelming advantages will be gone. Bad as November’s landslide was, the ones Democrats potentially face going forward could be far worse.

  *  *  *

  J.T. Young is the author of the new book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing, and has over three decades of experience working in Congress, the Department of Treasury, and OMB, and representing a Fortune 20 company.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:55

• Israel Sees 'Opportunity' For Attacking Iran Nuke Sites With Syria Knocked Out
  Israel Sees ‘Opportunity’ For Attacking Iran Nuke Sites With Syria Knocked Out

  With Syria burning and no longer a threat, Israel’s military said it is currently conducting preparations for “potential strikes” on Iranian nuclear facilities.

  Its air force has already been carrying out literally hundreds of raids on Syrian Army bases in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow. Israel has complete domination of Syria’s skies, and given that Assad’s anti-air defense missile systems are no longer an issue, this would make it much easier to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran.

  

  According to a Thursday report in The Times of Israel, the IDF “believes that following the weakening of Iranian proxy groups in the Middle East and the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, there is an opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, military officials said Thursday.”

  “The Israeli Air Force has therefore continued to increase its readiness and preparations for such potential strikes in Iran,” the report states.

  “The IDF also believes that Iran — isolated after the fall of the Assad regime and the weakening of its main proxy group Hezbollah in Lebanon — may push ahead further with its nuclear program and develop a bomb as it scrambles to replace its deterrence,” it adds.

  Iran has long maintained it develops only peaceful nuclear energy, and there’s little doubt that after the dramatic events unfolding in Syria, and with Hezbollah top leadership largely decimated, Tehran finds itself on a back foot. 

  Some Israeli and Western officials believe that all of this will make Iranian leaders more desperate to ensure they have a final and ultimate defense against any threats (as in rapidly developing a nuke).

  The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said in a new statement, “The Syrian air defense array is one of the strongest in the Middle East and the blow caused to it is a significant achievement for the Air Force’s superiority in the region.”

  Any potential preemptive Israeli attack directly on Iran would however unleash more immense anti-Netanyahu controversy in Israel, at a moment he’s already under fire by hostage victims’ families for his handling of Gaza.

  🚨🎙️Israeli air strikes on Hafir al-Tahta and al-Qalamoun in #Syria pic.twitter.com/NJioRXtcbh

  — Winnemuller (@RWinnemuller) December 9, 2024

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  Israel and Hezbollah just achieved a long hoped-for ceasefire in Lebanon, and any attacks on Iran could also open up that front again, at a moment Israel is trying for the safe return of its citizens to northern towns and settlements, which the ceasefire is aimed to achieve. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:30

• Biden's Education Dept Spent Over $1 Billion On DEI Grants; Report
  Biden’s Education Dept Spent Over $1 Billion On DEI Grants; Report

  Authored by Eric Lendrum via American Greatness,

  A new report claims that the Biden Administration’s Department of Education has spent over $1 billion on grants that force the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda in hiring practices, programming, and mental health training in public schools.

  

  According to Fox News, the report from the watchdog group Parents Defending Education (PDE) claims that this DEI spending has been ongoing since 2021. PDE researchers found a total of 229 such grants across 42 states, plus Washington D.C., during the roughly four-year time period.

  With the spending broken down along specific criteria, nearly $490 million was spent for grants that demanded more racial bias in hiring practices, while $343 million was spent on general DEI programs, and another $170 million was spent on mandating DEI-based mental health training. This amounts to just over $1 billion, at approximately $1,002,522,304.

  This spending “incorporates both awarded (committed) and disbursed dollars, as most of the grant money is distributed [a] period of several years,” the report reads.

  One of the researchers who worked on the report, Rhyen Staley, said it was likely that the report does not even account for every single grant that may be considered pro-DEI, as the report narrowed down their search to a handful of criteria. This led to the researchers ignoring many other grants that they determined to be simply using “buzzwords” rather than actively promoting DEI.

  “The only people or groups to benefit from the enormous amount of grant funding are the universities, administrators, and DEI consultants, at the expense of children’s education,” said Staley.

  “This needs to change by placing children’s learning at the forefront of education, instead of prioritizing race-based policies and DEI.”

  A statement was issued by PDE Senior Advisor Michele Exner, declaring that “over one billion dollars [have been] squandered on progressive pet projects all while American students’ academic performance continues to plummet. Under Secretary [Miguel] Cardona, this organization has been a complete farce that has failed families and students time and time again.”

  “This will be the legacy of the Biden administration’s Department of Education,” Exner added.

  “Families are fed up and are excited for January when we will have new leadership in the nation’s capital who will focus on getting this toxic and divisive waste out of our education system.”

  The Department of Education has long been a target of conservative scrutiny, with many advocating for the abolition of the department altogether, as it has failed to improve average test scores or education quality across the nation. President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail that he would eliminate the department, a sentiment that was echoed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:05

• "FSD, Robotaxi, & Optimus": Deutsche Bank Highlights Top Takeaways From Tesla Meeting
  “FSD, Robotaxi, & Optimus”: Deutsche Bank Highlights Top Takeaways From Tesla Meeting

  Tesla shares continue to trade at record highs to close the week, regaining popularity as investors focus on full self-driving, robotaxi, new lost-coast models, and Optimus robots.

  The stock has delivered a stunning performance year-to-date, surging 70% and commanding a $1.3 trillion market capitalization.

  

  Meanwhile, Elon Musk commented on X this week that Bill Gates’ Tesla short could potentially “bankrupt” the billionaire. 

  If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2024

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

  Heading into 2025, a team of analysts from Deutsche Bank hosted an investor meeting with Tesla’s head of investor relations, Travis Axelrod, to explore the key drivers behind the stock’s performance.

  “The majority of focus was naturally around FSD, robotaxi, and Optimus but we also covered the status of new models in 2025 and puts/takes regarding margin,” DB’s Edison Yu and Winnie Dong wrote in a note to clients. 

  They summarized the key takeaways in the conversation with Axelrod:

  New models and 2025 volume growth

  • The new Tesla model (we refer to as “Model Q”) should launch in 1H25 and will be priced <$30k including subsidies (i.e., $37,499 if US EV tax credit goes away).

  • Additionally in the 2H, there will be other new vehicles released that are intended to augment Tesla’s TAM. We suspect one model will be a 3-row longer wheelbase Model Y variant in China.

  • All these new models will be built on existing lines. Management once again highlighted volume growth of 20-30% in 2025; the rationale behind this growth range is based on ability to maximize existing capacity utilization.

  • Operationally, Tesla commented that hitting the high end of the range would be contingent on essentially flawless execution and is confident that the China supply chain can scale up fairly quickly while it may be harder in N. America.

  • Tesla’s plan for the Mexico plant will continue to hinge upon geo-political dynamics and the tariff situation under the new Trump Administration.

  Puts and takes for 2025 margins

  • Tesla explained that 2025 will be a year of product launches, and whenever that happens, there will be disruption to profitability as it will be in the early days of building a product and have more inefficient fixed cost absorption.

  • But this could be offset by a lower cost of goods sold from the more affordable products.

  • 2025 margins will also hinge upon where ASP lands based on the demand curve.

  • The main goal is to focus on growing volume and garnering incremental gross profit (as opposed to targeting a certain gross margin %), delivering

  Robotaxi operations

  • Still expects to launch robotaxi services in CA and TX next year using existing vehicles (3/Y), generating paid rides.

  • In terms of the UI, the company plans to use an internally developed ridehail app and control the “value chain.”

  • Tesla believes it would be reasonable to assume some type of teleoperator would be needed at least initially for safety/redundancy purposes.

  • Tesla views regulation as the biggest headwind to broad deployment of robotaxi, which the company hopes will be adjusted at the federal level through updating of rules at NHTSA.

  • Management intends to start off entirely with the company-owned fleet and eventually dynamically adjust supply based on customer demand/ traffic patterns.

  Cybercab development

  • Unboxed manufacturing should result in ~$20-30k COGS per vehicle, at run rate, a number which isn’t possible under current, traditional manufacturing processes.

  • CyberCab, when production starts in 2026, will be the first product to use unboxed manufacturing with the expectation that any products released subsequently will also use unboxed processes.

  • At full run rate production, the company expects to build a CyberCab for less than $30k.

  • As the CyberCab rollout occurs in 2026, the company will need to make investments across its service/cleaning and charging apparatus (e.g., install wireless charging) with TX and CA likely the first states to see a rollout given proximity to manufacturing facilities and headquarters.

  FSD progress

  • V13 has just been rolled out to early access users, and typically takes about 2-3 weeks to roll out to the broader audience if no issues are found.

  • This version should demonstrate 3-5x performance improvement vs. v12.5 from a miles between critical intervention perspective (1 every ~10k miles).

  • Management continues to target launch of an unsupervised version of FSD between Q2 and Q3 of next year, coinciding with start of robotaxi operations. This could be some iteration of v13.x depending on level of progress. Important to note that FSD can be unsupervised even if it doesn’t surpass human level safety threshold early on as long as Tesla feels comfortable taking on the risk/liability.

  • In general, the large improvement seen over the past year can be attributed to the increase in training compute, from 20k to ~90k GPUs in the span of 10 months. Tesla can now train dozens of end-to-end models in a few weeks vs. only one, enabling much faster iteration/improvement.

  • In terms of FSD attach rate, Tesla commented that it has seen an increase after the V12 release to N. America (>20%) vs. in April this year, and another jump during the 10/10 event. Adoption rate should continue to increase as Tesla increasingly fine-tunes its marketing strategy to offer more free trials.

  Competition in autonomous driving

  • Management doesn’t see any true competition in the US/Europe from a cost/scale perspective.

  • For pure play robotaxi efforts like Waymo and Cruise, Tesla believes they’re essentially using more sensors (e.g., lidar) to compensate for deficiencies in the rules-based software (almost as a buffer).

  • Unlike Tesla with a massive fleet of customers to generate a large amount of data, Waymo is reliant on a very small fleet that cannot generate enough data to effectively train large E2E models.

  • Separately, Waymo also does not have proper scale/vertical integration in making cars and associated parts, forcing them to partner with an OEM. As such, even if Waymo switches to E2E approach, it would likely still be at a cost/scale advantage considering the largest cost in Tesla’s view is the D&A.

  • In respect to China, Tesla does observe more entities taking a similar approach (E2E vision-only architecture). Its own commercial efforts are still in motion, working on getting approval from the local government to take data out of the country to improve performance of its E2E models, still aiming for 1Q25 roll-out. Chinese competitors appear to be quickly pivoting toward using E2E model for perception but path planning is still mainly using rules-based.

  • For Europe, the regulations around autonomous driving makes it a challenging backdrop, given the driver has to approve the automatic response of the vehicle, which would defeat the purpose of self-driving functionality.

  • Looking farther out, the 3rd gen Dojo chip which is expected to launch in 2028 will be another big enabler because the 1st gen cannot compete on cost/performance vs. Nvidia and 2nd gen (in 2026) still can’t compete on performance (should be at cost parity though). At that point, the economics around training compute become much more favorable.

  Evolution of Optimus

  • The objective remains to have >1k humanoid robots deployed internally in factories and then selling to external customers in 2026. Performance will be limited to fairly basic material handling tasks for industrial environments as opposed to home lifestyle which would happen much later on.

  • From a development perspective, the “intelligence” of Optimus will continue to improve and should at some point mirror the rapid improvement seen in FSD over the past year. Currently, Optimus is being trained by data sets generated through teleoperation and videos of itself performing tasks paired with motor/actuator data to essentially map out framework that can align with human movement. Ultimately, after the compatibility is fully mapped out, Optimus should be able to train/learn by watching videos of humans performing tasks in a “DIY” type of manner, similar to how FSD learns from humans driving.

  • In terms of manufacturing, the aspirational target is getting the BoM down to ~$30k. The engineering team is still iterating and there will likely be changes depending on what parts need to be re-engineered to reduce cost as opposed to scale volume components.

  • When selling to customers, the strategy could either be to sell the HW+SW together or lease out the robot. Tesla is confident that the economics could be very favorable in replacing human labor especially in the US.

  Other considerations

  • Megapack demand remains very strong with the company standing by its expectations for more than 100% growth this year, implying ~27 GWh of production. Next year, the new Shanghai factory will come online and the US could potentially provide up to ~40 GWh.

  • The company believes that the recent court ruling rejecting Musk’s pay package was wrong and will be appealing the decision, though there is no timeline on its response.

  Based on their conversation, the analysts raised their price target on Tesla from $295 to $370. Here is their explanation: 

  We raise our price target from $295 to $370, mainly assigning greater value to Tesla’s autonomy efforts. Specifically, we refine our valuation framework to include FSD sales (both one-time and subscription), robotaxi operations, and OEM licensing fees into the “Robotaxi” bucket whereas previously we included FSD in the “Auto” line. Moreover, given our belief the new US administration can streamline federal regulations around deployment of robotaxi, we increase our robotaxi forecasts and use a higher 20x EV/Revenue multiple on 2035E sales of > $40bn (vs. prior 15x) akin to leading E2E AI peers. We also assume some type of service to be deployed overseas in that time frame. Other elements of our valuation are essentially unchanged except we lower our Energy multiple from 25x EV/ EBITDA to 20x given de-rating seen recently by comparable companies.

  

  The summarized key takeaways from DB analysts offer valuable insights into the company as 2024 winds down and the new year approaches. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 19:40

• Trump's Treasury Pick Sees A "Global Economic Reordering"
  Trump’s Treasury Pick Sees A “Global Economic Reordering”

  Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

  President Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has stated that he believes the world is on the cusp of a “global economic reordering”. And he would “like to be a part of it”.

  

  He has hinted at the need for a new international agreement on the level of the famous Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. Bretton Woods, of course, established the world monetary order over 8 decades ago.

  It sounds like Bessent is thinking big. He will certainly need to, given the challenges the Trump administration will face over the next four years. Trump will come into office at a key moment in American history, and his administration’s decisions will echo over the coming decades.

  The world order is indeed shifting, and if America is to thrive going forward, major changes will be required. “Economic surgery”, as Bessent refers to it.

  Bessent has a deep understanding of international trade and finance. Along with George Soros, he famously profited from “breaking” the Bank of England while betting against the pound in 1992.

  He also worked closely with Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the greatest investors of all time. Bessent eventually ran his own hedge fund and is a self-made multi-billionaire. He represents a substantial upgrade from the more academic Janet Yellen.

  This man has a deep Rolodex and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to trade and finance.

  Interestingly, Bessent is a major gold bull:

  “I think we’re in a long-term bull market in Gold. We’re seeing reserve accumulation by central banks. I follow it closely. It’s my biggest position.”

  A gold enthusiast as U.S. Treasury Secretary? Interesting. Ironically, gold fell more than 3% when Trump announced his appointment, apparently due to Bessent’s hawkish budgetary credentials.

  Trump’s pick for Treasury is an advocate of cutting government spending and deficits. During the Biden administration he offered fierce denunciation of economic policies. And he was a strong critic of the Green New Scam, stating that the Biden administration has “repeatedly stretched its legal authorities to direct resources towards favored areas of the economy, often in direct contravention of statute.”

  3-3-3 and China

  Bessent has proposed the 3-3-3 economic plan for America, consisting of:

  • 3% annual real growth

  • 3% deficit-to-GDP max

  • 3 million additional barrels of oil per day

  These goals offer a nice start. If Trump can pull off all three, we’ll be well on our way to long-term sustainability.

  Internationally, Bessent sees China as America’s prime competition. He believes the yuan is undervalued and that this is distorting the world economy by favoring Chinese exports. He says Chinese citizens save too much, and don’t consume enough, which is true.

  A cornerstone of Bessent’s approach will be aggressive trade policies. Tariffs, and perhaps more importantly, the threat of tariffs. Threats can go a long way, as long as they’re prepared to back them up.

  Tough trade policy will be key to dealing with growing worldwide economic imbalances.

  Trump’s economic team believes strongly that higher tax rates are not the way forward. Bessent has stated that lower tax rates can actually create higher tax revenue through increased growth. Overall, his views on growth are encouraging:

  “I decided to come out from behind my desk because I do believe in this election, there’s a big choice and we are going to decide whether we are going to grow our way out of this debt burden.

  I think we can through deregulation, energy, independence and dominance in the US and a growth mindset. We can get back to growth. I feel very strongly that this is the last chance to grow our way out of this.”

  This is correct. It is our last chance to change course on the economic Titanic. We’re headed for an iceberg and strong international trade policy and faster growth are the only ways to avoid it.

  Of course, as Treasury Secretary there’s only so much Bessent can do. But he should act as a positive influence on Trump in terms of policy. It’s a prestigious position, and even with limited policy tools, he should be able to make his influence felt.

  So far Trump’s economic team is shaping up to be a disruptive and powerful force. We’ll be monitoring this situation closely. Stay tuned.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 19:15

• Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukrainian "Critical Fuel & Energy Infrastructure"
  Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukrainian “Critical Fuel & Energy Infrastructure”

  Russia launched a massive drone and missile strike against Ukraine on Friday in retaliation for Kyiv’s recent use of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against a Russian military base.

  ABC News quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Russia launched 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. This was one of the largest bombardments against Ukraine’s energy sector since the invasion began almost three years ago.

  

  Zelenskyy said Ukrainian defense forces intercepted 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles shot down by Western-supplied General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.

  He accused Russia of continuing to “terrorize millions of people” with these reckless assaults, renewing his request to the international community for intervention and more support for Ukraine.

  “A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction. This is the only way to stop terror,” Zelenskyy said.

  Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry published a statement on its official Telegram channel, claiming that the retaliatory strike hit all intended targets:

  “In response to the use of American long-range weapons, Russia’s Armed Forces launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air- and sea-based weapons and UAVs on critical fuel and energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that support the operation of the military-industrial complex.”

  On Wednesday, Ukraine fired six ATACMS at a Russian airfield inside the country’s sovereign territory. Russia claimed after the attack that all missiles were intercepted.

  Reports on X indicate that Ukraine’s state-run energy company, Ukrenergo, warned that up to 50% of residential customers could be without power after today’s attack.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:55

• Why The Popularity Of BNPL?
  Why The Popularity Of BNPL?

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  I’ve become a fan of TubiTV. It’s obvious why it is growing in popularity as a streaming service. There is no login and everything is instantly available. The movies and shows stream one after another so that you can have it on for hours, just like television in the old days. And it costs nothing at all. It pays for itself with advertising, and the ads are oddly welcome because they are not the usual ones you see on network television.

  

  Many great old movies are there and plenty of shows too. Tired of woke? This is a service for you. Most movies before 2000 are actually reliably free of that nonsense. I always check this site before paying for content on other venues. It also allows me to observe what kinds of things are being advertised to those who are either unwilling to pay for streaming or lack the financial means. That alone is instructive.

  Major advertisers for this service are the financial apps classified as BNPL, or “buy now, pay later” services. There are so many of them now that it is hard to keep up. The ads feature someone at the store with a large tab. The person notes that there is not enough money in the bank account to cover the costs. The idea is that you download an app, link it to your bank account, and then get an instant cash advance.

  Maybe such services would be popular anytime, but I suspect more so now that real income has fallen in these inflationary times. There are signs of hope on the horizon that the economy will improve in the future. Wall Street certainly thinks so, and retail spending seems to be recovering, but these ads tell a different story. They reveal just how much suffering there is out there right now, how many people truly do not have enough in the bank to pay basic costs.

  On the one hand, this is very sad. On the other hand, these services are valuable and somewhat brilliant.

  I’m not joining the chorus of commentators who are calling for them to be regulated or abolished. They exploit no one. They serve plenty of people. To be sure, they do cost money. What is the interest they charge? That’s a complicated question because mostly they are fee-based, like an ATM. The fees can be quite high in accord with the going rate, so anywhere from 7 percent to 20 percent.

  One way or another, these companies are going to be paid back and then some. There is no such thing as a free lunch or free groceries. The bill is going to be paid by someone.

  Thinking of how these services work helps us understand something about the loan contract of medieval origins. They represent an exchange of people with capital in the form of money and people without capital in the form of money who need to consume something. When the first loan contract came along and families like the Medicis got rich, there was something of a moral panic in Europe. How can people make so much money merely by moving money around? It seemed strange.

  Every religious tradition has something different to say. The Christians (both Protestants and Catholics) mostly condemned the charging of interest as “usury,” while Islam carved out a number of exceptions. The Second Lateran Council (1139) and Third Lateran Council (1179) both denied Christian burials for usurers. Indeed, the Catholic church did not fully liberalize on the topic until the 19th century.

  Judaism did not condemn interest, reasoning that it was a perfectly justifiable exchange between people with excess and those without. It is for this reason that Jews developed a reputation as the money lenders: Other religions could not come up with morally sophisticated justifications for the practice. Islam still retains its strictness, although with exceptions.

  What is the basis of the charging of interest? It is relatively simple: Goods obtained now are more expensive than the same goods purchased later. It is called “time preference” in the economics literature, but you see it every day in regular pricing habits. It’s conventional that a flight purchased for two weeks from now is going to be cheaper than a flight leaving tomorrow.

  It always pays to plan ahead. This is why people who forgo consumption today in favor of saving earn interest while people who live on revolving credit cards are paying more than 20 percent for the privilege. They are simply involved in an exchange: high time preference trading with low time preferences. Interest also covers other factors, such as the risk of not being paid back or the risk, in the case of business loans, that the enterprise will not be profitable.

  Regardless, the free market has proven to be brilliantly adept at managing the exchange between the present and the future and pricing it in a rational way. You want those groceries now but don’t have the money to buy them? You can get a cash advance—at a price that you agree to pay. There is nothing sketchy about this: It is a deal struck by parties based on voluntary decision-making.

  The interest rate itself merely reflects the pricing of time relative to available resources. Like any other price, it can fluctuate based on underlying realities. When society is full of savers, more resources become available for lending, and the interest rate is going to be pushed down. When society is full of high time preferences with more borrowers than savers, the interest rate is going to rise.

  There is no role in any of this for the Federal Reserve to intervene to drive interest rates up or down. The belief that the Fed can and should do this is based on nothing but mythology. If the Fed acts to drive rates lower than what the market would be, it is creating a distortion, what F.A. Hayek cleverly called “forced savings” because it signals the existence of resources that are not really there. That leads to a distortion in product structures such as we saw for the decades after 2000 and especially after 2008.

  Such distortions achieve nothing for overall economic growth. They only end up fueling the boom/bust cycle. This is just another application of the general principle that government has no resources of its own that it does not take from the people. An artificially low rate of interest ends up creating new money and credit that funds unsustainable investments that result in inflation, as our present experience proves.

  Thus do these BNPL programs end up creating loan markets of a different form. They are especially valuable among a class of borrowers who cannot gain access to credit cards. These days, getting a credit card is no easy task for some people, which is why debit cards have become more common than ever. Still, people need credit from time to time, and the markets have been brilliant in figuring out ways to make this possible.

  I’m generally favorable to many of the Trump administration’s proposed economic policies, but this idea of capping interest rates on credit cards is not a good one. It will result in higher user fees elsewhere or end up denying credit to people who otherwise would have it, thus giving the BNPL industry a boost.

  One thing it simply will not do is lower borrowing costs.

  Interest rate caps are no different from any other price control: They end up creating market distortions with unsustainable surpluses and shortages.

  What credit markets need is to be left alone. This goes for the Fed’s interventions, attempts to regulate credit card rates, or proposed regulations of the BNPL industry. They are operating just fine on their own. Hey, it’s not my cup of tea, but it’s good that they are there for people who need them. It so happens that people like me who are too cheap to buy movies without ads also happen to be the same demographic cohort to come up short for grocery money from time to time. It makes perfect sense.

  *  *  *

  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
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:25

• Trump Team Weighing Options For Preemptive Airstrikes On Iran's Nuclear Program
  Trump Team Weighing Options For Preemptive Airstrikes On Iran’s Nuclear Program

  Just days after the rapid collapse of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, and now with Israeli warplanes having complete domination over Syria’s skies for the first time in modern history, the priorities of US and Israeli officials in the region have drastically changed.

  Both US and Israeli leaders are now mulling the possibility of striking Iran’s nuclear program, amid several reports in recent weeks saying the Islamic Republic is expanding its program and enriching more nuclear-grade material. Tehran is now much more on the defensive, and could be more desperate to achieve nuclear weapons.

  A significant Friday report in The Wall Street Journal says that “President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions.”

  

  “Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent calls that he is concerned about an Iranian nuclear breakout on his watch, two people familiar with their conversations said, signaling he is looking for proposals to prevent that outcome,” the report continues.

  “The president-elect wants plans that stop short of igniting a new war, particularly one that could pull in the U.S. military, as strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities have the potential put the U.S. and Iran on a collision course.”

  Currently the United States still has some 1,000 troops occupying northeast Syria, and they have come under internecine attacks by Iran-backed militias over the recent years. In any broader US-Iran war, these troops would be sitting ducks for attack via Tehran’s proxies in the region.

  Trump in his first administration tried but failed to bring the troops home, but deeper entanglement in striking Iran could surely draw these troops into a broader conflict. The Pentagon would in that case likely expand its deployed forces in the region as well.

  “Iran has enough highly enriched uranium alone to build four nuclear bombs, making it the only nonnuclear-weapon country to be producing 60% near-weapons-grade fissile material,” WSJ has noted further. “It would take just a few days to convert that stockpile into weapons-grade nuclear fuel.”

  Iran has long maintained it develops only peaceful nuclear energy, and there’s little doubt that after the dramatic events unfolding in Syria, and with Hezbollah top leadership largely decimated, Tehran finds itself on a back foot. 

  Some Israeli and Western officials believe that all of this will make Iranian leaders more desperate to ensure they have a final and ultimate defense against any threats (as in rapidly developing a nuke).

  But if Trump were to authorize strikes on Iranian facilities, this would also obviously violate his frequent vows to his voters to not start new wars in the Middle East. The reality is that even ‘limited’ strikes still constitute an act of war. The potential for runaway escalation involving the US, Iran, and Israel would be a much bigger likelihood. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:00

• The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration
  The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration

  Authored by James Fanell and Bradley Thayer via American Greatness,

  Whether American presidents are successes or failures is measured by their major foreign and domestic actions. That has been the historical standard by which they are weighed and which defines their legacy. Some presidents are outstanding in every respect. Washington defined the American presidency. Lincoln saved the Union and kept foreign powers, most importantly Great Britain, from intervening to aid the South. Most presidents are heavily mixed; Buchanan employed the Army to suppress the Mormon Rebellion, but his monumental failure was that he did not act to stop the Civil War. Lyndon Johnson’s failure in Vietnam defined his presidency. Richard Nixon had many successes in foreign policy, but Watergate was his demise. Jimmy Carter failed abroad and at home.

  

  With just over 40 days left, Americans are nearing the end of the Biden administration, and so it is fitting to provide an assessment of it and to place it in historical context.

  By any metric from American history and by any objective standard used to measure his predecessors in the White House, the Biden administration has been a catastrophic failure for the American people. Were that it was otherwise. An old man suffering from the horrors of dementia is a tragedy. Biden is not only a dementia patient but also President of the United States. It is clear that now he is more dementia victim than he is president. He cannot stay awake at international meetings and other fora, and he seems to willingly accept the deliberate snubs. Accordingly, as hard as it is to acknowledge, given that he is the President of the United States, world leaders, and Americans know that he has no business being in the nation’s highest office. This impacts all Americans and U.S. national security, and it is important to recognize facts that impact national security as they are, rather than as we would desire them to be.

  In the years to come, the fiasco of the Biden administration will be explained by multiple factors. We may certainly anticipate that presidential historians will argue that his dementia was debilitating and precluded him from effective leadership, or that his presidency was just a Potemkin Village. Others may assess that Barack Hussein Obama was actually in control through his direct intervention and via surrogates like Susan Rice—who overreached in pushing a radical Marxist agenda. At this point, no matter the causes, it is essential to document the Biden administration’s failures and to learn from them as a cautionary tale about the disastrous impacts of the worst president in American history. Of course, we note that his greatest catastrophes may be yet to come.

  In domestic policy, Biden destroyed the economy, inflation returned with a vengeance, and America’s borders were opened intentionally. This caused a flood of illegal immigration. Immigration took an unprecedented turn, even an unimaginable one; the U.S. government entered the business of importing people, some 12 to 15 million, and thereby funded the cartels and other criminals and criminal organizations. The true numbers will not be known until Trump comes into office and reveals how this happened and the true impact and parameters of the problem. Another domestic failure has been the massive increase in the federal deficit—one that impacts every American, as well as our national security posture. Likewise, energy security was compromised, and America’s energy independence was lost. These domestic disasters reveal the spirit of the American people was targeted deliberately—in order to usher in a new world order based on the tenets of collectivism and top-down control rather than the principles of individualism, freedom, and liberty.

  In the realm of foreign policy, the Biden Administration will be remembered for their disastrous and deadly retreat from Afghanistan to the benign neglect of checking the People’s Republic of China (PRC) across the Indo-Pacific. By failing to deter the Russian invasion of Ukraine and by laboring to simultaneously sustain and escalate the war, rather than pressuring both sides to end the conflict, Biden will be held responsible for the deaths and displacement of many millions. Even the recent collapse of governments in Germany and France can be laid at Biden’s doorstep due to his waffling approach to great power politics and NATO’s ineptitude. The Middle East went from stability to war as Israel fights against multiple threats in the wake of the horrific terror attacks on October 7, 2023. In the Indo-Pacific, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), treated Biden as a supplicant. In no small part because Xi knew that Joe Biden’s administration was compromised via millions from the PRC that flowed in and enriched the Biden family’s coffers. Xi instructed Biden on how to behave, and the Biden administration went along with it when it mattered, such as not laboring to overthrow the CCP at a time of great peril for it.

  The opportunity cost of the Biden administration was massive. Their actions precluded other strategic choices, priorities, and paths that the U.S. might have taken. For example, the strategic airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan would not have been lost to Chinese influence and occupation. The war in Ukraine might have been deterred, and millions alive and billions of dollars saved for American citizens being hit by deadly hurricanes in North Carolina or fires in Maui. Moreover, America’s arsenal of stockpiled weapons would not have been depleted.

  Likewise, the CCP would be on the run through a concerted and consistent whole-of-government agenda to roll back the PRC’s advances in their declared “People’s War” against the U.S. Fundamentally, Biden was the return to and the last of the post-Cold War presidents—Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama—those who could do anything they wanted in the domestic and international realms because they were living off the capital their predecessors had accumulated—a strong and prosperous America. In his first term, Trump was different and labored mightily to change course. Now America faces genuine peril at home and abroad.

  The warnings from the Biden administration are myriad. However, at root, the lesson is how could it have been otherwise when a vile and loathsome individual intent on enriching himself be permitted to be used as a puppet by Obama and the CCP? Biden neither has the merit nor the mettle to be president. He is a vessel filled with personal ambition but does not possess the acumen or virtue to realize his ambition. It had to be given to him by Obama. His legacy is a grotesque one: he proved the “Peter Principle” wrong—that you actually can rise far beyond your level of incompetence. He did his best to destroy the country. He leaves for his successor a dangerous world and an economy in an equally precarious position. Thankfully, Trump and his administration will be up for such a massive task.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:40

• Sen. Rand Paul Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria Amid Failed State & 'ISIS 2.0' Fears
  Sen. Rand Paul Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria Amid Failed State & ‘ISIS 2.0’ Fears

  US Senator Rand Paul has called for the immediate withdrawal of American forces from Syria in a statement on X earlier this week, with just over a month ago before the Trump administration enters the White House.

  President-elect Trump and his team will have a lot of major and key decisions to make on conflict zones in various parts of the globe. Syria will be a crucial focus, given it is now essentially a failed state and is poised to further become a terrorist hotbed, and given US-designated terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham now controls Damascus and much of the country.

  Bring our troops home! The war pits Islamists against socialist Kurds against Iranian proxies. Not our fight. 900 US troops scattered about Syria are a target not a deterrent. https://t.co/PuQqLLlCzX

  — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 9, 2024

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

  “Bring our troops home! The war pits Islamists against socialist Kurds against Iranian proxies. Not our fight. 900 US troops scattered about Syria are a target, not a deterrent,” Sen. Paul posted on X in reference to the ongoing ‘mini-civil war’ still raging in Deir Ezzor area and the north.

  While the Pentagon recently claimed there are no plans to expand the US military presence in northeast Syria, there’s no hint of bringing any troops home either.

  US forces are there propping up the Syrian Kurds (SDF/YPG), who also control Syria’s oil and gas fields, but the US proxies are now locked in a battle for survival with the larger and better armed Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). The SDF has just been kicked out of Manbij, and fighting is still happening.

  These US proxies are now bogged down enough to have to give up any pretense at a ‘counter-ISIS’ mission, which is the “official” reason the Pentagon is supposed to be there in the first place.

  All of this is a huge flaming mess to say the least, and Trump will inherit it from day one, including the likelihood of a greatly resurgent ISIS, which can now have free reign in many parts of Syria…

  The CIA just respawned ISIS 2.0 https://t.co/QiPkROoPUx

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 12, 2024

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  Pentagon chief spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder has meanwhile confirmed US forces have come under sporadic attack amid the chaos, and that there have been a few troop injureis: “As you know, those numbers can fluctuate. I’m not aware of any other injuries at this time,” the said.

  “Again, we’ll not hesitate to take appropriate action and protect our forces if they are threatened,” he added. Days ago, as the shock of the HTS advance against Assad forces was happening elsewhere in Syria, the US launched major airstrikes against alleged ISIS locations across the east of Syria.

  Meanwhile… Rand Paul is RIGHT:

  1. US said Assad needs to go because he fired on protesters.

  2. US backs “syrian democratic forces” east of the Euphrates.

  3. Syrian democratic forces fire on protesters. pic.twitter.com/jLPseUEhNs

  — Syrian Girl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) December 12, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:20

• FBI, DHS Say "No Evidence" New Jersey Drones Pose National Security Threat
  FBI, DHS Say “No Evidence” New Jersey Drones Pose National Security Threat

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to reports about drone sightings over the New Jersey area in the past several weeks, a phenomena that has raised alarm among local elected officials.

  

  In a statement to The Epoch Times on Thursday evening, the FBI and DHS said the agencies “have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

  “The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings,” the statement reads.

  Their statement did not go into more detail about the sightings in recent days. Several state and U.S. lawmakers in both New Jersey and New York have called on the federal government to release more information or take action regarding the drone sightings.

  In several interviews this week, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) warned that the drones may be Iranian in origin, which was denied by a Pentagon spokeswoman. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the drones do not pose a national security risk to the United States.

  On Thursday, Van Drew disputed the Pentagon’s statement about Iran being unconnected to the drone sightings, doubling down on his previous claim. He said “high-level” anonymous U.S. officials provided him with that information, which is why he is going public with it.

  That same day, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a joint letter to DHS, the FBI, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to brief them on drone activity over New Jersey and New York.

  “The potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas is especially pertinent considering recent drone incursions at sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year,” they warned.

  Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters that the drones should be “shot down, if necessary” and that the United States “should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases.”

  “The lack of information is absolutely unacceptable,” the senator said Thursday.

  In their statement Thursday, FBI and DHS also cautioned that there have been “cases of mistaken identity” and that the drones might be “manned aircraft or facilities.”

  In the meantime, DHS and the FBI are supporting New Jersey state and local law enforcement with detection capabilities “but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection.”

  “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully,” they said.

  “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.”

  The FBI and DHS asserted that the two agencies “take seriously” any threats that could be posed by drones but stressed that officials “have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage” so far.

  “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey,” the agencies said, “the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”

  Reports of drone sightings over the Garden State began in November, Van Drew and other New Jersey officials have said.

  In early 2023, a high-altitude balloon that originated from China flew hundreds of miles across North America, passing near sensitive military sites, U.S. officials said at the time.

  The U.S. Air Force ultimately shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina in early February of that year.

  Multiple other balloon sightings were reported since then, with the U.S. military shooting down a balloon over Lake Huron near Michigan in February 2023.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:00

• New Study Links Ozempic To Vision Loss, Confirms Harvard Research
  New Study Links Ozempic To Vision Loss, Confirms Harvard Research

  Another study has been published suggesting that patients taking semaglutide—the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drug Ozempic—may face a higher risk of developing a rare eye condition that can lead to blindness. 

  “The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) semaglutide has quickly become a key treatment for managing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Recent findings have raised concern about a potential association between semaglutide use and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION),” according to a new Danish–Norwegian study, backing up similar results from a Harvard University study published in July. 

  Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is blocked, causing sudden vision loss. 

  Bloomberg first reported the results on Friday afternoon. The findings were initially published on Wednesday on medRxiv, an online platform for sharing research.

  The results indicate that a type 2 diabetes patient taking Ozempic for two decades would have a .3% to .5% chance of developing NAION. 

  “The vision loss is usually irreversible and there is no treatment. Given the serious nature of this potential adverse effect of semaglutide, we leveraged the nationwide Danish and Norwegian health registries to further investigate this association,” according to authors from the University of Southern Denmark, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the University of Copenhagen.

  The authors emphasized: “Given the well-established effects of semaglutide in managing both diabetes and obesity, it is crucial to weigh the potential risk of NAION against the substantial therapeutic benefits of semaglutide. While the association observed for the use of semaglutide in type 2 diabetes represents a two-fold or higher relative risk increase…” 

  The Nordic study comes months after Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Eye and Ear found the rising risk of Ozempic patients developing NAION. 

  In Copenhagen, Novo shares slid as much as 5.4%. Since peaking in June at 1,000 Krone, shares have entered a bear market (-26%). 

  

  Using Goldman’s index of companies with high exposure to GLP-1s, the Trump dump pressured the index lower from nearly 40% gains on the year in late summer to hovering around 14% on Friday, while companies at risk from GLP-1s have steadily gained on the year, 13%.

  

  In addition to the risk of vision loss, Ozempic and Wegovy users can also develop “Ozempic Face” after rapid body fat loss. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 12/13/2024 – 16:40

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• Provoked: The Long Train Of Abuses That Culminated In The Ukraine War
  Provoked: The Long Train Of Abuses That Culminated In The Ukraine War

  Authored by Carus Michaelangelo via The Mises Institute,

  [Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, by Scott Horton, The Libertarian Institute, 2024; 690 pp.]

  

  “A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing.” Scott Horton is the liberty movement’s foreign policy hedgehog, endeavoring to convince the American public of one essential truth: the folly of war. But within that sphere, Horton is a fox, weaving an encyclopedic knowledge of various conflicts into an elaborate and convincing tapestry that indicts elites, intellectuals, the military-industrial complex, and—with characteristic vitriol—neoconservatives in pushing the US toward unnecessary wars.

  Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, fits this mold to a tee—not because Horton contorts facts to a preconceived narrative. Rather, because it is often the same people pushing conflict after conflict who, unsurprisingly, resort to the same, well-worn playbook. Horton’s tome is riveting, from beginning to end. Here, I will focus on the early post-Cold War years, since this part of the story is oft-neglected in contemporary debates about the origins of the Ukraine war.

  With the closing of the Cold War, and the USSR dissolving, the US faced a crisis of success: what use is the NATO military alliance without the Soviet enemy to align against? More broadly, what grand strategy should the US adopt now that containing communism was obsolete? For neoconservatives, whose answer post-Cold War was benevolent global hegemony, the solution was to adapt NATO. NATO must gradually absorb more European nations, while leaving Russia out in the cold—contained and encircled, in an even worse position than during the Cold War. NATO must expand its mission to keep European peace and expand Western democracy, or wither on the vine.

  From George H.W. Bush to today, the record meticulously compiled by Horton demonstrates that US and other Western leaders communicated to Russia leaders and officials that NATO would not expand east—and could even allow for Russian membership in NATO. Various efforts like the Partnership for Peace and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were promoted to foster this impression that Russia would be included in European affairs, alliances, and institutions, rather than these structures aligning against them. All the while, these same US and Western leaders took virtually the opposite positions internally, with the result that the US willfully misled the Russians. The exact internal and external postures waxed and waned over the years, but this ultimate pattern held firm. This was even though, all along, Russian officials warned about how they and the Russian people would react to NATO advancing east. What we see is, in terms with which Americans are well-familiar, “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object.”

  It began with George H.W. Bush, who promised Mikhail Gorbachev, after the fall of the Berlin Wall as the Soviet Union careened towards collapse, that the US would not take advantage of the situation. This was also reflected in a NATO resolution on June 7, 1991. Bush and his advisors promised that NATO would not expand if the Soviet Union would withdraw and allow German reunification. The 1990 settlement would only specify that the US would not put troops in East Germany, a nuance which Russia hawks have exploited to argue there was no promise not to expand NATO. But this does not fly. Horton asks the rhetorical question: what sense would it make for the Soviet Union to extract a promise not to put troops in East Germany, if the US had a free hand to bring the rest of Eastern Europe into a military alliance? This agreement only makes sense on a backdrop of agreeing not to expand NATO.

  The sins of the Clinton years were legion. In the early 90s, the US sent economists from the Harvard Institute of International Development to Russia to enact what came to be called a “shock therapy” economic policy. It was so badly designed and had such poor outcomes that many Russian thought it must be deliberate. Unsurprisingly, this did not dispose ordinary Russians to view the West favorably. Throughout the decade, Clinton and his advisors duplicitously offered Russia promises that a “Partnership for Peace” process would be pursued rather than NATO expansion—and that NATO would lose its military character—all the while planning to expand NATO.

  The Clinton administration was heavily involved in the Balkans wars of Bosnia and Kosovo, which present strong cases against “humanitarian” intervention. The result of Bosnia was that NATO proved itself capable of fulfilling a new mission, while the US solidified itself at the head of European affairs, each of which were necessary for subsequent NATO expansion. Kosovo further solidified NATO’s new role on the continent—even intervening in civil wars—while the bombing campaign against Serbia convinced Russians that the US was an aggressive, ruthless great power, who would violate international rules when it suited them. The US engaged in this aggressive war, in violation of the UN Charter, without approval of the UN Security Council (on which Russia sat). So much for the liberal rules-based international order. The US’s frequent remaking of the rules was a frequent complaint of Russia, including during the Iraq War.

  Moreover, when Russia went to war with break-away Chechnya, Clinton’s CIA and US allies supported Chechen rebels and separatist mujahideen fighters fighting on Chechnya’s side against the Russians, with the goal to disrupt an existing Russian oil pipeline running through Chechnya. This, too, Putin cited when invading Ukraine. (If this were all not bad enough, Horton shows how the Clinton administration supported the bin Ladenite terrorists in the Balkans wars and in Chechnya. Indeed, more than half of the September 11 hijackers were involved in these wars in the Balkans and Chechnya—often both.)

  Putin’s rise was itself a consequence of the Clintonian interventions in the 1990s: from the “shock therapy” economic policy, to helping Yeltsin get reelected in 1996, to Kosovo and Chechnya. As Horton points out, ironically, Putin invoked the Kosovo precedent of intervening in a civil war to “protect” an ethnic minority to justify invading Ukraine. In one stunning example from the Kosovo war, Horton recounted how the Clinton administration ordered the bombing of a Serbian TV station. These actions still influence Putin’s thoughts about the West today. Putin’s strike on a TV tower in Kiev in February 2022 likely called back to that conflict.

  The NATO-Russia Founding Act of May 1997 was another milestone in US duplicity toward Russia. It assured that NATO would not deploy nuclear weapons or “substantial” troops to new NATO nations’ territories. Importantly, the Clinton administration misled Russia into thinking the Founding Act would give Russia a genuine role in NATO deliberations—although it would not have a say within the NATO alliance itself—when, in the words of Clinton advisor Strobe Talbott, the US’s view was that “all we’re really promising them is monthly meetings.”

  Throughout Clinton’s term, the Clinton administration fed Russia the lie that claimed NATO’s mission was becoming political, rather than military, so agreeing not to expand NATO would be admitting that NATO’s mission was to contain Russia. He even said he would leave open the possibility of Russia entering NATO. But Horton shows they had no intention to do any of this. To make matters worse, in July 1997 NATO and Ukraine signed an agreement that would provide for training Ukraine’s military and improve their interoperability with NATO, and in August 1997 planned a military exercise involving several former Warsaw Pact states and Soviet republics to simulate US military intervention in an ethnic conflict in Crimea.

  No, this was not all. The US tried to cut out Russia from Caspian Basin oil by refusing to run a pipeline from Azerbaijan through Russia, pushing it to a Western route through Turkey instead. The US also backed the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) grouping to “speed European integration and exclude Russia influence from the South Caucasus,” according to Horton, which Russia strongly opposed, calling it an “Axis of Evil” in 2005. The Clinton administration also violated Bush and Gorbachev’s Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in 1999, incredulously claiming that the “permanent US military bases in Bulgaria and Romania” were actually just temporary.

  The close of the Clinton years began a wave of “color revolutions” in Russia’s backyard. The key thing about these “revolutions” is that they are heavily funded and supported by foreign governments or NGOs, such as George Soros’ groups. Rather than directly or covertly overthrow an existing regime, these organizations operate “above board,” meaning they avoid specifically endorsing candidates—since that would be illegal—and instead fund and assist groups that promote more generic, non-partisan efforts like “democracy.” In context, of course, their activities are geared to “benefit . . . a favored candidate or party.” A favorite tactic is using “parallel vote tabulation” or exit polls, which are used to dispute official election results. The dispute typically spills over into street demonstrations with the goal of ousting the ostensible victor.

  The “revolutions” began in Serbia in 2000 with the ousting of Clinton’s bête noire Slobodan Milošević. As Horton sardonically comments, this culminated in the “sacking and burning of the [Serbian] parliament building in what would surely be called a violent insurrection by American Democrats if they had not been behind it.” Numerous other states would be targeted for color revolutions by the US and its Soros-backed NGO allies over the next decades.

  Incredibly, this only begins to scratch the surface of these early, post-Cold War provocations toward Russia that Horton documents, let alone the follies and misdeeds that occurred during the George W. Bush presidency and thereafter. Horton has persuasively made the case that the US provoked Russia over the course of three decades, knowing that Russia would respond with hostility toward NATO expansion. Yet, with reckless abandon, US leaders and officials pushed on, achieving their wildest dreams of NATO expansion and setting their sights on what was always their crown jewel—Ukraine. It did not have to be this way, and it still does not. But time is ticking. Defying expectations, President Biden manages to reach new heights of absurdity in his escalatory policy toward Russia, ticking off a box on Zelensky’s deadly five-point “peace” plan. The war cannot end soon enough.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 23:25

• UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination Could Spark "Next Wave" Of "Occupy Wall Street 2.0," Warns Security Expert
  UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination Could Spark “Next Wave” Of “Occupy Wall Street 2.0,” Warns Security Expert

  In an interview, QUX Technologies CEO Keith Hanson told Fox News that the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO could ignite the “next wave” of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

  “It’s the Occupy Wall Street 2.0 at this point where you have the original wave of the ‘everybody gets a trophy’ generation was hitting the real world and suddenly realizing that everybody from their teachers to their professors at college had pretty much lied to them about the way that the real world works,” Hanson said.

  The law enforcement trainer continued: “And now I’m starting to see an uptick in the resentment and the vitriol towards corporations and to corporate CEOs. And I guess it would make sense that this is kind of the next wave. I mean, this is basically the proletariat rising against the bourgeois class and taking what’s theirs. And it’s concerning.”

  In New York City, posters featuring UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s portrait marked with a red X appeared around town, alongside “wanted” images of other top healthcare CEOs.

  “Wanted” Poster for Thomas Halloran CEO of Fidelis Care spotted on a parking meter in Chinatown, #NYC

  The “wanted” style poster comes with a cryptic warning to multiple healthcare executives that reads “Health Care CEOS Should Not Feel Safe DENY • DEFEND • DEPOSE”

  Video by… pic.twitter.com/Ub3zUs0GeU

  — FreedomNews.Tv FNTV (@FreedomNTV) December 11, 2024

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  Wanted posters of healthcare CEOs are being put up in NYC…

  👀 pic.twitter.com/cDDlqT3bO9

  — American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) December 11, 2024

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  NOW: “WANTED” Posters plastered across Manhattan with pictures of insurance company’s CEO’s.
  Poster of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is crossed out. He was recently shot and killed outside of Midtown Hilton hotel by Luigi Mangione.

  Video by @olgafe_images @FreedomNTV… pic.twitter.com/zABa4UOs2D

  — Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) December 11, 2024

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  Wanted posters for healthcare CEOs are posted in NYC pic.twitter.com/QHeda76ZvH

  — Fly Sistah 🪷 (@Fly_Sistah) December 12, 2024

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

  In Seattle, a construction sign read: “One less CEO, Many more to go.” 

  🚧✨ A striking construction sign in East Queen Anne, Seattle, reads: “One less CEO, Many more to go.” We’re asking local authorities how this could happen. What are your thoughts? @komonews pic.twitter.com/M5fZC24djs

  — KOMO PHOTOG OLEN (@olenhogenson) December 12, 2024

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  Hanson disclosed that following the assassination of CEO Brian Thompson last week, allegedly by 26-year-old Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, corporate America has been ramping up private security amid fears of copycat attacks.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 23:00

• Escobar: Syria's Post-Mortem – Terror, Occupation, And Palestine
  Escobar: Syria’s Post-Mortem – Terror, Occupation, And Palestine

  Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

  The short headline defining the abrupt, swift end of Syria as we knew it would be: Eretz Israel meets new-Ottomanism. The subtitle? A win-win for the west, and a lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance.

  

  But to quote still-pervasive American pop culture, perhaps the owls are not what they seem.

  Let’s start with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s surrender. Qatari diplomats, off the record, maintain that Assad tried to negotiate a transfer of power with the armed opposition that had launched a major military offensive in the days prior, starting with Aleppo, then swiftly headed southward toward Hama, Homs, aiming for Damascus. That’s what was discussed in detail between Russia, Iran, and Turkiye behind closed doors in Doha this past weekend, during the last sigh of the moribund “Astana process” to demilitarize Syria.

  The transfer of power negotiation failed. Hence, Assad was offered asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. That explains why both Iran and Russia instantly changed the terminology while still in Doha, and began to refer to the “legitimate opposition” in a bid to distinguish non-militant reformists from the armed extremists cutting a swathe across the state.  

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – his body language telling everything about his anger – literally said, “Assad must negotiate with the legitimate opposition, which is on the UN list.” 

  Very important: Lavrov did not mean Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Salafi-jihadi, or Rent-a-Jihadi mob financed by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) with weapons funded by Qatar, and fully supported by NATO and Tel Aviv. 

  What happened after the funeral in Doha was quite murky, suggesting a western intel remote-controlled coup, developing as fast as lightning, complete with reports of domestic betrayals. 

  The original Astana idea was to keep Damascus safe and to have Ankara manage HTS. Yet Assad had already committed a serious strategic blunder, believing in lofty promises by NATO messaged through his newfound Arab leader friends in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.    

  To his own astonishment, according to Syrian and regional officials, Assad finally realized how fragile his own position was, having turned down military assistance from his stalwart regional allies, Iran and Hezbollah, believing that his new Arab allies might keep him safe.

  The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was in shambles after 13 years of war and ruthless US sanctions. Logistics were prey to deplorable corruption. The rot was systemic. But importantly, while many were prepared to fight the foreign-backed terror groups once again, insiders say Assad never fully deployed his army to counterattack the onslaught.

  Tehran and Moscow tried everything – up to the last minute. In fact, Assad was already in deep trouble since his visit to Moscow on 29 November that reaped no tangible results. The Damascus establishment thus regarded Russia’s insistence that Assad must abandon his previous red lines on negotiating a political settlement as a de facto signal pointing to the end. 

  Turkiye: ‘we have nothing to do with it’

  Apart from doing nothing to prevent the increasing atrophy and collapse of the SAA, Assad did nothing to rein in Israel, which has been bombing Syria non-stop for years. 

  Until the very last moment, Tehran was willing to help: two brigades were ready to get into Syria, but it would take at least two weeks to deploy them.      

  The Fars News Agency explained the mechanism in detail – from the Syrian leadership’s inexorable lack of motivation to fight the terror brigades to Assad ignoring serious warnings from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since June, all the way to two months ago, with other Iranian officials warning that HTS and its foreign backers were preparing a blitzkrieg. According to the Iranians: 

  “After Aleppo fell, it became clear that Assad had no real intentions of staying in power, so we started to engage in diplomatic talks with the opposition, and arranged the safe exit of our troops from Syria. If the SAA does not fight, neither will we risk our soldiers’ lives. Russia and the UAE had managed to convince him to step down, so there was nothing we could do.”

  There’s no Russian confirmation that they convinced Assad to step down: one just needs to interpret that failed meeting in Moscow on 29 November. Yet, significantly, there is confirmation, before that, about Turkiye knowing everything about the HTS offensive as far back as six months ago. 

  Ankara’s version is predictably murky: HTS told them about it, and asked them not to intervene. Additionally, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spun that President-Caliph Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to warn Assad (no word from Damascus on that). Ankara, on the record, via Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, firmly denies orchestrating or approving the Rent-a-Jihadi offensive. They may regret this yet, with everyone from Washington to Tel Aviv jumping in to take credit for the fall of Damascus.

  Only the NATO propaganda machine believes this version – as HTS has been for years completely supported not only by Turkiye, but also, covertly, by Israel, which was outed for paying salaries to the extremists during the Syrian war, and famously helped rehabilitate Al-Qaeda fighters injured in battle. 

  All that leads to the predominant scenario of a carefully calculated CIA/MI6/Mossad controlled demolition, complete with a non-stop weaponizing flow, Ukrainian training of takfiris on the use of FPV kamikaze drones, and Samsonites full of cash bribing high-ranking Syrian officials. 

  New Great Game reloaded

  The Syrian collapse may be a classic case of “extending Russia” – and also Iran, when it comes to the all-crucial land bridge that connects it with its allies in the Mediterranean (the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements). Not to mention sending a message to China, which, for all its lofty “community of a shared future” rhetoric, had done absolutely nothing to help in the reconstruction of Syria. 

  On the geo-energy level, now there are no more obstacles to the resolution of an epic Pipelineistan saga – and one of the key reasons for the war on Syria, as I analyzed it nine years ago: building the Qatar–Turkiye gas pipeline through Syrian territory to provide Europe with an alternative to Russian gas. Assad had rejected that project, after which Doha helped fund the Syrian war to depose him.

  There’s no evidence that key Persian Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and UAE will gleefully accept Qatar’s geoeconomic stardom if the pipeline is built. For starters, it needs to run through Saudi territory, and Riyadh may no longer be open to that. 

  This burning question connects to a pile-up of other questions, including, with the Syrian gateway all but gone: how will Hezbollah receive weapons supplies in the future, and how will the Arab world react to Turkiye trying to go full Neo-Ottoman?   

  Then there’s the thorny case of BRICS partner-state Turkiye directly clashing with top BRICS members Russia, China, and Iran. Ankara’s new turn may even end up causing it to be rejected by BRICS, and not granted a favorable trade status by China. 

  While a case can certainly be made that losing Syria may be devastating for Russia and the Global Majority, hold those horses – for now. In the event of losing the port of Tartous that the USSR-Russia has run since 1971, alongside the Hmeimim air base – and thus being ousted from the Eastern Mediterranean – Moscow would have replacing options, with different degrees of feasibility. 

  We have Algeria (a BRICS partner), Egypt (a BRICS member), and Libya. Even the Persian Gulf: that, incidentally, could become part of the Russia–Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, to be officially signed on 25 January in Moscow by Putin and his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

  It’s extremely naïve to assume that Moscow was caught by surprise by the staging of an alleged Kursk 2.0. As if all Russian intel assets – bases, satellites, ground intel – would not have scrutinized a bunch of Salafi-Jihadis for months assembling an army of tens of thousands in Greater Idlib, complete with a tank division.   
  So it’s quite plausible that what’s being played is classic Russia, combined with Persian guile. It didn’t take long for Tehran and Moscow to do the math on what they would lose – especially in terms of human resources – by falling into the trap of supporting an already enfeebled Assad in yet another bloody, protracted ground war.  Still, Tehran offered military support, and Moscow, air support, and negotiations scenarios till the very end.

  Now, the whole Syrian tragedy – including a possible Caliphate of all-Sham led by reformed, minority-hugging jihadist Abu Mohammad al-Julani – falls into the full managing responsibility of the NATO/Tel Aviv/Ankara combo. 

  They are simply not prepared to navigate the ultra-complex tribal, clannish, embedded in corruption Syrian matrix – not to mention the magma of 37 terror outfits only kept together, so far, by the tiny glue of ousting Assad. This volcano will certainly explode in their collective faces, potentially in the form of horrendous internal battles that may last at least a few years.   

  Syria’s northeast and east are already, instantly, mired in total anarchy, with a multitude of local tribes bent on keeping their mafioso schemes at all costs, refusing to be controlled by a US–Kurd Rojava composite that is largely communist and secular. Some of these tribes are already getting cozy with the Turk-supported Salafi-jihadis. Other Arab tribes had this year joined forces with Damascus against both the extremists and Kurdish secessionists.    

  Western Syria may also be anarchy territory, as in Idlib: bloody rivalry between terror and bandit networks, between clans, tribes, ethnic groups, and religious groups regimented by Assad, the panorama even more complex than in Libya under former President Muammar al-Gaddafi. 

  As for the Head-Choppers’ supply lines, they will inevitably be stretched – and then it will be easy to cut them off, not only by Iran, for instance, but also by the NATO wing via Turkiye/Israel when they turn against the Caliphate, as they invariably may if the latter’s abuses become too media-apparent.   
  No one is able to foresee what will happen to the carcass of Assad-dynasty Syria. Millions of refugees may return, especially from Turkiye, which Washington has for years tried to prevent to protect its “Kurdification” project in the north – but at the same time, millions will flee, terrified by the prospect of a new Caliphate and a renewed civil war.

  Is there a possible ray of light amongst such gloom? The leader of the transition government will be Mohammad al-Bashir, who was, until recently, the prime minister of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in HTS-ruled Idlib. An electrical engineer by training, Bashir added a further degree to his education in 2021: Sharia and law.

  Losing Syria should not mean losing Palestine 

  The Global Majority may be mourning what, on the surface, looks like a nearly lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance. Yet there’s no way Russia, Iran, Iraq – and even thunderously silent China – will let a NATO-Israel-Turkiye-backed Salafi-jihadi proxy army prevail. Unlike the collective west, they are smarter, tougher, infinitely more patient, and consider the contours of the Big Picture ahead. It’s too early; sooner or later they will start rollin’ to prevent western-backed jihadism from spilling into Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow.  

  Russian foreign intel agency Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR) now has to be monitoring 24/7 what will be the next destination of the large cross-Heartland Salafi-jihadi brigade in Syria, overwhelmingly Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tajiks, and a sprinkle of Chechens. There’s no question they will be used to “extend” (US Think Tankland terminology) not only Central Asia but the Russian Federation. 
  Meanwhile, Israel will be overstretched in the Golan. The Americans will temporarily feel safe and secure around the oil fields from which they will keep stealing Syrian oil. These are two ideal latitudes for the start of what would be the first concerted BRICS retaliation against those who are unleashing the First BRICS War.  

  Then there’s the ultimate tragedy: Palestine. A massive plot twist took place right inside the venerable Umayyad mosque in Damascus. The NATO-Israeli-Turk Head-Chopping Army is now promising the Palestinians they are coming to liberate Gaza and Jerusalem. 

  Yet until this past Sunday, it was all “We love Israel.” The MC of this PR op – designed to fool the Muslim world and the Global Majority – is none other than the Caliph of al-Sham himself, Julani.

  As it stands, the new regime in Damascus will be, for all practical purposes, backed by those who support and engineer Eretz Israel and the genocide of Palestine. It’s already out in the open, coming from Israeli cabinet officials themselves: Tel Aviv ideally would love to expel the population of Gaza and the West Bank to Syria, though Jordan is their preferred destination.

  This is the battle to focus on from now on. The late Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah was adamant when he insisted on the deeper meaning of losing Syria: “Palestine would be lost.” More than ever, it’s up to a Global Resistance not to allow it. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 22:35

• Gold & The Evil Cycles Of War And Economic Destruction
  Gold & The Evil Cycles Of War And Economic Destruction

  Authored by Egon von Greyerz via vongreyerz.gold,

  As we approach what usually should be a blissful holiday period, the treacherous path the world is now on does not bode well for 2025 and beyond.

  Two global crises will dominate the world for at least several years and possibly decades.

  

  FINANCIAL CRISIS

  The crisis I have been discussing and writing about for many years is the end of the current monetary era, especially in the West. The exponential growth of debt, which we have experienced since 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window, is reaching an uber-exponential phase in the current century with runaway deficits and debt. 

  The likely course of events is unlimited money printing to counter an uncontrollable debt crisis. This leads to monetary debasement, high inflation or hyperinflation, which eventually turns into a deflationary collapse of the financial system and depression. 

  THERE CAN BE NO CLEARER SIGN OF THE END OF AN ECONOMIC ERA THAN WHEN THE RESERVE CURRENCY DECLINES BY 99%.  

  

  A possible alternative would be that the financial system implodes before the money printing has taken effect, with a subsequent deflationary implosion. This would mean a period without functioning banks and money. 

  As this is the way every monetary system has ended in history, without fail, anyone questioning this inevitable outcome will be entirely wrong. It is only a question of when, not if. 

  As the Austrian economist von Mises said:

  

  As always in history, an economic crisis always goes hand in hand with political or geopolitical turmoil. 

  When a country spends money it doesn’t have, starting a war is the most convenient way of creating new paper money, which, of course, has ZERO intrinsic value. 

  Expanding credit or printing money does not create economic value, but buys time.

  Money printing also buys votes. Reelection is the primary objective of any government in a democratic system.

  Consecutive US governments have increased US Federal debt almost every year since the early 1930s. 

  The current deficit is over $2 trillion, and tax revenue is only $5 trillion. With over $7 trillion in federal spending, the US government needs to borrow another 40% on top ($2T) to make ends meet.

  I created the graph below in November 2016, when Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. I forecast that 8 years later (whoever was president), the debt that Trump inherited ($20 trillion) would be $40 trillion in early 2025. I based the forecast on a simple extrapolation. Since 1981, US debt has, on average, doubled every 8 years. Well, the debt will probably not reach $40T by 20 January 2025, but still, it went up by $16T rather than the $20T that I forecast. 

  More importantly, as the graph below shows, debt has increased 44X since 1981, but tax revenue has only increased 6X to $4.9T.  

  

  Can anyone explain how this debt will be repaid? The standard reply is that governments don’t need to repay their debt. 

  Well, let me again cite history, which is such a useful empirical tool. 

  Throughout history, a country which has not repaid its debts has, without fail, always defaulted, and the currency has gone to ZERO. 

  No one must believe that it will be different this time!

  A monetary crisis at the end of a major cycle leads to economic collapse, poverty and misery. 

  However, this current financial cycle is already developing in parallel with a geopolitical crisis of a magnitude and scale that could be greater than those of WWI and WWII. 

  GEOPOLITICAL CRISIS 

  The financial and geopolitical conflicts are clearly linked. As in many armed conflicts, the US has been involved since WWII, although the country is not directly threatened.

  This has been the case in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Ukraine. 

  Most of these wars are about fear of losing the US hegemony. The US government subscribes to the 1904 Mackinder theory that whoever controls the Heartland controls the world. The Heartland is the area of Eastern Europe stretching to the Yangtze River in the east and the Himalayas in the south. This area has massive natural resources. 

  

  Syria probably just fell to opposition groups backed by Turkey in an attack supported by the US military. Interestingly, the latest conflict started the same day as the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Clearly, it’s not a coincidence. 

  So Turkey, which for a while has ridden two horses, a Russian and an American, has now taken the US side. 

  Turkey is a NATO member and also a prospective BRICS member, among others, Russia, China, Iran and India. 

  With Turkey now on the US side and against Russia, we see the first military conflict between the West and BRICS.  

  Nobody knows if Syria will regroup again with Assad in Moscow and the soldiers deserting the army. For the Russia – Iran axis, Syria is strategically critical. But Russia cannot win that war with just air power and most probably does not want to divert resources from Ukraine. 

  Thus, we now have yet another crisis in the Middle East, a situation with dire consequences for the area and the world.

  So we are likely to see continued war in Syria, with anarchy and the rise of more jihadist groups. 

  As Thanassis Cambanis, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, said: “In the best case scenario, Syria’s factions will struggle for primacy through contained local battles. At the other extreme, the collapse will spur a renewed period of total warfare in which factions target civilians.”

  So, it is likely that more Syrian people will be homeless and migrate to Europe and the US. As we know, no Western country has the capacity to take care of these people, so again, another humanitarian catastrophe has hit the world. 

  Losing access to Syria and the Mediterranean has weakened Iran, which will look for other options. The danger has always been that Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, which would lock in 24% of global oil. The US could not stop this. It would lead to oil prices at least doubling or more and a major global depression. 

  The UAE (United Arab Emirates), which includes Dubai, is right by the Strait of Hormuz. 

  Personally, I have always been surprised that so many people move to and invest in Dubai, given the major geopolitical risk that this area carries.

  The world is in a severe war cycle, which, at best, will include insoluble and intractable wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe with both the US and Russia involved. And at worst, a nuclear war.

  I was always of the opinion that the Ukrainian conflict is a war Russia is very unlikely to lose. And neither the US nor European NATO troops have sufficient resources to win a war with boots on the ground. 

  Russian missiles are currently superior, but anything can happen in a nuclear conflict.

  In a nuclear war, there is no winner, and that could be the end of the world, so it is not worth speculating about the outcome of such a war.

  THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH

  

  Peter Bruegel painted the “Triumph of Death” in 1562. 

  Currently, the world, and especially the West, is on a path to geopolitical and economic destruction.

  No one knows how this will end. Even if it takes years, the world is unlikely to be the same once these two cycles have run their course. 

  I have already stated that the end of the current economic cycle will be devastating for the world but bearable relative to the worst outcome of the war cycle. 

  I had a hope that Trump would settle the Ukrainian situation if the US Neocons didn’t manage to escalate it severely before January 20. 

  However, the Middle East conflict, with Iran involved, makes the situation much more complex, even with Trump’s best intentions. 

  I always believe in finding solutions, but it is hard to be optimistic when the two Cycles of Evil prevail so strongly. 

  At least anyone who has savings should take action to protect these against the coming implosion of financial assets. 

  MARKETS

  Stocks in the US are massively overvalued. 

  The Buffett Indicator, US Stocks to GDP, is at 208%, an all-time high.

  Just a normal correction would be a 50% to 75% fall.

  The Price Earnings Ratio of Nasdaq stocks is 49X. 

  A decline of at least 80%, like in the early 2000s, is likely. 

  

  Obviously, bubbles can always grow bigger before they implode. 

  However, the risk of a market collapse sometime in the next few months is extremely high.

  Inflation will rise rapidly, as will interest rates, driven by money printing. 

  The US 10-year treasury will greatly exceed 10%, as in the 1970s. 

  WEALTH PRESERVATION 

  Finally, gold will continue to reflect the destruction of the dollar and most currencies. 

  Gold in US dollars is up 10X in this century. It is likely to rise by multiples from here as money dies. I explain why in this article: THE CASE FOR GOLD IS INCONTROVERTIBLE.

  

  Gold must be held in physical form and outside the financial system with direct access to your gold. And preferably in a safe jurisdiction outside your country of residence. 

  Finally, especially in periods of crisis, helping others and having a close circle of family and friends is more important than all the gold in the world. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 21:45

• A New Chapter Of The Bible Was Found Hidden Inside 1,750-Year-Old Text
  A New Chapter Of The Bible Was Found Hidden Inside 1,750-Year-Old Text

  Via The Mind Unleashed,

  Hidden for centuries, a forgotten chapter of the Bible has emerged from the shadows of history. Researchers, armed with ultraviolet light and meticulous scholarship, have uncovered a 1,750-year-old text that offers a fresh glimpse into the evolving nature of scripture. This find isn’t just a historical curiosity; it’s a profound insight into how faith and tradition were shaped in early Christianity.

  

  Preserved in an ancient Syriac manuscript, the chapter challenges long-held assumptions about biblical texts and their seemingly static nature. With its subtle variations and expanded narrative, this rediscovery raises compelling questions: What does this mean for the modern understanding of faith? And how many more hidden chapters might still be waiting to be found?

  Unearthing a Lost Piece of Biblical History

  In a groundbreaking intersection of technology and ancient history, scholars have uncovered a hidden chapter of the Bible within a 1,750-year-old Syriac manuscript preserved in the Vatican Library. Using ultraviolet (UV) light, researchers revealed traces of erased writing—a palimpsest—buried beneath layers of overwritten text. This painstaking process illuminated an earlier version of scripture, lost to time but now reintroduced to the world.

  The manuscript, part of the Syriac translations of the Bible, is more than just a relic. It represents a key moment in Christianity’s history, when scribes worked tirelessly to preserve scripture under challenging conditions. Early Christians relied on Syriac texts to disseminate their teachings across cultural and linguistic boundaries, making this find a window into their lived experiences.

  What makes this discovery especially remarkable is its collaborative nature. Historians, linguists, and scientists pooled their expertise to decode the faded script, each stroke of ink offering clues to a story untold for nearly two millennia. This isn’t just a triumph for biblical studies; it’s a testament to the enduring power of curiosity and innovation to uncover humanity’s shared past.

  The Hidden Chapter: What We Know So Far

  The newly unveiled chapter offers an expanded version of Matthew 12, a passage where Jesus and his disciples are criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath. In this version, subtle textual variations bring fresh theological nuances to light, emphasizing compassion and mercy over rigid observance of religious laws. While the core message aligns with established teachings, these differences hint at the dynamic and adaptive nature of early Christian scripture.

  

  Written in ancient Syriac, one of the earliest languages used to transmit biblical texts, the chapter provides a rare glimpse into Christianity’s early cultural diversity. Syriac was instrumental in spreading scripture beyond its Jewish origins, tailoring messages to resonate with varied linguistic and cultural communities. This adaptation reflects the pragmatic approach of early Christians, who shaped their sacred texts to meet the needs of a rapidly growing faith.

  What’s particularly striking is the role of early scribes. Far from being passive transcribers, they actively engaged with the material, reinterpreting and preserving it in ways that reflected their own spiritual and societal realities. This hidden chapter, with its emphasis on mercy, reveals a faith not rigidly bound to dogma but alive with reinterpretation and evolution—a window into the beliefs and priorities of communities navigating the complexities of their time.

  The Technology That Unveiled the Forgotten Chapter

  It’s hard to believe that something written almost 2,000 years ago could still be hiding in plain sight. But that’s exactly what happened here. Using ultraviolet light, researchers managed to reveal a forgotten chapter of the Bible, hidden beneath layers of overwritten text on an ancient manuscript. It’s like uncovering a secret message written centuries ago, invisible to the naked eye but waiting to be found.

  The process wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Think about it—this manuscript is old, fragile, and irreplaceable. Every move had to be precise, every scan done with the utmost care. Months of work went into piecing together faint traces of erased ink, with experts from all over—historians, linguists, scientists—working side by side. It’s amazing to think that this discovery wouldn’t have been possible even a few decades ago. The tools they used, like UV imaging, are giving us new ways to see the past in ways we never thought possible.

  But here’s what really gets you thinking—what else is out there? If something as groundbreaking as a hidden chapter of the Bible can be uncovered, what other secrets might still be lying in wait? This is more than a cool tech story; it’s a reminder that history always has more to give, as long as we keep asking the right questions.

  A Manuscript’s Journey Through Time

  Think about this for a second: early Christians lived in a world where their beliefs could literally get them killed. Their sacred texts weren’t just important—they were lifelines, hidden and protected at all costs. That’s the world this 1,750-year-old Syriac manuscript comes from. Imagine scribes painstakingly copying and preserving these words, knowing the risks they faced if they were caught.

  Back then, parchment wasn’t exactly easy to come by. It was expensive, rare, and, honestly, every bit as valuable as the words written on it. To make the most of it, scribes would scrape off old texts and reuse the material—creating what we now call palimpsests. It’s kind of wild to think that their recycling efforts accidentally preserved traces of history that they probably thought were gone for good.

  Here’s another fascinating detail: this manuscript is written in Syriac. It’s one of the earliest languages used to spread Christianity and shows how the faith started to move beyond its Jewish roots. Syriac wasn’t just a language—it was a tool that helped Christianity adapt and grow, reaching new communities and cultures. That’s what makes this discovery so powerful. It’s not just about words on a page; it’s about the lengths people went to protect and share their beliefs.

  And now, centuries later, we’re uncovering their story. You can almost picture the hands that wrote and rewrote this text, working in secret, determined to pass on what they believed mattered most. It’s a humbling reminder of just how much history can hide beneath the surface—literally—and how much these ancient voices still have to say.

  What Scholars Are Saying: A New Lens on Scripture

  This hidden chapter of the Bible has sparked lively debates among scholars. Many see it as a fascinating window into how early Christian communities understood and adapted scripture. The chapter’s emphasis on mercy over strict adherence to religious laws aligns with Jesus’ teachings but adds a fresh perspective to familiar passages. This nuance suggests early Christians may have tailored scripture to address the unique challenges of their time.

  

  At the heart of the debate is the question of why this chapter was erased. Some scholars suggest it might have been excluded as church leaders worked to formalize the biblical canon, streamlining texts to unify doctrine. Others argue that its omission could simply reflect the practical realities of the time, with scribes overwriting older texts due to the scarcity of parchment. Whatever the reason, the discovery underscores the dynamic and evolving nature of early Christianity.

  Ultimately, this find is about more than one chapter. It’s a reminder that the Bible, far from being a static document, was shaped over centuries by human hands and decisions. For scholars and believers alike, the chapter offers a chance to reexamine the past while raising new questions about the stories still waiting to be uncovered.

  Hidden Truths, Endless Possibilities

  The discovery of this hidden Bible chapter is more than a historical footnote—it’s a vivid reminder of how much the past still has to teach us. From the resilience of early Christian communities to the evolving nature of scripture itself, this find opens a window into a world where faith and history were deeply intertwined. It also shows how modern technology can breathe life into ancient artifacts, revealing secrets thought lost to time.

  But this is likely just the beginning. Who knows what other forgotten chapters, erased writings, or hidden narratives are still waiting to be uncovered? Each discovery invites us to ask new questions, challenge old assumptions, and deepen our understanding of the stories that have shaped human history. Whether it’s faith, curiosity, or a little of both driving the search, one thing is certain—history still has plenty of mysteries left to share.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 20:05

• Marc Andreessen Gives Insider Peek At DOGE Decisions, Helping Trump Pick The Next Administration
  Marc Andreessen Gives Insider Peek At DOGE Decisions, Helping Trump Pick The Next Administration

  Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen gave a wide-ranging interview to Free Press’s Bari Weiss, confirming his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and sharing behind-the-scenes insights on working with President-elect Donald Trump. Andreessen discussed his role in assisting Trump with assembling the next administration and provided a glimpse into what it’s like to spend time with the incoming commander-in-chief. During the two-hour conversation, Andreessen also revisited his experience with Biden administration officials, claiming the government expressed the orwellian desire to take “complete control” over AI development in the United States. 

  

  “I’m an unpaid volunteer,” Andreessen said when asked by Weiss about his reported involvement. A recent report from The Washington Post revealed that Andreessen, along with fellow Silicon Valley titans Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, is contributing to the ambitious program. Andreessen outlined DOGE’s two chief objectives: slashing spending and reducing regulations.

  .@pmarca tells @bariweiss he’s an “unpaid volunteer” for @DOGE: “They are going to cut as much costs as they possibly can and do the same thing for regulations.” pic.twitter.com/fpSmDiIBU7

  — CAPITAL (@capitalnewshq) December 10, 2024

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  “There’s basically two big parts to it,” Andreessen explained. “One is they’re going to do a top-to-bottom review of government spending, and they’re going to cut as much cost as they possibly can. They have a whole theory and strategy on that.”

  “In conjunction with that and related to it, they’re going to do the same thing for regulations,” the billionaire continued. “They’re going to do a top-to-bottom review of the regulatory—what they call the regulatory state or the administrative state.”

  “The connective tissue there, that they don’t talk about in public, is actually quite important. A lot of the reaction of the Doge from institutional Washington is like, well, that’s impossible, you can’t do that; there are all these laws, statutes, and regulations,” he added.

  Andreessen, along with his A16z co-founder Ben Horowitz, endorsed Trump during the final stretch of the 2024 election. Since Trump’s victory, Andreessen revealed to Weiss that he has spent a great day of time at Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach area, assisting the 47th leader of the free world with assembling his administration.

  While Andreessen said he has spent “maybe half [his] time” at Mar-a-Lago since the election, he is quick to clarify his position:

  “I’m not claiming to be in the middle of all the decision-making, but I’ve been trying to help in as many ways as I can,” the tech titan told Weiss. Andreessen explained that his contributions focus on areas where his expertise aligns with Trump’s agenda, including tech policy, business, and economic development. “When I talk about these things, it’s around, as I said, tech policy, business, economics, and then, you know, the health of the country, the success of the country,” he noted.

  Andreessen shared his observations of Trump’s warm personal approach, highlighting qualities that he believes are often overlooked by his Democrat critics.

  “Everybody says this who meets with him, but he’s an incredible host,” Andreessen remarked. “For however people think, whatever, he’s an incredible host. He runs his own private worlds.”

  What stood out most to Andreessen was Trump’s ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

  “He treats everybody the same and talks to everybody,” Andreessen said. “He will happily talk to distinguished visitors about who the Vice President should be, and then he’ll ask the caddy.”

  Reflecting on his involvement in the transition process, Andreessen noted the exceptional caliber of candidates he encountered. “The caliber of a lot of the people that I’ve met has been very high,” he said, adding that recent appointments, particularly at the next level down in staff positions, have included “very impressive people.”

  .@pmarca tells @bariweiss he’s helping Trump team vet candidates for administration roles, noting caliber is “very high” and better than previous term. pic.twitter.com/Obtd8sqvrF

  — CAPITAL (@capitalnewshq) December 10, 2024

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  Addressing concerns about whether qualified individuals might hesitate to join a Trump administration due to the controversies surrounding his previous term, Andreessen said he has observed the opposite trend: “I think the flow of qualified people from outside the system now is actually much stronger.”

  Yet another mainstream media narrative busted.

  Addressing also reiterated that his support for Trump stemmed from a series of “horrifying” meeting in which Biden officials expressed plans to control AI.

  “They said, look, AI is a technology basically that the government is going to completely control,” Andreessen revealed. The officials explicitly discouraged the idea of entrepreneurial ventures in AI, stating, “Don’t start, don’t do AI startups… it’s not something that we’re going to allow to happen.”

  Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) says he attended “absolutely horrifying” meetings where Biden’s government vowed to take “complete control” over AI technology:

  “They basically said AI is going to be a game of 2 or 3 big companies working closely with the government… We’re going to… pic.twitter.com/REjkfgJkyV

  — Honestly with Bari Weiss (@thehonestlypod) December 10, 2024

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  According to the billionaire, the officials conveyed that AI innovation would be concentrated among “two or three big companies… working closely with the government,” with startups effectively barred from the space. “We’re going to basically wrap them in a government cocoon, protect them from competition, control them, and dictate what they do,” Andreessen paraphrased, highlighting the stark divergence from the open-market approach that has historically driven tech innovation.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 19:40

• Operators Of LAX Restaurants Face A $30 Hourly Wage
  Operators Of LAX Restaurants Face A $30 Hourly Wage

  By Peter Romeo of Restaurant Business,

  The City Council of Los Angeles is scheduled to consider a proposal on Dec. 11 to raise the minimum wage for workers employed in the restaurants at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to $30 an hour.

  

  The initiative slated for consideration calls for increasing the minimum wage to $25 an hour no later than six months after traffic in the airport resumes the levels of 2019, or before air travel dropped precipitously because of the pandemic. That threshold is expected to be reached possibly this year, meaning the increase would come in 2025.

  The minimum would then rise by $1 every July until the pay floor reaches $30 an hour.

  The minimum permissible wage for the workers is currently $19.25.

  Hotel employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement hammered out with the city during the first quarter of 2024 would also be eligible for the raises. The trigger for those workers would be hitting the occupancy rate enjoyed by city hotels in the pre-pandemic days of 2019.

  Workers in several dozen hotels would be affected.

  The Airport Restaurant & Retail Association, a trade group for airport concessionaires, called the proposal “a bridge too far.” It noted that the proposed increases would amount to a 56% wage hike over a four-year period for the eligible employees.

  According to the association, the wages of airport-restaurant employees have been soaring. The lift is coming in part because of the additional challenges someone working in an airport restaurant is forced to address. For instance, their trip to work can easily take 45 minutes because they have to traverse the airport and contend with security screenings. Someone working in a streetside facility may need only 10 minutes to get to the job, the group stressed.

  In addition, nearly 70% of airport concession workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

  The proposal to be considered by the City Council is the result of what labor authorities called segmental bargaining, or negotiating a labor contract across a group of employees doing similar work across a multitude of employers.

  Segmental bargaining came to the restaurant industry in April with the creation of the Fast Food Council, a nine-person panel empowered by the state to set wages for fast-food employees who work for a restaurant with at least 59 sister branches nationwide. The council consists of four workers’ representatives and four employers, with a neutral government worker wielding a ninth and potentially tie-breaking vote.

  Simultaneous with the creation of the council, the minimum wage for covered fast-food workers rose to $20 an hour on April 1, from a previous floor of $16.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 19:15

• "Polar Vortex" Is Upon Us: Arctic Outbreaks To Round Out December
  “Polar Vortex” Is Upon Us: Arctic Outbreaks To Round Out December

  It’s almost that time of year when a polar vortex split occurs, displacing cold Arctic air from the Earth’s North Pole into Canada and spilling into the Lower 48. 

  Data from Bloomberg shows that mentions of “polar vortex” in corporate media typically begin to surge in late December or the first half of January, signaling that the countdown has begun. 

  

  On Wednesday, private weather forecaster BAMWX pushed out new weather models on X, showing confidence is growing for a polar vortex split to occur for the Lower 48. 

  “The stage is set for Arctic outbreaks to round out December and kick start the new year!” BAMWX wrote on X. 

  

  BAMWX said, “More favorable trends for stronger cold fronts in week 2. I don’t see any signs of a consistent torch in the eastern US. Ensembles cannot resolve the +TNH & +PNA pattern right now making them consistently too warm late week 2.” 

  More favorable trends for stronger cold fronts in week 2. I don’t see any signs of a consistent torch in the eastern US.

  Ensembles cannot resolve the +TNH & +PNA pattern right now making them consistently too warm late week 2. pic.twitter.com/EuOcMnGFZ9

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 11, 2024

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  Michael Clark, chief meteorologist for BAMWX, was confident about the incoming polar vortex.

  Yes. Really. https://t.co/fv95vY03ii pic.twitter.com/4F6h9SZKbe

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 11, 2024

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  Clark also sees a more active precipitation pattern for the eastern half of the US. 

  I also strongly agree with the AI data that the pattern is much more active than what the week 2 ensembles show for precipitation.

  The 12Z EPS & GEFS has trended wetter in today’s runs which we believe to also be the preferred route here. pic.twitter.com/cRik6dQteq

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 11, 2024

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  “The persistence in the PNA and the TPV (500mb tropospheric polar vortex location is the reason we believe the storms can easily pull down the Arctic air behind them,” BAMWX said. 

  The persistence in the PNA and the TPV (500mb tropospheric polar vortex location is the reason we believe the storms can easily pull down the Arctic air behind them.

  It’s likely the smoothed out ensemble means are missing these features.

  Therefore the AI data as of today has… pic.twitter.com/CvCqhXae1G

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 11, 2024

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  The eastern half of the US appears to be setting up for a cold Christmas. 

  Morning data runs 12-20 to 12-25 aka leading up to #Christmas.

  Everything is colder east.

  With that said the ECMWF-AI is quite a bit colder and we think that is because it understands that the TPV is not moving while the other data fails to see the connection. pic.twitter.com/YOCmVbDyrF

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 11, 2024

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  And possibly a white one…

  The odds of 1″+ of snowfall between now and the 28th.

  I think we need to watch this area here for increasing odds of a white #Christmas. pic.twitter.com/RSFIl7G2yd

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 12, 2024

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  “Both GFS and ECMWF AI model data hinting at a bigger storm threat ~22nd of Dec,” BAMWX wrote in a forecast.

  Both GFS and ECMWF AI model data hinting at a bigger storm threat ~22nd of Dec.

  This storm has been on the charts for several days now.

  There is absolutely a storm there we need to take a look into the odds of having an Arctic connection for a bigger Winter storm? pic.twitter.com/037pXkPlgu

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) December 12, 2024

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  Here’s more from Clark in a video titled “Stage set for ARCTIC OUTBREAKS to start 2025” … 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:50

• Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism As HHS Secretary
  Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism As HHS Secretary

  Authored by Jeff Louderbeck via The Epoch Times,

  President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 8 that he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the freedom to investigate the potential link between vaccines and autism if the latter gains Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

  

  Kennedy has said for years that autism is likely tied to childhood vaccines.

  He was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes to agencies under the HHS, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

  The NIH supports and funds research into autism, as well as potential new vaccines.

  Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September that he would revamp the NIH to focus on the causes of autism, autoimmune diseases, and neurodevelopment diseases instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for pharmaceutical products.

  In the Dec. 8 interview with Meet The Press, Trump noted that autism cases have increased in recent decades. When asked if Kennedy would explore the issue, Trump said he is “open to anything.”

  “When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said.

  “I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”

  CDC information shows that around one in 36 American children today has an autism diagnosis, compared to one in 150 in the year 2000.

  Fighting chronic disease, improving children’s health, and addressing corporate influence on government agencies were vital parts of Kennedy’s campaign platform when he ran for president as a Democrat and then as an independent.

  Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and backed Trump in August. He told The Epoch Times that it was a “heart-wrenching decision” and a necessary step toward achieving his mission of saving Americans from the chronic disease epidemic.

  Under the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, Kennedy intends to curtail what he calls the chronic disease epidemic by addressing the so-called “corporate capture” of federal health agencies and removing toxic chemicals from the nation’s food supply, among other objectives.

  Leading to announcing his presidential bid in April 2023, Kennedy was chairman of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization devoted to removing toxic exposures that harm children and promoting vaccine safety.

  

  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

  He co-founded the World Mercury Project in 2016 with the intent to remove neurotoxic mercury in fish, medical products, dental amalgams, and vaccines; and make sound science the driver of public policy, according to the Children’s Health Defense website.

  The World Mercury Project became Children’s Health Defense in 2018. The organization’s four pillars include advocacy, education, litigation, and science.

  On Dec. 4, Kennedy submitted his letter of resignation from CHD.

  “One of my most important priorities is to have the agencies I oversee provide better access to minority scientific and public policy views,” he wrote.

  “I promise you and the members of CHD to bring a new openness and inclusion to the health and science part of the government, both in receiving input from the public and all stakeholders, and disseminating information and the data collected by these agencies.”

  Several Republicans have praised Trump’s move to nominate Kennedy as HHS secretary.

  Some critics opposed the nomination because they considered Kennedy to be anti-vaccine or anti-science—characterizations that Kennedy has said are not true.

  Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) called Kennedy a conspiracy theorist and said that “he will destroy our public health infrastructure and our vaccine distribution systems.”

  Peter G. Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement that the center “opposes this nomination“ and that ”nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA.”

  Kennedy has consistently said that he isn’t against vaccines and that he advocates vaccine safety and informed consent.

  For parents and vaccine safety advocates like MaryJo Perry and Scott Shoemaker, extensively studying potential links between childhood vaccines and autism is long overdue.

  “I don’t understand the hysteria over his plan to thoroughly study the issue and finally settle it,” said Perry, who is president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights. “Why would anyone be afraid of knowing the truth?”

  Shoemaker’s son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 15 months, and he said he reversed the condition by removing toxic metal poisoning.

  “Shouldn’t we as parents want to know whether or not what we are allowing to go into our children’s bodies is safe?” said Shoemaker, who is president of Health Freedom Ohio.

  A video documenting the changes that he posted in 2019 was removed by Facebook, he told The Epoch Times.

  “My son had an MMR shot. He was in bed for two weeks when he got home. At the time, I wasn’t concerned because the doctor said before the shot that some kids have problems with it and they might feel sick,” Shoemaker said.

  “He was different after the shot. He didn’t talk or look us in the eye. It was hard to get his attention. I experienced what most parents of vaccine-injured children experience from medical professionals. We are gaslit and told they don’t know what caused the autism, but it’s not the vaccines that caused the problem.”

  Signed by President Ronald Reagan, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 eliminated potential liability of vaccine manufacturers because of vaccine injury claims. Perry and Shoemaker would like to see pharmaceutical companies held liable if their products injure recipients. They also hope that, under Kennedy, the CDC’s vaccine schedule is addressed.

  According to Children’s Health Defense, there has not been a double-blind placebo-controlled safety study on infant vaccines.

  “That needs to happen,” Perry told The Epoch Times. “There is no liability and no accountability for pharmaceutical companies. That needs to change.”

  Perry said that she believes no vaccine should be mandated.

  “If it’s good and safe, parents will use it. You won’t have to coerce parents if it’s good and safe,” she said.

  Shoemaker agrees.

  “The bottom line is we want the truth. We want safe products for our kids. We don’t want big pharma to just say vaccines are safe and effective and they can’t show non-partisan studies,” he said.

  “We’re told by government agencies that the science is settled, but that is contrary to the purpose of science—to test, retest, study, and evolve.”

  Shoemaker said Kennedy is the right person to bring the changes parents like him would like to see.

  “He is not tied to big pharma. He just wants the truth and he is someone who is not afraid to do what is needed to get to the truth,” Shoemaker said.

  Kennedy will face confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee, which is scheduled to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The full Senate will vote on his nomination if he is approved by that panel.

  Kennedy said he believes little will change until the influence of giant or private corporations on the FDA, the CDC, and the Department of Agriculture is addressed.

  During an interview with The Epoch Times last year, he explained his stance.

  “I’ve never been anti-vaccine. People should have choice, and that choice should be informed by the best information possible,“ he said. ”I’m going to ensure that there are science-based safety studies available and people can make their own assessments about whether a vaccine is good for them.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:25

• World's Largest Asset Manager Suggests Up To 2% Is "Reasonable" Bitcoin Portfolio Allocation
  World’s Largest Asset Manager Suggests Up To 2% Is “Reasonable” Bitcoin Portfolio Allocation

  The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, said a portfolio allocation of up to 2% is “reasonable” for investors who wish to hold Bitcoin, in their latest Investment Perspectives report.

  They begin the report by noting that “bitcoin cannot be compared to traditional assets,” but from a portfolio construction perspective, Samara Cohen (CIO of ETFs) and her team suggest that the so-called “Magnificent 7” group of mega-cap tech stocks is a useful starting point.

  “Those stocks represent single portfolio holdings that account for a comparatively large share of portfolio risk as with bitcoin.

  In a traditional portfolio with a mix of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, those seven stocks each account for, on average, about the same share of overall portfolio risk as a 1-2% allocation to bitcoin.

  We think that’s a reasonable range for a bitcoin exposure.”

  As with gold, bitcoin can be driven by sentiment, narratives and momentum – both up and down.

  

  Why not more, they ask (and answer):

  “Going beyond that would sharply increase bitcoin’s share of the overall portfolio risk.”

  

  With approximately $11.5 trillion in assets under management (and manager of the largest spot BTC ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which holds net assets of nearly $54 billion), they are worth listening to.

  According to BlackRock, investors “need to think about Bitcoin’s expected returns in a different way: it has no underlying cash flows for estimating future returns. What matters: the extent of adoption.”

  “Bitcoin may also provide a more diversified source of return,” BlackRock said, adding:

  “We see no intrinsic reason why Bitcoin should be correlated with major risk assets over the long term given its value is driven by such distinct drivers.”

  

  Longer term, BTC “could potentially also become less risky – but at that point it might no longer have a structural catalyst for further sizable price increases,” the report said.

  Instead, “investors may prefer to use it tactically to hedge against specific risks, similar to gold.”

  Launched in January, spot BTC ETFs emerged as 2024’s most popular investment vehicles, breaking $100 billion in net assets in November. 

  As CoinTelegraph reports, these surging inflows from institutional investors could cause “demand shocks” in 2025, driving up BTC’s spot price, according to a Dec. 12 report by Sygnum Bank.

  “Our analysis shows how even relatively modest allocations from this segment can fundamentally alter the crypto asset ecosystem,” Sygnum said.

  

  The report, dubbed ‘Sizing Bitcoin in portfolios’, was released by BlackRock Investment Institute on Dec. 12.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:00

• 'USA' Chants Roar As Trump Rings NYSE Bell After Being Named TIME 'Person Of The Year'
  ‘USA’ Chants Roar As Trump Rings NYSE Bell After Being Named TIME ‘Person Of The Year’

  Donald Trump has been crowned TIME magazine’s Person of the Year after reclaiming the presidency, marking him as only the second U.S. president in history to serve non-consecutive terms. The announcement came on Thursday, placing Trump at the pinnacle of a contentious list of global influencers.

  

  “Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history,” TIME wrote in an announcement, after speaking with the President-elect ahead of the announcement.

  Trump dubbed his campaign “72 Days of Fury” after a term that Trump himself coined. This win sets Trump apart as a political figure of singular historical significance, having first held the title in 2016 when he initially seized the presidency from Hillary Clinton.

  Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history. His first term ended in disgrace, with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results culminating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was shunned by most party officials when he announced his candidacy in late 2022 amid multiple criminal investigations. Little more than a year later, Trump cleared the Republican field, clinching one of the fastest contested presidential primaries in history. -TIME

  The competition for this year’s title was fierce, with Trump edging out other high-profile names such as Vice President Kamala Harris, his tech mogul supporter Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Notably, Musk was the magazine’s pick back in 2021.

  

  Reflecting on his tumultuous path to victory, Trump’s year included overcoming significant challenges: a stark clearing of the GOP field, a conviction in a New York courtroom, and surviving not one, but two assassination attempts.

  

  The campaign saw surprising alliances, including consolidations of support from unexpected quarters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk, alongside a dramatic shift in the Democratic nomination.

  According to TIME, Trump’s win gave him the “political capital to address the sources of American discontent at home and abroad” Trump himself suggested a bold agenda, including plans to pardon Jan. 6 political prisoners.

  What a difference 8 years can make. pic.twitter.com/bn3L0M93tt

  — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 12, 2024

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  “It’s going to start in the first hour … maybe the first nine minutes,” Trump told the outlet.

  The Person of the Year title, a tradition since 1927, is not necessarily a mark of honor but rather a recognition of influence. TIME has historically selected presidents during their election victories, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris jointly receiving the nod in 2020, and other repeat honorees including Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

  Trump’s victory lap included ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, where chants of “USA’ broke out…

  JUST IN: ‘USA’ chants break out as President-elect Donald Trump rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell.

  Trump became the first president to ring the bell since Ronald Reagan.pic.twitter.com/vPnYNspGj8

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 12, 2024

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  Trump is the first president to ring the bell since Ronald Reagan.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:44

• The Evaporation Of The Obama Mystique
  The Evaporation Of The Obama Mystique

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

  Barack Obama had long been rumored as the catalyst for the 2020 Biden nomination—and thereafter played the whispering puppeteer behind the subsequent lost Biden administration years.

  As such he and his coterie proved the virtual architects of the Biden administration, one of the most unpopular and failed presidencies in American history.

  

  Recall earlier that after a flailing candidate Joe Biden lost the first three 2020 primaries and caucuses, his inert campaign was headed nowhere.

  Barack Obama and fellow Democratic insiders abruptly engineered the withdrawal of his rival 2020 presidential candidates: hard left but likely sure-loser candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

  The Obamas ignored or withheld from the public their own firsthand knowledge that Biden was suffering from signs of dementia.

  Instead, they found Biden’s cognitive decline and his former concocted reputation as workingman’s Joe useful as a veneer for a veritable Obama third-term, “phone it in” administration. Or as wistful Obama once conditioned his dream of a third term—”If I could make an arrangement where I had a stand-in, a front man or front woman, and they had an earpiece in.”

  The Obamaites then got their wish for four years of enacted hard-left directives that they could only have dreamed of while in actual power.

  But their radical menu since 2021 had divided and nearly wrecked the nation—hyperinflation, 12 million illegal aliens, a ruined border, spiraling crime, a shattered foreign policy of appeasement, the popular backlash against DEI/Woke/trans chauvinism, partisan lawfare, and weaponization of the government.

  And the ruling radicalism beneath the Biden facade eventually cost the Democrats nearly everything—the presidency, the House, and the Senate.

  An inert Biden is departing office with a 36 percent favorability rating in a recent Emerson poll. His Democratic nominee replacement, losing presidential candidate Vice President Harris, also has virtually vacated her office with 40 days left of her tenure.

  Failed candidate Harris has been roundly faulted by staffers and donors for blowing through some $2 billion in assorted 2024 campaign money.

  She ended up doing worse against Trump than Biden himself had in 2020.

  Many Democrats believe that they might have done just as well had Biden stayed on the ticket even in his vastly diminished state.

  The Obamas were further blasted for nullifying the wishes of 14 million primary voters by forcing Biden off the ticket—ironically in the same backroom, anti-democratic manner they had cleared the way for him in 2020.

  Obama emerged from his comfortable retirement to hit the 2024 campaign trail, schooling the country that President-emeritus Donald Trump was a dictator, a fascist, a tyrant, and, of course, a “racist.”

  The more Trump polled even with, or ahead of, Kamala Harris, the more an exasperated and ignored Obama talked down to supposedly low-information voters.

  But by the time Harris lost the election, voters had tuned out a nagging and patronizing Obama—and his stale, now-dated hope-and-changey boilerplate speeches.

  What Obama did not mention, but what the voters knew, was that the border was more secure under Trump than during either the Obama or Biden tenure.

  Vladimir Putin invaded countries during the Obama and Biden administrations but stayed put on Trump’s watch.

  Barack Obama’s bizarre vision of a new Middle East had sought to empower Iran as a supposed counterweight against moderate Arab nations and our ally Israel.

  Years ago, Obama invited the Russians into Syria, empowered dictatorial Syria, berated Israel nonstop, and all but ignored the terrorist violence of Iran’s surrogate terrorists of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

  But after October 7, Israel retaliated to the mass slaughter of Jewish civilians with all-out war against Hamas and Hezbollah—rendering these once feared terrorists nearly impotent.

  In an exchange of air attacks with Iran, Israel showed the world that Iran was as militarily weak as its chanting and threats were tiresome and shrill.

  Iran is now tottering on the brink, as its terrorist appendages—including most recently the Assad dynasty—are melting away.

  Israel and the moderate Arab regimes are in ascendance, as the entire crazy Obama-envisioned Middle East agenda melts away.

  The 2024 anemic Democratic campaign and the Trump electoral college and popular vote victories—combined with record defections of Hispanic and African-American voters from the Democratic Party to Trump—proved a resounding rejection of the Obama legacy and his surrogates’ left-wing visions.

  Yet after the people spoke in the election, the more Obama whined that democracy itself had failed him. Voters, he remonstrated, who disagreed with him were written off as racist and sexist.

  Obama again harped that constituents did not know what was good for them.

  And then, the disappointed former community organizer suddenly disappeared—pondering to which of his own four mansions his private jet would fly him home to commiserate.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:40

• Conspiracy Fact: IG Report Confirms FBI Had Dozens Of Informants In Jan 6 Crowd
  Conspiracy Fact: IG Report Confirms FBI Had Dozens Of Informants In Jan 6 Crowd

  Just in time for the Trump pardons, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed on Thursday that there were 26 ‘confidential human sources’ (CHSs) in Washington DC on Jan. 6, 2021.

  

  While the presence of FBI informants on J6 was known, the exact number had never been confirmed.

  And because they were CHS’s and not badge-carrying Agent Smiths, Politico decided to run with this piece of absolute propaganda.

  You’re lying pic.twitter.com/pVso79DFKe

  — Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) December 12, 2024

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

  Of note, CHS’s have contributed to the prosecution of members of the Proud Boys and other people who were present on J6. According to Horowitz’s report, all but three of the informants were in there “in connection with” the protest and other events that took place that day.

  Four of the informants entered the Capitol, while 13 other entered restricted Capitol grounds despite not being authorized to do so.

  As the Epoch Times notes further,

  Of the 26 sources who went to Washington in connection with the protest and other events, two were tasked to report on subjects whom the FBI had learned were traveling to the nation’s capital for the events. A third informant had been tasked with reporting on people traveling to Washington for the events after notifying a handling agent about planned travel to Washington.

  The other 23 informants had not been tasked by the FBI with traveling to Washington. Thirteen of this subset informed their handling agent in advance of the trips, while the other 10 did not. None of the 23 were found to have engaged in illegal activity.

  Some lawmakers noted that none of the informants who entered the Capitol or the restricted grounds have been prosecuted.

  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which has charged more than 1,500 people with crimes related to the breach, told the inspector general that the office “generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter the restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol … and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.”

  The inspector general’s investigation was launched in 2021, but paused in 2022 to avoid conflict with ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions. The probe resumed in 2023. By then, the inspector general’s office knew that multiple reports had been released on Jan. 6, and endeavored to focus on an area that it felt “has not yet been thoroughly reviewed by other entities.”

  Other Findings

  Horowitz said that the review found the FBI took significant and appropriate steps leading up to Jan. 6 to prepare for its role that day, which was a supporting capacity.

  The preparation included trying to identify known domestic terror subjects who planned to travel to Washington for the certification of electoral votes.

  After the Capitol was breached, the FBI was able to deploy agents to help clear the building and help the U.S. Capitol Police secure the perimeter.

  “We found that the FBI effectively carried out its tactical support function on January 6,” the report stated.

  The inspector general’s office also concluded that the FBI should have canvassed field offices for intelligence from the confidential informants before Jan. 6. Such an action would have helped both the FBI and other agencies prepare for the day, the inspector general said. The report quoted Paul Abbate, the FBI’s deputy director at the time, as saying the lack of a canvass was a “basic step that was missed.”

  In a letter dated Dec. 11, the FBI told the inspector general’s office that it disagrees with “certain of the factual assertions in the report regarding the manner of specific steps, and the scope of the canvass undertaken by the FBI in advance of January 6.”

  The agency agreed with the recommendation that the FBI look into the processes and procedures it uses to prepare for events that could involve domestic security issues.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:20

• Russia Dodged A Bullet By Wisely Choosing Not To Ally With The Now-Defeated Resistance Axis
  Russia Dodged A Bullet By Wisely Choosing Not To Ally With The Now-Defeated Resistance Axis

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

  Putin made the right choice, which was always driven by his rational calculation of what was in Russia’s objective interests as a state, not due to “Zionist influence” like some in the Alt-Media Community now ridiculously claim to defame him after being mad that he didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance.

  

  The Iranian-led Resistance Axis has been defeated by Israel. Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October 2023 prompted Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza, which set into motion a series of conflicts that expanded to Lebanon and Syria. Israel has also bombed Yemen and Iran. Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s leaderships were destroyed, leading to a ceasefire in Lebanon, while the Assad government was just overthrown by a Turkish-backed terrorist blitz that severed Iran’s military logistics to Hezbollah.

  These outcomes were already surprising enough for those who believed the late Nasrallah’s claim that “Israel is weaker than a spider web”, but many were shocked that they occurred without Russia lifting a finger to save the Resistance, with whom they thought that it had allied against Israel long ago. That second-mentioned false notion will go down in infamy as one of the most successful psy-ops ever conducted against the Alt-Media Community (AMC), and ironically enough, by its own top influencers.

  It was explained in early October “Why False Perceptions About Russian Policy Towards Israel Continue To Proliferate”, which readers should review for more detail, but which can be summarized as top AMC influencers telling their audience what they thought they wanted to hear for self-interested reasons. These include generating clout, pushing their ideology, and/or soliciting donations from well-intentioned but naïve members of their audience depending on the personality involved.

  The preceding analysis also lists five related ones about Russian policy towards Israel since the start of the West Asian Wars, including this one “Clarifying Lavrov’s Comparison Of The Latest Israeli-Hamas War To Russia’s Special Operation”, which itself links to several dozen others. All of them also reference this May 2018 report about “President Putin On Israel: Quotes From The Kremlin Website (2000-2018)”. All of these materials rely on official and authoritative Russian sources to arrive at their conclusions.

  They prove that Putin is a proud lifelong philo-Semite who never shared the Resistance’s unifying anti-Zionist ideology, instead always expressing very deep respect for Jews and the State of Israel. Accordingly, as the final decisionmaker on Russian foreign policy, he tasked his diplomats with balancing between Israel and the Resistance. To that end, Russia never took either’s side and always remained neutral in their disputes, including the West Asian Wars.

  The most that he ever personally did was condemn Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians, but always in the same breath as condemning Hamas’ infamous terrorist attack on 7 October 2023. As for Russia, the most that it ever did was repeat the same rhetoric and occasionally condemn Israel’s strikes against the IRGC and Hezbollah in Syria, which Russia never interfered with. Not once did it try to deter or intercept them, retaliate afterwards, or give Syria the capabilities and authorization to do so either.

  This was due to the deconfliction mechanism that Putin and Bibi agreed to in late September 2015 shortly before the Syrian operation. It was never confirmed for obvious diplomatic reasons, but these actions (or rather lack thereof) suggested that Putin believed that Iran’s anti-Israeli activities Syria posed a legitimate threat to Israel. For that reason, Russia always stood aside whenever Israel bombed Iran there, but Russia still sometimes complained due to Israel’s attacks formally violating international law.

  It’s an objectively existing and easily verifiable fact that Russia’s opposition to Israel’s regional activities, be they in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Iran, always remained strictly confined to the political realm of official statements. Not once did Russia ever threaten to unilaterally sanction Israel, let alone even remotely hint at military action against it as punishment. Russia won’t even symbolically designate Israel as an “unfriendly state”, though that’s because it doesn’t abide by US sanctions and won’t arm Ukraine.

  Therein lies another fact that most in the AMC were either unaware of or in denial about and it’s that Israel isn’t the US’ puppet otherwise it would have already done those two things long ago. It’s beyond the scope of the present piece to explain this, as well as why the Biden Administration has tried to destabilize and overthrow Bibi, but this analysis here dives into the details and cites related articles. The point is that Russian-Israeli ties remain cordial and these two are far from the foes that some thought.

  It therefore never made sense to imagine that Putin, who considers himself to be the consummate pragmatist, would burn the bridge that he personally invested nearly a quarter-century of his time building with Bibi between their two nations. After all, Putin boasted in 2019 that “Russians and Israelis have ties of family and friendship. This is a true common family; I can say this without exaggeration. Almost 2 million Russian speakers live in Israel. We consider Israel a Russian-speaking country.”

  He was speaking before the Keren Heyesod Foundation, one of the world’s oldest Zionist lobbying organizations, during its annual conference in Moscow that year. Whenever members of the AMC were confronted with these “politically inconvenient” facts from official and authoritative sources such as the Kremlin’s own website, they spun a “5D chess master plan” conspiracy theory alleging that he was just “psyching out the Zionists”. Top influencers also aggressively “canceled” anyone who brought this up.

  The end result was that these false perceptions of Russian-Israeli relations as well as Putin’s own views towards this subject continued to proliferate unchallenged through the AMC, thus leading to the impression that they were secretly allied with Iran due to their allegedly shared anti-Zionist ideals. This notion became a matter of dogma for many in the AMC and correspondingly turned into an axiom of International Relations for them. Anyone who claimed otherwise was smeared as a “Zionist”.

  It’s now known after Russia didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance that they were never actually allies. Some of those that still can’t accept that they’ve been lied to by trusted AMC influencers who duped them for self-interested reasons (clout, ideology, and/or soliciting donations) now speculate that Russia “betrayed” the Resistance and “sold out to the Zionists” even though Russia was never on either’s side. If they don’t soon shake off their cognitive dissonance, they’ll detach themselves further from reality.

  In retrospect, Russia dodged a bullet by wisely choosing not to ally with the now-defeated Resistance Axis since it would have needlessly ruined its relations with Israel, the undisputable victor of the West Asian Wars.

  Putin made the right choice, which was always driven by his rational calculation of what was in Russia’s objective interests as a state, not due to “Zionist influence” like some in the AMC now ridiculously claim to defame him after being mad that he didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance.

  The takeaways from this are several: 1) Putin and his representatives don’t play “5D chess”, they always say what they truly mean; 2) Russia isn’t anti-Israel nor anti-Zionist, but it also isn’t anti-Iran nor anti-Resistance either; 3) the AMC is full of charlatans who, for self-interested reasons, tell their audience whatever they think they want to hear; 4) their audience should thus hold them to account for lying about Russian-Israeli and Russian-Resistance relations; 5) and the AMC requires urgent reform.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:00

• South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers
  South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

  Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea’s capital with hopes of provoking an attack that could be used to justify a declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean legislators have alleged. Meanwhile, ahead of an expected weekend impeachment vote, Yoon used an address to the nation to promise that he would fight “until the very last minute” against being removed from power.  

  Kim was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s attempt to impose military rule, suspend civil liberties and remove checks and balances — and attempted suicide shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Previous reports pointed to Kim’s deployment of troops to prevent lawmakers from convening after Yoon’s shocking Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. If true, the sensational new allegation from Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party suggests an entirely different layer of dangerous complicity.     

  

  “The Defense Counterintelligence Command, where former commander Yeo In-hyung – a junior to Kim at the same high school – was posted, appears to have planned [the drone deployment],” said Park in remarks in the parliament on Monday, according to The Telegraph. Citing a “credible military source,” he later told reporters that the “drone operation appears to have been part of a larger plan, potentially tied to preparations for the martial law decree.”

  In October, the North Korean government said it had detected multiple South Korean drones that were sent to Pyongyang to shower the capital city with propaganda leaflets. North Korea published a photo of what appears to be a drone that had crashed into a group of trees. At that time and again this week, the South Korean government declined to confirm or deny the accusation. 

  

  Park’s suggestion that Kim and Yoon may have conspired to provoke a North Korean military response — with an accompanying risk of the loss of South Korean lives — adds an explosive new dimension to the country’s ongoing political crisis that followed the declaration of martial law.  

  In April, Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) was routed in elections that saw the Democratic Party take over the country’s assembly by a significant margin. In the ensuing months, mounting tensions took various forms, including an impasse over the 2025 budget and Democrats’ attempt to impeach top prosecutors.  On Dec. 3, Yoon stunned South Korea and the international community with a late-night declaration of martial law. In his announcement, Yoon railed against “shameless pro-North-Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens…I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

  Soldiers and police immediately surrounded the National Assembly, but 190 of the 300 members of parliament managed to unanimously vote to annul the martial law declaration. Yoon retracted it and apologized, but the repercussions have continued to unfold since then. Defense chief Kim resigned upon being charged, was taken into custody on Tuesday and attempted to kill himself hours later. The country’s top two law enforcement officers have also been arrested, and police have made multiple attempts to search Yoon’s office.  

  

  An impeachment vote last weekend failed in the face of a boycott by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but the Democratic Party has announced it will move for impeachment again on Saturday, and some PPP members are now voicing their support. 

  On Thursday, Yoon returned to the kind of fiery rhetoric he used in his martial law announcement, calling the Democratic Party “a monster” composed of  “anti-state forces.”

  “I will fight to the end to prevent the forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralyzing the country’s government and disrupting the nation’s constitutional order from threatening the future of the Republic of Korea…The opposition is now doing a sword dance of chaos, claiming that the declaration of martial law constitutes to an act of rebellion. But was it really?”

  Yoon portrayed his martial law move as a legitimate use of government authority which should be exempt from the investigations that have been directed at it. He also claimed soldiers and police were sent to the parliament to keep order, not to thwart legislators.  

  According to Associated Press, opposition parties control 192 of the National Assembly’s 300 seats. With impeachment requiring a two-thirds majority, that means pro-impeachment forces will need to win over eight members of Yoon’s PPP. Significantly, PPP chairman Han Dong-hun has called for members to send Yoon packing. Yoon’s fiery Thursday speech has helped stir discord in his party. When Han told a party meeeting that Yoon’s remarks “a confession of rebellion,” he received angry jeers from Yoon backers, who told him to be quiet.   

  Polymarket speculators are convinced Yoon will leave office within the next few months. The “yes” contract on a departure before April 1 is going for 80¢. Bettors are less convinced that he’ll be out by year-end, with the “yes” on that version priced at only 12¢.  

  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 16:40

• Chicago Mayor Proposes 11 Tax- And Fee-Hikes As Part Of 2025 Budget
  Chicago Mayor Proposes 11 Tax- And Fee-Hikes As Part Of 2025 Budget

  By Dylan Sharkey of Illinois Policy

  Chicago is on the verge of adding $233.9 million in new tax hikes as part of the city’s $17.3 billion budget for 2025, if aldermen pass Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposals.

  

  Johnson’s tax increases include hikes in property taxes, personal property leases, the city shopping bag tax and the tax on streaming services. Hikes are hitting vehicles with more speed cameras, parking taxes and rideshare fees.

  

  These have already passed the City Council Finance Committee, meaning it could pass the full council by the end of the week. The bulk of the tax hikes will come from:

  • $68.5 million: Property tax hike, down from Johnson’s original $300 million ask which was met with a unanimous “no” vote by the city council.
  • $128.1 million: Hiking personal property lease tax, including on cloud computing, to 11% from 9%.
  • $12.9 million: Increasing the amusement tax on streaming and tickets to live events to 10.25% from 9%.
  • $11.4 million: Increase number of speed cameras in the city.
  • $5.1 million: Raising paper and plastic, single-use shopping bag tax by 3 cents to 10 cents total.
  • $7.9 million: Other fees and taxes, including on parking and rideshares.

  Find your city council member and tell them Chicago taxes are already too high. The new budget is due by the end of the year, so they could vote on the hikes in a matter of days.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 16:20

• Al Sharpton Pocketed $1M In Bonuses From Nonprofit Tied To Kamala Scandal
  Al Sharpton Pocketed $1M In Bonuses From Nonprofit Tied To Kamala Scandal

  Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

  MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton is yet again facing new criticism amid a report that revealed he awarded himself nearly $1 million in bonuses through his tax-exempt nonprofit, the National Action Network (NAN). 

  

  According to Fox News, Sharpton reported several compensation bonuses within his nonprofit that at times exceeded his base salary as evident in the non-profit’s tax filings. 

  In 2016, he paid himself $437,355 for “bonus & incentive compensation,” far more than his annual salary of $250,000. This practice seemingly began in 2014 when he granted himself $64,000. 

  In 2018, Sharpton received a bonus of $159,596, in addition to his $324,000 salary for that year. He also listed $563,352 in “other reportable compensation” that same year. 

  In 2021, he awarded himself a $278,503 bonus on top of his $348,174 salary, which amounted to 80 percent of his base pay. Over just seven years, Sharpton pocketed $940,053 in so-called compensation and bonuses. 

  It is not immediately clear whether such bonus practices are typical in other nonprofits. It is also unclear how often the IRS scrutinizes these generous bonuses. 

  Al Sharpton pocketed nearly $1 million in bonuses from his National Action Network nonprofit https://t.co/TY166DXZdZ

  — Fox News (@FoxNews) December 11, 2024

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  Sharpton did not immediately respond to requests for comments from Fox News. However, this is not the first time Sharpton’s financial affairs have come under scrutiny.

  In November, Sharpton came under fire after his non-profit accepted a $500,000 donation from Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign ahead of a soft interview he conducted with her. 

  These donations, which came in the form of two $250,000 donations, were made in September and October and only became public after Harris lost the 2024 election to President-elect Donald Trump. 

  The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Harris donation to Sharpton’s non-profits blindsided MSNBC. “MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” a spokesperson told the Free Beacon. 

  An unnamed current MSNBC employee rebuked Sharpton’s acceptance of the donations, calling the affairs “another level of nonsense” and straight up “weird.” 

  “Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way. But what are you paying for? … There’s no way that this can’t seem weird,” the employee added. “Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is … but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far … This is not landing well. This has a bit of a dirty feel to it … These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC all that much. Like people just don’t care.” 

  NEW: Kamala Harris’ campaign dished out $500k to Al Sharpton’s nonprofit just weeks before her big interview with him.

  So… was the Harris campaign just one big money laundering scheme?

  According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Harris campaign sent one $250k payment on… pic.twitter.com/L79LVVzmK1

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 12, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:45

• Canadian Dollar Tumbles After Turdeau (sic) Reportedly Weighs Export Tax On Uranium, Oil
  Canadian Dollar Tumbles After Turdeau (sic) Reportedly Weighs Export Tax On Uranium, Oil

  In a cute show of strength, Canada has flexed its tiny muscles for a second day in a row and in what it believes is an attempt to intimidate the Trump admin, has threatened to cut off its biggest customer from the one thing that keeps Canada’s economy running (hint: it’s not illegal aliens or illicit Chinese real estate funs): exports.

  According to Bloomberg, Canada is examining the use of export taxes on major commodities it exports to its largest trading partner – the United States – including uranium, oil and potash, to retaliate if incoming president Trump carries out his threat to impose broad tariffs.

  Today’s threat comes one day after Ontario premier Doug Ford (brother to infamous, and now deceased, Toronto mayor Rob Ford) also flexed what little muscles he has under that copious shell, and suggested that the province would cut off electricity exports to the US over Trump’s tariff threat (which amounts to some 14 million MWh, or enough to power to large data centers).

  

  Citing officials familiar with the discussions inside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, Bloomberg reports that export levies would be a last resort for Canada. Retaliatory tariffs against US-made goods, and export controls on certain Canadian products, would be more likely to come first.

  But commodity export taxes, which would drive up costs for US consumers, farmers and businesses, would be a real option if Trump decides to start a full-scale trade war, said the Bloomberg sources.

  The government of Turdeau, who recently hobnobbed with Trump at Mar-A-Lago exuding a self-indulgent smarminess found only among fanatical supporters of Fidel Castro, may also propose giving itself expanded powers over export controls as part of a scheduled update on the country’s fiscal and economic situation to be released on Monday. But since Turdeau’s government is already socialist, will anyone know the difference.

  Even though the US is essentially self-sufficient, Canada remains the largest external supplier of oil to the US as some refineries depend on buying cheaper Canadian heavy crude and have few alternatives to it (all that would be required to make Canadian oil imports redundant, is a few billion in refinery capex spending). As a result, the US Midwest may be hit by higher costs. Fuel makers in the region rely on Canada for almost half of the crude they turn into gasoline and diesel. Of course, if Canada doesn’t export its oil, its economy which is far less diversified, will be hit far harder if it were to voluntarily exclude its largest trading partner.

  Canadian uranium is also the biggest foreign source of fuel for US nuclear power plants, and potash from the country’s western provinces is a huge source of fertilizer for American farms. Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense has prudently been investing in Canadian projects to secure sources of cobalt and graphite and reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

  For those reasons, analysts have said they expect Trump will exempt commodities from his threat to place 25% levies on goods from Mexico and Canada, and focus instead on using tariffs against their manufacturing industries. In Canada’s case, that includes the auto manufacturing, aerospace and aluminum sectors, which are centered in Ontario and Quebec, where about 60% of Canadians live.

  It’s unclear if that would change things: Turdeau’s government (sic) would have no choice but to respond if Trump simply exempted energy while hitting all other Canadian products, said Bloomberg sources, adding that’s a scenario that could prompt the use of export taxes by Canada.

  But for the prime minister, going down this path would cause serious political divisions within Canada. Oil, uranium and potash production are concentrated in the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Those provinces are the strongest voter base for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and their provincial governments are staunch right-wing opponents of Trudeau.

  In short, while Turdeau may retaliate in a Trump trade war, such an action will likely be his last.

  “It’s a terrible idea,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said when asked about the possible use of export taxes.

  “I don’t support tariffs on Canadian goods and I don’t support tariffs on US goods because all it does is make life more expensive,” Smith said. “Instead, we’re taking a diplomatic approach and we’re meeting with our allies in the US.”

  Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said export taxes “are the wrong approach and Saskatchewan will vehemently oppose the federal government imposing export taxes on our potash, uranium or oil.”

  The market, however, does not have patience to see how all this plays out, and sent the loonie to a two year low, with the USDCAD surging to 1.420, the highest since the April 2020 depths of the covid crash.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:23

• Understanding The Anger Over Healthcare In One Picture
  Understanding The Anger Over Healthcare In One Picture

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Healthcare costs have soared. Obamacare failed to live up to its promises. And my lead image dramatically understates the problems with costs…

  

  Data from the BLS, chart by Mish

  Changes Since 1983

  • CPI: 208 percent
  • Medical Care Services: 505 percent
  • Hospital Services: 975 percent
  • Medical Care Commodities: 308 Percent

  Changes Since Obamacare Started

  • CPI: 41.28 percent
  • Medical Care Services: 77.98 percent
  • Hospital Services: 77.98 percent
  • Medical Care Commodities: 29.94 percent

  Understanding BLS Calculations

  The numbers look bad but they are much worse than they look because of the way the BLS calculates the CPI.

  On all CPI calculations, the BLS only counts costs directly paid by consumers.

  To the extent corporations and Medicare are obscuring more of the costs, the CPI numbers are understated.

  Health Insurance Coverage 2023

  • Employment-based insurance: 54.5% of the population
  • Medicare and Medicaid: 18.8% of the population
  • Direct-purchase coverage: 9.9% of the population
  • TRICARE (Active Military Service): 2.4% of the population
  • VA and CHAMPVA coverage: 1.0% of the population 

  The above is an AI-generated response. It totals 86.6 percent.

  Census. Gov says that in 2022, 92.1 percent of people, or 304.0 million, had health insurance at some point in the year.

  Those in various Medicare plans have seen smaller increases than those buying insurance for themselves.

  And the cost of direct pay is outrageous. Large corporations can get better deals than smaller ones.

  The BLS averages this all in to arrive at the numbers posted in the chart. Heaven help anyone paying for their own insurance who gets cancer or other serious needs.

  Rolling the Dice

  Obamacare penalizes young and healthy for the benefit of those older and with conditions.

  Young adults not working for a company that provides health care benefits frequently opt out. No one can blame them.

  ObamaCare Con

  The Wall Street Journal discusses the ObamaCare Con

  Progressives are at last acknowledging that ObamaCare is a failure. They aren’t doing so explicitly, of course, but their social-media screeds against insurers, triggered by last week’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggest as much. “We’ve gotten to a point where healthcare is so inaccessible and unaffordable, people are justified in their frustrations,” CBS News medical contributor Céline Gounder said during a Friday segment on the roasting of health insurers.

  Remember Barack Obama’s promise that if you like your health plan and doctor, you could keep them? Sorry. How about his claim that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected? Also not true. The biggest howler, however, was that healthcare would become more affordable.

  Grant Democrats this: The law has advanced their political goal of expanding government control over insurers, in return for lavishing Americans with subsidies to buy overpriced, lousy products. (One might observe that Democrats are driving a similar Faustian bargain to induce automakers to produce more electric vehicles.)

  One problem is that simply having insurance doesn’t change people’s behavior. It does, however, cause them to use more care. This is a particular problem in Medicaid, since beneficiaries often rush to the emergency room for nonemergencies because they don’t have deductibles or co-pays.

  Another problem: The nearly 100 million Americans on Medicaid or tightly regulated and generously subsidized exchange plans struggle to find doctors to treat them. Physician access for Medicaid patients has long been limited owing to the program’s low reimbursement rates.

  It has gotten worse since ObamaCare expanded eligibility, as states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements. A 2019 study found that patients were only half as likely to get an appointment with a doctor compared with privately insured patients before the law passed. Post-ObamaCare, they were less than one-third as likely. Medicaid is insurance in name only.

  Patients with exchange plans hardly fare better. Affordable Care Act plan networks include on average only 40% of local physicians and 21% of those employed by hospitals. Patients must pay significantly more out of pocket to see out-of-network doctors. If you find a doctor in network, there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to be. Insurers are narrowing coverage to keep down costs.

  They are also hiking deductibles, which this year averaged $5,241 for a typical plan. That’s up from $2,425 in 2014. Although subsidies reduce how much people with ObamaCare plans pay toward their premiums, they are stuck paying out of pocket until they hit their deductible.

  Most healthy young people never do. That means their insurance is worthless except in the event of a catastrophic emergency, which was the gist of recent rants against insurers. Perhaps they should take up their grievances with Mr. Obama, since his law’s mandates and regulations are to blame.

  ObamaCare requires plans to cover myriad government-determined “essential benefits” regardless of whether people need them. It also prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on a patient’s health-risk factors and limits their ability to do so for older people. The young and healthy are thus required to subsidize their elders, while taxpayers are required to subsidize everyone on the exchanges.

  The WSJ noted “states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements.”

  Everyone else pays more because if it. Wait times and the struggle to find a doctor who takes Medicaid are not factored into the CPI at all.

  ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

  The Huffington Post reports ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

  Two of the biggest critics of the U.S. health care system condemned the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson while calling out “vile” insurance company practices aimed at maximizing profits.

  “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost in an interview on Tuesday when asked about the cold response to Thompson’s death, which included celebratory posts on social media.

  “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren added. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”

  After drawing some criticism for her remarks, Warren clarified her comments in a statement provided to HuffPost on Wednesday.

  “Violence is never the answer. Period,” the senator said. “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”

  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Thompson’s killing “outrageous” and “unacceptable” before similarly criticizing insurance company practices.

  “I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” Sanders said.

  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also criticized “vile” social media posts for celebrating an “assh*le that’s going to die in prison.”

  “If you gun someone down that you don’t happen to agree with their views or the business that they’re in, hey, you know, I’m next, they’re next,” he added. “And people want to celebrate it. It’s twisted.”

  It’s Twisted

  Government meddling is one of the reasons healthcare is so expensive.

  Obamacare failed across the board. And it did so by creating big pools of those who overpay and underpay.

  Let’s not mince words. People who smoke ought to pay more for healthcare because they are a higher risk. Those who are grossly overweight ought to pay more as well.

  Medicaid encourages emergency visits by paying primary care doctors so little that the doctors refuse new patients.

  To avoid lawsuits, doctors perform more tests than necessary. Fraud is rampant. Paperwork is excessive.

  “Medicare for All” would enhance problems in all of the above.

  No Skin in the Game

  Customers who have already reached their max out of pocket deductibles have no skin in the game. And that’s a huge problem.

  According to Medicare.Gov “No Medicare drug plan may have a deductible more than $505 in 2023. Some Medicare drug plans don’t have a deductible. In some plans that do have a deductible, drugs on some tiers are covered before the deductible.”

  Once deductibles are reached, sometimes in one month, consumers have no incentive to shop around.

  Other customers, unaware of cost differentials, fill prescriptions on the basis of convenience, that being the nearest pharmacy.

  Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits

  January 24, 2024: Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits

  The Denver hospital system is turning away local residents because it is flooded with migrant visits.

  Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing

  March 9, 2024: Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing

  10 states did not fall for the Medicaid expansion trap under Obamacare. The rest are suffering. Private payers (you, one way or another) make up the loss.

  Medicaid does not pay enough to cover hospitals’ costs, meaning hospitals need to make up for the shortfall by charging private payers more.

  This was one of the easiest “I Told You So” advance predictions in history.

  Best of all, we have a decade of data to prove it thanks to ten states that resisted the trap.

  Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full

  May 9, 2024: Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full

  If you are in the hospital emergency room, and that’s where most people without insurance go, then you get treated. Otherwise, many hospitals are turning to pay in advance for services.

  Nonpayment a Huge Problem

  It’s interesting to note that hospitals want payment in advance for births. Most illegals just walk in and never pay for anything.

  Nonpayment is one of the reasons costs are soaring for everyone who does pay.

  Obama claimed Medicaid expansion would pay for itself.

  Whenever you hear that claim please run. Free government handouts are never free and most often backfire completely.

  As long as we are going to have Medicare, and no politician will ever get rid of it, It would behoove Medicare and insurers to require the cheapest cost alternative on all drugs. That would force competition and eliminate fraudulent collusion.

  US consumers are subsidizing the rest of the world. I would put an end to that by allowing drug imports.

  The Right to Die

  It’s an uncomfortable topic, where demagoguery about “death squads” abounds, but we need to have a talk about the right to die and how much money we spend prolonging a terminal patient’s life, in massive pain, for a few weeks or months.

  I have made my wishes known. I do not want to be kept alive by heroic means if the quality of my life is expected to be grim. That’s a personal decision.

  At the national level, we must face this very uncomfortable question: Should we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping someone alive whose life expectancy is 3 months? 6 months? a year?

  I say no to all for those without insurance, and no for me personally, regardless.

  Also, hospitals should be free to turn away those without insurance. We need tort reform to cut down legal expenses.

  When consumers have no skin in the game or not enough skin in the game, no one other than the insurers are interested in reducing costs.

  That is the fundamental problem with US healthcare. Senators Warren and Sanders proposals would make everything worse.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:05

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• When Rights Become Privileges: Is The Constitution Becoming Optional?
  When Rights Become Privileges: Is The Constitution Becoming Optional?

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “Rights aren’t rights if someone can take them away. They’re privileges. That’s all we’ve ever had in this country is a ‘Bill of Temporary Privileges.’ And if you read the news, even badly, you know that the list gets shorter and shorter.”

  – George Carlin

  Disguising its power grabs in the self-righteous fervor of national security, the Deep State has mastered the art of the bait-and-switch.

  It works like this: first, the government foments fear about some crisis or threat to national security, then they capitalize on it by seizing greater power and using those powers against the American people.

  We’ve seen this play out over and over again.

  The government used its so-called War on Terror to transform itself into a police state.

  Then the police state used its War on COVID-19 to claim lockdown powers.

  All indications are that the government’s promised War on Illegal Immigration will be yet another sleight of hand that allows the powers-that-be to engage in greater power grabs while weakening the Constitution.

  Therein lies the danger of the government’s growing addiction to power.

  

  Whatever dangerous practices you allow the government to carry out now—whether it’s in the name of national security or protecting America’s borders or making America healthy again—inevitably, these same practices can and will be used against you when the government decides to set its sights on you.

  The slippery slope that starts with illegal immigration has all the makings of a thinly veiled plot to empower the government to become the arbiter of who is deserving of rights and who isn’t.

  That quickly, we could find ourselves navigating a world in which the rights enshrined in the Constitution for all persons living in the United States are transformed into privileges enjoyed only by those whom the government chooses to recognize as legitimate.

  By persuading the public that non-citizens, particularly illegal immigrants, do not enjoy the same inalienable rights as law-abiding citizens (a fact refuted by the Constitution and every credible legal scholar in the country), the Deep State is leading us down a road in which all rights are transitory.

  This is how you establish a hierarchy of rights, contingent on whether you belong to a favored political class.

  Be warned.

  At such a time as the government is emboldened to flip that switch and appoint itself the ultimate authority on which protected class of individuals gets to enjoy the rights enshrined within the Constitution, the dividing line will not be between legal citizens and illegal immigrants.

  It will not even be between Republicans and Democrats.

  Rather, the purpose of that line of demarcation will be to distinguish the compliant, obedient, subservient vassal of the American police state (the so-called Loyalists) from everyone else.

  We’re almost at that point now.

  This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls.

  Here are some of the inherent dangers in allowing the government to become the arbiter of who is deserving of rights:

  It leads to the erosion of universal rights. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the fundamental rights of all persons within the United States, regardless of their citizenship status, race, religion, or any other factor. When the government starts making distinctions about who is entitled to these rights, it undermines the universality that makes them so powerful. This creates a slippery slope where rights become privileges, subject to the whims of those in power.

  It gives rise to authoritarianism. History is replete with examples of governments that consolidated power by first stripping away the rights of marginalized groups. Once the principle of universal rights is breached, it becomes easier to target other groups deemed “undesirable” or “unworthy.” This paves the way for authoritarianism, where the government dictates who enjoys freedom and who does not.

  It creates a two-tiered society. A hierarchy of rights inevitably leads to a two-tiered society, where some individuals enjoy full protection under the law while others are relegated to second-class status. This fosters resentment, division, and social unrest. It also creates a vulnerable population that can be easily exploited and abused.

  It undermines the rule of law. The rule of law is a fundamental principle of a just society. It means that everyone is subject to the same laws and that no one is above the law. When the government selectively applies the law based on arbitrary criteria, it undermines the rule of law and erodes trust in the legal system.

  It chills free speech and dissent, i.e., the right to criticize the government. When people fear that their rights are contingent on their political views or social status, they are less likely to speak out against injustice or challenge the government. This chilling effect on dissent stifles free speech and creates a climate of fear and conformity.

  It contributes to the loss of moral authority. A nation that claims to champion liberty and justice for all loses its moral authority when it denies those principles to certain groups within its borders. This undermines its standing in the world and diminishes its ability to promote human rights abroad.

  Remember, the erosion of inalienable rights often starts subtly, with the government chipping away at the edges of those rights for specific groups.

  The pattern is subtle at first, with government officials exploiting fear and prejudice in order to target groups that are already marginalized or perceived as “outsiders.” Incrementally, the net is cast wider and wider, so that by the time the injustice is widespread enough to inspire outrage in the greater populace, it’s too late to resist.

  Historic examples abound of how the government has manufactured a blatantly unjust hierarchy of rights in order to diminish certain segments of society. These run the gamut from slavery and the persecution of Native Americans to the Japanese internment camps and segregation.

  More recently, we’ve seen this tactic deployed in order to justify policies that run afoul of the Constitution, ranging from immigration policies and mass surveillance programs to SWAT team raids, voting rights, and the erosion of due process.

  Clearly, Martin Niemöller’s warning about the widening net that ensnares us all, a warning issued in response to the threat posed by Nazi Germany’s fascist regime, still applies.

  “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

  This is how the slippery slope to all-out persecution starts.

  It doesn’t help that growing numbers of American citizens barely know their rights. Consider that only 5% of the U.S. adults surveyed could correctly name all five rights in the First Amendment, 20% could not correctly name any, and less than one in 10 Americans know they have a right to petition the government.

  Such civic illiteracy lays the groundwork for all manner of tyrannies to follow. After all, how can you defend your rights if you don’t know what those rights are?

  Then again, civic illiteracy among government officials, who are entrusted with upholding and protecting the Constitution, doesn’t appear to be much better.

  It was ten years ago on December 15, National Bill of Rights Day, that the U.S. Supreme Court in its 8-1 ruling in Heien v. State of North Carolina gave police in America one more ready excuse to routinely violate the laws of the land, this time under the guise of ignorance.

  The Heien case, which started with an improper traffic stop based on a police officer’s ignorance of the law and ended with an unlawful search, seizure and arrest, was supposed to ensure that ignorance of the law did not become a ready excuse for government officials to routinely violate the law.

  It failed to do so.

  In failing to enforce the Constitution, the Court gave police the go-ahead to justify a laundry list of misconduct, from police shootings of unarmed citizens to SWAT team raids, roadside strip searches, and the tasering of vulnerable individuals with paltry excuses such as “they looked suspicious” and “she wouldn’t obey our orders.”

  Ignorance of the law has become an all-too-convenient cover for all manner of abuses by government officials who should know better.

  I’m not sure which is worse: government officials who know nothing about the laws they have sworn to uphold, support and defend, or a constitutionally illiterate citizenry so clueless about their rights that they don’t even know when those rights are being violated.

  This much I do know, however: for anyone to advocate terminating or suspending the Constitution is tantamount to a declaration of war against the founding principles of our representative government and the rule of law.

  If there is one point on which there should be no political parsing, no legal jockeying, and no disagreement, it is this.

  Then again, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, one could well make the case that the Constitution has already been terminated after years on life support, given the extent to which the safeguards enshrined in the Bill of Rights—adopted 233 years ago as a means of protecting the people against government overreach and abuse—have been steadily chipped away at, undermined, eroded, whittled down, and generally discarded with the support of Congress, the White House, and the courts.

  History provides chilling examples of how quickly rights can vanish, even in a nation such as ours founded on the principles of freedom. As George Carlin astutely observed:

  “If you think you do have rights, next time you’re at the computer, get on the internet, go to Wikipedia. When you get to Wikipedia, in the search field for Wikipedia, I want you to type in ‘Japanese Americans 1942’ and you’ll find out all about your precious … rights. In 1942, there were 110,000 Japanese American citizens in good standing, law-abiding people, who were thrown into internment camps simply because their parents were born in the wrong country. That’s all they did wrong. They had no right to a lawyer, no right to a fair trial, no right to a jury of their peers, no right to due process of any kind. The only right they had: ‘right this way’ into the internment camps. Just when these American citizens needed their rights the most, their government took them away. And rights aren’t rights if someone can take them away.”

  Remember you were warned, folks.

  At the point that rights become privileges, then the Constitution and the government’s adherence to the rule of law will become optional.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 23:25

• Damascus Airport To Open In 'Next Few Days' But Israel Still Controls Skies
  Damascus Airport To Open In ‘Next Few Days’ But Israel Still Controls Skies

  The government of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Wednesday said that it expects Damascus International Airport to reopen within days, which would be a surprising and unexpected development.

  It had been closed since the dramatic events of HTS-led forces entering the capital, and Assad and his top officials fleeing the country. The airport’s director Anis Fallouh said it will reopen “in the next few days” – according to the AFP.

  

  “God willing, the airport will reopen as quickly as possible because we are going to work flat out,” Fallouh said. “We can quickly resume flights through Syrian airspace.”

  For now, however, it seems unrealistic that any flights will land or take off from the airport given that Israeli warplanes have been bombing the country non-stop for at least 72 hours. This has included the targeting of at least 350 Syrian Army sites, as well as facilities for the production of chemical weapons.

  With Israeli warplanes roaming the skies, commercial flight travel over Syria remains highly dangerous. There’s also the fact that the various al-Qaeda factions now in control of Syria have gained access to at least some of Syria’s remnant anti-aircraft missile arsenal, such as MANPADS.

  There have also long-been NATO-supplied shoulder-fired missiles all around Syria, supplied to the ‘rebels’. Below appears to be evidence of this…

  NATO bonanza!https://t.co/p5ScKQOFel

  — Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) December 10, 2024

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

  Only Cham Wings, a private Syrian airline and Syrian Air, the country’s national airline, had been continuing to operate up to the dramatic events of the last ten days. 

  But Al Jazeera has noted of the status of these defunct airlines, “Aircraft maintenance official Samer Radi said there were currently 12 aircraft on the ground, one of which had been stripped of its equipment by looters during the takeover by opposition forces.”

  It’s unclear whether these carriers will be reestablished, or a timeline for potential operations. At this moment the country and population are also starved of fuel, after days ago an Iranian tanker en route to Syria turned around as it became clear the Assad government was in collapse.

  Before the war, British Airways and Emirates had frequent flights to and from Damascus. But immense hurdles remain in what is still basically a war zone and questions over the fact that a US-designated terror organization is now running the show in Damascus.

  The HTS jihadists who seized control of Aleppo International #Airport have reportedly destroyed all whiskey and alcohol bottles in its duty-free zone. It seems that the enforcement of Sharia law has already begun in #Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/81lxrz0b1O

  — Greco-Levantines World Wide (@GrecoLevantines) December 2, 2024

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

  “So far, the operations of Syrian Air have been extremely restricted,” explained one industry analyst. “Everybody would want to reopen flights into Damascus, which obviously is a significant destination for the Gulf.”

  “Airlines will have to individually go and do a damage assessment, a liability assessment and a review of what’s happened, what’s workable, what’s permissible, as well as what’s functioning and what is not,” the analyst continued.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 23:00

• Trouble Tax: We All Pay A Time Price For Bureaucratic Dysfunction
  Trouble Tax: We All Pay A Time Price For Bureaucratic Dysfunction

  Authored by Michael Munger via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

  Adam Smith said it all, in “Wealth of Nations”: “The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.”

  Now, we might interpret “toil” as the cost, or money price, of the thing, and “trouble” as the transaction cost, or inconvenience of the purchase. Then an increase in either the money price, or an increase in trouble, are both cost increases. Demand curves slope downward, so people are better off if the price, or the “trouble,” are reduced. They are substitutes, for citizens.

  

  The problem is that these two costs are not seen as substitutes for bureaucracies, not at all. The result is that citizens are constantly paying substantial, and easily avoidable, “taxes” in the form of trouble, just so bureaucracies can save money.

  It is easy to think of examples.

  You are trying to enter the country, after a trip abroad. There are only two stations open at the passport control barrier, and hundreds of people in line. Now, the government could easily hire more passport agents, but that would cost money. Instead, a terrible “trouble tax” is imposed, as people have to wait in line for more than two hours just to have a bureaucrat spend 30 seconds looking at a passport and waving you through. (This happened to me in Charlotte this year: there were literally two agents working. We were told “there is a shortage,” as if that were an explanation for indifference to citizens’ needs). Other places, including Dulles Airport in Virginia, may even be worse!

  Each of the hundreds of people in line, many of whom missed their connection, would happily have paid $10, or $20 (I would have paid $50!) to have a ten-minute line instead of two hours.

  The extra thousands in revenue would easily have paid an hour’s salary and benefits for five more bureaucrats to process passports.

  This is a “government failure,” because the outcome is Pareto inferior—the new bureaucrats would be better off being paid, and the customers would have been happy to pay.

  Yet the transaction fails to take place, resulting in what economists call “deadweight loss.”

  This kind of failure is epidemic in our current system of government, and it’s getting worse fast.

  A friend who has young children recently recounted his experience getting “school supplies” (an experience parents all over the United States can identify with). Parents were given a specific, mandatory list of items: the pencils needed to be of a certain type, the notebooks had to have specific dimensions. No single store had every particular item required, so my friend had to go to multiple stores to buy just a few items at a time.

  The parents of all 30 kids in the class each had to go on this tiresome search and purchase quest, spending hours that they would have paid to avoid. Why doesn’t the school buy these items, of the correct type and in bulk, and then distribute them on the first day of class?

  The diligent school-shopper wrote in an email: “Sure, this would cost money. But they could send me a bill! Or raise my taxes by whatever amount that offsets the cost. It would surely be socially efficient to allow a procurement specialist to take care of this, rather than outsourcing it to hundreds of families” in the whole school.

  Look: the money cost is the same, either way: the parents are paying for the supplies. Either they pay directly, to the retail store, or they pay taxes which fund purchase of the supplies. (Actually, since having the school buy in bulk is cheaper, the tax cost would be less, but let’s ignore that, and call it even).

  The explanation is obvious, and it illustrates why the use of bureaucracy as a means of provision of services is so inefficient, and frustrating: the burden of the costs is different for the government, and the citizens! Citizens pay both the money price (from their toil to earn cash), and the trouble (time waiting in line, driving around, filling out forms) of acquiring the needed permission or service. But the bureaucracy only counts the money cost, because they only care about their “budget.” That doesn’t make them bad people, but they are drawn that way, because all the incentives are to save on budgets.

  In many areas of government, this has led to a doom loop: tax cuts reduce funding, funding reduces service, and lack of service imposes a very large “trouble tax” on citizens. Citizens would love to pay more taxes to avoid the trouble, but that option is not available because government is not a competitive system where a competitor can enter and offer better service for a lower total (toil plus trouble) cost.

  In North Carolina, my home state, the “need to hire more workers” problem is particularly egregious at the Department of Motor Vehicles drivers’ license stations. The General Assembly is proud of its tax cuts, and the “savings” on the DMV budget. The Governor has responded by refusing to use what money is available to hire new inspectors and clerks. As a result, the average wait time for a driver’s license is four to six hours, if it is possible to get one at all.

  Of course, it is illegal to drive, and impossible to fly, without a valid “Real ID” driver’s license, so citizens have no choice but to pay the trouble tax. This kind of government failure, driven by the fact that employees of the state focus on money, but care nothing for the time of citizens, is a product of bureaucracy and monopoly power. There is no reason to make the system more convenient or more efficient, because there is no profit incentive, no payoff to providing good service.

  We are all forced, essentially at gunpoint, to line up and accept whatever “service” the state deigns to provide.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 22:35

• Daniel Penny Speaks After Acquittal, May Sue Manhattan DA For 'Malicious Prosecution'
  Daniel Penny Speaks After Acquittal, May Sue Manhattan DA For ‘Malicious Prosecution’

  Daniel Penny has made his first public comments after being acquitted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway.

  

  Speaking with Fox News, Penny said he had put himself in a “very vulnerable position,” during the encounter, but felt compelled to act.

  Penny, 26, a four-year Marine veteran, said that while he’s “not a confrontational person,” Neely was “threatening to kill people.”

  The case took a significant turn when New York Supreme Court Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed a second-degree manslaughter charge against Penny after a jury deliberation that lasted four days without reaching a unanimous verdict. Subsequently, a Manhattan jury acquitted Penny of criminally negligent homicide.

  Throughout the trial, Penny’s defense argued that their client did not intend to kill Neely but was acting in self-defense. They portrayed Neely as a former street performer whose aggressive outburst on the train frightened other passengers. Witnesses testified that Neely had been loudly declaring his hunger and indifference to returning to prison.

  JUST IN: Daniel Penny says he has zero regrets, says he couldn’t live with the guilt if someone was hurt on the subway by Jordan Neely.

  Penny is an even better person than I thought.

  The Marine said he would do a million court appearances if it meant saving someone on the… pic.twitter.com/swNcYWXGpN

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 10, 2024

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  The medical examiner’s conclusion that Neely died from “compression of neck” was a key point in the trial, with Penny’s defense challenging this finding. It was also noted that Neely had synthetic marijuana in his system at the time of the incident and had a history of assaultive behavior in subway stations.

  The aftermath of the trial saw Penny reflecting on the severe criticism he has faced, expressing no desire for praise, merely justifying his actions as necessary to prevent potential harm to other passengers. He criticized city officials for their policies, which he implied contributed to the circumstances leading to the fatal encounter, though he refrained from naming anyone specifically. “I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me, just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Penny told Fox.

  He also told the network that he and his lawyers are considering suing Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for malicious prosecution.

  🚨 NEW: Daniel Penny and his lawyers have announced they are considering SUING corrupt Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for malicious prosecution

  Bragg was also caught colluding with the medical examiner during the trial

  SUE HIM INTO THE STONE AGE, DANIEL! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z7tqUmgCGm

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 11, 2024

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  Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded to the acquittal by affirming that the prosecution had diligently “followed the facts and the evidence from beginning to end.”

  This case has left New Yorkers and people nationwide deeply divided, bringing to the forefront issues concerning homelessness, mental health, and the responsibilities of individuals and authorities in maintaining public safety. The national debate continues as communities grapple with these complex challenges.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 22:10

• What's (State-Funded) Russian Media Saying About Syria's Regime Change?
  What’s (State-Funded) Russian Media Saying About Syria’s Regime Change?

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

  Publicly financed Russian media’s reaction to Syria’s regime change is a lot different than most could have expected after they earlier warned that this could lead to an unprecedented terrorist crisis.

  Those concerns were warranted since Turkish-backed Harat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is designated as a terrorist group and was originally part of Al Qaeda. Nevertheless, these outlets’ reactions have been surprisingly calm, thus suggesting a desire to play everything by ear for the sake of retaining Russian influence there.

  

  RT published two very thought-provoking op-eds since the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) epic collapse and Assad’s cowardly flight from Damascus that are worth reviewing in this context. The first is by Murad Sadygzade, who’s President of the Middle East Studies Center and Visiting Lecturer at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, and answers the question of “Why did Syria fall so fast and what happens next?” He began by drawing attention to foreign meddling but then dove into domestic details.

  This approach is noteworthy since it had hitherto been very rare for publicly financed Russian media to talk about the Assad Government’s many shortcomings, but Sadygzade candidly addressed them:

  “A key turning point came when Assad lost the support of even those who had stood by him for years. Economic hardships, sanctions, and a growing sense of hopelessness led many to believe that change was inevitable, even if it came at the cost of destruction. The strategic mistake of the ruling elite – betting on a military solution to the conflict while ignoring political dialogue, both domestically and internationally – ultimately left Assad vulnerable to determined and well-organized adversaries.”

  The second RT op-ed is a republication of an article by Gazeta.ru political analyst Vitaly Ryumshin under the title “Assad’s collapse was coming – everyone just looked away”. Here are the highlights:

  “Assad’s Syria had been rotting from within for years. The country was locked in a perpetual humanitarian and economic crisis, with 90% of Syrians living in poverty and widespread malnutrition. Desperate families took out loans just to buy food but couldn’t pay them back. Power outages crippled even Damascus, sometimes leaving the capital dark for 20 hours a day. Electricity prices soared by up to 585% in the spring of 2024 alone, pushing an already destitute population deeper into despair.

  The Assad government offered no solutions – only mounting repression. Under crushing sanctions, Damascus couldn’t secure foreign loans, and with its oil fields under US-Kurdish control, there was nothing left to trade. Even Syria’s illicit drug trade, once a lifeline, couldn’t plug the gaping holes in state finances. Profits disappeared into the pockets of warlords and traffickers, not the state treasury.

  Meanwhile, Assad’s underpaid, demoralized army, bled dry by years of civil war, continued to disintegrate. For a time, Iranian proxies like Hezbollah propped up his forces, but by 2024, they’d shifted their attention to fighting Israel. Attempts to draw Russia further into Syria’s quagmire fell flat. Moscow, busy elsewhere, had no interest in bailing Assad out.”

  Ryumshin also twice referred to the Assad Government as a “regime” in back-to-back sentences, writing that “In the south and southeast, dormant rebel cells rose up, striking a final blow against Assad’s hollowed-out regime. On Sunday, opposition forces stormed Damascus from several directions. Bashar al-Assad, whose regime withstood over a decade of civil war, finally fell from power.” It’s a stunning change in RT’s editorial policy that they didn’t replace that previously taboo word before republishing.

  Perhaps they listened to what their senior correspondent and veteran Syrian War journalist Murad Gazdiev told them in an interview, where he concluded that “Assad’s govt fell due to corruption, lack of organization, and motivation”. He has a decade worth of experience covering this conflict so his post-mortem on Assad’s Government should be taken very seriously. Publicly financed TASS also editorialized the word “regime” into a headline about Syria on Tuesday in a related visible change of policy.

  The day prior, they described HTS’ chief as an “armed opposition leader” without referencing the US’ $10 million bounty on his head for terrorist-related crimes or even his connection to such groups. TASS also reported how “Syrian Embassy operating as usual under new flag”, which implies Moscow’s tacit (key qualifier) acceptance of this regime change in the sense of continuing to recognize those Syrian diplomats as official representatives of the new ruling arrangement who are allowed to keep working.

  Their press review of Vedomosti’s article about the future of Russia’s military bases in Syria adds context to why that tacit acceptance appears to have been made. Ibragim Ibragimov, a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told them that “I don’t exclude that a new format of military-technical cooperation will appear soon and that Russian military instructors will play a role in establishing a new Syrian army.” That would be an intriguing turn of events.

  It might not be as far-fetched as some think provided that there’s political will and the right conditions to make it work, the latter of which would require the non-terrorist anti-government opposition (NTAGO) to separate itself from terrorist-designated groups and figures. Moreover, such groups and figures would have to prove that they’ve changed their ways, just like the Taliban have sought to do since returning to power in mid-2021 to regain Russia’s trust and try to have restrictions on cooperation with them lifted.

  To that end, meaningful progress on implementing UNSC Resolution 2254 from December 2015 would go a long way, which Assad refused to do for reasons beyond the scope of this analysis. The Russian-written draft constitution that was unveiled during the first Astana Summit in January 2017 could also be revived to serve as a model for the constitutional reform that this resolution obligates Syria to undertake. Assad had unofficially rubbished it due to the concessions that he was asked to make.

  Judging by what the head of the Syrian armed opposition delegation to the Astana talks told Sputnik and the president of the Syrian Negotiation Commission told RT, these two internationally recognized NTAGO platforms want to retain positive relations with Russia. That could explain why the leader of the new interim Syrian government, Mohammed al-Bashir, was described by TASS as someone who “joined anti-government armed units supported by foreign funding” instead of the previously typical foreign proxy.

  Reflecting on publicly financed Russian media’s reports about Syria’s regime change, it therefore appears as though the Kremlin signaled to those outlets within its “sphere of influence” to withhold publishing worst-case scenario forecasts for now while their country’s diplomats try to avert an even worse crisis. The worst might still be yet to come, but it hasn’t yet unfolded and might still be prevented, hence the importance of them remaining calm and reciprocating the new ruling arrangement’s positive messages.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 21:45

• Eric Trump: My Father Wants To Make U.S. The World's 'Crypto Capital'
  Eric Trump: My Father Wants To Make U.S. The World’s ‘Crypto Capital’

  Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the crypto industry, emphasizing his father’s vision for the U.S. to become the “crypto capital of the world” during an interview with CNBC. 

  ERIC TRUMP: I’ve been in crypto for a long time and so is my father, and I think he realizes that every country in the world is embracing it. People are running—look at where we are right now in Abu Dhabi. They’re putting billions of dollars into crypto, into digital technologies. If we don’t do it as America, we’re going to be left behind. He wants to make America the crypto capital of the world. He’s been very, very clear with that, and I applaud that.

  Listen, right now, if you live in America and want to get a home loan, it takes you 90 days. How the hell does it take 90 days to get a home loan? By then, the house is already sold. Your dream is gone. There’s zero chance you’re getting it. There is nothing on blockchain that can’t be done better, faster, and substantially cheaper—not pushing paper. The banking system we have around the world, the modern banking system, is antiquated. It’s antiquated, and it’s just a matter of time before crypto not only catches up but really leaps ahead.

  We’re incredibly excited on a lot of fronts, and I think America will be the crypto capital of the world. I fully support it, my father fully supports it, and our family fully embraces it. We believe in DeFi.  We believe that’s the way of the future. America better lead the way; otherwise, we’re going to leave a lot behind.

  DAN MURPHY: All of this also comes back to regulation as well, and one thing your father has spoken about is incorporating new legislation, even deregulation, in the crypto space to really accelerate and move this forward. What does that look like?

  ERIC TRUMP: It’s transparent, that’s what it is. The people in the crypto industry are frustrated that no one’s ever put together a sensible plan as to how to regulate an industry. They’re fine with regulation, but they just want guidelines, and they’ve said that. The problem is, you see so many companies have been so unfairly treated—so many lawsuits, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, people attacked, companies attacked—and they’re just saying, “Just give us the rules of the road, and we’ll obey them.”

  And by the way, if you give us the rules of the road, chances are the rest of the world will follow. So I think sensible regulation makes a lot of sense. A lot of people think the crypto industry doesn’t want regulation, but that’s actually not true. They just want sensible regulation—regulation that they can follow, regulation that’s crystal clear, that’s black and white.

  They don’t want to see people like Gensler, who was absolutely a disaster for crypto. He did everything he could to try and stifle innovation. He would do so, and those people have all been cleared out. I think they will put together good regulation. I think we will have a clear roadmap, and hopefully, the rest of the world follows that. Hopefully, we can lead by example because that’s what we should do as Americans. Hopefully, we truly are the crypto superpower of the world.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 21:20

• The Lithium Glut Could Persist Until 2027
  The Lithium Glut Could Persist Until 2027

  Authored by Tsvetana Parskova via OilPrice.com,

  • Lithium prices have dropped sharply, prompting production curtailments in Australia and China but not in Africa, where Chinese-owned mines maintain output.

  • The global lithium market remains oversupplied, with UBS forecasting imbalances until at least 2027 despite recent production cuts.

  • China’s strategic focus on EVs and low-cost lithium ensures continued mining, while a potential restocking phase could eventually boost prices.

  This year’s plunge in lithium prices has forced curtailments in production in China and Western Australia as lithium miners look to limit losses and reduce the oversupply hanging over the market and prices. 

  

  However, the lithium glut has not gone away and the market could remain oversupplied until 2027, analysts say. 

  One of the reasons for a persistent glut could be the fact that while producers in Australia and, to some extent, in China, are curtailing output and delaying project ramp-ups, lithium mines in Africa owned by Chinese battery makers are not reducing supply. 

  The mines, especially those in Zimbabwe, continue to operate as Chinese battery makers continue mining operations to have low-cost lithium supply and maintain market share, industry insiders and analysts have told Reuters. 

  As a result, the market will continue to be oversupplied for the next two years, and not find balance until 2027, according to UBS. 

  The bank still expects lithium supply to have increased by 25% this year and to rise by 15% next year, according to its estimates cited by Reuters.

  The supply boost is expected despite the recent curtailments at lithium mines in Australia.

  Global lithium miners have moved to curtail production and shrink their workforce—at least until market conditions improve.

  Last month, Australian miner Mineral Resources said it was shutting down its Bald Hill lithium mine amid a crash in lithium prices in another project curtailment in the industry.

  The low lithium prices have hit other producers and projects, too.

  Australia’s Liontown Resources said it would reduce production from its Kathleen Valley lithium project, “to prioritise higher margin ore at reduced costs to adapt to the low-price lithium environment.”

  Pilbara Minerals has also announced a suspension of a lithium processing plant in Western Australia.

  The world’s largest lithium producer, North Carolina-based Albemarle, booked a net loss of $1.1 billion for the third quarter amid lower pricing in the lithium value chain.

  As part of measures to reduce costs and operations, Albemarle will be reducing its global workforce by an expected 6-7% and is slashing its 2025 capital expenditures by around 50% versus 2024 to an anticipated range of $800 million to $900 million.

  The reduction in some Chinese lithium supply is being replaced by output in Africa, which is serving the growing Chinese market, Albemarle’s chief commercial officer, Eric Norris, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call last month.

  “It is a fragmented market. It is a market with significant Chinese presence today. And it’s a market where you have a lot of young companies whose sole reason for existing is to raise a lithium project,” Norris said, commenting on why more supply hasn’t been curtailed.

  It could take longer for this market to rebalance, he added. 

  Many mines supplying Chinese battery makers wouldn’t close amid the price plunge because they are integrated into downstream supply chains, analysts told Reuters.  

  EV manufacturing and sales is a strategic priority for China’s government, which would like to have cheap lithium supply flowing.  

  And China’s electric vehicle sales are surging. November marked the fifth consecutive month in which battery electric vehicles and plug-in vehicles outsold gasoline passenger cars.

  China’s most recent rebound in demand has pushed local lithium prices higher. But the fundamentals of the global lithium market haven’t changed much—supply continues to outpace demand, setting the stage for at least another year of oversupply and depressed prices, analysts say.

  However, an expected phase of restocking of processed lithium for batteries could rebalance the market faster, according to Will Adams, head of base metals research at Fastmarkets, a commodity price reporting agency.

  “We’re probably going to be stepping in and out of deficits for a while, but as the deficits get closer, look out for the restocking phase as that can really give prices a boost,” Adams said on a recent webinar on the global outlook for the battery raw materials market in 2025. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:55

• Russians Urged To Avoid US Travel On Fears Of Arrest Or Being 'Lured' By CIA
  Russians Urged To Avoid US Travel On Fears Of Arrest Or Being ‘Lured’ By CIA

  In yet another diplomatic tit-for-tat move as relations with Washington spiral, Russia has warned its citizens to avoid all travel to the United States, saying they could face arrest.

  Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova laid out in a briefing Wednesday that “Traveling to the United States privately or on official business is fraught with serious risks.”

  

  While it at first sounds like Moscow is doing a bit of trolling here, the Kremlin seems genuinely concerned over individual Russians being contacted or “lured” by US intelligence operatives.

  Zakharova continued, “In this regard, we urge [Russians] to avoid non-emergency travel to the U.S. and its allied satellite states, including primarily Canada and, with a few exceptions, EU countries, for these upcoming holidays and in the future.”

  While the message raised the possibility of potential prosecution from US authorities, she also emphasized the following:

  “Our compatriots have long been hunted in the direct sense of the word by U.S. intelligence services,” she said.

  And more:

  Russians already in the U.S. should avoid situations where they could become “victims of provocations” and face arrest under the pretext of violating local laws. 

  “If the attention shown to Russian citizens by Americans is becoming suspicious and intrusive, it may make sense to cut off these contacts and reconsider travel plans,” she said.

  Interestingly, orchestrating ‘provocations’ is precisely what the State Department has long accused Russia of doing with Americans traveling in Russia, with the most famous recent case being the imprisonment of Brittney Griner (later released in a prison swap with Victor Bout).

  The US Embassy in Moscow has in turned warned all US citizens that arbitrary detention could come if they travel through Russia. This has tensions have sourced between the two countries since the Feb. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:30

• DHS Announces New Rule To Allow Noncitizen Workers To Keep Jobs Longer While Awaiting Renewals
  DHS Announces New Rule To Allow Noncitizen Workers To Keep Jobs Longer While Awaiting Renewals

  Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

  The Department of Homeland Security this week announced a new rule making it easier and more reliable for certain noncitizen workers to keep their jobs while waiting for their work permit renewals to be processed.

  Starting Jan. 13, eligible applicants who file for their employment authorization documents (EADs) on time will automatically have their work authorization extended for up to 540 days, nearly three times longer than the previous 180-day maximum.

  

  The change will retroactively apply to applications filed on or after May 4, 2022, the agency said.

  DHS said the need for the rule change is “clear” as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in charge of processing these requests, “received and processed a record number of EAD applications this year.”

  This permanent change is expected to help workers avoid forced job breaks caused by processing delays and give employers more certainty when planning their staffing needs, DHS said in announcing the changes on Dec. 10.

  Federal officials say this decision is a direct response to business communities that have called for more efficient ways to keep valued employees on the job.

  “Increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents will help eliminate red tape that burdens employers, ensure hundreds of thousands of individuals eligible for employment can continue to contribute to our communities, and further strengthen our nation’s robust economy,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

  For many applicants, navigating the work permit renewal process can be challenging, DHS said.

  Lengthy waits sometimes force employers to temporarily lose trained staff while applications wind through the system. USCIS has taken steps to reduce wait times to address this, the announcement said.

  “USCIS is committed to reducing unnecessary barriers and burdens in the immigration system to support our nation’s economy,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou.

  “This final rule will help U.S. employers better retain their workers and help prevent workers with timely-filed EAD renewal applications from experiencing lapses in their employment authorization and employment authorization documentation through no fault of their own.”

  DHS said the new rule will ensure a more stable employment environment for everyone involved.

  The move is part of a broader push to streamline the immigration system and bolster the nation’s economy, DHS said.

  Other efforts to cut processing times include extending validity periods from two to five years in some cases, improving how refugee permits are handled, and offering easier online filing options, the agency said.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:05

• Exxon Plans Large Nat Gas Plants To Supply Electricity To Data Centers
  Exxon Plans Large Nat Gas Plants To Supply Electricity To Data Centers

  It isn’t just nuclear projects getting in on the “selling power to data centers” trend – now oil supermajor Exxon is joining the trend. 

  In fact, Exxon is planning a large natural gas-powered plant to supply electricity directly to data centers, incorporating technology to capture over 90% of its carbon emissions, according to the New York Times.

  This would be Exxon’s first power plant not dedicated to its own operations. Carbon capture systems remain rare and costly, despite federal subsidies, limiting their broader adoption.

  CEO Darren Woods said this week: “There are very few opportunities in the short term to power those data centers and do it in a way that at the same time minimizes, if not completely eliminates, the emissions.”

  Exxon exec Dan Ammann added: “We’re being driven by the market demand here. It’s low carbon, it’s available on an accelerated timeline and it avoids all the grid interconnection challenges.”

  

  Tech giants are increasingly willing to pay extra for reliable clean energy, including nuclear power. Here are Zero Hedge we spent most of 2024 documenting numerous tech giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft all inking deals with nuclear power generators to secure data center power in the future.

  The New York Times adds that Exxon, having secured land and engaged potential customers, plans to launch its gas-powered plant within five years—faster than building new nuclear reactors.

  Uniquely, the plant would operate off-grid, avoiding lengthy grid connection delays. This move highlights how the growth of data centers and AI is transforming the energy sector, pushing Exxon into a business it once avoided.

  Chevron could be next, too. Its CEO Mike Wirth predicts off-grid power projects will become more common, and Exxon is exploring similar ventures, aiming to launch a gas-powered plant with carbon capture technology.

  Exxon plans to spend $30 billion over six years on emission reduction and alternative energy while expanding oil and gas production. The company sees growing electricity demand from data centers as an opportunity to enter the power business, leveraging its expertise in carbon management and pipeline networks.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 19:40

• The Wild World Of Democratic Ethics: Defeated Representative Accused Of Gaetz Leak
  The Wild World Of Democratic Ethics: Defeated Representative Accused Of Gaetz Leak

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  “You must be wary of those seeking to use their influence and their expertise to wrongful ends.”

  Those words were spoken at the George Washington Law School commencement ceremony two years ago by the recently defeated Rep. Susan Wild (D., Pa.).

  

  This week, the words took on a new meaning after Wild was accused of leaking information from the House Ethics Committee. Wild embodies a party that is in an ethical and political free fall this month.

   If news reports are accurate, Wild appears to have given our students a curious ethical lesson in how not to be a lawyer or legislator.

  Wild was fighting to release the report of the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.).

  When Gaetz decided to withdraw from Congress, the report was not released. That is when details from the committee were leaked to the media, and the press reported that “two sources said Wild ultimately acknowledged to the panel that she had leaked information.”

  Keep in mind that this is the House Ethics Committee, and she is a member. She is also a member of Congress who took an oath as part of the panel’s rules that “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose, to any person or entity outside the Committee on Ethics, any information received in the course of my service with the Committee, except as authorized by the Committee or in accordance with its rules.”

  Wild herself has not publicly confirmed or denied the alleged leaking of the information.

  If the reports are true, Wild knowingly violated an oath that she took not to release information from the Ethics Committee because she was unhappy with losing votes on the release of information.

  Her office seems to have shrugged off media inquiries.

  As in the past controversy, Wild has avoided public comment on the report that she was the leaker.

  This controversy speaks to more than one unethical former representative. This month, we have seen Democrats line up to support one of the most unethical and abusive uses of presidential pardon power in history. President Biden not only pardoned his son but pardoned him for any crimes over a decade, including some that many felt implicated President Biden himself.

  The President issued the pardon after repeatedly lying to the public when he was a candidate that he would never do so. In the previous election, Biden lied to the public about not having met Hunter Biden’s clients or having knowledge of his dealings in the influence-peddling scandal.

  Biden’s lack of ethics surprised no one. However, even today, the support that he received from Democratic leaders over the pardon has been shocking. Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate majority whip, even called it a “labor of love.”

  Indeed, much of the corruption in Washington is a labor of love, from nepotism to influence peddling to corrupt pardons. Indeed, faced with overwhelming opposition of the public to the Biden pardon, Democratic members look like the comical choreography of “Prisoners of Love” from the movie The Producers. (“Oh, you can lock us up and lose the key; But hearts in love are always free!”).

  The distorted view of ethics in the Democratic Party was vividly on display during an embarrassing moment recently at the White House when Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that a poll showed “64% of the American people agree with the pardon — 64% of the American people. So, we get a sense of where the American people are on this.”

  That poll actually showed the majority of Americans opposed the pardon.

  Yet, it was 64 percent of Democrats who favored a president giving his own son a pardon.

  It is all about the ends rather than the means in today’s politics of rage.

  The 2022 words of Wild were particularly poignant because they were used as part of a false attack made by Wild at my own school. In a speech to the law students on living an ethical life as a lawyer, Wild accused me of testifying falsely in the Trump impeachment that only criminal acts are impeachable after saying the opposite in my testimony in the Clinton impeachment.

  The only problem is that Wild’s statement was demonstrably and undeniably false. I testified in both the Clinton and Trump impeachments that an impeachable offense need not be an actual crime.  Ironically, Wild’s own Democratic colleagues and later the House managers in the Senate Trump trial repeatedly cited my testimony on that very point.

  None of this matters in the Wild world of Democratic ethics. It is very simple. Whatever Democrats are attempting cannot be “wrongful ends.” More importantly, it is the ends, not the means, that are the measure of ethics. Since they are only fighting for what is right, the ends justify the means from cleansing ballots of Republicans (including Trump) to supporting a massive censorship system to ignoring court decisions to count invalid votes.

  It is the same sense of ethics that led someone at the Supreme Court to leak a draft of the Dobbs decision.

  Even though the leak shattered court ethical rules and traditions, the leaker was lionized by many on the left.

  For years, the “by any means necessary” wing has dominated the Democratic Party. Ironically, the collapsing of the party’s credibility with the public has left little to show beyond a litany of unethical means used to achieve unrealized ends.

  *  *  *

  Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 19:15

• South Korea's Top Cops Arrested, Ex-Defense Chief Tries Suicide As Failed Martial Law Bid Rocks Country
  South Korea’s Top Cops Arrested, Ex-Defense Chief Tries Suicide As Failed Martial Law Bid Rocks Country

  South Korea continues to be rocked by aftershocks in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s aborted declaration of marital law. In a trio of jarring new developments, the country’s top two law enforcement officers have been arrested, the former defense chief attempted suicide in detention, and police raided the president’s office — all while a second impeachment vote looms this weekend with greater prospects for success.  

  Late on Tuesday, police arrested South Korea’s former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s martial law attempt. He then tried killing himself shortly after midnight in a detention center bathroom. His attempt was thwarted by a “control room staff member,” according to a report from the commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service, and he’s said to be under close monitoring and in good health.

  

  The first to be arrested over the constitutional crisis, Kim faces charges of “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.” A guilty verdict on the insurrection charge would expose Kim to a maximum penalty of death by hanging. While his method of suicide-attempt hasn’t been disclosed, it seems Kim wanted to skip the proceedings and administer his own form of justice.

  Wednesday also brought word that South Korea’s two senior-most law enforcement officers have been arrested on insurrection charges. National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho and Seoul metropolitan police chief Kim Bong-sik are behind bars at Seoul’s Namdaemun police station, according to the South China Morning Post.

  South Korean soldiers are stationed outside the Parliament. Unbelievable to see how a democracy descends into a chaos and tyranny so fastpic.twitter.com/IZkRK6mxJe https://t.co/QBmQl1OaFv

  — Guy Elster (@guyelster) December 3, 2024

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  The two top cops are in hot water for deploying police to impede lawmakers who were trying to make their way into the parliament building to counteract Yoon’s martial law declaration. Then-Defense Minister Kim deployed soldiers to the same location. On Tuesday, Kim issued a statement taking responsibility for his actions and seeking to shield subordinates from consequences for their actions:

  “All responsibility for this situation lies solely with me. My subordinates were simply faithful in following my orders and the missions that were given to them. I ask for leniency for them.” 

  On Monday, the Justice Ministry banned Yoon from traveling overseas, at the request of police, prosecutors, and an anti-corruption agency. As the investigation intensified, President Yoon’s office was raided by police on Wednesday, as they sought evidence relating to his attempted imposition of martial law and the accompanying suspension of civil liberties and governmental checks and balances. 

  The office search, which has been reported by local media but not yet confirmed by police or the president’s office as this is written, flies in the face of previous assurances by observers that the presidential security service would thwart any such raid. They’d pointed to a law barring the search of areas that hold state secrets without the consent of those responsible for such spaces.   

  

  The rolling crisis began on Dec. 3, when Yoon stunned South Korea and the international community with a late-night declaration of martial law, which he claimed was necessary to “rebuild and protect” the country, and prevent it from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” The move came after an impasse over the country’s 2025 budget, and the attempted impeachment of three top prosecutors. In his announcement, Yoon railed against “shameless pro-North-Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens…I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

  watching the citizens of South Korea revolt against martial law is so badass this woman is a legendpic.twitter.com/TZgUqtrhPt

  — Omni ☕️ (@InfernoOmni) December 3, 2024

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  As soldiers and police surrounded the National Assembly, the South Korean parliament’s speaker used his YouTube channel to summon legislators. All 190 who heeded the call voted to repeal the martial law declaration. Six hours after his shocking announcement, Yoon apologized for the move and retracted it, saying he’d acted out of “desperation.” 

  An impeachment vote last weekend failed in the face of a boycott by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but the Democratic Party (DP) has announced it will move for impeachment again on Saturday, and some PPP members are now voicing their support. Success requires a two-thirds majority of the 300-member assembly. DP leader Lee Jae-myung voiced confidence:  “The impeachment train has left the platform. There is going to be no way to stop it,” 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:50

• Judge Strikes Part Of Federal Law, Making It Easier To Remove 'Powerful' Judges
  Judge Strikes Part Of Federal Law, Making It Easier To Remove ‘Powerful’ Judges

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

  Some judges can be removed at will, rather than for cause, a federal judge said in a new Dec. 10 ruling as he also removed a layer of protection for the judges.

  

  National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judges have been protected in a complex scheme that requires the board to petition a different agency, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, to remove the judges. Even if the protection board agrees, the NLRB can only act if “good cause” for removal is found.

  Adding to the “byzantine process,” members of both boards can only be removed themselves for certain reasons, such as neglect of duty, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in the new decision.

  The U.S. Constitution gives the president executive power, which includes, according to Congress and court rulings, the power to remove subordinates. The exceptions are for inferior officers and some boards.

  In 2010, U.S. Supreme Court justices said that a scheme protecting Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officers was unconstitutional because it placed the president two layers away from removal. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which appointed the members, could only remove the members for good cause. SEC commissioners themselves could only be fired by the president for neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or inefficiency.

  “In short, two protective layers was one too many,” McFadden said. “So too here.”

  The protection NLRB judges have “could result in federal officers pursuing unordained and perhaps unwise paths, with the only fear of reprisal shrouded in a maze of red tape,” the judge said. “Such attenuation from accountability was precisely what the Framers warned against when they rebuffed calls to fashion a plural executive.”

  The NLRB said in court filings that the administrative law judges have less power than Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officers and that they are more easily removed than the officers. McFadden said the judges are “powerful actors in the Executive Branch” because they can manage cases without oversight, including granting applications for subpoenas, and that the easier removal does not change the multilayer removal scheme.

  The Supreme Court ruling “was clear in its admonition: Officers of the United States cannot be insulated from the removal power by two or more levels of decisionmakers who themselves enjoy job protection,” the judge said. “To find otherwise would poison the soil of Article II and choke off accountability to the President. The removal restrictions are unconstitutional.”

  The Supreme Court has not weighed in on the matter. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has found SEC administrative law judges, which had similar protections to NLRB judges, were unconstitutionally protected. Three other circuit courts have found administrative law judge protections to be constitutional.

  In two of those rulings, the courts “placed too much weight on the adjudicatory ‘functions’” of the judges, ignoring how the judges “were nonetheless exerting executive power, case by case,” McFadden said. The third ruling was reversed by the Supreme Court, on other grounds.

  “That is a tenuous reed to sustain the NLRB’s position,” he said.

  In a two-page order, McFadden said that NLRB judges can now be removed by the board itself, without input from the Merit Systems Protection Board.

  The ruling came in a case brought by VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7 Inc., which does business as Saint Vincent Hospital.

  A spokeswoman for the NLRB declined to comment. A lawyer for the hospital, which is in Massachusetts, did not return an inquiry.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:25

• Government Spending Shock: US Budget Deficit Soars In Worst Start To Year On Record
  Government Spending Shock: US Budget Deficit Soars In Worst Start To Year On Record

  We thought last month’s US budget deficit was bad. Boy, were we wrong.

  It is only fitting that the twilight days of the Biden admin would exhibit more of the same fakeness that defined not only all of the past four years, but certainly the fakeness of that Kamala Harris presidential campaign which had a billion dollars a month ago and ended up in failure, broke… and millions in debt. We are talking, of course, about the relentless debt-funded spree that somehow became synonymous with economic success in the US.

  According to the latest Treasury data released today, in November – the second month of fiscal 2025 – the US spent a massive $584.2 billion, a 14% increase from the prior year, and a record for the month of November. For those who remember out outrage from a month ago, will also remember that the latest deficit number follows what was also a record government outlay for the month of October.

  On a trailing 6 month moving average basis, to smooth out outliers months, the spending hit $586 billion, effectively at an all time high with just the record spending spree during covid pushing government spending higher.

  

  The surge in spending was driven primarily by higher spending on health, defense and Social Security, but mostly a huge $50BN spike on Medicare outlays!

  

  The long-term chart of government spending shows what we all know: DOGE or not DOGE, there is no stopping this train.

  

  The surge in spending was far greater than the much more modest increase in tax revenues: in November, the US government collected $301.8 billion in taxes, up 9.8% from the $274.8 billion last November. As shown in the next chart, while spending continued to grow exponentially, tax receipts have flatlined, and the 6 month average in October was just $380 billion, the same as three years ago!

  

  To be sure, there were some calendar effects in play. Recall that last month we said that October 2023’s tax receipts were unusually higher due to deferred tax receipts that were received that month from companies and individuals affected by disasters including wildfires in California. Taking that into account, the October budget deficit would have been 22% higher (and would offset the freak September surplus which we are convinced was staged to make the last month of fiscal 2024 look abnormally good for the Biden admin). And since some of this calendar effect also nets in November, to avoid the calendar shifts across months we combined the first two months of fiscal 2025.  What we got was this shocker of a chart: 

  

  It shows that in October and November, the US deficit exploded to a staggering $624.2 billion, and even though this included several calendar adjustments – which explains the freak September surplus which as we said was due to calendar effects – the November deficit of $367 billion was $14 billion more than consensus estimates of $353 billion. Worse, combining October and November we find that not only was the combined number of $624 billion some 64% higher than the corresponding period one year ago, but it was also the highest deficit on record for the first two-months of the year (and that includes the spending insanity during the covid crisis).

  Putting the deficit in context, the budget deficit in October and November – the first two months of fiscal 2025 – are now officially the worst start a year for the US Treasury on record.

  

  Taking a closer look at what has been the most terrifying trend in the US income statement for some time now, the Treasury’s debt-servicing costs rose once again in November. Gross interest costs totaled $87 billion, up $7 billion from $80 billion in the same month a year before.

  

  And if the November print seems low by recent standards, just wait one month: the December gross interest payment will be an absolute shocker as that’s when the bulk of interest payments take place. For December, expect a number north of $150 billion in interest alone!

  And while we wait, this is what a chart of LTM spending across the main categories looks like. Yes, gross interest spending is not only the second largest outlay for the US government, just shy of $1.2 trillion, it’s also the highest it has ever been, and will continue rising, especially if/when the Fed ends its easing cycle prematurely due to rising prices sparking the next meltup…. in US interest payment.

  

  The good news is that for now (certainly until the December explosion), the surge in US interest payments has been delayed. That’s because the weighted average interest rate for total outstanding debt at the end of November was 3.36%, at roughly 15-year highs, but down slightly from the month before, the third monthly decline.

  

  However, don’t expect this decline in interest spending to persist because even though the Fed has cut rates twice since September, this has been more than offset by the surge in debt which at last check was now $36.2 trillion, up half a trillion from a month ago, and unless Elon’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) manages to somehow slash trillions in both spending and interest, this is what US debt will look like for the next few years, guaranteeing that interest on said debt will very soon become the single largest spending category for the US government.

  It’s either going to work or it’s not. Here is the alternative https://t.co/cHZA2wHnPB pic.twitter.com/LMEI4tISZL

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 13, 2024

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  For those who were still unsure if buying votes has a cost associated with it, now you know.

  The mindblowing figures illustrate the monumental challenge for Trump and all those promising to rein in US debt, which has exploded to 120% of GDP after four years of Biden’s “drunken-sailor” spending ways. The last hope for the US is that Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to look at ways to cut spending. Alas, these figures show that the bulk of the outlays are in areas that are bound to be a politically explosive to address, in other words any cuts even remotely close to the $2 trillion suggested by Vivek would lead to a full-blown deep state revolt… and government cataclysm.

  It’s also why attempts to reroute the US from its inevitable collision with the iceberg of fiscal devastation will likewise end in ruin.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:00

• There Is No Right To A Minimum Wage
  There Is No Right To A Minimum Wage

  Authored by Soham Patil via The Mises Institute,

  One of the most popular economic fallacies of our time is the belief that the absence of a minimum wage would lead to limitless exploitation of employees in the economy. Minimum wage legislation prevents employees from being hired at pay rates below the mandated amount. Proponents of minimum wage laws claim that not having a minimum wage would lead to employees being paid very little for the amount of work they do. They also claim that everyone ought to be entitled to some standard of living and that minimum wages are instrumental in ensuring better conditions for everyone. Ultimately, arguments for minimum wage laws do not stand up to scrutiny.

  The most important reason to oppose minimum wage laws is that they violate freedom of association and freedom of contract. It prevents two willing and able parties from coming to a voluntary contractual agreement if the wages are below the legally-mandated minimum. While minimum wage limits are often relatively low, their imposition entails that legislators believe some wages are too low and that they must take measures to prevent work being done for “exploitative wages.” Naturally, this means that some jobs will cease to exist since jobs that pay below the legally-mandated amount will no longer be worthwhile for the firms. As a result, minimum wage laws necessarily destroy some jobs in the economy.

  

  Arguments for minimum wages rest on economic fallacies.

  One of the most popular ones is that minimum wage laws prevent exploitation by setting a standard limit under which firms cannot go. A key, but mistaken, assumption in this line of thought is that without minimum wages firms would simply drive wage rates lower and lower and employees would have no choice other than to accept whatever they are given. This ignores the fact that all agreements require at least two consenting parties.

  Hardly anyone would agree to work a job which pays nothing or pays a disproportionately low amount for the amount of effort and skill required.

  Employees set the floor in negotiations as they would not work for too low an amount while firms set the ceiling as they wouldn’t pay exorbitant amounts which would cause them to be unprofitable. If the lack of minimum wage legislation allows firms to drive wage rates low, we must ask ourselves why certain jobs that pay much more than the minimum wage exist. Clearly there must be other factors that impact wages which would invalidate the talking point of limitless exploitation.

  Employees also do not have the right to a minimum wage. Their work is only as valuable as what they can fetch on the free market. I might believe that the work I can do is worth a thousand dollars an hour, but if no firm is willing to offer me that much money, I don’t have an entitlement to it. The same is true at any wage rate, even the minimum wage rate. Many seem not to grasp this fact as advocates for a minimum wage often state that no work is worth lower than the minimum wage amount. This ignores the nature of work and that work itself does not have intrinsic value.

  While minimum wage laws fail to deliver on their benefits, their consequences are more potent. Since minimum wage laws destroy some jobs, there exists a percentage of the workforce which would have had employment in the absence of these laws. Businesses are also forced to operate either on higher costs or with a lower workforce which either raises costs for consumers or leads to lower productivity. While the advocates of minimum wage legislation believe they operate from a higher ground of morality, their policies only hurt the ones whom they wish to help the most.

  Repealing these laws can only lead to a better economy.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:40

• FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns
  FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns

  Before President-elect Donald Trump could say “You’re Fired!” – FBI Director Christopher Wray has resigned, and will leave his post at the end of President Joe Biden’s term.

  

  Wray’s decision comes weeks after Trump nominated Kash Patel as his replacement. Patel, a fierce critic of the FBI, has said he would seek to shrink the agency’s power, close its Washington headquarters, fire its top ranks, and prosecute corrupt agents.

  While Wray’s departure was always in the cards, the move comes two days after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote an 11-page letter to Wray asking him to step down, accusing him of mismanagement and “failure to take control of the FBI.”

  “These failures are serious enough and their pattern widespread enough to have shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you,” wrote Grassley.

  As the Epoch Times notes further, in November 2022, Grassley published FBI documents showing that higher-ranking officials were sometimes penalized less severely than subordinates.

  Wray had addressed this disparity, saying in a Bureau-wide email on Dec. 11, 2020, that the agency “has zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct.”

  On March 4, 2022, FBI Deputy Director Abbate warned all FBI employees: “Regardless of your rank and title, every one of us has the responsibility to treat everyone with dignity, respect, and professionalism. … Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.”

  Grassley also mentioned in his letter his inquiry about the vetting of refugees from Afghanistan through the Operation Allies Welcome program. In February 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that the Department of Homeland Security had not cross-checked these evacuees against data from the Department of Defense.

  As a result, 50 individuals who had been flagged as “potentially significant security concerns” by the National Ground Intelligence Center were allowed into the United States.

  Requests to the FBI for further information were ignored, Grassley said.

  Wray said “in a classified multi-agency briefing to congressional staff” that he was unsure of the location of other refugees who might pose a threat, Grassley wrote.

  “I can’t sit here right now and tell you that we know where all are located at any given time,” Grassley quoted Wray as saying.

  He pointed out that one potential terror threat had been foiled when the FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi on Oct. 7 of this year. Tawhedi was allegedly planning a terror attack to disrupt the U.S. election on Nov. 5.

  Grassley also accused Wray and the FBI of exercising a double standard by refusing to investigate President Joe Biden’s or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information.

  President-elect Donald Trump appointed Wray in 2017 after firing the previous director, James Comey. In a recent interview with “Meet the Press,” Trump expressed displeasure over Wray’s performance.

  “He invaded my home,” Trump said, referring to the 2022 FBI raid on his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

  Trump also cited Wray’s initial claim that his ear was struck by shrapnel instead of an assassin’s bullet, and waning public respect for the FBI as an institution.

  “I can’t say I’m thrilled,” he said.

  The president-elect has already named Kash Patel the new FBI director, indicating that Wray’s time at the post is nearly over. However, Grassley wants Wray and Abbate to step down sooner.

  “For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives,” the letter says.

  The agency told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement: “The FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.

  “Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:33

• 'Simply Robbery': Moscow To Retaliate After US Hands Ukraine $20BN Utilizing Russian Assets
  ‘Simply Robbery’: Moscow To Retaliate After US Hands Ukraine $20BN Utilizing Russian Assets

  Russia on Wednesday blasted the US disbursing a $20 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets as “theft” and “simply robbery” while vowing that retaliation will soon come.

  On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced it disbursed the $20 billion loan for Ukraine, to eventually be paid back using interest earned on frozen Russian Central Bank assets, which has been a controversial plan long in preparation.

  

  Washington said it issued the funds as part of the bigger total $50 billion loan being provided by the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

  Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday further said the move “will not go answered”. It warned that it has “sufficient capacity and leverage to retaliate by seizing Western assets under its jurisdiction”.

  In announcing the major action, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had described the following:

  “These funds — paid for by the windfall proceeds earned from Russia’s own immobilized assets — will provide Ukraine a critical infusion of support as it defends its country against an unprovoked war of aggression.”

  “The $50 billion collectively being provided by the G7 through this initiative will help ensure Ukraine has the resources it needs to sustain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its brave resistance,” she added.

  This is all part of Biden and NATO allies’ efforts to ‘Trump proof’ future aid and support to Ukraine for years to come. Trump is expected to ‘probably’ reduce US defense aid to Ukraine. Trump officials have warned that Kiev would see funding greatly reduced or even pulled if it is unwilling to engage Moscow seriously at the negotiating table.

  A key rationale of Trump’s team in making the case for a necessary and quick winding down of the war is that the West must avoid nuclear confrontation or a WW3 scenario with Russia at all costs.

  War-weary populations across Europe and the West are also in favor of peace, all recent polling shows, and Trump has been given a clear mandate by US voters to seek a diplomatic end to the war.

  Zelensky has in response said: “What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him [Putin] to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:20

• Trump Nominates Harmeet Dhillon To DOJ's Civil Rights Division
  Trump Nominates Harmeet Dhillon To DOJ’s Civil Rights Division

  Authored by Melanie Sun and Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  President-elect Donald Trump named attorney Harmeet Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice in a post on Truth Social on Dec. 9.

  

  “Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers,” Trump said.

  “In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights, and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws fairly and firmly. Congratulations, Harmeet!”

  The Department of Justice will be headed by U.S. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, pending confirmation by the Senate.

  Dhillon has clerked in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

  The Dartmouth College and University of Virginia Law School graduate, who is a member of the Sikh religious community, thanked Trump for the nomination and her family for their support.

  In a post on X, she said she is “extremely honored by President Trump’s nomination to assist with our nation’s civil rights agenda.”

  I’m extremely honored by President Trump’s nomination to assist with our nation’s civil rights agenda. It has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and I am so excited to be part of an incredible team of lawyers led by @PamBondi. I cannot wait to get to work!

  I… pic.twitter.com/L2NCA9m987

  — Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) December 10, 2024

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  “It has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and I am so excited to be part of an incredible team of lawyers led by Pam Bondi. I cannot wait to get to work!” she wrote.

  Dhillon’s appointment happened after Trump named another partner in her law firm, Dhillon Law Group, to a key position.

  On Dec. 4, he announced he was selecting David Warrington as his White House counsel. Warrington replaced Trump’s previous pick for the position, William McGinley, who was moved into the role of counsel for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission.

  Dhillon, a Republican National Committeewoman for California, previously contested then-Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel for that post. McDaniel, who ultimately won, stepped down earlier this year. Former North Carolina Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley received Trump’s endorsement and stepped into the role. Trump recently endorsed Whatley’s continuation as committee chair.

  Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhillon filed numerous lawsuits challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measures, including his mask order.

  Trump Names General Counsel of the OMB

  In another post, Trump also announced that he was appointing Mark Paoletta to return to serve in the second Trump administration as General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

  “Mark will work closely with our DOGE team to cut the size of our bloated Government bureaucracy, and root out wasteful and anti-American spending,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

  Paoletta, a partner at the Law Firm, Schaerr Jaffe, and a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, was part of the first Trump administration and an ally in advancing Trump’s American First agenda. Alongside then-OMB Director Russ Vought, who has also been asked by Trump to head the OMB again, Paoletta arranged federal funding to build Trump’s border wall facing Mexico.

  “Mark is a conservative warrior who knows the ‘ins and outs’ of Government – He will help us, Make America Great Again!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

  The president-elect also endorsed K.C. Crosbie for the next co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

  The position became open after Lara Trump announced on Dec. 8 that she would be stepping down and was considering a possible Senate appointment in the incoming administration as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has been named by Trump to be the next secretary of state.

  Crosbie previously served as the RNC’s treasurer and the national committeewoman representing Kentucky.

  “KC has been with me from the very beginning, helping real Republicans get elected across the Country, and would be a tremendous Co-Chair of the RNC! KC will work on continuing to ensure a highly functioning, fiscally responsible, and effective RNC that makes Election Integrity a highest priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:00

• San Diego Sheriff 'Will Not' Comply With New 'Super Sanctuary' Protections For Illegals
  San Diego Sheriff ‘Will Not’ Comply With New ‘Super Sanctuary’ Protections For Illegals

  The San Diego County Sheriff’s office is refusing to comply with the County Board of Supervisors’ vote to turn the county into a “super” sanctuary by preventing local law enforcement from complying with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

  

  With the return of Trump to the White House, the board on Tuesday approved the measure in a 3-1 vote, prohibiting the use of its resources to help ICE, and limiting the use of its jails, county buildings and personnel in assisting federal immigration enforcement agents.

  BREAKING: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors just voted 3-1 to turn the county into a “super” sanctuary county by shielding illegals from deportation and preventing police from notifying ICE about dangerous illegals in custody.pic.twitter.com/ApINL5CtRy

  — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 11, 2024

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  “San Diego County has always been a place where communities are valued, not divided and as a County Supervisor, I’m committed to leading a local government that promotes unity, equity, and justice for all, while upholding the law,” said County Chairwoman Nora Vargas, adding “We will not allow our local resources to be used for actions that separate families, harm community trust, or divert critical local resources away from addressing our most pressing challenges. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and our County will not be a tool for policies that hurt our residents.”

  Of course. That’s a sure sign that the woke mind virus controls her brain.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2024

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  Not So Fast

  In response, the San Diego County Sheriff says they will ignore the Board’s resolution.

  “The Sheriff’s Office will not change its practices based on the Board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting,” adding that “The Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff’s Office.

  “The Sheriff as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff’s Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the Sheriff.”

  Read @SDSheriff statement on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ vote on immigration enforcement. You can also read the full statement here: https://t.co/PSGANIABaf. pic.twitter.com/5y7I5rMeud

  — San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) December 11, 2024

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  Vargas doesn’t know what to do!

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 12/11/2024 – 16:40

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• East Vs. West: A Global Dollar Dump Is Inevitable And The US Must Prepare
  East Vs. West: A Global Dollar Dump Is Inevitable And The US Must Prepare

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  In October of 2024, Russia hosted the annual BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan with the intent to show unity among developing nations and general eastern interests. The Kremlin, a target of severe NATO sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine, has been effective in solidifying economic guarantees from BRICS partners and circumventing western economic controls.

  

  Despite being removed from the SWIFT banking network and being cut off from a large percentage of global trade, Russia has continued to garner solid export revenues. We certainly aren’t seeing the total collapse of the Russian economy that so many media “experts” predicted.  The reason? Russia is resource rich and in an inflationary environment countries that are heavy in commodities sold at lower prices are always sought after. The BRICS event this year was a reminder that the west’s financial influence is in decline.

  At that same meeting, Putin called for an alternative international payment system and passed around a mock-up of what he called a BRICS “bank note”. The paper note was purely symbolic, but it’s presence at the summit started an uproar within the establishment media. Pundits were quick to “fact check” the story and declare that this was not a real unified currency announcement. As far as I know, no one said it was. What we did say, however, is that a real multilateral currency system cutting out the dollar is MUCH CLOSER than most people realize.

  Putin flashed that banknote around because this is something the BRICS have been working on for well over a decade. Those cynics that think such a thing is impossible are living in denial, or, they have an agenda to peddle.

  Donald Trump in particular seems to understand quite well that the BRICS currency concept is not a bluff or a joke. In a recent social media post, Trump threatened to increase tariffs for any nation that tries to diminish or replace the dollar’s world reserve status (the dollar is the premier currency used in the vast majority of international transactions). Putin responded with a warning that Trump’s efforts to reinforce the dollar would backfire.

  Overall, Putin is right. Any move to force the dollar onto developing nations as a reserve currency will only result in them dumping it faster. Tariffs act as leverage for short term adjustments to trade imbalances, but they aren’t going to be effective in preventing other countries from using alternative currencies.

  The problem with the dollar reserve system is its foundation. Officially established with the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 as we neared the end of WWII, the unspoken deal underlying the dollar was that the US would get the economic benefits of reserve status, but in exchange America would be required to carry the bulk of military defense obligations for allies around the globe.

  Five years later in 1949 NATO would be founded, the dollar was made the common currency denominator for all members and the US would end up paying 60% or more of all funding for the alliance for decades to come. The economic trade off was established – The US dollar gets the advantages of reserve status and the rest of the western world gets military protection from the US.

  However, as far as eastern nations and the BRICS are concerned today, NATO is not an ally. There’s no agreement or unspoken doctrine which convinces the developing nations to maintain the dollar’s reserve status; only precarious import/export arrangements that can fall apart quickly if conflict arises.

  And let’s be honest, the sparks of wider conflict are everywhere. At my current count, there are at least three regional proxy wars going on simultaneously that have the potential to kick off WWIII – Ukraine, Israel and Syria. Then there’s Taiwan, North Korea, and Georgia (Eastern Europe); regions that are constantly on the verge of going hot.

  On top of that, there’s the steady decline of Western Europe, with Germany and France now in governmental limbo, not to mention the UK turning into an Orwellian police state. Americans are so insulated from the global crisis that’s unfolding that I worry millions will be caught completely off guard when it finally arrives on our doorstep.

  To be sure, the US has its share of instability. The stagflation crisis is in its third year (officially) and prices don’t look like they will be coming down on most necessities any time soon. The illegal immigration crisis is about to come to a crescendo and we’re all waiting to see if the Trump Administration follows through on his promise of mass deportations. Then there’s the incredible debt crisis – Our government has added $6 trillion to the national debt in the past two years alone. We are creating over $1 trillion in new debt every 3-4 months and our debt to GDP ratio is 124%. This is unsustainable.

  That said, we haven’t experienced any catastrophic economic disruptions yet. The loss of the dollar’s reserve status would bring historically devastating consequences, at least in the short term, and that’s only if our country devises a plan to weather the storm.

  Conflicts between east and west are only going to grow given the existing conditions, and the calls for a dollar alternative are going to continue. There’s not much Trump can do about that. We also have to keep in mind that there are globalist institutions like the IMF and BIS that are, as I write this, getting ready to introduce CBDCs and cashless systems that would limit the dollar’s global influence by default.

  When globalists pontificated endlessly about a “Great Reset” during the pandemic era, what they were talking about was primarily an economic reset and a currency reset. Klaus Schwab of the WEF stated ‘Now is the time for a great reset of capitalism’, and this event was supposed to precede a global shift into a cashless system.

  There can’t be a global currency reset without the dollar being demoted. There can’t be a reset without a reversal of the old Bretton Woods system. They know it, and they aren’t going to warn the rest of the public about the consequences.

  Everything is working against the dollar right now, and there’s a lot of people out there that question if it’s even worth saving. The Federal Reserve has been the source of considerable corruption within our government and I have often referred to central bankers as economic suicide bombers. But, the dollar is all we have until a tangible safety net can be established.

  Instead of focusing on trying to intimidate the BRICS into sticking with the dollar, Trump should be drafting a plan to backstop our currency system with hard commodities to prevent greater inflation and ensuring that the US has the capacity to manufacture all our necessities domestically.

  There is a chance this could be done under Trump; there was zero chance it would have been done under Kamala Harris. So, at least there’s hope.

  At bottom, it’s impossible to keep the dollar in a position of global dominance when every element of geopolitics is working against it and the very globalist organizations that helped create the Bretton Woods system are now trying to dismantle it. It’s time to localize, build redundancies and get ready for the greater crisis at hand., because one way or another difficult changes are coming.

  *  *  *

  The foundation of our economy has endured decades of debt, inflation, and financial mismanagement. And nothing can reverse this damage. Which is why protecting your 401(k) or IRA has never been more essential. With a physical Gold IRA, you can secure your savings with a tangible asset that stands the test of time. Want to find out more? Click here to get your FREE info kit on Gold IRAs from Birch Gold Group and discover how a Gold IRA can be your financial safe haven.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 23:25

• Here's The Best Time To Buy A Christmas Tree
  Here’s The Best Time To Buy A Christmas Tree

  Website Finder.com cited data from the National Christmas Tree Association showing that 43% of American households are expected to purchase a real tree this holiday season, with the average tree costing around $79.31—around $4 more than in 2023.

  

  2020 marked a critical point in which artificial tree sales surpassed real tree sales for the first time. 

  

  Separately, data from point-of-sale company Square shows that Christmas tree prices typically peak and are most expensive immediately after Black Friday and during the first half of December. Square noted that 50% deals occur in the days leading up to Christmas. 

  

  Square Research Lead Ara Kharazian wrote in a note: “The cheapest time to buy a Christmas tree is right before Christmas. The best time is whichever day maximizes joy in your household.”

  Over the past decade, Christmas tree supplies have been squeezed by a supplier bust originating back to the Global Financial Crisis, compounded by continued adverse weather conditions in the country’s top tree-growing regions.

  “The root of the tight supply issue goes back to 2008 when an oversupply led growers to scale back planting,” Jill Sidebottom, a National Christmas Tree Association spokesperson, told CBS MoneyWatch.

  Sidebottom added that adverse weather conditions, including the 2021 heat dome that destroyed trees across the Pacific Northwest, have exacerbated supply constraints in recent years.

  Meanwhile, PNC Bank’s annual Christmas Price Index, which calculates the cost of “True Love’s” gifts from the classic holiday carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, rose by 5.4% compared to last year.

  

  Data from Bankrate shows persistent inflation and high interest rates are expected to weigh on low/mid-tier consumers this holiday season. According to the financial services company, about one-third of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year than last year.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 23:00

• "They Will Take Away Your Kids" – Fascism Is Already In Place In The US
  “They Will Take Away Your Kids” – Fascism Is Already In Place In The US

  Authored by Dr Gerry Brady via Boom Finance & Economic substack,

  “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.”

  – Benito Mussolini, Fascist Dictator of Italy for 26 Years

  

  Marc Andreessen speaks with Joe Rogan – [warning – disturbing in the extreme] – the US government under Biden was planning total control — they can and will de-bank you!

  Marc Andreessen is an American businessman and Silicon Valley stalwart. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface (GUI). He co-founded Netscape and the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is clearly one of the Fathers of the Internet. In 2012, Andreessen was named in the Times 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

  Last week, he was interviewed by Joe Rogan and revealed some startling facts of life in present day USA. He essentially revealed that America is already in the grip of Fascist ideology, The US Government seeks Total Control in partnership with a US Corporatocracy. They also seek total control of Artificial Intelligence and Technology companies. It would be foolish to ignore what he had to say.

  Marc Andreessen explained the secret de-banking of 30 technology company founders and anyone who dared to oppose the Biden Government politically. After being a lifelong supporter of the Democrat Party, he switched to being a supporter of Donald Trump after attending some meetings with unnamed US Government officials. “I ATTENDED ALARMING MEETINGS WITH THE US GOVERNMENT” — “THEY SEEK FULL GOVERNMENT CONTROL”

  In the interview, he deals with the subject of de-banking (the closing of bank accounts). BOOM’s transcripts of the video excerpts here are paraphrased as far as possible. It is sometimes hard to hear (exactly) every word he says in the recording. Andreessen is also speaking conversationally. Thus, to paraphrase what he said:

  Andreessen on Government Control of AI (Artificial Intelligence): 

  “The AI thing was very alarming. We had meetings in the Spring that are the most alarming meetings I have ever been in where they were taking us through their plans”. “Basically – full government, full government control. There will be a small number of large companies controlled by the Government. They told us not to launch Start-ups. Don’t even bother. There is no way for those to succeed.” “They said this is already over. It’s going to be two or three companies, and we’re just going to. We’re going to. We’re going to control them. And that’s that.”

  Rogan asks: 

  “When you leave a meeting like that, what do you go and do?” 

  Andreessen replies: 

  “You go and endorse Donald Trump” 

  🚨MARC ANDREESSEN: “We had meetings with the Biden admin where they told us to not even start AI companies because there’s no way they’ll let them succeed.”

  JOR ROGAN: “What do you do after a meeting like that?”

  MARC ANDREESSEN: “You go endorse Donald Trump.”

  LMAO!!! 😂🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ng0FZtDQT4

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 27, 2024

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  “THEY CAN AND WILL DE-BANK YOU” – 30 TECH FOUNDERS DE-BANKED. 

  Andreessen:

  “30 Founders of tech companies have been de-banked in the last 4 years. It’s been a big recurring pattern.” ……

  “There is no due process, no written record, there are no rules, there is no court, there is no decision process, there is no appeal.”

  “Who do you go to to get your bank account back?” 

  “This is one of the reasons why I ended up supporting Trump”. 

  NEW: Marc Andreessen explains to Joe Rogan how Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is being used to debank and sanction #Bitcoin companies with no due process pic.twitter.com/E9Fzc9cZ27

  — Simply Bitcoin (@SimplyBitcoinTV) November 27, 2024

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  THEY WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR KIDS.

  In another section of the interview, Andreessen says the Government will take your kids if you oppose them. This is chilling. 

  “Step one was they take away your driver’s license. Step two is they take away your insurance, and step three is to take away your kids. Right. And so, like, that was their version of this. And that was a very specific take away your kids. That was the threat at the end to the truckers at the Canada trucker strike.”

  GOVERNMENT WORKERS STAY AT HOME

  Andreessen: 

  After Covid,“most Federal workers never came back to work. They work from home. They still collect full Washington DC salaries. A very large percentage, like half. In one union agreement, workers only have to be in the office one day a month”.

   “Under the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), they have already announced – you can work from home but not for the Federal Government” 

  MOUSE WIGGLERS.

  Andreessen: 

  “Do you know about Mouse Wigglers? – They are physical devices that hold your mouse and they intermittently wiggle it” 

  🚨ANDREESSEN: “Have you heard of mouse wigglers? They’re physical devices that hold your mouse and intermittently wiggle it. A friend of mine runs a tech company and had a feeling his remote workers weren’t pulling their weight so he bought all the mouse wigglers from China you… pic.twitter.com/QFd2WHKfz0

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 27, 2024

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  CHINESE DRONES.

  Andreessen: 

  “The Chinese own the Drone market. 90% of US military and police drones are. Chinese-made. That is a very bad idea. Each drone has the potential to be a weapon—or a spy platform.” 

  Rogan: 

  “That sounds like a terrible security risk.” 

  Our national security is hanging by a thread:

  • 90% of US military drones are Chinese-made.
  • FAA regulations wiped out American manufacturers.

  Each drone has the potential to be a weapon—or a spy platform. pic.twitter.com/tldx5xuVOJ

  — Ben Averbook (@benaverbook) November 26, 2024

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  GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER YOUR FOOD. 

  Andreessen: 

  “The Government directly put itself into the food system, specifically (in regard to) High Fructose Corn Syrup. There are 450 US Government Agencies, one is the US DA (the US Department of Agriculture) which does the Food Pyramid which is upside-down. They promoted High Fructose Corn Syrup (as opposed to Sugar) which was a poisonous decision.” 

  They’ve already tested this level of control on our food system:

  • The USDA promoted high fructose corn syrup everywhere.
  • Created the infamous upside-down food pyramid.

  Now, they’re aiming for the same dominance over tech. pic.twitter.com/bIYzapFJCw

  — Ben Averbook (@benaverbook) November 26, 2024

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  SILICON VALLEY SPLIT IN TWO. 

  Andreessen: 

  “I have always been a Democrat. However … there are now two kinds of dinner parties in Silicon Valley. There’s one where everyone there believes every thing in the New York Times on that day. I am no longer invited to those. Then there’s the other kind”. 

  Silicon Valley is breaking under pressure:

  One side blindly follows every NYT narrative.

  The other sees the truth.

  “We’ve even split into two kinds of dinner parties.” pic.twitter.com/dwaI909RA0

  — Ben Averbook (@benaverbook) November 26, 2024

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  CONTROL THROUGH BIASED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE — MOST AI IS PROGRAMMED IN A POLITICAL DIRECTION. 

  In regard to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Andreessen describes how the US Government is seeking to have a rigid control on AI. And he describes how (most) AI has been developed with a political bias. 

  Andreessen: In describing how Artificial Intelligence is (mostly) politically biased, he explains how the Artificial Intelligence Program called Gemini (by Google) responded to a request for an image of a Nazi.

  “According to Gemini (Google AI), Hitler had an excellent DEI Policy. In reality, he did not and it is important to understand that. But Gemini happily threw up Black Nazis.”

  

  “They programmed AI to be biased, in a political direction. The LLMs (Large Language Models) are politically biased – 9 out of 10 of them. There’s a handful that aren’t. The Government plans a censorship regime on Artificial Intelligence just as it did on social media. If you thought social media censorship was bad, AI control will be 1000x worse. It’s going to be the control layer for everything: Your kids’ education, your loans, your front door. Does your house open?” 

  “If that happens, we are in for a very bad future”.

  “If you thought social media censorship was bad, AI control will be 1000x worse. It’s going to be the control layer for everything:

  Your kids’ education, your loans, your front door.” pic.twitter.com/7oVksN6zR8

  — Ben Averbook (@benaverbook) November 26, 2024

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

  THE FULL INTERVIEW: Readers can watch the full podcast on Youtube:

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 22:35

• US Life Expectancy Ranking Will Drop To 66th by 2050, Study Says
  US Life Expectancy Ranking Will Drop To 66th by 2050, Study Says

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The United States is set to fall in worldwide life expectancy ranking by mid-century, with widespread obesity adversely affecting people’s health, according to a recent study.

  

  The peer-reviewed study, published in The Lancet on Dec. 7, forecasted the life expectancy for Americans between 2022 and 2050 after taking into account the effect of more than 350 diseases and injuries.

  Study authors said overall life expectancy is projected to increase from 78.3 years in 2022 to 79.9 years in 2035, and to 80.4 years in 2050. The study said the increase “is forecasted to be modest compared with that in other countries around the world.”

  As a result, the United States’ global rank in terms of life expectancy is projected to decline from 49 in 2022 to 66 in 2050 among 204 nations and territories. In addition, ranking in terms of health-adjusted life expectancy, which estimates the average number of years a person lives in good health, is projected to fall from 80 to 108.

  Despite the slight increase in life expectancy, health improvements are expected to slow down in the nation as a result of obesity issues, according to professor Christopher J.L. Murray, co-senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

  Rising obesity rates are a “serious risk factor to many chronic diseases and forecasted to leap to levels never before seen,” he said a Dec. 5 statement from the institute.

  “The rise in obesity and overweight rates in the U.S., with IHME forecasting over 260 million people affected by 2050, signals a public health crisis of unimaginable scale,” he added.

  Researchers estimated that if authorities succeed in eliminating risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar by 2050, the United States will succeed in preventing the deaths of 12.4 million people.

  Life expectancy ranking of American females is forecast to drop from 51 in 2022 to 74 in 2050. For men, the ranking is expected to fall from 51 to 65.

  “These lower rankings put the U.S. below nearly all high-income and some middle-income countries,” the institute said.

  Researchers pointed out that the findings “highlight the alarming trajectory of health challenges in the USA, which, if left unaddressed, could lead to a reversal of the health progress made over the past three decades for some US states and a decline in global health standing for all states.”

  Between 1990 and 2021, mortality rates for several leading causes of death, such as stroke, cancer, and ischemic heart disease, declined nationwide, which caused life expectancy to improve during those three decades.

  The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

  Chronic Obesity

  The study’s categorization of excess weight as a key risk factor to good health comes as the United States is facing an obesity crisis.

  More than two in five American adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that more than 100 million Americans are obese and more than 22 million have severe obesity.

  Obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past decades, jumping from 30.5 percent in 1999–2000 to nearly 42 percent during 2017–2020, with rates of severe obesity almost doubling.

  “Many adults with obesity have other serious chronic diseases. For example, 58 percent of U.S. adults with obesity have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. Also, approximately 23 percent of U.S. adults with obesity have diabetes,” the agency says.

  During a hearing in December 2023, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) highlighted the issue of obesity among children, pointing out the link between having excess weight and getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

  The senator called for banning the advertising of junk food targeting children, saying that such a move could aid in reducing obesity rates among kids.

  “For decades, we have allowed large corporations in the food and beverage industry to entice children to eat foods loaded with sugar, salt, and saturated fat,“ he said. ”This situation has led to an addiction crisis, with ultra-processed foods being as addictive as alcohol and cigarettes.”

  In August, former President Donald Trump, now the president-elect, said that he plans on setting up a panel of experts to investigate the reasons for surging childhood health issues, including obesity.

  In a video from September, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, said chemicals in the soil and ultra-processed foods as contributing factors to the country’s obesity situation.

  The United States’ food supply is “loaded with high fructose corn syrup and seed oils and hundreds of artificial additives and flavors and processed carbohydrates that don’t exist in nature and that are banned in other countries,” Kennedy said.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 21:45

• US Cattle Crisis Worsens As Nation's Herd Size Continues Alarming Side Into Abyss
  US Cattle Crisis Worsens As Nation’s Herd Size Continues Alarming Side Into Abyss

  America’s beef cow inventory has steadily declined over the last half-decade, reaching 64-year lows and signaling a deepening crisis across the cattle industry. As the cattle crisis worsens, consumers should brace for higher ground beef prices.

  The shrinking beef supply has pushed the nation’s herd size to its smallest level since 1961. With severe droughts, high interest rates, costly feed prices, sliding farm income, surging farm debt, and a shifting consumer preference toward cheaper chicken, struggling ranchers have been culling heifers, preventing any meaningful recovery in the number of calves necessary to expand the nation’s herds.

  

  As Bloomberg reports, the nation’s cattle crisis is set to worsen with new pressures: first, President-elect Trump’s anticipated tariff war 2.0, which is expected to tighten domestic beef supplies, and second, immigration reform.

  “All of the things he is talking about have potentially negative consequences more so than anything positive,” Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, told Bloomberg, adding, “Our fate’s pretty well determined in the cattle industry in the U.S. for the next two to four years” – and it’s not looking good.”

  In February, the United States Department of Agriculture projected that the cattle herd could begin rebuilding by 2025. However, that timeline has since shifted to 2027. The reason is primarily because of high interest rates and poor pasture conditions in the Midwest. 

  

  “Even as the beef industry has experienced periods of growth over the past decades, the animal count has dropped almost 40% since a peak in 1975. During the current downcycle, which started in 2020, the herd has been shrinking at the fastest pace since the big farm crisis of the 1980s,” Bloomberg noted.

  If Trump introduces new tariffs, it could disrupt the flow of imported beef, further tightening domestic supplies. However, as Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA—a group representing cow-calf producers nationwide—explained, this move will drive up beef prices while encouraging investment in rebuilding the nation’s cattle herd. 

  Bullard said, “Tariffs will provide our industry an opportunity to invest in expansion and to begin rebuilding the herd that has been shrinking at an alarming rate,” adding, “Over the long term, consumers are going to be better served because we will no longer have such a dependency on imported products.”

  America’s beef supply relies heavily on small producers raising calves, but with herd levels at half-century lows—combined with new factors like tariffs and immigration reform that could drive prices even higher—consumers need to recognize that food inflation will likely remain sticky through the decade’s end.

  

  Earlier this year, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King told the BMO Global Farm to Market Conference that he wasn’t even sure when the nation’s collapsing herd size would reverse.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 21:20

• NASA Finds Underground 'City' Hidden 100 Feet Below Icy Surface
  NASA Finds Underground ‘City’ Hidden 100 Feet Below Icy Surface

  Via The Mind Unleashed,

  In the vast, icy expanses of Greenland, a place more synonymous with desolate, arctic landscapes than with the shadows of human history, NASA scientists have stumbled upon an extraordinary anomaly. Buried beneath a hundred feet of ice lies a remnant of a bygone era, originally hidden from the world above and shrouded in Cold War secrecy.

  

  What was initially just another radar scan over the frosty tundra turned into a discovery of an underground “city,” a relic of geopolitical strategies from a tension-filled past. This isn’t a tale of ancient civilizations, but rather a hidden chapter of recent history, now frozen in time, waiting to be uncovered. What secrets does this icy fortress hold?

  The Discovery of Camp Century

  In a groundbreaking exploration, NASA’s radar technology unveiled an extraordinary find beneath Greenland’s ice—a secret Cold War base known as Camp Century or “the city under the ice.” This discovery, made in April 2024 during a flight testing new radar equipment, revealed intricate underground structures that have not been seen so vividly until now.

  While NASA scientists were testing the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) mounted on a Gulfstream III aircraft, they captured a surprising image. Alex Gardner, a cryospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, noted, “We were looking for the bed of the ice and out pops Camp Century. We didn’t know what it was at first.”​ This advanced radar system is not your typical radar; it’s designed to give a more dimensional view of what lies beneath the ice by not only looking downward but also to the sides.

  The UAVSAR technology has proven pivotal in this discovery. It allowed the team to see the underground city in unprecedented detail, mapping out the camp’s layout against historical blueprints and revealing structures that conventional radar had missed. This novel imaging technique represents a significant leap in ice-penetrating radar technology, offering new ways to understand the geological and environmental history of icy regions​.

  

  Photo from NASA Earth Observatory

  The rediscovery of Camp Century is not just a historical curiosity but also provides crucial data for understanding ice sheet dynamics and the potential environmental impact of the materials left behind. As the climate changes, the ice sheets’ response is a vital area of study, with UAVSAR contributing to predictions about sea levels and ice stability​.

  History of Camp Century

  Camp Century, famously known as the “City Under the Ice,” was initially presented to the public as a pioneering Arctic research station. However, its true purpose was far more clandestine. Established in 1959 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, this secretive base was part of “Project Iceworm,” intended to test the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet directly against the Soviet Union.

  On the surface, Camp Century featured accommodations and amenities that supported scientific research and the daily needs of its inhabitants, including laboratories, a library, and living quarters. This facade supported its cover story as a hub for polar research, where significant scientific firsts occurred, such as drilling the first ice cores to provide data on the Earth’s past climate​.

  Beneath its scientific guise, the camp’s primary objective was far more militaristic. The U.S. planned to create a network of tunnels capable of housing and launching “Iceman” ballistic missiles. These facilities were meant to be part of a broader strategy to ensure the U.S. could respond to Soviet actions during the Cold War. The project was ambitious, aiming to house up to 600 nuclear missiles under the guise of Arctic scientific endeavors​.

  The base was constructed deep within the ice, with tunnels extending over several miles. Despite the innovative approach to Cold War military strategy, the project faced insurmountable challenges. The ice’s dynamic nature caused structural instabilities within the tunnels, leading to frequent maintenance issues and eventual abandonment of the missile plan. The shifting ice also posed significant risks to the structural integrity of the facility, leading to its decommission in 1967​.

  In the decades following its closure, concerns have grown over the environmental impact of the waste left behind, including low-level radioactive waste from the camp’s nuclear reactor. Studies suggest that as the climate warms and the ice melts, these contaminants could be released into the environment, posing new risks to the ecosystem​.

  Technological and Engineering Features of Camp Century

  The construction of Camp Century was a remarkable feat of engineering, designed to test the feasibility of establishing military facilities under the harsh conditions of the Greenland Ice Cap. This project was not only ambitious but also showcased a range of innovative construction techniques that have informed cold region engineering practices to this day.

  Camp Century was constructed using a “cut-and-cover” method where trenches were dug into the ice and then covered with arched steel structures. This method was crucial in creating the protective tunnels that formed the main structure of the base. The entire facility was then insulated to protect against the extreme cold and to ensure that the heat generated within the base did not cause the surrounding ice to melt​.

  To support its designation as a self-sustaining underground city, Camp Century included living quarters, a kitchen, a hospital, and even a movie theater, all powered by a groundbreaking portable nuclear reactor, the PM-2A. This reactor was a critical component of the base, providing a reliable power source in an environment where traditional fuel supplies would be logistically challenging to maintain​.

  The base’s design and construction required innovative solutions to numerous challenges, such as the structural integrity of buildings under ice and the management of thermal effects caused by the heat generated within the base. These innovations have left a lasting impact on polar construction techniques and have been studied for their potential applications in other remote and harsh environments​.

  Moreover, the data and experience gained from the construction and operation of Camp Century have been invaluable in the development of future designs for ice-cap camps. This project demonstrated that subsurface ice-cap camps are both feasible and practical, and that nuclear power can significantly reduce the logistical burdens of supporting isolated, remote military facilities​.

  Secrets Uncovered

  The unveiling of Camp Century’s true purpose marked a significant chapter in Cold War history. For years, the world believed that Camp Century was solely a scientific research station focusing on Arctic studies and ice core sampling. In reality, it was a cover for a highly classified military operation known as Project Iceworm.

  Initially portrayed as a peaceful research facility, Camp Century was publicly celebrated as a model of polar innovation and technological achievement. The facility was featured in documentaries and news articles, praising its advanced infrastructure and the potential scientific advancements it could bring​.

  The truth about Camp Century came to light in 1997 when the Danish Parliament published documents revealing that the base was intended to serve as an underground launch site for nuclear missiles targeted at the Soviet Union. This disclosure came as a shock to the international community, especially since Denmark had been assured that the operations at Camp Century were purely scientific​.

  This revelation not only strained U.S.-Danish relations but also raised significant ethical and legal questions about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland. The Danish government expressed deep concerns, as they had not consented to the militarization of their territory, which they were led to believe was being used for benign scientific purposes.

  The declassification of Project Iceworm’s objectives prompted a broader discussion about the environmental impact of the military base, particularly concerning the nuclear reactor used to power the camp. Concerns were raised about the potential release of radioactive materials stored under the ice, which could emerge due to the accelerating ice melt caused by global warming​.

  Camp Century’s Effect on the Environment

  The thawing of Greenland’s ice sheet is poised to reveal the remnants of Camp Century, including hazardous materials such as low-level radioactive waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are known carcinogens. This potential exposure is a significant environmental threat, as the melting ice could release these contaminants into the surrounding ecosystem and beyond​.

  As the ice melts, estimated projections suggest that by as early as 2090, the base could become exposed, unveiling not only the physical structure but also the environmental hazards contained within. This includes an estimated 9,200 tons of physical materials, 53,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and other toxic wastes such as PCBs, which have long-term persistence in the environment and can bioaccumulate in wildlife and humans​.

  The exposure of these contaminants poses not only environmental risks but also political and diplomatic challenges. The cleanup and management of this waste will require coordinated international efforts, potentially straining relationships between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland. The situation underscores the broader impacts of climate change, where thawing ice is not just a physical change but a catalyst for emerging political conflicts over accountability and environmental stewardship​.

  Echoes from the Ice: Reflecting on Camp Century’s Legacy

  The rediscovery and impending exposure of Camp Century not only unearths a relic of the Cold War but also reminds us of the lasting environmental impacts of human endeavors. This hidden base, once a symbol of military ingenuity, now poses significant environmental risks as the consequences of its hazardous wastes are set to re-emerge due to the warming climate. The challenges ahead are not only technical or environmental but also deeply political, involving negotiations and responsibilities that span across nations and generations.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:55

• ​​​​​​​Bean Mania: Arabica Coffee Hits New High, Cocoa Jumps To 7-Month High
  ​​​​​​​Bean Mania: Arabica Coffee Hits New High, Cocoa Jumps To 7-Month High

  Cash-strapped US consumers should be deeply concerned about rising food inflation. It’s ‘stickier’ than ever as coffee and cocoa prices surge.

  Arabica coffee futures in New York hit a record high on Tuesday, driven by ongoing fears of a global supply crunch. Prices surged nearly 5% during the session, reaching their highest level in data dating back to 1972. At that time, coffee prices soared due to the disastrous Black Frost, which devastated Brazilian yields.

  “Concerns over Brazil’s 2025-26 arabica crop grew this week,” said Steve Pollard, an analyst at Marex Group, as quoted by Bloomberg.

  Pollard added, “Recent crop tours point to production in the mid-30 million bags,” which would result in yet another supply shortfall.

  Major agricultural trader Volcafe Ltd. recently slashed Brazil’s arabica production outlook due to severe drought conditions. The trader projected that South America would produce just 34.4 million bags of arabica coffee in the next growing season, down 11 million bags from the prior September estimate, according to Bloomberg.

  Volcafe also forecasted a global coffee production shortfall of 8.5 million bags for the 2025-26 season, marking the fifth consecutive year of deficits.

  “We are currently experiencing a strong fundamental phase in the coffee market, which we expect to sustain the elevated price levels,” said Viktoria Kuszak, a research associate at Sucden Financial.

  

  In the cocoa market, the most active contract in New York jumped to the highest level in seven months over West Africa’s dismal production outlook, yet another crop experiencing dwindling global supplies.

  The most-active cocoa contract has jumped 58% to $10,500 per metric ton since late October, the highest since June. This comes as adverse weather dents supplies from top growers in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

  

  “The outlook for the mid-crops have deteriorated in the past weeks,” said Steve Wateridge, head of research at TRS by Expana, adding, “The weather conditions in next three months will determine whether we see further deterioration.”

  Broad food price trends via the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Food Price Index, which tracks international prices of a basket of globally traded foods, show that prices have alarmingly re-accelerated this year. 

  

  Back to the cocoa market: The new surge in bean prices certainly sits well with famed commodity trader Pierre Andurand’s bullish thesis earlier this year about worsening global supplies.

  The big takeaway is that food inflation is very sticky despite the government saying otherwise.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:30

• New York City Mayor Adams Working To Bypass City Council On Sanctuary City Law
  New York City Mayor Adams Working To Bypass City Council On Sanctuary City Law

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he is working to bypass the New York City Council to change the city’s sanctuary city law ahead of a meeting with the incoming Trump administration’s border czar.

  CBS News host Marcia Kramer asked Adams, a Democrat, about his pending meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, over illegal immigration in the city.

  Adams stated that he wants criminal illegal aliens deported first, adding that he may try to bypass the City Council-passed sanctuary law, which in part bars the city’s police department from telling federal immigration officials about criminals’ immigration status.

  “The City Council made it clear they don’t want to change that,” Adams told Kramer on Dec. 8, according to a transcript released by the mayor’s office.

  “They stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders.”

  

  He then said that he has “to protect the people of this city” and suggested that he may have “the power to do so.”

  “Prior to the election, even when I communicated to the president and his team, the current president, I stated over and over again we have to deal with the small number of violent offenders who are making their way into our country,” Adams said in the interview.

  “In particular, it’s a very dangerous Venezuelan gang. It is not the overwhelming number of migrants and asylum seekers. And many of these gang members are preying on migrants and asylum seekers also.”

  However, Adams said that because the City Council “made it clear” that it isn’t changing the sanctuary city law to allow cooperation with federal immigration officials, he is now going to “plan B” and looking at his options and powers as mayor.

  “I told the corporation counsel, give me what are my options,” the mayor said in the Dec. 8 interview.

  “As I stated almost a year ago, I want to look at those who are committing serious violent felonies in our city. And I want to know what are my powers.”

  The mayor earlier this year said he wanted the city’s immigration law changed, and he reiterated his stance after Trump’s win in November. He had publicly supported the sanctuary city designation during his mayoral campaign, writing on social media platform Twitter (now X) in October 2021 that New York City would “remain a sanctuary city” if he won.

  Homan and Adams are scheduled to meet in the coming days, the mayor said earlier this month.

  “I want to hear the actual plan, and how are we going to operationalize the plan,” Adams told MSNBC on Dec. 5, reiterating that he wants to target illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes in the city.

  Homan, a former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has issued multiple warnings to sanctuary cities ahead of Trump’s inauguration next month.

  In November, Homan suggested that Denver Mayor Mike Johnston could face criminal charges following Johnston’s remarks to a local media outlet that he would direct police to block federal immigration officials from apprehending illegal aliens.

  In multiple interviews, Homan has said that Trump wants to focus on deporting criminal illegal immigrants first but has also said that any unauthorized individual residing in the United States could face deportation.

  Over the weekend, Trump told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that he may deport families with mixed immigration statuses to avoid separating children from their parents and vowed that he will move to end birthright citizenship.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:05

• "Parasites Simply Had It Coming": Luigi Mangione's Manifesto Published Online By Journalist
  “Parasites Simply Had It Coming”: Luigi Mangione’s Manifesto Published Online By Journalist

  Update (1952ET):

  Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein released what appears to be Luigi Mangione’s manifesto.

  Klippenstein wrote on his website:

  “I’ve obtained a copy of suspected killer Luigi Mangione’s manifesto — the real one, not the forgery circulating online. Major media outlets are also in possession of the document but have refused to publish it and not even articulated a reason why. My queries to The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC to explain their rationale for withholding the manifesto, while gladly quoting from it selectively, have not been answered.”

  Here’s the full manifesto shared by the journalist:

  “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”

  NBC News’ Ben Goggin commented on the manifesto published by Klippenstein: “Seeing many fake manifestos being published — the one published by Ken matches what NBC has reported here as real.” 

  Seeing many fake manifestos being published — the one published by Ken matches what NBC has reported here https://t.co/bG08GErbn2 https://t.co/Udg4zAsSrM pic.twitter.com/1tJxPXfMNk

  — Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) December 10, 2024

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

  Klippenstein noted. 

  media independently confirms the authenticity of my article with their own law enforcement sources🎯 pic.twitter.com/1zMGc9glrP

  — Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) December 10, 2024

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

  Frank Figliuzzi, former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, told NBC’s “TODAY” that murder suspect Mangione fits the profile of an ‘activist killer’… 

  *   *   *

  The 26-year-old Ivy League school graduate, Luigi Mangione, charged in the murder of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, will fight extradition to New York City.

  “My client will not waive extradition today,” Manginone’s lawyer said, quoted by Fox News.  

  Mangione was denied bail on Monday and will remain at the State Correctional Institution—Huntingdon, Pennsylvania—until proper paperwork is filed.

  Mangione’s extradition challenge has kicked off the process requiring a warrant issued by the New York governor’s office to allow him to be transported to the state, where he would then be arraigned at the criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan. 

  Ahead of the extradition proceeding at the Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania, Mangione yelled to reporters: “It is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” 

  🚨 #BREAKING: Luigi Mangione just SCREAMED at reporters and struggled with police as he was escorted into court

  Holy CRAP 😳

  “It is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!”

  What the hell is going on??pic.twitter.com/VAvSYzBfA1

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 10, 2024

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

  “The New York Police Department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is seeking the Defendant’s extradition pursuant to this Warrant of Arrest,” an extradition filing obtained by Fox News said. 

  The criminal complaint against Mangione in New York has yet to be made public. In New York, criminal complaints remain closed until a defendant is arraigned. 

  NYC prosecutors charged Mangione with murder late Monday night, according to court records. He was slapped with criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a firearm suppressor in the horrific killing of Thompson nearly one week ago outside a Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel. 

  

  Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told Fox News: “The complaint itself remains sealed.” 

  “Thompson’s killing captivated the public, with some corners of the internet deeming Mangione a quasi-folk hero for striking a blow against the insurance industry,” the Wall Street Journal noted. 

  Mangione was arrested on Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Investigators are still piecing together Mangione’s connection to UnitedHealth. 

  Former schoolmates at the private Gilman School in Baltimore told The New York Times that Mangione’s family had reached out to them this year, saying they had been trying to contact their son for several months following his back surgery.

  The banner photo on Mangione’s X account features an X-ray image of what appears to be a person’s back following a spinal fusion procedure.

  

  The Daily Mail reported, “Mangione had suffered after a back condition called spondylolisthesis was worsened by a surfing accident,” adding that he was “believed to have had back surgery sometime in 2023 but is feared to have suffered continued complications afterward.” 

  The San Francisco Standard reported that Mangione’s mother reported him missing to the San Francisco Police Department on November 18. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:52

• Taliban & Hamas 'Congratulate' Syrian People & Julani After Assad Fall
  Taliban & Hamas ‘Congratulate’ Syrian People & Julani After Assad Fall

  The hardline and extremist Islamic groups Hamas and the Taliban have been among the first regional entities to offer congratulations to the Islamist-led ‘rebels’ and the Syrian people after the overthrow of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

  Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced the following on Sunday soon after al-Qaeda spinoff Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gained control of the presidential palace and government ministries and state media stations in Damascus:

  “We express hope that the process of power transition be carried out in a manner aligned with the aspirations of the Syrian people, paving path for the establishment of an independent and service-oriented Islamic government,” a foreign ministry statement said, calling for Syria to be able to “move forward free from external interference”.

  

  Hamas in Gaza had a similar message, praising the Syrian people for achieving their “aspirations for freedom and justice” after the Syrian Army collapsed and Assad fled the country.

  In Hamas’ first public statement on the Syria crisis, the group said: “We stand strongly with the great people of Syria […] and respect the will, the independence and the political choices of the people of Syria.”

  Hamas further expressed hope that post-Assad Syria will continue “its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people.”

  The head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziad Al-Nakhala, also issued a congratulations, offering similar words. All of the aforementioned groups are considered terrorists by Washington and many governments around the world.

  But in the case of HTS which now rules Damascus and much of the major cities in Syria, Washington and London are reportedly mulling whether to drop the formal terror listing.

  The Israeli government has issued a warning to HTS and the jihadist factions in Damascus, saying that they will go the way of Assad if they threaten Israel. IDF tanks are meanwhile just about 25km to the south of Damascus, after moving in the country ostensibly to secure a ‘buffer zone’.

  The groups now in control of Syria have an ideology no different than the Taliban’s, and in many cases are even more extreme…

  Taliban in Latakia today,they didn’t enter Alawite villages,but they are in city coast. says: we “conquered” Levant for Islamic Sharia & defeat”polytheism”
  طالبان باللاذقية
  يمنع منعا باتا الالتزام بالبيانات الصادرة عن مشايخ الطايفة العلوية التي تدعو شعبنا العلوي الى تسليم السلاح pic.twitter.com/brY3NCHkyz

  — AlawiteMuslimDefenceLeague (@AlawiteLeague) December 9, 2024

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

  The head of HTS and new ruler of Damascus, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, had in his ‘victory’ speech from Umayyad Mosque praised the “heroic mujahideen”. Julani said, “Today, Syria is purified, thanks to God almighty… Thanks to God almighty, then thanks to the heroic mujahideen.” 

  He and his fighters have long been on record as seeking to establish an ‘Islamic State’ and governance based on Sharia law. The Assad government had represented the last secular state in the Middle East, belonging to the Baath party.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:40

• China's Oil Demand Could Peak In 2025
  China’s Oil Demand Could Peak In 2025

  By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

  

  Oil demand in China, the world’s top crude importer, could peak as early as next year as the penetration of electric vehicles and LNG trucks is accelerating, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Tuesday.

  At this time last year, CNPC expected a peak in oil demand coming to China by 2030.

  Now, after a year of EVs and LNG-fueled trucks displacing some gasoline and diesel demand, respectively, the peak in China’s oil demand may occur five years earlier, in 2025, according to a report by CNPC economists carried by Bloomberg.

  China’s oil demand growth has been slowing down due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks, oil industry executives said at the APPEC conference in Singapore in September.

  Although some of the weakness is attributable to weaker economic performance, the shift toward EVs and LNG trucks is removing some road fuel demand permanently, analysts say.

  China’s shift toward EVs will bring about domestic gasoline demand peaking either this year or next, according to Vitol Group’s CEO Russell Hardy.

  “Gasoline is likely to peak this year or next year in China — not because nobody’s moving, but simply because the fleet is slowly changing towards electric vehicles,” the top executive of the world’s largest independent oil trader told Bloomberg in an interview in September.

  Earlier this year, Vitol pushed back its expected timeline for global peak oil demand beyond 2030. Hardy said in February that a slower pace of the energy transition would push peak oil demand beyond 2030.

  Nevertheless, Vitol sees weakening Chinese gasoline demand growth and diesel demand due to the electrification of transport and greater use of LNG for fueling trucks.

  The rise of electric vehicles and the growing use of LNG in trucking have combined with slower-than-expected economic growth and activity to dent China’s oil demand growth and undermine earlier forecasts of global oil demand this year.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:15

• Americans Are Driving Their Older Cars Into The Ground
  Americans Are Driving Their Older Cars Into The Ground

  Americans, hit by inflation, higher interest rates, and supply-chain issues, are buying fewer new vehicles. The four-year average for annual sales is now 15.5 million, down from 17.7 million pre-pandemic, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

  The slowdown in new car sales might seem like good news for auto repair and parts companies, as older vehicles typically need more maintenance. Cars between four and eleven years old are in the “sweet spot” for repairs, yet signs show many Americans are cutting back on maintenance spending, according to the Wall Street Journal.

  In May, tire retailer Monro reported a sharp decline in same-store sales, citing low- to middle-income consumers opting for cheaper, off-brand tires due to a glut of imports. Spending on services like brakes and shocks dropped even more.

  

  Similarly, in September, Genuine Parts, owner of Napa auto-supply stores, experienced its worst single-day stock drop in decades, as retail sales fell significantly. CEO William Stengel blamed a “cautious end consumer deferring certain service and maintenance-related purchases.”

  The Journal wrote that Valvoline also reported weaker-than-expected sales recently, with its shares falling 9%. CEO Lori Flees noted that competitors, like tire service centers, were offering discounted oil changes to attract traffic, as many consumers delayed core services.

  Carfax data shows 30% of vehicles in the U.S. are overdue for tire rotation and 19% for an oil change. This penny-pinching is widespread, with lower-income households trading down to cheaper options across industries. However, skimping on car maintenance could backfire.

  A no-name tire costing $149.99 for a Ford Explorer comes with a 40,000-mile warranty, while a Goodyear option priced at $254 offers a 60,000-mile warranty and better safety.

  

  The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index is up 36% over five years, meaning maintenance investments now have a greater payoff. Still, iconic brands like Goodyear, which saw an 8.3% drop in tire sales in the Americas last quarter, face pressure from cheap imports that are gaining market share.

  However, while motorists might trade down on parts, they still need local services—an advantage foreign manufacturers can’t replicate.

  The rise in EV sales, which require less maintenance, could impact auto parts stores and quick-lube chains, but it’s too recent to explain the current dip in spending, the report says. 

  Pandemic-related shifts, like remote work and fewer miles driven since 2020, have also played a role, though driving levels have recently returned to 2019 norms.

  Maintenance spending should stabilize as wear-and-tear returns to normal, even if the economy weakens. Historically, during downturns like the 2007-2009 recession, auto-parts retailers outperformed, with the three most retail-focused chains beating the S&P 500 by an average of 55 percentage points.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:50

• Landlords Increasingly Faced With Squatters, Sometimes With Deadly Consequences
  Landlords Increasingly Faced With Squatters, Sometimes With Deadly Consequences

  Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A property manager in Phoenix says that dealing with itinerant “squatters” is one of the least pleasant parts of the real estate business.

  Sometimes, you can’t control what happens, Calvin Favata with Your Holdings told The Epoch Times.

  Rashaad Johnson, 29, had been renting a Your Holdings unit in South Phoenix for about two months and never had any trouble. But he was a “nice guy” who sometimes let squatters who lived in the vacant house across the street use his bathroom shower, Favata said.

  

  Favata said the shower situation soon “got out of hand,” and the company had to stop it.

  “We even put padlocks and deadbolt [locks] on the bathroom doors so they couldn’t use it,” Favata said.

  On Oct. 14, one of the squatters asked Johnson to use the shower, but when he refused, the man dressed in body armor allegedly told Johnson he was going to get his gun.

  The man returned and killed Johnson, as well as wounding another tenant, a 32-year-old woman who was with him.

  Phoenix police charged Refugio Jimenez, 49, with first-degree murder and burglary, including misconduct involving body armor, felony drug possession, and other crimes.

  Favata said that Johnson’s senseless death was apparently “over a shower.”

  “Since then, I’ve been here every day. We’ve got cameras back up,” Favata told The Epoch Times as he picked up tools from the back of his company truck outside the residence.

  He said squatters have always been an issue and it’s hard to get rid of them. The situation has gotten worse in the Phoenix area in recent months.

  

  

  “It’s pretty much any house you see that’s vacant. I thought it would be pretty much here and there,” Favata said.

  “The one [property] we just bought, I had to do all the electrical and plumbing. They took all the copper out of the house.”

  ‘Snowbirds’ Targeted

  Scott Blake is the constable for the Hassayampa District, one of the largest districts in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The district includes Phoenix.

  Blake, like Favata, said he has seen more squatters in recent months. The situation appears driven by increasing homelessness, rent costs, and the snowbird phenomenon.

  In the summer, thousands of snowbirds will leave their Arizona property for milder climates and return in the winter. Some seasonal residents return to find a total stranger living in their home and refusing to leave.

  “There is a group of people in society that wants to live for as little as possible. If they can live for free, they do,” Blake said.

  “It’s more frequent than it ever was. I see it once a week now. A lot of times, when the squatter is confronted by law enforcement, they will leave. It’s very rare that it goes as far as me.”

  Blake said that the shooting in Phoenix shows what can happen when a landlord or tenant confronts an alleged squatter.

  Recent incidents in other states have put the issue in the spotlight.

  

  Two suspected squatters were arrested in March for allegedly killing an apartment resident in New York City and stuffing her body inside a duffel bag in Pennsylvania, according to news reports.

  In October, Los Angeles police said that a homeowner in Van Nuys was attacked by a suspected squatter. The homeowner managed to pin down the trespasser when officers arrived.

  Another alleged squatter was arrested in May for first and second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of two men hired to clean a house, local media reported.

  Blake said that getting rid of a squatter is an often complicated matter, and each state has its version of “squatters rights.”

  According to turbotenant.com, squatters in Arizona can make landlords’ lives extremely difficult once they’ve settled into a property.

  “Even more anxiety-inducing, if a squatter stays on a property long enough and meets specific requirements, they might eventually be able to claim it as their own through a legal process called adverse possession,” the website stated.

  A Notice to Vacate is issued to squatters to leave the property within a certain period to begin the eviction process under Arizona law. The next step is to file an eviction lawsuit in court to remove squatters.

  Blake said that the entire process can take up to 21 days.

  “In Arizona, we are blessed with one of the fastest eviction procedures in the United States,” he said. “In some states like California, the process can take as long as a year.”

  An ‘Invasion’ of Squatters

  The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) reports that squatters have become a significant problem in California and across the United States.

  “Thousands of properties across America are being invaded by squatters, who move in and live rent-free causing major damage, or in worse cases, injury or death to property owners—and there’s really no expedient, easy legal way for property owners or the police to remove them,” according to the organization’s website.

  

  The group said the internet and dark forums have become a clearinghouse for advice on how to break into someone else’s home and “establish a right to be there.”

  Blake said that, in some cases, a squatter may produce a fake lease to show police, who then treat squatting as a civil matter.

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:25

• Here's How Manhattan DA Plans To Keep Trump Case Alive
  Here’s How Manhattan DA Plans To Keep Trump Case Alive

  Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – who had a Biden DOJ plant in his legal case against former President Donald Trump – is trying to ensure his hush money case doesn’t vanish into thin air as Trump prepares for his return to the White House.

  

  According to court filings revealed Tuesday, Bragg’s office is fiercely opposed to dismissing the case outright but is open to pausing proceedings while Trump serves his second term as president.

  The 82-page legal brief, prosecutors’ most detailed argument yet, stops short of recommending an explicit course of action but outlines several ways to keep the case alive. Among them: delaying sentencing until after Trump leaves office in 2029 or freezing the case while leaving the jury’s guilty verdict intact, The Hill reports.

  “The extreme remedy of dismissing the indictment and vacating the jury verdict is not warranted in light of multiple alternative accommodations that would fully address the concerns raised by presidential immunity,” wrote Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.

  The filing comes as Trump, now president-elect, wages a legal battle to quash the 34 felony charges stemming from hush money payments to an adult film star. Trump’s lawyers claim his status as president-elect grants him immunity and demands immediate dismissal.

  Prosecutors, however, aren’t buying it. They argue that immunity doesn’t apply until Trump is inaugurated, meaning the case could theoretically proceed to sentencing before January 20, 2025 — a prospect Trump has vowed to fight tooth and nail.

  

  Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, will now decide the case’s fate, with a ruling expected any day.

  A Legal Tightrope

  The DA’s office acknowledged the complications of prosecuting a sitting president but stopped short of saying the case should be completely shelved.

  Trump was convicted by a Manhattan Jury ‘of his peers’ on 34 counts of falsifying business records, however his reelection to the highest office in the land has put a damper on prosecutors’ plans.

  Sentencing was initially scheduled for last month, only to be postponed indefinitely by Judge Merchan, making it increasingly unlikely Trump will face punishment anytime soon.

  That would leave open the possibility that Trump could still proceed to sentencing in 2029, after he leaves office.

  Alternatively, state prosecutors said the judge could terminate the case without tossing Trump’s conviction, noting a jury verdict removed the presumption of innocence, he was never sentenced and his conviction was “neither affirmed nor reversed” on appeal because of presidential immunity. -The Hill

  Trump’s legal team is crying foul, claiming the prosecution disrupts his transition efforts and his ability to govern effectively. “Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts and his preparations to wield the full Article II executive power authorized by the Constitution pursuant to the overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024,” Trump’s attorneys fumed in a recent filing.

  

  Prosecutors hit back, accusing Trump of using delay tactics to muddy the waters. “Having filed those motions to dismiss and then sought repeated adjournments of sentencing to permit their determination by this Court, it is particularly brazen for defendant to argue that the Supremacy Clause bars the Court from taking any action on the motions defendant himself filed,” Conroy wrote.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:00

• Hurricane Helene Recovery In North Carolina Town Fueled By Devoted Locals
  Hurricane Helene Recovery In North Carolina Town Fueled By Devoted Locals

  Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Nestled in the mountains of Yancey County in western North Carolina, Burnsville looks like a town that might feature in a Norman Rockwell painting or a Hallmark Christmas movie.

  

  Even before Thanksgiving, the town square was decorated for Christmas. Antique shops, cafes, and coffee houses dot Main Street, bustling with activity. On the surface, it appears to be a typical holiday season, but all is not as it seems. Two months after Hurricane Helene struck the region, Burnsville and Yancey County are still on a long path to recovery.

  Crystal Capps, a real estate agent whose family has lived in Yancey County for several generations, said immediate and long-term assistance is essential for ensuring locals’ safety and enabling them to remain in the region.

  “There is a sense of urgency. Winter weather is here. People are tough in these mountains, but it’s cold— too cold for people to be sleeping in tents and in their cars,” Capps told The Epoch Times. “I saw houses floating down the river when Helene hit. I’ll never forget that. For those who survived but are displaced, they need help.”

  Capps is one of several Burnsville natives, including many friends from Mountain Heritage High School, who serve on the board of the Appalachian Disaster Coalition.

  “We have a lot of work to do, but we have hope, and we are doing all we can to give hope to people who are struggling,” she said.

  Bradley Honeycutt was born and raised in Yancey County. His parents live on a 48-acre mountainside property and have cattle and horses.

  Honeycutt helped start the Appalachian Disaster Coalition just days after the storm. He was born and raised here and graduated in 2006 from Mountain Heritage High School.

  Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. It left a swath of destruction throughout the Southeast extending to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

  Raging floodwaters and landslides from Hurricane Helene reached western North Carolina on Sept. 27, devastating urban and rural communities and severely damaging roads, homes, and power sources.

  Just before Helene hit, storms drenched Asheville and surrounding western North Carolina towns when a weather front stalled over the Appalachian Mountains. Some areas received more than a foot of rain, saturating the land before Helene arrived.

  

  Hundreds of roads were blocked or completely washed away, requiring rescue crews to reach victims by mule, horseback, and on foot. Search and rescue efforts, and delivery of supplies, were challenging because many residents who live on a mountainside only have one way in and one way out.

  Honeycutt heard about what was happening in western North Carolina on the news. He tried to reach his parents all day on Sept. 27.

  Finally, a cousin connected a Starlink terminal to a generator, enabling internet access, and contacted him through Facebook Messenger, he told The Epoch Times.

  “It’s really bad,” he was told. “We don’t know what the rest of the county looks like, and we have not heard from your mom and dad,” his cousin said.

  Honeycutt booked a flight to Charlotte and arrived at his parents’ property on Sept. 28.

  “They weren’t there when I got to the house. I knew they were safe because the generators were running and the lights were on. When they pulled into the driveway, we hugged and talked for around an hour. Then I said, ‘I gotta go and see what I can do.’” he said.

  Honeycutt contacted friends who had experience with search and rescue after disasters. They traveled to Yancey County to help.

  Friends in Dallas, where he is finishing a degree in architecture and design with the intent to return to Burnsville and open a business, established social media accounts under the name “Bradley Loves Burnsville.”

  The accounts gained followers, and Honeycutt outlined the area’s immediate needs to them.

  “We needed propane. We needed gas. Before we knew it, a tanker with 11,000 gallons of gas arrived. Necessities and other items like generators started coming in. It was chaos,” Honeycutt said. “There was no outside communication since cell phones didn’t work. No water. No power. It was dark, and we were on our own.”

  Recognizing immediate and long-term needs for temporary and permanent housing, and trauma therapy, Honeycutt established an incorporated nonprofit called Appalachian Disaster Coalition.

  The current priority is getting displaced residents into campers and temporary homes, Honeycutt said. The group has partnered with other nonprofits to expand their capabilities. Eventually, they plan to build 30 three-bedroom, two-bath, single-family homes for locals in Yancey County.

  Appalachian Disaster Coalition and other independent groups are important in ensuring the town isn’t forgotten, Honeycutt said.

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 17:40

• GM To Wind Down Cruise Robotaxi Operations
  GM To Wind Down Cruise Robotaxi Operations

  General Motors is winding down its Cruise robotaxi division, according to a new report from Bloomberg. 

  GM’s exit from the market leaves Google’s Waymo and Tesla as the two main names in autonomous driving. The division “proved costly and full of reputational pitfalls” for General Motors, the report said.

  GM and Cruise will merge technical teams to focus on autonomous tech for future GM vehicles, halting robotaxi development due to high costs and stiff competition, the company announced Tuesday.

  This marks a significant shift after Cruise weathered industry challenges and resumed operations following a high-profile incident last year.

  The Bloomberg report said that GM’s retreat from the robotaxi business reshapes its ambitions. CEO Mary Barra’s vision of transforming GM into a tech-driven company with $50 billion from Cruise now seems distant. The move aligns GM with its core car-making focus, abandoning mobility-as-a-service goals.

  

  This shift comes as Waymo expands and Tesla targets a 2026 robotaxi launch. Cruise had resumed operations with safety drivers in Dallas and Houston and planned California testing before the pivot.

  The DOJ and SEC were among multiple agencies probing GM Cruise after a collision with a pedestrian last October. 

  Following the incident, California revoked Cruise’s permits, citing the company’s lack of transparency. A review by law firm Quinn Emanuel cleared Cruise executives of intentional deception but criticized their leadership and confrontational attitude towards regulators. The victim survived the accident.

  Recall back in December 2023 we noted that Cruise was slashing 24% of its workforce as part of a restructuring. The autonomous driving unit at the time said it would lay off 900 of its 3,800 employees, most of whom were in the commercial operations and related corporate functions.

  Exemplifying the difficulties of autonomy, the news came on the same day it was reported that Tesla was sued by the family of a deceased driver who lost his life during an accident where a car was purportedly operating on ‘Autopilot’. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 17:20

• Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked By Court In Latest Anti-M&A Farce By Biden Admin
  Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked By Court In Latest Anti-M&A Farce By Biden Admin

  The Biden administration, desperate to make an impact somewhere, anywhere, in its final, dying days, has struck again.

  Just around the time we learned that Biden was set to finally kill the Nippon Steel of US steel, we learned that a federal judge had also blocked supermarket giant Kroger from acquiring Albertsons, siding with that anti-M&A puppet of various outgoing socialist interests, Lina Khan, who said the $20 billion supermarket merger would erode competition and raise prices for consumers, when in reality it will only lead to more supermarket failures, fewer jobs and even higher prices for consumers.

  U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson agreed with the Federal Trade Commission’s argument that Kroger would become the dominant player in traditional supermarkets if allowed to add nearly 2,000 stores by taking over Albertsons, its smaller rival. Nelson rejected the companies’ counterargument that selling 579 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers would replace the lost competition.

  “Evidence shows that defendants engage in substantial head-to-head competition and the proposed merger would remove that competition,” Nelson wrote in the ruling, clearly unaware that grocers have a less than 1% profit margin, or that a similar ruling blocked the Jetblue-Spirit merger less than a year ago, culminating with Spirit’s bankruptcy, mass layoffs and even higher prices for those carriers who remained.

  The decision is a significant milestone for the FTC under the Biden administration, whose chair Lina Khan has waged legal battles to stop megadeals rather than accept companies’ proposed fixes to address competition concerns.

  For the companies, the decision is a major blow to a deal that executives have said is critical for competing against bigger retail powers like Walmart and Amazon. Attorneys for Kroger and Albertsons have previously said they would likely abandon the deal if the judge sided with the FTC.

  An FTC spokesman said the ruling “protects competition in the grocery market, which will prevent prices from rising even more.”

  As the WSJ reports, Kroger and Albertsons had both spent hundreds of millions of dollars on lawyers, bankers and other advisers since they announced the deal in October 2022, according to securities filings. If the deal is called off, Kroger has to pay Albertsons a $600 million breakup fee.

  Kroger is the biggest traditional U.S. supermarket operator by sales, representing about 9% of the grocery market, while Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket with 5% of American grocery sales. Both companies have been surpassed by megaretailer Walmart, which for decades has been the country’s biggest seller of groceries, and Costco’s grocery sales have nearly caught up to Kroger’s.

  The deal with Albertsons would have nearly doubled Kroger’s total store count, exceeding the scale of Walmart’s 3,500 supercenters. Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s longtime chief executive, had pledged to eventually invest $1 billion annually in lowering prices at the acquired Albertsons stores, where he said prices typically run 10% to 12% above a Kroger store.

  But FTC attorneys argued the deal would only give Kroger a reason to increase prices by removing a competitor. The FTC said the merger would result in excessive concentration of supermarket ownership in over 1,900 local markets across the country, far more than what the companies acknowledged.

  Kroger and Albertsons compete head to head for consumers in many markets, especially on the West Coast and in states such as Colorado and the city of Chicago.

  Nelson’s order granting the FTC a preliminary injunction doesn’t immediately kill the deal. The FTC and the parties could continue to litigate a separate case testing the legality of the merger in the agency’s in-house court. A trial before an FTC administrative law judge is scheduled for no sooner than Dec. 18.

  Kroger shares closed 5.1% higher, while Albertsons stock dropped 2.7%.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 16:40

• Opposition To Woke Progressivism Energizes Trump Coalition
  Opposition To Woke Progressivism Energizes Trump Coalition

  Authored by Peter Berkowitz via RealClearPolitics,

  In January, Republicans will gain undivided control of the federal government’s political branches. Yet President-elect Donald Trump’s comfortable 312-226 electoral-college victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and his narrow margin in the popular vote – 49.9% to 48.4% – do not constitute a landslide. Considering also Republicans’ razor-thin House majority and several vulnerable seats the 53-47 Republican Senate majority must defend in 2026, it is early to speak of a national political realignment. Whether the GOP expands and establishes firmly the impressive multi-racial and multi-ethnic working-class coalition that Trump built over the last nine years turns on the coalition’s composition and the forces that unified it around the most unlikely of two-term presidents.

  

  In 2024, Trump enjoyed stunning, nearly across-the-board improvements over his 2020 performance. The president-elect increased his numbers in 2,764 of America’s 3,112 counties – including those that tend Democratic – while all 50 states shifted right. Trump achieved “unprecedented” levels of support for a Republican presidential candidate among black, Latino, and Asian peoples. Although female voters went 53% to 46% to Harris, Trump bettered his results with women. And, in a mid-November CBS news poll, 57% of adults in the United States under 30 were happy or satisfied with Trump’s victory and 58% of those 30-44 years of age. Harris surpassed President Joe Biden’s 2020 results only among white, college-educated voters.

  Several factors propelled citizens of different groups to vote for Trump. As Fareed Zakaria observes, Trump “celebrated risk-taking and spoke the language of disruption and radical reform,” which attracted men, entrepreneurs, and technologists. Moreover, the GOP nominee faced a weak opponent who, until three months before the election, conspired with her party and the press to pretend that the unpopular president was as sharp as ever. The perception that Biden presided over lawless migration, high inflation, and indulgence of crime fomented discontent, especially among the working class. In addition, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and transgender activism, which flourished under the Biden administration, angered Trump voters. DEI impelled the federal bureaucracy, big business, major media, and universities to disparage merit as a bigoted standard and to provide preferential treatment to non-Jewish and non-Asian minorities and women. Transgender activism denied the public relevance of biological differences between men and women.

  Many Trump voters view the Democratic Party as “woke.” So do some Trump critics, prominent among them New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who maintained shortly after the election that “woke is broke.” The term originally emerged in the 1940s among African Americans who described as woke those acquiring awareness of injustice in society. In today’s national conversation about politics woke refers to fashionable progressive opinions about society, morality, and politics contrived in universities and spread by elites to government, corporations, the mainstream media, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley.

  Woke progressivism is not a fixed creed or settled doctrine but embraces a mix of recognizable and interrelated attitudes, ideas, and goals. Typically, woke progressives maintain that society is divided into oppressors and oppressed. They equate virtue with victimhood. They teach that white supremacy and male supremacy gave birth to the United States and that systemic racism and sexism permeate America’s unwritten norms, founding principles, and basic political institutions. They insist that social justice requires government and private organizations to discriminate against white men to ensure that the minorities and women whom they oppress acquire positions of wealth, status, and power at least equal to their proportion in society. They reject civility, toleration, and colorblindness as hopelessly compromised by their association with America’s corrupt constitutional heritage. And they despise dissent from their axioms and aims, which they interpret as dispositive evidence of dissenters’ racism and sexism.

  Woke progressivism promotes the social, political, and economic attainment of minorities with privileged status on the hierarchy of grievance – especially those already moving in elite circles. And it advances careers of highly credentialed white people by signaling their rectitude to fellow initiates while giving the pleasure of lording their moral refinement over the clueless rabble.

  Yet woke progressivism’s appeal is limited. It is an ideology that is poorly designed to win over white men or, for that matter, their wives, mothers, and daughters who in many cases take umbrage at the vilification of their husbands, sons, and fathers. It also rankles men and women of all races and ethnicities who believe that America, for all its shortcomings, remains a land of hope and opportunity. And it appears illiberal and antidemocratic to the inspiring diversity of persons who hold that inherent human dignity requires equal respect for the rights of all. The combination of vilified white men, the females who love them, and nonwhite citizens who feel gratitude for American freedom and opportunity seems to embrace a majority of citizens.

  In “Academe’s Divorce From Reality,” recently published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, William Deresiewicz indicates that Trump voters rightly associated woke progressivism with the Biden administration. An essayist, scholar, and longtime critic of universities’ betrayal of liberal education, Deresiewicz argues that the election represented a referendum on “the politics of the academy.” That politics converges with woke progressivism. “Its ideas, its assumptions, its opinions and positions – as expressed in official statements, embodied in policies and practices, established in centers and offices, and espoused and taught by large and leading portions of the professoriate – have been rejected,” he maintains.

  “Over the last 10 years or so” – as Americans’ confidence in higher education plummeted – “a cultural revolution has been imposed on this country from the top down,” according to Deresiewicz. “Its ideas originated in the academy, and it’s been carried out of the academy by elite-educated activists and journalists and academics.”

  Overlapping in many respects with Biden-administration sympathies and objectives, this university-driven cultural revolution aims at “decriminalization or nonprosecution of property and drug crimes and, ultimately, the abolition of police and prisons; open borders, effectively if not explicitly; the suppression of speech that is judged to be harmful to disadvantaged groups; ‘affirmative’ care for gender-dysphoric youth (puberty blockers followed by cross-sex hormones followed, in some cases, by mastectomies) and the inclusion of natal males in girls’ and women’s sports; and the replacement of equality by equity – of equal opportunity for individuals by equal outcomes for designated demographic groups – as the goal of social policy.”

  The university-driven cultural revolution anathematizes fundamental institutions and rejects nature, “insist[ing] that the state is evil, that the nuclear family is evil, that something called ‘whiteness’ is evil, that the sex binary, which is core to human biology, is a social construct.”

  It mobilizes the federal government, higher education, and the private sector to establish and manage “the DEI regimes, the training and minders and guidelines, that have blighted American workplaces, including academic ones.”

  It commandeers language to compel obedience to its dictates, “promulgat[ing] an ever-shifting array of rebarbative neologisms whose purpose often seems to be no more than its own enforcement: POC (now BIPOC), AAPI (now AANHPI), LGBTQ (now LGBTQIA2S+), ‘pregnant people,’ ‘menstruators,’ ‘front hole,’ ‘chest feeding,’ and, yes, ‘Latinx.’”

  And it seeks not merely acquiescence to its policies but solemn allegiance – outward and inward – to its imperatives: “It is joyless, vengeful, and tyrannical. It is purist and totalistic. It demands affirmative, continuous, and enthusiastic consent.”

  A recent report of the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University, “INSTRUCTING ANIMOSITY: How DEI Pedagogy Produces the Hostile Attribution Bias,” lends social-science support to the observation that woke progressivism, contrary to its promise to advance social justice, fosters distrust and enmity among citizens. For example, researchers asked one group to read representative statements contending that America is rife with systemic racism and the other to read nonpolitical materials. Researchers then presented to both groups a hypothetical involving a college applicant who, following an interview, is denied admission. While the hypothetical mentioned neither the applicant’s nor the interviewer’s race, those who read the DEI materials were significantly more likely to see bigotry at play.

  NCRI researchers’ several studies consistently found that “ideas and rhetoric foundational to many DEI trainings,” contrary to DEI claims, neither “foster pluralistic inclusiveness” nor “increase empathy and understanding.” Rather, “[a]cross all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias…amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice” (footnote omitted).

  The NCRI findings reinforce common sense. If, in the spirit of woke progressivism, elite universities teach that American institutions are hateful, students will learn to despise their country and scorn the patriots among their fellow citizens. If elite universities teach that Americans are either oppressors or oppressed, the best and the brightest will view politics as war and education as propaganda. If elite universities teach that group identity takes precedence over the dignity of the person, graduates will regard themselves as duty bound to trample over individual rights in pursuit of social justice.

  And if our elite universities – and the graduates they annually launch into the world – keep it up, they will increase the Trump coalition’s chances of landslide election victories and enhance the prospects of a national political realignment built around working-class men and women joined by individuals of all colors and classes who cherish freedom and democracy in America.

  Peter Berkowitz is the Tad and Dianne Taube senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. From 2019 to 2021, he served as director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department. His writings are posted at PeterBerkowitz.com and he can be followed on X @BerkowitzPeter.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 16:20

• Elon Musk: "We Should Unwind" The NGO Industry
  Elon Musk: “We Should Unwind” The NGO Industry

  Non-governmental organizations receiving taxpayer dollars are under scrutiny for misusing funds in shady operations. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have announced plans to investigate how taxpayer funds are funneled into NGOs. 

  Let’s begin with an exchange between Musk and Ramaswamy on X one week ago…

  “We need to scrutinize U.S. government funding of “non-government organizations.” It’s an oxymoron that represents a waste of taxpayer dollars, but the real problem runs deeper: Americans deserve transparency on opaque foreign aid & nonprofit groups abetting our own border crisis,” Ramaswamy said, while quoting another X user who explained how Victoria Nuland, appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Endowment, funded overseas NGOs involved in questionable activities in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria.

  We need to scrutinize U.S. government funding of “non-government organizations.” It’s an oxymoron that represents a waste of taxpayer dollars, but the real problem runs deeper: Americans deserve transparency on opaque foreign aid & nonprofit groups abetting our own border crisis. https://t.co/KiD9ahRLAk

  — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 2, 2024

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

  Musk agreed, commenting, “Absolutely.”

  With such vague and expansive authority, some of these NGOs effectively act as agents of the government, often pursuing politically motivated agendas such as promoting woke propaganda, engaging in censorship, supporting endless foreign wars, and even supporting the migrant invasion into the US. 

  On Tuesday morning, Musk scrutinized the NGO industry once again. He said, “We should unwind this IMO,” referring to one X user who posted how the NGO industry’s total assets over the last two decades exploded. 

  We should unwind this imo https://t.co/LjvRwNovZa

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2024

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

  Whoa. 

  More than 10% of the US workforce is employed in the nonprofit sector.

  In 2012, they made up:
  – 27% of DC’s workforce
  – 18% of NY, MA, ME, VT, RI
  – 16% of PA

  Be sure to follow @fentasyl for more fun facts about the bloated nonprofit albatross. pic.twitter.com/hqmnuJo1ln

  — ~~datahazard~~ (@fentasyl) December 10, 2024

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

  And this. 

  NGO reform is a big deal. It’s a major unregulated power base of the radical activist left that is pushing destructive policies like illegal immigration (human trafficking), Soros prosecutors (fueling crime waves), and Big Tech censorship (anti-constitutional actions).

  Cut the… https://t.co/X31tEEoZQm

  — Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 7, 2024

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

  Marc Andreessen, the billionaire investor and co-founder of the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, told Joe Rogan during a recent interview how the “government outsources to these NGOs the things it’s not legally allowed to do …. such as censorship.” 

  NGOs ARE GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP IN DISGUISE

  As Marc Andreessen pointed out, “NGO is a great term: Non-Governmental Organization.

  It’s sort of a charity, but most of the time, it’s a political entity that’s funded by the government and grants.

  But then, it’s not an NGO. It’s a… pic.twitter.com/sLe0rm7mRJ

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 10, 2024

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

  Americans are realizing that these mysterious NGOs serve as workarounds for the federal government that encounter constitutional limitations or fear of political backlash.

  DOGE appears to be the entity that will end this NGO madness. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 12/10/2024 – 15:45

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Here's What Has To Happen To Prevent Post-Assad Syria From Collapsing
  Here’s What Has To Happen To Prevent Post-Assad Syria From Collapsing

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

  The epic collapse of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) over the past ten days and Assad’s cowardly flight from Damascus early Sunday morning herald the dawn of a new Syria.

  

  The most immediate risk is that the entire country collapses just like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya before it.

  That could create a black hole of instability from which innumerable global terrorist threats could emerge. Here’s what has to happen to prevent post-Assad Syria from experiencing that dark future:

  1. The Army & The Security Services Must Remain Intact

  The three preceding cases of state collapse were characterized by the army and the security services dissolving shortly after their foreign-backed regime change plots succeeded. In Syria’s case, the SAA still exists as an institution even though it’s on the retreat to who knows where, perhaps to the Alawite-majority coast. It’s therefore imperative that it doesn’t fall apart and cooperates with the non-terrorist anti-government opposition (NTAGO) to ensure that everything doesn’t spiral out of control.

  2. Political Reform Must Begin Without Delay

  Lavrov repeatedly emphasized during his interview at Saturday’s Doha Forum that that the Syrian government and the NTAGO must immediately implement UNSC Resolution 2254 from late 2015, which calls for drastic political reforms such as a new constitution and UN-supervised elections. It was Assad’s refusal to compromise with the NTAGO that ultimately led to this disaster. Prime Minister Jalali will reportedly serve as caretaker leader during the political transition, however, which is a positive sign.

  3. The Russian-Written Draft Constitution Must Be Revived

  It was assessed late last month that one of “The Five Reasons Why Syria Was Caught By Surprise” is because Assad rejected the Russian-written draft constitution from January 2017’s first Astana Summit, which was constructively critiqued in detail here at the time. With him out of the way, the multiple concessions that this document called for Damascus to make might finally become a reality, and they might even be taken further than its authors initially envisaged given the new circumstances.

  4. The Alawite & Kurdish Minorities Must Be Protected

  The Alawite coast remains outside the control of Turkish-backed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorists for now as does the US-backed Kurdish-controlled northeast, both minorities of which must be protected from the jihadists. To that end, the aforesaid document could lay the basis for broad Bosnian-like federalized autonomy that could result in the coast falling under Russia’s “sphere of influence”, as could the northeast if Trump withdraws US forces from there like RFJ Jr. claimed that he plans to do.

  5. The Interim Government Must Maintain Russia’s Bases

  And finally, Russia can help the interim Syrian government fight against terrorists just like it helped Assad do from 2015 onward, so they must allow it to maintain its bases for that purpose. Their withdrawal would leave the Syrian state defenseless and the Alawite-majority coast at HTS’ mercy. In fact, since Russia’s intervention in Syria was driven by anti-terrorist motives, it might refuse to withdraw on national security pretexts and possibly midwife an independent coastal state to legitimize its continued presence.

  Post-Assad Syria is on the brink of all-out collapse that could turn it into the world’s largest hotbed of terrorism if this process isn’t soon averted.

  The most effective way to prevent this from happening is following the five pieces of advice from this analysis.

  Anything less would greatly raise the chances of the worst-case scenario transpiring, but even in that event, Russia could still mitigate some of the damage if it continues bombing terrorists in Syria and supports the creation of an independent coastal state.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 23:25

• Where Corruption Is Or Isn't Seen As A Top Concern
  Where Corruption Is Or Isn’t Seen As A Top Concern

  International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on December 9 to raise awareness about the harmful effects of corruption and to promote efforts to combat it.

  Introduced by the United Nations in 2003 following the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the day emphasizes the global nature of the problem, which erodes public trust, exacerbates inequality and undermines development.

  While corruptions is in fact a global issue, Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the chart below the degree to which people perceive it to be a problem varies greatly across countries. According to Ipsos’ What Worries the World survey, 26 percent of respondents from 29 countries named financial and political corruption as one of the three most pressing issues in their country in November 2024, trailing only crime/violence, inflation, poverty/inequality and unemployment as one of the top five concerns on people’s minds.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Indonesia and Hungary topped the ranking, with 52 percent of respondents naming corruption as a top 3 worry ahead of Peru (47 percent and South Africa (46 percent).

  This year’s campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day serves as a call to action to build a culture of integrity for younger generations.

  “While young people are significantly affected by corruption, they also have the potential to become powerful agents of change in the fight for a future rooted in integrity,” the campaign website says.

  “Young people must demand accountability and actively participate in anti-corruption efforts.”

  At the other end of the scale, respondents from the Netherlands, Germany and France were most likely not to see corruption as a top 3 issue in their country at 7, 9 and 10 percent of respondents, respectively.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 23:00

• Policy Blunders – Why The Great Depression Lasted So Long
  Policy Blunders – Why The Great Depression Lasted So Long

  Authored by Jonathan Miltimore via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

  Discover more about the policies that shaped a decade of hardship… and the lessons they hold for today…

  

  In 1940, Victor Records released the Dust Bowl Ballads, an album of songs written and performed by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. In two volumes and a dozen songs, the folk legend sang about the droughts that plagued North America in waves beginning in 1934 and ending in 1940.

  “On the 14th day of April of 1935, There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky. You could see that dust storm comin’, the cloud looked deathlike black, And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track. From Oklahoma City to the Arizona line, Dakota and Nebraska to the lazy Rio Grande, It fell across our city like a curtain of black rolled down. We thought it was our judgment, we thought it was our doom.”

  The lyrics of these tunes—those above come from “The Great Dust Storm Disaster”—reveal the psychological impact the Dust Bowl had on Americans, in no small part because it corresponded with another historical event: the Great Depression.

  In her new explainer “The Economic Consequences of Populism,” historian Amity Shlaes points out that as the Great Depression dragged on, more and more Americans began to feel as if God had abandoned America. At the pulpit, pastors compared Americans to Job and to the Hebrews in the Book of Exodus confronted by locusts and plagues.

  Shlaes touches on why so Americans felt as they did, noting that throughout the 1930s joblessness remained above 10 percent, while the stock market saw a 90 percent drop from its 1929 high, a peak it would not reach again until the 1950s.

  As Americans endured extended economic plight, many came to believe they were experiencing the wrath of God.

  One needn’t be a religious skeptic to doubt that Americans’ suffering was biblical retribution.

  Today we know that even the Dust Bowl was a man-made ecological disaster, triggered by government wheat subsidies that encouraged unsustainable plowing under of erosion-resistant native plants.

  And historians and economists have written extensively about what triggered the Great Depression: chief among them a lack of liquidity and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that restricted free trade.

  Shlaes points out that far less attention has been paid to the question that should follow.

  “What about the years that followed?

  Why did recovery not return after five years, or after seven?

  It is not, after all, a deflation shock, however sharp, that converted the initial depression, lower case, into a Great Depression, with capital letters.

  It was the duration that made the Depression great.

  Whether monetarist or Keynesian, economists respond to commonsense queries about the later years with a single line:

  ‘That is complicated.’ It is as if a sign has been placed over the period to intimidate the curious: ‘Here Be Dragons.’”

  A decade of misery Americans experienced did not stem from an angry God. A careful reading of the facts of the period suggests they stemmed from bad economic policies, ones initially passed by President Hoover that grew worse under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

  In a highly readable Explainer, Shlaes illustrates the economic mistakes of the Great Depression – which famously included government slaughtering and burying 6.5 million pigs to keep prices high while millions of Americans were going hungry – were even more nonsensical than you realized.

  Discover more about the policies that shaped a decade of hardship—and the lessons they hold for today.

  In her explainer “The Economic Consequences of Populism,” historian Amity Shlaes delves into the Great Depression’s blundering economic policies, illuminating how misguided decisions led to prolonged suffering.

  Yet a final thought, especially relevant now, involves the cost of politicizing economics. Any of us can understand that politicians must back silly or profoundly perverse policies to win an election. Many advocates of free markets will vote for candidates who emphasize anti-market concessions during campaign season, consoling themselves with the fact that the same campaigners, in a kind of aside, occasionally pay lip service to the power of markets. The voter, sometimes naively, hopes that once secure in office, the politicians will deliver the free-market policy. Sometimes, they do.

  What is truly insidious however is when politicians advertise those subpar policies, from tariffs to, say, child credits or make-work jobs, as optimal economics, a guarantee of prosperity. For then, at least for a while, voters believe them. That is what happened in the 1930s. In such cases, the public, like the long-suffering 1930s electorate, becomes complicit in its own deception and disappointment.

  In short, there is a price for placing faith in political leaders as one would in a church, a price for which voters are also responsible. “Have we found our happy valley?” Roosevelt asked when he called for a political license to continue his experimentation from on high in 1936. By reelecting him, even those many voters who did not have New Deal jobs agreed to continue to travel behind Roosevelt in his quest, and to tolerate policy that, at some level, they knew could not deliver. The consequence of this complicity was that second term of Depression.

  The Americans who succumbed to political lures and failed to wind down, halt, block, or attenuate the New Deal were our great grandparents, or at the very least, our forerunners. Americans today owe it to them to forgive that error – and remember it. After all, they and we are one people.

  It is possible therefore to extend the sage Anderson’s point.

  The Great Depression did not endure because God struck America. It endured because our leaders played God. And because we let them.

  Read her fascinating full analysis here: “The Economic Consequences of Populism”

  *  *  *

  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
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 22:35

• NY AG Limits 'Ghost Guns' At Buyback After Exploitation By 3D Printing Community
  NY AG Limits ‘Ghost Guns’ At Buyback After Exploitation By 3D Printing Community

  On X, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a new gun buyback event on Long Island for Saturday. The post was heavily ratio’d, with the usual X users in the reply section bashing the progressive politician and arguing how ineffective gun buybacks are at reducing crime. Meanwhile, it seems like James’ office has learned from previous gun buybacks how not to be exploited by the 3D-printed community.  

  “On Saturday, December 14, we’re hosting a gun buyback event in Bohemia at the True North Community Church from 10AM-1PM,” James’ post read, adding, “No ID is needed, and no questions will be asked.” 

  However, in small italicized font, James’ office wrote:

  “Anyone bringing homemade or 3D-printed guns will be paid a total of $25, regardless of how many are turned in.” 

  On Saturday, December 14, we’re hosting a gun buyback event in Bohemia at the True North Community Church from 10AM-1PM.

  No ID is needed, and no questions will be asked. pic.twitter.com/PjFGsPD9XV

  — NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 8, 2024

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  The reason: In 2022, New York’s attorney general had to revise the rules surrounding gun buybacks after an unidentified man from West Virginia exploited a loophole at an event in Utica, New York.

  The man reportedly earned $21,000 in gift cards after turning in 60 printed auto sears, which likely cost him $50 in plastic filament. That’s a heck of a return. 

  “Are you guys going to get scammed by the ppl bringing in those cheap 3d printed guns? It was like an unlimited money glitch for them,” one X user asked James. 

  Someone found another “unlimited money glitch” … 

  They have a disclaimer that you can only get $25 for 3D printed guns, and only $25 per person.

  Now the glitch is to buy $350 AR’s or cheap used pistols. pic.twitter.com/ZEMaBmpTY6

  — Elliott (Elijah) Hope ☦️🇺🇸👍🏿 (@RealElliottHope) December 8, 2024

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  The 3D printer community has woken up to “unlimited money glitch” over the years:

  Man exchanges 62 3D printed guns that cost $186 to print for $3100 in gift cards.

  When asked why he scammed the system, he said
  “Pay fair prices [at gun buyback events], use private donations rather than tax dollars, and don’t destroy historic guns.” 1/2 pic.twitter.com/SdDiqa9McH

  — Jo Jorgensen (@JoForLiberty) August 2, 2022

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  Turns out printed guns are just free money at buybacks.

  Someone maxed out what they could collect in a South Carolina buyback yesterday and took in 750$ for between 25-50$ worth of Harlots. pic.twitter.com/5wkrfLtVFl

  — chairmanwon (@chairmanwon) August 3, 2022

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  Someone turned in 62 3D printed “ghost guns” for $150/ea at a recent Houston “gun buy back” event 🇺🇸

  This is the way 🇺🇸

  $9300 will get you a lot of nice real guns 😎 pic.twitter.com/Ki00OsGRJM

  — Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) July 31, 2022

  James’ office appears to have learned from past mistakes. 

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 22:10

• With Trump's Victory, America's Long National Nightmare Is Over
  With Trump’s Victory, America’s Long National Nightmare Is Over

  Authored by David Keltz via American Greatness,

  “My fellow Americans, our long, national nightmare is over,” the soon-to-be President, Gerald R. Ford, declared on August 9, 1974, upon taking the Oath of Office – following President Nixon’s resignation in the aftermath of Watergate.

  

  Those nine words could not be more appropriate to describe what President Donald J. Trump’s victory means for the United States and the world.

  On January 20, 2025, our long national nightmare will indeed be over.

  We will no longer have a president in serious cognitive decline—bordering on senility—who was never in charge of running the country and allowed his puppet masters to turn the greatest nation in the world into a Bernie Sandersesque socialist hellscape with our borders thrown wide open, our energy supply vastly diminished, our tax dollars spent on Ukraine and Green New Deal boondoggles, our once mighty military wokeified and weakened with recruitments dropping like flies (thanks Lloyd Austin)—our once mighty arsenal of aircraft and ships depleted—and our Justice Department corrupted and weaponized against the left’s political opponents.

  On January 20, 2025, we will no longer have a president who enters his REM cycle soon after sundown while our enemies in Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea plot their next destructive moves—knowing full well that the Ivy League morons in charge of our national security (Blinken & Sullivan) won’t do a damn thing in the way of deterrence.

  The stumbling, feet-shuffling, how-do-I-exit-the-stage, gibberish-speaking Manchurian president, who is somehow worth millions, despite working in government for half a century, will be replaced by a man who built luxury skyscrapers and golf courses all over the world and already presided over one of the most successful terms any president has ever had.

  On January 20, 2025, we will no longer have a vice president who is as dumb as a doorknob and as incompetent as the New York Giants offense—but would otherwise make a fine president of the giggle club.

  Replacing Mrs. Cackles in the second highest office in the land will be another successful businessman and well-respected senator who actually did grow up in poverty and showed us all his intellect, his charm, his cool demeanor, and sound judgment—during his masterful debate performance against one of the creepiest and phoniest individuals ever to seek the vice presidency.

  On January 20, 2025, our adversaries will once again fear us and will be put on notice, should they fail to comply with the world’s greatest superpower—as Trump brilliantly laid out on Truth Social this week:

  “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East—but it’s all talk and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

  In other words, “F*** with us and find out.”

  That is the kind of leadership that has desperately been lacking on the world stage for the past four years.

  January 20, 2025, will also begin the start of a great U.S. economic boom and a cultural revival that has already begun.

  Since Trump’s victory, the stock market has been soaring, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average recently closing at record highs and the value of Bitcoin surpassing $100,000.

  Small businesses and large corporations will no longer be kneecapped by ridiculous regulations and excessive taxes and will not be penalized if, God forbid, they fail to show how woke they are.

  In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Walmart, Starbucks, Boeing, and other corporations are already dismantling their DEI programs and will stop promoting anything having to do with “racial equity” or “LGBTQ.”

  As the great economist Milton Friedman once said, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game.”

  And thankfully, the era of woke sports also appears to be dead. Instead of athletes kneeling for the National Anthem, now NFL and college football players do the famous Trump YMCA dance after scoring a touchdown—or after defeating an opponent in the UFC ring.

  These are all positive developments.

  But some things will unfortunately remain the same.

  Hollywood will continue to make anti-white, anti-male, and anti-Christian films that routinely mock middle America. They are free to do so, but their box-office numbers will likely suffer.

  And the leftist media will continue its crusade against conservatives and spew its regular anti-Trump derangement pieces—full of falsehoods and unverified sources that bear little or no resemblance to reality.

  But the good news is, very few people take The New York Times or The Washington Post seriously anymore—with Gallup reporting that just 31 percent of Americans have confidence in the media to fairly and accurately report the news—a new all-time low.

  Thanks to Elon Musk, free speech is no longer an antiquated relic controlled by left-wing tyrants—X is where the masses go to get their news now.

  And thanks to President Trump, there is a renewed sense of pride and love for the country.

  The stars and stripes are back in vogue.

  On January 20, 2025, our long national nightmare will finally be over—unburdened by what has been.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 21:45

• Sleep Problems Could Be Key Driver Of Chronic Pain, New Study Finds
  Sleep Problems Could Be Key Driver Of Chronic Pain, New Study Finds

  While many believe that pain merely disrupts sleep, research at the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is challenging this notion by revealing that poor sleep may play a critical role in the onset and worsening of chronic pain.​

  “It’s the biggest unresolved health issue of our time,” David Klyne, a scientist at The University of Queensland in Australia (UQ), said in a press release.

  Klyne’s work shows that up to 90 percent of people with chronic pain also struggle with sleep problems, underscoring how vital sleep is to managing and potentially preventing ongoing discomfort.

  Chronic pain is a debilitating condition for millions around the globe.

  However, new insights suggest that the relationship between pain and sleep may be more complex than previously thought. ​

  

  As George Citroner writes at The Epoch Times, Klyne wants to change how health care professionals treat patients with ongoing pain.

  He has found that inadequate sleep can lead to chronic pain rather than being solely a consequence of it.

  According to the study, up to 90 percent of people with chronic pain also battle sleep problems, underscoring the crucial role that sleep plays in the experience of pain.

  Expert Opinions on Sleep-Pain Connection

  Between 67 and 88 percent of people with chronic pain experience sleep disruption and insomnia, and approximately 50 percent of people with insomnia report chronic pain, Dr. William Caldwell, medical director of the Center for Pain Management at Stony Brook Medicine, told The Epoch Times.

  Caldwell advocates for a greater emphasis on treating both pain and sleep issues, as substantial evidence links chronic pain with poor sleep quality.

  “In my practice, I specifically ask if a patient’s pain leads to altered sleep behaviors,” Caldwell said.

  “If sleep is altered, a specific focus is made to improve nocturnal pain symptoms that will hopefully lead to more healthy sleep patterns,” he added.

  Klyne’s previous research has indicated a strong correlation between sleep and recovery from pain. For example, people recovering from injuries may heal more rapidly with better sleep.

  Lack of sleep may put extra strain on the nervous and immune systems, making pain worse and potentially leading to chronic conditions.

  

  Need for Urgent Attention

  Worldwide, chronic pain causes more disability than cancer and heart disease combined. Sleep has been overlooked as a treatment for pain, according to Klyne, who said he hopes his research will change.

  His team is recruiting participants for clinical trials, targeting people 18 and older who have experienced back pain for at least two days within two weeks.

  Klyne and his team plan to explore how sleep affects pain by having participants wear devices that track sleep patterns and collecting blood and saliva samples to study hormonal and immune responses. “Previous research has focused on understanding the development of new acute or chronic back pain, but this study will look at the far more common experience of fluctuating symptoms in people who live with the condition,” Klein said in a statement.

  The research will examine how the nervous and immune systems respond to both restorative and disrupted sleep. Participants will be awakened at varying times during the night, allowing researchers to gather comprehensive data on how different sleep stages impact recovery and pain levels.

  “This will allow us to examine the most detailed and important information ever collected for this population outside of a laboratory and minimize disruption to participant’s day-to-day activities,” he added.

  This research also ties into Klyne’s broader work exploring how lifestyle factors influence pain, which could prove essential in developing effective treatments.

  Implications for Chronic Pain Treatment

  If Klyne’s findings are confirmed, they could lead to changes in how chronic pain is treated, emphasizing sleep therapy alongside traditional pain management methods.

  

  Recognizing sleep as a critical aspect of treatment might also help prevent the transition from acute pain to potentially debilitating chronic pain.

  Patients who struggle with chronic pain and believe their sleep may be affecting their condition should discuss their concerns with their physician, Caldwell said.

  “If chronic pain is altering sleep, it needs to be addressed directly,” he added.

  “We know that chronic pain and poor sleep are linked, but there are also clear correlations between altered sleep and general overall health.”

  A treatment plan focusing on modalities to address chronic pain and sleep “needs to be developed between the patient and physician,” Caldwell noted.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 21:20

• HTS Extremists Appoint New Prime Minister Of Syria
  HTS Extremists Appoint New Prime Minister Of Syria

  Via The Cradle

  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Al-Qaeda affiliate that has just assumed control over Syria, has appointed Mohammad Bashir as the head of a new Syrian transitional authority. Bashir was the prime minister of the HTS-led Salvation Government, which was formed in 2017 and ruled Syria’s northern province of Idlib – where HTS was based before the massive Turkish-backed assault against Syria that began late last month. 

  According to reports on Monday, Bashir has been chosen as the new prime minister of Syria, and is coordinating with outgoing Syrian premier Mohammad al-Jalali, who announced on Sunday that he is ready for a “smooth transition” and will cooperate with “any leadership chosen by the Syrian people.”

  

  HTS – formerly known as Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front – has been implicated in numerous atrocities, including kidnapping, public executions, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, and other war crimes. 

  In 2016, the Nusra Front was rebranded and expanded into Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a coalition of armed factions with support from Qatar. The following year, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham became HTS in another Qatari-sponsored rebranding initiative aimed at legitimizing the group. 

  HTS has been a proscribed terrorist organization by the UN, US, UK, and EU. Despite a large US bounty on the head of HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the extremist leader sat with CNN for an interview last week. 

  Officials in Washington are considering removing HTS from the US terror list, The Washington Post reported on 9 December. “US officials are in contact with all the groups involved in fighting in Syria, including the main group that ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and remains on a US terrorist list,” the newspaper wrote. 

  No female reporter was required to wear a headscarf when interviewing Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s former secular leader. This is NOT progress: pic.twitter.com/x7Add6q3Rx

  — Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti) December 9, 2024

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  A US official told the outlet that the US government has not ruled out removing the terror designation from HTS to enable deeper US contact and cooperation with the group.

  “We have to be smart … and also very mindful and pragmatic about the realities on the ground,” the official said.

  Another US official said the White House is in the process of conducting a “real-time assessment” about HTS, which took control of Damascus on Saturday after a lightning two-week offensive launched from its stronghold in Syria’s northwest Idlib governorate. 

  Meanwhile Syrian embassies around the world are hoisting a new flag:

  BREAKING — New Syrian flag has been raised to Syrian Embassy in Moscow.

  Diplomats chanted “free Syria” and “Syria belongs to all Syrians” pic.twitter.com/dCQTyQTEgF

  — Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 9, 2024

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  The UK government is also considering removing HTS from the list of banned terrorist groups.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:55

• Understanding The Implications Of The CME's New 1oz Gold Futures
  Understanding The Implications Of The CME’s New 1oz Gold Futures

  By Jesse Colombo of The Bubble Bubble Report

  CME Group Inc., the parent company of COMEX, the leading U.S. exchange for gold and silver futures, will introduce a one-ounce gold futures contract in January. This move comes in response to soaring demand from retail investors, spurred by gold’s record-breaking rally this year from $2,000 to $2,630—a respectable 32% gain. Smaller-sized gold products have grown increasingly popular among retail investors seeking exposure to precious metals and greater diversification in their portfolios.

  Jin Hennig, CME’s Global Head of Metals, described the one-ounce gold contract as “a great way to lower the barrier to entry in our market.” She also noted, “Our clientele is also getting younger. That’s a lot more doable.”

  The one-ounce gold futures contract is set to launch on January 13, 2025, pending regulatory approval. This new offering complements CME’s existing retail-focused products, including 10-ounce micro gold and 1,000-ounce micro silver futures, which represent smaller fractions of the standard benchmark contracts. According to CME, these micro contracts have been among the fastest-growing products in their metals derivatives lineup, achieving record trading volumes this year.

  CME anticipates strong demand for the new contract from retail investors in Asia, where gold is deeply ingrained in the culture as both a store of value and a hedge against economic uncertainties. Hennig emphasized that the contract provides “a meaningful way” for individual traders in the region to “manage their own wealth creations.”

  While the introduction of this new futures product is intriguing and reflects growing interest in precious metals and financial innovation—something I wholeheartedly support as a proponent of free markets—I do have some concerns. Chief among them is the fact that this is a cash-settled futures contract rather than a physically-settled one. This means that upon expiration of the futures contract, traders cannot take physical delivery of a 1-ounce bullion bar or coin, which is a drawback for those seeking tangible ownership of gold.

  This also implies that these contracts are unlikely to be backstopped (even unofficially) by actual physical gold, making them yet another form of “paper” gold in a market already saturated with such instruments that include futures, options, forwards, swaps, CFDs, and exchange-traded funds. Currently, it is estimated that there are an astonishing 133 ounces of paper gold for every ounce of physical gold, as illustrated in the chart below. This imbalance poses several concerns, chief among them the heightened risk of a future run on physical gold. Such a scenario could see the price of scarce physical gold soar while the value of paper gold plummets, creating a significant market shock.

  

  Paper gold—especially when it vastly exceeds the supply of actual physical gold—undermines some of the core advantages of owning physical gold, such as its simplicity, and its freedom from counterparty and default risk. This concept is well illustrated by Exter’s Pyramid, where rare physical gold (not paper gold) occupies the base of the inverted pyramid as the most secure and reliable form of collateral. In contrast, paper gold falls into the far riskier and more abundant derivatives category near the top of the pyramid. This starkly contrasts with physical gold’s role as the ultimate foundation of financial stability at the bottom of the pyramid.

  

  Another significant concern is that the proliferation of paper gold products tends to divert and diminish demand that would otherwise flow into physical bullion. Many analysts argue this is a key factor keeping gold prices lower than they might otherwise be. While the new 1-ounce futures contract makes gold more accessible to investors with moderate means—allowing them to control the equivalent of a $2,700 ounce of gold with only a few hundred dollars in margin—it raises concerns. This easier access may further shift demand away from physical bullion, which represents the true, tangible market for gold.

  Bob Coleman, founder of Idaho Armored Vaults, highlighted that a 1-ounce gold futures contract could have been an excellent innovation if it were physically settled. Such a product would have helped reduce spreads and transaction costs in the physical bullion market while enhancing market transparency and liquidity. However, Coleman lamented that CME Group opted to make this contract cash-settled instead, missing an opportunity to provide these benefits:

  

  Vince Lanci, publisher of the GoldFix newsletter, humorously suggested in a post on X that CME Group’s new 1-ounce gold futures contract could drive down premiums on small gold bullion products. While this development would benefit consumers, it would also erode bullion dealers’ profit margins.

  

  The introduction of CME Group’s 1-ounce gold futures contract seeks to address growing retail investor demand and expand access to the gold market, but it also underscores critical challenges tied to the dominance and proliferation of “paper” gold. With its cash-settled structure and lack of physical backing, the new contract raises concerns about transparency, reduced demand for physical bullion, and the broader stability of the gold market. While it lowers barriers for younger and global retail investors, its potential to divert interest from physical gold risks deepening the disconnect between paper and physical markets. As the market evolves, balancing financial innovation with the enduring value of tangible, secure, and stable assets like physical gold is crucial.

  If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to this newsletter.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:30

• VDH: Biden's Paranoid Pardons & The Morass Of Leftists Morality
  VDH: Biden’s Paranoid Pardons & The Morass Of Leftists Morality

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

  Pardoner-in-Chief

  Joe Biden has now established two precedents in presidential history.

  

  First, he “pardoned” his own son Hunter.

  No prior president has ever tried that shameless act, which is an affront to the entire hallowed notion of “equality under the law.”.

  Second, he did so in a way that no president has rarely, if ever, pardoned anyone.

  Hunter, a convicted federal felon awaiting sentencing, was gifted by his father a blanket exemption from federal prosecution over the entire past decade (2014-2024).

  Biden thus exempted Hunter from a series of much-discussed past criminal activities and provided further pardons for any federal criminal exposure occurring over the last ten years—yet to turn up.

  Given the Biden suppression of the justice system and the media’s complicity in hiding the Biden family’s criminality, it is quite possible that in the next few years, disinterested prosecutors might finally expose Hunter Biden’s long-suppressed, sordid career. And that could mean possible criminal exposure for three generations of Bidens.

  Third, in the remaining waning 40 days of his now nonperforming presidency, Biden threatens to establish yet another presidential precedent. He contemplates issuing pardons to a variety of controversial cronies, bureaucrats, and officers—even though none of them have yet been indicted or even are under federal investigation.

  Worse, Biden completed his shameless trifecta by breaking his serial pledge, voiced at least six times, and most prominently as a 2024 campaign plug, unequivocally not to pardon Hunter Biden.

  That performance-art braggadocio was serially greeted—by design—with glee in the media.

  On spec, the vow supposedly contrasted Biden’s “reverence for the rule of law” with a purportedly legally insubordinate Trump.

  Biden would put the law above family. Trump, in contrast, was supposedly chronically questioning the morality, fairness, and legality of his own five criminal and civil indictments over the campaign cycle—some of them (i.e., Bragg, Smith, Willis) demonstrably with the full knowledge of, if not coordinated by, the Biden White House.

  The Biden Family’s Known Unknowns

  Yet, why would Biden go out with such brazen, precedent-setting pardons when his own administration, Department of Justice, and the obsequious media for nearly four years have all bragged that the left is the party of principled democracy (e.g., “democracy is on the ballot”), forced into an existential fight against a supposedly “dictator,” “fascist,” and “Hitlerian” Donald Trump?

  Obviously, Hunter Biden might have faced some jail time for deliberate and callous federal tax evasion of millions of dollars of income. Such a conviction would certainly earn the average American incarceration and a crippling fine.

  The Biden family’s plea that Hunter was “addicted” is a pathetic excuse.

  The president expects the American people to believe his lie that a supposedly temporarily non compos mentis Hunter was too drug-addled to remember to pay his taxes but clear enough to shake down millions of dollars in largess for generations of the Biden family syndicate.

  We are told no one is ever jailed for feloniously lying on a federal affidavit to buy a handgun, and thus Hunter is a victim of a right-wing witch hunt.

  That too is another absurd assertion when the Biden Department of Justice oversaw the prosecution. And it only fulfilled its proper nonpartisan role when an intervening federal judge nullified an unprecedented DOJ sweetheart tax evasion deal, one designed specifically for the presidential son.

  Plenty of average Joes also go to jail for knowingly committing federal perjury or deliberately and fraudulently completing a required federal background check.

  But the real agenda behind the Hunter pardon, and possible future Biden family pardons to come, involved the current president of the United States.

  Hunter’s ten-year window of exemption dates back to the last two years of Joe Biden’s vice presidency, when his sloppy shakedowns of foreign governments even bothered an embarrassed Obama administration.

  By pardoning Hunter, and de facto other Bidens to come, Joe believes that there will be no subpoenaed witness who can testify about the source of the family’s some $20 million grift: where the money came from, what it was for, where it went, and whether anyone fully paid federal and state income taxes on these foreign cash infusions.

  In fairness to Joe, he has legitimate worries.

  The sheer audacity of the Biden operation was evident—as, for example, when Joe boasted publicly that he got a special Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, fired for looking too closely into corruption involving Hunter Biden—by withholding U.S. congressionally approved aid.

  (Note well: Donald Trump was impeached and tried in the Senate for merely suspending but eventually sending aid to Ukraine, out of legitimate worry that the Bidens had once unduly leveraged taxpayer money to have ensured their then steady revenue streams from Ukraine.)

  Proof of the Bidens’ shake-down success was apparent in the lavish lifestyles of Joe and Hunter, otherwise inexplicable in light of Joe’s federal salary or any legal or consulting expertise evident in Hunter’s mostly grimy and grubby career.

  Canary-bird Hunter?

  But more worrisome might be the thought of an unplugged, unpardoned, and underappreciated Hunter.

  As an ordinary citizen facing jail time after January 20, 2025, Hunter would be either one relapse, one plea bargain, or one fit of resentment away from turning state’s evidence to avoid years in federal prison—by disclosing the various roles of an apparently insufficiently appreciative Biden family.

  Hunter certainly was capable of flipping.

  In his laptop texts and email logs, he often voiced resentment of his father, variously and cynically dubbed “the Big Guy” and recipient of “ten percent”—monikers not usually associated with filial affection.

  The gist of Hunter’s referents was that Joe got his utility bills paid and was subsidized by Hunter, who in return felt he was privately underappreciated and overcharged by the supposedly legit members of the family as their wayward and embarrassing, though hard-working, bagman.

  That pique was no fiction.

  Hunter’s plea-bargaining attorneys once threatened to call President Joe Biden into court to testify on Hunter’s behalf. The veiled subtext was a threat to put the president on record in a federal trial as vouching for his son and thus likely denying when cross-examined by the judge whether Joe himself had ever received foreign cash (i.e., Joe’s checks labeled as “loan repayments” or seen as “gifts” or undisclosed but routed through Hunter or a Biden sibling).

  What was Hunter’s brief career as a straw-snorting “artist” about in the earlier days of the Biden presidency—if not to bring down to earth the haughty first couple?

  Why would the profligate son, now under global scrutiny, seemingly shake down would-be quid pro quo Biden donors to buy his teenaged, paint-by-the-numbers “art”—sometimes painted by blowing paint via a straw, as perhaps a not-so-subtle reminder to the family of his earlier snorting antics?

  Joe Biden was only two months into his presidency when Hunter published his tell-all book. It graphically recalled his drug- and sex-filled escapades and was met with great fanfare by obsequious liberal critics who noted his supposed “raw” honesty. Yet if a son will seduce his own deceased brother’s widow and mother of his own nephew and niece, and then cajole her to indulge in his own addictive crack cocaine use, then he has demonstrated that family fealty is a mere abstraction if not a bad joke.

  Pardoning such a miscreant for ten years of yet uncovered misadventures is a veritable insurance policy that Hunter—who knows all the Biden family business secrets—would not plea-bargain away his family’s so-far successful avoidance of criminal accountability.

  Just the Latest Assault on Democracy

  How do we locate this latest assault on democracy in the left’s wider narrative that Biden and company ‘saved’ democracy from a tyrannical Donald Trump?

  The answer is not difficult.

  This unprecedented pardon is not aberrant. It is characteristic of the left’s recent contempt for the rule of law. And it is consistent with its own brazen violation of constitutional customs and norms that it so often projects onto its opponents.

  The left’s warped modus operandi, remember, is to brand Trump such a menace that his intellectual and moral superiors are entitled to trample on any law or custom necessary to eliminate such an existential ‘threat to democracy.’

  So, at the end of the Biden presidency, what is the Biden-Obama-era “democracy dies in darkness” legacy?

  Just ponder the following questions.

  Who soiled the FBI and the DOJ to fabricate Russian collusion to undermine a 2016 oppositional presidential opponent?

  Who hired a has-been British spy to fabricate a smear dossier and leak it to the media to destroy a candidate?

  Who rounded up “51 intelligence authorities” to lie on the eve of an election about the authenticity of Hunter’s laptop, then already verified and in the possession of the FBI?

  Who tasked the FBI to partner with social media to censure and suppress verified news stories about the laptop’s authenticity deemed incriminating to the Biden campaign?

  Who impeached a president over a phone call as soon as it recaptured the House of Representatives?

  Who envisioned removing a major-party candidate from sixteen state ballots to undermine the election of an opponent?

  Who orchestrated a SWAT raid on the home of an ex-president and presidential candidate over an ongoing archival dispute concerning the proper storage of presidential papers?

  Who coordinated the lawfare to empower a special counsel to indict Donald Trump, to consult with a partisan Georgia prosecutor to indict Donald Trump, and to dispatch a federal prosecutor to join a local Manhattan prosecutor to indict Donald Trump, previously on the staff of yet another New York state attorney general who indicted Donald Trump?

  Who advocated packing the Supreme Court?

  Who sought to end the Electoral College?

  Who wanted to create two new blue states to win four new senators?

  Who wanted to demolish the filibuster—depending on whether it held a Senate majority?

  Who radically changed American balloting, rendering, in most states, the historic Election Day to a mere construct of as little as 30 percent of the electorate voting?

  Pardons as Incrimination

  The final irony?

  Biden may well pardon a variety of cronies who will not be indicted by the Trump Department of Justice, but who, by acceptance of such exemption, will remind the American people of their culpability if not criminality.

  Anthony Fauci likely lied under oath about his role in subsidizing illicit and undeniable gain-of-function virology research in communist China.

  Gen. Mark Milley clearly violated his oath of office as an advisor to the president by improperly breaking, and inserting himself into, the chain of command by ordering theater and unit commanders first to report directly to himself in supposed existential crises rather than to the Secretary of Defense.

  Most Americans would deem it actionable for a chairman of the Joint Chiefs to stealthily contact his Chinese communist, People’s Liberation Army counterpart in order to warn him about the supposedly unstable nature of his own president and commander-in-chief and thus to assure the Chinese that American officers would nullify any presidential directives that they themselves diagnosed as improper.

  What did intelligence and investigative bureaucratic grandees John Brennan, James Clapper, and Andrew McCabe—all current media-paid consultants—all have in common? They admittedly lied either under congressional oath or to federal investigators and did so with complete exemption.

  The list of the culpable could be expanded.

  But it will not be Donald Trump—who refused to investigate, much less seek to indict, Hillary Clinton for destroying federally subpoenaed communications and devices—who will remind the American people of what past zealots did to their nation.

  Instead, it may be Joe Biden himself and any who accept his envisioned self-incriminating pardons.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:05

• Americans Agree That Money Has Too Much Power In Congress
  Americans Agree That Money Has Too Much Power In Congress

  The line between lobbying, political donations and corruption is perilously thin.

  

  While the former is sometimes referred to as “bribery in a suit” by critics, the key difference between the two is that lobbying is legal, while bribery as a form of corruption is not. While both practices are seeking influence, bribery is actually buying it while lobbying is merely trying to sway lawmakers’ opinions in the desired direction – at least officially.

  Critics argue that lobbying, especially in the form of large-scale campaign donations, be it from individuals, organizations or interest groups, often implies an element of quid-pro-quo that borders on corruption. “We supported you and now we expect you to do the same for us,” is the understanding behind such transactions, with the absence of any guarantees making sure that no legal lines are crossed.

  While there’s not much that Americans from both sides of the political aisle agree on, there is a broad consensus that money buys too much influence in Washington these days.

  As Statista’s Fleix Richter details below, according to a Pew Research survey from 2023, 80 percent of U.S. adults think that large campaign donors have too much influence on the decisions made by members of congress, while 73 percent say the same of lobbyists and special interest groups.

  At the same time, 70 percent of respondents agree that the people have too little influence on what their representatives in Congress decide.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  As a consequence, 72 percent of the 8,000+ people surveyed, regardless of their political views, agree that there should be limits on the amount of money that individuals or organizations can contribute to political campaigns.

  Last week, federal filings revealed that Elon Musk had spent over a quarter of a billion dollars in this year’s presidential election to help Donald Trump win back the presidency.

  Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, now heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, in the latest and perhaps greatest example of how money buys influence in Washington DC.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 19:40

• Jay-Z Denies Raping 13-Year-Old In Civil Lawsuit
  Jay-Z Denies Raping 13-Year-Old In Civil Lawsuit

  Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  American rapper Jay-Z, 55, denied sexual assault accusations on Dec. 8 after his name was added to a civil lawsuit alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs for allegedly drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl more than two decades ago.

  

  The lawsuit, amended on Dec. 8 and viewed by The Epoch Times, lists Jay-Z by his legal name, Shawn Corey Carter, alongside Combs, who was criminally charged in September with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offenses.

  The case was first filed in October in the Southern District of New York, naming Combs as the only defendant.

  According to the updated complaint, the plaintiff, identified only as “Jane Doe,” alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by both men at an after-party following an MTV Video Music Awards night in 2000.

  Carter responded to the claims Sunday night, saying in a statement that the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, had sent him a letter demanding a settlement. The rapper accused Buzbee of trying to force him to settle given “the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny.”

  The rapper said he would not pay anything and would “expose” what he said were fraudulent claims to the public in court.

  “These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” Carter said.

  “These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

  Buzbee responded on the social media platform X on Sunday to Carter’s comments, saying that since he sent the letter on behalf of his client, Carter has “filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym” and “tried to bully and harass” him and the plaintiff.

  Buzbee was sued in November by California-based law firm Quinn Emanuel for alleged extortion and threats of “publicizing false information for financial gain” that targeted “high profile individuals.”

  Carter hasn’t publicly commented on his alleged lawsuit against Buzbee as of publication time, and it is unclear if Buzbee’s post regarding Carter was referring to the Quinn Emanuel suit.

  Buzbee said that while Carter claims the lawsuit is after his money, the plaintiff hadn’t asked Carter for money in the settlement offer.

  “What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation,” the lawyer posted on X.

  Buzbee said that Jay-Z’s response to the settlement has not intimidated his client but “had the opposite impact.”

  “She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve,” he wrote.

  Buzbee said he would comment no further on the allegations and the case. “[W]e will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media,” he said.

  Lawyers for Combs told media outlets that the multiple claims filed by Buzbee against their client in recent months are “designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them.”

  “Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process,” they said in a statement. “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”

  Combs was arrested in September for the sex trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty. He is currently being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center without bail. His trial is scheduled for May 5.

  The Epoch Times has contacted attorneys for Carter, Combs, and Doe for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 19:15

• Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge To Race-Based Admission Policy By Elite Boston Schools
  Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge To Race-Based Admission Policy By Elite Boston Schools

  The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Dec. 9 that it won’t consider whether three Boston public schools violated the Constitution with a purported racial diversity policy that admitted students based on their zip codes.

  

  As Matthew Vadum reports for The Epoch Times, the new decision was made after the court’s landmark ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. Harvard struck down the use of racially discriminatory admissions policies at U.S. colleges. After that ruling, schools began using supposedly racial-neutral admission policies such as geography to attempt to make student bodies more diverse.

  Two conservative justices – Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas – dissented from the court’s decision not to grant the petition in Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence v. The School Committee for the City of Boston.

  Represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, the Boston Parent Coalition filed its petition on April 17.

  The school committee changed its admission criteria for its competitive “exam schools” effective from the 2021–22 school year, replacing the usual standardized test with a quota based on applicants’ zip codes “that reserved seats for students with the highest [grade point average] in each Boston neighborhood.”

  Although “the number of seats allocated to each neighborhood was based on the neighborhood’s population of school-aged children,” school officials “spoke openly of their intent to racially balance the Exam Schools at the expense of Asian American and white students,” the petition said.

  A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit in 2021. In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the ruling, finding that even though the zip code-based quota “was chosen precisely to alter racial demographics,” it did not violate students’ equal protection rights.

  Alito said in his dissent, which was joined by Thomas, that the new ruling is the court’s second refusal “to correct a glaring constitutional error that threatens to perpetuate race-based affirmative action in defiance of [the] Students for Fair Admissions [decision].”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:50

• Has Nuclear Energy Finally Overcome The Chernobyl Disaster?
  Has Nuclear Energy Finally Overcome The Chernobyl Disaster?

  Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com,

  • Accidents like Chornobyl and Fukushima have damaged the public perception of nuclear power, leading to decreased investment and development.

  • Nuclear power is a low-carbon energy source with a proven track record of safety and reliability.

  • Despite past challenges, there is a growing global interest in nuclear power as a key component of a sustainable energy future.

  Three major nuclear events throughout the history of nuclear power production have tainted the image of the clean energy source, according to recent reports and years of public opinion polls. The events at Chornobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island swayed public opinion against nuclear power in many areas of the world for several decades, encouraging governments worldwide to move away from the clean energy source in favor of continued fossil fuel use.

  

  Today’s energy mix could look extremely different if these events had not occurred, or greater efforts had been taken to raise public awareness over nuclear safety.

  According to a recent report published by a think tank from the ex-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair – Tony Blair Institute (TBI), the nuclear power industry could have had a significant impact on global carbon emissions had it continued to grow at the same pace as before the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

  It predicted that carbon emissions would be around 6 percent lower today if a different narrative of nuclear energy had been established following the Chornobyl disaster, rather than one that spurred “unfounded public concern”.

  The Chornobyl nuclear power station was located in Pryp’yat, 10 miles northwest of the city of Chornobyl and 65 miles north of Kyiv. It consisted of four reactors, each with a 1 GW capacity. The disaster happened on April 25–26, 1986, when workers shut down the reactor’s power-regulating system and its emergency safety systems and withdrew most of the control rods from its core while it ran at 7 percent power. A combination of human errors led to several explosions triggering a large fireball that blew off the heavy steel and concrete lid of the reactor, which resulted in a partial meltdown of the core. This led large quantities of radioactive material to go into the atmosphere and spread for miles around.

  Around 30,000 inhabitants were evacuated from Pryp’yat and a cover-up took place by the Soviet Union. However, Swedish monitoring stations reported abnormally high levels of wind-transported radioactivity, which led authorities to admit there had been an accident. The attempted cover-up and delayed information about the event led to an international outcry over the dangers of radioactive waste. The heat and the radioactivity leaking from the reactor core started to be contained in May, and the highly radioactive reactor core was later enclosed in a concrete-and-steel sarcophagus. Reports on the number of deaths associated with both the disaster and the lingering radioactivity in the region vary widely.

  The TBI report found that over 400 reactors commenced operations in the three decades before Chornobyl, but fewer than 200 had been commissioned in the almost three decades since. The report stated, “The result is that nuclear energy has never become the ubiquitous power source many had projected, with countries instead turning towards alternatives such as coal and gas.” It suggests that two other major nuclear incidents – Fukushima and Three Mile Island – also harmed the public perception of nuclear power.

  Nevertheless, the TBI predicts the world will see a “new nuclear age” in the coming years, as environmentalists and governments worldwide double down on their commitment to nuclear power as part of a green energy transition. Nuclear energy has been providing abundant clean power to countries worldwide for around 70 years. Unlike most renewable energy sources, nuclear energy can be produced 24 hours a day, rain or shine, providing a stable flow of clean power to the grid. Some new-generation power plants are now capable of operating for up to 80 years, which is far longer than gas- or coal-fired power stations, as well as many renewable installations.

  In addition, a multitude of studies over several decades show that fossil fuels are overwhelmingly more harmful to health and the environment than nuclear power. Experts think that air pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for around 7 million deaths a year, while nuclear energy carries a similar level of risk to wind power, which is around 350 times safer than coal. Per terawatt-hour of energy production, coal is thought to cause 24.6 deaths, oil 18.4 deaths, natural gas 2.8 deaths and nuclear energy 0.07 deaths.

  The International Atomic Energy Agency says that nuclear power plants are among “the safest and most secure facilities in the world.” They must adhere to strict international safety standards and both training and best practices have become stricter and more internationally standardized in recent decades. Further, nuclear waste storage facilities are highly protected against earthquakes, tornadoes, and other potential disasters.

  The lead author of the report Tone Langengen stated, “A new nuclear age is beginning. But whether it continues will depend entirely on whether leaders are willing to move past false alarm and ideology, making judgment based upon fact-based assessment of risk.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:25

• Mobile Dominates America's Favorite Gaming Platforms
  Mobile Dominates America’s Favorite Gaming Platforms

  People engage in gaming through a variety of formats, from consoles to mobile devices, driven by factors like convenience, cost, and immersive experiences.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the share of U.S. consumers that reported gaming on a specific device within the past month, using data from a Circana online survey of 5,100 active U.S. gamers conducted in May through June 2024.

  The categories of gaming devices are as follows:

  • Mobile: iPhone, Android smartphone, iPad, and other smartphone or tablet devices

  • Computer: Desktop, laptop, Steam Deck, or other portable PC devices

  • Console: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox One X, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Wii

  • Other: Virtual reality (VR) headsets, plug-and-play devices, child-oriented devices

  

  Which Gaming Devices Do Americans Use The Most?

  Below, we show the share of U.S. consumers ages two and up that played on a qualifying device within the previous month of Circana’s survey.

  

  About 71% of U.S. consumers played some form of video game in the month prior to Circana’s survey, with mobile gaming being the largest platform with 65% of U.S. consumers gaming on a mobile device in 2024.

  Over half of gamers’ weekly playtime takes place on their phones, according to Circana. The main draw is convenience, as players already have their devices with them, along with the low cost and easy accessibility of mobile games.

  PC and console gaming are almost evenly tied, with 36% and 35% of respondents gaming on these platforms respectively.

  When looking these formats’ market shares, console gaming held a slight lead over PC gaming with 57% of the 2023 market share, or $53.1 billion revenue compared to PC’s $40.4 billion.

  The “Other” gaming category grew by 2% since 2022 due to increased adoption of virtual reality (VR) gaming. VR usage and ownership among U.S. teens is on the rise, with weekly VR use increasing from 10% to 13% and headset ownership growing from 31% to 33% over the past six months, according to a survey by Piper.

  Gaming preferences are also dependent on generation. Younger generations like Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and Millennials tend to play on PCs or console more often than older generations, according to Newzoo.

  In terms of gaming genres, older generations like Gen X and Boomers tend to gravitate towards puzzle games, usually played on mobile devices.

  To learn more about the video game industry, check out this graphic that visualizes console launch prices, adjusted for inflation.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:00

• "This Is Not The Time For Balance": LA Times Columnist Resigns In Protest… Over Balanced Commentary
  “This Is Not The Time For Balance”: LA Times Columnist Resigns In Protest… Over Balanced Commentary

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  When now President-Elect Donald Trump was convicted, the thrill-kill atmosphere around the courthouse and the country was explosive, but no one was more ecstatic than liberal columnist and former prosecutor Harry Litman.

  The then L.A. Times columnist told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that it was a “majestic day” and “a day to celebrate.”

  A lawfare advocate, Litman excitedly laid out how Trump could be barred from office, declaring that the raid in Mar-a-Lago was the “whole enchilada” in ending Trump’s political career.

  

  Now, Litman has resigned from the L.A. Times because the owner wants more diversity of opinion in the newspaper.

  Litman went on MSNBC to declare that “this is not a time for balance.”

  Those seven words sum up much of what has destroyed American media with millions turning away from the echo chamber created by the Washington Post, L.A. Times, and other publications.

  Litman is not alone. Many liberals are dispensing with the pretense of declaring opposing views “disinformation” and are now openly fighting to preserve ideological echo chambers and media silos.

  In my new book, The Indispensable Right,  I write about the decline of newspapers as part of the “advocacy journalism” movement. Opinion pages became little more than screeds for the left, including legal commentators who have been consistently wrong and misleading on merits of challenges or cases.

  Last year, Washington Post publisher and CEO William Lewis delivered a truth bomb in the middle of the newsroom by telling the staff, “Let’s not sugarcoat it…We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right? I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”

  Litman has been one of the most unabashed lawfare warriors.

  Even when the Justice Department was seeking to dismiss the Flynn case, Lipman wrote an L.A. Times column advising Judge Emmet Sullivan how to “make trouble” for the administration.

  Litman admitted there is “very little leeway to reject the government’s decisions to dismiss charges” but encouraged Sullivan to “accomplish what Congress, multiple inspectors general, and a majority of the electorate have not been able to do — hold the president and his allies accountable for their contemptuous disregard for the rule of law.”

  On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, Litman declared to Nicolle Wallace that Trump’s victory is “an absolute five-alarm fire.”

  He called the effort to restore a diversity of viewpoints as little more than an attempt “to curry favor with Trump.” He then added:

  “And I just think this is not a time for balance when you have someone who’s not telling the truth on the other side. And it’s a deep responsibility. And instead, I think they cowered and are worried about their personal holdings and just being threatened by Trump. And that’s a really shameful capitulation, I think. So, I just felt I couldn’t be a part of it and had to resign.”

  It was a telling moment. Litman appeared on a network that has lost half of its viewership and is fighting for its existence in an effort by NBCUniversal to unload it.

  Readers are fleeing to new media after papers like the L.A. Times and the Washington Post literally wrote off half of the country.

  Yet, these figures would rather lose their jobs and media platforms than their bias.

  *  *  *

  Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:40

• China Blocking Drone Supplies Crucial To Ukraine As US Trade Conflict Escalates
  China Blocking Drone Supplies Crucial To Ukraine As US Trade Conflict Escalates

  As part of its ongoing campaign to hit back at US punitive trade actions and sanctions, China is pushing new and extended export restrictions which negatively impacts Ukraine and its war effort.

  Drone warfare has long been heavily relied upon by the Ukraine armed forces, but Beijing is now restricting key components vital in the production of unmanned vehicles, Bloomberg reports Monday.

  

  “Manufacturers in China recently began limiting sales to the US and Europe of key components used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to multiple people with knowledge of the developments, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information,” the report says.

  “The moves are a prelude to broader export restrictions on drone parts that western officials expect Beijing to enforce in the new year, the people said,” it continues. “Those rules could take the form of license approvals based on the intended use of the components or softer requirements for Chinese companies to notify the government of their shipment plans, according to one of the people.”

  Sources further described that “Chinese producers of motors, batteries and flight controllers have capped the quantities they deliver or stopped shipments altogether” as part of the ratcheting Beijing-Washington tit-for-tat conflict on trade policy.

  This comes in the context of recent months of Chinese retaliatory sanctions targeting US firms which supply the Pentagon. Increasingly these firms are seeing access to vital Chinese-produced components.

  Russia is able to sit back and benefit from these US-China tensions, after it has been subject of literally hundreds of drone attacks out of Ukraine over the past nearly three years of war.

  Ukrainian drones have been quite effective in damaging in some instances oil and energy depots in Russia, naval assets in Sevastopol, as well as airbases in various parts of Russia.

  It may look made in someone’s garage, but these Ukrainian volunteers have built a drone capable of carrying different payloads of up to 25 kg. It is recovered by parachute, and can bomb, scout, or surveil. pic.twitter.com/4xZTc8myiH

  — Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2) April 7, 2024

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  There have even been reports that Ukrainian drones were in the hands of the Syrian jihadist insurgents which just took over Syria. Increasingly sophisticated small drones were used over the past months against the Syrian Army, helping to erode its effectiveness and morale, and this contributed to its collapse. 

  But without Chinese parts, the West’s drone arsenal could suffer temporary production pauses, and be set back to a degree.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:20

• Why Trump Must End Capital Gains Tax On Bitcoin
  Why Trump Must End Capital Gains Tax On Bitcoin

  Authored by Mark Mason via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  In a world where digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of global finance, the United States stands at a crossroads.

  

  The Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized its dedication to making everyday Americans more prosperous. From pledging to restore economic strength on the campaign trail to appointing forward-thinking advisors, the White House seems poised to usher in a new era of financial freedom. But if President Trump truly wants to supercharge wealth creation for average citizens—and establish the U.S. as the world’s leading “Bitcoin Superpower”—his administration must embrace a bold, transformative policy: eliminate capital gains taxes on Bitcoin.

  

  This global map shows how various countries tax (or don’t tax) Bitcoin after one year. Many green jurisdictions, including those in parts of Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia, have chosen to exempt long-term Bitcoin holdings from capital gains tax.

  The Winds of Change: Lessons from Abroad

  The Czech Republic recently made headlines when its Parliament overwhelmingly voted to exempt capital gains from Bitcoin and other crypto-asset sales from personal income tax—provided they’re held for more than three years and meet certain income thresholds. This is not an isolated event. Countries like Switzerland, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Hong Kong, and parts of the Caribbean have long recognized that zero or minimal capital gains taxation on Bitcoin can help spur adoption, financial innovation, and consumer confidence.

  As John F. Kennedy famously said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” If we apply that logic to economic growth through Bitcoin, the tide is global—and it’s rising fast. In a sea awash with global liquidity and debt, America’s economic ship must navigate these digital currents. These nations’ policy choices—and their citizens’ increasing prosperity—send a powerful signal: The U.S. can and should leverage Bitcoin as a tool for growth, not burden it with outdated taxation models.

  Trump’s Own Words: A Path to Prosperity

  President Trump himself has indicated a willingness to rethink Bitcoin taxation. “They have them paying tax on crypto, and I don’t think that’s right,” he said in a recent interview, echoing the frustrations of millions of Americans who find it absurd to pay capital gains taxes after using Bitcoin to purchase something as small as a cup of coffee. “Bitcoin is money, and you have to pay capital gains tax if you use it to buy a coffee?” he asked rhetorically, highlighting how current laws discourage everyday transactions. He added, “Maybe we get rid of taxes on crypto and replace it with tariffs.”

  This sentiment isn’t just rhetorical flourish. Trump, who spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, proclaimed his vision for America to become the world’s “Bitcoin Superpower.” He’s also pledged to “Make Bitcoin in America,” turning the U.S. into a leading hub of Bitcoin innovation. Moreover, he appointed former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as his ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar’ on December 5—a move widely seen as a step toward implementing forward-looking crypto policies.

  The BITCOIN Act of 2024: A Strategic Reserve for the People

  The U.S. has already taken monumental steps in this direction. The BITCOIN Act of 2024 mandates that all Bitcoin held by any federal agency be transferred to the Treasury to be held in a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Over five years, the Treasury must purchase one million Bitcoins, holding them in trust for the United States. This government-level accumulation shows a long-term vision for incorporating Bitcoin into national financial strategy. But why stop there? Eliminating capital gains tax on Bitcoin would create a positive feedback loop between national policy and personal prosperity. As the federal government invests and holds Bitcoin, private citizens could do the same without facing punitive tax obligations.

  Serving the Everyday American

  For everyday Americans, the cost of living and the sting of inflation were focal points of President Trump’s reelection campaign. Traditional strategies—interest rate manipulations, quantitative easing—often amount to rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship when confronted with truly systemic economic challenges. Bitcoin offers a life raft—dare we say, a digital Noah’s Ark—for Americans trying to preserve and grow their wealth against the erosive forces of inflation. Removing capital gains taxes on Bitcoin would allow citizens to transact, invest, and save in a stable, finite asset without the drain of federal taxes on every incremental gain.

  The ripple effect here is clear: More people adopting Bitcoin as a store of value and medium of exchange means stronger demand, which could further buttress the U.S. Treasury’s strategic holdings. It’s a virtuous cycle, a positive feedback loop. As Bitcoin’s value grows, so does the nation’s wealth base—helping pay down national debt, bolstering the dollar’s hegemony in global trade, and genuinely making Americans richer and more secure.

  Why America Needs Bitcoin

  Bitcoin is no longer a niche experiment reserved for a small band of enthusiasts. It has evolved into a mainstream, urgent priority for everyday Americans—especially the rising generation that will shape our nation’s future economy. This is not some ideological plea; it’s a practical, data-backed reality. According to the Stand With Crypto Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to transparent blockchain policies, more than 52 million Americans now own some form of cryptocurrency. Nearly nine in ten Americans believe the financial system needs updating, and 45% say they would not support candidates who stand in the way of crypto innovation. These numbers represent a sweeping, cross-partisan groundswell: Stand With Crypto’s research shows that 18% of Republicans, 22% of Democrats, and 22% of Independents hold crypto. This cuts through the usual tribal politics and points to a fundamental truth—Bitcoin is now a national policy talking point, not a side note on a fringe agenda.

  The demand for America to lead is clear. 53% of Americans want crypto companies to be U.S.-based, ensuring that technological innovation and the wealth it generates remain on home soil. Among Fortune 500 executives, 73% prefer U.S.-based partners for their crypto and Web3 initiatives, signaling a corporate desire to keep America at the forefront of global financial progress.

  Failing to act now risks a replay of past mistakes. America once led the world in advanced manufacturing, yet today 92% of the most sophisticated semiconductor production sits in Taiwan and South Korea. We cannot afford to cede the future financial landscape to other regions. Bitcoin isn’t just another investment class; it is the digital backbone of a rapidly evolving monetary system. If the U.S. wants to preserve its economic hegemony, maintain innovation leadership, and ensure everyday Americans have access to a stable, growth-oriented financial future, it must embrace Bitcoin wholeheartedly. In doing so, the nation can secure its place as the global Bitcoin superpower—uplifting our citizens, strengthening our economic base, and safeguarding our strategic interests in the 21st-century digital economy.

  America, Charting the Course

  By aligning with global best practices and enacting forward-thinking policies, the U.S. can position itself as a beacon of financial liberty and technical innovation. Eliminating capital gains tax on Bitcoin would signal to investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens that America is serious about leading in the 21st century’s digital economy. It’s not just about being “Bitcoin-friendly”; it’s about ensuring that average Americans have the tools they need to navigate turbulent economic waters.

  The complexity and inefficiency of taxing every digital transaction is an unnecessary burden on innovation and everyday life. Americans deserve better—they deserve the freedom to transact in a digital world without punitive oversight.

  In essence, this is America’s chance to do what it has always done best: innovate, adapt, and lead. Removing capital gains taxes on Bitcoin wouldn’t just fulfill a campaign promise; it would set the stage for long-term prosperity, empower citizens to secure their financial futures, and cement the United States as the world’s foremost Bitcoin champion. A rising tide, indeed, lifts all boats—and what better vessel to embark upon than a Bitcoin Ark, captained by a visionary administration determined to truly Make America Great Again?

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:00

• Israel Striking Bases & Equipment Across Syria, Including Assad’s Chemical Weapons Sites
  Israel Striking Bases & Equipment Across Syria, Including Assad’s Chemical Weapons Sites

  Israeli warplanes in the last several hours have been conducting major airstrikes against facilities across Syria, just 48 hours after the Assad government’s fall and the entrance of Al-Qaeda linked militant factions into Damascus.

  “At least two explosions heard in Damascus have taken place in the area of Barzeh, north of Damascus, where the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre has an office,” several eyewitnesses have told Reuters.

  

  “The SSRC has been sanctioned and previously struck for its links to chemical weapons production under toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” the report continues. It is a location that Israel first struck all the way back in 2013, and has hit on several occasions since then.

  Sensitive military facilities formerly belonging to the Syrian Army and now defunct Assad defense ministry have also been destroyed by Israeli attacks across the south of Syria on Monday.

  A weapons warehouse near the Damascus international airport, which has ceased operations, has also been hit. Massive strikes have been reported on Latakia port as well, which giant fireballs lighting up the night sky.

  Amid the chaos of the HTS takeover of the country over the last week, and before any type of new government can coalesce in Damascus, it appears Israel is preemptively taking out all military technology and heavy weaponry before anyone else can access it. 

  An Israeli broadcast correspondent from Kann writes that “An Israeli source tells me: Israel’s goal is to destroy everything from Assad’s army that could fall into the hands of the rebels – from tanks to missiles. We are destroying the equipment of the Assad army.”

  🚨 Breaking: Last night Israel 🇮🇱 destroyed all of Syria’s 🇸🇾 remaining chemical weapons, missiles, air-defense systems, and air force, including Iranian military positions.

  Tens of billion dollars of Iranian investment went down the drain. pic.twitter.com/tM7Mdpcbon

  — Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) December 9, 2024

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  Israel has also expanded its penetration into historic Syrian territory in the south:

  After fighting wars on multiple fronts for months, Israel is now concerned that unrest in Syria could spill over into its territory. Israel also views the end of the Assad regime as a chance to disrupt Iran’s ability to smuggle weapons through Syria to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

  The Israeli military over the weekend began seizing control of a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria created as part of a 1974 ceasefire between the countries. It said the move was temporary and meant to secure its border.

  But the incursion sparked condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab.

  Indeed ‘exploiting’ the situation for a land grab is precisely what the game plan has likely been from the start, as both Israel and Turkey are the big winners in the Syria crisis, and with Assad gone (having been given asylum in Moscow). The Israeli attacks began even as HTS was making its way toward Damascus from Aleppo and Homs.

  ⚡️Israeli strikes on Latakia port, Syria pic.twitter.com/VDozyr6gOs

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) December 9, 2024

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  According to more details of what’s been hit in the ongoing Israeli attacks:

  New Israeli airstrikes are reported in Syria, targeting an airbase near the capital Damascus.

  Al Jazeera reports that the Qabr Essit Airport, used by the ousted Assad regime’s army for helicopters, was hit in the strikes. The airbase is located south of Damascus, close to the town of Aqraba.

  Some reports are saying that as many as 100 sites have been struck in the last 12-24 hours, but more is likely to be confirmed when the dust settles. Israel sources are saying 250 or more strikes. Jets and aerial equipment, and runways at bases are being obliterated.

  

  Part of Israel’s aim also seems to be preventing pro-Iranian entities from ever popping up again in Syria, and to finally and definitively dismantle Hezbollah and Shia militias’ arms networks.

  🇸🇾| Meanwhile… Israel continues to destroy any remaining & abandoned military asset above ground with absolute no worry of resistance—as air defenses are offline.

  Israel bombed Syrian assets 150 times today, among them were Gazelle SA helicopters, completely gone. pic.twitter.com/IPJ6gLnCHQ

  — Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) December 9, 2024

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

  Sunni hardline factions are also a feared element, given they could eventually turn the same weapons against Israel, and in the Golan Heights area, and as Israeli troops continue invading the south for a so-called buffer zone.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 16:40

• Daniel Penny & The Twilight Of The Race Hustle
  Daniel Penny & The Twilight Of The Race Hustle

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

  “There is nothing more fake than when the libs pretend to have an emotional outpouring over some dead loser they didn’t give a f**k about while they were living.”

  – Aimee Terese

  Were you thinking of Daniel Penny this weekend? A year and a half ago, the US marine veteran, age 26, subdued one Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless schizophrenic with a record of 42 arrests who was menacing riders on a New York City subway car. Neely was, at the time, a fugitive on an arrest warrant for felony assault on a sixty-seven-year-old woman. Penny applied a choke hold after Neely declared he was of a mind to kill somebody on the train. Neely was still alive when the cops came, but they declined to give him CPR because he was filthy and an apparent drug-user, and they feared getting AIDS or hepatitis from giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. . . so Neely died there in the subway.

  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg indicted Penny for manslaughter in the second degree and secondarily for criminally negligent homicide. His trial has been going on all month. On Friday, the jury reported its inability to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge. Instead of declaring a mistrial, Judge Maxwell T. Wiley dismissed the primary charge and directed the jury to continue deliberations this week on the secondary negligent homicide charge, a procedurally dubious action.

  

  Everybody knows that the trial is an absurd injustice, but that has been the temper of our society for many years now in the age of the Woke Jacobins.

  Unlike the original Jacobins of 1794 in Paris, who were ultra-extreme idealists, our Woke Jacobins are extreme cynics, imagining only the worst about the project of civilization. Hence, their alt-project to de-civilize the rest of us.

  It has been a long game of pretend.

  At the center of it is the race hustle – a hustle being the attempt to get something for nothing – in this sense, seeking respect and approbation for people engaged in uncivilized behavior.

  It kicked off in 2012 when one Trayvon Martin, 17, got shot while bashing the head of a neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman, against the pavement in Sanford, Florida. The news media dishonestly portrayed Martin as a skittle-munching child when police reported him as six-feet-tall. Zimmerman, five-foot-eight, was eventually acquitted of all charges on grounds of self-defense. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was born.

  Next up in 2014 was Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri. After robbing a convenience store, Brown was stopped on the street by Police Officer Darren Wilson. According to Wilson’s account, Brown reached into his patrol car trying to seize his gun. Brown’s DNA was later found on Wilson’s gun, and Brown’s blood was detected on the car’s door, suggesting a struggle. Following the incident, riots, arson, and looting broke out in Ferguson for days after. A local grand jury declined to indict Officer Wilson, and he was eventually exonerated of civil rights violations when investigated by the US Department of Justice. The case amplified the Black Lives Matter (movement.

  Other incidents followed in 2014: one Eric Garner, 43, was stopped in Staten Island for selling individual cigarettes on the street. Garner resisted arrest and was put in a choke hold. He repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” before dying of an asthma attack. In November, same year, Tamir Rice, 12, was brandishing a toy gun that looked like a real firearm in a Cleveland, Ohio, park, when police trainee Timothy Loehmann responded to a 911 call and shot the boy. A Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict Loehmann. The city of Cleveland settled $6-million with the Rice family in a wrongful death suit.

  In May, 2020, George Floyd, 46, a released felon, resisted arrest after trying to pass a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill in Minneapolis. Officer Derek Chauvin eventually subdued Floyd with a restraint, knee-on-back, recommended by the city police department’s training guide. Floyd died at the scene with 11 ng/mL of fentanyl, 19 ng/mL of methamphetamine, and cannabinoids detected in his blood at autopsy, plus heart disease and hypertension. Officer Chauvin was convicted on several counts of murder and manslaughter and three other officers at the scene also went to jail on lesser charges. Riots, arson, looting, and murder ensued in Minneapolis and many other American cities. Statues of George Floyd were erected around the country and the city of Minneapolis settled a wrongful death suit for $27-million with the Floyd family.

  There were other incidents around the country in this period involving black suspects killed by police and a narrative spread — with help from the news media — that innocent black citizens were being exterminated in great numbers by police.

  The truth was a statistically tiny number of black men killed by police, and always either in commission of a crime or violently resisting arrest. The hustle is that they should be excused for all that, even venerated and celebrated with statues, tributes, and payouts. Why everybody else goes along with it has been an abiding cultural mystery of our time. It probably just boils down to cowardice. In fact, cowardice doubled because we are too cowardly to even admit that we are cowards.

  One signal result of all this has been the increasing reluctance of police to stop criminal behavior, which, of course, leads to ever more bad behavior.

  Add to that new modes of law enforcement that make it difficult to hold violent criminals in custody — no cash bail, down-charging, catch-and-release. This has been the mode in New York under state AG Letitia James and Manhattan DA Bragg.

  It was the decision out of Bragg’s office to keep Jordan Neely on the street despite the danger he posed to the public, as denoted in his arrest record. Daniel Penny stepped in where law enforcement failed. Jordan Neely was not dehumanized by the system. He dehumanized himself and his death was the result of his own recklessness. He wasn’t anyone else’s victim. He doesn’t deserve a statue. The father who abandoned him does not deserve a multi-million-dollar payout from New York taxpayers.

  I’ll be surprised if the jury returns with a guilty verdict against Daniel Penny on the secondary charge of negligent homicide. That charge is just as unreasonable and dishonest as the primary charge was, and, anyway, a conviction will likely get thrown out on appeal due to the procedural mistakes of Judge Wiley.

  [ZH: The jury has acquitted Penny of the lesser charge in the hours since this note was written.]

  The Penny case, I’m sure you realize, is not the only bit of professional mischief that Alvin Bragg has engaged in.

  A case might be made that he has systematically tried to deprive non-black citizens of their civil rights.

  The Department of Justice in a new administration ought to contemplate prosecuting him for it.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 12/09/2024 – 16:20